Tome of Blood

"My lord, can you tell me your reason? The third prince has a distinguished status and is also the initiator of the war. I think he is more important to you than Earl Lint."

The Earl of Waitley said in a deep voice.

Charlotte smiled slightly and said:

"Your Excellency Whitley, you are joking. It is the Principality of Boulder, the "Duke" of Boulder, not the third prince who initiated the war."

"Maybe he is indeed honorable, but what about honor? Can I, Castel, use him to blackmail His Majesty the King?"

"He has already failed, and there is more evidence of his dealings with the Blood Demon Sect. He is finished."

"I don't care whether His Majesty the King likes this son or not. I only know that for me, Castel, keeping him is not only worthless, but also has some hidden dangers."

The Earl of Waitley shook his head and said:

"No, my lord, in my opinion, it is valuable to you."

"oh?"

Charlotte glanced at him with raised eyebrows.

The Earl of Waitley considered it for a while, and continued:

"My lord, becoming independent from Boulder means that you will become a direct vassal of His Majesty the King, and all vassal contracts need to be re-signed..."

"I think you should be more or less aware that His Majesty the King, who acquiesced in the third prince's war against Castel, actually doesn't have much affection for you who support the Holy Royal Court."

"Don't you think this is an opportunity to show favor to His Majesty the King? For nobles, there is no permanent enemy..."

Charlotte smiled:

"Do you mean to suggest that I show my loyalty to His Majesty the King by releasing the third prince unconditionally?"

Waitley nodded slightly, as a tacit consent.

Charlotte put away her smile and said lightly:

"Your Excellency Waitley, the third prince has violated the "Sacred Code" and "Contract of Kingship", which has already aroused public anger in the kingdom. An envoy has brought news that the nobles are ready to sue the parliament."

"In recent years, the relationship between His Majesty the King and the nobles has become more and more delicate. I am aware of such things. I have no intention of turning against the nobles of the kingdom just to show favor to His Majesty the King..."

"So, let's discuss the price of redeeming Earl Lint."

After hearing Charlotte's words, Earl Whateley sighed slightly.

He knew that the Duke's idea of ​​replacing the hot potato of the third prince and returning the heir at the same time was bankrupt.

"Lord Earl, since you have already said so, you must have already thought about the ransom. Please make an offer directly."

said Lord Whitley.

As he spoke, he took a deep breath and prepared for the young lion to open his mouth.

There is no way, Earl Lint is the heir of the Principality, the ransom is definitely beyond the reach of ordinary nobles, it is definitely a sky-high price.

"No, I don't need Quintana."

Charlotte shook her head.

"Eh...huh?!"

The Earl of Waitley froze.

Charlotte glanced at him and said with a smile:

"I want territory."

"This is impossible!"

Lord Waitley blurted out.

After speaking, he realized his gaffe again, coughed dryly, and continued:

"Lord Earl, don't be joking. Although Earl Lint is the heir of the Duke, he is not a lord after all. It is really against the rules to use the territory as a ransom..."

"Your Excellency Waitley, won't you hear what part of the territory I want?"

Charlotte said.

The Earl of Waitley hesitated for a moment and asked:

"What part of the territory do you want?"

Charlotte motioned to the guard knight on the side to take the map, then pointed to a small piece of territory between the Duchy of Rome and the County of Castell in the northeast direction of Violet on the map, and said:

"My requirements are not high, I just need here."

Waitley followed the girl's pointing and frowned slightly:

"The Barony of Bettel?"

He knew the barony.

This is a prominent territory on the border of the Principality of Violet, just sandwiched between the Principality of Romania and the Territory of Castel, with an area of ​​about 1,500 square kilometers.

The Betel Barony is not rich, more than half of the territory is forest, and it was even devastated because it was the main battlefield of the Star-Moon War.

However, this territory is not unknown, and it has been glorious in history.

Before the Star-Moon War, this Barony was once the direct territory of the former Violet Duke family - the Willett family, and it was also the ancestral land of the Willett family.

Of course, over the past few decades, the war has destroyed everything, and the Barony of Betel is now a barren land.

And the perennial wars have accumulated a large number of undead in this territory, which is quite troublesome to clean up, even the Bois-Lint family themselves gave up.

The Duchy of Violet has a large area and many baronies. Seriously speaking, if it is this dispensable baronie, Earl Whitley thinks that the Duke may indeed agree.

It's just... what does Castel want this territory for?

Looking at the map, the only thing Earl Whitley could think of was that the Barony of Bettel was the main trade route between the Roman Duchy and the Castel Territory.

The other borders of the two territories are forests and mountains. Only Baron Betel has the most convenient route to and from, and it is also the place where caravans must pass on the road.

Of course... the premise is that the caravan can deal with the undead that may appear at any time.

But then again, the Principality of Romania is the territory of the Fallen Star Kingdom. There are constant conflicts between the two kingdoms. It is too late for the nobles of the other kingdoms to keep far away from them. Who wants to really border each other.

Moreover, even for trade, it seems that the sea route is more convenient for Roman and Castel. After all, the two sides are neighbors by the sea. It only takes three days to reach the capital of the Principality of Roman from North Port by boat.

The Earl of Waitley could not understand.

However, he didn't intend to ask further questions.

In his opinion, the Earl of Castel's proposal is indeed not too much. If the Barony of Bethel is converted into Quintana of the same value, it may be similar to the ransom paid by the heir of the principality.

After all, it is really a place where no bird shit, let alone extraordinary resources, there are not many ordinary resources, only wandering undead, dilapidated castles, and the population is decreasing, and there is no gold at all. The village of Tana.

The only thing that can be called valuable is some monsters, but the most indispensable thing in the Violet Principality is monsters, and there will even be a wave of beasts every year.

"I understand. However, I can't make decisions about these matters. I will report to the Duke. Everything still needs to be decided by the Duke."

The Earl of Waitley thought for a while and said.

Charlotte smiled:

"Of course, the magic tower in Beigang is open for you at any time, so that you can communicate with the Duke remotely."

Update earlier today_(:з」∠)_