For Grand Duke Fisabulon, it was very normal for him to make such a request. In a marriage alliance between two noble families, the bride did indeed have the right to request the groom to expel or exile his former concubines. This was to prevent the newlyweds and the future inheritance rights of the family. At the same time, it could also prevent the legitimate son of the main wife from encountering hostility and harm from the illegitimate son during his long growth period.
For example, when the Third Prince of the Crisen Empire, Andinac, married the precious daughter of Grand Duke Mayrhein, the Third Prince had exiled his four former concubines. One of them was the daughter of a small noble, and she had given birth to an illegitimate son for the Third Prince. She refused to leave because she had given birth to a son for the Third Prince. In the end, in order to ensure the success of the marriage alliance with the Mayrhein family, the old emperor ordered someone to make her drink a cup of poisoned wine and sent away the two-year-old illegitimate son. From then on, his whereabouts were unknown …
An official marriage alliance between two noble families not only meant that their families were well-matched in terms of social status, but it was also for the benefit of the family. For example, the first two requests made by Grand Duke Fisabulon were for the sake of his own family. All in all, Laurist had to pay around two to three million gold fords to marry Princess Sylvia. Only the last request was for the sake of Princess Sylvia. He hoped that she would have a good time in the Norton family, and that other women would not be jealous of her.
Laurist remained silent …
Grand Duke Fisabulon was very happy. "Servants, bring some wine and dishes over. I want to have a few drinks with Locke."
"Sorry …" Laurist said, "Your Highness, I cannot do that."
"Ugh … What did you say?" The Grand Duke slowly turned his head in disbelief. His finger was still pointing forward, ready to summon the servant, but now it was as stiff as a dead branch.
"Your Highness, I can't fulfill your third request," Loriste said firmly as he raised his head and looked at Grand Duke Fisablon.
Grand Duke Fisablon stared at Laurist's face. After a long while, he let out a hoarse laugh. "Hehe, hehe, Count … Norton … Lord, y-you are joking with me, aren't you?"
Laurist shook his head. "I'm telling the truth. To me, when I take them in as my concubines, they are my women, and I am their man. The men of the Norton family do not have the habit of abandoning their women. And I'm sure Silvia will understand. "
Bang! Grand Duke Fisablon fiercely slammed his palm on the long table beside him. The pitiful long table immediately shattered and fell to the ground. The Grand Duke stood up like a repressed volcano. "Whether Sylvia understands or not is her business, but this is my request, the request of the Fisablund family. Are you prepared to reject it?"
Laurist also stood up, not showing any weakness. "I care about Silvia, not the Fisablund family. I have already agreed to fulfill the first two requests of your family, but I will not allow the Fisablund family to extend their hands into the Norton family's internal affairs. You have no right to ask me to exile my woman!"
Grand Duke Fisablon was so angry that his whole body trembled. "Y-you asked our family to marry Silvia, but you are not willing to give up on your women. Is this what you mean by caring about Silvia?"
"Is it contradictory?" Laurist laughed. "I care about Silvia, so I married her. She will become the matriarch of the Norton family, and she will have everything she deserves. But at the same time, she must follow the traditions of the Norton family. If she wants to become my wife, then she must learn to take care of my women. This is her responsibility as the matriarch of the Norton family. "
Alright, Laurist was shameless. He was clearly trying to create a harmonious harem.
"Y-y-you're shameless!" Grand Duke Fisablon was so angry that he almost spat out a mouthful of blood on Laurist's face. What did he take the Fisablund family for? Our family's most precious flower is marrying into the Norton family, and she has to learn to take care of your women? This is the responsibility of a matriarch? Preposterous! If news of this got out, where would the Fisablund family's face go? We are not one of those fallen noble families! We are the Fisablund family, the lion that shakes the northeastern prairies!
Grand Duke Fisablon glared at Laurist angrily, and his aura continued to rise. His right hand was already tightly gripping the longsword hanging at his waist, as if he wanted to draw the longsword and cut Laurist in half.
Laurist's hands seemed to be hanging down casually, but his feet were already in position, ready to receive Grand Duke Fisablon's thunderous strike at any time. If one's gaze and aura could be materialized, then the space between Grand Duke Fisablon and Laurist would already be filled with thunder and lightning, and sparks would be flying everywhere.
"Sir Count Norton, banishing your concubine and your illegitimate child is the request of the Fisablund family. It is also a condition that you must fulfill if you wish to marry Sylvia. At the same time, this is also a chance for you to express your sincerity to Sylvia. If you cannot do it, I will think that you are challenging the patience and tolerance of the Fisablund family. As her grandfather, I will never allow her husband to have another woman and child … "
Grand Duke Fisablon finally suppressed his anger, and after a long silence, he opened his mouth again.
"I am very sorry, Your Highness. I said that I cannot do it. This is not a matter of whether I can marry into your family or not. This is related to the most fundamental sense of responsibility as a man. Banishing one's own woman and child is a disgrace to a man. I will definitely not do it. "
Grand Duke Fisablon suddenly dispersed his aura, and returned to his chair, somewhat disheartened. He waved his hand and said, "Sir Count Norton, you may go back. I hope that you can consider my three requests when you return to the Empire. Only if you can do it, then I will agree to marry Sylvia to you. "
Laurist took three steps back, placed his hand on his chest, and gave a half-bow. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he stopped. "Your Highness, please think about it carefully. If I give up my women and child to marry Sylvia, then who can guarantee that I will not give up Sylvia for another woman in the future? So … "
Before he finished speaking, Grand Duke Fisablon had already flown into a rage. He grabbed some ornaments on the desk beside him and threw them at Laurist. "Scram! You scram! "
Laurist covered his head and scurried away …
Running out of the Rose Palace, Laurist saw Aire and the others waiting at the door. He suddenly froze and stood still, rubbing his chin. "That's not right. Why didn't that old man Fisablon draw his sword and slash me? That's strange. Even if I said something wrong in the heat of the moment and angered him, he would only smash things and not draw his sword. Didn't they say that this old man has a bad temper? He's even a third-level Great Swordsman. He shouldn't be afraid of me, right? Something's wrong … "
However, at this moment, Aire and a dozen guards had already led their mounts to welcome him. Laurist could only suppress his thoughts and return to the hotel first.
Count Kenneth was sitting in the lobby of the hotel, waiting for Laurist's arrival. As soon as Laurist entered the room, he jumped up and grabbed Laurist's arm. "Did Duke Fisablon look for you because of Princess Sylvia's marriage?"
Laurist nodded.
"Is it a success?"
Laurist shook his head and shrugged. "I don't think so, because I did not agree to his three requests."
Earl Kenneth was taken aback. "Three requests? What three requests did he make?"
"First, the Grand Duke requested for our family to assist him in setting up ten workshops in the Makinohara Province. He requested that we be able to achieve self-sufficiency in the daily necessities of the Fisablon Family's territory within two years …" Laurist recalled.
Count Kenneth jumped up again. "No, absolutely not. This is practically cutting off the roots of our Snow Salt Merchant Guild! Loke, you don't know that the grasslands need daily necessities the most. Although the profits in this area are small, the volume of transactions is huge. The Snow Salt Merchant Guild has already monopolized the market for daily necessities in the Makinohara Province and the Eastern Wasteland Province. Two-thirds of the annual dividends are from here. The goods of the merchants from other places are not as good as ours, nor are they as cheap as ours. They have long since disappeared. Doesn't Grand Duke Fisablon occupy the Greater and Lesser Jinchuan Rivers? There's gold there, and I'm thinking of raising the price to extract more profits … "
Count Kenneth suddenly became discouraged. "Marrying Princess Silvia is more important. Let's talk about this later. That old fox Fisablon clearly doesn't want us to earn money from his family's territory, or perhaps he's also eyeing the profits from the daily necessities trade. That's why he requested for you to help him set up so many workshops … It's alright. Without these profits, I can think of other ways to increase the profits from other products …"
"Second, he wants our family to provide him with ten thousand sets of standard equipment like the ones worn by my guards …" Laurist continued.
Count Kenneth exploded again. "This is too much, this old fart's greed is insatiable …"
The standard armor of the three thousand guards by Laurist's side was indeed different from that of the family's armed soldiers. Although the family's armed soldiers were equipped with fine steel armor, their defensive capabilities were slightly inferior to the standard armor of the guard camp. The style was the same, but the color was different. The standard armor of the family's armed soldiers was lead gray, while the guard camp's was green gray. This was also the unique color of the standard armor of Laurist's guards.
Count Kenneth, Baron Philim, and Baron Shahin all thought that the Norton Family's armed soldiers were equipped with the same fine steel armor as them. After all, they could not tell the difference between the two metals just by looking at the color, and they had not interacted much with the Norton Family's armed soldiers. However, they knew that the guard camp's equipment had the best defensive capabilities, and Laurist had told them the same. A set of standard equipment cost about 180 gold fords, and the family had only made about three thousand sets. Then, according to the model of their choice, they had each been given two sets as a gift.
Now, Grand Duke Fisablon wanted ten thousand sets. Count Kenneth was indignant. "Is this old fart crazy? Isn't he afraid of being choked to death? Ten thousand sets is almost two million gold fords. Is he selling Princess Silvia? Back then, the wedding of the third prince and Grand Duke Mayrhein's daughter only cost two million gold coins, and that was for the old man of the empire. That's only about seven to eight hundred thousand gold fords. How could he say that he wants you to spend so much money to marry Princess Silvia? Is that why you rejected him? "
Laurist replied, "I agreed to both requests."
"Ugh …" Count Kenneth choked, and it took him a long time to catch his breath. "Fine, fine, fine. The Norton Family is the magnanimous one, agreeing to such an unreasonable request. Isn't the third request even more ridiculous? "
"That's not it either. His third request was for me to exile my concubines and their children. Only then would he agree to the marriage between our two families …"
Count Kenneth fell silent. After a while, he patted Lollister's back and said, "I really want to say that you are an idiot. You agreed to such a difficult and unreasonable request, but you rejected what seemed like the simplest and most reasonable request to others. I don't know what to say to you, but I'm suddenly relieved. I think Filim and Shahin will feel the same after hearing this. We don't have to worry about the alliance between our four families being torn apart by the Norton Family, which is getting stronger and stronger … "
Laurist smiled bitterly. "But now, I don't know how to explain this to Princess Silvia."
Count Kenneth also smiled. "Locke, I can only say that you have my condolences. We will always be watching from the sidelines, applauding and cheering for you …"
"F * ck, is this what you do for me as my ally? Why don't you just cancel the contract? "
"No. You are the leader of the four families. You are the one who proposed this alliance. If we don't back out, you can't terminate the alliance. Unless you want to embarrass the Norton family and give up on your noble status," Earl Kenneth said seriously. "You are the leader of the four families.
"How can there be such a thing? I don't believe that I can't cancel the alliance …"
"Reporting, my lord. There is a messenger from Duke Fisablun outside asking for an audience." A guard came in and interrupted the two's laughter.
"Hmm? Invite him in. " Laurist was very curious. He had just returned, so why did Duke Fisablun send a messenger?
The messenger was just an ordinary guard, not a nobleman. "My Lord, I'm here on the Grand Duke's orders to inform you of something. Due to the Grand Duke's unwell, the banquet to celebrate the success of the Knight Tournament tomorrow will be canceled. Please understand."
Count Kenneth was dumbfounded. "It can't be. No matter where the Knights Tournament is held, there will always be a grand banquet to invite all the participating knights and nobles. This is a tradition. How can the Duke cancel it just like that?"
Laurist sneered. "Duke Fisablun is a little too narrow-minded. Look at the Knights Tournament he held this time. Not to mention the archery and swordsmanship competitions, the first place was monopolized by our Norton Family. The Ferocious Tiger Ross is going to be the champion, Baron Filim is going to be the second, Baron Shahin is going to be the fifth, and Ell is going to be the seventh. None of the others are from the Fisablun Family. Apart from the success of this tournament, the Fisablun Family doesn't have a single good knight. What is there for him to celebrate?
If he had a successful marriage alliance with our Norton Family, he could have bragged about it. Now that I have rejected his request, how could he be willing to see us winning knights flaunt our prowess at the banquet and show off the prestige of the Four Great Families of the Northern Lands? So he might as well cancel the banquet and save a lot of money … Now I understand why he didn't pull out his sword and fall out with me when I rejected his request. Hehe, it turns out that he is still thinking about the agreement that our family signed with him on the supply of military equipment. He is afraid that I will cut off the supply of military equipment to him … "
"Will you cut off the military equipment deal?" Count Kenneth asked.
"No." Laurist shook his head. "This is the agreement that we signed before, and we will abide by it. Because this concerns the integrity of the Norton Family, it will not be based on my personal preferences.
Alright, let's pack up tonight and leave tomorrow morning. We will hold a banquet. If worst comes to worst, we will celebrate on our own when we return to the Northern Lands. I believe that once the news of the Duke not holding a banquet spreads, everyone will be disappointed. Perhaps there will even be a small disturbance. I believe that the Duke will send troops into the city tomorrow to drive away those wandering knights. It is better for us to leave as soon as possible. "
The next morning, Laurist and the others left the Royal City of Winderbury. Because they had to bring along Baron Filim's family of nearly two hundred people, the journey was a little slow. After meeting up with Yuri's army, they traveled for another six days. The Northern Lands were in sight, and they would be able to cross the Hendry Bridge the next day.
A cloud of dust rose in the distance, and three horses rushed over at full speed. Upon seeing Lollister, the three riders jumped off their horses. "Knight Shredder has ordered us to report to my lord that Princess Silvia will arrive at Monolith Castle in five days."
…
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