Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the door on the second floor slowly opened. However, the one who walked out from behind the door was not Brando or his attendant as the nobles had imagined. Instead, it was a trembling nobleman in a noble's robe. His hair was gray, and his face was full of wrinkles and age spots. Everyone was stunned because this man was the castellan of Metz City, Baron Ludwig Metz. In the silence, the baron slowly walked to the handrail and glanced at the crowd with a dignified look. His eyes only paused for a moment on Count Alcorn and the others. Then, he said, "I welcome all of you to my territory as guests. I have also heard about what happened in the south. I am deeply sorry for that. But, why have all of you gathered in my castle today?"
There was dead silence. The nobles downstairs couldn't help but look at each other. They thought that this old man was under house arrest. Why would he suddenly appear in this place? Could it be that he was pressured to speak, and the other party wanted to use this opportunity to force them to leave? This method was too hateful. For a moment, there was silence downstairs. Everyone wanted to wait for the nobles to speak, but Count Alcorn and the other four did not speak for a long time. Finally, an impatient noble stood up and said, "Lord Baron, please ask Erouine's Count Abies to come out. We are here to look for him."
"The leader of Erouine's diplomatic group is my distinguished guest. Why are you looking for him?" the baron asked. Oh no.
Count Alcorn's heart sank. The feeling of a conspiracy in his heart became more and more obvious. He looked back and saw that the people around him had the same expression. However, at this time, it was too late for him to stop his men from speaking. The noble who spoke at the beginning replied loudly, "Lord Baron, you don't have to worry about the threat of the person behind you. We are here today to ask him to come out and clean up the situation. Now that the situation is clear, Erouine's people wouldn't want to occupy your port, would they?"
"Shut up!" Baron Metz's face suddenly sank. His voice was so cold that it was like a layer of frost. The people downstairs felt a chill in their hearts. Of course, this did not mean that Baron Metz's status was the highest among them. It was just that he was the owner of this place and had the geographical advantage. Naturally, he had the upper hand. "I am the castellan of Fathom Port. Naturally, I am in charge of everything here. You are my guests, Erouine's diplomatic group is also my guests. I hope that all of you will not cause trouble here to ruin the image of the Empire's nobles....
These words left everyone dumbfounded and unable to find a reason to refute. Of course, logically speaking, there was no flaw in these words, but everyone knew that Ludwig Metz was no longer a city lord and was at most a puppet. However, these words couldn't be said in public. For a moment, the expressions of all the nobles were incomparably strange, as though they were constipated.
Sure enough —
Count Alcorn's face sank. He had already expected that Brando would not be so easy to talk to. Now that he had slapped him in the face, it was within his expectations. He did not know why, but he felt relieved. The fact that Brando let Baron Metz out meant that there was still room for negotiation in his heart. At least, he did not intend to make things too awkward. He then frowned again. But this kind of trick was after all a small trick. If Brando did not want to see them, he could have just driven them away. There was no need for him to play this kind of trick. Although small tricks could fool people for a while, at this time, it would only make people look down on him. Or did the young man have other intentions?
But no matter what, Baron Metz's words had blocked the room for others to speak. Count Alcorn knew that he had to speak up. He pondered for a moment, then raised his head and said, "Mr. Baron, no matter what, being trapped here is not a solution. We can't stay here forever. We have to come up with a solution. Right now, the situation in the Empire is chaotic. His Majesty and the rebels are fighting in the area of Zweig. Jorgendy Ridge and Lord Lion's army have been summoned by our emperor and changed sides. Now, the White Legion has entered Geta Harbor, which is only three days away from Fathan. If we don't make a decision, we might be seen as part of the rebels. "
As soon as Count Alcorn finished speaking, he suddenly realized that something was wrong. He suddenly remembered that Baron Metz was Duke Rena's vassal. Now that the duke was clearly on the side of the military nobles, wouldn't the former's position be self-evident? Sure enough, before he could change his words, Baron Metz interrupted him lightly, "I agree with most of what you said, Count Alcorn, but I have reservations about some of them. Constance colluded with the evil dragon to kill her father to ascend the throne. She also tried to attack the princes in an attempt to overthrow the Empire. I doubt that such a vicious woman can still be called His Majesty the Emperor of the Empire."
This sentence was like a heavy bomb falling into the water, immediately stirring up thousands of waves. The nobles were in an uproar, whether it was the words from Baron Metz's mouth or Baron Metz's audacious behavior.
But this time, Count Alcorn was not in the mood to restrain his men. He felt sweat on his forehead. He did not expect the baron, who was as old as an old dog, to be so fierce. As soon as he opened his mouth, he forced his men into a desperate situation. Count Alcorn almost wanted to reach out his hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead. After calming down, he sighed and said, "My lord, please watch your words …" Count Alcorn sighed and said, "Count Alcorn, please pay attention to your words …"
"What, Count Alcorn, you don't believe my words?" Baron Metz sneered.
"Of course, there may be some rumors that are unfavorable to Her Majesty the Queen, but that's just the enemy's way of deceiving the world. It's not worth mentioning —"
Count Alcon's words suddenly came to an abrupt halt. He suddenly realized that the city lord in front of him did not seem to be forced by Brendel. If the other party was just a puppet, then there was no need for him to go to this extent just because of a verbal dispute. He suddenly thought of a terrible possibility. The cold sweat on his forehead could no longer be stopped. He suddenly raised his head and looked at Baron Metz. He realized that he might have been fooled.
"Count Alcorn, it seems that you intend to stand on the opposite side of the Empire."
"I …" Even though Count Alcorn's position in the Empire was slightly higher than Baron Metz's, he could not speak at this moment. At this time, the others in the hall saw that the situation was not right. For a moment, they chose to keep quiet to protect themselves. Even Count Jean, who was next to Count Alcorn, was cautious and did not say a word. Roger raised his head. From the corner of his eyes, he saw that the corners of the second floor of the hall were already filled with heavily armored Knights. The battle robes on these Knights were clearly the style of the Cruz Empire. Obviously, they were not the army of Erouine.
The internal Knight raised his eyebrows and immediately lowered his head. He did not say anything.
Count Alcorn finally wiped his sweat and asked, "Mr. Baron, what do you mean by this?"
"That's what I mean." A man's voice sounded from behind Baron Metz. All the nobles present saw Baron Metz respectfully step back and let the man come to the front. In fact, Count Alcorn did not even need to see the man's face. Just by hearing his voice, his face had already changed. He raised his head in disbelief, and sure enough, he saw that handsome, cold face appear in his field of vision.
At this moment, Count Alcorn's expression was extremely strange, but fortunately, no one could laugh at his ridiculous expression because the dozens of faces in the hall were surprisingly the same. When they saw the young man appear from behind Baron Metz, many people even let out a slight gasp.
"Your … Your Royal Highness?"
"Why, is it strange to see me?" Prince Lenarette's face was cold, "Or is it because you received my obituary in advance and now suspect that I'm a fake?"
"No … I wouldn't dare …"
"Well, then I want to tell you a piece of news. My mother has harmed All For One, and now they are colluding with the Miirnas to subvert the empire and persecute my brothers and sisters. I now ask all the nobles of the entire empire to listen to my call and join the army to save the empire from its collapse." Lenarette didn't seem to be informing them of the news, but more like giving an order. He didn't even need to get any approval. It was as if he was simply stating his position, "Do you understand?"
We …, Count Alcorn was still pondering over the word, but the eldest prince didn't seem to need their answer at all. He directly pointed with his finger, "Count Alcorn, Count Jean, and my internal Knight, come up to see me. The rest of you, disperse!"
… …
"Will these people be obedient?" Just as the eldest prince was showing his power, Roman, Brando, and Felaern were actually standing in the hall on the second floor, watching the farce not far away, and the merchant girl asked curiously.
Brando shook his head silently, "That's the Cruz people's business," he paused and added, "There are many forces within the empire. In fact, the Silver Queen only controls the nobles of Cloak Bay, which means that only the White Legion and a part of the Imperial Navy are truly loyal to her. Even the Red Legion has to be greatly discounted. Otherwise, the Wind Elves have stopped fighting for a few weeks, and they didn't have the slightest reaction in the four-leaf clover plains? As for the rest of the mountain people and Senia, they are all ethnic minorities within the empire. Since they are called ethnic minorities, as the name implies, there won't be too many people, and even fewer troops. Compared with the several main legions of the empire, they are not worth mentioning at all. The remaining witches and Miirnas are not even a fraction of the total. The empire is a huge monster, and these forces may be strong in the hands of a lord, but in the empire, they are nothing. At least, they can't determine the strength of the empire. "
"I understand now," Romaine said in realization, "The reason why the nobles of Ludwig keep retreating is because they're all in a state of disunity. They're all fighting for themselves and have their own plans. It's like a business investment that doesn't have a clear goal and is fickle. Naturally, it'll lead to failure."
"Smart," Brando praised and patted Roman's forehead, causing the latter to glare back at him. He smiled and said, "There are many rebels in the empire, and the number of people loyal to the Holy Cathedral of Fire is much more than you think. It's just that these forces are too scattered, and any one of them will not be a match for Her Majesty. Everyone has the idea of protecting themselves, and this is not surprising. In the case of absolute strength, except for a few extreme cases, no one will choose to die in vain. But if the strength is not as great as you think, then it's different. Now that we have a common interest to rely on, it's different. "
"A common interest to rely on," Felaern looked at Brando strangely, "My lord, are you talking about the eldest son of the emperor?"
Brando chuckled, "I've said it before, this person is a rare commodity."
"Brando, when did you say that?" Romaine raised her eyebrows curiously.
"Of course I did. Why else would I keep him here?" Now that his bluff was exposed, the young count couldn't help but feel a little angry. "You should know that at that time, it wasn't easy for me to hide the whereabouts of the next successor of the empire. Furthermore, it was a huge political and diplomatic risk. If it weren't for today's benefits, how could I have convinced our stubborn princess?"
Out of his familiarity with Brando's character, the Roman looked at him suspiciously, but Felaern seemed to believe him. The Wild Elf girl frowned slightly, "The forces in the Cruz Empire are intricate and complicated. Which ones are loyal to the Silver Queen, and which ones are loyal to the eldest son of the emperor? What are their relationships? My lord, have you investigated all of this?"
"Of course," Brando sighed, "The Cruz Empire is too close to us, and the empire is too strong. We can not understand ourselves, but we must understand the empire."
Felaern was silent. She was born in Eleranta, a place that stood aloof from worldly affairs. Later on, like many other wild elves, she traveled to White City with her younger sister. There, she joined a mercenary group and became a mercenary wizard. The Ten Cities area was also filled with various forces, and the city-states were often at odds with each other. However, as a mercenary, she often did not need to consider so many things. It was also difficult for her to experience the feeling of treading on thin ice all day long. It was only at this moment that she seemed to have a new understanding of the young lord beside her. She could not help but frown and look at the latter with a very complicated expression.
Unfortunately, Brando didn't notice the expression of his' private secretary 'at all. At this moment, he thought of Erouine, Abies, and the vast Black Forest.
One day, Erouine would no longer need to rely on the breath of others to survive. At that time, Erouine would also have a vast territory and powerful strength. Erouine's people would no longer need to guess the thoughts of others to live. They would also be fierce lions, standing proudly on this land.
Perhaps only at that time, the wishes of the eldest princess and the Valkyrie would be fulfilled.
Brando suddenly remembered the princess and the Valkyrie in the game. They were very different from the Gryphine and Freya of today. The environment and suffering had changed them, but today's Erouine no longer needed that princess and the Valkyrie.
Because Erouine no longer needed people, its people cried silently for it.
When he came back to his senses, the conversation in the hall was coming to an end. "What did you see, Felaern?" Brando suddenly turned around and asked.
Felaern was slightly startled, as if she had just woken up from something. She blushed and hurriedly shook her head: "What did you see?"
"Count Alcon didn't come here voluntarily. He is the leader of the nobles. If he didn't have the intention to encourage these people, what does that mean?" Brando sneered: "I was a little curious. I thought that the nobles in Loen Port had been taught a deep enough lesson. They shouldn't have forgotten the pain so quickly. Now that I think about it, I shouldn't have missed anything. It's just that there's another reason behind it."
Felaern frowned slightly. If she still couldn't understand the hidden meaning in her lord's words, then her position as the lord's secretary would be in vain: "My Lord, are you saying that someone is instigating these nobles behind their backs? Who is it? "
"I didn't know," Brando replied coldly: "But unfortunately, some people were too anxious and exposed their fox tail."
"Exposed their fox tail," the Roman chuckled: "This description is very appropriate."
… …
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