Tome of Blood

  Chapter 314-164-I want territory

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

   Earl of Waitley said in a deep voice.

  Charlotte chuckled lightly and said:

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

   "Perhaps 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 dealing with the Blood Demon Cult. 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."

  Earl Whitley shook his head and said:

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

"oh?"

  Charlotte raised an eyebrow and glanced at him.

   Earl Whitley considered it for a while, and continued:

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

   "I think you should be able to feel more or less that His Majesty the King, who acquiesced to 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 laughed:

   "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 default.

  Charlotte put away her smile and said lightly:

   "Your Excellency Waitley, the third prince has violated the "Holy Code" and the "Contract of Kingship", which has already aroused public anger in the kingdom. An envoy has brought news that the nobles are already preparing 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 still aware of such things. I have no intention of turning against the nobles of the kingdom in order to show favor to His Majesty the King..."

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

  After hearing what Charlotte said, 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.

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

   Earl Whitley said.

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

  No way, Earl Lindt is the heir of the Principality, and 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 was stunned.

  Charlotte glanced at him and said with a smile:

   "I want territory."

"This is impossible!"

   Earl of 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 listen to what part of the territory I want?"

   Charlotte said.

  Earl Waitley hesitated for a moment and asked:

   "What part of the territory do you want?"

  Charlotte signaled to the side guard knights to take the map over, and then pointed to a small piece of territory between the Duchy of Roman and the County of Castel in the northeast direction of Violet on the map, and said:

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

  Waitley looked at the girl's pointing, and frowned slightly:

   "The Barony of Bettel?"

  He knows the barony.

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

  Betel Barony is not rich, more than half of the territory is forest, and even suffered great devastation 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 baronie 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, decades have passed, the war has destroyed everything, and the Barony of Betel is now a barren land.

  The perennial wars have accumulated a large number of undead in this territory, and it is quite troublesome to clean up. Even the Bois-Lint family themselves gave up.

  The Principality 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 Duchy of Roman and the land of Castel.

  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 on the road must pass.

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

   But then again, the Duchy 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 couldn't figure it out.

  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 of the heir to 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."

   Earl Whitley 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」∠)_

  (end of this chapter)