Chapter 17 Alexei
"Connor, don't worry, I'm fine, don't worry."
While changing his clothes, Hughes comforted the anxious old butler.
Although the journey to the Abyss with the Banshees was very tortuous, the return process was extremely smooth. Those fish people disappeared inexplicably, perhaps they were frightened by the previous huge explosion.
He had to change his clothes quickly.
The symbiotic contract made him immune to the oppression of the deep sea, but it could not prevent his clothes from being soaked by sea water.
Although Zeus didn't care much about the dignity of the nobility, it was indeed a bit too impolite to have water plants and small fish hanging all over his body.
After all, he still had to meet those pirates later.
After accepting the allegiance of the Banshee in the Abyss, he wasted no time and immediately set out back to the territory in order to catch up with the negotiations with these pirates.
When I first crossed over, these pirates were powerful enemies that were difficult to resist, but now I don’t have to worry so much.
With the help of the Banshee in the sea, the threat posed by these pirates to him was greatly reduced. Even if a war really broke out, he might not be unable to fight back. At least self-protection would not be a big problem.
Not to mention the Banshees' overwhelming combat power over mortals, their reconnaissance capabilities in the sea alone would allow him to launch a dimensionality reduction attack on these pirates. He even suspected that Ash alone could sink an entire pirate ship.
However, he had no intention of involving the Banshees in the war. They had just been freed from slavery and it was time for them to recuperate.
He had other ideas about the pirates.
With the support of the Banshee, everything is fine.
Not only pirates, he also plans to re-plan the development of the territory.
"Let's talk about the negotiation first."
"Master Xius, two sea merchants have arrived this time."
"pirate."
Connor paused for a moment. He looked at Hughes and felt that the master he served seemed a little different.
In the past, Master Xius would never have spoken in such a calm yet firm tone. He was like every illegitimate child, sensitive, suspicious, and timid.
Under Hughes's gaze, Connor lowered his head and said, "Two pirates have arrived. Since you are not here, Chief Steward Alexi has gone to negotiate."
"Didn't you say you would wait for me to negotiate?"
"I did tell him so, but he rejected my proposal this morning as the chief clerk, and declared that if there is no official document, he will only accept your personal order."
Xius raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Did I hear you right?"
Isn’t he the lord of a feudal empire? Shouldn’t these people under him be his retainers?
What are you doing? Are you trying to rebel?
Connor hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "Master Xius, your steward Alexi is a seventh-rank civil servant, sent by the royal family to assist you in managing your territory."
In the third year after the empress ascended the throne, she dissolved the cabinet and promulgated the thirteen-level civil service system. From then on, the officials of the empire were only responsible to the empress and were no longer bound by local lords.
After a quick look in his memory, Xius discovered that the identity of this clerical manager was not a simple one.
His name was Alexi. He was born in an orphanage run by the royal family in the north. Because of his outstanding performance, he was given the opportunity to study. Finally, he graduated from the Royal Military Academy and was assigned to his side as the chief clerk.
What does it mean to work your way up from an orphan to a seventh-level civil servant? Hughes' title of Border Count was obtained through the efforts of Duke Cohen. Theoretically, his official position was only one level higher than Alexei's.
Although the border earls were feudal nobles and not in the same system as the civil officials, the difficulty can be seen.
And think about the background of this chief clerk, the Royal Military Academy. The Empire’s Navy is a joke, but no one dares to laugh at the Empire’s Army.
When the Queen first ascended the throne, the royal family was in decline and several Grand Dukes were arrogant; today, eleven years after the Queen ascended the throne, there is only one voice left in the empire, and the entire empire moves forward because of the Queen's will.
The lords stayed obediently in their own territories, watching the royal army expand the territory every now and then, and watching the border earl's enthronement books fill up the Queen's cabinet.
The Royal Military Academy is the foundation of all this, and Alexi is the chief of this class. If he goes to the army, he will start as a middle-level officer.
But how could he become his chief clerical officer and dare to contradict him like this?
It's very simple. The clerical officers of the border earl and the royal family are all graduates of the Military Academy.
On the one hand, it is for surveillance and infiltration, as these graduates are basically die-hard fans of the royal family; on the other hand, it is because there is indeed such a need.
The fiefdom of the Border Earl has always been in constant war, and every inch of land has to be fought for with swords and guns. His chief steward has connections in the Army Academy and can easily pull together a team.
Of course, this also means that the border earl was completely tied to the royal chariot.
As for why he contradicted himself, Xiusi smiled self-deprecatingly.
"I don't blame him. I have been giving money to the pirates. He has no more wars to fight. I think he must be very anxious."
"That's right, sir. If you send him back, you will fulfill his wish. I'm afraid he has long wanted to join the army in the western battlefield. You'd better go there as soon as possible."
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"It seems that he will not be honest in the negotiation with the pirates. Let's go quickly to prevent him from having any tricks."
Hughes stood up and walked towards the door, followed by Connor.
Hughes was right. Alexei was thinking about how to do something at this moment.
He came to assist the Border Earl in conquering the Storm Ocean, not to be a clerk and take care of those files.
The last time Hughes asked him to deliver money to these pirates, he was very dissatisfied, but this time he disappeared again? He was planning to ask him to deliver money again?
Although the old butler said that the lord was missing, Alexei did not take it seriously.
Are you kidding me? A comatose lord disappeared at night under the heavy protection of his own manor?
Why didn't he say he fell into the sea? Alexei snorted.
When he first came here, he just wanted to assist the lord in expanding the territory and making some achievements.
But he really couldn't accept Xiu Si's weak behavior.
He paid pirates for peace and conscripted people to build his manor, which has only just been completed.
He ignored all the things in the territory and just threw them to him and the old butler, and spent every day reading books and drinking tea in the manor.
Oh, the Border Earl?
Alexei's eyes gradually turned cold.
On his way to this position, he had seen countless people who worked very hard but had to waste their lives because they had no opportunities. However, Hughes had such a good opportunity, as well as the connections of Duke Cohen and the secret help of the royal family, but he only gave money to the pirates.
He had no intention of complaining about the unfairness of fate, but bowing to these corrupt nobles would be a betrayal of all his efforts.
He can't do it.
Then Alexei's heart gradually changed. He had always had fantasies about Hughes and hoped that he would fulfill the obligations of a lord.
But his lord has not shown up until now, which has become the last straw that breaks the camel's back. Perhaps he should consider his future path.
Alexei pushed open the door of the meeting room with a stern face.
(End of this chapter)