Chapter 9: Calculations among the Nobles
Leaving Bonita behind, Gervis came to the restaurant, where Gandalf and Darius were already.
Gervis walked towards the dining table. In this world's aristocratic restaurants, there would always be a long table. The long table in his house was about five or six meters long. Normally, if there were no guests, there would only be four people sitting there to eat, making it look very empty.
Although it was already midnight, the kitchen had already prepared a meal like a full meal because of the noble master's words. Of course, the meal was a bit shabby, with a long piece of white bread, a large piece of uncut smoked ham placed on a large copper plate, and a bowl of mushroom soup with a little oil.
"Huh?" Suddenly, Gervis let out a cry of surprise, because he actually saw a whole roasted chicken on the dining table, and it was cooked to perfection. When he walked a little closer, he could smell the aroma emanating from the roasted chicken.
It's no wonder that Gervis was so surprised, because for nearly a month, he had only seen the same old three things on the table: bread, ham, and mushroom soup. At first, Gervis was also very confused. How could a dignified baron, a feudal lord, live so poorly? Was there a shortage of supplies in this world?
But after he integrated more and more memories of the original owner, he knew the answer. It is pitiful that parents in the world are so frugal. The reason why the Baron is so frugal is because of the three siblings.
For the sake of his three children, Baron Gandalf spent a huge amount of money to buy a mutated royal blue elf worm, which was exactly the same as the elf worm that the countess gave to Gervis.
Because the sapphire elf worm can speed up the speed of cultivating fighting spirit, it is very expensive. The price of a sapphire elf worm is generally around 1,000 gold coins, and it is still in short supply.
Don't underestimate 1,000 gold coins. For an ordinary barony, 1,000 gold coins are equivalent to the total tax revenue for five years.
Of course this is after deducting taxes paid to the church.
The purchase of this elf worm almost emptied Gandalf's bank account.
The elf bugs were bought in the spring, and it is only summer now, so taxation will not start until the fall.
Therefore, during this period of time, the castle's expenses need to be reduced. The three siblings have no objection to this, of course, but it is hard for the soul possessed by Gervis.
Gervis walked quickly to the table holding the jade box and sat down at his seat. He couldn't wait to eat such a big roast chicken.
"Father, how is Dahua?" Gandalf sat at the head seat at the long table, while Gervis and Darius sat opposite each other on the side.
Gervis glanced at Deris, who looked a little depressed and absent-minded.
Gervis was too lazy to pay attention to him. In the past, Deris's eyes were on the top of his head, and he must have been hit hard this time.
Gervase looked at Gandalf again, and seeing that Gandalf looked very happy, he asked.
As he was speaking, a servant brought the tableware. Gervis took the knife, fork and plate handed to him by the servant, cut a whole chicken leg from the roast chicken, put it on his plate and started eating.
Gandalf was in a good mood today and was not angry when he saw Gervase cutting the food in that way. Normally, if he saw Gervase and others being so rude at the table, he would inevitably say a few words.
"Dahua gave birth successfully, it's a male horse. Today our Gale family has received God's mercy!"
"Congratulations, father!" Gervis was eating and complimented Gandalf after hearing his words.
After a pause, he continued, "Father, I want to ask, do you know why Alice chose her husband from among the vassal's sons?"
Time was running out, so Gervis didn't bother to be polite. There were no outsiders here, so he asked without hesitation.
"Hmph!" Gandalf hadn't said anything yet, but unexpectedly, Darius, who was sitting opposite him, stood up suddenly, snorted angrily, turned around and walked out of the restaurant.
Gervais and Gandalf looked at each other, but after a moment Gandalf reacted and put down the knife and fork in his hand.
"Father, ignore him, let's get on with business. I'm leaving for the territory tomorrow! It's better to know these things sooner rather than later."
"Otherwise I'll always feel uneasy."
Gandalf was about to yell at Darius when Gervis stopped him. It was already midnight and it would be dawn soon. If he didn't get to know these things clearly, he would always feel unsure.
As for Deris, according to the original owner's memory, the cheap brother was not bad to his brothers before. It can be seen from the fact that he stood up and pleaded for him at the banquet. It is estimated that what happened tonight was too much of a shock to him, and his mentality was unbalanced for a while.
This is a very normal thing. If it were Gervis himself, he would probably be annoyed for two days after seeing others being given titles and territories.
"How can you be a qualified noble if you can't keep your cool over such a small matter?" Gandalf was furious.
"Father, qualified nobles also grow up from unqualified ones!"
Gervis said seriously.
After hearing what Gervis said, Gandalf stopped talking about Darius. He also knew that the matter of his second son was important, so he said to Gervis: "Actually, this is not a secret. The Earl has already summoned us to explain the reason."
"This matter has to start with the old Earl. Some time ago, the old Earl suddenly disappeared in the castle, and there is no clue."
"The old earl is a peak gold knight, having reached the highest stage since ancient times. There are no more than 10 strong men above the peak gold knight level in the entire Eurasian continent. But such a strong man disappeared quietly."
Gervis was shocked. The Golden High Knights in this world were equivalent to nuclear weapons on Earth. Having a Golden High Knight was equivalent to having nuclear deterrence.
It is conceivable that if a nuclear weapon disappeared silently, the consequences would be terrible.
"The truth is that because of the old earl's disappearance, Lord Earl Alice had to come back from the capital to inherit the title, because she is the old earl's only daughter!"
"The reason why the Earl was forced to choose a husband was because of the second prince of the capital, Chat Jean. The second prince was very ambitious, but because he was the king's second son, he could not inherit the throne. When the old Earl was still alive, he had been pestering Lady Alice, but because of the old Earl, he did not dare to go too far. Now that the old Earl is missing and Lady Alice has inherited the title, the second prince has advised the king to marry Lady Alice."
Gandalf paused, cut off a piece of bacon with a knife, put it on his plate, and then continued.
"Don't leak the following words. The eldest prince informed the Earl through a secret letter about the Second Prince's marriage to the King, so the Earl is so anxious to get married. If we wait until the King's order arrives, even the Earl cannot disobey the King's order."
So that's how it is, Gervis thought thoughtfully, no wonder Alice was so anxious, even if the eldest prince's secret letter was delivered to Alice faster, he would definitely not have much time left. If he didn't find someone to marry quickly, then he would have no reason to refuse the king's marriage arrangement.
Unless he directly opposes, opposing the monarch he is loyal to is like treason, and the consequences are serious. But is this king a fool? If the second prince becomes stronger, he will fight the eldest prince to the death.
Since this world has established the order of succession and this cannot be changed, what could have caused the king to allow his two sons to cause internal strife?
Besides, his forced marriage would definitely make the nobles feel a sense of crisis.
"Father, isn't the king afraid that after the second prince marries Alice, he and the eldest prince will kill each other?" Gervis asked puzzledly.
"You are wrong, Gervis! The king is also a high-ranking golden knight! As long as he lives, the eldest and second princes will be under his control."
"The Earldom of Jones occupies a quarter of the most fertile land in the kingdom, and also has the unique magic rose."
"Before, when the old earl was here, no one dared to act rashly. But the old earl has been missing for so long, the king is getting impatient! As long as the second prince can marry Alice, in a few decades, this rich territory will belong to the Gene family."
Gandalf ate the smoked ham on his plate with great relish, answering Gervais's questions as he ate.
"Now that Alice has married you, this situation will no longer happen. Even if the decree reaches the territory, I believe the herald will not dare to announce it."
"Because that would bring shame to the royal family! You don't have to worry too much. To the king or the second prince, you are too weak, just like an ant under an eagle. They won't pay any extra attention to you!"
Hearing this, Gervase felt a little relieved. Gandalf was right. To the king and the second prince, Gervase was too insignificant. He was just a pawn used by Alice to stop them from seizing the Earldom of Jones.
Even if there is no Gervis, the Countess can find Anvis or Ganvis. Of course, if Gervis is not a vassal of the Alice family, but a great noble.
Then, they would definitely be retaliated against by the king, because if any great noble formed an alliance with Alice at this time and disrupted the king's plan, it would mean that they were forming an alliance with Alice to fight against the king, which would be a completely different matter.
But even though I am still just a small ant in their eyes at this moment, I still have to be on guard.
After all, the history of the earth tells him that sometimes the superiors don't bother to bother with ants, but there are always some lackeys who will take the initiative to cause trouble for the ants in order to curry favor with their masters.
"Then father, why doesn't the king use force to seize territory?"
After warning himself not to be careless, Gervais continued to ask Gandalf questions, but as soon as he asked this question, Gervais secretly cursed himself for asking an unnecessary question.
Because this is a standard world of aristocratic fiefdom, every great noble has his own vassal. If a noble sees that his vassal is wealthy and directly robs him, then this noble will definitely not be able to gain a foothold in the future.
Gandalf was as serious as ever. When he heard what Gervis said, he smiled and replied, "Gaining benefits through clever means is a skill that all nobles must learn."
"But if one seizes his vassal by force, then this noble will be despised by everyone. If the king dares to use force to seize the Earldom of Jones, then the Principality of Jean will inevitably fall into turmoil. Several other principalities will surely take advantage of the situation!"
(End of this chapter)
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