After leaving the auction house, Martin immediately saw Betan waiting at the door. Seeing Martin coming out, Betan hurried forward to salute and said respectfully, "Master, Miss Reina has been safely returned to the academy."
Martin nodded slightly, holding the incubator in his hand, and left with Eric and others.
Along the way, nobles kept trying to come forward to talk to him, but Martin politely declined them one by one.
Soon, Martin and his group arrived at Courtyard No. 3.
Martin went forward and knocked gently on the door. After a moment, the voice of Earl White came from inside.
Martin directly stated his purpose, and then Earl White opened the door and welcomed Martin and his party in.
After everyone was seated, Martin got straight to the point and said, "Father, Her Highness Avril just came to me and asked for my help."
When Earl White heard this, his expression instantly became agitated, and he quickly said, "Martin, don't agree to this!"
Seeing Martin's puzzled expression, Earl White hesitated for a moment, but continued, "Her Highness Avril intends to rebel."
Martin was shocked. He had never thought about it in this way before.
After all, it was extremely rare for a woman to ascend the throne on this continent, let alone through usurpation. Martin couldn't help but blurt out, "Father, has Her Highness Avril gone mad?"
Earl White looked solemn and spoke in a heavy voice, "She's not crazy. From what I've heard, she has many people supporting her. I even think she might have known that the king was aware of her plot, but she still insisted on launching this rebellion. I really can't understand the reason."
Martin listened to his father and nodded slowly. He knew that the higher he stood, the farther he could see, and the more inside information he would know.
However, Martin asked meaningfully: "Father, if that's the case, do you think I should support her?"
Upon hearing this, Earl White looked at Martin in astonishment. He had already explained the matter so thoroughly, yet Martin still raised such a question.
After a brief silence, Earl White said with a hint of resignation, "You are already an adult. It's time for you to make your own decisions. As for what to do, you decide for yourself."
After he finished speaking, he slowly stood up, turned around and left the living room, no longer paying attention to Martin and his group.
At this time, only Martin and others were left in the living room. The atmosphere was a little solemn, and Martin fell into deep thought.
Afterwards, Martin took Eric and others back to Courtyard No. 1.
But as soon as he returned, servants from the palace hurried over and respectfully invited Martin to the palace to meet the king.
Martin thought to himself, these things really happened one after another. In desperation, he had to take Eric and his group with him and go to the palace with the servants.
Along the way, they passed through a series of heavily guarded checkpoints, and soon arrived at the magnificent throne room.
At this time, King Charlemagne was sitting majestically on the throne, with many nobles who had already met the king standing beside him.
Martin led Eric and his group to the front steadily and performed a standard aristocratic salute according to etiquette.
King Charlemagne's gaze fell on Martin, his eyes full of admiration, and he said, "Martin White, I've heard your name a thousand times, but I've never met you in person. Now that I see you, I can see you're truly extraordinary. What an outstanding young man!"
Martin quickly responded humbly: "Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty."
King Charlemagne smiled kindly and then asked, "Martin, you don't mind me calling you that, do you?"
Martin immediately replied respectfully, "It is truly an honor for me to be addressed by Your Majesty, Your Majesty."
The king laughed heartily after hearing this. "Martin, please don't blame me, an old man, for not letting you stay in the palace."
Martin quickly stated that he had no intention of complaining.
The two men seemed to have a friendly conversation for a while, and when the time was right, King Charlemagne raised his hand and waved gently.
Instantly, the nobles and attendants present understood and respectfully withdrew. A moment later, only the king and Martin and his entourage remained in the vast throne room.
King Charlemagne narrowed his eyes slightly, staring intently at Martin, and said slowly, "My good-for-nothing daughter has come to see you, hasn't she?" Martin responded calmly, "Yes, Your Majesty."
King Charlemagne leaned back in his chair, examined Martin, and said slowly, "Martin, you are a smart man, an ambitious man, and a powerful man. To be honest, in a few years, I estimate that even the royal family will find it difficult to suppress you."
"But fortunately, the royal family can still control you at the moment. Therefore, I have signed the authorization document and decided to make you the Grand Duke of the Western Territory. After the New Year, you will marry my youngest daughter."
Upon hearing this, Martin quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind, and then did not agree immediately. Instead, he said calmly, "Your Majesty, I believe you should know about my marriage with the Duke of Merlin's family?"
King Charlemagne's expression remained unchanged as he nodded slightly.
Seeing this, Martin continued, "If Your Majesty insists on marrying the Princess to me, then I'm afraid the Princess will have to be relegated to the position of Second Wife, and she will have to pay me 10 million gold coins. I wonder if Your Majesty agrees to this?"
Unexpectedly, King Charlemagne was not angry. His expression remained calm, but there was an elusive light in his eyes, as if he was thinking about something.
The entire throne room fell into a brief and solemn silence, as if the air had frozen at this moment, waiting only for the king's response to break the silence.
The king stared at Martin and slowly said, "Yes. But from now on, Martin White, you must not invade or cross even an inch of the royal territory. You must ensure the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Charlemagne."
"In addition, I will exempt your territory from taxes. You can plan your own expansion, and the kingdom will not interfere. However, if Charlemagne's kingdom is invaded by other countries and reaches the royal territory, you must provide free assistance."
Martin paused in thought after hearing this, quickly calculating the pros and cons. This seemed like a deal, but in reality, it was fraught with complexities.
The tax exemption will allow him to have more resources for the development of his territory, and the free expansion gives him great power space, but the promise to the king behind it also means many restrictions.
However, after weighing the pros and cons, this was still a very attractive condition for him. After thinking for a moment, Martin slowly nodded, indicating that he agreed with the king's proposal.
However, King Charlemagne's move actually had a deeper meaning. He knew that the strength of Martin's dragoons was enough to turn the tide of the battle.
Especially in the current situation, if Martin's dragon knights go to aid Avril, the situation will become a complete dead end.
Therefore, he dealt with Martin on the surface, and made various promises and gestures of goodwill, but he just wanted to stabilize Martin and let his dragon knights stay put and not help Avril.
As long as the ancestor breaks through, then...
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