Finally, the grand banquet came to an end and the guests left the capital one after another.
Guild President Pro had something to do and left early. As the guests left one after another, Martin deliberately kept three people including Duke Merlin and Viscount Gore, the maternal clan of his mother, Lady Ellie.
Afterwards, everyone came to the small conference room next to the throne room. Martin, Duke Merlin, two others, and Viscount Gore sat down together and drank tea leisurely.
After a while, Martin gently put down the teacup. Seeing this, the other four people also hurriedly put down the cups in their hands.
Martin smiled and took out four edicts, handing them to the four of them according to the names on them.
These three edicts granted the three men the title of duke. Although they did not enjoy some privileges, they could enjoy all the wealth, and the areas around their locations were divided among them to form their own duchies.
Upon hearing this, the three men immediately knelt on the ground and expressed their loyalty, saying, "Your Majesty's grace, we will remember it in our hearts."
Martin waved his hand, gently motioning for them to stand up, and said, "These are all what you deserve. No need to be polite. However, let me be frank. Now that I've given you these things, you must refrain from doing such immoral things in the future. Do you understand?"
The three of them nodded hurriedly, vowing that they would explain the interests involved to the family in the future and strictly restrain the behavior of their members.
After hearing this, Martin nodded with satisfaction.
The things have already been given to them. If they still don't know how to restrain themselves and bring about their own destruction, then don't blame him for being ruthless.
At this time, Duke Merlin hesitated and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, is there something wrong with this decree?"
Martin turned his head and looked at Duke Merlin calmly. He shook his head and said affirmatively, "No problem. This is the decision I made after discussing it with Queen Jovian."
"Since the Merlin family has always been eager to get involved in the affairs of the Legion, let the Merlin family form a legion on their own and incorporate it into the Imperial Legion."
"But one thing must be made clear: the Merlin family's army must not set foot outside the Dukedom of Merlin. I believe the decree clearly states this."
Hearing these words, Duke Merlin broke out in a cold sweat and immediately knelt on the ground in fear and trepidation.
Martin looked at the other three people and motioned them to go out first, then asked Duke Merlin to stand up and take a seat.
"Duke Merlin, when I was still weak, no matter what your purpose was, you always took good care of me."
"But your Merlin family has relied on its relationship with Jovian to act recklessly and commit evil. I have always tolerated this and turned a blind eye."
"However, you have repeatedly attempted to interfere in the affairs of the local garrison. This is truly too arrogant."
"In that case, I will grant you permission to form a legion for the Merlin family, which you will command."
"I want to see how far you can go and whether you have the ability to conquer the Dukedom of Merlin."
Upon hearing this, Duke Merlin subconsciously prepared to kneel down again.
This time, Martin did not let him kneel, but used his divine power to gently support Duke Merlin.
She gestured for him to sit on the chair and continued, "Duke Merlin, I will naturally give the Queen my respect, especially after she gave birth to my son Peter. You do have some capital to be willful."
"In that case, I will grant you this privilege. I look forward to seeing whether the Merlin family will destroy themselves or grow stronger through this."
After saying that, Martin pushed the imperial edict in front of Duke Merlin. At this moment, Duke Merlin's face was extremely ugly.
Duke Merlin slowly raised his head and met His Majesty's gaze, only to see Martin looking at him in the same way.
Duke Merlin had a complicated expression, nodded with difficulty, and said in a low voice: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward."
Martin didn't say anything else, then stood up and prepared to leave.
At this moment, Duke Merlin suddenly called Martin, with a hint of pleading in his voice: "Your Majesty, if the Merlin family gives up the title, can you please let the Merlin family go this time."
After hearing this, Martin paused slightly, but did not respond and left.
On the other side, Xingchen was having a pleasant conversation with the representatives of the elves.
Xingchen said enthusiastically, "Ancestor, why don't you all just not return to the secret realm? I'll talk to His Majesty and arrange an exclusive area for you so the elves can live in peace."
The two elf ancestors smiled and shook their heads, saying, "Xingchen, we are safe in the secret realm."
"Although the outside world is beautiful, it also hides dangers. We don't want to expose our remaining people to unknown risks."
"Perhaps continuing to live in the secret realm like the angels would be a better choice for us."
After saying this, the two elf ancestors lovingly hugged Xingchen, then opened a space crack and returned to the secret realm.
At this time, Martin walked over and saw Xingchen gazing into the distance. He instantly realized that the elf representative had left.
Xingchen noticed Martin approaching and ran over happily, hugging him tightly, his eyes full of expectation: "Martin, can you pass a law to ban the buying and selling of elves?"
Martin looked at the stars with gentle eyes, then raised his head and looked into the distance as well.
Pondering the current situation of the empire, he nodded slowly.
When Xingchen saw Martin nod in agreement, a bright smile suddenly broke out on her face, and she happily kissed Martin on the cheek.
Martin smiled indulgently and reached out to gently rub Xingchen's head.
The next day, the empire officially promulgated a law.
The bill clearly stipulates that the trafficking of elves is strictly prohibited within the empire.
For the elf slaves originally distributed in various regions, the relevant owners must bring these elf slaves to the local relevant departments within ten days, and the officials will purchase them and handle them.
At the same time, the bill emphasizes that if elven slaves are still found after the ten-day deadline, the local stationed legion will take direct action to "help" the families that own the slaves to deal with them.
However, out of consideration for the complex factors within the empire, Martin specifically added a clarification in the bill that half-elf slaves were not included in this provision.
After all, most of those who can afford to buy elven slaves are either rich or noble in the empire.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
