Bastin quickly adjusted his identity from a fellow traveler to the Marquis's employee.

There's nothing shameful about it.

Many people would rather serve a marquis than ask for it.

On the way to the royal city, there were many refugees, and troops could be seen galloping from time to time.

"count."

Bastin said, "The Cologne people have already fought near the royal city. I heard that many nobles in Gangdo have fled to other countries."

“It should be cheap to buy property at this time.”

He was a coachman who often went to the royal city. Although his status was low, he knew a lot of gossip.

"Yeah." Karl nodded: "How are the housing prices in the northern suburbs?"

"Northern Suburbs?" Bastin thought for a moment and said:

"I rarely go there, but I heard that they are all manors of big shots, and the prices... should have dropped."

"But even if it's reduced, it's still not cheap."

Carl used to live in Signo City, where the price of a suburban manor ranged from one thousand to three thousand gold coins, including decoration and most of the furnishings inside.

The housing prices in the royal capital are several times higher than those in Signo City.

Even if the price drops, it probably won't be less than 5,000 gold coins, a number that many wealthy businessmen cannot save in their entire lives.

As for ordinary people...

I dare not even think about it.

"Bastin!"

"exist."

"Pull the carriage aside."

"……yes."

Bastin was a little surprised, but he still stopped the carriage obediently and pulled it to the edge of the road.

When he finished his work, a noise came from the front, followed by hundreds of soldiers rushing towards the people on the road.

"What?"

"What are you doing?"

“…”

There was chaos on the road.

"Recruiting soldiers!" A man dressed as a sergeant riding on a tall horse held up a notice and shouted loudly:

"The king has issued an order that all men between the ages of thirteen and fifty-five must go to the battlefield."

"Catch him!"

The soldiers, like wolves and tigers, rushed into the crowd and, ignoring the cries of women and children, captured all the men who met the requirements.

"you!"

Two of them came to the carriage and yelled at Bastin and Karl: "Get down quickly."

Bastin's face turned pale and his body trembled. If he went to the front line, Rita would have no one to take care of her.

Given his physical condition, joining the army would be tantamount to suicide.

"how?"

Karl sat upright in the carriage, pointed at the noble emblem hung on the carriage, frowned and asked:

"Can the army forcibly recruit nobles?"

"Noble?" The soldier sneered: "If you say so, then so?"

"..." Karl was speechless, then shook his head gently:

"Understood."

"Send your person in charge here."

His voice was not loud, but the expressions of the two men changed, and the look they gave him was as if they were looking at a terrifying beast.

Fighting spirit!

And it’s the fighting spirit of a great knight!

They were all soldiers who had just come down from the battlefield, so they naturally knew what a great knight represented.

Not long.

An officer hurried over, his eyes narrowed when he saw the noble badge, and he lowered his head and saluted respectfully:

"Respected Earl, please forgive the soldiers' ignorance. They... are just following orders."

"Hmm..." Carl had a blank expression on his face. "You are very tolerant towards your subordinates, but who can I go to for justice if I am really forcibly taken to the battlefield?"

"If I die on the battlefield, will you be responsible for the consequences?"

"This..." The officer's face changed and he said anxiously:

"Count, there are commanding officers on the battlefield to verify the identity, as well as people from the Noble Council. We are willing to make compensation."

As he said this, he untied the purse at his waist and handed it over respectfully.

"I never thought that even the army of Gangdo has become so corrupt." Karl did not take the money bag, but sighed and shook his head:

"No wonder the battle is going badly."

From church priests to aristocratic parliaments and even military generals, everyone seemed to have become accustomed to bribery.

Just more...

It's rotten from top to bottom! "My Lord Earl."

The officer's face flushed, and after thinking for a moment, he took out an invitation card: "There is a party on the outskirts of the city tonight. The participants include the Grand Duke, the Marquis, and several important military figures. There will be many good things to be traded at the party. You may be interested."

Karl glanced at the invitation: "Bastin, accept it."

"yes."

"Let's go!"

"yes."

The carriage was on the road again, and the soldiers on the road hurriedly made way to both sides, watching the few people go away.

* * * Yunlai Manor.

This name, which was so different from the 'Gondo style', made Carl feel dazed for a moment.

It was already evening.

It was too late to rush to the royal city, so we decided to stay here, rest for a night and continue our journey tomorrow.

"Count Karl."

The manor steward checked the invitation and said:

"Your servant may stay in the room over there. Do you need a female companion to accompany you?"

If necessary, he would arrange for Rita to wait in the upstairs guest room.

"Need not."

Carl shook his head:

"Prepare some food for them."

"Of course." The butler nodded. "Dinner will begin soon. We have prepared exquisite food for the guests' entourage."

"Please!"

At this time, the sky had begun to darken, and the lights in the manor were turned on early. The uniquely shaped crystal chandeliers hanging from the dome were dazzling.

"Light!"

A beautiful woman with a plump figure came up and said:

“The people of Cologne have brought a lot of hardship to this country, but they have also brought a lot of good things to the world.”

"Like electricity..."

"Things that were once controlled only by gods have now entered thousands of households, allowing people to enjoy the light that only exists during the day at night."

"Yes." Carl nodded: "Technology changes life."

"That's a very good point!" The woman's eyes lit up. "Dear Earl, do you mind if I use this as the headline of tomorrow's daily news?"

"Newsday?" Carl tilted his head.

"Yes." The woman bowed her head. "I forgot to introduce myself. I am Charlene from the Churchill family, the wife of Viscount Murray, and the current editor-in-chief of Newsday."

Charlene.

Independent women of the new era.

A graduate of the first batch of Kingdom University and also an independent writer.

"Can."

Carl nodded:

"It was just a casual remark."

"Maybe this will spread widely." Charlene shrugged.

"I don't know what to call you?"

"Carl." Karl said:

"Karl of the Bergmann family."

Seeing the other party frowning and thinking about the origin of Bergman, he couldn't help but chuckle:

"Don't worry too much. My family is not very prominent, and I only recently spent money to upgrade my title."

"Count Karl is really...sincere." Charlene paused:

"Now is indeed a good opportunity to be promoted to a noble."

In the past, if you wanted to be promoted to a higher rank, you had to make great contributions to the kingdom. Now, you have the chance as long as you spend money.

certainly,

Can only be promoted to earl.

It was beyond Charlene's expectation that the other party would be so frank about his origins as an earl. There were only two reasons for this.

The first one is that the other party’s IQ is insufficient.

The second type is that the other party doesn’t care much about how the title came about, or may not even care about the title.

"Charlene."

"Um."

"You are the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, so you should be well-informed, right?" Karl said slowly, "I want to buy a manor in the northern suburbs of the royal city to live in for retirement. I wonder if you can introduce a channel."

"If the deal is successful, part of the price will be used as your compensation."

"North Suburb Manor?" Charlene thought for a moment.

"Many people have gone to other kingdoms over the years, and some people are indeed selling manors, but I need some time to confirm."

“No problem.” Karl paused, and suddenly looked towards a figure in the field: “Le Miller, is she coming down too?”

"The Count must have recognized the wrong person." Charlene shook her head. " That was Bishop Louis of the Vatican. However, this female bishop has always stayed in the Vatican and rarely comes down. This is indeed a rare occasion. It's a pity that she didn't accept the interview, otherwise I would like to ask her how she became a bishop at such a young age."

Carl smiled and didn't respond.

Of course he didn't recognize the wrong person, because Ray Miller also looked in his direction just now.

bishop?

Is n't it normal for an angel who descended to earth to serve as a bishop in the Vatican?

Remiele is an angel. Carl had had two encounters with her, and she had just become an angel at that time.

(End of this chapter)