my pokemon player.

Gray's decisive voice echoed in the room.

Freya looked at Gray's loyalty and nodded with satisfaction.

This Baron Gray was a hidden chess piece that she had planted in the Flame Lion Knights long ago.

As for the purpose.
Freya raised her chin towards her personal maids and asked them to wait outside the door to avoid being disturbed and eavesdropped.

Then she whispered to Gray, "I believe in your loyalty to me, so don't say those polite words, just report to me directly."

Gray bowed and accepted the order: "Yes, six Flame Lion Knights found me along the way."

"Two of them found me before coming to Firefly Town, and the remaining four contacted me during the banquet."

Hearing this, Freya sneered and said, "Oh, six Flame Lion Knights, it seems that the Iron Guard family has a strong appeal to them."

"My useless brothers are not stupid. At least they know the importance of controlling the army."

"Even the Flame Lion Knights that my father gave me were tampered with by them. There are already six Flame Lion Knights revealed. Who knows how many are hidden in the dark!"

When Gray heard Freya call her brothers trash, his expression did not change at all, but he spoke to comfort them:

"The young masters have already contacted the Knights under the arrangement of the Marquis. It is normal for them to have confidants in the Knights. I don't think they are targeting you on purpose."

"Yeah, that's what I think too. After all, my brothers still love me very much and they expect me to say a few good words for them in front of father."

A mocking smile appeared on Freya's lips, and then she said seriously:
"But there must be no sand in my Cavaliers team. They must be removed one by one."

In the competition for succession to the Flame Lion family, whoever controls the Flame Lion Knights will have the initiative.

Even Freya's brothers knew this, and Freya was no exception.

However, due to her gender, Freya has never had the opportunity to come into contact with the Flame Lion Knights and can only win over some nobles.

Although there are members of the Flame Lion Knights among these nobles, they are too scattered and disorganized.

Moreover, Freya would not place her hopes in these nobles. The nobles today are not the same as before, and the loyalty they talk about is not credible.

Freya never completely believed them, even Gray in front of her.

Of course, compared to those nobles with bad reputations, this outstanding member of the Iron Guard family is still trustworthy.

Even when Freya asked him to dress up as a clown and do something that would damage the family's reputation, Gray carried out the order without hesitation.

Thinking of this, Freya's eyes softened and she had a little more trust in Gray.

"It was thanks to Baron Grey's superb acting skills that these sands hidden in the dark were able to surface on their own initiative."

When Gray heard this, he seemed to think of his poor performance in the past few days and said awkwardly:
"You're overpraising me. My acting skills aren't that great. It's just that the Flame Lion Knights were influenced by your beauty and thought my actions were more reasonable, so they didn't notice anything was wrong."

Freya chuckled and said, "I didn't expect Baron Grey to be able to praise people. If Miss Betty knew about this, she wouldn't be angry, right?"

When Gray heard Freya teasing him, he first showed a shy expression, and then said with a bit of loneliness:

"She may have been disappointed in me by now. Maybe when I return to Lion City, I will receive news of her marriage proposal."

Seeing this, Freya said sincerely: "This is my responsibility. I will explain it to her when I return."

Gray immediately rejected the suggestion: "No, this is a serious matter, we must not let her know about this!"

"If she accidentally leaks the news, the young masters will definitely unite against you, and you will lose the trust of the Marquis!"

"In this case, the Flame Lion Family will have no hope and future at all!"

When Freya heard Gray say this, a confused expression appeared on her face:

"Baron Grey, do you think I can win in the end? Can I make the Flame Lion family more prosperous?"

"Of course you can! You are destined to become the next Lion King of the Flame Lion family and lead us to a glorious future!" Gray said confidently.

Freya hesitated and said, "But, you have also met Viscount Ryan today, right? His talent and ability are much stronger than mine. Can I really defeat such an opponent?"

When Gray heard Freya mention Ryan, he understood why Freya, who was always confident, felt confused. It turned out that she was hit by Ryan.

It seems that Freya was never worried about competing with her brothers. She never took those young masters seriously from the beginning to the end.

Freya is doubting whether she can lead Lion's Roost to survive and grow in this chaotic era after inheriting the territory.

The reason why Freya was so determined in the past was that she had never met any outstanding peers. The nobles around her were all good-for-nothings, and her brothers were also extremely mediocre.

Therefore, Freya is only gentle and decent on the surface, but she is actually very proud in her heart.

She believed that as long as she could inherit the territory, she could make up for her father's regret and completely subdue the nobles in the southeastern province.

Then she gradually expanded outward, step by step expanding the influence of the Flame Lion Family, and even coveted the king's throne, becoming the first queen of the Kingdom of Arad.

However, her dream was beautiful, but reality dealt her a heavy blow.

The sudden rise of Viscount Ryan not only disrupted her plans, but also undermined her self-confidence.

If a monster like Ryan can appear in a southeastern province, are there similar people in other places?

If Ryan continues to develop, Freya will not be able to become the queen of the Kingdom of Arad, and she won't even be able to control the southeastern province.

Freya, who has had a smooth life since childhood, has never encountered such a difficult problem, so it is not surprising that she feels a little confused.

At this time, someone needs to stand up and encourage Freya and strengthen her confidence.

So Gray said, "Viscount Ryan has great potential, but not all potential can be transformed into strength."

"His strengths are his talent and potential, but his weakness is his weak family background. The gap between your starting point and his is like a chasm."

"Even if he tries his best to catch up, it will take a long time. I believe that by then you will have already become the lion king of the Flame Lion family, and you will not give him time to develop."

"So please don't underestimate yourself. Family background is also part of your potential. Overall, you are no worse than Viscount Ryan. In some aspects, you are even better than him."

Freya smiled bitterly and said, "Family heritage. Didn't you see those two Dragonites flying in the sky during the day?"

"Our Flame Lion family only has one Armored Dragonite, but Ryan was able to subdue two Dragonites. Whose family has a stronger foundation?" Gray was speechless when he heard this: "This..."

After a moment, he continued, "The Scourge Beast is very powerful, but it is only a part of the family's heritage."

"Besides that, Viscount Ryan's financial resources, manpower, territory, army, and connections are far inferior to yours."

"Besides, you will have the opportunity to subdue the Scourge Beast in the future. I believe that you can do what Viscount Ryan can do!"

"The most important thing is that you have to have confidence in yourself. If your will is shaken, then we, the families that follow you, will be completely despairing."

Freya's heart tightened when she heard Gray's last words.

Yes, the reason why Gray and other families followed her was because they believed that she could lead the Flame Lion family to glory.

If she herself does not have this confidence, then there is no need for these families to follow her, and the power she has gathered with great difficulty will be at risk of collapse.

What happened to her today? She actually exposed her vulnerability and confusion to her subordinates. This is a taboo for the lord!
Why did she make such a low-level mistake? Could it be that she was really influenced by Ryan?
Freya didn't think any more about it. The most important thing at the moment was to restore her image.

She met Gray's gaze and said firmly:
"You are right. As the future lion king of the Flame Lion family, I will not be afraid or retreat even when facing a powerful enemy!"

"Viscount Ryan is a good opponent, but he can't withstand the attack of the lions because he doesn't have a loyal guard like Baron Grey!"

Gray was deeply moved when he heard this, and he immediately knelt on one knee, pounding his chest with his right hand and said:
"Your will is the direction we move forward!"

Freya raised her hand to support him: "Get up, I believe in your loyalty and your family's vision."

"Your family has chosen the right lion king twice, so I'm sure you won't make the wrong choice this time."

Gray did not respond modestly when he heard this, but said proudly:
"You are right. The one our Crocodile Family will pledge allegiance to will definitely be the future Lion King!"

Freya nodded first, then said with interest:
"You've chosen the right lion king twice in a row. Do you have any special skills in your Crocodile Family?"

Gray smiled helplessly: "If our family had this skill, we would have risen long ago, and we wouldn't be called nouveau riche by other families."

Freya asked curiously, "So, you were lucky to be able to choose a team the first two times? You chose me this time just to try your luck?"

Gray shook his head: "I don't know if our first two choices were luck, but our choice this time was definitely not luck."

"Among all the heirs, only you have the ability to lead the Flame Lion Family."

"As for the other gentlemen, please forgive me for being blunt, but they are not worthy of being the Lion King at all!"

Listening to Gray's blunt words, Freya's lips curled up slightly:

"If my brothers heard this, they would be sad. After all, they have been seeking the loyalty of your Crocodile Family."

"Our play hasn't even been going on for a few days, and their cronies can't wait to jump out and try to win you over. This shows how attractive you are to them."

Gray said with disdain, "You gentlemen just want the reputation of our Crocodile Family for choosing the right Lion King twice in a row, so as to gain the support of other families."

"But they seem to have forgotten one thing. Only the Marquis can choose his successor. The more they promote our family, the less likely the Marquis will choose who we are loyal to."

Freya nodded with a complicated expression and said, "Yes, my father has always been proud and will never be swayed by other people's opinions."

"And for the sake of the future of the Flame Lion family, he will not choose who you will be loyal to, so as to prevent your family from being overly mythical."

Gray's heart sank when he heard this, and just as he was about to explain, he was interrupted by Freya's wave of hand.

"I know what you want to say, but don't worry. My father is old and no longer has the ambition he had when he was young, so he is wary of the families below him."

"Humph, if you don't even trust your own lion group, what kind of lion king are you? A true lion king is not afraid of any challenge."

"Even if your family has chosen the Lion King three times in a row, I will still use you and welcome your challenge!"

Freya turned her gaze to Gray in front of her. Her pair of golden eyes were as hot as the sun, igniting Gray's heart.

He said excitedly: "I swear by the honor and bloodline of the Crocodile Family that I will always be loyal to you, be your fangs and claws, and clear all obstacles for you until you are crowned king!"

Freya was very happy when she heard Gray's oath.

Although Gray had secretly joined her early on, he never swore allegiance to her.

Freya knew that the Crocodile Family was testing her, and this was the key to their successive selection of the Lion King. No one would really think that they were just lucky the first two times.

Fortunately, my past performance was pretty good, and those brothers were really disappointing.

Coupled with the opportunity of this diplomatic mission, Gray and his family made up their minds to support himself.

In doing so, she gained the loyalty of the Crocodile Family, one of the six Iron Guard families.

You must know that the six Iron Guard families are the right-hand men of Marquis Cross and the families he trusts the most. They can influence Cross's decision to a certain extent.

Not to mention that the six Iron Guard families also possess impressive military strength, which means that whoever can gain the loyalty of the Iron Guard family has the potential to become the next Lion King.

Therefore, Freya's brothers have been trying every means to win the support of the six Iron Guard families.

However, among the six Iron Guard families, three families are only loyal to the Lion King. Their families have a long heritage and profound foundation, so they naturally do not need to expand the family by supporting heirs.

These three families never participate in the competition for succession. They support whoever Marquis Cross chooses.

Because of this, these three families have always been the Iron Guards of the Lion King. This has never changed since the Flame Lion Family took control of the Southeast Province, and they are called the Upper Iron Guards.

The other three Iron Guard families do not have this status. Their changes are extremely frequent and they belong to the lower-level Iron Guard.

Whenever a new Lion King ascends the throne, he will have his cronies replace the lower-ranking Iron Guard families of the old Lion King.

Therefore, in order to avoid being replaced, these three Iron Guard families had no choice but to participate in the competition for succession.

However, since ancient times, the risks of participating in the competition for succession have been very high. If you make the right choice, it's fine. But if you make the wrong choice, the entire family may be destroyed.

The Iron Guard family, which was replaced by the Grey family, stood on the wrong side in the last competition for succession.

Although the Marquis of Clos was broad-minded and preserved their family heritage, they also suffered heavy losses and never recovered.

In short, the lower-ranking Iron Guard families may seem to have unlimited glory, but in fact they are extremely risky, so they will not make a choice easily. (End of this chapter)