Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 141 Unexpected Hostility

Although there is not much similarity in character, Vespa has indeed influenced Tia in many ways. For example, Vespa did not discuss politics at the dinner table. Orville felt that she had become much more talkative after returning from Rome. She used to only talk about necessary matters, but now Tia would take the initiative to bring up the topic with him.

He did not think much about it. He just thought that since they had been separated for a few months, they naturally had a lot to talk about. So he followed her wishes and chatted with her, ranging from the customs and culture of the Germans to the architectural design concepts of Rome. There were many generalists in this era, and Tia was one of them, so the conversation was not boring.

Just as the two sides were chatting to kill time, Jeanna walked in from the main door of the mansion.

If this was a grand mansion of the size of Flavian's palace or the local governor's palace, the two sides probably would not meet. There are many corridors and walls between the main entrance and the reception room. Jeanne only went to the countryside to inspect the situation and then came back here. Subjectively, she did not want to meet Orville.

But this is just a slightly larger villa. Although Orville requisitioned several nearby villas for his officers and bureaucrats to live in for his own safety, his own activity space is only in one of the villas. It is not small, but it is inevitable that the main door faces the reception room and the patio.

So Tia happened to notice Jeanne Dacre pushing the door open, and this incident seemed to trigger a subtle chemical reaction.

Orville had never seen such a subtle and rich series of changes in expression on Tia's face: first a slight surprise, then looking at the other person, looking up and down, then showing a thoughtful expression, and finally speaking to Orville cautiously.

"I heard that you have a pretty good relationship with that person recently?"

Orville is a bit straightforward but that doesn't mean he has a negative EQ: "I can probably imagine what you heard. It's basically all fabricated fake news. For people like us, fake news is just a boring thing that happens every day."

"I rarely see you keep someone by your side. The person who is closest to this treatment should be Belisarius, right? He is honest, kind and loyal. He is indeed a good warrior. But I don't quite understand. Is that woman really worthy of your trust?"

"From a moral point of view, at least you don't have to worry about stabbing me in the back. This is the prerequisite for my cooperation with the other party. As for why I brought him with me to keep an eye on him, this is my father's order. He asked me to keep a close eye on him and take measures if necessary."

Orville couldn't tell Tia the truth and say that he was actually a collector of historical figures and had an excessive sense of morality and wanted to help her get out of the psychological trauma. He could only blame Vespa. After all, the old man had said similar things, so it couldn't be considered a lie.

Tia nodded slightly, reluctantly accepting the explanation. She was not the kind of person who would make trouble, and she trusted Orville very much and didn't think he would lie.

"I understand. I will keep an eye on her in the future to see if she is really a person with high morals, a strong sense of justice, and exceptional moral character as you said in your letter."

When she spoke the last part, Dia couldn't help but become a little emotional and emphasized her tone, because Orville seldom praised others, even if he did, he would use words like "more suitable", "I think", "maybe", etc. However, he was not always like this in his letters about Jeanne, and occasionally he would really praise the other person.

Tia herself had never been praised like this before, so this might have made her a little upset, but she probably didn't even notice it herself.

"I understand. Believe me, you won't be disappointed in the end. She and you have a similar sense of justice and morality. It's rare that you two will have something in common."

"Forget it, there's not much hope," Tia waved her hand at him, "Our cultural backgrounds and life backgrounds are completely different. I'm afraid there will be more conflicts than harmony when we get along with each other." After saying this, Tia drank the wine in the glass and refused the waiter who tried to pour wine for her. The meal was almost over at this point.

Finally, she made another unexpected decision: “I have basically finished my official duties in Paris, and it is not much more difficult than when I was in Palfitte, probably because the bureaucratic system here is more complete and efficient.

I've thought about it for a while, and I'm also planning to move the temporary governor's office to Caen. Can you help me prepare it? Is there any vacant space here?"

"Are you sure? Caen is not suitable as an administrative hub city. The transportation is not that convenient and fast. It is also a bit far from the big cities in the south, which is a bit troublesome."

Tia shook her head and denied, "It's not a big deal. At most, the speed of approving documents will be slow by one or two days. It won't matter if I move to Caen. You build the port here, but the land transportation here is not that good. I will set up the provincial governor's office here and mobilize the soldiers to build another highway from Caen to Paris. In this way, the transportation environment here will be much better.

This is basically a decision. For now, we have to focus on the expedition to Britain. It is acceptable to sacrifice a little administrative efficiency within the province. At most, we can send more postmen, messengers and horses. If you don't want to spend this little money, you can use my private treasury."

Having said that, Orville could no longer do anything about the other party and could only agree to the other party's request.

"Okay, I'll find you a temporary residence first, and then I'll build you a large enough governor's mansion when I have time. It will take a month or two, even if it's remodeled, it will take time."

"Don't bother with that. There's no need to be extravagant. Just use what you have. Do you have space in your villa?"

"Yes, there is. No one lives there except the guards and servants, but it might be a bit crowded for you."

"That's all. This is my request. Don't bother. Just stay here."

".Understood. I understand. I will prepare everything today."

The other party made a strong request, and Orville still couldn't refuse. He could only agree to it first and began to make room for the other party. He was also a little confused about what Tia was doing.

It turned out that the two of them lived under the same roof, but the Flavi Palace was a large house with a positioning similar to that of a palace. He and Tia saw each other every time they looked up or down, and the two rooms were separated by a distance of one or two hundred meters. But now it is not the case. In such a Roman-style courtyard, the straight-line distance between the bedrooms is at most twenty or thirty meters.

"That's it, then. I'll go back and ask someone to bring the documents over. Just prepare a place to put them. I'll be leaving first."

After saying this, Tia stood up and left the house in a hurry, which made Orville feel a little helpless.

(End of this chapter)