Imperial Crown.

Chapter 150: Viscount Selection

Outside the Fox family's temporary residence, Raven stood quietly.

His visiting card had been delivered by the gatekeeper.

Looking at this temporary station, Raven exclaimed:
"Tsk, it's really impressive."

After all, they are a count's family. Even if it is a temporary base, they will not just set up tents like a temporary legion, but occupy the government building in the old city.

This used to be a three-story castle. After it was converted into a government building, the city walls were demolished, but the overall scale remains grand, with an old and solemn atmosphere after years of erosion.

Raven's visit to the Fox family today was not a spur of the moment decision.

He wants to gain more benefits for himself.

There is no doubt that from the outside world's perspective, since Raven has accepted the transfer order from the Slater family, he will definitely stand on the side of the Slater family.

Raven wanted to break this prejudice and make the Fox family realize that he was not loyal to Slater and that he had the intention and possibility to cooperate with the Fox family.

Even if the Fox family cannot be a help to him, it is best not to become an obstacle to his sharing of the spoils of war.

Just then, a gust of wind blew and woke Raven up.

His brows furrowed slightly.

It's been a bit too long.

The soldier who had delivered the visiting card into the castle had returned to the door to stand guard, but he did not look away and did not even glance at Raven.

The nobles passing by looked at Raven and began to whisper and point fingers at each other.

Raven looked up at the sky and continued to wait without changing his expression.

At the same time, on the second floor of the castle, Gul'dan shook his wine glass and looked down at Raven through the window.

Now that the Fox family has entered the scene with great force, there is an endless stream of visitors, and nobles are coming in and out of the door. Raven is like an inconspicuous stone in the river, all alone.

"Isn't your Angel's Tears supposed to represent the Nord Province?" Gul'dan said with a scornful smile: "How come you can't even enter my house now?"

At the initial press conference, Gul'dan was quite dissatisfied with Raven's double-faced behavior.

What made him even more sick was Raven's reputation.

As the first and only recipient of the First Class Medal of Valor in this war, Raven's reputation has become well-known recently.

He is so popular that he is simply the number one person of the younger generation in Nord Province!
Where does this put Gul'dan?

Gul'dan picked up Raven's visiting card on the table and gently stroked the paper with his fingers, the smile on his lips becoming even more intense.

Five hundred bottles of Angel's Tears, plus three thousand gold coins, this is far more than the annual income of an ordinary baron family.

The fact that he could come up with these was enough to show Raven's sincerity.

The more this happened, the more Gul'dan wanted Raven to wait a little longer so that he could reflect deeply on his mistakes.

In Gul'dan's view, responding to the call of the Slater family was a crime in itself.

The Fox family certainly welcomes the opportunity to "turn from darkness to light".

However, although the Fox family is broad-minded, it does not mean they are weak and can be bullied!

The longer Raven stood there, the more he could tell the other nobles - don't be complacent, the Slater family is finished now, and so what if he is the recipient of the Empire's First Class Medal of Bravery? Don't he still have to stand in front of the door honestly?

Time passed by bit by bit, the sky began to darken, and Raven still stood there.

"Ha, you're smart." Seeing that the time was almost up, Gul'dan straightened his clothes and turned to go downstairs.

However, when he reached the door, Raven was gone.

Gul'dan frowned and asked the gatekeeper, "Where are the Ravens?"

"There, my Lord."

The gatekeeper pointed and Gul'dan looked in that direction and found that Raven had turned and left, his back gradually disappearing into the crowd.

Gul'dan frowned and anger rose in his heart.

I came to greet you in person, and you dared to leave? What do you think of the Fox family! ?
A curse flowed out from between his teeth: "You bastard..."

The soldier didn't hear clearly: "Sir, what did you say?"

Gul'dan took a deep breath, looked at Raven's back and said loudly:
"Look at that guy, does he look like a dog?"

For a moment, the eyes of everyone passing by fell on Raven.

Raven paused slightly, then strode forward and left without looking back.

Waiting at the door is polite.

Leaving now is for the sake of one's own dignity.

Gul'dan returned to the castle and asked the kitchen to make his favorite duck confit, which he ate happily with Angel's Tears.

Looking at the clear wine in the glass, Gul'dan raised his lips to smile contemptuously: "Raven, Raven, do you think you have guts just by turning around and walking away?"

"Dignity is something you have to fight for yourself!"

Raven is just a small baron with no power or background. Does he really think he is important?

He wouldn't think that he could become a viscount just by relying on his fame, right?
"There can only be one Viscount in this war, and that's me!"

When he finished his meal, Gul'dan used Raven's visiting card as a napkin to wipe his hands and threw them into the trash can.

The sky also became completely dark.

"Master Guldan, Count Montreal and Bishop Thomas are back."

After hearing the servant's report, Gul'dan straightened his clothes and prepared to go and greet them.

However, unlike usual times, Montreal's pace was particularly hurried today. As soon as Guldan got downstairs, he saw his father.

He stepped forward with great joy: "Father, you..."

As soon as he opened his mouth, Gul'dan realized something was wrong, because the face of Count Montreal did not show the joy of victory, but was as gloomy as a dark cloud.

Montreal said, "Follow me."

Gul'dan had a bad feeling in his heart, but he followed him anyway. Thomas followed slowly behind him and came to the study.

Montreal and Thomas sat down facing each other, while Guldan stood behind his father.

After a slight hesitation, Montreal said in a deep voice: "You can't get your viscount title."

This sentence was like a bolt from the blue, leaving Gul'dan dumbfounded: "...Why?"

Father Thomas said succinctly: "Earl Tyrone produced the Royal Order of His Majesty the King. His mobilization of the Iron Legion this time is completely reasonable and legal. On the contrary, the Governor of Montreal may be charged with poor governance."

"He used this as a threat to give your share of the war achievements to Hyde."

Gul'dan's mind was in a mess, his face became extremely ugly, and he looked quite dazed.

How could the viscount who was about to be obtained be lost just like that?

"Count Montreal, you don't have to worry too much." As if he didn't see Gul'dan, Thomas continued: "In my opinion, the reason why Count Tyrone made this gesture today is that he wants to negotiate and exchange interests with you, rather than really wanting to take away your title of governor."

"I've figured this out, too." Montreal nodded. "It won't be good for the Slater family if I lose the title of Governor."

His Majesty the King is not an idiot. If the governor is handed over to Tyrone, it means that the military and political power of the entire Nord Province will be in the hands of the Slater family, which is no different from establishing an independent country.

So if Montreal loses the Governor General title, there could be two possible outcomes.

The first is that Talon will become the governor of the Nord province, but in order to maintain a check and balance, His Majesty the King will definitely uproot the Slater family's influence from the Iron Legion, which is absolutely unacceptable to the Slater family.

The second is to directly send a court earl or an earl from other provinces to serve in another place. This person must be the king's close confidant. This will directly change the current two-power confrontation in the Nord province. Having one more person to share the cake is not in the interests of the Slater family.

Gul'dan also thought of this: "If that's the case, why should we give up the title of Viscount?"

"Because it's just not worth it for the Slater family." Thomas said lightly: "For your Fox family, it's a real loss."

Montreal sighed, "Yeah, if it really comes to that, it will just be a matter of who suffers less loss - in this regard, we will definitely lose more."

"Not only will you most likely not get the title of Viscount, you will also lose your position as Governor."

The title of Governor of Montreal was somewhat unworthy of the title, but it was precisely because of the position of Governor and the power of administration that the Fox family was able to confront the Slater family. If they lost this title, the Fox family would lose its influence in the three counties and become a truly isolated family.

Gul'dan swallowed. "Is there no way to have the best of both worlds?"

"...No." Thomas said, "It was indeed an unexpectedly good move for Earl Tyrone to obtain the royal order from His Majesty the King."

Montreal knew that Father Thomas was right.

The most correct thing to do now is to stop fighting and give the credit to Hyde, using this as a price to gain more military merits and fiefs for the nobles who followed the Fox family.

But Montreal just couldn't swallow this.

He cooperated with Father Thomas and made all kinds of plans, just to make the Slater family fall and suffer a great loss!
The Slaters did stumble, but suddenly gold was dug out of the mud.

Not only did he not suffer any loss, but he also gained the greatest benefits.

On the contrary, it was Montreal who was caught between the royal family and the Church of Light, unable to advance or retreat!
"I can give the military achievement to Tyrone's son." Montreal said, "but I can't let him get the title of Viscount so easily."

"Push the other guy and fight Hyde!"

This decision was not rational, but it was just right for Thomas, as a split Nordic province was more in line with the interests of the Holy See.

"So what are you going to do? You can't just nominate someone from the Fox family. This will only make Tyrone act like he's ready to fight to the bitter end."

Gul'dan realized that he could not become a viscount, and began to follow the other's thinking: "In this case, why not nominate Baron Roger, or Baron Florence?"

Both of them are vassals of the Fox family.

"No." Montreal shook his head and said, "Although their loyalty is unquestionable, their contributions in this war are too small to be compared with Hyde."

Gul'dan was stunned and mentioned several nobles who were not so close to him but were also loyal to Fox, but they were all rejected by Montreal one by one.

"Then there really is no one left, father." Gul'dan said with a bitter face: "These are the families that are closest to us and have contributed the most. It would be even more inappropriate to bypass them and nominate someone else."

The atmosphere in the study became depressing, and Montreal's brows furrowed more and more.

Thomas sighed in his heart. He didn't expect Montreal's vision to be so small. He had to remind them: "In that case, just choose people from the four temporary legions."

Gul'dan said: "Archbishop Thomas, please forgive my rudeness, but the coalition forces are all from the Slater family..."

"No, wait." Montreal raised his palms, a gleam in his eyes: "This is indeed a good idea."

Anyway, the purpose of nominating other nobles is to make trouble for the Slater family. Since they can't start with their own people, they can just poach people from the Slater family.

His Slater family does not have succubus bloodline, so it is impossible for all the nobles to be completely loyal to them.

Moreover, this will not only make Earl Tyrone disgusted, but also bring new help to the Fox family!
"If you put it that way, there should be a candidate already." Montreal looked at Thomas: "Is he also a member of the Church of Light?"

Thomas shook his head: "His faith is the same as yours, and his loyalty to the Lord of Light is unquestionable."

What he meant was that the person he was going to nominate was like all the nobles, and would not hesitate to cooperate with the Church of Light for the sake of profit.

"Who is he?"

"Raven, Raven Ota Griffith!"

After saying this, before Montreal could do anything, Guldan immediately shouted, "Who!?"

Montreal glanced at him and thought his son was making a fuss. He turned to Thomas and said, "I've heard of this man before. He seems to be the baron of Eagle Territory? He seems to be a magician."

"Angel Tears and Angel Kisses produced by Eagle Territory have become famous recently."

"Moreover, he has made quite a splash in this war. He is the best among the younger generation in terms of both military achievements and reputation. He is indeed a strong contender for the title of Viscount."

"However, I heard that Minsk awarded him the First Class Medal of Bravery, which is backed by the reputation of the Slater family. Is this Raven really willing to join us?"

Priest Thomas smiled and said, "I don't know about this. I just proposed a candidate. As for how to do it, it's up to you to decide."

Montreal nodded slowly. "In that case, Gul'dan, please send an invitation in my name, inviting Baron Raven to come over tomorrow for a chat."

Hearing this, Gul'dan's expression became even more strange: "This... Father... This..."

Montreal looked at his son strangely and asked, "Why, did you have a stomachache?"

"No." Gul'dan swallowed his saliva and said hesitantly, "Well, Baron Raven was here just today."

Montreal was stunned: "This is a good thing. Since he is willing to come, it means he intends to join us. Where is he now? Bring him to see me."

Gul'dan said, "Well, he left on his own because he didn't wait for you to come back."

"Really? What did he say to you?" Montreal's eyes began to turn cold.

He knew too well Gul'dan's usual arrogant behavior.

"This, this..." Gul'dan couldn't answer.

"Since you're here, there should be a visiting card." Montreal snorted, "Give it to me, go get it yourself!"

"Yes!" Gul'dan came out of the study and searched for a long time before he found Raven's visiting card in the trash can. He suppressed his nausea and wiped off the fruit and vegetable stains on it, trying to make it as smooth as possible before going back and handing it to his father.

Montreal took the visiting card and first glanced at the stain on it. His expression became gloomy. When he read the content again, his breathing became heavier:
"…Why did he leave?"

The wording of the visiting card was polite and the content was very appropriate, especially the proposal to donate three thousand gold coins and five hundred bottles of Angel's Tears to the Fox family.

He showed a sincerity that was very much in keeping with the status of a baron.

Gul'dan looked away.

Montreal emphasized: "Speak!"

Archbishop Thomas glanced at the contents of the visiting card, stood up and left without saying a word, leaving the father and son with their own space.

"This is all because of Raven's arrogance!" Gul'dan defended himself loudly: "You know, there are so many guests now. How can I take care of a small baron?"

"I just asked him to wait at the door for a while, but he left without saying a word! He didn't even stop when I tried to ask him to stay!"

Montreal extracted the most crucial information from Gul'dan's words, staring into his eyes with trembling eyebrows: "You let Revan, the recipient of the Imperial First Class Medal of Valor, a noble who came to visit with good intentions, stand at the door?!"

"Yes, father, but..."

Snapped--

Montreal raised his arms high and slapped Gul'dan in the face.

The force of this blow was so great that even though Gul'dan had the strength of a third-level player, he was still blown around in the air and fell to the ground with a thud.

Gul'dan covered his cheeks, and his entire face swelled up at a speed visible to the naked eye. He looked at his father in disbelief, and couldn't understand why Montreal was so furious over a mere Raven.

Montreal's chest heaved, and he pointed at Gul'dan's nose and asked, "Do you know why I hit you?"

Gul'dan's eyes flickered. "...Because, because I neglected Revan?"

Montreal closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then said angrily, "What do you think politics is?"

“Politics is not about entertaining people, writing documents and decrees, or painting or sculpting.

You can't be so elegant, so calm, so gentle, so kind, courteous, frugal and modest!
Politics is an art, a bloodless but very cruel art.

It can make people soar to heaven, or it can make people fall into the abyss!"

In Montreal's opinion, it doesn't matter if Gul'dan has some small thoughts, and there is nothing wrong with neglecting Raven.

A mere baron, no matter how great his military achievements are, can never surpass the Fox family.

The problem is that Gul'dan's actions were too low-level and the impact was too bad.

In this coalition, Raven is not the only one who wants to please both sides. There are also many people who want to join the Fox family.

Gul'dan did what he did today. Once the news spreads, the nobles will think to themselves - the Fox family is too powerful. It's not enough for them to surrender to them voluntarily. They have to kneel down and serve them as dogs!

Nobles all care about their reputation. It’s okay to be a dog in reality, but you’re also a dog in reputation, so that’s something you have to think about.

Gul'dan's actions were simply driving the originally neutral nobles towards the Slater family's side!

"...Go find a priest to heal your wounds." Montreal said:

"Tomorrow morning, you will personally deliver my invitation to Raven."

……

(End of this chapter)