Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 558 Grand Duke Alvarez Heads to the Court of Judgment
Grand Duke Alvarez looked like a short, stout middle-aged man with small eyes that were always darting around. His two pointed mustaches gave him a somewhat comical appearance. At this moment, he was sitting on the train, staring at Hunter across from him.

"Uncle Alvarez, you came all alone? Without any attendants?"

Hunter looked at the smiling middle-aged man opposite him with some disbelief. This was one of the three powerful dukes in the North, whom even the Queen would treat with respect. He was one of the most powerful people on the entire continent.

Of course, there is no empress now, and it is estimated that there are no grand dukes in the North either.

"Heh, Hunter, you're still not professional enough when it comes to surrendering," Alvarez said, shaking his head.

"When to surrender, to whom to surrender, and in what manner to surrender—there are rules for all of these. You young people are still too young; you've lost the way of tradition!"

Hunter immediately lost his composure: "Were all your territories won through surrender?"

Alvarez gave him an appreciative look: "Not bad, young man, you have a good understanding."

"Back in the day, my family was just a hunter. Don't look at me like that. Your father's family was even worse off than mine; they raised pigs."

Hunter's eyes widened. He had never heard his father mention this before. Wasn't his family, the Watts, a family of scholars? Knowledge and wisdom should flow in their blood, so how could they be raising pigs?!
"In short, the Holy Mil Empire was just established at that time, and the Great Sage Bruno was even personally leading troops into battle. My family's ancestor surrendered to the Sage with Old Watts, who raised pigs, in exchange for the right to follow him in battle, and finally obtained this vast fiefdom."

"You mean you want to seek refuge with us?"

"What do you mean by 'please'? It's just surrender." Alvarez snorted. "Back then, the North was full of barbarians. Our tribe was at odds with the Great Sage Bruno. My ancestor made the decisive choice to surrender. Your ancestor led the Great Sage to wipe out the tribe, and that's how we came to be who we are today."

As he spoke, he proudly shook out his luxurious robes.

"But I think you're not bad either. You betrayed those good-for-nothings in the family in time. You have the spirit of our ancestors."

"You, you're talking nonsense! How can those be the same? I'm abandoning darkness for light!"

“Yes, yes, that’s it. It seems you’ve really grown up and become sensible. When you were little, you only knew how to read books all day long. I was worried that you would become stupid from reading too much and forget this family’s traditional craft.” Alvarez patted Hunter on the shoulder with emotion.

Hunter smoothed the wrinkles on his shoulder with a look of disgust, remained silent for a moment, and finally couldn't help but ask, "What does this have to do with you not bringing any attendants?"

Alvarez grinned.

“Castel, is that your name? These emerging powers will always try to find a reason to settle scores with us old guys. At this time, we must surrender in time. If we surrender quickly and accurately, it will be difficult for them to find fault with us.”

“They want me to go on trial, so I’ll come immediately. They say I’m guilty, so I’ll go alone. I’ll be polite and make sure I’m in the right position. Then these Castel people won’t be able to do anything to me. They’ll just have to watch me surrender!”

"Just you wait and see. After I finish my trial, my status might not drop but rise, and I might even get promoted."

Alvarez patted Hunter on the shoulder, messing up his clothes that he had just managed to straighten.

Hunter was dumbfounded, and couldn't help but marvel at his uncle's thick skin. Was this the magnanimity of a great nobleman? Indeed, being a nobleman wasn't so easy.

"But if they want to settle scores with you, couldn't they just make up some excuse? How do you know this trip won't be a one-way trip?"

“Hey, Hunter, you still read too many books and think too little.” Alvarez held up a short, thick finger and waved it. “In all my years in the North, they are the only force that distributes food to the refugees. The resistance army can grow stronger and stronger. Even if these Castel people don’t know anything, they can still stand on their own, let alone how good they are at fighting.”

"Then why don't you go and distribute food?"

“The northern border doesn’t produce much grain, and there’s only so much. If we give it to others, my people will go hungry. You want me to starve my own people to feed outsiders? No way.” Alvarez shook his head, his face jiggling. “I don’t know much about war, but at least I can keep my people from starving.”

"Besides, why should I go to all that trouble? I can just surrender when such a force appears."

Hunter was speechless.

"Look, what a powerful carriage! Now I can ride in it too, and there are soldiers protecting us."

"This is called a train!"

“Yes, yes, a train.” Alvarez nodded, then asked curiously, “Hunter, you know so much, tell me how this train runs? I’ve never seen such a heavy carriage that runs so fast.”

As he spoke, he knocked on the carriage, making a crisp sound.

"Look, this is all steel, top-quality steel! Such fine steel, perfect for making carriages."

This problem stumped Hunter. He had learned some things in Castells, but not how to build trains.
"Well... Uncle, to be honest, while I'm a very accomplished scholar in the North, I'm nothing special in Castel. Even the owner of the fried chicken shop is more knowledgeable than me."

“It’s alright, Hunter, don’t worry,” Alvarez said with a smile, reassuring her. “You’re not exactly a great scholar in the North.”

Hunter looked like he was choking.

"But I still find it hard to believe. How is it possible for a fried chicken shop owner to know more?"

Hunter didn't refute him, but looked around and casually waved to one of the expeditionary soldiers: "Friend, come here for a moment."

Hunter took a piece of parchment from Alvarez; it was the receipt he was going to give to the court.

"Could you read it for us?"

"Of course. Honorable judges, I am from the Northern Border of the Holy Mil Empire."

Alvarez's eyes widened as he listened to the soldiers of the expeditionary force read his letter fluently.

He couldn't help but turn his head to look. The soldier was a young man, around twenty years old, wearing only ordinary soldier's clothes and carrying a gun. At first glance, he seemed unremarkable.

But he can read and spell, and with that knowledge, finding a job as a scribe shouldn't be a problem. Why did he choose to become a soldier?
It's worth noting that the letter he wrote was meticulously worded, indicating that the soldier must have had a very high vocabulary.
"This word is misspelled." The soldier stopped and pointed to a line of sentences on the letter. "The grammar is also a bit off; perhaps it's a Northern dialect?"

(End of this chapter)