A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 611 Keeping Promises

The news of the establishment of the border earldom was like a bombshell dropped into the capital, causing a huge uproar.

The first to be affected is Dahlberg's own company.

Old Dahlberg was in a dilemma. He only held the honorary title of count. The Dahlberg family could be traced back to the powerful prime minister who held sway over the empire and even influenced the selection of the emperor. To this day, they still had deep connections and influence, and many family members held important positions in the capital. They were among the empire's top nobles.

However, in terms of territory, it only ruled a prosperous city at its most glorious moment. After the powerful emperor took back the power in modern times, the Dahlberg family no longer had any actual territory. By Richard's father's generation, as the head family, they had fallen to the status of a nominal earl.

While the title "Border Earl" simply means "earn," due to the empire's need for military expansion and its tradition, they enjoy a higher status than ordinary earls. Border earls are typically known for their strong military discipline, high degree of autonomy, and the size of their territories increases with the amount of land they conquer from the empire's enemies. Therefore, their actual prestige, depending on the size and wealth of their territory, is equivalent to that of a duke or marquis.

Therefore, it was an embarrassing and improper thing for the son of a vacant count to become a border count. Old Dahlberg believed that the family would become a well-known and respected laughingstock in the empire.

The court and the Imperial Diet were thrown into chaos as a result. The ministers and members of parliament were reluctant to directly oppose the emperor's grand plan, so they focused on the laws and regulations and attacked Richard himself.

He issued a decree: "Whoever opposes the plan, or opposes Richard becoming lord, shall be the one who opposes him, and shall succeed Richard."

Soon after, another oral decree was issued to the Imperial Council and the Parliament Building: "I keep my word."

"I will personally escort the person who voices the loudest opposition out of the capital, and send my personal guards and the Empire's chief mage to escort him to the earldom to ensure his safe arrival at his post. However, I cannot guarantee his safety after he takes office."

To undertake construction in harsh, cold lands, to find ways to resist the minions and pollution of evil gods, and to manage a large group of mages without restricting their spellcasting—this kind of "lucrative job" is roughly equivalent to studying a hundred ways of expressing and achieving "death."

The emperor once again displayed his tantrum-throwing skills, a persona likely ingrained in the minds of his ministers and members of the Imperial Parliament since his ascension to the throne. This eccentric and paranoid emperor, looking back at his record, has seized power by forcing Chancellor Otto to abdicate, used the intimidation of the sorcerer monk and the Alliance incident to purge the Imperial high command, and his outlandish idea of ​​banning magic throughout the Empire—a plan that is almost a reality.

Forget about how bad he is in foreign wars, this guy is truly a god of war in domestic wars, and he deserves the reputation of "keeping his word".

Hiss. All the big shots, with elderly parents to care for, young children to raise, servants to serve, and lovers to keep quiet.

It's finally quiet. Yeah, right.

William is going to meet with Dahlberg again, but this time it's not Richard.

"Lord Dalberg, what brings you here? You don't want me to revoke your title and fiefdom, do you?"

"Your Majesty is wise. It is not out of personal motives, but there is much discussion in the capital right now, and this old minister has an idea that may be able to quell the controversy."

The emperor became interested: "Oh? Tell me about it."

"The only thing that the nobles are saying is that it is against the old imperial precedent for my youngest son to accept your title. Your Majesty, you can handle this flexibly. That is, let me take on this title, and let my rebellious son go to the earldom to complete the task Your Majesty has given him. That way, everyone will accept it."

"Oh, so you get all the benefits and the title, while your son suffers the hardship, right?"

"Your Majesty is wise, indeed. Oh no, no, it's just that he is young and inexperienced; such a thing never happened before."

Before old Dahlberg could finish speaking, the emperor interrupted him: "Very well, Lord Dahlberg, what you say makes sense, but I need to test you."

"test?"

"Just do as I say. First, turn 180 degrees so you're facing the door. Okay."

Now, with his back to Wilhelm II, old Dahlberg was still wondering when suddenly a tremendous force struck the fat on his right side, between his waist and thigh.

The poor old count was kicked away, and Wilhelm II stepped forward and kicked him again: "The first kick was for you, the second kick was for Richard. He can't lay a hand on you, so I'll do it."

"Do you dare tell Richard that you personally drove your eldest son to his death with that letter? Huh?"

As the old man crawled out, he shouted his grievances: "What alliance did he participate in? He was a traitor! I wrote him a letter severing ties, and that traitor committed suicide in prison. Doesn't that prove my loyalty?"

"I don't need your loyalty, disgusting, get out!"

The emperor's two impulsive kicks left old Dahlberg unable to get out of bed and unable to be seen in public, confining him to his bed.

Therefore, only Richard's mother witnessed his investiture. No, there was also the Grand Duke of Bohemia and his daughter, Libs. The Empire, of course, would not recognize a tyrant supported by its allies, and thus treated the Grand Duke with great courtesy.

In addition, all the officials and nobles, high and low, from the capital were present, including even King Bain and his eldest son, who had been forced to remain in the capital. Everyone looked at the young emperor and the young recipient of the title, their solemn expressions masking their various thoughts, which ultimately coalesced into scrutinizing and probing gazes.

During the ceremony, Richard bowed, about to kneel, when William personally helped him up, and so he accepted the investiture with only a slight bow. The emperor removed his sword, swung it over the recipient's left and right shoulders, and then handed it to him: "Take my sword. From this day forward, you are the border count of the Northern Territory of the Empire, the Dahlberg Territory, to guard this land."

After Richard took the sword, the Emperor immediately took a staff from the master of ceremonies: "Lord Richard von Dahlberg, from this day forward, you are the chief archmage of the Empire. All spellcasters who pledge allegiance to the Empire are under your command, and all matters related to magic within the Empire are to be decided by you." Although, theoretically, there should be no more magic within the Empire except for the border lordships and rebel-occupied territories.

"It is an honor, Your Majesty."

The emperor straightened Richard's posture and said, "Take care."

At the end of the ceremony, a salute was fired as an imperial army marched in perfect formation across the square in front of the palace, followed by dozens of cannons. Richard's army, along with the reorganized and strengthened corps of accompanying mages, carrying the start-up supplies provided by the empire, headed north after being inspected by the emperor.

Richard mounted his horse and rode at the head of the column. However, they actually boarded a military train after leaving the capital.

After entering his own private compartment, he carefully placed the sword and staff he had received, changed out of his formal attire into his combat uniform, and suddenly a deep weariness washed over him. Despite his exhaustion, Richard knocked on the wardrobe: "Stop hiding, come out."

"You already knew, so you agreed?" Libs came out from inside.

Richard uttered a single syllable before suddenly collapsing into the woman's arms.

"Richard? Richard?!" Libs exclaimed in shock. She tried to help him up, but the weight of a completely exhausted adult man pressed down on her, making it almost impossible for her to support herself.

Suddenly, the pressure on her vanished. It wasn't Richard waking up, but someone else who appeared in the carriage. The intruder emerged from a portal that had opened out of thin air, not only helping Richard up but also sealing off the space so the guards couldn't hear Libs's screams.

"We're still within the magic-forbidden zone. You are..."

Rorschach nodded: "Yes, within the anti-magic field, that's why Richard fell into a coma. I happened to be not far from the train and sensed his condition deteriorating in time." The mage responsible for opening the portal also came to the carriage; it was Master Humboldt.

(End of this chapter)