NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6.1 - The Bastard of Westphalia (6)
Count Michael, who was about to divorce his mistress, was speechless.
I don’t know what would happen to her if my father caught her claiming to be his favorite mistress.
“But what about Hand Maid Chloe?”“
Now that I’m at the right age, I need to get married, and since Hand Maid Chloe has had a successful marriage before, I’d like to ask her about marriage as well. Is that a waste of time?”That was not an excuse.
‘I will ask Maid Chloe to organize a marriage for the alliance.’
Of course, I thought of using her as a subordinate after that.
“No, It doesn’t matter. But I don’t know if she wants to follow through.”If Head Maid Chloe wouldn’t follow, I’d repeat the attempted poisoning case.
“She will follow. Thank you. Count of Westphalia.”He still called the former Count
‘Count of Westphalia’,
Eric also said this to Count Michael
‘You want the position of Count so much that you left your wife and children, but you’re not so capable?’
Count Michael’s face turned dark as if he seemed to feel guilty.
As I left the Count’s office and headed back to my room, Lord Noah stopped me in the hallway.
“Eric, I know that you are a clever man. Don’t think of any tricks, and never step on my land again.”Lord Noah already thought that Westphalia was his land.
“I don’t plan on coming back. You don’t need to tell me.” “You’re trying to be a smart guy now, why are you talking back to me?” “Brother, I’m a Viscount now, and I’m not in the same class as you.”Even though it has not yet been approved by the Royal Family, a Lord was a Lord.
But Lord Noah was upset about the wrong thing.
“You’re insane! You’re not my brother! Don’t you ever say that again!” “I’m not Hong Gil-dong, so I can’t be a good guy.”(T/N: Hong Gil-dong/홍길동도 – a name is used to represent a virtual name, a name similar to Robin Hood.)
“Hong Gil Dong? Is that a thief’s name?”I wish I knew. However, for the first and last time in my life, I called him my brother.
Even if Noah’s not mad, he never called me brother.
“Don’t worry, I will never set foot on this land again.” “I can’t believe it. I heard you were talking with the Cardinal of Aachen. Are you trying to build followers?”As I suggested, the Knights of Westphalia presented the captured warlocks to the Cardinal of Aachen, who immediately held a grand burning ceremony.
The Cardinal from Aachen has increased his support base to run for the next papal election.
The Palatinate family was also warned not to do anything foolish to the Imperial family, which the Cardinal supported.
In the end, the Cardinal of Aachen became the most popular man in the entire Empire, thanks to my plan.
But what kind of power does a distant Lord have to take advantage of a Cardinal?
I’m sure he was jealous of me for having a drink with the Cardinal.
“Tailgating. That’s not something the Cardinal’s girlfriend would be happy to hear.” “What! Does the Cardinal have a girlfriend? I thought you weren’t disclosing perversion?”‘What’s in your head? Why do you want to know about other people’s sex lives?’
Anyway, I wanted to turn around and eliminate that annoying Noah.
“But why don’t you give me some guards? Give me three or four capable people.”There’s a 100% chance that someone will plant a spy anyway. I wanted to take Cezak, who usually does a good job.
“You’re so arrogant, why would I spy on you?”‘You’re gonna watch but won’t do anything? Why don’t you just take a peek?’
Lord Noah was a person with strong pride and values. The type of person who’s easy to manipulate if you give them an excuse.
“Or send me a lot of workers. I need to keep people working, so I can improve my land, and I won’t stay here. If you fail, they might come to me for a voucher, and that would be embarrassing.” “Hmm. That makes sense. I see. I’ll send them.”Because of his pride, Lord Noah always acted like this.
The future of the Westphalian lands seemed clear.
“Send as many as you can, like a family.” “You’re using those servants to breed slaves? Are you crazy about productivity or something?”When I was a kid, I wanted to eat as much pork belly as I wanted, so I tried to crossbreed pigs to develop a new breed.
My reason was to be productive, but I got shut down by a small business owner who said it was a dirty thing to do.
My memories of that time left a lasting impression, and whenever he talks to me, I always talk about productivity.
‘What are you talking about? Does this guy have a demon in his head?’
I was annoyed and gave a quick answer.
“Yes. Productivity is important.” “Okay. I’ll take care of it and let you go, although my grandfather is against it.”After saying that, he just turned around. I held out my hand at his back.
While I was unpacking my luggage in my room, a guest came.
“Viscount of Marseille, this is the Minister of State.”The civil servants are one of my favorite officials. I smiled and spoke to him.
“Do you know that you were the first to call me Viscount of Marseille?” “It’s an honor, Lord Eric, I hope you are doing well.” “The Heraldry Officer came to create a new emblem and seal for the Marseille Territory.”He opened the thick booklet he brought with him and showed the designs for each seal.
“The most preferred designs nowadays are those related to religion.”“
Hmm. I’m a religious democratic” “It’s okay to focus on big religions. But why not include the sun, moon, stars, and sea?”I don’t want to favor any particular religion.
“Let’s just put everything in. Keep the design as simple as possible.” “Haha! Okay, I’ll make the seal a little more colorful instead.” “Do it that way. And do I have to go to the Royal Palace of France myself?”Westphalia was part of the German Empire, while Marseille was part of the French Kingdom.
He’s asking if I should go to the royal court and declare myself, Lord Eric, Viscount of Marseille
“You don’t have to go if payment has already been made. They said they did last week, so it should be approved soon.”‘I see. You had it all planned out already.’
It was clear that the plan to deal with Marseille had been in the making for a long time.