"Gift?" Roland raised his eyebrows, "What is it?"

"The Hos and Lista families in the north... Your Majesty, the two counts refused to obey your rule, and tried to collude with the other nobles to rebel. My father saw through their tricks in advance and gave the two families the punishment they deserved." Cole said regretfully, "But due to my negligence, I did not expect that you would return to the West in advance, and the head as evidence had been broken on the road."

"Wait, your father executed two counts directly?"

"Uh," he turned his head and looked at his assistant, "Yes."

This investment was more intense than I expected... Taking the two counts' heads as a letter of vote means that it will be difficult for them to get the support of the East Realm nobles again, at least the possibility of uniting to resist their territory is greatly reduced. Roland thought to himself, but now that Nightingale is not around, he doesn't know if the other party is lying to him.

He pondered for a moment and whispered to Barov beside him, "Are these two families in the North?"

"Mattohos and Double Gun Lista are both families in the North, and their reputations are even more prominent than the five Western countries. Among them, Lista's ancestors wore armor for the Wimbledon family. The double guns on the family emblem were taken from the flag of the Grey Castle Kingdom." Barov touched his beard and said slowly, "Of course, this was something that happened more than two hundred years ago. However, the Kant family was not famous. I remember it was a family that appeared in nearly fifty years... I didn't expect that Tiffy would actually choose Calvin. As the North, Kant was in charge, even if it was to restrain the other two families, it would be difficult to play its due role, and it would easily cause dissatisfaction among the old families."

"So what he said is true?" Roland automatically ignored the boss's later nagging that was used to show off his extensive knowledge.

"Well...there is little chance of lying," Barov whispered. "This is about the glory of the nobles. If you promise to accept their allegiance and if it is proved to be a lie, the North will be in chaos first."

It makes sense to say this. He nodded slightly. And whether it was a lie was actually not a big problem. The key is that his bottom line is already there. If he can accept the abandonment of the fiefdom, everything can be discussed. If he insists on seizing authority, then no matter how valuable the gift is, it will be meaningless.

Thinking of this, Roland smiled at Cole, "First of all, I have to express my gratitude to the Duke. It is the responsibility of every noble to maintain the honor of the royal family. Your father did a good job. Secondly, the two counts deserved the crime, and the kingdom will not pursue Duke Kant's move."

"Yes, is it? My father will definitely be happy to hear this," Cole seemed relieved. "He has always hoped to play for the real king, and now he finally has a chance."

"Is that right, I am happy to accept the allegiance of the Duke of North, and the premise is that he can obey the new law of Grayburg."

"New Law?" He was slightly stunned, "What is that?"

"The regulations on revoking the power of the nobles to divide the feudal power," Roland looked at the other party's expression and said word by word, "In the future, there will be no more nobles in the kingdom. You can simply understand that all the territories in the gray castle have only one master, that is, the king."

"What? Your Majesty, this..." Cole's expression changed drastically, and he turned his head and looked at his assistant again.

Is this guy really the second son of the duke? Although he looks a little younger, he is not even inferior to his female official... At least the latter just opened his mouth a little, and still looked calm. Of course, it may be that she could not understand the meaning of her words at all.

"Don't worry, the nobles are still nobles. Your generous life will not change, and there is a chance to reach a new peak," Roland clapped his hands and asked the servants to hand over the propaganda brochure that had been prepared. "The Long Song Fortress has fully implemented this set of laws. In the manual, you can see many stories of change and examples of nobles who are devoted to it. It seems that it will make the nobles lose some of their privileges, but in fact it also liberates the nobles from the fiefdom and devote themselves to the kingdom and even the big stage of the entire continent."

The other party looked confused, "But... I don't know..."

Cole's performance disappointed Roland a little, but it was normal to think about it. After all, he was still the second son who had just grown up. It is estimated that this trip was just the responsibility of passing the microphone and could not make a decision.

"It's okay, you can send the news back to Duke Calvin. Before he answers, you can stay in Wu Winter City and visit the unique scenery here. I think you will like it."

Although sending the second son means sincerity, Roland does not intend to waste this sincerity, so he will detain it for the time being as a guarantee to prevent the other party from taking risks.

He thought the talks had come to an end, but he didn't expect Cole to make another request.

"Your Majesty, can I visit how paddle boats and steam engines are made in your territory?"

This was a novel request, and Roland looked at him with great interest, "Are you interested in this?"

"Yes, I heard of such strange ships in the capital. After coming to the Western Frontier, I found that they were everywhere. I was very curious about how paddle steamers did not rely on sails." Cole stroked his chest.

"So that's it," he nodded with a smile, "I will let General Barov arrange it."

...

After dealing with the North Envoy's affairs, Roland returned to the office and was about to complete the design drawings in his hand. Suddenly, he heard a rapid knock outside the window. He turned around and saw two unexpected figures.

Lightning was lying on the window ridge, while Maisie squatted over her head and pecked at the glass.

Roland suddenly felt nervous. It was only the third day, and the paddlefisher shouldn't have come back so soon. Did something happen?

"Why are you back first?" he opened the floor-to-ceiling window and asked hurriedly, "Where are the others?"

"Your Majesty! We have caught the devil!"

"But Anna, Leaf and Nightingale were both hurt Gu!"

"Fortunately, there is no big problem!"

"But it still hurts! Can you ask Miss Nanava to go with us?"

After hearing the two of them rushing to finish, Roland felt like his heart was riding a roller coaster. He sighed, "Is it really a big deal?"

"No Gu!"

"I'll ask someone to pick up Nanava," he turned around and walked out of the room. "I remember to finish something in one breath next time!"

...

By the evening of the next day, two paddle steamers finally appeared at the west end of the Chishui River.

In order to avoid panic among the masses when they see the devil, the left-behind troops of the First Army have cleared the No. 22 pier and prepared a greenhouse carriage. A temporary wooden house has also been set up in the back garden of the castle as a laboratory, and the research on the devil and the talisman seal will be carried out under the supervision of Ye Zi.

Seeing Anna and Nightingale walking down the pier, Roland felt completely relieved. It took only four days from departure to return, but it seemed like it had not seen each other for several months. Especially after hearing the news that the two were injured, time passed even slower.

"Thank you for this mission," he raised his lips and opened his arms to Anna.

The latter did not answer, but rushed into his arms and hugged him firmly.

Nightingale sighed, "You said you were waiting for us in the castle... the pier is not safe, Your Majesty."

"So too," Roland smiled, "Thank you for your hard work."

"Well..." She turned her head uneasy, "It's actually okay."

Anna let go of Roland and pulled the nightingale over.

Then Wendy, Leaf...

This time all the witches hugged Roland, and Agsha and Ife were no exception.
Chapter completed!