Fifth Chapter Seven Hundred and Seventy-One Duke and Father

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"That damn daughter!" Duke Calvin of the Northern Region grabbed the teacup on the table, wanting to smash it on the ground, but stopped halfway – this cup was made of fine crystal glass, worth about two or three gold royals, and he was a little reluctant to part with it.

After thinking for a long time, he slowly retracted his hand and put the cup back in its place.

This feeling of gain and loss made him even more depressed.

Edith's letter was spread out on the table – he never thought that His Majesty would directly take back all the feudal powers of the nobles, and even more unexpected was that his daughter, who could always gain advantages for him, agreed to His Majesty's conditions in one go, and advised him to recognize the situation and not resist stubbornly.

Look at her wording, as if he were a criminal!

The Duke thought bitterly, has his daughter turned her elbow outward!

"My Lord, has something happened?" The guard outside the door probably heard the noise and asked, poking his head in.

"Get out, don't bother me!"

Reluctant to vent his anger on the cup, Calvin immediately vented his anger on the guard. The door was quickly closed, and he panted for a long time before shifting his gaze back to the letter.

If he followed His Majesty the King, he would no longer be the master of the Northern Lands, at least not as unchallenged as he is now. He had just cleaned up the Hoss and Lister families, and was finally able to enjoy the feeling of being in charge of the entire territory, but he didn't expect to return to the starting point so soon – no, it should be a step back from the starting point.

What if he didn't follow His Majesty?

The letter made it very clear.

"That way, Cole and I will be finished. He will be imprisoned in a jail forever, like the heir of Duke Ryan. And my fate will only be worse. How do you think the former Fourth Prince would treat the daughter of a Duke who cannot resist? I can easily come up with no less than a hundred humiliating ways that excite men. When he's tired of playing with me, I'll be thrown into a dungeon or a military camp, and your pearl of the Northern Lands will be tarnished."

"But don't worry about me, because you won't be any better off, Father. His army will soon be at the city walls. I bet your vassals and knights won't last even half a day. At that time, let alone a Duke, you won't even be able to be an ordinary commoner. What do you say, would you make such a choice?"

Familiar tone – Calvin could even imagine Edith's sneer as she wrote this letter. Whenever she talked about failure, she would describe her fate in an extremely calm tone, as if she was waiting for this day to come. As long as his daughter started to lead in this direction, he would find it difficult to resist. It was clearly a threat, but Calvin never felt like scolding her.

After all, Edith.Kant is his biological daughter, and the only crystallization of him and his first wife.

Although her tone was quite exaggerated, he couldn't deny the possibility.

And he had often heard of the Fourth Prince's reputation.

Thinking of this, the Duke gradually calmed down.

But then again, are those dark steel machines really as magical as she says?

In the three letters, his daughter used a whole page to describe what she saw and heard in Border Town – no, Neverwinter City.

More than twice as much as about His Majesty Roland.

She called them possessing unimaginable power, capable of easily doing things that ordinary people could not achieve. As long as the North joined the new king, these black iron behemoths that could bring earth-shaking changes to the territory could be introduced.

It was clear that Edith valued this thing very much.

Finally, she also suggested that he send His Majesty a formal oath of allegiance to show the submission of the Northern Region, and at the same time send some literate servants to learn the regulations and administrative methods of the City Hall, so as not to be completely ignorant of the emerging system.

"Also, I hope you can clearly instruct Cole to stay in Neverwinter City, rather than soften your heart and let him come back – it won't do him any good. If possible, send Lance here after he comes of age. In the absence of hereditary titles, only those who adapt to His Majesty's new policies can make the Kant family continue."

"—Your daughter, Edith."

Calvin sighed and put the letter away, spreading out a new blank piece of paper.

Since Edith had made a decision, he had no choice but to believe her plan, and write a good letter to His Majesty, pledging allegiance to the new king.

But as a Duke, he had to make a final effort in his own way – if he could tie the interests of the two families together, Calvin would undoubtedly feel much more at ease.

For example... making his daughter the Queen.

*******************

Border area of Neverwinter City, next to the Redwater River.

The sun was slowly setting between the mountains, and the afterglow through the mountains dyed the river surface into a brilliant gold.

Wisps of smoke rose from in front of the shacks, and the faint scent of porridge already made Snake Tooth's mouth water.

Getting closer, he even smelled a hint of meat.

"I'm here!" As soon as he entered the camp, Tiger Claw saw him, "Come over here!"

Snake Tooth walked quickly to his side, "What, is there meat today?"

"Yes, you came back too late and missed the notification, this is Lord’s reward."

Snake Tooth rubbed his sore shoulders, "What reward? The residential area on your side is far from completion."

"The Kingdom Avenue is completed!" Someone nearby joined in the shouting, "The Border area and the Longsong area are finally connected together. They say that the journey that originally took three days now only takes one day by horse!"

So that's it, Snake Tooth nodded. Whenever a major project was completed, they could have a bowl of meat porridge – as promoted in the square, in the two months since he came to the Border area, the construction team had never been short of a share of food, nor had it deducted any wages. Now he had accumulated fourteen silver wolves in his hand, and at the end of this month, he could have seven more.

If he could put together a gold royal, he could lingqu a house in the City Hall and become a formal resident of Neverwinter City, no longer a nameless and faceless rat.

But if he wanted to really buy that house, he would have to work for at least twenty years.

Of course, Snake Tooth was confident that he could find a higher-paying job later... such as a furnace worker, or a bricklayer.

Everything seemed to be really turning for the better.

The only regret was that he still hadn't seen White Paper.

"After you get your meat porridge later, remember to eat quickly," Tiger Claw whispered in his ear, "otherwise you won't be able to grab a good spot."

"What... spot?" Snake Tooth asked in confusion.

"To celebrate the completion of the Kingdom Avenue, there's a new drama being performed in the square tonight. I heard it's called *City of Love*, and the Western Territory Star will also appear. Oh my god... I can't wait!"

"You go find someone else," he said unenthusiastically, "I feel a little tired, I don't want to move today."

"Is that so, but today is the premiere," Tiger Claw smiled mysteriously, "Everyone here knows that at the premiere of the Star Flower Troupe, Lord will also appear with the witches, maybe you can see White Paper!"