The allegiance ceremony continued, and despite the reluctance of the nobles present, under the pressure of Duke Robert, the nobles had to bow their noble heads.

The first to step forward was William, Earl of Ake, whose name was also William, born in January 1020 and now 16 years old, the half-brother of Duke Robert and William's uncle.

Although William, Earl of Ack, left the Duchy of Normandy at a young age and inherited his mother's earldom, it is undeniable that Duke Robert is the first in line to the throne if he has no legitimate heir.

William's uncle, Earl of Aker, has always been very friendly to William, and the peaceful Earl of Aker is also obedient to his brother, and this time Duke Robert has invested a lot of money in order to persuade him to give up his inheritance and give him great benefits.

I saw William, Earl of Acker, come to the stage, knelt down on one knee in front of William, put his hands in William's small hands, and said, "I swear to always be on your side, to be honest with you, and to stand by your side when you need it." ”

William nodded as usual and did not speak.

When William, Earl of Aker, turned and walked down the steps, Kay, Count of Mortan of the House of Ivrrea of Burgundy, the son of William's aunt and William's cousin, who had the right to inherit the throne in second order.

Whether it is from his eagle vulture face, or his assassination and conspiracy calculations against William in recent years, it shows that this is a ruthless and ambitious young man.

Although the Duke of Robert gave him more than thirty estates in Rouen in order to give up his inheritance to William, he was still not satisfied.

I saw that when he knelt on one knee and was about to declare his allegiance, he suddenly glanced at William viciously, moved his mouth and said a word with his lips.

But William, who was sitting in the duke's seat, quickly understood the meaning of this sentence - "Stinky bastard!" This matter is not over, wait and see, sooner or later you will have to get out of here! ”

Before William could attack, Count Kay proclaimed: "When your life is threatened, I will not ignore it, and I will stand by your side without violating justice and my own will!" ”

Despite the ambiguity of the Earl of Kaye's oath, Duke Robert let him go for the sake of the Earl of Kay's declaration of allegiance to William.

Next is Robert, Count of Evre, one of the three counts of the Duchy of Normandy, who is now the only remaining patriarch of the Normandy family, and can be called a needle-like existence in the sea.

Count Robert stepped forward to the stage, put a pair of thin and rough hands on William's small hands, and solemnly declared: "I swear that at all times, as long as you need it, I will fully support you by your side, and never leave you."

I will be honest with you at all times and will not hide anything. ”

Duke Robert's sincere oath touched William, only to see William stand up, both hands to help Count Robert, who was kneeling on one knee, up, grandfather and grandson looked at each other with expressions, everything was silent.

Duke Robert, who was standing on the side, breathed a sigh of relief, smiled at Count Robert and nodded, clasped Count Robert's hands, and solemnly entrusted: "William, please take care of you, Lord Robert!" You will also be the regent of the Duchy of Normandy, take care of William, take care of Normandy! ”

"Don't worry, Robert, I swear I will take care of William and not let him be harmed in any way!" Count Robert nodded solemnly in promise.

Robert exhaled softly and said gratefully, "Thank you, my son William will please give it to you!"

Count Robert nodded solemnly in response, turned around and walked off the stage, back in front of the noble queue.

He was followed by William the Younger, Earl of Eiburg, one of the three Earls of Normandy, who, as Robert's cousin and William's cousin, also had the right to claim the power of the Duchy of Mandy and the title of duke.

Although he was unwilling to give up the opportunity to win the duke's position, in the face of Duke Robert's coercion and temptation, and the fact that he had accepted more than 20 manors from Duke Robert a few days ago, William Jr., Earl of Eburg, was not good at this time, so he had to resist his inner ambition and swear allegiance to William as if he didn't care about the duke's succession.

William the Younger, Earl of Earburg, took an equally ambiguous oath, adding to the oath conditions such as that he would be loyal to the true Duke of Normandy on the condition that he would not go against his will and justice.

It is clear that William the Younger, Earl of Urburg, has not just given up his ambition to become Duke of Normandy.

Duke Robert, after receiving the promise of Arrun II, Duke of Brittany, and the Count of Evreux, did not take this petty ambition of the Count of Öburg to heart, and he was confident that the two regents he left behind would protect William until he came to power.

The last to come to the stage was Steward Osborne, Bruce. More than twenty of Robert's cronies and noble knights led by Sir Dalton.

Intersecting with the two powerful nobles of Earl Kay of Mortan and William the Earl of Auburg, who were previously ambitious for the dukedom, the minor nobles and knights who directly belonged to Duke Robert were much more respectful to William.

Steward and Bruce in Osborne. Sir Dalton, led by Sir Dalton, got down on one knee and swore with a volley:

"I, Osborne, swear allegiance to my lord William. Morality. Normandy, loyal and unabandoned! ”

"I, Andrew. Dalton, swear allegiance to our lord William. Morality. Normandy, loyal and unabandoned! ”

"I, Brad. Anderson, swear allegiance to my lord......"

"I, Austin. Hugh, swear allegiance ......"

......

The voices of dozens of people standing up and swearing allegiance seemed to converge into a surging wave, which kept washing away the psychological defense line against the nobles, making these nobles can't help but waver.

Count Kay, who was in the second place on the right, had become extremely ugly, and since he saw the shaking appearance of the opposing nobles gathered around him, he couldn't help but curse at Duke Robert for a "good method", and turned his head to look at these nobles again and again.

The Earl of Eburg, who was standing on the other side, was also in a hurry, and it took great difficulty to calm down these wavering nobles.

William, Earl of Ake, glanced at the two of them with interest, as if he didn't take the matter to heart.

After all, he left the Duchy of Normandy to inherit the Earl of Acre for so many years, and his foundation among the nobles of the Duchy of Normandy was very shallow, and the strength of the competition for the duke's position was quite different from these two earls of real power.