Lucien deliberately expressed the doubts in his heart and said, "Mr. Ivanovsky, what is there to discuss at this late hour? Can't you wait until tomorrow?"

This is the reaction that a normal aristocrat should have.

Ivanovsky smiled in a kind tone: "A good thing. I know several viscounts of the Vladimir family and have a good relationship, so after seeing you, Mr. Peter, I feel very close. And Mr. Peter, you are brave and determined, strictly abide by the knightly creed, and are a friend worthy of knowing and making deep friends, so if there are good things, how can you cheapen outsiders and not find friends?"

Good thing, old at first sight, and so on always give Lucian the feeling that he has met a liar again, but Ivanovsky is a famous big smuggler, and he hasn't "degenerated" to this point, right?

After thinking about it, seeing that Ivanovsky had already come to the door, Lucian decided to listen to what "good things" he had, so that he could deal with it later, anyway, as long as he was not greedy, he would not be deceived. Besides, this kind of big smuggler relies on connections and resources, and may not work "acting", and it is likely that through his every move, he can see through his true purpose.

Therefore, "The Self-cultivation of Actors" is a divine book, Lucien used the knight's intuition to sense the outside of the door, and found that there were indeed people around Ivanovsky who were difficult to sense clearly. But this man appeared openly as Ivanovsky's assistant and bodyguard, and did not hide.

With his left hand on "Frost", Lucien opened the door as usual.

Ivanovsky was still dressed like a winter bear with gold-rimmed glasses at the ball, and he was followed by a gray-haired old man in a black suit and a black bow tie, with cloudy black pupils, unconcealable wrinkles, and a cold feeling that set off the feeling of a gloom. He carried a black leather suitcase and was a head shorter than Ivanovsky.

Ivanovsky saw that it was Lucian himself who came to the door, and said with a little doubt: "Mr. Peter, what about your butler? This kind of thing should not be done by a knight or a gentleman." ”

"My housekeeper is sick because of a blizzard. I told him to rest early and not to hold on. I myself was admiring the moonlight, and I didn't expect outsiders to visit. Lucien casually explained. "Who is this?"

Ivanovsky smiled and pointed at the old man: "This is my assistant Matvey, who has great business talent and his own unique understanding of the economy. ”

"Yes, I wonder what you have about the production, circulation, distribution, and exchange of wealth, Mr. Mattway, do you think that the whole process of commerce has its own laws, like an invisible hand manipulating everything?" asked Lucien solemnly. With a lot of "malice" in his heart, this guy is like a thug and a bodyguard better than a business consultant.

Matvey frowned and didn't answer, and Ivanovsky's smile froze. It took a long time before he smiled and said, "I didn't expect that Mr. Peter, you not only focus on the way of knighthood, but also have such an in-depth study of the economy. It's hard to meet a nobleman like you. ”

"Where, I just learned a little casually, otherwise I would have my own territory in the future, and it would be easy to be deceived by those business consultants and affairs managers. Lucien didn't continue to ask, making the other party unable to get down the steps is not suitable for the current situation, just now it was more of a demonstration. Don't take me for a fool!

Ivanovsky "exuded" an expression of appreciation: "This is a good idea, in the future, there should be more nobles to learn this knowledge, instead of simply handing it over to butlers, business consultants, etc., and only responsible for inspection and harvesting." ”

Again, he made no mention of specific economics, at Lucian's hospitality. Sitting down on the soft sofa, Matvey stood quietly behind him, his gaze sharpened.

Lucien lifted the red porcelain kettle on the glass coffee table and poured himself and Ivanovsky a glass of white water each: "Mr. Ivanovsky, I wonder what you are looking for me?"

Ivanovsky's broad hand grasped the white-glazed porcelain teacup like a toy, and he smiled without drinking: "Mr. Peter, you should know that Count Dowit has the blood of the Vladimir family, right?"

"Of course, Count Werther's mother is a member of the Vladimir family, a knight and a lady who inspired the family's unique 'frost' bloodline. But what's wrong with this? Count Witt still inspired the 'withered' bloodline of his own patrilineal family, and surpassed his ancestors to become the first member of the Werther family to advance to the Heavenly Knights, and made many meritorious contributions in the wars with the Holy Herz Empire, the Kingdom of Tria, and the Duchy of Vaorit, elevating the hereditary baronial title of the Werther family to an earl, controlling nearly half of the Ural region. Lucien said eloquently, Count Werther was a nobleman he knew better.

Ivanovsky smiled incomprehensibly: "So my good thing for me to find you, Mr. Peter, is the title of a count, which is comparable to the inheritance of an ordinary duke." ”

The Urals are rich in mines, and the nobility here is much richer than the nobility of the same rank elsewhere.

"What do you want to do, Count Werther, is he about to be called by the Lord?" Lucien asked, "in a panic, "what does this have to do with me?"

Ivanovsky nodded lightly: "Kaliliana is the niece of the second lady of Count Werther, and she is close to Lord Count. According to her, Cardinal Nevsky of the Ural City asserted that the Count would live for at most half a year, and that he was a natural senile man who could not be treated with divine magic. ”

"Count Werther is a 'withered' bloodline, already difficult in terms of descendants, and in the prime of his life he has been fighting heretics in the South. After becoming an earl, after three wives but only one son, it is a pity that the young master died before he was ten years old. ”

"But what does this have to do with me?" asked Lucien again emphatically.

Ivanovsky put down the teacup in his hand and signaled Lucian to calm down: "Mr. Peter, you should know that Count Werther's parents died early because of the Heresy War, and he did not stimulate his bloodline until he was twenty-five years old, so those distant relatives of the Werther family coveted his property and title a lot, which made him suffer a lot of grievances and suffer countless hardships, and hated those people to the core. And in the process, some members of the Vladimir family, who were doing business here, helped him so that he could safely activate the bloodline. ”

"According to the Earl's tone from Carolina. He seems to have decided to take a male member of the Vladimir family as his stepson, and then arrange for him to marry a girl from the Werther family who has no background to inherit the title and inheritance. Let those side members die. This news will probably be announced in a month's time, and there will definitely be many members of the Vladimir family at that time, so why don't we seize this time and try to make a good impression in front of Count Werther?"

"Mr. Peter. You are handsome and elegant, polite and well-spoken. And very young to stimulate the strength of the blood, with the status of a knight, I think Count Witte will be very satisfied. ”

Lucien probably understood what they were planning. The title of count and the inheritance of half of the Ural region, that is the wealth that Duke Vladimir would also be tempted by, not to mention a smuggler like Ivanovsky.

After thinking about this, Lucien asked casually, "Lady Carliliana has the blood of the Witt family in her?"

Ivanovsky was stunned for a moment, and then Ha Lu Ha Da smiled: "Yes." From generations ago. It's thin, but no one can deny it. Mr. Peter, it would have been difficult for us to find out Count Werther's preferences without Cariliana's cooperation, and she was very much liked by Count Werther. Have a say in the final decision. So, it's impossible for us not to let her get the benefits. ”

"With such a beautiful woman as his wife, and with the title and inheritance of an earl, I don't think any normal nobleman could refuse. ”

"In this way, it seems that the target of Sergei's fraud is not my gold coins and long sword, but wants to control me through 'this business', but unfortunately I am not greedy. After Kaliliana's beauty plan also failed, Ivanovsky simply went straight to the door and seduced him straight to the point with huge benefits. Lucien pondered, but there were still many doubts that he couldn't figure out, such as Count Werther was still twenty or thirty years away from the end of the average life span of the Heavenly Knights, why did he age early, and did he suffer any incurable injuries or curses during the Heresy War in his prime?

And it seems that after inheriting the title, Cariliana's "Black Widow" reputation will "be" even louder in a few years.

So, Lucien smiled and said, "It's a difficult decision, but I still have to say sorry, Mr. Ivanovsky, I can't cooperate with you." ”

Although Lucien is a bit of a money obsesser, this is the Shahran Empire, and he is not a member of the Vladimir family at all, so he calmly refuses.

The succession ceremony presided over by the cardinal will verify the bloodline!

There can be no stupidity without greed!

"What?!, Mr. Peter, you see, you are rejecting the title of a count, the inheritance of half of the Ural region, the mines, the countless estates...... Ivanovsky said in surprise. He did not believe at all that anyone could resist such temptations, not even the worldly supreme emperor in the palace of Fort St. Ivan's Dolgoru!

Lucien said in an aria-like tone, "Because I can't give up my surname, Vladimir is a noble and glorious surname that has been passed down for many generations! ”

After speaking, Lucien added with a straight face: "My surname is my pride!"

Ivanovsky stared at Lucian like a madman: "I thought that the kind of knight who simply chased glory had disappeared from the nobility of the Shahran Empire, and only the paladins of the church were possible, but Mr. Peter, you subverted my idea. ”

Then he stood up and bowed deeply: "I hope Mr. Peter you can go further and smoother on this path." ”

Although he tried to show "admiration", Lucien judged from his not-so-superb acting skills, which seemed to be a counterstatement.

"I'll keep it a secret for you until the news is announced. Lucien said in a "knightly of integrity."

Ivanovsky smiled kindly: "I believe in you, Mr. Peter, and I hope that in the future I will have the opportunity to cooperate in other things that do not violate your knightly creed." ”

He then left Lucian's room with Matvey, whose eyelids were half-drooping.

"Master, you have to be careful, Ivanovsky has always been ruthless and does not like to leave hidden dangers. Leo walked out the door after Ivanovsky had left, reminding Lucien worriedly. (To be continued.) )