After Arnold decided to advance the meeting, Northway's emissary Juan returned to the Eastern Horse Territory to report to the Duke of Æthelwolf, who had already arrived.

"Thank you, Juan. Seeing his younger brother, Duke Æthelwolf, who was over fifty years old, took the initiative to step forward and dust off his younger brother, "Leng Shanling is now the time when the snow is closing the mountain, and it is really hard for you to go back and forth on such a difficult road." ”

"No, serving my brother and my family is what I should do. Juan was touched by the duke's cordial greeting. Because of their humble beginnings, Northway is not proud of their status, and they know the importance of unity better than any other aristocratic family. The atmosphere in the Northville family is often more like an ordinary commoner family, and the relationship between family and family is more than the level of status, and the intrigue in the ordinary aristocratic family is not seen in the Northway.

After helping his brother straighten his collar, the Duke of Æthelwolf patted Juan on the shoulder. "What about Fegraf's response, and what impression did you make of the little duke?"

Speaking of business, Juan frowned as he left, and his expression became serious.

"Figlaf's attitude is hard to say, but the little duke ...... The Duke of Arnold seems to me to be quite unenthusiastic about the Alliance. ”

"Oh, why do you say that?" said the Duke of Æthelwolf, looking at his brother's serious expression with interest, and Juan specially separated Fegraf from Arnold, which really aroused the Duke's curiosity.

"As you know, Duke Arnold has not been back in the Cold Mountain Territory for a few months, and he does not have a high degree of control over the territory and vassals, and those vassals, especially those in Herkasi, seem to have a certain disagreement with the Duke. Originally, Arnold was the one they took to the duke's seat, and of course these people would not be as tame as they were when they were under Tagman. ”

"Hmph, those people are not honest under Tagman, and finally exiled Tagman and made his son a duke, I'm afraid these people are just looking for a puppet who is easy to control, so as to indirectly rule Leng Shan Ling with their own will. ”

The Duke of Æthelwolf's vision was obviously more long-term, and although he had not been to the Cold Mountain Territory, he could analyze the situation from Juan's few words.

"My brother's speculation makes sense. Juan nodded, but did not indicate whether it was right or wrong, "Now it seems that Arnold, the little duke, is more powerful, but the final result is not easy to say." In any case, Duke Lengshan can only be a member of the Figlaf family, so no matter who marries, the alliance between the families should be valid, not to mention, this time it is a three-way alliance. ”

"Shouldn't that little duke need an alliance with us more to secure his position?" Duke Æthelwolfe furrowed the corners of his mouth, his expression much more relaxed than Juan's, who had a serious, thoughtful face, "but he did the opposite, as if he didn't want to pay attention to this alliance at all." ”

"Yes...... Juan lowered his head, looking a little ashamed, "I'm sorry, brother, I didn't get the job done. ”

"No, you've done a good job. Duke Æthelwolf shook his head with a smile and took his brother's hand, "Since that little duke has asked to meet on the matter of the alliance, he will not have enough certainty about any envoy until he meets me. You have no problem doing it, tell me about Arnold's reaction. ”

"Yes. Duke Arnold did not say anything about our offer, but he ...... to Tamska "Juan pursed his lips and thought for a moment before continuing, "he does not intend to marry his own sister, but to marry his cousin, Mademoiselle Mathilde. ”

"Cousin?"

"Yes, the younger brother of Duke Tagman, the daughter of Webster Figlaf. ”

"Oh, that Webster's daughter......" Duke Æthelwolf nodded, Webster's reputation, he had heard of it, certainly not a good reputation.

"Duke Arnold only unilaterally informed Cheval Blanc, and Duke Louis has not yet expressed his position, and will probably make a final decision at the meeting. Juan said as he looked at the duke's aged face, "Brother, how sure are you about this alliance......? Not very promising. ”

"Well, it's not surprising that you'd think so. Duke Æthelwolf put away his smile, "After all, I don't have much confidence in this alliance either. ”

"Brother?" the duke's answer surprised Juan, who stared at the duke with a serious expression in his eyes.

"Northway, Feglaf, and Tamska are all strong men, and how can they tolerate the same adversary around us? The timing of this outbreak should not be when I am alive, we all have more suitable opponents, and before our desires expand to a certain extent, neither of us will easily do anything to others. ”

"So, this alliance is doomed from the beginning, but that doesn't matter, as long as we can get through the current difficulties, the value of this alliance to us is enough. ”

"But are Fegraf and Tamska willing to help us?" Juan was still very uneasy, "this enemy, but ......"

The Duke of Æthelwolf waved his hand, signaling that his brother did not need to go any further.

"They will, no one can take such a risk, and it is impossible for them to be left alone when the entire eastern part of the empire is threatened to be destroyed. If you don't want to be buried with us in Northville, Fegraf and Tamska will have to help us in their entirety. ”

"That's what I said, but ......," Juan stopped talking, but didn't say what was going on.

"But what?" said the Duke of Æthelwolf, chuckling, motioning for him to continue.

Juan sighed. "However, will Feglav and Tamska want to take this opportunity to weaken our Northway?They may go to great lengths to help us until the crisis is resolved, but once it is confirmed that they can defeat the enemy, will they fall into the ground?and, this time, they will enter our territory to assist in the battle, and if the city of Vodahra is too badly damaged in the battle, will they ...... intends to take advantage of the opportunity to annex us, as it did to the Vortagan Territory. ”

The Duke was silent, he hadn't thought about the problem, but the problem was that he couldn't come up with a good solution either.

"Juan, do you remember the instructions your father left us on his deathbed?"

Juan nodded heavily, for Duke Eren, the entire Norsville family is extremely admired, and he can conquer a territory with his bare hands, and become one of the six dukes of the empire from the declining nobles of the lower echelons, and there is only Duke Erren Northville in the entire era.

"Unite the family, defend the territory, protect the people. I have always kept my father's legacy in my heart. Juan looked at his brother as if he saw his father's shadow in his brother's body, "My brother has always done this perfectly. You have protected our family, defended our territory, and guarded our people, and I think my father would be glad to see what you have achieved today. ”

"No, you're wrong, Juan. In Juan's stunned eyes, Duke Æthelwolf shook his head, "What protects our family is the unity of our Northville itself, it is the brave warriors of this territory who defend our territory, and the people are protected only because I understand the limits of what I can ask for from the people." Whether it is a duke or a small manor owner, the ruler is never the owner of the land, but the people who toiled on the land were the real owners of the land. They work for us, we provide shelter for them, and we are equal relations with each other, so we are not in a position to take too much from the people, and it is our real duty to give them peace and contentment. ”

"Therefore, no matter what kind of conspiracy Figlaf and Tamska have, we have no need to worry, as long as we maintain unity, we can overcome any difficulties, this is the way of our Northway! Even gods and demons will not be able to storm our city of Vodahara, because it is a solid fortress that has been built by the unity of our Northville and the people and will never be conquered!"

"Yes, I will follow in my brother's footsteps and defend our family to the death!" Juan looked at Duke Æthelwolf excitedly, this unity and self-confidence was the pride of Northville, and such a good leader was their happiness.

The Duke of Æthelwolf went to the window, opened it, and looked out at the bleak field outside.

"This land is so rich, this is a blessing from Hull, no matter what, not even gods and demons can take this treasure from our hands!"

The duke's hand struck twice on the windowsill, and there was a resolute look in his eyes.

"Is the snake eye ready? The garrison of the border line will be handed over to Congreve, and the main forces of the army in the territory will be concentrated in the city of Vodahara, and those jackals of the Askar Alliance will definitely want to take advantage of the opportunity, let Congreve strictly guard the fortresses and castles on the border, and lose some land, as long as the key strategic points are in our hands, we can take it back sooner or later." ”

The Duke did not say this to Juan, but to the knight who had been with him.

"Yes. The knight nodded, and even at the duke's side, he was fully armed, his helmet covering his face, and he couldn't even see his expression.

"Juan, you go back to Vodahara, and help Alfred prepare for the defense, this meeting is enough for me to go, and you can stay behind. ”

Duke Æthelwolf said, a thoughtful look on his face.

"By the way, how is that Fergus child, a young man named Andrew?"

"Taken care of by Lord Alfred, the young man is very much in his respect. The knight replied in a deep voice, and it was impossible to discern his mood and attitude from his tone and tone alone.

"That's right......" Duke Æthelwolf nodded, then turned to Juan and said, "When you return to Vodahara, let Alfred give that child something to do, after all, he is the last descendant of the Fergus family, and since he has come to us, he should be given some reuse." ”

"I see, brother. But then, how are you going to explain this when you meet with Tamská?"

"Hmph......" laughed the Duke of Æthelwolf, "I have made such a gesture, and if Louis were a smart man, he would have understood what I meant." He's not going to get into trouble with me about this kind of thing. ”

"But I've heard that Duke Louis's personality ......," Juan was still uneasy, "that's an extremely arrogant and arrogant duke, and the impression left by Duke Arnold after meeting him is also very bad, I'm afraid he can't deal with it so easily, right?"

"Don't worry. The Duke waved his hand and led the knight towards the door, "Tamska is always the most sensible, because there is that guy in White Horse City." ”

"Archbishop, Benedict. ”