Different from the usual visits and meetings, welcoming a nobleman to the door means entertaining him for a meal, which must be worthy of the distinguished status of both parties, otherwise it will be considered a faux pas.

Although one side is a knight, and the other side is only a baron, it is not a big problem to not follow etiquette.

But Luo Ming knew that Sherlock was a person who valued honor and family name, so there was a good chance that she would like to observe aristocratic etiquette, and he didn't want his relationship with this friend and boss to deteriorate.

After a long day of busy work with the steward, Luo Ming finally prepared everything and waited for Sherlock to come to the door.

By this time, he was desperately eager to have a professional butler.

But professional housekeepers don't come cheap...... Those who can receive professional housekeeper education are either relatively wealthy freemen, or simply the children of nobles.

It's not that Luo Ming can't afford to hire a butler for a knight, but the salary of a butler can definitely dry up his pockets a lot.

At the end of the day, you have to be rich......

Gada, Gada...... Familiar sounds sounded, accompanied by the sound of horses' hooves, the undulation of wheels.

A rather beautiful carriage appeared in Romin's field of vision, followed by two cavalry guards, who were carrying Sherlock's flag—Lockin's look looked closely, and the flagpole was more than enough for a weapon, with a spearhead at the top.

Anyway, does Sherlock like putting on a show so much? Lockin wasn't sure.

This road is not long, and it is generally considered that it is more convenient to ride a horse.

Not only does it save time, but it also allows the people in the territory to appreciate more of their lord's heroic posture and superb horsemanship.

After all, Sherlock is supposed to be a man in most people's minds, and it's just a few times a while, and if you keep riding in a carriage in the territory, sooner or later there will be rumors of weakness and the like.

The carriage seemed to have deliberately slowed down as it passed through Luo Ming's territory, and it was not until five minutes later that it slowly stopped at the door of Luo Ming's mansion.

Perhaps, Sherlock is watching the development of this territory in full swing.

"Welcome, Lord Baron, your presence makes my realm shine with glory!"

"I am really touched by your enthusiasm!"

Sherlock got out of the carriage and gave Lockin a warm hug.

At this moment, Luo Ming didn't have any superfluous associations.

Not...... In this world, of course, men don't need to say, even if it's a man and a woman, it's not a particularly strange thing to hug.

In some areas, there are also kissing and even kissing, and although most people no longer accept this etiquette, there are still some people who stubbornly kiss each other.

The fact that Brezhnev on Earth has become a joke in the mouths of many because he kissed the leaders of other countries, but he still insists on it, proves that this kind of exaggerated etiquette has not completely disappeared in the 21st century.

============================

Although she likes etiquette, Sherlock is not a person who is bound by etiquette, she directly asks the servants to prepare the meal, and then drives all the servants away.

The only people listening here were herself, Lomin, and Granty.

"It's not a few hundred years ago, when there was a lot of self-proclaimed nobility and indiscriminate nobility, and in order to maintain a more stable order, the Duchy issued a decree thirty-two years ago.

The decree required all newly inherited or newly feuded nobles in the principality's territory to register with the royal capital within two years before they could be officially recognized, and receive new title deeds and some small things representing nobility. ”

After listening to Sherlock's words, Luo Ming thought for a moment, this is probably a means to strengthen the centralization of power - the nobles were originally the absolute masters of their own territory, and even the so-called grand dukes, kings, and even emperors were generally only the heads of the nobles, not their rulers.

Now, if these nobles want to inherit the title, or newly crowned nobles, they have to go to the royal capital to register.

Even if the royal capital did not deliberately make it difficult for them, in fact, it had already made the nobles bow their heads by half, giving people the illusion that "I am an official and you are a citizen".

Those nobles who do not go to register, his identity will not be respected, and his territory and interests will be violated, and no one will help him defend his rights, and some people will even seize this opportunity to fall into the ground.

This is not good news for the nobles, the original principality must have caused some chaos because of this matter, and someone must have rebelled, but it was suppressed by the Grand Duke's troops.

But Sherlock was clearly very receptive to it, and she spoke of it without complaint.

As if sensing Luo Ming's question, she smiled and said, "Do you know which superior nobleman my family has been loyal to for generations?"

"It can't be the Grand Duke, right?" Luo Ming was a little surprised, he didn't expect that the girl in front of him could actually have a relationship with the supreme ruler of the principality.

"That's right! It's the rulers of the principality, the Dvokulan family.

The ancestor of my family, the Valentine family, was once the guard of the first Grand Duke Albert, and after blocking a cold arrow for the Grand Duke, he was made a knight. Later, after the hard work of many generations of martyrs, he sacrificed his blood, sweat and even his life for the Grand Duke, and became today's baron. ”

When he said this, Sherlock seemed to be a picture of pride.

When you think about it this way, it's not surprising.

To put it bluntly, her family is a hardcore royalist.

The Valentine family was a loyal follower of the Grand Duke, and was only a baron, and even if the Grand Duke wanted to centralize power, the interests of those dukes and counts would be harmed first, and the impact on her family would be very small.

Even, when the authority of the Grand Duke grows greater, the Valentine family, who has the No. 1 backer of Tianzi, will also gain many benefits.

No matter how centralized power is, even if the monarch is a god or a supercomputer, there must be subordinates responsible for executing orders, and relying on cronies to supervise whether orders are executed by people.

The Valentine family is undoubtedly well-rooted, with the name of generations of loyal martyrs, and the heart of serving the country with fists, no matter which generation of the Grand Duke will use them as cronies.

Even if the Grand Duke one day brought the centralization of power to the level of ancient China, the Valentine family would not be able to transform into a landlord and an official, and would still be a local tyrant, a big family, and a gatekeeper.

As a native of the Celestial Empire, Luo Ming is quite accustomed to this.

Centralization and authoritarian dictatorship should not be confused, and a higher degree of centralization means that more power can be concentrated and used.

"Every year on the first of May, the Grand Duke holds a grand ceremony in the royal capital to confer decorations on the new nobles. A month or two before that, both the inherited nobles and the newly crowned nobles would gather in the royal capital, and it would be a grand event!"