The next day, Swain was summoned again by the Emperor, this time not for an official audience, but for the Emperor to inquire and reply to the Earl of Midnight's previous proposal.

Upon receiving the call, Swain immediately set off for the Tiamat Palace. Originally, today was supposed to be the day to pick up Sophia and come back, but the emperor's sudden summons forced Swain to disrupt the trip.

Upon arrival at the Tiamat Palace, the court attendants led the Midnight Count to the inner city where the Emperor lived. The last time he came to Tiamat Palace, Swain walked through the main entrance and entered the Imperial Hall, and he didn't get a good grasp of the majesty and grandeur of Tiamat Palace. As he walked through the corridors from the time of Empress Karin I, admiring the paintings on the walls, the true face of Palazzo Tiamat was revealed to him.

The court attendants took Swain to the emperor's usual study, and after confessing his guilt, he retired. Swain glanced at the door in front of him, then raised his hand to knock.

"Please come in. ”

Surprisingly, a crisp female voice came from inside the door.

Sven frowned slightly, pushing the door in. Standing at the desk and watching him was none other than Princess Caterina, who had been allowed by the emperor to "scold" Swain at the dinner table last night in place of her grandfather.

Because he didn't know the identity of the girl in front of him, Sven just bowed and didn't say hello.

"Hello, Count Jericho, I am Katerina Higrid No. Gion-Godunov, the eldest daughter of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Celestia lifted the hem of her skirt and returned the salute to Swain.

After hearing that Princess Celestia declared her identity, Sven did not show a look of surprise. Since the emperor has decided to summon himself here, the identity of the person who will appear here must be very noble. What made Swain wonder was why the emperor didn't show up.

"Are you wondering why Your Majesty is not here, Mr. Earl?"

Sven bowed again, but remained silent.

"You really don't like to talk. Celestia chuckled, "Your Majesty has entrusted me with the task of receiving you, so if you really want to send your father to battle, you have to please me today!"

Although the eldest princess fully agreed with Swain's proposal when she replied to the emperor, she was looking for Swain today, so naturally she had to put a little psychological pressure on the earl.

"I see. Swain nodded, no expression on his face.

The other party's words are like gold, which makes the eldest princess raise her slender eyebrows. "Can you tell me why you made this suggestion? I heard that you and Viscount Jericho don't have a good relationship, and you want Viscount Jericho to join the counterinsurgency army, it can't be any special intention?"

"I do have some ideas. Swain did not hide anything, "By the grace of Your Majesty, I hope to give the Viscount a chance to make a difference, and I would be grateful if he could take this opportunity to receive an official knighthood." ”

Such a straightforwardness made Princess Celestia stunned. She frowned and thought for a moment, then she understood what Sven meant. The Empire did not allow nobles other than the royal family to have two titles at the same time, and if Viscount Jericho was able to receive a new title from the Emperor, he would automatically lose the right to inherit the title of Earl of Midnight.

In order to grasp this opportunity given by her grandfather, the eldest princess has done her homework. She had carefully read the information of the Jericho family last night, which Beria had given to her niece due to the Emperor's coercion. After learning more about the conflict between Jericho's father and son, she also roughly guessed Swain's intention to let Viscount Jericho go to war, but the other party said it so bluntly, which she didn't expect.

After pondering for a while, the eldest princess said, "So, can I understand that you made this suggestion to Your Majesty out of your own selfishness?"

"No one can ignore their own interests, not to mention that I'm still a southern nobleman, aren't I?"

Swain's seemingly self-deprecating words left Princess Celestia a little speechless. Indeed, in the eyes of generations of emperors, the southern aristocracy who stubbornly retained its independence was the epitome of selfishness, but who would admit that he was selfish?

The eldest princess looked at the young count carefully, and although his face was so stiff as a mask that he could not see his expression at all, his head was slightly raised, as if he was contemptuous of the person she was talking to.

As the report of the thirteenth lesson states, "he had a natural contempt for others." Princess Celestia thought to herself, she didn't care about this little earl, but now, she was a little interested. She sees Swain's arrogant attitude as a provocation, and she wants to defeat the Midnight Earl and "scold" Swain perfectly. Princess Celestia no longer sees this meeting as a simple task, but as a challenge.

"Huh-" she pressed the air out of her mouth and let out a meaningful voice, "You're really honest, aren't you worried that I'll blame you for this and reject your proposal?"

"There's nothing wrong with that for the empire, there is cooperation only when there are common interests. If I had a deep relationship with the Viscount at this time, I am afraid that I would not have been willing to let him go to a dangerous battlefield. ”

As awkward as this statement sounded, Swain had to admit that Princess Celestia had to admit. She also understood why the report said that the gentleman was "like a scalpel and liked to cut straight to the inside", but Count Jericho was not a man who liked to speak politely.

If it were ordinary nobles, such as the Earl of Hecate, then they would agree with this sentence, even if they were accustomed to disguise it on the surface, but in reality they wanted to do so. But only the royal family is different. The so-called royal family, they are the standout among the nobles, although there is no essential difference from the ordinary nobles, but they must show their differences in some small places in order to reflect the royal style. Therefore, although the eldest princess agrees with Count Jericho's remarks, if she does not teach this arrogant earl a lesson, then the uniqueness and sacredness of the royal family will not be reflected, and she will become an ordinary nobleman who can bargain.

"Sven Noe Jericho!" exclaimed Princess Celestia, her expression changing from an elegant and reserved smile to an almost serious one, with a bit of grandfather-like majesty that her father and uncle did not have, "is this your loyalty to the Empire? If you are standing here only because of your so-called interests, then what right do you have to enjoy the status and glory that the Empire brings you?"

At this moment, the momentum exuded by the eldest princess can probably make many people submit, as if they were subservient to the power of the emperor. But Swain was not afraid at all, he still maintained that calm face, standing in front of the eldest princess.

"Yes, I dedicate my loyalty to the Empire, and the Jericho family has not only paid the loyalty of generations to the Empire, we have also endured generations of pain for the world. If you think that what is now in front of you is only the Earl of Midnight, just your insignificant servant, you are wrong. Standing in front of you is ......"

Sven spoke, suddenly paused, he let out a soft nasal voice, shook his head, and said in a slightly mocking tone: "What's the point of telling you this? Although as Your Majesty, I don't care about a little person like me, but subconsciously, I still have that kind of intuition. ”

The eldest princess frowned, Swain's words could already be said to be disrespectful to the emperor. But she didn't reprimand him for that, because she cared so much about what Swain hadn't said.

After calming her expression, the eldest princess spoke again calmly: "Please continue what you just said, Jerry Keqing." ”

Bowing slightly, Swain saluted again. "If you ever become Caterina I, or Her Majesty Karin II, I know that. ”

Although Swain's demeanor was very respectful, his attitude was one of complete disdain for the emperor's pearl. He made it clear that a princess was not qualified to know this. However, the eldest princess was still not angry, she felt that the arrogant young earl in front of her was the kind of person she rarely saw. There were too many mediocre people around her, her father, uncle, and those younger siblings, none of them had the talent of her grandfather, and she had long felt that life in the court was too dull and boring, and none of them had the intelligence and strength to match her. And this Count Jericho, although he replied a little arrogant, but there was no lack of resourcefulness, as can be seen from the fact that he could come up with such a way to remove Viscount Jericho's claim to his title.

This may be someone who can help. Princess Celestia thought to herself, after her grandfather showed her that attitude towards her yesterday, her heart began to come alive, not to mention, didn't the empire have the same empress in history with the honorable name Karin?

Although she has the intention to win over, for the eldest princess, the favor of a helper is naturally not so important compared to the favor of her grandfather, and the most important thing at present is to complete the task assigned to her by the emperor.

"In that case, Count Jericho!" she immediately straightened her face again, and her tone became stern again, "Perhaps your family has made great contributions to the Empire, but you should be punished for your disrespect to the Emperor in your words. His Majesty the Emperor has always been lenient with those who offend him, so this time he will only be fined three thousand imperial geals, do you have any objection?"

Princess Celestia calmly watched as the count walked up to her. Swain knelt down on one knee and bowed his head to punishment. "Thank you for your kindness, I have fully recognized my mistake and have no opinion. As he spoke, he looked up again. Although Celestia could not see a smile on his face, she could see the playfulness in his eyes.

"How about you pass this money on to Your Majesty?"

The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and the eldest princess found that although the young earl was a little arrogant, he was not ignorant of human affairs, and could even be said to be well versed in the nobles. "In that case, I'm happy to oblige. ”

Although the punishment was made and Swain had confessed his mistake, Princess Celestia did not let Swain get up. "This is a punishment for your disrespect to the Emperor, and we can continue to talk about Viscount Jericho. ”

Swain didn't feel any dissatisfaction with the condescending princess, he still raised his head and looked up at the princess.

"Don't you say something, and if you say something nice, I might forget the little unpleasantness I just had. Princess Celestia smiled and looked with interest at Count Jericho, who was kneeling before her.

"I don't think there's anything unpleasant about you, after all, it's you who are receiving me, not His Majesty the Emperor. ”

"But I am an agent of His Majesty the Emperor. ”

"'Glory to Siliul. Prosperity is attributed to virtue'. ”

Princess Celestia curled the ends of her sideburns. Although the earl's words are sometimes sharp, and he likes to cut through the surface of hypocrisy, if he really fights dumb riddles, he is also very skillful.

"So, in your eyes, who can represent virtue?"

"Tiamat Palace. Swain took Princess Celestia's hand and kissed the back of her hand, "The glory of building the Palace of Tiamat will never end in modern times, and she can glorify Siliul for another thousand years." ”

Princess Celestia was quite satisfied with Count Jericho's answer.

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On this day, the palace attendants once again heard terrible voices coming from the emperor's study, only this time it was not the emperor who caused these sounds, but the eldest princess. When Count Jericho came out of the study, he looked quite embarrassed, and there was a red handprint on his face, which made the Tiamat Palace start to talk again, they didn't expect that the eldest princess, who usually looked weak, was no less powerful than the emperor.

The emperor who heard the news was not angry at all, although there was one less vase in his study, but he didn't care, anyway, he himself didn't smash these expensive and fragile works of art. He was very satisfied with his granddaughter's performance, and in his opinion, Caterina was much better than his two sons, and the emperor could only be majestic if he could do it.

Eventually, Viscount Jericho and his Imperial Capital garrison were incorporated into Marshal Rudolph's legion to garrison the town of Lands, the southern gate of Devide, and to serve as an advance force in the future reconquest of Midnight Fort.

The passage of this resolution was surprisingly smooth, and the War Ministry did not dare to say no to the Emperor at all, and the Ministry of the Interior also happily agreed to release him, but the Count of Hecate was a little depressed while being relieved. He was also co-opted by Swain, but he didn't really need to help at all, and Viscount Jericho was sent to battle.

This news is good news for Count Hecate, but it is also quite a hidden danger. This matter was originally one of the conditions for the exchange of Yang, although Count Heckat did not agree, but if it went so smoothly, Swain probably would not come to them to make other requests. But what worries him is that he didn't say yes and didn't refuse, and it can be said that the matter was over before he made a decision, and if Swain's involvement in him was known in the future, there might be some trouble.

Of course, Count Hecate also felt that he was too worried. On the surface, this matter is actually not very harmful to Viscount Jericho, as the commander of the imperial capital garrison, once the imperial capital is attacked, he and the imperial capital garrison will inevitably go to the front line, and this is also a good opportunity for Viscount Jericho to make a contribution, isn't this exactly what he wants? Although it is not in the Ministry of the Interior, but in the army, there is not much difference.

Viscount Jericho's reaction wasn't too bad. Viscount Jericho himself was not opposed to the appointment, although Madame Jerichault was worried. However, the fact that the initiator of this proposal was Swain made the viscount quite suspicious. But even if there were doubts, when the order had been given and Crown Prince Alexander had not spoken, the viscount did not have the opportunity and ability to question this order.

At least, judging from the results so far, this incident has not caused much turmoil, and even everyone is happy.

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Because he was summoned to Tiamat Palace early in the morning, Swain was unable to go to Astrad I College to pick up Sophia in person. And when he returned to the mansion, Sophia was already sitting at the table, waiting for her brother to come back and dine together.

"I'm sorry I was summoned by the Tiamat Palace this morning and couldn't pick you up in person. Swain took off his coat and handed it to the servant, taking the head of the table, "Are you still having fun at school?"

"All is well, brother. Sophia replied with a smile. Although Swain was a little disappointed that she couldn't pick her up in person, she was able to see her brother who she hadn't seen for a long time, and her mood quickly improved again.

"That's good. Swain rubbed his sister's hair, and his eyes softened.

"Brother, sir. ”

"Huh?"

Sophia hung her head, trying to say something, but she couldn't say anything.

"Tell me anything. Swain's hand slid down Sophia's long hair and pressed against her cheek.

"Yes...... I met my sister at school. ”

"Oh, did you see her? Yes, you're in the same school, it's easy to meet. What, aren't you happy to see your sister?"

"No, I'm happy. Sophia shook her head, her eyes still not looking at Swain, "I'm just afraid you're upset......"

"I'm not happy? Of course not. Sophia, I have no prejudice against Victoria, otherwise I wouldn't want to take her back, you can rest assured. And your mother, and that lady, too, I don't have any ill feelings for her. ”

Comforted by her brother, even if there was no expression on that face, she was very relieved and happy. "That's great! Can I ask you for one thing?" she looked up at her brother, her eyes full of anticipation.

"Of course, let's say it. ”

"I want to visit my mother. ”

Sven looked at his sister gently, and in her eyes, Sven could find a little nervousness.

"No problem, when do you want to go? I'll go with you. ”

"Really, so is it okay tomorrow?"

"Absolutely. Swain patted Sophia on the head, "Now that Viscount Ernest has been transferred to Lanz Town, south of Dwed, for military affairs, I think they should be very worried." This time, you can go and comfort them. ”

"Well, thank you, Elder Brother!"