"Victor, you wait a moment. I have something to tell Caterina. You can take advantage of this time to discuss the details of the minting distribution with Embisser. Sylvia beckoned to Caterina, "Caterina, please come with me." ”

Victor was about to send Sylvia out, and when he heard this, he asked in disbelief, "Ah, Lady Caterina is also going to the kite?"

"His Royal Highness Roland invited me to the Kite Castle...... Well, the right is to revisit the old place. Caterina stopped, rolled her eyes, tilted her head slightly, and asked, "What's the matter?" ”

Ville is Roland's stage name nickname for the little baron. Only a few people know that Victor is called this way, including Katerina.

Duke Joshua's sister-in-law almost became queen of Gambis, and as Roland's best friend, she had known the little baron for a long time.

In Victor's memory, Caterina was very considerate and caring for the cute little prince at that time, but she always looked arrogant and elegant in front of the other little squires. She occasionally participates in games written and directed by Roland, and only uses Victor's nickname in that case.

Victor was taken aback when he first met Caterina at Rose Manor. The two sides tacitly avoided talking about the past in the kite, let alone the past.

Caterina calls out Victor's little-known nickname in public, and the intimacy is overflowing. But Victor didn't have the sense of substitution of the little baron at all, and only felt embarrassed. "It is my pleasure to walk with you, noble lady Caterina," he said. ”

Katerina raised her chin slightly, the corners of her lips rose, and her eyes contained a smile, as if to say: You know each other. Then, with a chuckle, she took Sylvia by the arm and walked out of the room with a light step.

Only Victor and the Duke of York sat opposite each other in the room. The two of them stared at each other, and the atmosphere was indescribably strange.

The last person Victor wanted to see was Embiter York, and perhaps because of Sylvia, he always felt uncomfortable and disgusted when facing the fat duke. But at this moment, he could only pretend to ask calmly: "Lord Duke, do you still have any questions about the casting right of Copper Thor?"

"I like to be called the Duke, but I'd rather you call me Embisser. The Duke of York moved his fat body and said, "Her Highness Sylvia thinks too highly of me. I don't really have much research on money. However, I always feel that the Covenant of Sol has loopholes to exploit in the minting of Copper Thor, but the specific problem ......" He paused, shook his head, and said, "I need to think about it for a while before I can talk to you about cooperation." ”

"In that case, then I won't disturb your meal. "Victor is ready to take his leave.

Embiter nodded, cut a piece of pie, and suddenly asked, "Victor, you've known Katerina for a long time?"

This is to warn me to stay away from Katerina? You can't stand Katerina yourself, what's the matter with me! If you dare to chirp at me, don't blame me for not showing you mercy...... Victor chuckled in his heart, and then he became angry, sat down again, and said nonchalantly: "Well, I saw her when I lived in the kiteburg, we didn't know each other, and I thought she was also a maid of the palace. ”

A friendly smile appeared on the Duke of York's fat face, and he asked instead, "Victor, have you noticed a strange phenomenon? Among the five marquis capitals of Gambis, except for Sophia, there is not a single transcendent knight. ”

The Marquis families of the five kings, Leopold, Greyward, Bastern, Ludwigsi, and Wimbledon are all famous families with a long history. There was no shortage of high-ranking knights, but the successors to the title of marquis tended to be ordinary scholars in the family, and the knights of the family were largely far from the political center of the kingdom, either serving in the military, serving as lord of the fiefdom, or acting as an attendant to members of the royal family.

The phenomenon of ordinary nobles suppressing knightly aristocrats is peculiar. Victor smiled disapprerovingly: "The silver knights can live to be 120 years old, they serve as important ministers of the kingdom, and others don't want to come out." If I were a king, I wouldn't like my ministers to be powerful knights. You see, His Royal Highness Williams and His Majesty Catherine must always be cautious in the presence of the Marquis of Golon, lest they be disgraced by the Minister of War. ”

"We don't want the Randall family to recruit knights. In fact, you are not prepared to recruit the knights of the family, and you are even more reluctant to accept Sophia's subordinates...... The prosperity of Randall's Territory has a lot to do with your decision. The Duke of York said with a smile.

Victor was silent for a moment, and then said, "I don't deny it, knights are some difficult people to control. ”

"Knights are hard to handle...... Extraordinary knights are even more difficult to navigate. The Duke of York sighed and said, "The five powerful lords of Gambis, Duke Joshua is a probationary knight, Duke Nimes is a knight promoted by potions, and Duke Wellington is a scholar nobleman, I ...... Once a knight promoted by potions, now an ordinary nobleman, only the Marquis of Solim is a transcendent knight, and the Solim family has declined...... Victor, do you know why?"

Victor was intrigued, thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "Please advise." ”

"Call me Embisser. ”

The Duke of York pushed away the food and shouted to the maid, "That...... Baby Elia, please take the breakfast away, I want to talk to Viscount Randall alone. He took advantage of the maid's tidying up of the table, and reached out and pinched her round and full buttocks.

The handsome maid smiled charmingly at the fat duke, picked up the rest of the food, and turned to leave the room.

Embiter smacked his lips and said unsatisfactorily: "What a stunner...... and said viciously: "Illya is my baby, don't try to seduce her." ”

Victor wanted to keep a straight face, but he couldn't hold back his laughter, so he could only shake his head and say, "Big ...... Embiter, you're thinking too much. ”

Embiter laughed, and the atmosphere of awkward conversation suddenly vanished. After a while, he continued the topic he had just said: "Extraordinary and strong people are strong-willed, no matter how wise and slick they behave, the essence of strength remains the same. Every principled concession is a heavy blow to them. It's like two saber-toothed beasts, tooth to tooth, claw to claw, both have the ability to kill each other, how can they get along well?"

"There are only two great knights in the Solim family. The situation of the Bronze City is so difficult, but the other great knight is hiding in the city of Blinor. Why? Not to avoid the erected Marquis of Solim. The Duke of York scoffed.

Victor repeatedly: "I don't understand, why can't the old Marquis of Solim tolerate the family's silver knight?"

"He's not as fat as me, how can he tolerate the Silver Knight?" Embiter rubbed his chubby face into a strange shape, let go of his hand, and laughed, "I think it's funny, what do you say?"

Victor looked at Embiter's face trembling speechlessly, and after a long time, he said, "It's good if you're happy." ”

"The Grand Knight doesn't make himself amused when he's bored. Embiter shrugged his shoulders and said, "Their behavior always puts a lot of pressure on their fellow citizens. Even if the Marquis of Solim asks the grand knight of the family to cut a piece of barbecue for him, the grand knight will have to figure out the true intentions of the marquis...... The old Marquis of Solim also thinks about every move of the great knight of the family. Worst of all, almost every Silver Knight ends up resonating with 36 elemental bits. The same strength, the same nobility, no one is convinced by the other...... Since there is no Golden Knight in the family, everyone can only nominate a low-blooded guy as the leader. This is how primogeniture came about. ”

"Ahh......h

"Isn't it just to keep the family intact...... The leader of the powerful family sends the great knights of the same rank to run out, and the eldest son is tasked with helping the family accommodate more of the great knights. The Duke of York smiled and said, "Do you think I'm a poor duke?"

Victor was silent for a moment and asked, "Why are you talking to me about this?"

"What do you say?" the Duke of York smiled meaningfully, and said calmly: "Victor, you don't know the life of the big family, you have a misunderstanding about me...... That's not good. We should understand each other and dispel misunderstandings. ”

"My grandfather, the Duke of Jeffrey York, was a full 19 years younger than his wife, the previous guardian of the family, Lady Isabella. No one expected that Jeffrey, who had mediocre qualifications, would become a great knight...... This happens occasionally, and the eldest son of a large family achieves the Silver Knight through a persistent pursuit. ”

"My father wasn't so lucky. Jeffrey was only 16 years old when he gave birth to him, and he wasn't even a trainee knight, and Isabella was only a veteran knight. His father barely became a probationary knight by refining potions, and Geoffrey and Isabella later gave birth to a girl and a boy. My aunt married Neville and got my mother back...... My uncle was Tellandon. When my grandfather gave birth to him, he was already a great knight, so Terrandon was not much older than me. The Duke of York showed a look of remembrance and said, "Although my father is the weakest, he is the eldest son, and he is born to inherit the York family...... Until a spotted tiger killed him, he failed to become the Duke of York. ”

Embiter shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Actually, my father's martial arts skills are very good, but he doesn't believe that he is old, and he thinks that the spotted tiger is a kitten." Isn't it ridiculous?"

"It's a tragedy. I regret what happened to your father. Victor said sincerely.

"Tragedy? maybe. At least he proved the courage of the fanged sons and did not let Geoffrey watch his eldest son die in his bed......" The Duke of York muttered, "My grandfather was too good to live......."

"Of course, my father's life was wonderful, he was always busy and had no regrets. The Fat Duke perked his spirits and continued, "For the same reason, in order to keep the Grand Knight of the family, Jeffrey handed over the family affairs to my father early. Everyone called him Little Jeffrey, Little Duke of York. He loved his children, especially Fred, even though they weren't his own. ”

Embiter glanced at the dumbfounded Victor and smiled mischievously: "Fred's biological father is a highness, so I won't mention the specific name." If it weren't for such a deep relationship, how could Ulena marry Terrandon? Fred knew his background, knew that he was a descendant of the House of York, the son of Little Geoffrey, and the younger brother of the current Duke of York. ”

"It's hard to accept the intricacies of a large family?"

Without waiting for Victor to answer, Embiter said in a deep voice: "The family relationship between the members of the small family is simple and stable, and that is in Gambis, and that is because Gambis has a big family. If you go to the Eastern Alliance, those guys who have no honor treat the maid's daughter as a maid, as a cargo, and don't care about their other identity at all. This is a fate that we cannot bear to bear, and we are trying to change. We cannot afford to lose the noble bloodline, from which the primogeniture comes from. ”