July 11, 349 Continental Gregorian Calendar, Iberia, Valencia. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

In the south of Iberia, the Marquis of Juan Sánchez, who held the three countdoms of Numancia, Seville and Staide, was the best of the southern princes. Then among the northern princes, the Duke of Carreras, who occupies Valencia and Almeria, is the prince second only to the king in strength.

Individually, Valencia alone is already comparable to the Aragon region where the royal capital Debans is located, and if it weren't for the fact that the royal family still has rich Catalonia, then the Duke of Carreras of Almeria, who also owns copper and iron ore, can even surpass the Genora family. Valencia has one of the finest golden coastlines in Iberia, and the vast plains of the lower Illyrian River make it a good place for agriculture. Valencia, the capital, is the busiest port in northern Iberia and one of the most populous.

As for the Carreras family, the family has a long history, and the history of its start in Valencia is perhaps only a dozen years after the establishment of the Wyvern Valley.

Even the Carreras family, with a long history, wealth and power, still has its own misfortunes. This misfortune was arguably the greatest disaster for the Gatekeeper family - the Carreras family lost an heir, or more precisely, a direct heir. The current Duke of Valencia is very old, and he also feels that he is at sunset, and he is no longer capable of giving birth to a direct step-Carreras, the current Duke of Valencia, and this morning, after bidding farewell to the doctor's treatment, he came to bed with his most trusted staff, Baron Albert Mendes.

"How are you feeling today, Lord Duke?" The baron asked kindly.

"I've been in the world for 69 years, and every day I live is just one more day." The Duke replied weakly. "Alright, dear Albert, do you have any good news for me?"

"Maybe it's not good news." The baron stepped aside and drew the curtains for the duke, so that the midsummer sun would not make the old man feel uncomfortable.

"What's going on?"

"The Marquis de Sánchez of Numancia sent an open letter to the princes of the north, hoping that we would respond to his call to convene a great council of all Iberian nobles in conjunction with the princes of the south."

"Juan, that old fox?" The Duke smiled, "I envy his energy, he was a restless fellow when we studied together in Debans more than fifty years ago. If I could be like him......"

"The Marquis of Sánchez wishes to be able to impeach His Majesty Overfleet by this council, and for this purpose he has assembled an army of 30,000 men, but at least 8,000 in fact, to march on Debans. I think his intention was to take advantage of this opportunity to overthrow the royal family and make his granddaughter the new Iberian co-ruler. The baron continued.

"Juana? It was a lovely little lark, and ah, I had wanted to have such a lovely granddaughter. ”

"The reason he gave was indeed above board, the House of Genora had been defeated three times in a row before Sogreand Julius of Pharensi, and Iberia had shed too much blood in these three battles, and the ...... of the plebeians and the nobility alike" The Baron stopped, not wanting to provoke his lord.

"Yes, if I had been as energetic as Juan, it shouldn't have been my Andrew who stepped on the horse last year, but my old bones should have followed His Majesty's side." The Duke sighed with a little sadness.

"Lord Duke, what is your position?"

"How did the others react?" The Duke asked rhetorically.

"Most of the princes are still silent, and the two counties of Gijon and Leida have openly answered Numancia's call."

"Albert, you must have heard your father mention that if the King had not come to my aid, I would have died in some conspiracy, or died in depression in Debans. Therefore, even if His Majesty Overfleet is at fault now, I cannot do anything to betray him. So, I'm going to be neutral in this storm. ”

"But ......"

"However, neither side will give me this opportunity, I am old and no longer have the energy to deal with them. So, I need to find the right person to represent me. Valencia's de facto neutrality is maintained, and the people of Valencia and Almeria will not suffer disaster, regardless of which side wins in the end. Albert, can you help me? The Duke looked at the Baron.

The baron bowed his head in some trepidation, "My lord, I'm afraid it will be difficult to take on this important task in the future. ”

"Oh, really?" The Duke muttered and lay back down.

"However, there is a man who can take on this responsibility, and he has enough prestige and ability." The baron looked up and suggested.

"Who is it?"

"William Grant, Earl of Osasuna."

"Tell me what you think." The Duke became interested.

"I recommend Earl Grant for three reasons: first, he had served as a military adviser to His Majesty Oflit, and had been accused of defeat on His Majesty's behalf, and Debans, for his part, rightfully regarded him as his right-hand man; Second, during his reign in Osasuna, the woolen guilds of Seville transferred a considerable part of their industries to his territory, which shows that Numancia also had considerable trust in him; Third, he is a general who understands military affairs, and once led the militia of Wyvern Valley to easily defeat Stefano's army. All three of the above are a solid foundation to ensure that Valencia will survive this storm. Looking at the Iberian princes, there is probably no more suitable person than him. ”

"Well, what you said is very reasonable."

"I heard that the former Taifu Suarez Qing is also his staff at present, and the junior knights in many places admire his reputation very much, and hope to have the opportunity to join him."

"But, for me, he is an outsider after all, so on what basis can he contribute to Valencia?"

"With all due respect, your daughter-in-law, Lady Lucia, is currently widowed, and Count Grant has been widowed for many years, and if such a marriage can be brought about, then Count Grant will also be your son-in-law. If he is willing to change his surname, doesn't that mean you have a great heir again? ”

"Indeed, if there is a slightly better candidate among the side children of our family, I am afraid that I will reject your suggestion. Anyway, I would like to meet this young man, Albert, and write me a letter inviting him to Valencia. With that, the Duke rested his head on the pillow and closed his eyes.

The baron whispered in response, and quietly withdrew.

Four days later, William Grant received a messenger from Valencia. After lunch, he gathered his men.

"The Duke of Carreras of Valencia invited me to be his guest." William raised the parchment in his hand.

"That's a big deal." Canisares exclaimed.

"Suarez, what do you think?" Count Osasuna inquired about his military advisor.

"You might as well go and see, I think that lord may have a request for you." Suarez replied, twisting his beard.

"How?"

"His son was killed in Farensi, and it is said that he fell honorably by the sword of Thorgrande Leus, guarding the king's tent until the end." Suareston paused, "Marquis Sánchez's army is approaching the royal capital, and no matter what the final outcome is, there must be a storm in the land of Iberia. The Duke of Carreras is old, and has been bedridden for the last few years. In the current situation, he needs a shrewd, capable and prestigious person to preside over the overall situation for him. ”

"Doesn't he have any other adult heir?"

"There are a few heirs in the collateral lineage, but I've heard that they are all overwhelmed."

"So I think I'm one of his picks, right?" William laughed.

"I'm afraid so."

"That's an honour, anyway, it looks like I'm going to have to go to Valencia myself."

"Valencia's wealth is far beyond Osasuna's, and if we have access to the resources there, we will have more capital and options no matter how the situation develops in the future." Subisareta suggested.

At this time, a midshipman ran in to inform the Count of Lazarammaker of his visit.

"Invite him in."

After a while, the Dragoon Lord stepped into the conference room.

"My dear earl, what is the wind that has brought you here at this time?" William asked with a smile.

"Well, it should have been Goddess Juno's yawn that blew me over." The Count replied after a moment's thought.

"Uh, what's going on?" William was surprised.

"Well, as the head of the Lazaramek family, I have to think about the life's affairs of my sister who has reached marriageable age. From what I know and the wishes of the person concerned, William Grant, Earl of Osasuna, is considered to be the most suitable person, so I have come to you myself to propose to you. Well, how to put it, we'll give you a big dowry, and it's a pretty good marriage, isn't it? The Count laughed at this.

Kenisales and Joaquín whistled, waiting to see what their lord was doing.

William glanced at Suarez, but he motioned for him to settle the matter himself. Count Osasuna pursed his lips helplessly, and said to the visiting Count Lazaramek: "I think this matter should be discussed by the two of us alone. ”

"Whatever you want, my dear proprietor." Count Lazaranmaker humbly owes himself.

Watching the two of them leave for William's study, the retainers of Count Osasuna began to discuss.

"Master Soldier, what do you think of this?" Kenisares asked politely.

Suarez twisted his beard and said slowly: "Maybe Count Lazarammaker heard something." ”

"Where does this start?" Joaquín asked.

"Didn't I say earlier that the son of the Carreras family died unfortunately?"

"Do you mean that the Duke of Carreras has a daughter, or does the unfortunate man have a widow?"

"The Duke of Carreras has a young and beautiful daughter-in-law, who is now a survivor, and I heard of that lady in Valencia when I was in the royal capital." Suarez replied.

"Then it seems that Wyvern Valley has decided to strike first."

"Miss Isabella, she's shrewd enough."

About 10 minutes later, the crowd saw Count Lazaranmaker walking out cheerfully patting William on the shoulder. So everyone waited for their lord to announce to them the good news they had already guessed.

"Guys, we're going to have a banquet tomorrow night." When William said this, Kenissales immediately cheered. "Bring all the nobles and dignitaries of the neighbourhood, and I will announce to them that I am engaged to Miss Isabella Razaranmakerk. That's it, Suarez, organize the manpower for me to prepare everything, and we have to dress up lively. By the way, Subisareta, come with me. ”

In the afternoon of the same day, the nobles and wealthy families of Osasuna, the Valley of the Dragons, and the neighboring cities of Villarreal and Santander received a joint invitation from William and Count Lazaramec, inviting them to come to the banquet tomorrow evening.

On the 16th of July, the people of Osasuna saw all sorts of wagons coming from all directions towards their lord's castle. The lord's head chef also paid 30 coppers and recruited the housewives of each house to help in the lord's kitchen. The populace was a little surprised that the lord, who had always been thrifty, was so extravagant, but when they heard the reason, they also felt that it was not too much, not to mention that their women could earn a net of 30 copper in just one day's work.

As Kenisares was making preparations, he suddenly discovered that the Wyvern Valley had clearly planned it, otherwise it would have been possible for so many vegetables, olive oil, and wine to be transported from that ravine to Osasuna in one day. He told Joaquin about his discovery, but the other party put on a picture of "you are really an afterthought". Joaquín claimed that he had found out about this yesterday, so why did a shepherd pass by last night with a herd of goats ready for sale? The answer is obvious.

For such a major event as the engagement of the lord of Osasuna, the lords of Villarreal and Santander naturally couldn't save each other's face, and they both dressed up early with their families to attend. A short time after lunch, a more important figure appeared, who had come with the heroine of the banquet.

"Yo, Casillas!" Kenisares said hello out of habit, but he immediately realized that something was wrong.

"Yo, Kenisares." Casillas replied a little listlessly.

"I said, no." Kenisares tugged at his reins, "Aren't you supposed to be in Numancia?" ”

"That's how it should have been." Casillas explained, "However, a noble lady insisted that I could accompany her to Villarreal and be her escort. I wanted to take the opportunity to come back and have a look, but when she heard about Lord Grant's happy event, she wanted to join in the fun. ”

"Aha, you kid really has a set." Kenisares had already guessed who the young lady was.

"Go, go, go." Casillas waved his hand to get rid of the guy who had come up with a good joke.

As the proprietor, William greeted Mademoiselle Lazaranmaker when he was surprised to find Mademoiselle Juana de Enrique, the granddaughter of the Marquis de Sanchez, also in the same carriage. To the surprise of many present, the two lords of Villarreal and Santander greeted the most powerful lady in the south with some trepidation, and it seemed that they did not know that she would be here.

After Casillas introduced the two parties, William said courteously as the proprietor: "The fact that Miss Duchess can come to the Humble House really makes me shine here. ”

"It's me who came unexpectedly, but I don't want to miss the engagement dinner of Lord Casillas. And I'm lucky to have a good friend like Isha. Juana said with a smile.

"Well, I hope you have a good time, feel free, I'll have to greet the other guests, so let Casillas accompany you." William owes his resignation.

"It's okay, it's enough for me to have Master Casillas with me."

"Well, the hospitality is inadequate."

After retreating, William approached Suarez, "What's going on?" Is there anything particularly uneasy about the Marquis of Sánchez about us? ”

Judging by the look on the face of Count Gomez of Villarreal, he did not know that the young lady would be here. As far as I know, the Duchess is not the best person for a similar task. If the Marquis of Sánchez wishes, he can have the Count of Boca come and spy on us. ”

"So it's just an innocuous accident?"

"That's true, but I think Casillas will have a hard time."

"So it seems."