(The update is slow, it's slow, and it's collected and dropped.) Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 infoThis time it's a full chapter. ）

April 30, 363 Gregorian Calendar, Iberia, Valencia.

After the end of the civil war, the Carreras family in Valencia retained their original position, and they remained the owners of this prosperous port city. However, in a way, King William still weakened this originally powerful family of gatekeepers. Almeria, rich in minerals, no longer belonged to the Duke of Valencia, but was replaced by an ordinary county like Gijón. Although the Carreras family still has the right to receive 30% of the financial income from the copper mines in Almeria, the political affairs of Almeria can be said to have nothing to do with them at all.

The successor to the Carreras family is a nephew of the old duke, whose name is the same as that of the old duke's son, which is also called Andrew. By this year, the young duke was only 29 years old. Judging by the past few years, the new Duke of Valencia will neither make the Carreras family more prosperous than it used to be, nor will it cause the family to decline. All in all, he's just a mediocre lucky guy.

This week, Andrew, Duke of Carreras, was still in a very happy mood. For His Majesty had sent to inform him that he was ready to receive the royal family and some distinguished guests, and that the King was going to borrow the Duke's mansion for a grand ball. Not only were all the important nobles of the North invited to the ball, but it was also heard that many foreign dignitaries would be in attendance. The Duke was overjoyed at this, he was still at an age when he liked to be lively and dancing, and even more so that the King had given him such a great task, which was tantamount to announcing to all Iberia that he was one of the king's most trusted vassals as lord of Valencia. Therefore, the Duke himself personally organized this ball. Of course, the wealthy local merchants who did not have a title of nobility also hoped to get an invitation to the nobility, so that they could really enter the social circle of the aristocracy.

On the other hand, let's take a look at Princess Theodora's group. Originally, in Seville, Paynes was going to visit the Countess first. When I got to the door, I was told that the Countess had already set off for Almería a few days earlier. The great poet, who was quite frustrated, had to take a group of young men to the port in search of a merchant ship to Valencia. They found an Efini merchant ship in the harbor that was heading all the way north, and because it was carrying Seville wool, there were plenty of empty slots available for travelers. In this way, the group all got on board.

When the merchant ship left the port of Seville and sailed towards Valencia, Fiona dragged the women out of the cabin and out onto the deck. It wasn't the first time for anyone except Estella to sail at sea, and the female swordsmith was suffering from seasickness, and even if Lan Feng gave her acupuncture, it only stopped her vomiting. So, Estella was resting in the cabin.

The weather at sea was very good and the navigation was smooth. So, taking advantage of this day, the people on board took some of their items to the deck to dry.

"Hey, Cyodora, look at that man."

Following Miss Hayes's instructions, Theodora saw a dark-skinned man.

"Wow, it shouldn't be the legendary Mias, it's really black." Celeste commented.

"Go talk to him, I don't know if he can speak mainland Mandarin?" Fiona walked over with a self-to-own speech.

"Fiona, don't go over." Cyodora pulled her worriedly.

"It's okay, aren't there a few people like you who are as powerful as you protecting me behind me?" Fiona laughed.

"That's the truth." Celeste straightened her chest, and Theodora glanced at her with some disgust.

Fiona walked over and greeted the dark-skinned man.

"Hi there!"

"Oh, hello, beautiful young lady."

"Wow, you can speak mainland Mandarin, and I'm worried that if you don't understand, I'll be embarrassed."

"Thankfully, I didn't embarrass you." The black man showed his white, neat teeth.

"Are you from Mias?" Fiona asked.

"As you can see, yes. Is there anything I can do to help you? ”

"No, nothing, huh...... I'm just curious, seeing the Mias for the first time. ”

"It's normal to surprise a young lady like you, and if someone of some age might not be surprised." The other party said.

"What do you say?" Fiona asked, puzzled.

"If it had been ten or twenty years ago, my people were still being sold as livestock, and anyone who stayed in some of the bustling harbors would have seen the auction of Mias slaves." The black man lowered his voice.

"And now? It doesn't seem to be such an exaggeration. ”

"Now there are almost none, because we now have a strong king who has built a strong state, and these are enough to protect our people from being humiliated." The black man's voice was raised, "Of course, we need to thank the prophet who led our king, a prophet from Pharansia, to achieve such an achievement. ”

"Ah, hey, is that prophet a Pharynse?" Fiona asked.

"He's a man of great name across the continent, and you're sure you've heard of him—Lord Thorgrande Leus."

Hearing the name come out of the black man's mouth, several of the others became interested. They immediately gathered around Fiona, wanting to hear each other's stories. Although Theodora still had a hint of hesitation, this hesitation was immediately washed away by the enthusiasm of the others.

"Now is not the time to tell a story, I have some work to do, and if a few young ladies are interested, they can come to us in the aft cabin after dinner, and I will tell you the whole story in detail. In fact, it is the same when you ask any Mias, for the story of Our King and the Prophet has long been memorized in the hearts of each of us Mias. The black man smiled, and then he introduced himself - his name was Mbega.

As a result, at night, the Mias found it unrealistic to squeeze eleven more people into their cabin. So, Penns suggested that everyone bring blankets and go to the deck, which he expected would be a very long story. Fiore went to borrow a small stove from the captain, and everyone took their blankets and went out on deck, and sat down around it.

The night sky over the sea was clear and clean, and the backs of the people were sprinkled with silver moonlight, while their fronts were illuminated by the light of the fire in the furnace.

"Speaking of which, you may have seen the steppes of Parmis and Reynolds, and the herds of cattle and sheep there. But I would say that compared to my hometown, the grassland is too comfortable. If you've seen the steppes of Mias, you'll think they're in name only for the Pamis and the Renoskes......" was Mbega's opening line.

On May 1, the day the King of Iberia was scheduled to arrive in Valencia, and the Duke of Valencia got up early to receive the king with all his business. By about ten o'clock in the morning, the Duke was already waiting at the gate of the western city with the nobles of Valencia and Gijón. Civilians entering and leaving the city on this day were told that the area from the West Gate to the Duke's Mansion was off-limits.

The king's advance party soon appeared in the eyes of the crowd. The first thing that caught people's attention was a young knight on a white horse, who led a group of Praetorian Guard knights to the front, which was particularly eye-catching.

"Who's that young man?" Finally, someone couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know, I guess it's a noble person."

"Ask the Duke."

When the Duke heard the other nobles' comments, he took the initiative to tell them: "That is His Royal Highness Richard, the only son of His Majesty, and you should not be rude." ”

"Sure enough, it's a talent." The aristocrats were amazed.

When the prince and the Praetorian Guards approached, everyone could finally see the prince's face clearly. Richard Grant, like his father, has a pair of blue eyes and a righteous face. However, the current prince is still a little immature, and for the time being, he cannot see the bearing that his father has.

"Your Royal Highness, where is His Majesty the King?" The Duke went up and bowed to the prince on horseback.

"My father is not far behind me, and he is afraid that you will wait too long, so he sent me to come first." Prince Richard immediately rolled over and got off his horse and saluted the Duke and the others. It can be seen that this young man is not arrogant.

"Then we'll just have to wait a little longer." The Duke replied.

"No, Father wants you to have your welcome at the door of your mansion, not here. He didn't want to delay the trip of those who had to do serious business because of him. So, please lead me to your mansion first. ”

"Since Your Majesty is so sympathetic to the people's feelings, we should also act according to orders, so let's evacuate quickly."

"Your Excellency the Duke really understands righteousness." The prince exclaimed.

About an hour later, King William I of Iberia finally appeared before the Valencian nobles. The descendant of Zigner's exile was 47 years old, and when he was so depressed that he was wanted by King Ofhrit, no one could have imagined that he would one day turn around. Even when the whole of Iberia was plunged into civil war, not many people thought that the then Count of Osasuna would be able to become the lord of Iberia. However, it was this man who had fallen into an embarrassment and lost his first wife, and finally relied on his own efforts and the help of reasonable use of foreign powers, so that Empress Marstar had to sign a truce with him and sit firmly on the throne of Debans.

The most significant change between the Grant dynasty and the Enrique and Ginora dynasties was that the power of the royal family was strengthened as never before. As a result of the successful defeat of the princes of the southern counties, large swaths of land were placed under the name of the Grant royal family. The Enrique dynasty had to rely on marriages to win over the southern princes, and the Ginora dynasty had no way to control the Marquis of Numancia and could only leave him alone. Now it was completely different, the counts of Seville were held by the king's close confidants, and the other counties were firmly in the king's hands.

Andrew, Duke of Carreras, was very familiar with the King's court, which is one of the reasons why he was able to consider himself a close confidant of the King. Holding the king's arm was naturally Queen Isabella, the sister of the Earl of Wyvern Valley, followed by Prince Richard and Princess Sophia, half-siblings. Prime Minister Suarez did not come with the king, and he was replaced by Baron Mendes, who now holds the position of court secretary and adviser to the king. Of the three generals known as the "Iberian Trifecta", only Kenisares arrived with the king.

"Guys, it's a good job." King William waved his hand to the nobles.

"My king, it really makes the humble house shine with you being here in person." The Duke said humbly.

"Haha, if the Duke's Palace of Valencia is also a pengzi, my royal palace is nothing more than a small cabin." The king smiled and helped the duke.

"Your Majesty has a good reputation, please come with me." The duke himself led the way for the king and his party, and the nobles followed.

Inside, the Duke introduced the king's arrangements one by one. The Duke wanted to give up his lodgings, but the king refused, and William I laughed: "In the name of the king, I will only requisition your hall, kitchen, and office, for they are necessary for business, and as for the lodgings, my good proprietor, please treat us only as a group of amiable ordinary guests." So the duke arranged for the king and the others to live in a newly built single-family building to the east, near the sea, where they could see the blue sea at a glance. Wilhelm I was very pleased with this.

"Weichen didn't see Subisareta Qing and Casillas Qing, the Prime Minister must have stayed behind to take care of the affairs of His Majesty, right?" The Duke then asked.

"Casillas, anxious to go to Almeria. His wife went to Almeria as a guest. I've already informed them, and I'm sure Subizareta will come with him the day after tomorrow. Suarez is indeed staying in Debans, let the prime minister take care of it, and we can come to you for a few days. The king answered him.

As soon as the guests had settled in, William I took over the office of the Duke of Carreras, with Baron Mendez and General Kenisares waiting by his side.

The first visitor to enter was familiar to us - the eldest son of the Reims family, Michel Lance, the captain of the Marstar Praetorian Guard. The gentleman walked in in a hurry, wearing a traveling cloak.

"Dear King of Iberia, on behalf of Her Majesty the Empress, I have the highest respect for you." Michelle bowed to William I.

"Well, dear Lord Lance, you started to see me halfway through, what the hell is the matter?" The king asked. He naturally knew that it would not be an important state matter, otherwise it would be impossible to send such a young man. But it's another thing that needs a little secrecy, otherwise the other party won't stop him halfway.

"It's not a big deal, His Highness Theodora is traveling in your country."

"Oh?" William I laughed, "Isn't Your Majesty the Empress worried about her daughter's safety?" What if I take that princess and ask Mastar for the three counties, Her Majesty the beautiful Sigrani? ”

If Sigrani hadn't warned Michelle beforehand, although he wouldn't have been too obvious, I'm afraid the eldest prince of the Lance family would have been in a hurry immediately. But now the King of Iberia found no sign of panic in the young man.

"Our two countries have signed a contract, and presumably His Majesty disdains to do such a thing of kidnapping a weak woman to blackmail a mother. I would also like to remind you that if you kidnap His Highness Theodora, I am afraid that even the Traveling Lord Chancellor of Farensi will be unhappy. Michelle calmly finished his words.

"It's funny, it looks like the rumors are true, huh?"

"I hope that Your Majesty can fulfill the friendship of the landlord, and I am very grateful." Michelle bowed to the king again, "Well, that the message of our Empress has been conveyed to you, I will not bother you, and I will take my leave." ”

"Please."

"Ah, I almost forgot something, this is a portrait of His Highness Theodora, you can recognize people against it." As she spoke, Michelle pulled out a roll of parchment from her bosom and handed it to the king.

"Farewell, then, to all of you in Iberia again, and I will rush to Farensi."

Sending off the Mastares, the King of Iberia opened the scroll, a sketch drawn in charcoal.

"It does look like the child of Empress Sigrani and Lord Luce." Baron Mendez commented that he was one of the few nobles in Iberia who had seen both.

"Well, let's have our next guest." William I did not comment on the appearance of the princess, but directly put away the scroll and said.

Re-entering the Iberian King's office were two men, whose identity as master and servant was clearly visible, the younger one being the master and the older one being the servant. The young man has a good appearance, thick blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and is very delicate, but he can indeed be called a beautiful man. The older servant's face was covered by a cloth, and he couldn't see the specific appearance, but he had a strong physique, and was probably a military general.

"It is an honor to meet you, honorable King of Iberia." Young people are equally polite.

"I heard that you are from Lenolsk, I don't know what to learn?" The King of Iberia found out that the young man had greeted him with the courtesy of Mastar, which struck him a little strange. However, there were also many Rynosk nobles who learned to use the etiquette of the Mastar nobles because they admired the native culture of the Yartikat Empire.

"I just wanted to propose you a good deal, which can be said to be unprofitable." The young man laughed, if it was a love novel written by a female author, I am afraid that 100% of the time would use the word "evil" to decorate the smile of the young man. However, even the evil smile is not lethal to the Iberian monarch at the age of the uncle.

"Is there such a good thing in the world?" The king laughed again.

"Indeed, as long as you are willing to renounce your contract with Sigrani and reconcile with Renoske, then sooner or later, I will be able to return to your Majesty the three counties that Sigrani took from Iberia." The young man said such a surprising thing so lightly.

"How long is this 'sooner or later'? I'm not young anymore, but I can't wait a few years. The King of Iberia laughed even harder.

"Ten years if it's slow, three or five years if it's fast." The young man was not disturbed by the king's laughter, "Don't you think about it?" Maybe after a while, your attitude will become irrelevant. ”

"How dare you ......" Kenisares could also tell that it was a verbal threat, so he drew his sword.

When the old servant saw this, he immediately stopped in front of the young man—he reacted very quickly, like a well-trained soldier.

But both of them were stopped by their masters.

"I'm going to have a big ball in Valencia, and you're going to stay for it." The King of Iberia said with his hands on the table and his chin propped up.

"I can't ask you to invite you, please send your name to the 'Mestalla' hotel, and write it in the name of Monsieur Maximilian. So, let's take my leave. The young man bowed gracefully and withdrew.

"Your Majesty......" waited for the other party to leave, and Mendez and Kenisales spoke at the same time.

"Hehe, things are getting more and more interesting. Why did Empress Sigrani always act a little more flawed than Her Excellency Leus? We don't need to rush, we can wait and see what happens. The King of Iberia stood up and looked out the window, where an Effini-style sailboat was slowly approaching the port of Valencia.