85_85536 After this, the next day.

Maybe it was because he was too tired before, or because he was holding a very beautiful girl in his arms, William slept soundly that night. I woke up in the morning and was in good spirits. And in the next few days, even months, years, and more than ten years, he did his best to maintain this quality of sleep and rest.

It is appropriate to work hard for your dreams. But under this premise, it is necessary to maintain a good body. Those great dreams and ideals must be carried by a body that is strong enough and healthy enough. William naturally knew this. The body has to be taken care of - this is not to say that you are just a coward who does not take any danger. It's about -- you have to have enough chips, you have to have a good reason. You can't be like a fool and waste your energy and body in unnecessary places.

Key, key, yes, this word is very important. It was as if in this case, William understood that there was no way for him to do anything to save it, to make any compensation, and that there was no way for him to help his father too much in this regard. In fact, he even has some self-protection problems. Not to mention helping other people.

After a few days, the Centaur invasion of the Black Forest spread. Soon a wave was caused in the Grand Duchy of Mazovia.

In fact, in the dozen years after the end of the Great Frontier War, similar incidents actually occurred regularly on the borders of several human states bordering the Tartarya Khanate. Driven by profits, small-scale centaur invasions have not stopped.

This is also the reason why William's father, Baron Otto, and other large border nobles will be relied on by various countries. The nobles need to use them as a breakwater to protect against these savage half-man, half-horse monsters.

Under this premise, the reason why this incident still caused a certain amount of turmoil is because the identities of the people who died this time were different.

Many of them were children of nobles. In other words, more than thirty children of the nobility died under the butcher's knife of the centaurs during the entire incident. In addition to this, the total death toll also exceeded eighty.

Eighty. It doesn't matter if it's an ordinary person. Centaur invasions of a similar size, the Grand Duchy of Mazovia appears several times a year, sometimes even more than double digits. Completely painless, the Mazovians have long been used to it.

However, if there are more than 30 children of nobility among these eighty people, it is a different matter.

Although it is said that this time, Her Royal Highness Princess Elise is incognito, so there are not many high-ranking nobles to follow, and the dead are all the children of small and medium-sized nobles adjacent to the Barony of Hereford. But the quality is not enough, and the quantity is compensated. No matter how small a nobleman is, he is also an aristocrat. Dozens of noble sons died in the land of the Barony of Hereford. If this is not a big deal, then there is no other big thing.

Because of this, the Hereford family, that is, Baron Otto, was under tremendous pressure. Many of the neighboring nobles, middle and small, especially those whose sons had died and whose eldest sons had died, expressed their obvious dissatisfaction with Baron Otto.

Over the years, their jealousy and resentment towards the Hereford family and Baron Otto have completely exploded because of this incident.

Although Baron Otto had good reasons, he also felt very innocent. But these small and middle-aged aristocrats who have been given the opportunity will never give up.

"In other words, now, the only one who can help us is His Excellency the Grand Duke. ”

In Baron Otto's study, William and his father sat opposite each other, discussing the matter.

After William had his previous appearance, Baron Otto knew that he could no longer simply treat his son as a child. For things like this, which have a vital relationship with the family, he also wants William to be involved. In particular, this matter is directly related to William. So the baron felt that William could not be excluded.

After hearing William say such words, Baron Otto's expression was slightly hesitant. He was a little indecisive in his personality, and he was a little unsure of his mind: "Yes, William." The Grand Duke is indeed the best and first choice among those who can help us. But the question is, what kind of reasons do we have to induce His Excellency to help us?"

"Because this matter, if it is not handled well, it will burn on himself. William said to his father, "You should know why the centaurs are here—they are here for Her Royal Highness Princess Elise, the daughter of Her Excellency the Grand Duke." That is, in fact the whole thing was caused by their Trieste family.

We, the Hereford family, of course, should shoulder a certain responsibility. But in the final analysis, the most important person responsible for this incident is His Excellency the Grand Duke, or rather, the daughter of His Excellency the Grand Duke. ”

"But then......" said William, the baron became even more hesitant, "this matter is really ...... Your relationship with Princess Elise, and—"

"-- One yard to one yard, father. William interrupted Baron Otto: "Yes, I like that girl. But there's a big premise here. My first thought was my family, and I had to make sure that my family's interests were first secured. ”

"But ......"

"Nothing more than that. William smiled: "As long as this matter is handled well, then we and the Trieste family will be fine." And speaking of which, these nobles are just small and medium-sized nobles. As long as His Excellency the Grand Duke is willing to come forward, the vast majority of them will give face. ”

"The question is, if the Grand Duke is unwilling to take the lead in this matter, then what shall we do?" asked the Baron.

"They need you, my father. William smiled: "The Barony of Hereford is the most important link in the border defense of the entire Grand Duchy of Mazovia. If he still had a little sense, they wouldn't be able to do anything to us. Yes. ”

"However, in this situation, His Excellency has not spoken at all. Hearing William say this, Baron Otto felt a little relieved. But then I thought it was strange: "If things really go the way you say—"

It's just a strategy. William said: "That guy wants to isolate us and reach out again when we are most helpless." Let us be grateful and have a strong sense of crisis, so that we will desperately move closer to him. And then turn into that guy's dog. ”

"But, but I'm a vassal of the Grand Duke, so I say—"

"- We own this territory, my father, you are the hero of the Great Frontier War, even the Gothic Emperor, or the Khan of Tartaria know your prestige.

You have told me the origin of the Barony of Hereford, my father, the land which His Majesty the Emperor of the Ostrogothic Empire had divided up to reward you for your service in the war against the Centaurs. Traditionally, this territory belongs to the Slavic people. In the Ruthenian kingdom of the Slavites, after being annexed by the Tartarya Khanate, the land became borderland. De jure, it does not belong to any feudal lord.

So, the land belongs to us, to the Hereford family, to the people who live here, not to Mazovia. His Excellency is only a titular feudal lord. We, like all the other frontier nobles, do not need to pay taxes to him, do not need to provide a single soldier in time of war, we have almost no obligation to him, and he has no restraint on us. This is very important. ”

“...... All right. Hearing William say this, Baron Otto's brow furrowed even tighter. He opened his mouth to defend himself, but he couldn't speak.

Although it was difficult to accept, in fact, he understood that what William said made a lot of sense, and could even be said to be completely correct. From this point of view, he also suddenly understood many things that he had not understood until then - the strange gaze that people had looked at him at the meetings of the Mazovian nobility. The misfit of the Mazovian aristocracy and the meaningful gaze of the Grand Duke of Mazovia.

"I ...... It seems to ......" Baron Otto only felt a slight headache and couldn't help but close his eyes. Before William could ask worriedly, he waved his hand and signaled that he was fine, "Go on, my boy." It seems that you are much smarter than your father. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing......"

"I just happened to think of these things, father. Hearing him say this, William was a little embarrassed.

"Alright, let's move on. ”

"Well, yes. William nodded: "So, for our Hereford family, he will never treat the ordinary Mazovian nobles the same." This is both our disadvantage and our strength. The disadvantage is that we can't get his wholehearted help. The advantage is that we can use more aggressive means to force the other side. ”

"How, then, do you force the other side?" asked Baron Otto.

"It's this, father, I wrote a letter in your tone, you can take a look. William said as he handed over a piece of paper.

"Hmm. Baron Otto nodded, then took the letter and read it—the letter was ostensibly a statement of his innocence and helplessness in the matter, and in a relatively low manner, he begged the Grand Duke to help him in this matter. But in fact, Baron Otto can easily read another layer of meaning from this - that is, when the Hereford family is unable to cope with the anger of these nobles, they will pull the Trieste family over and make all the responsibilities of the Trieste family public as William said above, so as to relieve their own pressure.

"You ...... Are you threatening the other party to put all the blame on the Grand Duke?" asked Baron Otto after reading the letter.

"Yes, if the other party is not in this matter and provides us with sufficient support, then in desperation, we who cannot stand this pressure must focus on the responsibility of His Excellency the Grand Duke in this matter. William nodded:

"We have a sufficient, valid reason - we didn't know in advance that it was Her Highness the Princess, and that the centaurs were attacking her. To put it mildly, all the people who died in this conflict were the substitutes of Her Royal Highness the Princess. You say, if things get to that point and we throw out this point of view, then what should His Excellency do about it?"