Facing Sarlayan's complaints, Kael'thas curled his lips indifferently: "I believe you have an old man in your family. Where did the young one come from?"
"If you want to have a baby, you can choose an elf girl for me!"
Sarlayan snorted with disdain: "Are you qualified to say this to me? Where is the queen you promised the old king?"
"Uh~"
Noticing the embarrassment on Kael'thas's face, Danmaku suddenly became happy.
【Come on, hurt each other!】
[Some people say that Sarlayan is only in his 20s this year, which is still very young even by human standards. He can afford to wait, but Kael'thas...]
[Pfft~ That makes sense, you just shot yourself in the foot. 】
It's not that Kael'thas doesn't want to marry the queen as soon as possible and continue the family lineage of the Sunstrider family.
Sarlayan also understood his concerns.
Now Quel'Thalas is in a turbulent stage of social system reform, and Kael'thas is not sure what criteria to use to select a queen.
If we follow the customary customs in the past, the queen should choose from the legitimate daughters of the major nobles. After many layers of selection, she will finally select a noble daughter who best meets the standards and send her to the palace.
However, due to well-known reasons, Kael'thas intended to suppress the traditional nobles, and he even had the bold idea of choosing a commoner as his queen.
This idea was just tentatively proposed, and it immediately aroused unanimous opposition from both the government and the public. Even many civilians themselves did not agree with this too premature decision.
In desperation, Kael'thas could only adopt a compromise plan and planned to select a suitable candidate from the lower-level nobles.
The Sun King's marriage still often triggers large-scale "discussions" in aristocratic circles. It is natural for the minor nobles to want to climb the olive branch of the royal family and achieve a class jump in one step.
As expected, the old nobles headed by the four nobles expressed firm opposition to this matter. After all, Kael'thas' proposal mainly infringed on their interests.
After a long period of wrangling between the two parties, Kael'thas, who had a somewhat soft personality, could not make up his mind. This matter even attracted the attention of Anasteria, who had long since retired to the palace to enjoy his old age.
"Hey~"
When he mentioned his marriage, Kael'thas looked a little sad.
"After my father personally came forward to put pressure, the attitude of the big nobles finally relaxed. The small nobles took the opportunity to propose many candidates, but the cabinet has not come up with a list that can be recognized by all parties."
Sarlayan: "This is such a farce, you should be tougher and appoint the virtuous and noble girl you like the most to be your queen."
"Forget it, don't talk about me."
Kael'thas waved his hand a little irritably: "What about you? Let me say it first. Although Jaina is my apprentice, from the standpoint of the King of High Elves, I still hope that you can marry a high-ranking person."
Elf."
"I think Valeera is pretty good, she's a childhood sweetheart."
Salayan rolled his eyes on the spot: "Let me put it this way, the initiative in my marriage is not in my hands at all."
"My mother is still swinging back and forth between Valeera and Jaina. I can't say what she will choose in the end."
Kael'thas suggested jokingly: "Why don't we just do it together? A bowl of water must be leveled."
"What nonsense are you talking about? How can there be such a two-wife system in Quel'Thalas?"
Kael'thas spread his hands indifferently: "No in Quel'Thalas, but don't forget your other identity."
"Do dragons take multiple partners so seriously?"
Sarlayan waved his hands equally irritably: "Forget it, let my mother worry about it. Anyway, no matter who I marry, I will definitely not lose."
…
After hurting each other with Kael'thas, Sharlayan left the Sunstrider Court in a depressed mood.
Kael'thas, who stayed in the palace and continued to handle official duties, also looked unhappy. Some of the palace attendants thought that the Sun King and the Marquis of Deep Shadow had quarreled.
But when Kael'thas submitted the resolution regarding Sharlayan's title promotion to the cabinet for a vote the next day, the royal court attendants immediately dismissed this outrageous speculation.
Where can anyone send a duke to him right after a quarrel? If you have such a bad friend, please give him a dozen more.
The resolution Kael'thas submitted to the cabinet was just a formality.
When the results of the Battle of Estorante came back from the continent of Kalimdor, all the cabinet officials had already understood that the position of Duke could not escape the hands of Sarlayan.
Sure enough, in the early morning of the next day, Sarlayan, who was exercising at home to maintain his condition, received a title promotion order jointly signed by the cabinet and the Sun King.
Starting today, the Marquis of Deep Shadow is promoted to the Duke of Deep Shadow, becoming the only duke in Quel'Thalas in the contemporary era besides the four nobles.
To put it another way, Sarlayan is also the first high-ranking nobleman to be awarded the title of Duke for his meritorious service since the end of the Troll War, and he is also a half-elf with impure blood.
No matter how the tough-talking commoners at the lower levels belittle the nobility, if they had the chance to become nobility, they would probably do more than the aristocratic masters they described as doing all kinds of evil.
Quel'Thalas has practiced a feudal system of nobles for more than 7,000 years. This system has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and cannot be easily changed by Kael'thas in just a few years.
If you ask those civilian geniuses who are still working hard in major high-end colleges about their dreams now, becoming a noble is definitely the one they choose most.
The half-elf Marquis who had made outstanding achievements was officially promoted to Duke. Under Kael'thas' deliberate publicity, the news quickly spread throughout the Eversong Forest, and even Stratholme next door heard about it.
As the person involved, Sarlayan himself was not surprised by this. It was just that his territory had expanded a bit and his status in the aristocratic circle was higher.
Money? The wealthy Marquis of Deep Shadow... which should be called the Duke of Deep Shadow now has no shortage at all, it's just a number.
Status? How many of the current nobles of Quel'Thalas can defeat Sharlayan? How many people are more trusted in the eyes of the king than him?
With hard power here, even if Sarlayan's title is not improved, his influence in the aristocratic circle has already been at its peak, especially in the circle of meritorious aristocrats in the southern part of the forest far away from the capital.
The citizens of the Duchy of Deep Shadow held a grand celebration ceremony for their lord's title promotion again. Unicorn Town, which was about to complete its upgrade, was filled with singing, dancing and bright lights for a week.
In order not to let these lovely people feel cold, Sarlayan bravely attended the ceremony under the urging of his mother and confidantes.
I wonder if Inas understood something from what Kael'thas told her. She had been in a dilemma before and recently she completely let herself go.
Sometimes she would chat with the Sangunar couple at Valeera's house in the morning, and in the afternoon she would teleport to Boralus and have a pleasant chat with Daelin, Catherine and Priscilla.
Sarlayan didn't know what his mother was planning, and he didn't want to ask. He still had his own things to be busy with.
After repairing at home for a few days, Sarlayan, who couldn't sit still, decided to set off again, taking Lylas, who had already made preparations, to Northrend to hand over the work.
Onyxia planned to return to Wyrmrest Temple to inform her mother Sinestra about Nefarian's strange behavior.
Except for Onyxia, Valeela, Stellagosa and others will stay in the territory.
Regarding the territorial expansion of the duchy, someone needs to communicate with Silvermoon City and the surrounding lords.
Inas has been very busy recently due to Sharlayan's marriage and research projects, so this task can only be left to Valeera and Stellagosa.
What? Julian?
Sharlayan said... Just look for him, if you can see him twice in Quel'Thalas within a week, I will lose.
…
"Shua~"
Passing through the permanent portal connecting Silvermoon City and New Shandalara, the three of Sarlayan moved from the Eversong Forest, where spring is all year round, to the Crystalsong Forest, where the climate is cold.
Of course, the so-called severe cold here is based on Yonge Forest.
The climate in Crystalsong Forest is considered good in Northrend, at least much better than the Icecrown Glacier and Storm Peaks further north.
After the initial pioneering period, the lord of Crystalsong Forest has changed once.
The original lord's title was promoted to one level, and due to his meritorious service, he was transferred back to Quel'Thalas to enjoy peace and happiness in his later years.
It is said that this was his own choice.
Sarlayan was not familiar with the new lord named Haytham Morningstar. He only knew that he was a branch of the Morningstar family among the four nobles and one of the die-hard members of the royal party.
Haytham had already received the news that the Duke of Shadow and the new commander of the Northland Ranger Force would be coming, and he personally led the senior officials of New Shandalar City to wait outside the teleportation hall.
"Welcome the Duke of Deep Shadow to come to New Shandara City for inspection!"
The sudden sound startled Sarlayan, who had not yet regained his footing. Onyxia rolled her eyes when she saw this, and took the opportunity to pretend to be stirring garlic under her feet, and fell into Sarlayan's arms.
Lyras on the side immediately turned his head and complained: "Tsk! My dear friend, when did you become so popular?"
"We agreed, good brothers, let's go together. Who will be single first and who will be the dog? I'm so sour!"