"Oh? A title of duke and a large territory no less than that of Castel? Let me guess, you are talking about the territory of Fallen Star Kingdom, right?"
Charlotte chuckled and asked.
Earl Yurst nodded:
"Of course it is Luo Xing's territory. As you can see, once the Ness clan regains its former power, it will be a piece of cake to redeem its territory promise to you."
Charlotte laughed:
"But the current control of Falling Star Kingdom is not in the hands of the Ness clan, is it?"
"And I heard that even before the Lilac War, the Ness clan was only relatively influential in the Fallen Star Kingdom. Even if you regain your previous status, so what?"
"How can you convince me that the Ness clan will have the power to control the Fallen Star Kingdom in the future?"
"Not to mention, in order to obtain the so-called territory, do I still need to provide manpower and material resources to fully support the Ness clan's war?"
"Using future territorial promises to gain my support, what's the difference between this and me personally claiming a territory?"
Yurst looked solemn and said:
"Of course it is different. Over the years, Edward III has been cruel and unruly, and the Fallen Star royal family has lost the support of the people. Once we initiate a war, it will inevitably be a war of throne change, and the new Fallen Star King will naturally be a member of our Ness clan.
"
"At that time, we will naturally give the territory to you as the Fallen Star Royal Family, and all you have to pay is to give us a certain amount of support in the war. This is not particularly difficult for the wealthy Castel.
thing."
"Besides, to be honest with you, we have already gained a lot of support from the nobles of the Fallen Star Kingdom. Once the war starts, the vast majority of the nobles of Fallen Star will be on our side."
Charlotte shook her head:
"Your Excellency Earl Jurst, there is no need to say this. If you are really sure of winning the war, why would you seek support from others?"
"I know you want to become the behind-the-scenes palace of Fallen Star Kingdom like the Valadet clan, but I think you seem to have made a mistake..."
"Varadet has been controlling the Kingdom of Coria from the beginning to the end, fighting against the Holy Royal Court, and expelling the power of the Theocracy from Coria time and time again, but the Ness clan... has long been
It has already lost power after the Lilac War."
"What you have to face is not only the Fallen Star Royal Family, but also the Holy Royal Court that supports the Fallen Star Royal Family. This is your biggest enemy."
"And I have no interest in starting a war with the Holy Royal Court. After all... I am a devout holy believer."
Earl Jurst:...
He glanced at Charlotte, who casually drew the ring cross symbol on her chest in a standard way, and felt something was stuck in his throat, but he didn't know how to spit it out.
Believer of the Holy Royal Court?
If he hadn't known the secret behind Castel through the Duke, maybe he would have believed it!
Only after knowing about Thorn and Rose and seeing the vampire servants in the Earl's Mansion did the devil believe that she was a believer of the Holy Royal Court!
"Your Excellency Castel, I don't think you need to worry too much about the Holy Royal Court, because we are not planning to bring the vampires to the forefront, but to support the new king."
"For Luo Xing, this is still a civil war, not a war of faith, and secular wars... the Holy Royal Court cannot directly intervene."
"We will not make the lessons and mistakes of the first Lilac War a second time."
"Not to mention, don't you want to know where the territory we promised is?"
Earl Jurst said.
Charlotte shook her head:
"I'm sorry, Your Excellency, to be honest, I'm not interested in another enclave, let alone an enclave far overseas that is probably much larger than Castres."
"The title of duke is indeed tempting, but I don't even have complete control over my own territory now, so I don't have that much intention to eat a fat man."
"Not to mention, if I become the Duke of Falling Star, am I considered a noble of Falling Star or a noble of New Moon?"
"The legal principles of the Dukedom are higher than those of the Earls, and I don't want to be the target of public criticism among the nobles of the two countries. The Star-Moon War is over, but the territorial disputes between the two countries have been put on hold."
Count Jurst smiled:
"Your Excellency Castel, you have misunderstood. In fact, what we promised was not an enclave."
"Um?"
Charlotte's movements paused slightly.
Falling Star Kingdom is an island country, isolated overseas.
If the Ness clan promised not the duchy enclave on Falling Star Island, then... the remaining territory could only be one.
That is the enclave of the Fallen Star Kingdom on the mainland, where the Roman family started. It is also the most controversial territory between the Fallen Star Kingdom and the Crescent Kingdom - the Roman Principality.
Thinking of this, Charlotte glanced at Count Jurst in surprise:
"Your Majesty Count Juerst, is your bargaining chip actually the Roman Principality? Are you going to give away the ancestral land of the Roman Dynasty?"
Earl Yurst nodded:
"You are right, it is the Roman Principality."
"The Principality of Roman is the last territory on the mainland of Luoxing, and it is also a close neighbor of Castor. If you obtain the territory of Roman, not only will the territory increase nearly three times, but the population will also increase several times.
.”
"Not only that, although Castells has coastal plains and the land was once quite fertile, due to long-term sea erosion, many areas have long been unsuitable for crop growth, and food production is actually limited. As far as I know, purchasing food from other territories has always been
It is one of the things that the Castel nobles must do every year..."
"During the Star-Moon War, there was more than one famine in Castel. In fact, if it were not surrounded by war-torn places, the refugees from Violet and Roman would not have chosen to flee to Castel."
"Unlike Castres, the Roman Principality has a large amount of arable land and is also an important grain-producing area in the north of the continent. It is also the main area for Castres' grain trade."
"Once the Roman Principality is obtained, Castel will make up for the last shortcoming and become the most powerful force in the northern part of the continent."
"I think... you should know what having the Roman Principality means."
"As for the legal conflict you are worried about, it is naturally not a problem."
"The Roman Principality was once the territory of the Crescent Kingdom. Even now, the Crescent Royal Family is always thinking about taking back this old land. If Luo Xing gives up on its own initiative, the Crescent Royal Family will only be happy to see it happen. You are still the New Moon Kingdom.
The Duke of Yue has no territorial dispute."
"By then, Castel will not have to worry about the two kingdoms starting to fight again, causing the war to spread to the North, because the largest disputed territory, the Roman Principality, has been resolved."
"And as the middle ground between Crescent Moon and Falling Star, Castel can completely monopolize the trade between the two countries in the Star-Moon Strait..."
"Your Excellency Castel, for the Northland, no territory is more attractive than Roman. As early as five hundred years ago, when the Roman royal family had not yet entered the Falling Star Kingdom, your ancestors had conflicts with the Duke of Roman more than once.
To start a war and compete for the bordering territories, I think... the Castel family should be very aware of the importance of Roman territory."
"Your Excellency Castel, now... do you think our sincerity is enough?"
Earl Jurst asked with a smile.
Charlotte was silent.
I have to say that she was indeed a little moved.
It's not that Charlotte is an expansionist, but that Castel has various problems. Before she came to the territory, she had also studied the materials in the manor's study, lack of food, being in a strategic location full of dangers, etc.
...are all facts.
That is to say, because Castel has money and can buy grain from nearby noble territories, this problem is not usually prominent.
But during the war it was a different story.
The Roman Principality possesses the food that Castor lacks. Not only that, many industries of the Roman Principality and Castor are inherently complementary. If the Roman Principality can be obtained, the power of the Northland will indeed undergo a qualitative change.
Not to mention, Charlotte also knew that the Roman Principality was formed by the migration of northern tribes, and many of the people there were descendants of the northerners.
Although they have become very close to the Crescent people culturally through generations of intermarriage, they are very similar to Castells in terms of beliefs.
The vast majority of people there...are not holy believers!
By the way, as far as Charlotte knows, the population of the Roman Principality is twice that of the Castel Territory, up to eight million.
In the long run, the Roman Principality can also become a good source of faith.
At the same time, like Castells, the Roman Principality is located in the north of the continent, far away from the center of the Holy Royal Court. It is also separated from the Crescent Heartland by the Violet Principality with rugged terrain and high mountains.
If she had the Roman Principality, given time, Charlotte might even develop a local power like the Kingdom of Coria that could compete with the Holy Royal Court!
Thinking about the future, Charlotte's heart moved.
But at the same time, she remained calm.
Earl Jurst's proposal is indeed very attractive, but now is not a good time.
Because Castor's current situation is actually quite delicate. He seems to be rich, but in fact he lacks the secular power to protect himself. The internal aristocratic forces are ready to move, but externally...
Ever since her relationship with Bold, Charlotte had received letters of complaint from border nobles on more than one occasion, all of which were being tested by other nearby lords.
That is to say, Castel has not broken up with Bold now. Otherwise, she very much suspects that other nearby duchies may have tried to start a territorial dispute game.
Castel was experiencing internal and external troubles. Under such circumstances, Charlotte did not feel that she still had the energy to launch a foreign war.
Charlotte guessed that these blood descendants of Ness didn't know about these things, otherwise they wouldn't be able to make such a promise.
As for why the Ness clan changed its direction to show favor to her, although she didn't know the specific reason, Charlotte could roughly guess.
The Ness clan should be short of money.
Not only that, they should also be thinking of relying on Roman and Castel to block the connection between Falling Star and the mainland.
They are good at observing, and they already know that there is a "resurrected god" behind Castel. Although they don't know that this "god" is herself, it makes them use the enemy to avoid infiltration. At the same time, they change their strategic direction and no longer infiltrate.
Northern Territory, but tried to win her over.
In addition, perhaps they also want to shrink their power in the future and let Castel serve as a buffer between Falling Star and New Moon, thereby completely isolating the power of the Holy Royal Court from Falling Star Island...
The Roman Principality is good, but as the foundation of the Roman family, it is a hidden danger for the Ness clan to keep it. If Ness intends to shrink from Luo Xing Island, it will be useless.
This is a conspiracy that Charlotte can guess.
However, no matter how Charlotte looks at it, she feels that the Ness clan is so urgent and willing to pay such a high price, not only as if they want to regain their sphere of influence as soon as possible, but more as if there is something that causes them to have to do this...
However, the other party's urgent attitude made her feel moved, and she had some ideas on how to deal with Castel's current difficulties and opportunities.
"Well, Lord Castel, what are your thoughts?"
Yurst asked.
Charlotte retracted her thoughts and looked at the other party.
She turned her eyes slightly, smiled slightly, and said:
"Your Excellency Yurst, your proposal is indeed tempting, but it is all in the future and cannot be predicted. For me, Castel, if I want to win our support... I am afraid it is not enough."