Lucien deliberately revealed his doubts in his tone and said, "Mr. Ivanovsky? What are you discussing so late? Can't you wait until tomorrow?"
This is the reaction a normal nobleman should have.
Ivanovsky kept a kind tone and smiled: "It's a good thing. I know several viscounts of the Vladimir family and have good relations with each other, so when I saw you, Mr. Peter, I felt very close. And Mr. Peter, you are brave.
He is firm and strictly abides by the knight's creed. He is a friend worth knowing and making deep friends. So since there are good things, how can you take advantage of outsiders and not find friends? "
Words such as "good thing", "feeling like friends at first sight", etc. always make Lucien feel like he has met a liar again, but Ivanovsky is a famous smuggler, so he hasn't "fallen" to this level, right?
After thinking about it, seeing that Ivanovsky had already come to his door, Lucien decided to hear what "good things" he had done so that he could deal with it later. Anyway, as long as he was not greedy, he would not be deceived. Besides, this kind of
Big smugglers rely on connections and resources, and may not necessarily work on their "acting skills". It is possible to see through his every move and his true purpose.
Therefore, "The Actor's Self-cultivation" is a sacred book. Lucien cursed while using his knight's intuition to sense the door, and found that there was indeed someone following Ivanovsky who was difficult to detect clearly. But this man was honest and upright.
Appearing as Ivanovsky's assistant and bodyguard, he did not hide.
Putting his left hand on "Frost", Lucien opened the door pretending to be normal.
Ivanovsky was still dressed the same as at the ball, like a winter bear wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and next to him was an old man with gray hair in a black suit and black bow tie, with cloudy black pupils.
, the unconcealable wrinkles and cold feeling set off a sinister feeling. He was carrying a black leather suitcase and was a head shorter than Ivanovsky.
When Ivanovsky saw that it was Lucien himself who came to see the door, he said with some confusion: "Mr. Peter, where is your butler? This kind of thing should not be done by a knight or a gentleman."
"My butler got sick because of the snowstorm. I asked him to rest early and not to hold on. I was admiring the moonlight and didn't expect anyone to visit." Lucien explained casually. "Who is this?"
Ivanovsky smiled and pointed at the sinister old man: "This is my assistant Matvey. He has great business talent and has his own unique understanding of the economy."
"Really? I wonder, Mr. Matvey, what unique insights do you have on the production, circulation, distribution and exchange of wealth? Do you think that the entire business process has its own laws, like an invisible hand controlling everything?" Lu
Sean asked seriously. There was a lot of "malice" in his heart. This guy is like a thug, and a bodyguard is better than a business consultant.
Matvey frowned and did not answer, while Ivanovsky's smile froze on his face. After a long time, he laughed and said: "I didn't expect that Mr. Peter not only focused on chivalry, but also had such in-depth research on the economy.
.It’s rare to meet a nobleman like you.”
"No, I just learned a little casually. Otherwise, when I have my own territory in the future, I will be easily deceived by those business consultants and affairs managers." Lucien did not continue to ask. It is not suitable for the current situation to make the other party unable to go down the stairs.
What was just now was more of a demonstration. Don’t take me for a fool!
Ivanovsky "showed" an expression of appreciation: "This is a good idea. In the future, more nobles should learn this knowledge, instead of simply leaving it to housekeepers, business consultants, etc., and just do it themselves."
Responsible for inspection and harvesting.”
He also did not mention any specific economic content. Under Lucien's hospitality, he sat down on the soft sofa while Matvey stood quietly behind him, his eyes becoming somewhat sharp.
Lucien picked up the red porcelain kettle on the glass coffee table and poured himself and Ivanovsky a glass of water each: "Mr. Ivanovsky, what exactly do you want to see me for?"
Ivanovsky held the white glazed porcelain tea cup in his broad hands like a toy. He smiled and said without drinking water: "Mr. Peter, you should know that Count Werther has the blood of the Vladimir family, right?"
"Of course, Count Werther's mother is a member of the Vladimir family. She is the female knight and lady who inspired the family's unique 'Frost' bloodline. But what's the problem with this? What Count Werther inspired is still the 'wilting' of his own paternal family.
'Bloodline, and surpassing previous ancestors, he became the first member of the Witte family to advance to the Heavenly Knight. He also made many meritorious deeds in the wars with the Holy Herz Empire, the Kingdom of Tria, and the Principality of Violet, and made the Witte family hereditary.
The title of baron was promoted to earl, and he controlled nearly half of the Ural region." Lucien talked eloquently, and Earl Witte was a nobleman whom he knew well.
Ivanovsky smiled enigmatically: "That's why the good thing I asked you, Mr. Peter, is the title of an earl, which is comparable to the inheritance of an ordinary duke."
There are many mines in the Ural Region, and the nobles of all sizes here are much richer than the same level of nobles in other places.
"What do you want to do? Is Count Werther going to be called by the Lord?" Lucien asked in "panic and astonishment", "What does this have to do with me?"
Ivanovsky nodded slightly: "Karilena is the niece of Count Witte's second wife and is close to the count. According to her, Cardinal Nevsky of the Ural City asserted that the count
He can live for up to half a year, and he is aging naturally and cannot be treated with magic."
"Count Werther is of the 'withered' bloodline, which has always been difficult in terms of descendants, and he has been fighting heretics in the south during his prime years. After he became an earl and returned, he had three wives but only one son. Unfortunately, this young master was less than ten years old.
He died at a young age."
"But what does this have to do with me?" Lucien asked emphatically again.
Ivanovsky put down the teacup in his hand and signaled Lucien to calm down: "Mr. Peter, you should know that Earl Werther's parents died young due to the heresy war, and he failed to activate his bloodline until he was twenty-five years old, so Werther
The distant relatives of the family coveted many of his property and title, which caused him to suffer a lot and suffered countless hardships. He hated those people deeply. In the process, the Vladimir family did business here.
Some members of the organization helped him so that he could activate his bloodline safely."
"According to the earl's gossip that Kaliliana learned about, it seems that he decided to accept a male member of the Vladimir family as his stepson, and then arranged for him to marry a girl from the Witte family with no background and power as his wife, so as to inherit
Title and inheritance. Let those side members give up. This news may be announced in a month. There will definitely be many members of the Vladimir family coming by then. Why don’t we seize this time and work hard to
Make a good impression on Count Werther?"
"Mr. Peter, you are handsome and elegant, polite and well-spoken. You are also very young and have inspired the power of your blood. With the status of a knight, I think Count Werther will be very satisfied."
Lucien probably understood what they were planning. The title of earl and the inheritance of half of the Ural state were wealth that even Duke Vladimir would be tempted by, let alone a smuggler like Ivanovsky.
After thinking about this, Lucien asked casually: "Does Mrs. Karilina have the blood of the Werther family?"
Ivanovsky was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "Yes. It comes from several generations ago. Although it is very thin, no one can deny it. Mr. Peter, without the cooperation of Karilena, it would be difficult for us to touch
We know Count Werther's preferences, and she is very popular with Count Werther. She has the right to have a say in the final decision. Therefore, it is impossible for us not to let her benefit."
"To have such a beautiful woman as my wife, and to receive the title and inheritance of an earl, I don't think any normal nobleman can refuse."
"It seems that the object of Sergey's fraud was not my gold coins and sword, but his hope to control me through 'this business'. Unfortunately, I was not greedy. After Karileena's beauty trap also failed, Yi
Vanovsky could just come directly to the door and seduce him straight to the point with huge benefits." Lucien pondered, but there were still many doubts that he couldn't figure out. For example, Count Werther was still twenty or thirty years away from the end of the average life span of the knights of heaven.
Why did he age prematurely? Did he suffer any incurable injuries or curses during the Heretic War in his prime?
And it seems that after inheriting the title, Karileena's reputation as "Black Widow" will become even louder in a few years.
So, Lucien smiled and said: "This is a difficult decision, but I still want to say I'm sorry, Mr. Ivanovsky, I can't cooperate with you."
Although Lucien was a bit obsessed with money, this was the Shahran Empire and he was not a member of the Vladimir family at all, so he calmly refused.
The inheritance ceremony presided over by the cardinal will verify the bloodline!
Without greed there would be no stupidity!
"What?! Mr. Peter, you have to understand that what you are rejecting is the title of a count, the heritage of half of the Ural region, mines, and countless manors..." Ivanovsky said in surprise. He
I don’t believe that anyone can resist this temptation, even the supreme emperor in the Dolgolu Palace of St. Ivan Castle!
Lucien said seriously in an aria-like tone: "Because I can't give up my surname. Vladimir is a noble and glorious surname that has been passed down for many generations! I believe that one day I can become another one with my own strength.
Count Vladimir."
After speaking, Lucien added with a straight face: "My last name is my pride!"
Ivanovsky stared at Lucien as if he were looking at a madman: "I thought that knights who simply pursued glory had disappeared among the nobles of the Shahran Empire. Only the paladins of the church were possible.
But Mr. Peter, you overturned my idea."
Then he stood up and bowed deeply: "I hope Mr. Peter can go further and more smoothly on this road."
Although he tried to show "admiration", Lucien judged from his not-so-superb acting skills that this seemed to be an irony.
"I will keep it a secret for you until the news is announced." Lucien said in the tone of an "upright knight".
Ivanovsky smiled kindly and said: "I believe in you, Mr. Peter, and I hope that I can have the opportunity to cooperate with you on other matters that do not violate your knight's creed."
Then he left Lucien's room with Matvey, whose eyelids were half lowered to block his gaze.
"Master, you have to be careful. Ivanovsky has always been ruthless and does not like to leave hidden dangers." Leo walked out of the room after Ivanovsky left and reminded Lucien worriedly.