Pirate Kingship.

Chapter 460 The Devil Duke, the Preparatory Sister-in-law (6400)

Wow.
Heavy rain fell over Kingston for three days in a row, causing the River Tame to swell and flood many low-lying areas in the ancient city.

The tragedy that had occurred earlier on Melrose Street did not dampen the enthusiasm of the royalist nobles.

However, the specific procedures of Byron's investiture ceremony held in Ganquan Palace had to be changed again and again.

All the celebrations and parades originally scheduled to be held in the Royal Palace Square and nearby streets were reduced, leaving only the most important investiture ceremony in the Royal Palace Hall and the subsequent aristocratic banquet.

Many royalists felt sorry for Byron, their "die-hard ally".

A major event that happens once in a lifetime or even once in a family's history was ruined by such horrible weather and an unexpected heavy rain.

But Byron didn't care, it was just the title of Earl of Stromgarde which didn't even give him any land.

If he didn't think it would be too abnormal to refuse it without reason, he wouldn't even bother to come and get it.

In Byron's own words:
“It’s not because of anything else.

The main reason is that I'm afraid that titles like [Emperor of the Holy Golden Empire], [Lord of Heaven], [God of Royal Power, Prophecy and Wild Hunt], [Prince of the Night Demon], [Crown Prince of Lancaster], etc. will lead to misunderstanding.

Count? How dare you stand shoulder to shoulder with these old guys?"

He felt that as long as there was good weather when he was officially crowned as King, it would be enough.

It doesn't matter even if there is no good weather, it is just a matter of a decree from the King of Gods. The [Golden Law] is not a castrated version of the Iron Law of Kingship that can only govern people but not heaven and earth.

Byron and Catherine walked into the banquet hall of Oasis Palace arm in arm.

Byron was wearing a neat naval admiral's uniform, but he was no longer a brigadier general. Instead, he was promoted to rear admiral by the Admiralty yesterday.

The girl had bright golden hair tied up high behind her head, and wore a mithril hair crown on her head. She was wearing a well-fitting silver long dress called "Moonlight Summer", which outlined her already perfect figure, making her look like a muse descending to earth.

It contrasted perfectly with the tall and handsome Byron and immediately attracted the attention of all the guests.

"Good day, congratulations, Your Excellency."

"Miss Catherine, you are back?

If you have time, please come to Fred Manor. Our Spice Guild wants to establish a strategic partnership with you, and the conditions we have prepared will definitely exceed your expectations."

“Miss Catherine, and my Edelweiss Manor.

My craftsman workshop is researching an epoch-making whale oil flying boat, and urgently needs a long-term supply of the Standard Whale Oil Company's standardized products. I am willing to purchase at a premium."

"."

Even though the identity of the owner of Financial Street has not yet been revealed, Catherine is already close to being linked to the Queen of Wealth and is obviously extremely popular in her hometown.

This is human nature. No matter what you can't get along with, you will never go against your interests.

In addition to business partners, many old land nobles who did not value business were also very satisfied with the combination of the two of them and nodded secretly:

"It would be the best arrangement if they could be combined together."

Perhaps adult unmarried men and women walking together in social situations does not necessarily mean that good things are about to happen, but it undoubtedly sends a signal.

——The major interest groups that were torn apart by the civil war have finally begun to reconcile under the new order!
Since the upper class nobles frequently intermarried, they could always find relatives by just going around a few times, and the identity of a nouveau riche would always be out of place with them.

If Byron Tudor, the "Great Loyalist of York" of humble origin, could marry the last Countess of the Grenville family, then they would all become relatives, and their descendants could naturally be integrated into the Hastings aristocratic circle.

If Catherine, who was an adopted daughter of Lancaster, could marry a "loyal Yorkist", it would mean the complete collapse of the Lancaster remnants.

Grenville, who has good relations with many nobles, will also return to the core of power of the York Dynasty.

At the same time, the huge colonial interests represented by the Earl of Tudor and the Earl of Grenville will be smoothly incorporated into the domestic circulation of the kingdom, allowing many powerful families upstream and downstream to benefit.

Last year, the First Fleet was completely wiped out in Anchor Bay, causing almost every Yorkist family to be in mourning. However, since the rise of Byron, everything in the entire Kingdom of Hastings seemed to be moving in a good direction.

Not only the royalists, but also many earls who were not so core were very warm to them.

After all, just as no company will refuse a sales champion, and even a department filled with people with connections needs one or two capable slaves, no country or group will refuse a hero who can make the pie bigger.

Compared to Byron, who is more accustomed to giving orders directly, and Violet, who would start a "song of blood and fire" at the slightest disagreement, Catherine is more adept at maneuvering.

No matter who came up to talk to her, she could accurately tell the other person's title, fiefdom, main industry, and even the most distant relatives.

In just a few words, the feeling of alienation after being away from the domestic aristocratic circle for a year completely dissipated.

Like a queen in a social occasion, she is still one of the owners of the Ganquan Palace as in the past, and looks particularly dazzling.

It was at this time that an unexpected big shot came to Byron.

"Congratulations, Earl, and welcome to become one of the many nobles in the Kingdom of Hattings.

I made you rush back to your homeland from the southern continent with great difficulty. How are you doing? Have you adapted to living in the capital these past two days?"

Byron looked down and saw that the person coming was Richard York, Duke of Gloucester, the youngest brother of Edward IV and one of the three phantom suns.

He is twenty years old this year, two years older than Byron, but compared to Byron, who is over 1.9 meters tall, he seems a little too short, probably only a little over 1.5 meters tall.

Standing next to Byron was like being a pre-teen.

Moreover, Richard was not as handsome as his two elder brothers, Edward IV and George, Duke of Clarence. He was particularly ugly and had a slight hunchback.

It is hard to believe that the three of them are actually brothers.

But Byron did not dare to underestimate this ugly dwarf.

Unlike his second brother George, Duke of Clarence, who is already 23 years old, he is still just an ambitious but incompetent person.

Not only did he have no achievements in military merit, but he was also seduced by the Kingmaker with a beauty trap and joined the Earl's party with his supporters and retainers.

Duke Richard had achieved spiritual awakening at the age of fifteen, joined the War of the Red and White Roses, and repeatedly won military exploits with his wisdom and ruthlessness.

He has always been one of the most troublesome enemies of the Lancaster Party. I heard that he had reached the threshold of the fourth level [Banker] of the Gold and Dollar Sequence last year, and it is very likely that he has been successfully promoted this year.

Thanks to his investment in his brother, he now owns a vast tract of land in the north of the Channel Islands, including the Princedom of Thorenberg. He has become the richest and most powerful nobleman in Hastings!
However, in contrast to Richard's outstanding talents, he was very sensitive about his ugly appearance, and any strange look would bring about his fierce revenge.

There is even a legend that he has a black leather notebook called "Cursed Object". Whenever he encounters an important person whom he cannot take revenge on for the time being, he will write down their name in the notebook.

Many people suffered misfortunes because of this, but there was no evidence pointing to him, and everything seemed to be just groundless rumors.

But as the rumor spread, Richard was given a nickname because of his ugly appearance and ruthless character of revenge - "The Devil Duke"!
According to the intelligence I got later, even the York Blood Sacrifice Lancaster members provided anchoring for the [Kraken] by this guy himself.

Byron wanted to slap him to death, but he had to use the same vigilance he had when facing the title of Edward IV to deal with this insidious dwarf with a very deceptive appearance.

Impeccably humble breast-touching:
"Good day, Your Excellency the Duke!

Thank you for your concern. The journey was not hard and it is an honor to serve the Kingdom.”

Then she gave him a sincere smile:

"Besides, this trip to the mainland will earn me the title of a hereditary earl. I believe that no one in the entire Old Continent would refuse such an effort, right?

If there is such a good thing next time, please let me know, Your Excellency the Duke. I will be happy to work harder for you."

Richard was startled. He had not expected that the other party could have such a sense of humor when facing him. Then he and Byron laughed together:

"Ha ha ha ha."

He reached out to pat Byron's shoulder, but couldn't reach it, so he could only pat his forearm, with a hint of something else in his tone:
“Count, I’m actually very optimistic about you, but it’s a pity that we haven’t had the opportunity to communicate face to face until today.

I don't want to beat around the bush and waste either of our time.

I would like to ask you that the whale oil industry in the colony should still require a lot of investment, right?"

Byron's heart moved, and he immediately understood the other party's intention.

The third-level ability of a banker is called [Investment Contract]. Every investment can bring them a return, which can be wealth, spirituality, or extraordinary ability.

Everyone knows that whale oil is now a profitable business, and the York family is obviously dissatisfied with the mere tax of less than one-tenth.

When they say they have high hopes for themselves, they simply want to get a big piece of the pie from themselves.

High-quality industries will lack investment? I have never heard of it.

But Byron nodded decisively without any hesitation:
"Would you like to invest in me? That's great, I couldn't ask for more.

Both you and His Majesty can invest at the market price, and I will give you the original shares.

The whale oil market is so huge that I cannot take it all over with my limited strength. I need a strong person in the kingdom to join in and provide protection.

Even if you didn't mention it, I would still like to visit you.

Everyone knows that Duke Richard is His Majesty's right-hand man. Without you, the sky of Hattings will fall apart!"

Richard smiled happily, and was also shocked by how cleanly and neatly he divided up the profits. He didn't even use any back-up or ruthless tricks. He gave him a thumbs up and praised him sincerely:
“Your Excellency the Earl is indeed the most loyal minister in the kingdom!

I didn’t believe it when others told me so, but today I have truly witnessed it.”

Byron spoke modestly, but he was very happy in his heart:
'Another creditor who can be dealt with. It's not a loss this time.

I have always been the one to fleece others, how dare you fleece me? Since you have delivered it to me, I will take it all.'

If we were not afraid of scaring this "Devil Duke", it would be no problem to split the company into 37 parts and sell them to York.

Let them know how desperate it is to know that “you can’t buy all of them, you can’t buy all of them at all”!
The Devil Duke?

When you were getting the tattoo with me tattooed all over your back, I didn’t dare open my eyes, for fear that you couldn’t bear it.

Richard would never have thought that he only wanted the dividends from this great loyal minister, but this "great loyal minister" wanted his capital and life!
The two chatted for a few more sentences. One was humble and courteous, while the other provided unconditional "hospice care" for his creditors. Naturally, they had a very pleasant conversation, and there was even a sense that they regretted not meeting each other earlier.

At this moment, Richard seemed to have caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. He smiled apologetically at Byron, said, "Sorry, I have to excuse myself for a moment," and hurried away.

Byron saw him walking towards a noble girl who had just arrived at the banquet hall, and his eyes were fixed on the person.

The next moment, the pupils suddenly shrank.

"is her?!"

The girl was probably in her early twenties, tall, with fair skin, black hair tied up and wearing a sapphire hair crown. Her pair of blue eyes, the iconic blue of the Taiwanese people, were filled with a hint of indifference and alienation, as if she was filled with the sorrow of a dead heart.

Even though she was slightly inferior to Catherine, she was still an extremely rare beauty. Whether she was beautiful or ugly was actually not the key.

The key point is that this girl is the only daughter of Marquis Neville and also the fiancée of her cousin Edward!
The Neville Marquis family has always been the leader of the neutral faction due to its long family history, extraordinary heritage, and strong economic and military strength.

The purpose of Lancaster's marriage to them was to unite the neutrals and win their support.

But the two had just gotten engaged and had not had time to hold the wedding when the Lancaster clan was exterminated and the cousin was separated from his fiancée.

So this Miss Anne Neville was just a step away from becoming Byron's sister-in-law, the widow of his cousin, and then being imprisoned in a convent with her aunt, the former Queen Margaret.

Of course, although theirs was a standard political marriage, the two people of similar age had known each other for a long time and had a good relationship after years of getting along.

Many of the love letters her cousin wrote to her during his lifetime were sent by Byron himself.

After the night of genocide, the Neville family was powerful after all and was not liquidated, but was readmitted by the victorious York family.

Anne's father, the fourth-rank hero, Thomas Neville, now serves as Chancellor of the Court of Edward IV.

But the style remains the same, and he is not very willing to intervene in the disputes between the royalists and the earls.

Byron recalled the information he had collected, and his eyes flickered:
"Looking at Richard's attitude towards Anne now, does the York family want to have people, money, power and fiefdoms at the same time?
In the eyes of others, the cousin had already died, and the prospective sister-in-law Anne would get married sooner or later.

There was nothing wrong with Richard of the York Dynasty's identity and ability, but his appearance was really not worthy of the beautiful Miss Anne.

Moreover, with his notorious reputation and sensitive and cold temperament, wouldn't it be like jumping into a fire pit for any good girl to marry him?

However, it is still unknown what the neutral Neville family's attitude towards the York family is. "

In Byron's original plan, from a public perspective, the Neville family, whose size was large enough to influence the political situation, was the first target to be won over; from a personal perspective, he did not want to see his cousin Edward become a poor minotaur.

“Although my brother is dead, he is not completely dead. The [Lich] has all the advantages except that it is a little cooler, a little harder, and a little weaker.

The most important thing is that my brother is handsome enough! He is only slightly less handsome than me.

And the shelf life of our brothers’ handsomeness is permanent.

Isn't this a thousand or ten thousand times better than that dwarf? "

At this time, [Devil Duke] Richard had already walked up to the girl and bowed elegantly:
"Miss Anne, may I invite you to dance an opening dance at the party later?"

A hint of annoyance flashed across the latter's indifferent blue eyes.

But as a lady from a noble family, she was not so rude. She returned the greeting meticulously, but her words were obviously distant amidst the politeness:

“Your Excellency the Duke, thank you for your kindness, but I’m sorry, I’m not feeling well today, and my family doctor said I’m not suitable for dancing. I came here just to have a small gathering with a few sisters.

Excuse me. "

After saying this, she bowed again and walked quickly towards a few young girls who were waving at her at the other end of the banquet hall.

Most of them are descendants of neutral nobles whose families are strong and qualified to sit on the fence.

"Haha, it's okay, it's okay, your health is more important."

Richard laughed dryly to hide the embarrassment of being rejected.

The veins on his forehead were throbbing fiercely, his eyes became particularly cold, and he could hardly suppress the anger in his heart:

'Woman, how dare you look down on me? ! !
This is the third time, no one can keep ignoring my kindness without paying the price.

You have wasted your last chance.'

But when he looked up again, his face had returned to the harmless smile he had at the beginning.

Just like the countless times in the past when he secretly harmed people, no one noticed anything unusual about him.

Byron's attention also shifted to his former sister-in-law, especially the sapphire back chain hanging from the back of her dress.

That was a rare piece of jewelry that my cousin gave to his fiancée. It was a custom-made piece by a master craftsman and the only one of its kind in the world.

I didn't expect that I was still wearing it.

Then I noticed that Anne's dress and jewelry were mainly black and white, which was completely different from other aristocratic girls who were dressed up.

It's like I'm always immersed in some special emotion and can't get out of it.

I couldn't help but feel happy:
"It's possible! This sister-in-law should still have feelings for Edward. This will make it easy."

Byron planned to let Catherine find an opportunity to contact Anne, perhaps the broken relationship between the two families could be resumed.

He felt that the separation between life and death was not a big problem.

He has seen too many weird things, tentacle fetishists, insect fetishists, and ecosphere fetishists. A mere corpse is nothing more than a drop in the ocean for the people in this world.

beep--!
At this time, the trumpet sounded.

Everyone gathered on one side of the banquet hall. As the waiter pulled the trigger, an entire wall slowly disappeared into the wainscoting inside the wall.

The king and his family appeared before everyone.

King Edward IV, Queen Elizabeth Woodville (the most beautiful woman in the Channel Islands), and two princes Edward and Richard.

It happens to be the same name as Edward IV and his third brother Richard, the "Duke of the Devil". If the throne is inherited in the future, it is likely that Edward V will ascend to the throne.

Her Majesty the Queen also looked exceptionally radiant. Her eighth child was born safely, and she is not pregnant again for the time being.

At this time, her waist is slender, like that of an unmarried girl. It can be said that she is "gifted".

It is also very suitable for the treasure in Byron's hand to exert its power.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty."

The nobles saluted one after another.

Next comes the highlight of the banquet.

The combined knighthood and saint canonization ceremonies seemed particularly long and dull, but there were no disturbances in between.

Edward IV first conferred the title of earl on Byron and delivered a speech, enumerating his achievements:

“Lord Tudor risked his life in Anchor Bay for the benefit of the kingdom, and after going to the colony, he was promoted to Pirate General for his outstanding performance.

When the family of the former colonial governor, Earl Newman, was retaliated by the Lancastrian Party, he was appointed governor in times of crisis. He competed with Castile for the protectorate and successfully obtained immunity, thus preserving the interests of the entire colony.

Then they won the first colonial war in the southern continent and saved the King Edward which was trapped in the belly of the super-sized creature Leviathan.

It helped the kingdom to gain the largest share of profits from the whaling grounds, and Mei's Leviathan whale oil was also given priority in being supplied to the country.

Lord Tudor, dedicated to the public interest, regardless of personal gain"

What Edward IV did not say was that Byron had one greater achievement.

——A loyal test subject of the “Eternal Life Project”!
Moreover, a small part of the promotion ceremony of the Scarlet Holy Grail has been offered: the hands of servants, the bones of relatives, and the body of lovers.

For him, the eternal life he had longed for seemed to be within reach.

Byron also pretended to be a passionate young man and his face was full of excitement when Edward IV praised him.

Whether it was the royalist party or the earl's party headed by Warwick, many people could not help but sigh, "I wish I had a son like St. Byron."

He is tall and handsome, brave and courageous, and has defeated the strong many times. His growth story is full of legends.

If the heir to the House of York could be half as good as the Earl of Stromgarde, it would be more than enough to consolidate the royal power and ensure that the throne of the House of York could be passed on smoothly.

If this loyal minister had the surname York, the royal party could rest assured. Even if something happened to Edward IV, they would not have to worry about the young heir causing turmoil in the kingdom.

Finally Byron changed his clothes.

He wore a crimson velvet coat trimmed with white fur, a soft hat on his head with three strips of sable fur to indicate the rank of his title, and a crown with a gilded silver ring and eight silver balls on the top.

It represents the completion of the Earl's investiture.

A round of cheers from the royal party rang out in the meeting hall:
"If loyalty is not absolute, then it is absolutely disloyal!"

"With hard work, nothing is impossible!"

"Your Majesty is loyal."

This is not the end. The Archbishop of Canterbury, one of the 98 cardinals of the church, officially canonized Byron as a saint on behalf of the church.

Has the highest status among all non-clergy believers.

From now on, Saint Byron will be recorded in the holy scriptures and share a part of the power of the mind and will of the [Silver Law].

Even though he has no real power, he can still enjoy the treatment of a cardinal in the church system.

After gaining recognition from the [Silver Law], the [Saint Halo] above Byron's head became increasingly dazzling.

His long-planned "backdoor listing" finally took a crucial step.

He smiled at the archbishop, but secretly plotted in his heart:

"Now I just have to wait for the internal fighting in the church. Then I can attract immigrants seeking refuge from various countries in the Old World, enrich the Golden Empire, and establish a state religion."

Just as the ceremony was over and Edward IV, in a good mood, was about to announce that the ball and banquet were about to begin.

Byron suddenly said loudly:
"Your Majesty, I have a treasure from the Sun Empire in the southern continent to present to you."

Under the curious gaze of many nobles, he took out the great treasure that he had prepared for a long time.

boom!
A powerful and extraordinary spiritual light filled the hall.

For a moment, I couldn't see the specific appearance of the object. I could only vaguely see a circle of brilliant sun blooming, and then the shadows of three suns appeared in the sky.

Someone shouted:

"The Three Phantom Suns! Those are the Three Phantom Suns that symbolize York's destiny!"

(End of this chapter)