Imperial Crown.

Chapter 232 The Viscount's Promise

An extra chapter to celebrate the 588 Qidian coins rewarded by the QQ reading boss [阳洋得意@]!
……

Weddings are never just for the newlyweds.

Although there is no such thing as getting up early to greet guests in this world, the guests were still there, so the newlywed couple Raven and Nancy had to get up early, drive away their tiredness and sleepiness, and go to the hall to face the guests in their best possible manner.

Walk all the way inside, and no matter how impatient you are, you must greet the nobles you meet with a smile until you reach the innermost table.

The Marquis Anthony, the Earl of Tyrone, the Archbishop Thomas and the Earl of Montreal, the most important guests of the wedding were all here, chatting and laughing.

The atmosphere seems harmonious, but the positions are clearly defined.

Anthony and Thomas sat in the middle, with Tyrone and Montreal sitting next to them respectively.

Raven brought Nancy over, bowed, and then sat down together.

"You came just in time. We were just talking about you." Thomas said.

"The Count of Montreal has really found real gold." Marquis Anthony said, "It is really enviable to be able to marry his daughter to such an outstanding nobleman as Baron Raven."

Tyrone was not stingy with his praise: "Yes, if my daughter wasn't married yet, I would definitely compete with Montreal."

Nancy loves to be in the spotlight and be the center of everyone's attention.

In the past, she would definitely be angry because they did not value her, but now that she has become Raven's wife, she feels proud when others praise Raven, and also has a sense of pride as if she has monopolized a treasure.

The most proud one was of course Montreal: "I know that Raven is excellent, but my Fox family is an earl family, while the Griffith family is only a baron, which is somewhat inappropriate."

"So as early as after the engagement, I recommended Raven to His Majesty the King, hoping to promote his title to Viscount."

"I think your Majesty will not refuse my small proposal, right?"

Montreal didn't raise his voice on purpose, but it was loud enough for people to hear and pass on, allowing other guests who were already paying attention to the place to catch the words.

Among them was Viscount John, the original owner of Xuefeng Territory.

He had a good relationship with the Griffith family and had fought side by side with Raven, so they had a deep friendship and knew Raven's abilities best. However, he had never expected that Raven would be recommended by the Fox family!

Although Raven's territory was no less than any viscount's, and his wealth and strength were not bad either, he was only a baron after all.

The gap between titles is like a natural chasm. The chance of a family becoming extinct is much higher than getting promoted!
From Viscount John's perspective, now that Montreal has lost the title of Governor and the Fox family has been bled badly, this should be enough to appease His Majesty the King's anger.

Taking the initiative to apply for the title of knighthood for Raven from His Majesty the King is the first step to easing the relationship between the monarch and his subjects. His Majesty the King has no reason not to agree.

Baron Raven has really found a good marriage partner.

Viscount John was envious, and besides him, there were others who were truly happy for Raven, such as Denise, but the one who felt it the most deeply was Nancy.

She sat next to Raven with a genuine smile on her face.

Because she had come into contact with Raven earlier, she had always known about Raven's ambition and admired it.

In fact, if it weren't for Raven's desperate and crazy enterprising spirit, his magical talent and handsome looks alone would not have won Nancy's heart.

Now his efforts have paid off.

My father has always been very cautious. Since he told me this news, he must be very sure that Raven could be promoted to Viscount and I could become Viscountess.

The most important thing is that with this opportunity, the two families can become closer, and Nancy won't have to be caught in the middle.

It was this that made Marquis Anthony lower his eyelids.

I was cursing Montreal in my heart for being shameless.

According to the plan, he will officially take office as the Governor of Nord Province in 2-3 months. At that time, he will take this opportunity to return to the capital and present Raven's gift.

Originally, it was not in accordance with the rules for Raven to serve as the county governor with the title of baron. As long as His Majesty the King remembered Raven's existence, his promotion to viscount would be a foregone conclusion.

If Anthony followed his plan, he would not only be able to please the King, but also take the credit of "lobbying the King" without any hindrance, show favor to Raven, bring Raven to his side, and facilitate his work in the Nord province.

But now, Montreal has taken the lead!
Given Anthony's knowledge of His Majesty the King, Montreal's application would most likely be approved.

The key is that Anthony cannot interfere.

Indeed, it is very easy to stop him. All he needs to do is to take Raven's gift for granted and say something bad, and he may very well be ruined in his promotion.

But now Raven is not only a border baron, he also has the Fox family as a marriage partner and is qualified to contact His Majesty the King.

If Raven reports the fact that he had embezzled the gifts through Montreal, it would be a huge problem!
If the gift is returned, not only will it completely break off relations with Raven, but it will also push Raven to the side of the Fox family.

At that time, Montreal will pay tribute to the precious Angel's Glory to King Keynes XVI. His Majesty the King, who is moody, may even restore Montreal's title of Governor General if he is so pleased!

Raven, the key point is still Raven.

Raven and the Fox family are getting closer and closer, which is a huge trouble for him. He must find a way to break the situation!

In comparison, Earl Tyrone was much calmer and just raised his eyelids slightly.

In fact, Tyrone had long guessed that since Montreal had taken a fancy to Raven, they would definitely do their best to tie Raven to their chariot, and it was only natural to recommend him to become a viscount.

But Tyrone did not tell Marquis Anthony about this speculation.

Because it would do Tyrone no good.

It is true that he and Anthony have the same goal in bringing down the Fox family, but the fundamental interests of the two families are not the same.

He only wanted to make the Fox family decline, not kill it.

If the Fox family really disappeared, someone else would definitely replace this ecological niche, and the most likely person would be Marquis Anthony.

He's much tougher than Montreal.

According to Earl Tyrone's idea, Anthony and Montreal had been fighting each other, and as a smart monkey, his best option was to watch the two tigers fight on the mountain.

As for Archbishop Thomas, he knew about Montreal's actions and did not care about them, and even supported them.

Raven is important.

If you want to make a difference in the Nordic province, you can't avoid this rising star.

The deeper his ties to the Fox family, the better it will be for the Church of Light.

The people present were all veterans in the political arena and experts in acting. Even if they were feeling troubled, they would not easily show their emotions. Therefore, the conversation continued without even a pause.

Everyone tacitly stopped talking about Raven's promotion to Viscount, and instead just chatted. When it was noon, Marquis Anthony rubbed his stomach and said, "I'm a little hungry after talking for so long."

"I've heard that the Wallace Hotel is not only unique and exquisite in appearance, but also has delicious and novel dishes and a great view. Why don't we have lunch there?"

Of course, no one would argue with Anthony about such a small issue, and they all agreed.

Raven sent someone to make arrangements first, and about half an hour later, he set off with a few people and arrived at the Wallace Hotel.

After being able to produce glass on their own, the exterior walls of the Wallace Hotel were renovated and all of them were made of self-produced glass. Not only are they smoother and more transparent, but the bubbles have basically disappeared, which surprised several bigwigs and they all praised Raven's creativity.

When you come to Wallace Hotel, you must eat hotpot.

In the aristocratic circle, "free and easy" seems to be a trend unique to high-ranking nobles. The higher the status, the less they care about etiquette.

The hotpot was being eaten lively. Marquis Anthony unbuttoned his collar, Earl Tyrone took off his coat, and Montreal sat at one side, looking like three unkempt old men.

At the end of the meal, the hot pot was removed and replaced by desserts and fine wine.

Marquis Anthony put a spoonful of iced cheese into his mouth, his eyes drifted out the window, and he asked casually, "Baron Raven, that building next to you is the famous Colosseum, right?"

“It’s not that famous.” Raven said modestly, “But it is indeed a place for people to duel and have fun.”

"Such a grand scale would not be shabby even in the imperial capital." Marquis Anthony suddenly sighed, "Alas, no matter how long our nobles have been passed down, they all started with military merits. But now that we have been at peace for too long, many people have neglected the cultivation of military strength and the training of their strength."

"If it weren't for this, the riot caused by the Death Hand Cult two years ago wouldn't have caused such great losses!"

Montreal looked a little unhappy, but he immediately covered it up.

"So, I have a suggestion." Marquis Anthony looked at Raven with a smile on his face. "You and Miss Nancy are newly married, so there should be an event to celebrate. It just so happens that there is such a grand arena."

"How about holding a competition? Firstly, it can make your wedding more lively; secondly, it can also show the martial spirit of our Nord Province nobles. What do you think?"

Raven didn't answer immediately.

Competitions were once very popular in the Middles continent. There were all kinds of competitions, from one-on-one battles to one-on-many challenges to confrontations where each person led a team.

Originally, this was held by local lords to train soldiers and recruit talents, but as time went on, the continent became more stable, the five major human forces took shape, and this activity gradually disappeared.

Nowadays, when people on the mainland mention "competition competition", they simply mean that each family sends out knights to perform one-on-one battles, which is a common entertainment activity when nobles get together.

This in itself is nothing, but the timing of Anthony's suggestion is quite interesting.

He first brought up the rebellion of the Death Hand Cult, and the retrial of military merit had just been completed, so it was hard not to think that this was aimed at the Fox family.

Did he want to take this opportunity to show his force and use it to crack down on the Fox family?

Raven's guess was not entirely accurate.

Because Marquis Anthony's real target was not Fox, but Raven.

This was a plan that Marquis Anthony had conceived since the morning. The means was competitive fighting, and the purpose was to make Raven realize the situation.

The Fox family cannot be relied upon; only Anthony and the royal power he represents are solid enough.

Montreal also sensed the deeper meaning of Anthony's words, but could not just jump out and refute it.

This is an invisible knife that is secretly cutting the relationship between the Fox family and Raven.

A trace of anger rose in Montreal's heart.

From the review of military merits to the present, Marquis Anthony has been pressing forward step by step, and Montreal has retreated again and again. Now there is no place to retreat, but Anthony is still not satisfied.

A competition? Okay, let's have a showdown to see who is stronger.

Thinking of this, without waiting for Raven to speak, Montreal said:
"Marquis Anthony has been in the capital for a long time, so he doesn't know much about the Nord Province."

"The war two years ago did indeed destroy half of the Nord province. Even Earl Tyrone's Snake Castle was breached."

“But it is also true that the nobles of this province fought bravely and fought to the death!”

"Since Marquis Anthony has doubts, let's do as you say and hold a competition to show you the backbone of us Nords!"

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Marquis Anthony knew that he had said the wrong thing and that Montreal had seized upon it as a handle to put him against the entire Nordic province's nobles.

But the words have been spoken, and anything said at this point will only exacerbate the misunderstanding.

At this time, Earl Tyrone said in an admiring tone: "Marquis Anthony really understands human nature and knows how to inspire the courage of warriors with anger."

"The reason you made this proposal is that you want to take this opportunity to select qualified warriors to enrich your team."

"You won't blame me for revealing your good intentions in advance, right?"

Montreal snorted in his heart. Tyrone's words neutralized the offensive in his words, just like the way he led his army, without any loopholes.

Marquis Anthony was also relieved: "Haha, of course not, Earl Tyrone, you are so wise."

"Otherwise, we wouldn't have risked the castle being breached in the first place, and we would have concentrated the main forces of the Death Hand Cult around Mon'en City to prepare for the subsequent annihilation war!"

Archbishop Thomas smiled and said, "Speaking of which, someone in the Nord Province has used the same tactics, Baron Raven, don't you think so?"

Nancy became interested: "Is there such a thing? Raven, tell me quickly!"

Raven knew that Thomas was referring to the incident of luring the horse thieves to attack Eagle Castle and then encircling and annihilating them.

The tactics used that time were not actually very appropriate, and Raven did not intend to brag about it: "How can my little cleverness compare to Baron Tyrone's? You really think too highly of me."

"But coming back to the point, since you all agree to hold the competition, should I send someone to arrange it?"

As the instigator, Marquis Anthony would not refute; Tyrone stood on Anthony's side and had no reason to refuse.

Montreal hopes to take this opportunity to flex the muscles of the Fox family and let the outside world know that the Fox family has only lost its reputation but has not lost its strength!
Seeing that everyone had reached a consensus, Archbishop Thomas spoke up at the right time: "Since everyone is so enthusiastic, I will also join in the fun."

"Also, since we have decided to hold the competition, there is one thing that everyone has forgotten, right?"

Raven thought for a moment:

"You mean the prize for this conference?"

……

(End of this chapter)