I'm not a lord

Chapter 179 Kill Lynn!
Morris eventually accepted his niece Chloris's suggestion to grant Lynn a temporary title as Royal Northern Envoy.

Lynn, holding this official position, can mobilize all forces within the Marsh Duchy loyal to the royal family and can also legally punish those declared traitors by the royal family.

Of course, all of this is just in name only.

After all, where in the Marsh Duchy could one find any force loyal to the royal family?

All Lynn could muster was himself.

But these titles were the limit Morris was willing to give Lynn.

He hoped Lynn could help him restrain the Duke of the Marshland ≠ He must grant Lynn a high title and official position.

An unregistered person of unknown origin could very well be a bandit leader, and to Maurice, obtaining a title of earl directly under the royal family was already an immense honor.

According to the tradition of the Northern Kingdom, Lynn should even kneel before him and passionately kiss his toes as a sign of his loyalty to his lord.

If it weren't for Lynn's considerable military strength, Morris wouldn't have even bothered to grant him the title of Earl; a Baron title would have sufficed, let alone a high-ranking position like Royal Executive.

This is because the title of Earl is already the highest that non-royal members can obtain, and there is no higher title that can be bestowed.

Even a legitimate crown prince usually only holds the title of earl before ascending the throne.

The three dukes were an exception.

These three nobles were appointed by the first King of the North to encourage them to clear the wastelands and expel the barbarians.

There were only these three ducal titles in the North, and no one was able to be granted the title of duke for more than a hundred years afterward.

Originally, the first king intended to let others expand his territory first, and then his descendants would reclaim these developed territories through marriage, extinction of lineage, and confiscation.

However, the bloodlines of the three dukes are very strong, having remained unbroken for nearly two hundred years. After growing stronger, they can even turn against the royal family.

However, the royal bloodline was exceptionally thin, with several generations having only one son, ultimately leading to the extinction of the royal line. They had no choice but to find an illegitimate son with weak claim to the throne to inherit it, which greatly weakened the authority of the royal family and created Maurice's current awkward situation.

Moreover, Maurice not only claimed to have weak power, but also lacked the awareness and responsibility of being a king.

When announcing the bestowal of titles and official positions upon Lynn, he addressed his niece in front of a group of officials, saying:

"Chloris, your loyalty to me and the royal family is evident to everyone present. If you had not repeatedly affirmed Lynn's role and importance, and if Duke Herman of the Valley had not strongly recommended him, I would not have been able to grant him such a high-ranking title and official position."

Clearly, Morris is trying to shift the blame in advance.

Lynn was recommended by you, Chloris and Herman. I, Morris, am only willing to promote him out of turn because of you.

Maurice knew that his status as an illegitimate child would be criticized by the nobility, and any extraordinary reward would be attacked as 'breaking tradition', which would be detrimental to his future rule. Therefore, he urgently needed to shift the blame to others.

Then, Morris added:

"The White River Earl's special privileges are limited to the White River Basin, while the Northern Frontier Executive is a temporary position that I have the right to revoke at any time. His authority is also limited to the Marshland Duchy, and the royal family will send an envoy to be stationed permanently in the White River Earl's Duchy. You will be in charge of this matter."

Chloe really wanted to roll her eyes at her uncle.

Even now, you're still trying to shift the blame. You're nothing but a down-on-his-luck king whose decrees can't even leave Amber Harbor, and you could be overthrown by the Duke of the Swamp at any moment.

Could you show some of the responsibility of a king?

In your current state, how could you possibly be worthy of that whale horn scepter?
This is a whale horn that the first King of Conquerors personally hunted in the icy sea!

Looking at her uncle's serious yet incredibly comical expression, Chloris couldn't help but miss her deceased father.

If his father were still alive, even if he were bedridden and unable to move, he would certainly not hesitate to appoint Lynn as the Royal Governor, and might even give him a noble dukedom.

Uncle, times have really changed.

The royal family's reputation is not as clean as the streets of Amber Harbor, which are trampled by thousands of people. As the king, your only means of dealing with this is to issue titles.

You actually want to hold onto those worthless titles? Those things should have been swept into the trash heap!

If I were you, I would give every earl in the Marshland a ducal title, and those with ambition would also be given a governor title.

Regardless of whether they dare to accept the title, at least issue the titles to them first, giving those ambitious individuals a chance to step forward.

The Duke of the Marsh has centralized power for three generations, and now that the Duke himself is far from his stronghold of Golden Deer Castle, I don’t believe that the counts below him don’t have thoughts of rebellion!

But Chloris had long since lost interest in advising her uncle.

Because she had already subtly inquired about her uncle's attitude beforehand, the result naturally left her dissatisfied.

She had hoped that Lynn's appearance would slightly change her uncle's mind.

Now it seems that this is no longer possible.

The royal bloodline of the Urenius family may ultimately be destroyed by Maurice.

Chloris let out a barely audible sigh, lowered her head, and a mocking smile curled at the corners of her lips, while maintaining her usual politeness and obedience:
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will send a trustworthy envoy to the White River Territory."

Very well, since you, Maurice, are unwilling to take responsibility, then I, Chloris, will take it on.

As a noble princess, she naturally had her own small group. It wouldn't be difficult for her to send a few reliable envoys to reside permanently in Baihe Territory, which would also allow her to see just how strong Lynn really was.

To be honest, Chloe was quite interested in Lynn.

Regardless of Lynn's status, it takes immense courage for him to raise an army in the Marsh Duchy to rebel against the Marsh Duke under the current circumstances.

A true hero is someone worth befriending in any era.

Seeing that Chloris was so 'easy' to handle, Morris couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Then, taking advantage of the situation, he reminded him:

“Remember, Chloris, you need to report to me on the military situation in the relevant areas every month. Also, if Lynn fails to live up to my kindness and expectations, you must bear some responsibility for it.”

Chloris kept her head down and simply replied, "As you wish, Your Majesty."

Maurice found it rather difficult to deal with this former dynasty princess.

Abruptly stripping her of her princess status would have a negative impact.

She could continue to be raised like a princess, but she could also become a huge problem for Maurice at any time.

This is naturally because Chloris has the right to claim the throne, and whoever marries this princess will make Maurice restless.

Maurice still fantasizes about defeating the Duke of the Marsh, then gradually recovering lost territories, restoring the royal family's prestige, becoming a true king, and continuing the Urenius family's rule over the Northern Kingdom.

If he can accomplish all of this, he will surely receive a very respectable and pleasant nickname after his death.

For example, if the "Reviver" or "Victor" could completely defeat the three dukes and bring their territories into the Crown Territory, they might even be able to think about the honorific title of "Great One".

Therefore, Morris must get rid of Princess Chloris, this troublesome princess.

He really liked his intelligent niece.

But as much as one may like something, in the face of power, all kinship must take a backseat.

Maurice originally intended to find an excuse to send his niece to a convent, so that she could never marry and her right to claim the throne would be nullified.

This way, things won't completely fall apart, which is better for both sides.

Well, at least that's what Morris thinks.

Just as he was about to doze off, his niece handed him a pillow and offered him a recommendation.

In Morris's view, Lynn's failure was inevitable.

Because he will take action and defeat the Duke of the Swamp beneath Amber Harbor.

He would then negotiate with the Duke to reach a long-term truce. Maurice even planned to have his eldest son marry the Duke's daughter, making them in-laws, and then each side would compromise.

He continued to be king and sought ways to regain the loyalty of nobles from all over the land.

The Duke of the Marsh returned to his territory to deal with Lynn and any other potential rebellions.

As for what will happen in the future, well, that's up to each person to decide.

Once Lynn has completed his task of keeping the Duke in check, and is then casually crushed to death by the Duke, Morris can use this as an excuse to throw his niece into a convent. He can also take back the two titles he gave Lynn.

The royal executive is fine, but the title of earl is hereditary! Hereditary!
We absolutely cannot allow a bandit leader to hold a hereditary royal earldom for long! It's too shameful!
This is essentially a win-win-win situation, meaning Morris wins three times.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that his plan was perfect and flawless.

The only problem is defeating the Duke of the Marsh in Amber Harbor.

Given the current situation, the Duke has only one option left: to attack the city. Maurice will inevitably have to confront the Duke head-on again, but fortunately, he has the city and its walls to rely on this time.

The civilian militia had already stood firmly by his side, and the elite mercenaries from the southern border would arrive soon.

Therefore, he will definitely win!

A confident glint flashed in Maurice's eyes, and his hand holding the whale horn scepter began to tremble with excitement.

Just by looking at her uncle's trembling hand, Chloris could roughly guess what he was thinking.

There's no way around it; Morris's thoughts are completely written on his face, making him all too easy to guess.

However, Chloris did not have much of a resistance to going to the monastery.

It was common practice in aristocratic families to send women to convents to become nuns.

This would both prevent the loss of family claim to rights and avoid the need for exorbitant dowries required for a daughter's marriage.

This is similar to a nobleman sending his youngest son to war and kicking him out of the house, only the method is slightly milder.

Chloris had already prepared to enter the monastery long before Maurice ascended to the throne.

After all, her identity was too special, and in order to avoid causing huge controversy or conflict, a monastery was the best place for her.

Her mother is still alive and may go to the convent with her in the future, so that the mother and daughter can take care of each other.

The meeting inside the main hall quickly came to an end.

Chloris walked back to her small palace with a steady pace and began to methodically arrange the selection of envoys to go to White River Territory.

Her mother was the former king's fourth wife, and there was a significant age gap between her and her husband, nearly thirty years.

At the same time, her mother's family was not particularly prominent; they were merely an earl family in the southern border.

Chloris's confidantes were either local maids who had grown up with her since childhood, or servants who had come with her from the South.

After some deliberation, she decided to trust her family and sent three loyal and reliable middle-aged stewards, along with a team of local young guards.

As for the channels for transmitting information, those were arranged by King Maurice.

Morris had close ties with wealthy merchants; in those days, businessmen were among the best messengers.

As the largest commercial port in the North, the wealthy merchants of Amber Harbor all have their own business channels in Three Rivers City, and can even send messages under the banner of Three Rivers City.

That afternoon, the royal delegation set sail, flying ordinary merchant flags to avoid attracting attention.

At the same time, Maurice also sent envoys to the Duke of the Marsh outside the city.

The Duke's camp was set up three kilometers west of Amber Harbour.

The messenger, riding on horseback, delivered the king's personal letter to the duke in less than a quarter of an hour.

"This is so strange. Maurice actually sent me a letter on his own initiative? This is the first time since the start of the war, isn't it?"

The Duke sat imposingly in his military tent, glancing down at the narwhal seal on the wax seal. The nobles standing on either side burst into laughter, including the Duke's eldest son, László.

Laszlo naturally wanted to marry Chloris.

Putting aside her beauty, the mere fact that the princess was granted the title of king was enough to make him drool.

Add to that her beauty, and it's like getting one free – there's no one in the entire North more perfect to marry than the princess.

László was determined to have the princess.

His father is currently mobilizing troops in various places, accepting all comers, whether nobles or bandits.

If Amber Harbor dares to resist to the end, the Duke of the Marsh will allow his soldiers to plunder freely for a whole week after the city falls, and all buildings except the Royal Palace and the Cathedral will be open to the soldiers.

With the endless wealth of Amber Harbor as bait, there's no shortage of soldiers eager to make a fortune.

The Duke of the Marsh estimated that he might eventually be able to assemble an army of over ten thousand men.

Note that this only includes strong adult male soldiers and does not include military dependents or service industry workers.

If the laborers responsible for transporting provisions and supplies are included, the total number of troops could exceed 40,000, even surpassing the permanent population of Amber Harbor, making it an army of unprecedented size in the history of the North.

All the nobles in the military camp, including the Duke of the Marsh, were absolutely confident of capturing Amber Harbor.

That's why they couldn't help but laugh when they saw the king send someone to deliver the message.

You, Maurice, were quite arrogant, weren't you? You drove the messenger out of the palace and even incited the citizens to attack him.

What, you're having second thoughts?

We still prefer your rebellious side!

If you're willing to open the gates and surrender, how are we supposed to enjoy the sight of you wetting your pants on the guillotine? What reason do we have to plunder Amber Harbor?
During the previous massacre in the city of Koren, these nobles had experienced the pleasure and thrill of slaughtering an entire city.

Amber Harbor's wealth is more than ten times that of Coron City, making it even more exciting to plunder.

Influenced by the atmosphere around him, the Duke of the Marsh unconsciously smiled.

But when he opened the letter and saw its contents, his smile froze.

This turned out to be a strongly worded 'peace letter'.

In his letter, King Maurice declared that he would stand with Amber Harbor to the death and that he would personally lead all the citizens to stand on the city walls and resolutely annihilate any invading enemy.

If the Duke of the Marshland is willing to negotiate peace, then Maurice is willing to form a marriage alliance with him.

However, instead of marrying the princess to László, the duke arranged for one of his daughters to marry Maurice's eldest son.

In the future, the Duke's daughter will be the Queen of the Northern Kingdom. How wonderful that will be.

Beautiful my ass!
The Duke of the Swamp exerted force with his fingers and almost tore the letter to shreds.

It was only because at the end of the letter he saw a name he utterly loathed—Lynn.

How dare Morris use Lynn to threaten me!

Despite his inner rage, the Duke of the Swamp managed to restrain himself from roaring in fury.

He accepted the letter and kicked Maurice's messenger out of the tent, then immediately ordered his secretary to write to Golden Deer Fort.

"Kill Lynn!"

The Duke had only one order.

(End of this chapter)