I'm not a lord

Chapter 213 Only what you can decide for yourself counts.
Lynn had long planned out her choice of wife.

Starting with the daughter of an earl, with no upper limit; those who are beautiful and have the highest bidders will be given priority.

Lynn was well aware of her place in the aristocratic matchmaking market.

Given his current status, territory, and overall strength, he would definitely be a hot commodity in the dating market.

More importantly, these things were all made by his own hands; they were all truly his own, a world apart from those empty shells of nobles who inherited their titles.

He had complete control over his territories and commanded his army at will. Even the city of Sanhe, which was nominally an autonomous city, had to rely on him and obey his every command.

If viewed as a stock, Lynn, a newly listed high-performing stock, has already entered an upward trend, and it has only just begun to rise.

It can be said that there is a bright future ahead.

Of course, higher returns are always accompanied by higher risks.

Lynn's territory was seized from the Marsh Duke, who, ironically, commands a large army and is launching a powerful offensive toward the Northern Crown.

Due to poor transportation conditions, the people west of Riverbend Fort were unaware that the Duke of the Marsh had already withdrawn his troops from Amber Harbor.

Regardless of the outcome of the Battle of Amber Harbor, a war that will determine both the victor and the demise of the Duke of the Marsh is inevitable between Lynn and the Duke of the Marsh.

Over the past year, the court knights under the Duke of the Marsh have demonstrated their bravery and skill in battle to all.

Although Lynn also had a record of defeating the Baron Alliance in Green Lake Territory, it was clearly not comparable to the glorious victory in Coron City.

From most people's perspective, his chances of becoming the ultimate winner are not high, and could even be considered very low.

This is the biggest unpredictability of Lynn's stock.

Caleb, and the Duke of the Valley behind him, were no fools; they certainly knew the risks of investing in Lynn.

But for them, their lives were hanging by a thread, so what did a little risk matter?
The two duchies have been enemies for generations, and the enmity between them is beyond description.

Once the Duke of the Marsh is crowned king, he will deal with Lynn first, and then kick the Duke of the Vale into the dustbin of history.

Duke Herman of the Valley has now lost the initiative.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will most likely be confined to White Eagle Fortress, watching helplessly as his arch-enemy is crowned king.

But then an unexpected event occurred: the sudden rise of Lynn.

As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my ally.

Since both sides are enemies of the Duke of the Swamp, why not form an alliance and fight side by side?
"My lord, I believe this surprise will satisfy you enough!"

Kalebo believed his gift was full of sincerity, and a bright smile, as if seeking praise, even appeared on his face.

To win over Lynn, the duke offered up his most beloved eldest daughter, along with a high probability of inheriting the duchy.

The two sides can become allies or relatives by marriage.

In the future, after defeating the Marshland Dukes and pacifying the two duchies, there may even be a chance to set our sights on the Crown of the North.

At that time, Lynn and the Duke's eldest daughter's offspring will become the new King of the North, a prospect brighter than the rising sun.

Unexpectedly, Lynn frowned after carefully examining the portrait a few times: "Satisfied? Why should I be satisfied? Kalebo, this gift of yours is hardly a surprise."

Upon hearing this, Kalebo immediately became anxious. The smile on his face froze instantly, and his tone rose two notches: "Your Excellency, I don't understand what you're saying!"

He wasn't faking it; he genuinely didn't understand.

In Caleb’s mind, Lynn should have been overjoyed to accept the portrait and to finalize the marriage with his duke as quickly as possible.

This is the eldest daughter of a duke, who has the right to inherit a territory? Who could refuse her?

Even the Duke of the Marshland couldn't refuse! His eldest son, László, was currently unmarried, and by marrying the eldest daughter of the Duke of the Valley, he would have the opportunity to merge the two duchies into one!

With the strength of the Marsh Duke, as long as he has the official title, dealing with the arrogant nobles of the Valley Duchy would not be difficult.

The same applies to Lynn.

He provides a powerful army, and the Duke of the Valley provides legitimacy and righteousness. Shouldn't this be a win-win situation?
Even if the Duke of the Valley does produce a legitimate male heir in the future, Lynn's efforts will not be in vain.

Of the territory and population gained in the war, Lynn, who was responsible for acting as the henchman, would definitely get the lion's share!

Kalebo assumed Lynn didn't understand the opportunities and possibilities inherent in the marriage, so he hurriedly explained:
“My Lord, if you marry the Duke’s eldest daughter, you can use the Duke’s name to attack the various territories south of the Jing River.”

As you probably know, those nobles have long disobeyed orders from White Eagle Castle. If you can assist the Duke in conquering those territories, he is willing to give you more than half of the spoils! Including land and people!
In the future, you will be able to inherit the entire Valley Duchy through this marriage!

Even across the entire North, you won't find a more precious gift!

As Lynn listened, he raised his right hand and lightly tapped the long table with his index finger. After listening, a smirk appeared on his lips.

“Kalebo, I can obtain all these things with my own hands even without marrying the Duke, and I don’t even need to share the spoils with him.”

Then, Lynn slammed his hand on the table, his voice booming like thunder, "Don't you understand? The reputation you speak of isn't even worth a single Northern Silver Shield!"

Is reputation truly worthless? Not necessarily.

The two titles Lynn received from the royal family are quite useful.

The reason for downplaying the value of a name is naturally to gain more initiative in negotiations.

The conditions offered by Carebo, or rather the Duke of the Valley, seemed tempting, but in reality, they contained many traps.

Is it possible for a daughter to inherit property after marriage? It's only a possibility, not a certainty. There are too many variables, so it's not a valid claim.

The Duke of the Valley is not yet forty years old, and his fertility has not completely aged; he could have a son at any time.

Using the name of the Duke of the Valley to seize the territories of other nobles.

Even without your name, I, Lynn, can still hit whomever I want!

I am the royal executive officer, and I have the privilege of punishing all rebels!

As for who's the rebel? I'll just say whoever I want is whoever I want!

Moreover, how to distribute the spoils after the battle is also a troublesome matter.

Lynn used the Duke of the Valley's name, so there will definitely be disputes when it comes to dividing the spoils.

The most fatal pitfall is not these two, but rather the 'geographical' aspect.

Lynn's current territory is a long strip running from north to south, which looks like a fried dough stick on a map of the Northern Kingdoms.

Therefore, his border with the Valley Duchy south of the Tranquil River was quite small. If he were to fight to the south, he could only wage war against Earl Mirror Iron.

Lynn has now signed a non-aggression pact with Earl Mirror Iron.

This count is quite powerful throughout the entire Northern Territory, and the complex terrain within his territory makes him a formidable opponent.

If he had any sense left, he would never have targeted Earl Mirror Iron first.

The Duke of the Valley's little scheme was too shallow to be concealed.

The reason for writing out such a huge check was simply to get Lynn to help him take down the toughest antagonist, Earl Mirror Iron.

Once Count Mirror Iron is defeated, the Duke of the Valley can take this opportunity to deal with other weaker, more unruly nobles and seize the chance to restore his authority.

It can only be said that there are very few fools at the top of the power structure in the North.

Behind seemingly tempting benefits lie countless traps and whirlpools.

Lynn knew a principle well: no one else's promises counted; only what he could decide himself counted.

Whether it's negotiation, alliance, or marriage, he must maintain absolute control.

In the North these days, might makes right; even the Duke of the Marshland has used his army to his advantage, even reaching Amber Harbor.

If even the king is trembling with fear, what can the Duke of the Valley, whose lineage has lasted for two hundred years, do?
I dare to fight even the most powerful marsh duke, so why would I be afraid of a down-and-out duke from some remote mountain village?

Oh, you can't control the nobles under your command, so you're thinking of using my army to fight for you?

All you're offering is a daughter, and two empty promises? You're dreaming!
Do I, Lynn, need one more daughter than you? Strong armies are hard to find in the North, but beautiful and gentle women are a dime a dozen!

Kalebo's old face immediately contorted, and he stammered, "Sir, you can't say that. How can a reputation be worthless?"

“If I think it’s worthless, then it’s worthless! Those two boxes of gold are worth something, but as for this portrait, I think you should take it back first.” Lynn didn’t waste any more words with him, and directly stuffed the portrait into the wooden box and pushed it in front of Kalebo.

Kalebo quickly pushed the small wooden box back:

"Sir, please don't be in such a hurry. All conditions are negotiated. If you are not satisfied, we can continue to negotiate."

Caleb was not an envoy with full authority and could not offer additional terms on behalf of the Duke of the Valley.

All he could do was to curry favor with Lynn within the bounds of his authority in order to facilitate the alliance.

Lynn glanced at the portrait in the box and smiled coldly: "I don't see much sincerity from the Duke of the Valley, but given his current situation, he probably can't offer much sincerity either."

Faced with Lynn's almost provocative attitude, Caleb calmly asked, "Your Excellency, I would like to hear what you consider to be sincerity."

"I have only three requests. If the Duke of the Valley agrees, I am willing to marry his eldest daughter and form an unbreakable alliance with him," Lynn said slowly, holding up three fingers on his right hand.
"Firstly, the Duke of the Valley should pay a large dowry when his eldest daughter gets married. I don't ask for much, just 20,000 Northern Gold Shields will suffice."
Secondly, he needs to publicly promise that any territory I conquer will be part of the dowry and will be under my complete control;
Thirdly, he must publicly declare that if his eldest daughter gives birth to a son, he must designate that grandson as his heir.

Kalebo was stunned when he heard this; each of the three demands was more outrageous than the last.

The dowry of 20,000 gold coins alone was no small sum.

It should be noted that the annual city tax paid by Three Rivers City to the Duke of the Swamp is only five hundred gold coins.

Twenty thousand is the city tax of this autonomous city for forty years, or the city tax of forty similar cities for one year.

The Duke of the Valley's territory is relatively barren, and the autonomous cities within its borders don't collect much tax.

The taxes collected each year also have to support a duke's personal guard of more than 500 men.

Where would the Duke of the Valley find such a huge sum of money in such a short time? He would probably have to sell off most of his wealth to satisfy Lynn's demands.

The second condition is even more outrageous, meaning that all the territories Lynn conquered under the Duke's name belong to Lynn, and the Duke will have no right to share the spoils.

Then what's the point of marrying off a daughter like that?
Condition three goes without saying; it's tantamount to handing over the claim to the Valley Duchy to Lynn.

Regardless of whether the Duke of the Valley has a son in the future, the title of Duke will fall into Lynn's hands.

No way, is this how you set negotiation terms?

Caleb was astonished by Lynn's enormous appetite.

The Duke of the Valley's decision to marry off his daughter was a way of dangling a carrot in front of Lynn, a carrot that was visible but hard to reach, and inciting him to attack the arrogant nobles led by Earl Mirror Iron, thus achieving the effect of using their strength against them.

Lynn, on the other hand, not only swallowed the carrot whole, but also tried to uproot the entire vegetable patch.

Kalebo wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, barely managing to calm himself, and replied:
“Your Excellency, the terms you have proposed are beyond my ability to handle. I believe you should send a reliable envoy to White Eagle Castle to negotiate with the Duke in person.”

Lynn said bluntly, "There's no need for that. If you don't bring enough sincerity next time, then the negotiations will end here."

Negotiation? Who has time to argue with you?

According to the results of the last negotiation, I have already captured Sanhe City. What about the army of the Duke of the Valley?

Didn't we agree to poke the Duke of the Swamp's ass?
For a duke who could only make empty promises and had no real power, Lynn was already doing him a favor by agreeing to meet his envoy.

Moreover, of the three demands he made, only the first one required the Duke of the Valley to concede tangible benefits.

Asking for 20,000 Northern Gold Shields is already a very low requirement!

"Yes, I understand, sir." What else could Carebo do?

He was just a mid-level diplomatic official, and all he could do was deliver messages.

However, his mission to White River Territory was a disastrous one, and he was sure to be met with displeasure from the Duke upon his return to White Eagle Castle.

After the negotiations ended, Lynn suddenly changed his expression, smiling as he picked up his glass: "Alright, stop looking so glum, have a few more drinks with me!"

Putting aside political stances, Lynn had no ill will toward Caleb himself.

This person has traveled to the North and experienced the local customs and culture. In particular, he is a very heavy drinker with an amazing capacity for alcohol. He is also quite decent when it comes to drinking, making him a top-notch drinker.

After a slight hesitation, Callebo finally picked up his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

After a few rounds of drinks, the frustration in his heart was swallowed down along with the wine.

While drinking, Lynn and Caleb started chatting again.

"Speaking of which, you promised to recommend a group of talented people for me last time, so why haven't you given me any definite answer yet?"

"My lord, rest assured, I will definitely bring a whole boatload of people for you next time you come!" Kalebo was quite confident about this.

"Haha, okay, let's drink!"

(End of this chapter)