People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

He's still so young. Even if his vision is limited by Sherrag, it can be cultivated. If he's willing to join his ranks, the Duke of Caesar would be happy to groom him as a right-hand man.

Although her treatment of outsiders is quite criticized, no one can deny that the Duke of Custer is indeed generous to her own people; otherwise, she wouldn't be the most powerful of the current Grand Dukes of Victoria, vying for the top spot.

After instructing a maid to pour him a glass to sober up, the Duke of Caesar sat on the sofa in the living room, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest.

"In that case, let's try another approach."

“Send an invitation to Sherag, inviting the Shivaish family to my banquet.”

Since you don't want me to go, fine, I'll invite you. What other reason do you have?

To be personally invited by the Duke of Caesar is an immense honor; in all of Victoria, there are probably only a handful of people who have received such treatment.

Duke Kast did not believe that Ernst Siwaish, with her demonstrated political acumen and skill, would refuse his invitation again—after all, she and Ernst had no direct conflict of interest. If he still refused despite her seemingly conciliatory invitation, Kast might not be angry, but his assessment of Ernst's political abilities would likely decline considerably.

The man in the grey top hat nodded and asked, "Invitation as a duke, or as a duke?"

This is a fundamental question. An invitation from a duke represents the duke's personal will and is more private. An invitation from a duchy, on the other hand, is equivalent to a state-level invitation, is more formal, and requires advance preparation.

The Duke of Caesar pondered for a moment, then unexpectedly shook his head and smiled:

"Inviting you as a relative."

“Ernst and Ensiodes’ mother is my niece, so in a way, the two brothers can also be considered my grand-nephews.”

As a grand-nephew, in terms of blood relations, this identity is incredibly distant, comparable in prestige to Liu Bei's claim to be a descendant of the Prince of Zhongshan. You might think it's fake, but it's undeniably true; even Emperor Xian of Han would have to address him as "Uncle Liu." But is there anything particularly special about it? Not really. Under normal circumstances, even if the Duke of Caesar were to have a banquet, they wouldn't be invited to such a distant relationship.

But that's how relatives are: when you're poor, no one cares even in the bustling city; when you're rich, distant relatives appear even in the remote mountains. If the Duke of Caesar insists on bringing up this connection, then Ernst and Ensioudis certainly can't deny it.

Relatives, isn't that amazing?

Kester waved his hand:

"You don't need to look at me like that. What's wrong with a grand-nephew? It's just a matter of affection between grandparents and grandchildren."

"I'd like to invite my dear grandnephew to my banquet so we can reminisce about our blood ties. Is that alright?"

The man in the grey top hat nodded vigorously: "No problem, no problem."

It's just that you have quite a few grand-nephews and nieces. How come I've never seen you have such boundless love before?

...............

"Relatives, isn't that amazing?"

He handed the letter to Ernst, and while Ernst was reading it, Enciodes rubbed his temples, looking like he had a headache.

He had a headache, but Ernst had an even worse one. He looked at Enciodes with disbelief.

"Is our mother the Duke of Cassel's niece?"

“Yes.” Ensiodis nodded.

“How come I didn’t know?” Ernst said incredulously.

“You were young then,” Ensiodis explained. “I didn’t mention it later.”

"?" A question mark appeared above Ernst's head.

He went back and calculated; this year was 1094, and their parents' accident happened 11 years ago, in 1083. Enshiodis went to study in Victoria at the end of the year his parents died. At that time, Enya was forced to become an outlaw... no, a saintess, leaving Ernst to raise Enshiodis alone.

Ernst was just 10 years old that year.

"Your sister is right to hate you." Ernst's face darkened. "Look at the mess you've made! You didn't tell me? You didn't even have a chance to tell me!"

When tragedy struck his family, Enshiodis immediately chose to become a servant. Regardless of the circumstances, his choice was undoubtedly flawed. And after returning, he offered no compensation to his injured family members. Especially Enya; former relatives used to greet me with utmost respect, and I would greet them with a smile, but Enya not only bowed to me but also reminded me of proper etiquette—it was somewhat hurtful.

Damn it, the more I think about it, the angrier I get. We didn't set off enough fireworks last time, we should have set off more!

Seeing Ernst's anger, Ensioudis also turned his head away somewhat guiltily.

He really had no explanation for this. He could have stubbornly insisted that "it was all for Scherrag's sake" before, but now that he and Ernst were working together, that excuse no longer worked.

Moreover, he wasn't entirely forgetful of his relationship with the Duke of Caesar; in fact, it was related to this connection that he secured his first major investment from the Carlan Trade.

Putting his hand to his mouth and feigning a cough, Enciodes abruptly changed the subject:

"Speaking of which, should we go?"

“Can I not go?” Ernst rolled his eyes, flicked his tail, and swatted away Enciodis’s tail that was trying to cling to him. “If it’s a political visit, there’s room for negotiation. But family ties are the most troublesome.”

Although there was little room to refuse a political invitation. The Duke of Caesar's move to use someone else's strength was indeed brilliant—didn't you say that the reconstruction of Tukarim was not suitable for a visit? Well then, I'll invite you to come to my place.

This forced Ernst to give a direct answer, and Ernst could not possibly refuse the Grand Duke's request outright.

To prevent even that one in ten thousand chance, Ernst was really determined to go all the way and break ties with himself by refusing the invitation. Kester even gave Ernst a way out that he had no choice but to accept.

The visit, though missing one person, is not political. It's an invitation from relatives, an expression of elders' care for younger generations, and a perfectly reasonable expression of kinship based on blood ties.

This is like a clarification statement. Everyone knows that the interview will definitely lead to other conversations, but that's the purpose of a clarification statement. It's not to clear the matter, but to clear the person's name.

Even the Duke of Windermere couldn't question such a request, because hindering a family reunion would make her appear like a bad person.

"Alas, it's a pity that Duke Windermere isn't a Sarkaz."

Ernst was somewhat exasperated. Ensioudis didn't understand what that sentence meant:

"What does this have to do with Guansakaz?"

Ernst glanced at him: "The Sarkaz are experts in this field; they specialize in this kind of thing."

Ensiodis was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing.

Ernst's Sarkaz jokes have been improved once again!

"There's nothing we can do. Life is like rape. Since you can't resist, you might as well enjoy it."

Ernst stood up, shrugged,

"Please prepare a dress for me; I don't have one."

Without giving Enciodes time to refuse, he turned and left the CEO's office.

Ensiodis shook his head, both amused and exasperated. He was about to call out "Horn Peak" when something occurred to him, and he pursed his lips with a complicated expression.

“I don’t think I know your size, Ernst.”

Chapter 158 Female Companion

"That damn old woman."

Defiance was muttering curses under her breath, and judging from her expression, she truly hated the Duke of Caesar.

Ernst found it strange at times: was the Duke of Castells really that disliked? He hadn't met many Victorians, yet at least 80% of them disliked him.

The remaining 20% ​​was barely covered by Vina, whose attitude was unclear, and Ceylon, whose life had been saved by the Duke of Caesar.

Moreover, Ernst felt that Vina didn't seem to have a good impression of the Duke of Kester. After all, sometimes silence is a form of expression. Every time the topic of the Duke of Kester came up, Vina seemed unwilling to participate, which said a lot.

But ironically, even in this environment, the Duke of Custer was still the most prestigious Grand Duke in Victoria, and a truly good one at that. This fully illustrates a truth—a person's aesthetic sense, intelligence, public morality, and private morality are indeed four completely unrelated areas.

Considering his limited knowledge, Ernst decided to consult his dear Miss Deafine.

"I find it strange that so many Victorians are praising the Duke of Castle for being so good. What good things has this Duke actually done?"

Daphne glanced at Ernst and answered without hesitation, "She's dead."

Ernst was taken aback, then realized the lame joke that had suddenly come out of Daphne's mouth.

You accomplished nothing in your life; only your death can be considered a good deed. This is far more damaging than any simple humiliation. It carries a certain spirit of "Your bodies and names will perish, but the rivers will flow on forever!"

Unable to suppress a laugh, Ernst asked again, "So what specific bad things did she do?"

Speaking of this, Defiance became even more enthusiastic and immediately started listing the examples on her fingers:

"There are many more. Leading the King of Kings to attack the Burning Winds led to the destruction of the Sargon Empire; serving as Drak's advisor brought about Aslan's conquest; colluding with the Agorians led to the Great Tranquility of Iberia; uniting the four-nation coalition to march on Kazdel and destroy the Sarkaz homeland; instigating the Gallic Emperor to launch a war that resulted in defeat and the fall of his kingdom..."

"Stop, stop, I said stop."

Ernst quickly stopped Defiance from giving increasingly outrageous examples.

God knows how many bad things have happened. Of all the things you've mentioned, does anything have anything to do with the Duke of Cactus?

Sargon, the King of Kings, was a prehistoric figure; Duke Keste didn't even have a single cell back then. Serving as Drak's advisor was even more outrageous; Duke Keste was a vassal of Aslan, and besides, whether he even held the title at the time is questionable. As for the claim that contacting the Aegirs caused the Great Tranquility of Iberia, that aligns with the stereotypes of land dwellers, but Ernst did know a few Aegirs—for example, "Our Union" brought in Bodah's Titi. While the specific details of the Great Tranquility are unknown, it certainly wasn't simply a matter of the Aegirs initiating it.

As for the last two things, the position of Duke of Kast should have been established during the era of the four-nation alliance, but it certainly wasn't the current one. Ernst didn't know whether that war had anything to do with the Duke of Kast.

(A green-haired lynx spirit, whose credit was stolen and who wished to remain anonymous, even refusing to reveal his body type, sneezed.)

But lastly, wasn't it the Duke of Wellington who orchestrated the fall of the Gallo-Baltic Empire? Isn't your sharp comment a bit disrespectful to your allies?

It was impossible to guess what other "crimes" Daphne would list next. Even with Ernst's excellent command of language, he couldn't help but complain:

"So the Duke of Castle can be responsible for all sorts of bad things?"

Defiance shrugged, giving him a "you don't even understand this" look:

“My mother said that eighty percent of the bad things in the world today are related to Victoria, and at least eighty percent of those bad things are definitely related to the Duke of Caesar.”

"So, Ernst, if you hear that something bad has happened somewhere, but you don't know who did it or what the specifics are, that's fine. Just condemn the Duke of Kester!"

Ernst was completely stunned.

But he carefully considered the series of major events that had occurred on this land, both in the past and present...

Colombia gained independence from Victoria, and Eureka, the state where the fence incident occurred, is a Victorian exclave. Core states like Letania and Casimir have consistently suffered from Victoria's suppression and border friction. The Gallo Empire was destroyed by Victoria, and Victoria intervened in the siege of the Sarkaz. The act of letting the Sarkaz into the city was also orchestrated by Victoria's grand dukes. The Ursus Empire, a nation seeking to align itself with the core, was further targeted by Victoria's encirclement. After a long and fruitless war among the Four Emperors, it was forced to turn militaristic and begin its quest for peace.

There are too many major events to list, not to mention the minor events that happen in small places.

In some ways, this assessment actually seems quite reasonable. The Duke of Amphilis Windermere surprisingly possesses a clear self-awareness regarding this!

As expected of the Victorian Empire, which calls itself a beacon of democracy and freedom in Terra, your ability to plant landmines is indeed comparable to that of 20th-century Great Britain, and perhaps even surpassed by the 21st-century United States.

Damn it, the conjugate father and son have become one!

There were just too many things to complain about. Ernst seriously suspected that if things continued like this, he probably wouldn't be able to do anything today; he could spend the whole day just chatting with Defiance.

That won't do. If we waste too much time, we won't be able to finish our work.

He coughed, forcibly changing the subject, and looked at Daphne, saying:

"That's true, but this time it's really difficult for Sherag to refuse Duke Kast's invitation. I hope Duke Windermere can understand."

Defiance's expression was still clearly somewhat unhappy, but she also understood that Ernst had already minimized the political significance of the matter.

It wasn't a state visit. Kessler invited them as an elder, not a duke. It was a family dinner, and the inviters were the Shivaish family, not Ernst alone. If the Duke of Windermere still intervened, it would only give the Duke of Kess something to talk about.

After all, the Duke of Windermere is not a Sarkaz; he still has some international reputation to maintain. Nobody privately believes that he would obstruct the reunion of the elderly Castells' family, but it's really hard to explain if it's said out loud.

Moreover, judging others by one's own standards, even though the Grey Hat had attempted to assassinate Kent more than once, Amphilis still attended the secret meeting with the Duke of Londinium convened by the Duke of Caster. Private matters are private matters; no matter how hostile they are, they still have to maintain a smile when they curse each other in person.

"Mom should have no objections. But Ernst, be careful."

Defiance cautioned,

“The Duke of Caesar is a real vile woman. Don’t let me hear that you’ve been tricked.”

"Understood." Ernst gave her an OK sign, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then turned and left the room.

Enciodes was waiting for him outside the door.

Duke Kasper invited the Shivaish family. Although the person he truly wanted to invite was undoubtedly Ernst, given the prestige, Ensioudis naturally had a say in the matter.

Moreover, he was indeed willing to make this trip with Ernst.

This time, it wasn't to discuss business with the Duke of Cassel, nor to flaunt his connections in the Duchy of Cassel to Ernst. He had only one purpose for this trip: to protect his younger brother.

The Duke of Caesars may not have been the most powerful of the Grand Dukes of Victoria, but she was certainly the most difficult to deal with. This was because she was genuinely willing and happy to use methods that were not conventionally considered appropriate.

For example, poisoning, assassination, or using a broken cup as a signal to unleash eight hundred axemen to finely chop the enemy into minced meat.

Such methods often evoke the Middle Ages. In modern society, people value decorum, and assassinating the leader of an enemy country during a visit is an act that could raise questions and cause resentment, so it's generally avoided. But the Duke of Caesar didn't care.

She's very pragmatic; she only cares about profit. As long as the profit is enough, she doesn't care about these minor flaws.

That's why she dared to scheme against two dukes at the Dukes' secret meeting, nearly killing Kent Windermere and sacrificing the unfortunate Duke Stafford.

Enciodis could hardly guarantee that if Ernst made too bad an impression on the Duke of Caster, or too good one, the Duke of Caster wouldn't harbor any dangerous thoughts.