Come to another world and become a lord

Chapter 209: Questions from the King's Messenger

The morning mist enveloped Rickburg, and the thick walls were cold and majestic. However, the castle today lacked the tranquility of the past, and an uneasy atmosphere filled the air. When the king's messenger arrived at the city gate, Carl knew that this moment had finally arrived. His trip to the grassland was too sensitive, and King Philip would definitely come to ask about it.

The atmosphere in the hall was solemn. The envoy stood in the center, looking at Karl sitting on the lord's throne, with a hint of arrogance on his face.

"Karl Flandal, I come here on behalf of His Majesty." He shouted, his voice echoing in the spacious stone hall. "Please explain the purpose of your trip to the grassland a few days ago. Your actions have seriously damaged the interests of the kingdom and can even be regarded as treason."

After saying that, he looked at Karl again, waiting for his answer. However, Karl just sat there, looking at him without saying a word, with a hint of indifference in his eyes, which made the messenger feel a little creepy.

"I, I'm asking you a question~ Viscount Carl Flandal!" He shouted again pretending to be tough.

"Viscount? You used the wrong title!"

Just as he finished speaking, he heard a familiar voice behind him. The messenger turned around in surprise and saw the third prince Gareth walking out of the doorway on the side of the main hall. He was wearing a black cloak embroidered with the royal emblem. His expression was calm, but his eyes revealed a majesty that could not be ignored.

Then he opened his mouth and said:

"The one in front of you is the Duke of the North!"

"Duke...Duke?" The messenger looked surprised.

But then I heard Gareth say:

"Lord Karl now controls the four northern territories, and the four earls all agree that he will inherit the dukedom. Even I have to kneel before him. Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you be so disrespectful?"

As soon as these words came out, the messenger's face turned pale instantly. After all, Gareth was a prince. And he was just the king's representative. After a moment of silence, he lowered his head slightly and softened his tone:

"Your Highness, I have no intention of offending you. I am only conveying the King's intentions. The situation in the North is unstable right now, and Karl... The Duke's behavior really worries His Majesty."

Karl still didn't speak, just looked at the messenger quietly. The whole hall fell into a strange silence, so quiet that it was unbearable. After a while, he slowly opened his mouth and said:

"The accusation of treason is completely framed by a group of villains. I hope the envoy will understand. If it is true as they said, why would the envoy be standing here today? I am afraid that his head will be hung on the city wall."

The messenger was so frightened by these words that he broke out in a cold sweat, and his legs went weak and he knelt down:

"Of course I believe in the Duke, but His Majesty still needs to give an explanation."

Carl nodded in agreement:

"Your Excellency the Envoy does not need to worry too much. I did go to the grassland, but there were reasons for it. His Majesty will naturally explain it to him."

"That would be the best." The messenger said quickly as if he had found a life-saving straw.

"Speaking of which, the envoy has come from afar and has not yet rested~" Then he turned to the attendant beside him and said, "Arrange for the envoy to rest and prepare wine and food. We will have a more detailed conversation tonight."

Hearing this, the messenger seemed to be relieved, with a look of relief on his face. He quickly bowed and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Your Excellency the Duke."

Then, the attendants stepped forward and led the messenger out of the hall. The atmosphere in the hall was finally no longer so heavy. The messenger's footsteps gradually faded away. Carl narrowed his eyes slightly and watched him leave. Then he turned to look at Gareth:

"What do you think?"

The third prince Gareth thought for a while and then said:

"I'm not very optimistic. My father is naturally suspicious. Things like orc invasions sound outrageous. To be honest, he may not believe it."

After hearing Gareth's words, Carl sighed:

"There's nothing I can do if I don't believe it. This is the truth. This is all I can do."

"But at least, father won't dare to quarrel with you openly." Gareth added, "This is also due to our current position. The North is sandwiched between the tribes and the kingdom. Now he is just suspicious, but he is afraid that if he really pushes you into a corner, you will really surrender to the Great Khan in the end."

"In that case, it doesn't seem to matter even if we're suspected," Carl said.

"You can't think that way. Father is the king after all. It will always be disadvantageous for you to have a rift with him. And from what I know about him, he won't do anything himself, but he will instigate others to make trouble for you, such as deliberately instigating conflicts between us and other dukes... Moreover, he is the king, so he has a lot of room for maneuver."

Hearing what Gareth said, Carl's brows, which had been relaxed, were furrowed again. Indeed, the other party was the king, and he was just his vassal. As long as he wanted, he could find 100 ways to mess with you, and he could do it without leaving any trace. No matter what, it was definitely not a good thing to make the king suspicious of himself. Fortunately, the third prince was still a precious hostage here. To some extent, this was the mutual restraint between His Majesty and himself.

"Do you have any good ideas?" Thinking of this, Carl asked again, with complex thoughts in his eyes.

"First of all, regardless of whether my father believes it or not, a sincere explanation is still necessary. Then we have to let this envoy speak well of us when he returns."

"Well~ Treat him well and prepare some generous gifts and money for him before he leaves." Carl nodded thoughtfully.

"It's feasible. This guy doesn't seem to have much backbone. He can be bribed." Gareth nodded in agreement.

Then he said:

"It is important to dispel suspicion, but this is not the point. The point is to make father rely on us and never leave us."

"Depend on us? How to do that?" Carl raised his head, confusion on his face.

But I heard Gareth suddenly say:

"I do have an idea, a vampire life-extending wine."

"Longevity wine?"

"That's right." Gareth nodded and lowered his voice and said:

"Father has been at odds with you for more than a year, but if there is any real grudge, it's probably because you revealed Ford's vampire identity and eradicated him. The royal family lost the only way to delay aging. Although father can't say it, he hates you in his heart. If we can start from this point..."

Carl listened quietly to what Gareth was saying. He had to admit that the Third Prince's words made sense. Philip had even gone so far as to conceal the church and hide the vampire for this thing. This was not surprising. As a person at the pinnacle of power, the most feared thing was probably birth, aging, sickness and death. Now that Ford was dead, he had taken over the black sword. According to the white-haired girl, he was now the king of vampires, and all his orders must be followed by the vampires. In other words, now only he could get the longevity wine made from the blood of vampires.

Gareth's idea does sound good at first, if he weren't a vampire...

"So you want me to use the power of vampires again... to solve this problem." Then Carl interrupted him.

After hearing Karl's words, Gareth was stunned at first, and then he didn't know whether he was pretending to be confused or really confused, he lowered his head and replied respectfully:

"My Lord, you are now the king of the blood clan. The power of the blood clan is your power."

If he wasn't a vampire, Carl might actually be willing to believe this.

"You guys really don't miss a single opportunity. Was this idea Isabel's or her mother's?"

Gareth said quickly:

"This is just my personal opinion. I haven't asked the two masters..."

Carl looked at the third prince quietly. He had changed. Since he was bitten, his personal attitude had changed dramatically. Now he was loyal to the vampires even more than the royal family. He was a noble prince, confident and even ambitious, but now he regarded a group of monsters as his masters. Carl couldn't help but shudder. If he was bitten, would he become like this? He couldn't help but shudder when he thought of this, and then said:

"Let's stop here. This is the only thing I cannot agree to."

"Why?" Gareth asked anxiously.

"Because you want me to use the power of vampires." Carl replied.

"Didn't you use the power of vampires when you were fighting the orcs? Why not this time?" Gareth asked.

"It was a last resort," Carl replied. In fact, he already regretted it a little, but it was an emergency and he had no other choice.

Then he saw Gareth suddenly stand up, with a gloomy look on his face:

"Why are you so against vampires, my lord? You are obviously our king, why are you so wary of us?"

Karl looked at him for a while, then slowly said:

"You ask why? Gareth, look at yourself. Can't you feel the change in your personality? As I said before, vampires are far more terrifying than so-called madness."

After he finished speaking, without waiting for Gareth's reply, he stood up and strode out of the main hall.

Gareth looked at him, his figure gradually disappeared, and then he muttered to himself:

"My Lord, you don't understand my father. He will never give up until this step is achieved..."