Blood Holy Scripture: True Ancestor Charlotte de Castel
Chapter 416: -164- I want territory

Chapter 416: -164- I want territory

"Count, can you tell me your reasoning?", asked Earl Witre gravely. "The Third Prince is of noble birth and also the instigator of the war. I believe to you, he should be more important than Count Linte."

Charlotte chuckled lightly and said,

"Lord Witre, you jest. The initiator of the war is the Bold Duchy, the ’Duke’ of Bold, not the Third Prince."

"Perhaps he is indeed of noble birth, but what of it? Could it be that I, Castel, can use him to blackmail His Majesty the King?"

"He has already failed and bears the evidence of his dealings with the Blood Demon Church; his end is nigh."

"I care not whether His Majesty the King is fond of this son or not; all I know is that for me, Castel, keeping him is not only worthless but also poses certain risks."

Earl Witre shook his head and said,

"No, my Lord Count, in my view, he is of value to you."

"Oh?"

Charlotte raised an eyebrow at him.

Earl Witre considered for a moment before continuing,

"Count, declaring independence from Bold means that you will become a direct vassal of His Majesty the King, and all vassal contracts will need to be renegotiated..."

"I think you should be somewhat aware that His Majesty the King, who tacitly acknowledges the Third Prince’s waging war against Castel, does not really hold much affection for you, a staunch supporter of the Holy Royal Court."

"Do you not think this is an opportunity to curry favor with His Majesty the King? For the nobles, there are no eternal enemies..."

Charlotte smiled:

"Are you suggesting I should advise you to unconditionally release the Third Prince to show my loyalty to His Majesty the King?"

Earl Witre nodded slightly, in agreement.

Charlotte’s smile faded as she spoke coolly,

"Lord Witre, the Third Prince has violated the ’Holy Code’ and the ’Royal Authority Contract’ and has already provoked public outrage within the kingdom; envoys have brought news that the nobles are ready to sue at the Council."

"The relationship between His Majesty the King and the nobles has become increasingly delicate over the years; I am well aware of this and have no intention of antagonizing the Kingdom Nobles just to ingratiate myself with His Majesty the King..."

"So, let us discuss the price for redeeming Count Linte instead."

Upon hearing Charlotte’s words, Earl Witre sighed softly.

He knew that Duke’s desire to rid himself of the hot potato that was the Third Prince and to exchange him for an heir had fallen through.

"My Lord Count, since you have put it this way, you must have already thought of the ransom. Please, name your price directly."

So said Earl Witre.

He took a deep breath as if preparing himself for the Countess’ lioness-like demand.

There was no helping it; Count Linte was the heir to the Duchy, and his ransom was beyond comparison to ordinary nobles, an astronomical figure indeed.

"No, I do not need gold tanas."

Charlotte shook her head.

"Eh... Huh?!"

Earl Witre was stunned.

Charlotte glanced at him and smiled,

"I want territory."

"This is impossible!"

Count Witre blurted out.

After speaking, he realized his gaffe and hastily cleared his throat before continuing,

"Count, don’t joke around. Although Count Linte is the offspring of the Duke, he is not a lord. Demanding territory as ransom is simply against the rules..."

"Lord Witre, won’t you hear which part of the territory I actually want?"

Charlotte said.

Count Witre hesitated before asking,

"Which territory do you desire?"

Charlotte gestured for a Personal Guard Knight to bring over the map and then, pointing to a small territory on the map to the northeast of Violet Duchy nestled between Romany Duchy and Count Castel Territory, said,

"My demands are not high, I only require this place."

Witre followed the direction of the young lady’s finger and his eyebrows furrowed slightly:

"The Baron Betel Territory?"

He knew of this Baron Domain.

It was a protruding piece of territory on the border of Violet Duchy, sandwiched between Romany Duchy and Castel Domain, with an area of about 1,500 square kilometers.

The Baron Betel Territory was not prosperous, more than half of it was forest, and it even suffered greatly from the devastation of being the main battlefield of the Star Moon War.

However, this piece of land was not unknown, having been glorious in history.

Before the Star Moon War, this Baron Domain had been the direct domain of the previous ruling family of Violet Duchy – the Willert Family, and it was also the ancestral land of the Willert family.

Of course, decades had passed, and war had destroyed everything. The current Baron Betel Territory was now desolate.

And the constant warfare had accumulated a large number of Undead in this territory, making it quite troublesome to clear, to the point where even the Bowat Linte family had given up on it.

Violet Duchy was vast with many Baron Domains. To speak seriously, if it was this insignificant Baron Domain, Count Witre felt that the Duke indeed might agree.

Only... What does Castel want with this territory?

Looking at the map, the only thing Count Witre could think of was that the Baron Betel Territory was a crucial trade route between Romany Duchy and Castel Domain.

All other borders between the two domains were forests and mountain ranges, with only the route through Baron Betel Territory being the most convenient and a necessary path for the caravans that traveled back and forth.

Of course... that is if the caravans could deal with the Undead that might emerge at any time.

But then again, Romany Duchy is a territory of Falling Star Kingdom, and conflicts between the two kingdoms are incessant. Nobles from other kingdoms would rather keep their distance than border each other directly.

And even for trade, for Romany and Castel, it seems that the sea route would be more convenient. After all, both are neighboring coastal regions, and it would only take three days to travel by ship from North Port to the Capital Mansion of Romany Duchy.

Count Witre could not understand.

However, he didn’t plan to inquire further.

In his view, Count Castle’s proposal indeed did not seem excessive. If the Baron Betel Territory were converted into an equivalent value of gold tana, it might be roughly equal to the ransom of the ducal heir.

After all, it truly was a desolate place where not even birds would defecate, let alone Transcendent resources; there were not many ordinary resources either. Only wandering Undead, dilapidated castles, and villages with ever-decreasing populations that could hardly contribute a few gold tana.

The only thing of substantial value was some Demon Beasts, but what Violet Duchy has in abundance is Demon Beasts, even suffering from beast tides annually.

"I understand, but I can’t decide on these matters myself. I will report to the Duke, and all will have to be decided by the Duke,"

Count Witre thought for a moment and replied.

Charlotte smiled,

"Of course, you may. The Magic Tower at North Port is available anytime for you to conduct long-distance communication with the Duke."

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