Except for the Grand Duke and the four earls, no one else knew about what happened in Grand Duke McReynolds's study.
The servants in the castle only knew that after several unidentified guests left, the Archduke was so angry that he broke his favorite porcelain and left the study in a mess.
"Father."
Roland appeared next to MacReynolds at night, a little afraid of this grand duke's father.
"You're back?"
Grand Duke McReynolds looked at Roland, and his calm mood suddenly became angry again.
"Why do they know about our weapons transaction with Northwind Province?!"
Grand Duke McReynolds couldn't help but have a headache when he thought of what those few earls had vaguely revealed. What Count Wilcox couldn't finish said made him realize that his army was not as pure as he imagined.
"It shouldn't be a military issue."
"The knights are loyal to you, but the soldiers have no idea where the weapons come from."
Roland was extremely humble in front of the Grand Duke. He knew what he was going to say next. He said in a guessing tone:
"Perhaps there is someone in your bloodline who can't help but show off."
Although it is a guess, Roland is very sure that this is the case.
McReynolds Family is very big. In addition to the eldest son and him, the Grand Duke's heirs also have some illegitimate children who cannot be seen in the light.
This is due to the Grand Duke's decades of learning about the empire. Life Mage and the pastors of the churches in the Grand Duke's territory are all his people, which reduces the probability of infant death a lot.
Over the past few decades, the population in the territory has grown, and the strength of the duchy has gradually increased, which has caused the royal family to be vigilant. This is also the reason.
"Them?"
The Grand Duke also fell silent. This was a difficult thing to change.
All his armies are now fighting in the south against the armies of the nobles, and those who control the army are naturally his bloodline.
Of course, there are other nobles of the Andara Kingdom who are fighting against those nobles, such as Viscount Fragoso. For example, the four previous earls have armies.
Therefore, when the people below meet, many things become complicated.
"A bunch of worthless things!"
Grand Duke McReynolds couldn't help but angrily scolded him. He was already angry at Four Grand Dukes's choice.
After a long time, the Grand Duke calmed down and looked at the trembling second son Roland.
"Northwind Province's second batch of weapons has been delivered?"
"Yes father, the weapons are of high quality and I kept most of them in our hands."
"They want food?"
"Yes, Baron of the Frozen Earth hopes that we can sell them some grain. This is a long-term transaction, and it may be an exchange every year."
Grand Duke McReynolds nodded, he still didn't care about a little food.
"Tell me what the empire's army is like."
"I don't know. I didn't dare to know too much about Northwind Province this time."
He knew very well that his father, while extremely wary of the Church, was also wary of that huge empire and was unwilling to have more contact.
Who would have known that the Grand Duke's next words would make Roland look surprised.
"In the future... maybe we should make changes."
The four earls did not explicitly reject themselves, but it was difficult for them to be of the same mind as themselves. Grand Duke McReynolds could still see this.
To put it bluntly, the things and interests I said were not enough to sway the choices of the earls.
They are already the nobles who are good friends with themselves. They are all like this, and the other nobles in the kingdom are even more so.
Nobles big and small all want to see their true interests, but now that King is betraying the interests of the kingdom, it is he Grand Duke McReynolds who has infringed the most interests.
For other nobles, they have not yet seen the huge threat this incident brings.
In other words, they have not yet felt that their interests have been harmed.
This resulted in MacReynolds feeling like he was fighting alone even though there were many nobles standing beside him.
He needs friendly forces, the kind that can clearly become allies, become enemies with other nobles of the kingdom, and the Church.
The empire can meet this condition, but the empire is too big, so the nobles of the empire can also meet their own conditions.
Grand Duke McReynolds thought a lot in the study before. He thought about many things and thought he needed to make changes.
The same is true for the McReynolds Family.
"Did Frozen Earth Territory's team leave?"
"Not yet. They want to purchase some food and other items from the Andara Kingdom and bring them back to Frozen Earth Territory."
"Go and bring their team over and sell them some of the resources we have. We can also sell some of the Extraordinary Potion that cultivated Magical Beast. We can also give some of the priest scrolls of the Church. The empire needs this kind of thing very much."
"Then please ask them to bring some special products from the Empire and Frozen Earth Territory to trade with us the next time they come."
Roland nodded and looked at his father with some surprise.
"Father, will this attract the attention of the royal family?"
When Grand Duke McReynolds heard this, he felt angry.
"What should you pay attention to? He Andara Royal Family directly put the Church's army on the land of the kingdom. What's wrong with me just making a deal with Baron, a Northlands?"
"We McReynolds Family, is there anything he Erdo wants to see?"
"No matter what we do, there will be problems in the eyes of the royal family, Roland, you have to understand."
Grand Duke McReynolds's gaze became extremely profound at this moment.
"Yes, Father."
Roland lowered his head deeply.
"Okay, you go make arrangements."
Roland left the castle and appeared in the city on the plain far below the castle. This is one of the three cities in the Grand Duchy. It is closest to the castle and Griffin Mountains, which also makes this place very prosperous.
While arranging people to search for Frozen Earth Territory's caravan, Roland met an unexpected person.
"Roland? Are you back?"
Compared to Roland, whose eyes were three-quarters noble, one-third melancholy, and one-third majestic, and whose body was well-proportioned and perfect, the strong man in front of him was too "knightly".
Even the gorgeous aristocratic clothes on his body can't cover up his strong muscles, and the aura on his body is even more barbaric. This is the change brought about by Mountain Knight Breathing Technique. Often, only one lucky person out of a hundred knights can perfectly understand the charm of Mountain Knight Breathing Technique.
Roland's expression was respectful, because the strong man in front of him was his eldest brother.
"Otto, why are you back?"
"What, you're not happy to see me back?"
Otto·MacReynolds blinked, and then strangled Roland's neck.
"What are you planning to do? I'm coming back to find my father and want him to send me to the battlefield of South. Please help me."
"The battlefield in the south is too dangerous."
Roland frowned. No one knew that the Grand Duke's army had already clashed with the armies of the nobles in the south. Because of the deal made by King of Andara, these nobles wanted to enter Griffin Mountains.
Strictly speaking, more than half of the Griffin Mountains has been allocated to them.