"Now, does anyone have any objections?"
The Duke said with an unkind expression, and several Ferdinand Family people immediately retreated obediently.
The hall soon fell into dead silence. Whoever gets involved in this kind of thing will be unlucky.
After a few seconds, a person stood up, it was Earl Maltz Kent who was designated as the heir by the Duke.
"Duke, I am too stupid to be worthy of the position of Duke."
Maltz Kent's voice should be as sincere and sincere as he said, "Sir, you should find another suitable candidate."
"No!"
The Duke waved his hand at him, "I have decided that you will inherit the position of Duke, as long as you Kent Family restore your Ferdinand surname."
"This..."
Maltz Kent looks a little hesitant.
The Duke actually said in a slightly pleading voice, "The current members of the Ferdinand Family are all useless. I'm afraid that after I Called by God, the family will continue to decline."
Those who were of the same clan as the duke became ashamed after hearing this.
"What, Maltz Kent? Our two families have a common ancestor, aren't you willing to contribute to the glory of your ancestors?"
"I..."
Maltz Kent is still hesitating.
His look made Paul anxious, "Holy shit, this guy is so hesitant about pie in the sky. At first glance, he's just pretending."
Although this Maltz Kent had a rift with him, the fact that he had such good luck made even Paul envious.
Why didn't such a good thing happen to him? "Okay!" Maltz Kent seemed to have made up his mind.
"Since Duke doesn't despise me, I will accept your arrangement regardless of my ability. Duke, I will definitely develop and grow Ferdinand Family."
Hearing what Earl Kent said, the Duke's face seemed to be smiling, but he just kept saying, "Okay! Okay! Okay!"
He seemed to immediately return to his previous frail demeanor, and he raised the glass tremblingly - the servants had quickly cleaned up the mess on the floor and rearranged the food and wine.
"Everyone! Celebrate the birth of the new successor Ferdinand Family!"
The hall suddenly became lively again, and the guests started changing glasses again. No one remembered Viscount Henry who had just been dragged out.
Everyone took turns to curry favor with the future Duke Ferdinand.
In order to build a good relationship, Paul and Mellon also came to Maltz Kent with wine glasses in hand.
"Earl Kent, congratulations!"
Paul resisted nausea and the urge to spit in his face, and congratulated Earl Kent, although his heart was full of old grudges and jealousy.
"Hahaha! It's easy to talk, but I have to rely on the help of my two neighbors in the future!"
Maltz Kent laughed heartily, and then drank a large glass of wine with Paul and Mellon, as if nothing unpleasant had ever happened between them.
After going through the cutscenes, Paul returned to his seat and started eating and drinking by himself.
Earl Kent looked at Paul's leaving figure with a proud look on his face.
The 'waiter boy' beside him said nothing.
After the banquet, the Duke announced that Martial Arts Tournament would be held to allow nobles and knights who were more confident in their skills to show off their heroic figures on the field.
"Are you interested in participating?"
Paul asked Bryce and Victor.
Bryce laughed at himself, "Haha, forget it. Sir Earl, informal knights like us are not qualified to participate. If Lord Schroeder is here, he can participate."
Paul shrugged, "Well, I'm not interested in watching either, why don't we go back."
Mellon looked very interested. "Although we won't participate, you can always take a look."
Victor on the side had the same expression as him.
"Okay, Mellon, you and Victor go to the stadium to watch the excitement. Bryce and I will go visit Bishop Leonard."
So the four of them parted ways, and Paul was led by Bryce towards Grand Cathedral.
After riding for nearly half an hour, they arrived at the bishop's residence of Grand Cathedral-Northwest Bay Church inside Cent City.
Leonard Bishop received them in the drawing room.
Bishop-sama's body didn't look like he was sick. As the priest said, it was an excuse not to go to Duke Ferdinand's banquet.
"Old Dean, long time no see."
"My lord, long time no see."
Leonard still had the same old-fashioned expression, but he still showed a rare smile when seeing his old friend.
The two sides chatted, and Paul told him some things that had happened to Arda recently. Leonard smiled more and more on his face.
The two talked about the banquet just now, and Leonard denounced the arrogance and extravagance of the nobles. He spoke out without any scruples because he knew that Paul's personal life was also simple - compared to other nobles.
"Speaking of which, there was an episode at the banquet just now."
"Huh? What episode is it?"
"Duke Ferdinand has announced his successor."
"The day has finally come. It seems that Duke has given up on the idea of having a son. Is it his eldest brother Viscount Henry?"
Duke Ferdinand is well known for how hard he worked to have a son.
"No, you guessed wrong. The heir is that guy Maltz Kent."
Hearing what Paul said, Bishop Leonard's face became serious.
"Is it Maltz Kent? His family does have some connections with the Ferdinand Family, but there is no reason for the Duke to choose such a sideline, right? I remember him last year..."
"That's right, he threatened us Arda last year, although I don't know what medicine he took later and 'let' us go."
"Alas..."
The old dean sighed, and the expression on his face became more and more solemn.
"I'm afraid something will happen. Maltz Kent is not an easy person to get along with. Please be careful, Lord Earl. After he takes over the power of the duke, there will be nothing to restrain him in the northwest land."
Although Leonard now occupies the position of bishop, the old dean is more disciplined. In his creed, Church should not interfere in affairs between secular lords unless it is involved in academic affairs.
Therefore, all he can do is to verbally remind Paul in a private capacity.
"Thank you for the reminder, but now Arda is no longer a soft persimmon to be manipulated."
Paul looks very confident.
Leonard quite agrees with his words. Through communication and communication with his student Father Anderson, he also knows that Arda is developing at a high speed recently and is no longer the barren and weak earl territory before.
He still has a lot of affection for the place where he was born and lived and worked for a long time. The changes in the past year make him very happy, and he also respects Paul who promoted these changes.
After spending nearly two hours in the church, Paul and Bryce said goodbye to Bishop Lenander and returned to their residence.
Recently, due to work reasons, the update may not be too stable, so I would like to ask all readers to pay attention.