The tower of Iowa Castle was the torch held by the colossal statue of the Gallop Family's ancestor. From the lookout at the top, one could see the full panorama of both sides of the valley.
As soon as he reached the lookout, Landen saw the still-loyal king of the Dragon Kingdom: Dusen Whiteowl.
"Landen, you've accomplished something truly unprecedented this time!" As soon as they met, Dusen dispensed with all formalities and clasped Landen's hands. "With such an achievement, and with Princess Halkara and Lord Ernst promoted again, I can't think of any reason not to restore the Gallop Kingdom!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Hearing Dusen's words, Landen was overjoyed.
The king, chancellor, and National Pillars of the Dragon Kingdom all hoped that Gallop Plains would remain within the Dragon Kingdom in the form of a grand duchy, enjoying practical independence while nominally remaining subordinate.
That way, the Dragon Kingdom's nominal strength would be enough to rival the entire Empire, and its influence within the Empire would rise accordingly.
Now King Dusen was actually promising to let Gallop Plains establish an independent kingdom. Clearly, he had come looking to make a deal. But regardless, Landen would certainly prefer to have his own independent kingdom.
"However, Landen, Viscount Rothe's Territory and Baron Gallop's Territory are still within the bounds of Northwest Count Territory. The Kingdom's Nobility Council could never agree to separate these two territories and hand them over to Gallop Plains."
"Uh... What do you have in mind, then?" Landen knew there was nothing wrong with what the king had said, but he wanted to hear the king's solution.
"How about this? We redraw the territory west of Night-Kirin City as a new Western Count Territory, with White Tree City as its capital. You'd still hold an actual count's