"Then?" Claire looked at Austin and smiled, "What do you think will happen next?"
Austin lowered his head and did not dare to look directly at Claire. At this time, there was already a trace of cold sweat on his forehead.
Could it be that after he got the title of earl, he asked himself to transfer his territory and title to him, and then quietly found an opportunity to kill him. In this case, it would be reasonable for the other party to spare no effort to help him.
"What are you thinking about?" Claire's urging voice sounded in Austin's ears, startling Austin.
"I didn't! I didn't think about anything!" Austin quickly denied it, but his voice full of fear betrayed him.
Claire continued, "Are you thinking that after I support you to the throne, I will ask you to transfer your territory and title to me, and then I will find an opportunity to kill you?"
Austin suddenly raised his head and looked at Claire, feeling that the other party was like a devil, able to spy on his inner thoughts.
"Pa!" Claire reached out and patted Austin's shoulder, but the next second he took his hand away with a look of disgust. The other person's clothes were already soaked with sweat due to nervousness.
"Don't panic, it's pretty much what you thought."
"Huh?" Austin felt like he was being tricked.
"But if I don't kill you, you will still be your lord." Claire rubbed the sweat on his hands and continued, "I will support you to rise to power. After you become the lord, you will declare your submission to me and become my vassal."
It stands to reason that the titles of Count Griffin and Count Kairay are of the same level. Austin cannot become Claire after becoming Count Kairay. 's vassal, but don't forget that Claire also had the title of Duke Tulip granted by Irene, as well as the power to establish a principality. Claire As a duke, it is allowed to have the allegiance of an earl.
It's not that Claire doesn't want to bring Count Kairay leader under his command, but there's nothing good about that poor place. It's just a transportation hub city for trade. In the past, Claire could still be considered good, but now the scale is not as big as Nafu City, and the economic benefits are not as high as Nafu City, and you may also bear a lot of risks when using it.
For example, the most intuitive thing is that Claire has finally raised the per capita annual income of Griffin Territory to five Gold Coins. Once it is merged with Count Kairay, it is possible for it to fall below two Gold Coins.
This is just like the United States and Mexico on the American continent. The United States can easily capture Mexico with its strength, but they still have to spend money to set up borders to keep out Mexicans who want to sneak over. To exaggerate, if the United States is willing, it does not even need to send troops. The Mexican government and Mexican people are eager for the United States to annex them.
But there is no benefit in taking you over. Claire people are soft-hearted. Now that they have become their own subjects, we cannot let them have bad food, clothing and warmth. Then we can only spend more time and energy on poverty alleviation. It's better to be a vassal, and you can "exploit" them with peace of mind.
There is no need to expend energy and cost, just be responsible for harvesting. Harvesting taxes from a vassal territory, harvesting its natural resources, harvesting human resources and converting them into Nafu City people, etc. In short, it is better than directly receiving benefits under your own control.
"Become a vassal?" Austin couldn't believe it, "Is that all?"
The conditions given by Claire cannot be said to be conditions at all for him. He had nothing to begin with, and what he got later was also given to him by Claire. He could get his title back without paying anything at all, and he could become a noble again. As for vassals? So what does it matter? It's a business without capital. Even if he is given the territory and title to Claire after finishing it, it will be fine as long as he is free. As long as you don't get beaten, you've earned it, not to mention it's such a huge benefit.
"If you don't want to, you can do whatever you want." Claire said in a calm tone.
Austin's heart almost stopped beating, and he said quickly, "No, no, no! It's good like this!"
"Yes." Claire nodded, "Then go back. Within three days, I will ask someone to find you to reverse the case. Then you don't have to worry about anything in Noble Law court. Just read the words they give you. If you encounter someone who doesn't know the answer, just shut up."
At that time, if Claire asks Shane and Sophia, whom he knows in the capital, to help Austin secretly, it should be no problem to deal with a border count like Carlyle.
"Understood!" Austin nodded very seriously.
The royal capital is located in the center of the city, where the royal palace is located.
Irene was curling the long hair hanging around his ears with his fingers, carefully looking through the final document report in front of him. A few minutes later, Irene wrote his own opinions on it and then handed the document to Archmage who was hiding in the shadows behind him.
"Go ahead and kill him. You don't have to do it too cleanly."
"Understood." The Archmage bowed slightly and was about to retreat into the shadows. He was Archmage who was directly affiliated with King. He only obeyed Irene's orders, and there were many like him.
Irene continued, "Call Lady Sophia, I have something to discuss with her."
After that Archmage left, Irene rubbed his temples and relaxed.
Being a King is really hard. There are a lot of things waiting for you to deal with every day. Moreover, after becoming a King, the information channels have expanded, and you realize that the kingdom is not as beautiful as you imagined, and there are all kinds of dirty and dirty things hidden in it that you cannot tell.
Irene was very angry at first, but gradually got used to it. Of course, there were also those words that Claire said to her before she took office. Those words benefited her a lot, allowing her to not only look at problems according to her own emotions, but to solve problems in a general direction that is more beneficial to the development of the country.
The noble whom Irene just sent to deal with didn't actually commit much crime. He just used his authority to make some profits for himself. Many nobles are like this, and some embezzle national property. But what he did took advantage of a loophole in the system, and I don't know how he discovered it, so he may have played a very bad leading role. In order to prevent others from following the loophole, Irene could only scare the monkeys.
The purpose of not doing it so cleanly is to let those big nobles know that it is not allowed and not to do it. The rest of the small nobles saw that the big nobles did not dare to do it, and they did not dare to act. This is the effect Irene wants to achieve. In this case, the loopholes in the system can be solved slowly over time.
"Ha!" Irene yawned inaudibly, and she wasn't worried that the Archmage hiding around would see her like this.
As a King, I still have some privacy. The duty of those Archmages is to protect her, and they are very clear about what they should not see and what they should not hear. Normally, they would only release their mental power to ensure Irene's safety, and would not take a second look at the others. Those who were ignorant and wanted to pry into the royal family's secrets would have died long ago on the road to becoming King's guards.