Imperial Crown

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In the dim hall, the famous composer Monet's Waltz No. 37 echoed.

This piece of music is famous for its cheerfulness and brightness, depicting the lingering emotions between passionate lovers. Once it appeared, it spread quickly and became a frequent guest at aristocratic cocktail parties.

But for Marquis Anthony, this tune is a bit outdated.

There was no way, after all, Nord province, an imperial borderland, had never been associated with fashion. Things that were popular in the royal capital often took ten or even decades to spread here.

His eyes scanned the hall.

This is not the Fox Castle, but the most high-end theater in Hovey City. Anthony rented it as a venue for cocktail parties.

The nobles gathered in small groups, and men and women were dancing.

The cups containing Angel's Tears are arranged into a wine tower, which is six stories high, with a wide tray below filled with wine.

There are four such wine towers.

There is no doubt that most of them will flow down the ditch after the drinking party is over.

Of course, there are all kinds of delicacies that are constantly served and will be removed if they are even slightly stale.

Anthony indeed once called on the Nordic provinces to practice frugality and not engage in any extravagant activities, but since it was stipulated by the governor, how could this rule bind him?

He needed this cocktail party to appease the nearby nobles; and the nearby nobles also needed this opportunity to get close to him and end their constant suspicion.

But after all, Anthony was quite old and had old injuries on his body. Although the temperature control array was in operation, he still felt tight in his chest, so he walked to the edge of the window in the corner, gently pushed it open, and took a deep breath of the flowing liquid. The air came in - and then almost spat out.

It stinks.

Glancing out the window, I saw a pile of fresh... human excrement under the window sill, with flies flying on it.

"Uh..." After closing the window, Anthony took out a bottle of mint-flavored Angel's Kiss and put it under his lips, sniffing it gently, and then managed to suppress the nausea in his heart.

He forgot that this was Hovey City, not the royal capital.

Like most cities in the empire, residents would spill poop on the streets, while nobles would choose to solve their physiological problems in random locations because they disliked the toilets being too dirty.

This kind of situation can be said to be extremely common. Anthony still remembers that just 7 years ago, a count from a certain southern province couldn't bear it, so during the banquet, he gave His Majesty the King his favorite flower. Fat.

For a moment, Anthony felt a little nostalgic for the Eagle Leader. At least there would be no metabolic products on the streets of Eagle Town.

But the province of Nord is pretty good. In some of the southern provinces that Anthony visited, the nobles would even build cesspits under the castles. The smell...

At this moment, there was a sound of footsteps. Akori walked straight to Anthony and bowed: "Mr. Governor, the results from Fox Castle are out."

"There's no rush." ​​Anthony coughed: "We'll talk about it upstairs."

After taking another look at the nobles who were indulging in pleasure, Anthony took Akori to the private room upstairs.

The relatively clean air here made Anthony breathe a sigh of relief: "Tell me, what's the matter?"

Akori took out two documents from his bag and handed them to Anthony respectfully: "Your Excellency, the cleanup of Fox Castle has been completed."

"A total of 237 corpses were cleared this time, and 165 unidentifiable corpses. The list of victims is here."

"In addition, the Fox family's collection has also been cleaned up and filed away."

"Please take a look."

Anthony took the two documents and opened the top one first.

Scanning the list, you can see that all members of the Fox family from Montreal onwards are listed. The youngest victim is a 2-year-old baby - Sanchi's youngest son.

"Are you sure the cleanup is complete?" Anthony asked.

Akori was about to say sure, but before he said it, he saw Anthony's playful look in his eyes, so he changed his words: "...Well, maybe there was some negligence during the count, and the person who was supposed to be found was not found."

Hearing this sentence, Anthony's eyes flashed with relief, but after waiting for a long time, he did not wait for the next sentence, and that relief turned into disappointment.

As the illegitimate son of Duke Ferdinand, although Acre inherited his father's talents in combat and martial arts, he was still too ignorant at the political level.

As a close friend of Pedinan, Anthony still hopes that Acre can stand alone.

Picking up the quill on the table, Anthony swiped a few dots on the list, then threw it to Akori: "Rearrange the list and arrange the order of the names."

Akori took it and looked at it, and was stunned because the name on it was Gul'dan: "But, we did not find Gul'dan's body."

Anthony pressed his eyebrows: "You said before that there are 165 unidentified corpses. Is it possible that Gul'dan is among them?"

Akori knew Gul'dan, and had even fought against Gul'dan. Even if Gul'dan turned into ashes, he would still recognize him, and he could be sure that there was no such person inside.

But Anthony obviously didn't want this answer, so Akori could only bite the bullet and said: "Probably."

Anthony was really a bit disappointed: "It's not a possibility, it must be."

The Fox family must be destroyed, and there must not be any possibility of revival, so no matter where Gul'dan is now, after the inventory is completed, it must be confirmed that he is dead.

Only by making this into ironclad evidence can it be guaranteed that even if Gul'dan stands up alive again, he will never be able to obtain the inheritance rights of the Fox family.

Otherwise, why did Anthony rush to Hovi City in a hurry? Did he think that there were not enough suspicions about him?

Seeing Akori nodding like a dull gourd, Anthony couldn't get angry and focused on the second document.

This is the property list of the Fox family.

Even though Anthony is knowledgeable, he was a little shocked by this list.

He personally presided over the punishment of the Fox family and knew clearly that in the previous audit of military merits, the total amount of fines paid by the Fox family itself and on behalf of its vassals was as high as 2.07 million gold coins.

But it has only been a little over a year, and there are still more than 1.7 million gold coins in their family inventory.

There are also many equipment in the collection.

One set of third-level enchanted armor, 11 sets of second-level enchanted armor, and 107 sets of first-level enchanted armor.

One third-level enchanted weapon, 37 second-level enchanted weapons, and 523 first-level enchanted weapons.

There are also many types of magic raw materials, from magic cores, magic ores to magic plants, and many third-level and second-level magic crystals, as well as various magic beast raw materials that are calculated by "boxes".

In addition, there are a large number of precious artworks, as well as large quantities of food and cloth.

All in all, the total value of the Fox family's assets is rich, and it is actually more than 7 million gold coins.

"The heritage of a century-old earl family." Anthony sighed: "Akori, go call Ezio."

Akori nodded, and soon a man dressed like a playboy with a pair of playful mustaches pushed the door in, with a strong smell of perfume on his body.

"Oh, my dear governor, what is it that you have to call me now?" Ezio took off his hat and saluted: "I know you may feel uncomfortable saying this, but I just made an appointment with three ladies for afternoon tea. Please finish what you want quickly."

Anthony, who had long been accustomed to Ezio's jumping around, didn't care much and threw the property list in his hand: "Yes."

Ezio took the list and immediately snapped his fingers: "Wow, this order is really worth it."

As he said, he walked around Anthony, sat behind the table under Akori's angry gaze, picked up a clean list and began to copy it.

He behaved like a dandy, but his calligraphy was quite beautiful, with neat and clear handwriting and a kind of beauty like calligraphy and painting. He had obviously received a very good education.

"Yes, it's done." Ezio handed the transcribed copy to Akori and asked him to pass it to Anthony.

Akori frowned as soon as he saw it: "Isn't this right?"

Anthony coughed: "Give it to me."

"But, Governor, the number on it..."

"Give it to me!"

Anthony took the list from Akori and said with some dissatisfaction: "You can go out. When you figure it out, come back."

It's no wonder that Akori reacted so strangely, because the reduction in this list was indeed quite exaggerated.

The decimal points of all the numbers were basically moved one place to the left, and 1.7 million gold coins became 150,000 gold coins; the third-level armor and weapons were erased, and only single digits were left for the second-level, and only tens of digits were left for the first-level.

As for the magic raw materials, they were cut as much as possible, and the magic crystals were directly cut down.

As a result, the treasury, which was originally worth more than 7 million, shrunk to less than 600,000.

"Very good, I will register these things immediately and send them to the treasury." Anthony nodded and said, "The remaining value..."

"Of course, I will personally escort the goods worth 5 million gold coins and hand them over to His Majesty the King." Ezio said with a smile.

5 million plus 600,000, there is still a gap of 1.4 million from 7 million, but neither Anthony nor Ezio showed any abnormality.

A good horse always needs more food to work.

Just when Anthony wanted to discuss the details with Ezio, a knock on the door suddenly sounded, and Anthony's expression relaxed: "Come in."

Seeing Akori come in, Anthony asked, "Have you figured it out?"

"Uh, no..." Akori smiled awkwardly: "I just received a letter from Baron Raven."

Anthony looked at Akori helplessly, took the letter in his hand, and unfolded it to read.

Ezio came forward without any hesitation, put his arm on Anthony's shoulder and then shook it off, but he didn't care: "Tsk, tsk, tsk, this young man Raven is really smart."

Anthony nodded: "Indeed, this little guy has lived up to the king's favor."

After that, he put the letter on the table.

Akori couldn't help his curiosity and leaned over to read the contents of the letter, and his facial features were twisted together.

This is obviously just a letter to warn about the locust plague, and the locust plague was discovered by Count Jonah. What does this have to do with intelligence?

Looking at Akori's ignorant look, Anthony sighed in his heart, knowing that Akori might be isolated from politics in this life.

But this is fine. I can live for a few more years and protect him by my side. After a few years, I can find some meritorious deeds and put them on his head. In the future, I will go to the inland provinces and win a viscount title for him. Just spend your life in peace and stability.

"Okay." Anthony put away the letter, sat back at the table, and began to draft the decree.

There are two decrees in total.

The first is to release information about the locust plague and call on the Nordic province to actively prevent it.

Secondly, while posting the list of victims in Fox Castle, it was announced that all members of the Fox family had been killed except Nancy, who did not have the right to inherit the title because she had married into the Griffith family.

Therefore, the territory of the Fox family, Ferdoro County including Hovey City, will be temporarily under the direct jurisdiction of the empire until a suitable heir is found or the heir apparent is officially declared extinct.

After finishing writing, Anthony rubbed his wrist: "Have these two documents copied and sent to the whole province."

"Yes, Lord Governor." Akori took the document and glanced at it: "Are there any shortcomings in the prevention of locust plagues?"

"It doesn't matter, just send it as it is." Anthony pushed his hand and said.

From Anthony's point of view, Earl Jonah was showing goodwill to himself through Raven, and indirectly also to His Majesty the King, so there was likely to be a locust plague, but it would certainly not be too serious.

They're just a bunch of bugs, how can they eat people?

The reason why Lei Wen is said to be smart is because Lei Wen only elaborated on this fact and did not add any exaggeration to highlight the danger of the locust plague, thereby highlighting his own importance.

Another point is that Raven's letter did not mention the Fox family at all.

In fact, on the continent of Middles, women theoretically enjoy the right to inherit titles, but the specific implementation methods are different in different countries, and the conditions are generally harsh.

For example, in the Keynesian Empire, if a noble family has no male heirs but only female heirs, it cannot be directly inherited.

In order for a woman to obtain inheritance rights, the contemporary head of the family needs to clearly draw up a will under the witness of the noble council, and it also needs to be reviewed to confirm that the heir has the ability to manage his own territory, so that he can definitely enjoy the inheritance rights.

As for what exactly "ability" is, it is up to the discretion of the Council of Nobles.

The Council of Nobles are all a group of landless nobles who want everyone to be like them. It is not easy to feed them.

As for the Fox family incident, Raven could completely forge a suicide note from Montreal and send it to the Council of Nobles to win the earldom title for Nancy.

If it succeeds, the Griffith family can be upgraded to an earl family in the generation of Raven's children.

But Raven restrained his greed very well and didn't even have the slightest intention to pry. Apparently, he had completely given up on the idea of ​​getting involved in the title.

Not only smart, but also clear-headed.

"Oh ho, the matter is solved perfectly!" Ezio snapped his fingers: "Then there is nothing to do with me here for the time being, right?"

After saying that, he walked outside the house.

"Don't drink too much." Anthony looked at his back and ordered helplessly.

"Don't worry, I'm not Adjani." Ezio waved his hand and closed the door.

Although Akori was not politically sensitive, his work efficiency was not low. Soon the two announcements were spread throughout the Nord province with the mercenary guild's speed.

The announcement was not sent directly to every noble, but first to the sheriffs of each county, who then distributed it downwards step by step.

For a time, two announcements were posted all over the bulletin boards in Xuefeng County.

Among the crowd, a thin figure looked at the bulletin board and clenched his fists.

He wore a leather helmet on his head, slightly worn and ill-fitting mail armor on his body, leather boots on his feet, two weapons slung randomly around his waist, and his figure was also a little loose.

Coupled with the shiny face and the sad stubble, he looked like an inconspicuous and down-and-out mercenary.

At this moment, Nancy's personal maid Jenny came to the man's side, restrained the urge to salute, and whispered:

"Madam, please see me."

…