See off

After the conferring ceremony, everyone left the church one after another.

Most of the nobles were overjoyed. After all, this conferring ceremony was the largest in the Northern Frontier in recent years.

The Duke Of St. Hilde's generosity had calmed the nobles in the Northern Frontier.

They all believed that the Northern Frontier would be even better in the future!

Colin ignored his sister who was chattering non-stop and purposely stayed behind to chat with Marquis Garcia to test the thoughts of this big shot.

Although Marquis García did not flare up on the spot, Colin knew that the Duke Of St. Hilde had completely angered Marquis García because he did not keep his promise to make Adams his first successor.

If the two brothers were putting on an act before, then the rift between them was real now, and it could no longer be easily mended.

To be honest, Colin did not understand why Duke Of St. Hilde would break his promise.

It was not because Colin thought that Duke Of St. Hilde should abide by the virtues of a knight.

He was not that naive.

Duke Of St. Hilde was an old politician who had ruled the Northern Frontier for decades. Expecting him not to lie was like expecting a man not to cheat.

What Colin did not understand was why Duke Of St. Hilde would choose to fall out with his brother in such a way at this time.

Duke Of St. Hilde was too impatient and lacked political wisdom.

If Colin was in Duke Of St. Hilde's position, even if he did not want to pass the title to Vera, he would not kick Marquis Of St. Hilde's position so quickly.

At the very least, he would give the title to Vera first and recognize her as the first successor. He would then stabilize Marquis García's position.

Then, whether it was slowly weakening the Black Flag Army or building up another military force that could compete with them, it would be easier for him.

After all, Vera would inherit the title of Marquis Of St. Hilde's position and would not immediately become one of the Dukes Of The North.

She could still be stripped of her title in the future.

Why be so impatient now?

Of course, Colin didn't think that Marquis García would dare to rebel at this time.

After all, most of the feudal lords in the Northern Frontier had been eliminated, and the remaining ones had been pacified by the Duke.

And the Black Flag Army's previous act of 'betrayal' had already caused Marquis García to bear the infamy of 'betrayer'.

Now, even if he stood out to deal with his brother, no lord would respond to his call.

As for the Black Cavalry, he had already been roped in by the Duke with the tacit approval of Marquis García.

For example, Marquis Dawson, a vassal who was once loyal to Marquis García, would he still admit that he was a member of the Black Cavalry after swearing allegiance to the Duke?

Would they still choose to follow Marquis García's orders without hesitation like before?

What's more, the matter of the Duke Of St. Hilde going back on his word was actually only known to a very small number of people.

After all, the deal between the Duke Of St. Hilde and Marquis García was originally a secret. If Colin hadn't been regarded by Marquis García as his future son-in-law, and thus learned of the details of this deal, he probably wouldn't have realized that the Duke Of St. Hilde had betrayed his brother.

If Marquis García chose to rebel now, wouldn't the people of the Northern Frontier view it as a betrayal of his brother?

Would Marquis García be willing to bear this kind of infamy?

"Sir Marquis!" Colin moved to Marquis García's side, and greeted him in a low voice.

Marquis García shot a glance at Colin, but didn't say anything. His footsteps didn't stop, and he continued to walk outside.

Colin knew that this big shot was in a bad mood, so he didn't dare to say anything more, and followed him out of the church.

When they were outside, Marquis García immediately mounted his horse, and then looked at Colin who had followed him out, and said in an indifferent tone, "Tell me, is your loyalty really regardless of reason, regardless of right or wrong?"

Colin's heart trembled, and he cursed inwardly.

Previously, when faced with the sudden attack of the Duke Of St. Hilde, Colin had deliberately interpreted loyalty as unconditional obedience in order to curry favor with the Duke.

He didn't expect that Marquis García would misunderstand this.

But there was no other way. At that time, how could Colin have predicted that these two brothers would fall out again?

At that time, he thought that the Duke Of St. Hilde, who had cleared the internal and external threats of the Northern Frontier, had undoubtedly become the real master of the Northern Frontier.

If Colin wanted to continue to mingle in the Northern Frontier, develop the Angele family, and even marry Vera, he must obtain the approval of the Duke Of St. Hilde.

Therefore, Colin took the initiative to flatter him.

Moreover, when he saw his new fief, he had already realized the Duke's plan, and he also had a grudge against the Su Duo family, so he was mentally prepared to become a knife in the Duke's hand.

But who would have thought that the Duke would actually break his promise to Marquis García at this time?

This undoubtedly caused the Northern Frontier, which had just calmed down, to once again have a turbulent hidden worry.

Therefore, Colin was once again faced with the choice of side.

And this time, he really didn't know which side to choose.

Although in his heart, he was more in favor of Marquis García.

This was not only because the Marquis had taught him almost everything in the Battle of the Icefield, but also because the Marquis had given him the retired Black Cavalry soldiers to help the Angele family form a cavalry.

He was really training Colin as his son-in-law.

Moreover, from a moral point of view, this matter was indeed the Duke Of St. Hilde's fault to his younger brother.

He had broken his promise!

However, at this moment, facing Marquis García's questioning, Colin didn't know what to say for a while.

Should he directly admit that what he had just said was nonsense?

In this way, wouldn't his "character setting" collapse immediately?

Who would dare to trust a person who could abandon his oath so casually?

Just when Colin was stunned, Marquis García had already left on his horse.

Before he left, he left behind one last sentence, "Go and understand the origins of the [Blade of Judgement] in your hands, and then reconsider what true loyalty is!"

Looking at Marquis García's departing figure, Colin stood there blankly for a while, not knowing what to do.

Until his sister, Caitlin, walked over with a puzzled expression and brought Colin back to the inn.

… …

In the next few days, Icestone City was peaceful.

Marquis García didn't do anything drastic, as if he had completely forgotten his brother's betrayal.

However, on the night of the bestowment ceremony, Marquis García left Icestone City.

It was as if he didn't want to stay in this city for another second.

Marquis García's departure didn't attract too much attention, after all, this Marquis was used to being alone.

Moreover, the true master of the Northern Frontier was still in the city.

However, the Duke Of St. Hilde didn't stay in Icestone City for too long.

On the third day after the bestowment ceremony, he set out to return to Winter City.

As the new master of Icestone City, of course Colin had to go see him off.

It was a sunny morning, and a large group of Northern Frontier nobles gathered outside Icestone City's south gate.

The one at the front was naturally the Duke Of St. Hilde.

Beside him was the newly promoted Viscount Angley.

"Colin, are you satisfied with the new territory I bestowed upon you?"

"Your Grace, of course I am extremely satisfied!"

Colin's words weren't completely flattery.

Because, the Angele family's current territory was indeed very large.

Originally, the Su Duo family's territory was Icestone City and the surrounding area of about thirty kilometers. However, this territory wasn't directly connected to the Angele family's original territory.

There were also two barons' territories in between.

However, these two barons had been beheaded in the previous rebellion, so the Duke simply bestowed these two territories to Colin as well.

Thus, including the original Graycastle Town, Colin's current territory was the size of the original Viscounts' territory and three barons' territories combined.

This definitely exceeded the size of a normal Viscount's territory.

If it wasn't for the fact that there was too much land in the Northern Frontier and too few lords, the Duke Of St. Hilde wouldn't have been so generous.

"Haha, so, are you satisfied?" The Duke Of St. Hilde asked with a smile.

Colin blinked and also smiled, "Of course not. No lord would be satisfied with the size of their territory! "

The Duke Of St. Hilde laughed loudly, as if he was very satisfied with Colin's answer.

After laughing for a while, the Duke said, "Did you know? My grandfather once said something similar. "

He raised his whip and pointed to the east, "There is no point in going to the ice field in the north. It is too cold and barren. However, if you want to expand your territory, you can try to go to the east. "

After saying that, he didn't wait for Colin's response and immediately whipped his horse and left.

Colin froze in place, wondering what the Duke's last words meant.

At this moment, a gorgeous carriage passed by Colin.

The curtain of the carriage was lifted, revealing a beautiful face.

"Colin."

"Miss Vera."

"My coming of age ceremony is in a month's time. Will you come?"

"Of course, it would be my pleasure!"

Vera smiled sweetly and put down the curtain.

The convoy slowly moved forward and gradually disappeared into the horizon.

Colin stood outside the city gate for a long time, but he didn't watch the Duke's convoy leave. Instead, he looked to the east, where the Duke Of St. Hilde had just pointed.

That was the eastern border of the empire.

There was also a small country sandwiched between the Northern Frontier and the eastern border.

The half-elf kingdom.