Reversal

Both sides confronted each other for a while, but Conorsa chose to compromise in the end.

She realized clearly that this was Damian expressing his dissatisfaction with her.

But Conosa still found it hard to understand why Damian was so ambitious. He seemed to never think he should be subordinate to anyone.

"Listen, Damian, I don't want to argue with you. But if you want us to walk our shared path further, then please respect my position as your lord," Conosa said in a conciliatory tone to end the argument.

She pouted, her bosom heaving with emotion, clearly still upset with Damian's arrogance.

But Damian pretended not to see it.

Now, Damian held the upper hand.

Like the Carolingian family usurping the Merovingian dynasty in history, Damian gradually began to take control. Conosa, even if she wanted to stop him, had no power to do so. The small tricks she was good at were nothing against Damian.

Damian simply laid out the freshly made map, showing the countess the 25 villages and castles he had conquered.

"If we are just arguing internally, then it doesn't matter. But as far as I know, Count Arendse has had plans to annex the Milhouse County."

Pointing at the map, Damian said, "I think we need to build at least two fortresses before winter, to serve as outposts for Milhouse Castle and transit points for transporting supplies, to prevent anyone from cutting off our supply lines."

Although Conosa still had some emotions about the previous matter, at critical moments, she was still the graceful and noble countess. Looking down, she didn't understand maps or military, but she could feel the foresight in Damian's predictions.

"So… you suspect there will be war before winter?"

"No, not necessarily. It depends on who Bishop Matt has conspired with." Damian then disclosed that he had discovered Bishop Matt's secret correspondence with a neighboring county.

Although he did not mention the treasure he had found, Conosa could guess it was related to the deceased Scoke.

She suddenly felt a bit powerless.

How much more capacity was Damian still hiding?

"So… how do you think we should solve this?" the countess asked softly.

"First, we should return to Gothingen Castle and hold a grand celebration to intimidate external enemies and showcase our confidence and strength to the people. Then we will come up with counter-strategies based on the enemy's tactics," Damian said confidently. "Don't worry, if it's just Matt, he can't defeat me."

Given Bishop Matt's continual, almost fruitless scheming, Damian wasn't afraid.

The key would be the bigger fish that would be lured out later.

…

Conosa found it hard to interfere with Damian's decisions.

For example, the appointments and removals of personnel in Milhouse Castle.

This involved another widely known medieval concept.

My subordinate's subordinate is not my subordinate.

Given the hierarchical guardianship, this era in Europe still retained some cultural habits from Roman times. Both nobility and social order have traces of Roman official positions and laws, but after developing locally for hundreds of years, they have long deviated from their original intentions.

So, nominally, everyone seemed to follow a hereditary Roman bureaucratic system, but in reality, they were already closer to feudal hierarchy.

Under this theory, the Milhouse Castle guarded by Jeffrey was personal property conquered by Damian. The lord indeed initially had a chance to claim it, but after Damian designated it as his personal property, it was no longer possible.

Although Jeffrey, guarding this property, was Damian's man, unfortunately, he had no relation to Conosa.

...

When the war between Gothingen and Milhouse ended, the results of this sibling war were shocking.

Despite mustering superior forces and risking all his assets, Schmalen was defeated in open battle by Damian's army, which had far fewer knights.

Damian, the lowly knight's son and court priest from a monastic background, once again shocked many speechless. Some even began considering inviting Damian to their estates' monasteries as the rector, to facilitate their schemes.

Although the rector of a monastery should be decided by the church, the nobility, due to their significant donations for monastery construction, had some say in who managed them.

This is another reason why Damian delayed accepting Conosa's investiture.

It not only allows him to increase his own value and retain the benefits of a church background, but also enables him to freely move and change the object of his loyalty at any time.

But a knight constantly switching allegiances would only arouse suspicion.

Under such circumstances, Conosa had to repeatedly urge Damian to quickly hold a celebration.

She wanted to officially award Damian the title of Baron of Milhouse during the celebration, to deter prying eyes.

And Damian actually was ready.

After all, finding someone like Conosa, with a good impression and easy to manipulate, was extraordinarily rare. The neighboring French king even married his cousin to expand royal lands, earning papal excommunication.

Thus, finding the right person was crucial.

But just as Damian planned the celebration's time and place and informed his troops and friends, Lady Shayla came to him with a mysterious smile.

She held a letter in one hand and stroked her flat belly with the other.

"Oh, young and energetic Damian, you surely don't know the good deed you've done," she said, placing Damian's hand on her belly.

This stunned Damian.

No way?