Chapter 45: A Talk Between Father and Son (Part 1)

“Alright, then let’s go out first.” Sir Val pulled Sir Bart, who reacted a bit slowly, and they left the study together.

Once only the father and son were left in the room, Viscount Bolerum stood up and moved away from his desk. He walked quickly to George, took two steps at once, and then opened his arms to give George a big hug. The arms slowly tightened, giving George a little pressure, and George, feeling a bit uncomfortable, protested in a low voice, “You’re hugging me a bit too close, Father.”

“Call me Dad! Calling me ‘Father’ all the time is too distant. Honestly, when was the last time we met?” Viscount Bolerum complained while slightly loosening his grip.

“Last time we met? It must have been last year, in the Month of Rotting Leaves. You didn’t return to the Territory for a vacation this summer as usual,” George answered carefully, while also letting his hands hang loosely on his father’s back.

Viscount Bolerum sighed with some emotion, “No wonder it feels like so much time has passed! If you hadn’t said anything, I would have really forgotten. Indeed, it has been almost ten months since we last met.”

Being hugged like this for so long made George feel a bit embarrassed, so he looked for a topic to start, “You said in the Month of Bright Sun that you couldn’t return to the Territory because of some matters. What exactly happened? You said in the letter that it wasn’t convenient to explain, and that you would tell me face-to-face when I arrived.”

Viscount Bolerum let go of his arms around George and pointed to a set of tea tables and chairs next to the bookshelf, “This matter needs to be discussed slowly between father and son after we sit down.”

Finally waiting for Viscount Bolerum to let go of his arms, George quickly rushed to the tea table to set up the cups. He used the silver teapot on the table to fill the cups made of bone-white porcelain with water.

“You’re so diligent in this, why can’t you let your old dad hug you a bit longer?” Viscount Bolerum complained a little.

Seeing that Viscount Bolerum wouldn’t sit down, George naturally couldn’t sit first. As for his father’s complaint, George could only pretend to explain, “You hugged too tightly, and I felt a bit suffocated and uncomfortable.”

Viscount Bolerum casually pulled out a chair and sat down, still complaining, “Are you joking? With your physique, if that little pressure made you feel suffocated, how can you be a Squire? You have never liked to be close to others since you were young, and people always thought you were too mature for your age. But I think even if you are mature, you shouldn’t be so distant from your own father. I wonder if it’s because your mother passed away too early and you lacked maternal love. But I have never thought about finding another wife, because that would actually be worse for you.”

“Father!” George understood exactly what Viscount Bolerum meant. If a new mistress entered the family, George’s life would probably not be as stable as it is now. Even with the strict system of primogeniture, it couldn’t stop some people from launching constant open and hidden attacks. Even if George was confident in himself, he didn’t know how much energy this would involve.

On the other hand, for Viscount Bolerum, who was still in his prime, not having a mistress in the house was probably a bit of a torment. Physical problems were easy to solve, but the loneliness in his heart and the possible gossip among the nobles were the real burdens. George, who had experienced two lives, could imagine how he had gotten through these years. Thinking of this, George, who was usually considered calm, felt a mist rise in his eyes.

Of course, this small change in George could not escape the sharp eyes of Viscount Bolerum. The other man took the opportunity to suggest, “Why don’t you act spoiled in front of me sometimes? Let your father at least have some fun raising a son.”

“You said it too late. I am already past the age where I can act spoiled.” Hearing the previous words, George quickly controlled his facial expression and his tear ducts that had just become a bit active.

Viscount Bolerum quickly slapped his own head and said, “If I had said this to you a few years ago, would you have acted spoiled towards me?”

George rolled his eyes in a very annoyed way and said, “That’s really hard to say.”

“A few years ago… If I had known earlier, I would have said it straight. Oh, how could we have missed such a chance?” Viscount Bolerum wore a look of regret, just like Xianglin’s Wife in Lu Xun’s stories.

Seeing Viscount Bolerum acting crazy in front of him, George immediately hardened his voice, “Father, you kept me alone today just to talk about these things, right?”

“Alright, let’s get to the point. What are your thoughts on the matters of the Kingdom of Lucia and the Kingdom of Coruz?” Viscount Bolerum suddenly changed the topic and threw this question at George.

“I don’t think I should speak up on this matter. Didn’t you just tell us not to speak freely before the higher-ups make a decision?” George asked with some doubt.

Viscount Bolerum picked up his cup and took a sip, “Stop pretending. The news and analysis you sent back that night alone were a great help to the Chamber of Council. Otherwise, we would never have thought about what was behind the Kingdom of Lucia and the Kingdom of Coruz doing this. If we had agreed to the marriage alliances of both countries at the same time, there might be a lot of fun now.”

“But regarding the current situation, although I’m not completely in the dark, I only know the part I have experienced. So I can’t make any specific comments on the situation right now,” George immediately stated his difficulties.

Viscount Bolerum put down his cup and sighed, “Actually, we don’t have much more news on this matter either. Or maybe we will have it in a few days. But right now, only some people have scattered news from their own channels.”

George’s face showed a surprised expression, “How could this be! Isn’t there the Timms Guild of Thieves? I know that is an intelligence organization under His Grace the Duke. The reason I treated Old Tom and them well is because they are an important base of the national intelligence network in our area. Otherwise, I would have started cleaning up these guys long ago, at least keeping them firmly under my own control. How could it be just limited contact and cooperation like now?”

“Heh! Heh! Heh! You mean the Timms Guild of Thieves. Maybe you haven’t noticed. This intelligence organization only covers some larger towns within the Duchy. Look, even within the Duchy, it cannot be said to have complete control, let alone outside the Duchy. There, it doesn’t even have a branch, so how can it get intelligence?” Viscount Bolerum said with a bitter smile.

George then realized that he had obviously been misled by the spy system before his transmigration. This place was still more like a real Middle Ages. Perhaps there were some spies or Assassins. Because of Magic, there were also some early intelligence networks that looked quite crude. But they were far from the mature spy systems of later generations. Even the most famous spy organization in ancient China, the Jinyiwei, could only show off its power within the country and had nothing impressive to show outside.

Facing this situation, George could only express his own thoughts, “Then I can’t say much about the specifics. But based on the current situation, the Kingdom of Lucia is like a winter wolf that is starving and wants to hunt. Its ambition to expand seems to be getting stronger and more obvious. It even makes the Kingdom of Coruz in The South feel a serious threat and unease. If we let it swallow the Kingdom of Coruz, we can’t guarantee that its next target won’t be our Duchy of Nohan. From a long-term and relatively safe perspective, not forming an alliance with the Kingdom of Lucia is the best choice.”

“Indeed, according to your words, it is indeed stable. But the Duchy hasn’t expanded its territory for a long time. Even we military nobles hope for new Military Merit to decorate our families, let alone those Court Nobility.” Viscount Bolerum showed a really difficult expression. “Since I reported your intelligence and conjecture, those guys have been as excited as flies that ate Priz. When both countries proposed marriage alliances, they immediately turned towards the Kingdom of Lucia side, hoping to also bite a piece of meat off the Kingdom of Coruz.”

“Want to eat meat? Then you have to see if you can eat it. The Kingdom of Lucia has a vast land and a large population. Plus, due to historical origins, its culture and customs are not very different from the Kingdom of Coruz. After taking the land, they can completely integrate and digest it through large-scale immigration.” Speaking of this, George paused for a moment, picked up his cup and drank some water, then continued, “On the way back these few days, I didn’t idle. I asked Mr. Val a lot about the situation in the Kingdom of Lucia. They practice an incomplete feudal system. The management of the Territory is handled by officials sent by the king. That means most of the nobles there do not have administrative power. So, even for immigration, the difficulty difference between the two countries is huge. Especially when immigrating to other people’s territories, I think it is impossible in Nohan. So, when we swallow the Kingdom of Coruz, the gap between us and the Kingdom of Lucia will only get bigger. This is a choice where the risk is far greater than the reward.”

“Indeed, it is a very good insight. In a way, it can make those guys who only know how to argue with their mouths quiet down.” It seemed that because he got a good explanation, Viscount Bolerum felt much more relaxed mentally.

“Actually, choosing the Kingdom of Coruz is not without benefits. At least it has some technologies and materials that we need very much, which are exactly what the Duchy lacks. We can fully consider these aspects during the negotiations. Since we are going to form an alliance, we can’t just talk about it verbally and let us bear the pressure from the Kingdom of Lucia together. We must give some tangible benefits. It’s like if you want a horse to run fast, you have to feed it well.”

Viscount Bolerum reached out and patted George’s head, saying, “Sometimes I really don’t know how you come up with so many things.”

George complained in his heart, ‘This kind of thing is seen all the time on the internet before I transmigrated.’