207: engagement

"Everyone, we have achieved a brilliant victory in this war against the Stag Territory. The dignity of the raging bear has been defended, and this is a credit to everyone's joint efforts."

"Therefore, I have decided to confer rewards upon those who have performed meritorious service today!"

Inside Thunder Hall, Karl spoke a few brief words before getting straight to the point and addressing the topic everyone cared about most.

Ennoblement!

Weren't the grizzly bear fief nobles staying at Rage Bear Fortress for the past few days instead of returning to their territories precisely because they were waiting for the conferment of titles?

In the Rage Bear Territory now, aside from anything else, there were several newly vacant Baron titles alone, and every family wanted a piece of the pie.

Everyone waited with bated breath for what Karl would say next.

A large map of the Rage Bear Territory appeared before everyone through magic, with several locations on the map specially marked in specific colors.

"Reyn Derrick!"

Hearing his name called, Reyn immediately stepped forward.

"Your Highness!"

Karl nodded and then said, "You provided meritorious support in this campaign and captured Count Torrens alive, who had slaughtered my Rage Bear vassals, thus upholding the dignity of the raging bear."

Karl paused and extended his right hand, pointing toward the northern region on the map.

"Reyn Derrick, I shall promote you to the rank of Count of the Rage Bear Territory!"

"From this day forth, the Red River Valley, Blackstone Territory, and the Black Corridor shall be your lands, ruled by the Derrick Family."

As Karl spoke, a bright red icon lit up in the northern region of the map, with a majestic Wolf-patterned crest etched onto the red area.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Although he had received multiple hints from Karl and Belmont before, Reyn was still very excited.

The Black Corridor aside, the Blackstone Territory was extremely important to Reyn.

black stone was vital for the industrial development of the Red River Territory; on the other hand, the Blackstone Territory sat right at the gateway to the Red River Valley. In the future, Reyn's expansion would make the Blackstone Territory unavoidable.

It would be highly disadvantageous for Reyn if an outsider controlled the Blackstone Territory.

Now that Reyn had obtained this fief, the Red River Territory suddenly gained strategic depth, and the territory's potential grew significantly.

With the Blackstone Territory secured, the lawless buffer zone between it and the Red River Valley naturally fell under Reyn's control as well; in reality, Reyn would control even more land.

The other grizzly bear fief nobles looked on with envy as Reyn was promoted.

However, they had almost no objections to this; the merit of capturing Count Torrens alive proved Reyn's strength, and he was qualified to be promoted to Count.

Furthermore, in the eyes of these nobles, only the Blackstone Territory in Reyn's Earldom was decent; the rest were worthless or even wasteland.

Horn glanced at Karl with some confusion; he had previously thought Grand Duke Karl would give Reyn even more favorable terms, given that Reyn had already demonstrated his value.

He hadn't expected Karl to give Reyn a useless place like the Black Corridor as a reward.

The Black Corridor was the border between the Black Mountain Range and the Wilderness, as well as the border between the Rage Bear Territory and the Black Mountain Range. This area not only lacked any signs of human activity but was also home to a large number of Alien Tribes.

While Horn was merely curious, some nobles were gloating; they looked at Reyn with playful eyes, fully supporting the Grand Duke's distribution in their hearts.

"A Count before thirty... what we couldn't achieve in over a hundred years of struggle, this kid did in just a few. It's truly infuriating to compare ourselves to him. Fortunately, His Highness was wise enough to grant him the Black Corridor."

"A bumpkin from the north, lucky enough to break through to the Gold Rank. He's hit the jackpot being named a Count by His Highness. Let him have those wastelands and go play with those Alien Tribes!"

Several veteran Viscounts looked at each other, the thoughts they wanted to express laid bare in their eyes.

"Congratulations, Count Reyn!"

Belmont was the first to step forward and congratulate Reyn, and then the other nobles followed suit.

Reyn didn't think too much about it; he was genuinely happy and exchanged a few flattering words with the others with a smile.

After Reyn, Karl appointed six more Barons. These six Baronies were all located within the Rage Bear Territory in much better positions than Reyn's Red River Territory. The newly promoted Barons were also extremely excited, and the great nobles supporting them were all smiles.

The ennoblement ceremony concluded with everyone satisfied, and the atmosphere was extremely warm.

After the ennoblement came the banquet. Reyn didn't like this part much anymore; drinking and socializing were what he detested most, and banquets were full of such things.

After finally enduring the banquet, Reyn wanted to make a quick escape, but he was unexpectedly stopped by Belmont. The two of them then went to Grand Duke Karl's study.

"Your Highness, you sent for me?"

Everything that needed to be done was finished, so Reyn didn't quite understand why Karl was calling for him now.

"Reyn, with your ability and merit, I should have granted you more fertile land. Now that you've only received the Blackstone Territory and the almost useless Black Corridor, you won't hold a grudge against me, will you?"

"Your Highness, you must be joking. How could I complain? I am extremely satisfied with this fief. How it is granted is entirely your will, and the Derrick Family will always follow your will!"

Reyn took the opportunity to express his loyalty; in fact, he really didn't have any dissatisfaction.

This attitude greatly pleased Karl and Belmont; they could see that Reyn truly harbored no resentment, which made them recognize Reyn's loyalty even more.

"It's best that you understand, Reyn!"

"Horn and the others believe you're still young and shouldn't receive too much at once. They had some opinions about your promotion to Count; you are too young, and it's inevitable that people will be jealous."

"I assigned the Black Corridor to you so they wouldn't make things difficult for you. I hope you understand my intentions."

"However, I will have Belmont provide you with a shipment of resources to support your development of the Blackstone Territory and the defense of the Black Corridor."

Karl also knew the Black Corridor region wasn't suitable for construction; being able to hold it was already good enough.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Reyn was naturally very happy to receive a shipment of resources for free.

"There is one more thing, Reyn!"

Karl suddenly became serious.

"What do you think of Alistair?"

Reyn looked at Karl hesitantly; the other's sudden question definitely had another motive.

"Could it be...?" Reyn had a suspicion in his heart.

"Your Highness, what do you mean? Alistair is great!"

"I won't beat around the bush. Alistair has been staying with you for a while now, and it's not a permanent solution for her to refuse to come home and stay with you indefinitely!"

"I see she has a good impression of you, and you seem to like her too. Therefore, I wish to marry her to you. This way, Alistair will have a home, and I will be at ease in the future. What do you think?"

"Marry Alistair to me?"

Although Reyn had guessed as much, hearing Karl say it still made his heart skip a beat.

"Are you willing?"

"Of course I am willing, Your Highness, but it also depends on Alistair's own wishes."

Reyn didn't dare hesitate for a second. Karl and Belmont, the two rulers of the Rage Bear Territory, were staring at him to see his reaction. If Reyn didn't handle this well, his future wouldn't be easy.

"As long as you agree. Naturally, we must respect Alistair's wishes, but I don't think there will be much of an issue; she has a very good impression of you."

From that previous letter, Karl could tell his daughter admired Reyn greatly. With him, her father, personally speaking of the marriage contract, the possibility of Alistair refusing was very low.

Karl handed Reyn a set of magic materials and a Communication Crystal he had prepared.

"Take this transmission magic equipment back and have Kapdo install it. Then, the Red River Territory and Rage Bear Fortress will be able to communicate at any time."

"Give this Communication Crystal to Alistair; I will speak with her personally."

A set of magic transmission equipment and a Communication Crystal were not cheap, but they were minor matters for Karl.

Once the magic transmission equipment was installed, it only required magic stones or magic cores to communicate over long distances.

Communication Crystals were even more convenient, allowing for long-distance communication with a corresponding crystal anywhere and anytime, though they had a limited number of uses and fixed recipients.

It was already past midnight when Reyn left Karl's study.

Looking at the stars shining in the sky, Reyn reached out as if to grasp them in his hand.