The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

If the arrival of the Imperial fleet on the continent of Solon stirred up a storm, then the port of Valenia, where the fleet docked, was at the very center of that storm.

The neutral port of Valenia does not belong to any particular power. However, this does not mean that Valenia itself is a neutral city-state. Rather, it is because the original Valenia family declined before it even had a chance to choose a side. Various powers have become deeply entrenched in Valenia, and no one can completely occupy the port. This has created a balance of absolute chaos in Valenia.

"You mean you want to buy the entire port of Valenia?"

The current head of the Valenia family, Dika, is a middle-aged man who is addicted to alcohol and decadent. When he was negotiating with the gray-robed man, he was still drunk, with his nose and cheeks still red. The smell of alcohol on his breath made Rosalind, who was standing next to him, unable to help but fan the already strong smell of alcohol around her.

"Yes."

The man in the grey robe placed a contract on the table.

"The money up there is more than enough for your family to live comfortably, since you can't collect any taxes in Valennia Port anyway, can you?"

Upon hearing what the gray-robed man said, the current head of the family burst into laughter.

“That’s true, but if Her Highness the Princess of Castile wants this port, then it must have a lot of value, right?”

A glint of light flashed in Dika's eyes.

"Fifty percent, no, thirty percent. I only need thirty percent of the taxes. No matter how much tax you collect later, give me thirty percent. And I want other members of the Castilian royal family to witness this contract."

The gray-robed man frowned. It seemed that the head of the Valenian family was even smarter than he had imagined. If the other Castilian royals came, the situation would become even more chaotic, and the contract would become public knowledge. Valenia would become a bloodsucking leech on the port. But then again, how could someone without some tricks hold onto the sovereignty of this chaotic port?

Bernice, who came with the gray-robed woman, casually leaned back in her chair and said, "I advise you to accept it directly. This is not only the contract of the Princess of Castile, but also the will of the Empire. The first offer from the Empire is often the best."

Dika, however, looked disdainful, let out a burp, and said, "What empire? I don't know. Even if the empire is as powerful as you say, can it control this place? You don't think you can take over the entire port with just those ships, do you? I haven't even charged you for your docking fees yet!"

After saying that, Dika squinted at Bernice, and when he saw her fitted nun's habit, his eyes lit up as he said, "Of course, if you can spend the night with me... I don't know what it's like to be a nun in the Empire."

Before he could finish speaking, Dika suddenly fell into a deep sleep, snoring loudly.

Behind Dika, the other members of the Valenia family exchanged bewildered glances. Although Dika was an alcoholic, as the recognized leader of the Valenia family, he was still clear-headed no matter how much he drank. How could he fall asleep on such an important occasion? But given Dika's condition, it didn't seem strange that he would suddenly fall asleep during the negotiations.

Everything in the room froze instantly, as if time itself had stopped as he fell into a deep sleep.

The Valenia family wanted to stop the negotiations, but they found that the other party showed no signs of leaving, especially the nun, who seemed to be waiting for Dika to wake up.

A few minutes later, Dika suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes filled with terror, his forehead soaked with cold sweat, his palms clenched so tightly that his nails almost dug into his palms, and his face, which was originally flushed from drunkenness, had completely returned to normal, showing no signs of being drunk at all, as if he had sobered up completely in an instant.

Deka looked around as if to confirm something. When he saw the nun who had taken out a nail file to fix her nails again, Deka suddenly pushed the table backward. However, because he used too much force, or because his body had not yet woken up, he fell backward from the chair before he could stand up.

The Valenia family members quickly helped Dika up. Seeing his family members beside him, Dika didn't say anything more, but trembling, he grabbed the contract on the table and signed his name on the paper with shaky hands. His movements were mechanical and stiff, as if an invisible hand was controlling him from behind.

The moment he finished signing the contract, he finally stood up from his chair, but his eyes had lost their usual sharpness. He ignored the questions from those around him, only muttering to himself, "Don't ask... don't ask anymore."

Generally, in such important occasions, there would definitely be a professional present to witness the event and prevent the other party from playing any tricks. However, the middleman looked at both sides and only saw Dika's pleading eyes for the matter to end quickly, so he had no choice but to sign his name on the contract, indicating that the contract was officially effective.

“We also need the specific details of the port. Although the Valenia family cannot collect taxes from the port, you must have other industries and channels to control the port, right?”

Bernice rose, her gaze as calm as that of a star gazing upon the world, looking down at Dika.

"Yes...yes, the Valenia family will serve you."

Forget about looking at Bernice with the same eyes he used before, Deka couldn't even look Bernice in the eye now, as if all the alcohol had been expelled from his body along with his cold sweat.

The negotiations ended, but an even bigger storm was brewing in the center of what had been a calm one. The Valenia family abdicated, transferring full sovereignty of the port to Princess Rosalind, who had returned from abroad. The Valenia family swore allegiance to Princess Rosalind, and the port officially became her territory.

Rosalyn immediately declared the establishment of a new nation, centered on the port of Valennia, thus adding another part to the already divided Castile.

It's not unusual for a port to become a nation. On the continent of Solon, there are countless places where a village or town dares to call itself a country. Some places don't even have a proper castle; they just occupy a two-story earthen warehouse and dare to establish a nation. This is also related to the fact that a unified country has never been born on the continent of Solon. The standards and relationships between nations are very chaotic.

Different parties have different attitudes toward this new Castile, but most agree that "we should ignore it."

Because this new Castile was not established within the original Castile territory, it had no direct conflict of interest with the Castile separatist nobles. In fact, Rosalind's brothers and sisters sent their envoys to make contact, trying to bring Rosalind and her empire into their camp.

Similarly, the Avars were also probing and making contact, even more cautiously, because they had truly experienced the sea walls. Amid suspicions that the Avars of Mu had been defeated, both the Avars and the previously silent Dragon Church sent their envoys.