"Then King of Heroes, this is how the treaty is settled, is that okay?"
Alfred asked, placing his hands on the table. There is a pile of paper on the table with densely written terms on it.
Opposite him sat Hestein.
Since Hestein couldn't read the text, he just felt bored. He leaned back on the chair early, closed his eyes and tilted his head back. Hearing Alfred ask this, Hestein didn't look at it and just said: "Read it to me."
So, Alfred, you picked up the stack of paper and read:
"Article 1: Alfred, the King of Knights, and Hestein, the King of Heroes, form a friendly alliance and will not invade each other."
"Article 2. The remnants of Ivar and Halfdan in Scotland and Ireland are to be solved by Alfred with the assistance of Hestein. At the same time, Hestein promised that the Kingdom of Heroes will not invade the land of Great Britain again, nor will it Britain as an object of plunder.”
"Article 3, as compensation for Article 2, during the period when Hestein is the King of Heroes, if the lords of the Hero Kingdom have the intention to invade the Alemannic Federation, Alfred will be based on that lord in the Hero Kingdom. status in the country, providing different levels of assistance. The specific assistance items are as follows..."
"Article 4: Based on the principle of equality and voluntariness of both parties, the Kingdom of England can hire warriors from the Kingdom of Heroes as mercenaries."
…
When Alfred finished reading, Hestein glanced at the other side of the table - there stood Ella as a notary. He said to Ella: "Scipio, are those words like this?"
Ella nodded, "It's been confirmed, there's no problem."
So Hestein and Alfred each put their thumbprints on the terms.
Alfred put away his treaty with satisfaction and said, "Hestein, with this, peace will finally come to the North Sea region."
Hestein shook his head: "It's still early. Don't forget about Bjorn, and the illegitimate sons of Halfdan and Sigurd."
The Scotland and Ireland that Alfred was attacking belonged to Bjorn according to the order of succession. But after Bjorn failed to assassinate Ragnar, Bjorn lost news of him, and his life and death were uncertain. Even though Ragnar was dead and most of the Scandinavian lords had surrendered to Hestein, they still had not discovered Bjorn's whereabouts.
There are rumors that Bjorn is dead. There are also rumors that Bjorn is not dead, but followed Rurik to the eastern steppes for adventure. There are also rumors that Bjorn escaped from Ragnar's imprisonment and led a group of people to the west of the sea...
In addition, there are those illegitimate children mentioned by Hestein - although they are called "illegitimate children", the existence of these people is actually an open secret in the pirate kingdom. The reasons for the existence of these illegitimate children are different for Halfdan and Sigurd.
According to the inheritance law of the Pirate Kingdom, after the father's death, his territory should be divided equally among all his legal sons, instead of being inherited by the only heir like the Seven Hills Empire. Halfdan believed that such an inheritance law would lead to the continuous division of the family's strength, but he could not change this ancient custom, so he refused to marry. Instead, he had many illegitimate children. Halfdan planned to select the best one from these many illegitimate children and legalize it, thereby avoiding the inheritance law and leaving his territory in the hands of the only heir.
Unfortunately, he died under Alfred's sword before he had time to choose the only heir.
As for Sigurd - he simply had many sons with the captured slaves. These slaves' sons were more open and transparent than Halfdan's illegitimate children, but they also had no legal inheritance rights.
However, under special circumstances, especially the current unstable public sentiment in the Pirate Kingdom, it is entirely possible for these illegitimate children to cause trouble. This is what Hestein is worried about.
However, Alfred laughed as if it was nothing more than a trivial matter.
"Since Bjorn's life or death is uncertain, it is equivalent to death. When I capture Scotland and Ireland, even if Bjorn appears, he will be nothing more than a 'fake'. As for those illegitimate children, I have a method. Do you want to listen?"
"What is it?"
Although it was not necessary, Alfred still lowered his voice and said: "Give them territory - but only to one of the many illegitimate children. In this way, the spearhead of the fight will be directed at the only lucky person, not you. I."
Hestein nodded in realization.
Alfred smiled softly and bowed gracefully to Hestein and Ella: "Then, see you later, the King of Heroes and the King of Sweden."
During the Battle of Uppland, due to lack of manpower, many of Alfred's ships had to stay on the shore of Uppland. But when Ragnar failed, Hestein returned the ships to him.
With such a fleet, Alfred embarked on the journey back to England.
"It's a pity that she didn't choose to become the King of Heroes."
Alfred looked at the sun, looking a little discouraged. He was already ready to help Ella fight for the King of Heroes.
Hestein is the son of the previous Hero King Aleister. Even he failed to convince all the lords of the Pirate Kingdom after defeating Ragnar. If it were Ella, the Pirate Kingdom would definitely become more chaotic now.
As long as this kind of chaotic situation is created within the pirate kingdom, he can take advantage of it and expand his sphere of influence to Scandinavia in the name of helping his allies counter rebellion. He has seen that Ella does not understand politics at all, and he is confident that Ella's sphere of influence will be reduced to the vicinity of Zealand. And when Ella dies, the entire North Sea will be unified under the British flag.
What he never expected was that Ella first asked Hestein for a promise to help her send troops to the Seven Hills Empire in the future, and then asked for some privileges, and then she was willing to succumb to Hestein and become The King of Sweden under the King of Heroes. Thus all his calculations failed.
Is such a woman considered smart or not?
He saw Mellie walking past him with her head lowered.
"Aingale. Stop." He called to her.
Hearing Alfred's voice, Mellie's body trembled slightly, she raised her head and said, "King...King, what's the matter?"
"You actually turned into a dragon right in front of the two armies. You went too far. Did you know that?"
"……Um."
Mellie's words were obviously lacking in confidence.
"In order to prevent you from being found, I have already thought of a hiding place for you. After you arrive in England, you can hide there for two or three years."
Mellie almost bit her tongue: "Three, three years?"
Alfred touched Mellie's head: "It's okay, just three years. After three years, I will come to pick you up personally."
Three years. By then, the war between Scotland and Ireland should be over. The entire North Sea will also be calmed down.
On the day you bring her back, should you prepare the ring at the same time?
The coast of England appeared on the horizon.
At this moment, a small boat floated slowly towards his fleet. There was a person standing alone on the boat, wearing a black robe and a black turban. He looked like he came from the distant Tianfang Empire.
