After asking Lottie to take care of Eleanor, Charlotte left the mission hospital.
The arrival of the envoy from the royal capital was like a clear-cut signal, announcing the end of the war. After the peace talks with the Violet Principality, peace negotiations with Bold were put on the agenda.
After leaving the mission hospital, Charlotte went to the Tulip Earldom and completed the de facto handover of the territory.
There is no lord in the Tulip Earldom, only Earl Gaston is stationed there. With the support of Earl Gaston, the handover of the territory went smoothly.
The Tulip nobles, who were often married to the Castel nobles and had many business contacts, did not resist, but naturally accepted Charlotte's rule.
This is also easy to understand. Geographically speaking, the Tulip Territory is part of the Northland, and it is not even close to it economically and by blood. Not to mention that after witnessing Castel's defeat of Boulder, this person did not even have a viscount. The earldom did not have the capital to resist.
Bold has long regarded it as a direct territory to strengthen its control over Castells, and has always avoided the emergence of large noble families here. In the end, it was easier for Castells to merge with the Tulip Earldom.
Charlotte received the local nobles, six barons in total, at the Tulip Fortress.
Although the territorial treaty between Boulder and Castel has not yet been formally signed, and the Tulip nobles have not formally sworn allegiance to Charlotte, they have expressed their submission to Castel in words and deeds.
After meeting with the nobles, Charlotte talked alone with Count Gaston for an hour.
No one knows what Charlotte and Count Gaston actually talked about.
After the conversation, Earl Gaston handed over all standing control of the Tulip Territory to Castel, and left Tulip alone, returning to Boulder with the help of the ultra-teleportation circle provided by the Violet Principality.
】
It's hard to fathom giving away something extraordinary that has been in your family for over a decade.
Not only the Tulip Territory, but also the nobles of the Castel Territory found it difficult to understand.
Some say that this is an agreement secretly reached between Earl Gaston and Castel; some say that this is because Earl of Castel gave up his declaration of celibacy and intends to marry the Gaston family; and even more outrageous; there are also rumors that This was because Count Gaston was infatuated with Castel's Charlotte, so he first helped Castel resist Bold, and then gave away the extraordinary equipment...
Even...at Earl Gaston's age, he is old enough to be a grandfather to Charlotte of Castres.
Needless to say, there are still many people who believe in this most outrageous statement, including many nobles who firmly believe it.
Especially those who have seen the little count of Castres with their own eyes.
"That is indeed a beautiful lady, young, beautiful, pure... just like an angel sent to the world by the Lord of God!"
"Hiccup, let alone Count Gaston, even I, who only took a look at her from afar, fell in love with her."
A down-and-out nobleman who boasted that he had met Charlotte at a banquet in the Earl's Palace was chatting in the tavern while burping from wine.
In short, rumors about Count Gaston and Count Castells were rampant for a while.
The romantic affairs of nobles, especially big nobles, will always arouse people's interest, even if they are just superficial things.
Just eat melon.
In any era, especially in an era when entertainment methods are scarce, this is something people like to hear.
It wasn't until the Beigang City Hall severely dealt with a group of mercenaries and down-and-out nobles who spread rumors that these outrageous rumors gradually weakened.
Of course, this weakening is limited to the demesne.
In the vassal territories where Castel has weak control and around Castel, especially in taverns and saloons, similar topics still have a market.
At the same time, rumors about how charming, stunning and beautiful the little Earl of Castells was spread more and more widely, giving him the title of "Pearl of Bold" and "Lord of Beauty" Charlotte's reputation spreads wider and wider...
The resulting chain reaction even affected Castre's diplomacy.
Charlotte was bewildered to find that after that, many more nobles from all over the country came to visit Castel, many of whom were even heirs to the title, or simply the lord himself.
However, what happened next in Boulder made this outrageous rumor gradually lose ground.
After Earl Gaston returned to the Principality of Bold, he quickly took the lead and organized a group of scattered Bold nobles in the name of Castel allies and Bold supporters to establish the Bold Regency. cabinet and launch peace talks with Castres.
Among them, Earl Gaston, as the most influential earl of Boulder, was unanimously elected as regent by the Boulder noble meeting.
When the news came out, many nobles with keen minds had second thoughts.
"Earl Gaston should have reached some kind of exchange of interests with Castel, and obtained Castel's support on the condition of supporting Castel's independence, merging the Tulip Territory, and controlling the Tulip Army..."
"Bold was the defeated party, and it is said that many nobles were captured as a result. No one is more suitable to negotiate with Castel on behalf of Bold than Count Gaston."
An experienced kingdom lord judged.
However, when the news reached Castres, some of the nobles in Castres were a little confused.
"My Lord Earl, are you... not planning to fight for the position of regent?"
Viscount Len-Castle couldn't help but ask.
Charlotte shook her head:
"Fight? Why should I fight? After becoming the regent, I am still Bold's vassal. Even if I actually control Bold, what can I do?"
"Lord Viscount, take a long-term view. Our goal was not Bold from the beginning, and Bold is not the end point we can reach."
As she spoke, she chuckled again:
"Not to mention... it makes no difference to us that Count Gaston will serve as regent. We can also have an additional helper to divert His Majesty the King's attention."
…
Count Gaston was very fast.
After serving as regent, he began "negotiations" with Castel intensively, and the peace treaty between the two parties was made public soon after.
The compensation in the treaty is similar to that of the Violet Principality.
The Principality of Bold will pay a ransom of 6 million quintana for all nobles and soldiers captured including Duchess Eleanor, as well as extraordinary materials with a price equivalent to 15 million quintana. All ransoms must be paid within three months. After that, all food and lodging expenses for the captives within three months will be borne by the Principality of Boulder.
In addition, it is to recognize Castre's independence and sovereignty over the Tulip Territory.
By the way, after the treaty was signed, Duchess Eleanor was not released immediately, but continued to recuperate in Castres.
At this point, the Boulder-Castle War was completely over. As the biggest winner, Charlotte not only unified the Northland, but also received a sky-high ransom and nearly 1,500 sets of Kingdom standard equipment.
However, despite having gained a lot, Charlotte felt as if she had forgotten something.
It wasn't until three days after the formal treaty was signed that news came from the north that the Isaac prisoner of war camp was attacked by Violet deserters. Charlotte suddenly remembered that there were thousands of Isaacs who participated in the Castel rebellion. The Hussars prisoners of war were not dealt with yet.
