The Original Vampire

All the way back to the residence.

Colin asked Vera to wash and change clothes first, and he invited Consul Sebas to take a seat in the living room.

"Your Excellency Consul, what's the matter with you?"

Sebas' attitude at this time can be described as a 180-degree turn, completely not as arrogant as when they met before, but as if to curry favor with Colin.

Colin of course understood that the other party should have heard the wind and learned about the reform plan proposed by the Prime Minister of the Empire regarding the election of the consuls of the Senate, which made him panic.

He couldn't have been panic.

Based on Sebas's years of experience as a consul, he knew that this reform proposal would definitely be passed.

The rules of the game in the Senate will also be completely rewritten.

Originally, with the detached status of the consul, Sebas didn't even have to deliberately curry favor with Vera, the Duke of the North.

After all, the consul was for life, and even if Vera didn't like Sebas, she couldn't replace him.

As for the candidate for the next consul, Sebas is not in a hurry. His body is still very healthy, and it will not be a problem to live another twenty or thirty years. By then, who knows what the situation in the north has become.

Even if Vera is still the Duke of the North, Sebas can make some compromises and exchanges a year or two before his death, so that his favorite heir can become the consul candidate recommended by the Saint Hilde family.

But it's different now.

The consul is elected every three years, and every elder is eligible to stand for election!

In order to keep his position, Sebas must immediately compromise.

Moreover, he has noticed that an undercurrent is surging among the elders of the northern region. Obviously, the Saint Hilde family has already begun to act.

Sebas knew that if he did not take measures, it would be too late.

"Viscount Angele, in fact, I came here mainly to apologize to you."

"Apology? Your Excellency Consul, I don't remember you offending me!"

"I want to apologize to you for Weber."

"Webber?" Colin thought for a while before realizing that Sebas was talking about his grandson.

It was the knight who took the initiative to provoke when Colin and Vera went to visit Sebas the last time, but was beaten up by Colin.

"Yes, Lord Viscount, Weber's behavior was really inappropriate last time, so I want to sincerely apologize to you for him!"

Colin rolled his eyes, secretly said, sincere shit! That kid didn't come, is he sincere?

"Your Excellency Archon, you are too polite. We just exchanged martial arts that time. There is nothing wrong with the behavior of Knight Weber."

"You are too kind!" Sebas' old face turned into a chrysanthemum, and he pretended to be kind, "Now Vera has been canonized as the Duke of the North, and even you have obtained the authority of the guardian of the North. , what a joy!

Just don't know when you are going to return to the north? "

"We're going to leave tomorrow."

"So fast?"

"Yeah, after all, the northern border has just settled down, and there are still a lot of things that need to be dealt with urgently. We have stayed in Yulong City long enough this time, and we can't delay it any longer."

Sebas hurriedly invited him warmly, "Then I will hold a banquet at the manor tonight, and I hope you and the Duke can come to attend."

"There's no need for a farewell banquet. Vera and I have already made arrangements tonight." Colin waved his hand, bluntly rejecting the other party's kindness.

Sebas sighed slightly, but then sent out another invitation: "How about noon today?"

"Luncheon?" Colin glanced at the other party with a smile, "Did you have time to prepare in such a short time?"

Sebas said solemnly: "As long as you and the Duke are willing to visit, I will let them arrange everything in the shortest possible time!"

"No need to bother." Colin waved his hand and refused again.

Seeing that Sebas didn't seem to give up, Colin directly said what the other party really cared about: "You are looking for me today for the consul election, right?"

Sebas was stunned for a while, as if he did not expect Colin to be so direct, but he quickly reacted and nodded again and again:

"Yes. You must have heard of the Prime Minister's proposal for the reform of the Senate.

Ouch, this is bullshit!

That old fellow Heidegger doesn't even know what he's doing!

In my opinion, he is simply touching the most important pillar of maintaining the political balance of the empire!

If this proposal is passed, he will be completely nailed to the pillar of shame in history, and will be cast aside by all generations..."

Colin smiled and watched the incompetent and furious Sebas cursed at the Prime Minister of the Empire and sipped the coffee on the table quietly.

When the other party finally calmed down, he said again: "You are worried about the next consul election, can you be elected?"

"Cough cough... I'm a little worried." Sebas looked very embarrassed.

"Actually, my opinion with Vera is to replace you."

"What?" Sebastian was frightened by Colin's frankness, his mouth wide open like a fish without water, "You...why do you do this..."

Colin glanced at each other lightly, disdainful in his heart, but comfortingly said:

"We also thought that you must be very tired after serving as a consul for so many years, so let's go up to another person to help you share..."

"I'm not tired!" Sebas became anxious, "Lord Viscount, after all, I've been a consul for more than 40 years and have rich experience. I know how to strive for the best interests of the North in the Senate, but you can't..."

"Really?" Colin interrupted the other party coldly, and his tone became impolite, "Then why did you object to the last vote on Vera's inheritance?"

Sebastian sighed and said sincerely: "Lord Viscount, I admit that I had some prejudice against Sir Duke and you before, but I assure you that from now on, I will definitely change my mind! On any issue, I will All will be in step with the Duke!"

"Why prejudice?"

"Because...after all, the Duke was once a mage..."

"Lord Sebas," Colin interrupted coldly, "if you don't want to tell the truth, then there is no need for us to continue the conversation."

Sebas' face showed a look of struggle, but under Colin's indifferent gaze, he still told the truth:

"Lord Viscount, the reason why I was a little hostile to you before was because of the peace agreement you reached with the Troll Empire."

"Peace negotiation agreement?" Colin looked puzzled, wondering why this agreement would arouse Sebas' hostility towards him.

Sebas coughed lightly and explained, "I have some personal friendships with the presidents of several chambers of commerce in the north, and they have some... opinions on the tax exemption clause in this agreement."

Colin thought for a moment, and finally understood where Sebas' hostility came from.

There was a tax exemption clause in the peace negotiation agreement he forced the troll empire to sign. However, this tax exemption is not for all merchants in the north. Only the merchants in Colin's viscount can enjoy taxes when they enter the troll empire. discounted offers.

Obviously, this made other merchants in the north jealous, and then they found Consul Sebas.

Based on the extravagant scenes Colin had seen in the consul's house before, I am afraid that the "subsidy" of these northern businessmen to Sebas is definitely not a small amount, and it is no wonder that Sebas has been targeting Vera and Colin.

Moreover, Ke Lin knew that he had done another thing that would definitely make the major chambers of commerce in the northern region hate him to the core.

In order to disturb the north and cause famine, Mr. Ho asked the Tulip Chamber of Commerce, which is controlled by the Uman family, to take the lead in hoarding food. This move was quickly responded by many merchants in the north.

In order to raise the price of food, these mercenary businessmen completely disregarded the life and death of the people in the north. Fortunately, Colin bought a large amount of food from the half-elf kingdom, which alleviated the famine in the north, but at the same time hindered the merchants in the north. Make a fortune.

Later, after Vera took control of Winter City, she began to forcibly stabilize the price of grain and ordered the merchants to open their warehouses to release grain, which further intensified the conflict with the merchants.

Colin didn't take these businessmen seriously. After all, this era is no different than the era of his predecessor. The status of businessmen is not high, and it doesn't matter if they offend.

But unexpectedly, these businessmen still found a way to exert their influence, which added a lot of trouble to Vera.

Colin rubbed his chin and began to reflect - was he a little too kind to these businessmen before?

At this time, he also realized that the crux of the problem was not actually Sebas, but the merchant power in the north.

I didn't care about them before, and now it seems that the influence of these businessmen cannot be completely ignored.

It seems that after going back this time, it is necessary to rectify this group.

Sebas looked at the silent Colin, and felt uneasy in his heart. After a while, he said tentatively, "Lord Viscount, please rest assured, I will definitely draw a clear line with these merchants in the future!"

Colin came back to his senses and smiled at Sebas again: "Your Excellency Sebas, it's really good that you can change your mind. I believe that the Duke will also be willing to give you a chance to reform. After all, how did you Said to be the elder of the Saint Hilde family."

Sebas' eyes lit up, his face flushed with excitement, and he quickly expressed his loyalty: "Thank you for your trust! Please rest assured, and please rest assured, the Duke! From now on, I will only follow the Duke and you!"

Colin nodded, as if he was satisfied with Sebas's statement, he just said lightly: "By the way, tomorrow, the Duke will return to the North, and there is no need for a farewell banquet. However, I hope you can send some more. The guards escorted the Duke."

"Of course there is no problem!" Sebas said immediately, "There are more than 700 elite soldiers in my manor guard team, I will leave them all to you!"

"You don't stay a little bit, and you're not afraid of some thieves sneaking in in the family?"

"I still have confidence in the guarding power of Yulong City, how can a thief dare to spread wild here!"

"That's good." Colin was also rude, nodding in response, but then he seemed to casually said, "By the way, the Knight Webber who exchanged martial arts skills with me last time should also be in the guards. ?"

Sebastian was stunned, and only then did he understand Colin's plan - this was to let his grandson go to Winter City as a hostage!

After hesitating for a moment, Sebas was still ruthless, nodded and said, "Of course! Webber has always admired your martial arts. If he has the opportunity to learn from you, he will definitely not miss it!"

"That's the best!" Colin stood up with a smile, shook hands with Sebas, and said:

"Don't worry, I will definitely take good care of Webber Knight."

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