Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World-Chapter 707: Marquis Grayman

TL: Rui88

When Count Merlin had finished reading the king’s decree, the crowd’s anger almost immediately erupted.

“How could such a treaty be signed?”

“Such a vast expanse of land in the north, just given away to orcs and traitors like that?”

“What about the Watcher’s Fortress?”

Amidst the noisy discussion, Catherine’s face turned pale. Her bloodless lips moved, wanting to speak but unable to form the words.

Just moments before, everyone had been arguing endlessly about what to do next.

Some said they should advance eastward quickly to recover the kingdom’s lost lands as soon as possible.

Others said they should fight steadily, wearing down the orcs’ effective strength bit by bit, just as in the last battle.

But the arrival of Count Merlin, the king’s special envoy, had delivered a thunderous blow to everyone.

Faced with the crowd’s questioning, Count Merlin’s face was also extremely grim.

“Gentlemen, to this moment, I am still as shocked as you are.”

“At the royal council meeting, the king suddenly announced this decision. The reason given was that if the war with the orcs continued, Jars and Viburen would ally to attack Crystal Shine.”

In fact, the Count himself did not quite believe this reason. As the kingdom’s intelligence chief, he had not received any related news. Could it be that His Majesty the King had other intelligence channels?

As expected, this reason did not convince the crowd.

“Although there is that risk, we cannot just give up such a large piece of land for nothing!”

“Letting the orcs occupy the north of the kingdom will make our generation sinners!”

“Gentlemen, please be quiet.” Amidst the public outrage, Count Merlin took out a second parchment scroll. The gold-trimmed patterns on it indicated that this was another royal edict.

The Count looked at Paul Grayman, who was seated at the head of the table. Even after he had just announced such shocking news, this young man had not said a word.

“Count Grayman!”

The king’s special envoy looked at him solemnly. Paul realized the second edict was related to him and slowly stood up.

Count Merlin read out the contents of the edict in a very serious and clear tone.

The room fell silent once again.

The shock of its contents was no less than that of ceding land to the orcs for peace—Paul Grayman had actually been promoted to Marquis by the king.

In the context of Ordo’s aristocratic culture, Marquis was not just a title; the term also carried another strong meaning—frontier military leader.

In terms of nobility, a marquis was slightly lower than a duke, but in terms of influence, he was not inferior to the latter, especially in military matters, where he even had the upper hand. He theoretically even had the power to conscript troops from a ducal territory.

Only a handful of the founding ministers had ever received the title of marquis. After their deaths, no one else had.

And such a title, which had disappeared for hundreds of years, had actually reappeared on the stage of the kingdom’s history.

The atmosphere in the room was ignited by the edict’s content. Jealousy, envy, admiration, expectation… The lords discussed animatedly, various emotions flashing across their faces.

The stunned Paul did not know how to react until he felt his arm being pinched—Catherine had pulled him back to reality.

Paul immediately composed his words and said solemnly:

“I will accept this heavy responsibility with fear and trepidation, and I swear to devote my life and my shallow wisdom to Ordo with all my might.”

He extended his hands and respectfully accepted the edict from Count Merlin.

“Marquis?” Everyone present fell into thought. What was the king’s intention?

More than half of the anger stirred up by the previous humiliating treaty had dissipated.

Negotiating peace on one hand, and appointing a military leader on the other, and a very capable leader at that. The king’s contradictory actions seemed to suggest that the matter between Ordo and the orcs was not yet over.

A simple banquet was held in the camp to celebrate the birth of a marquis.

After the banquet, Count Merlin found Paul and Catherine, specifically choosing a secluded place to talk with them.

“Count Grayman, no, Lord Marquis Grayman, His Majesty needs your help,” the Count said, getting straight to the point.

“Me?” Paul pointed to himself. “What help do you need from me?”

Count Merlin replied, “Help in all sorts of aspects! His Majesty has decided to use your Alda as a model to carry out a top-down, comprehensive reform of the entire kingdom.”

Paul’s heart skipped a beat. His long-standing actions were finally going to have a huge impact on this country.

In an instant, countless thoughts flooded his mind.

What should he do?

Help Rodney XVIII carry out reforms and lead Ordo to prosperity and strength? Granted, Rodney XVIII was a decent person, but… he was unwilling. He was the transmigrator! He should be the protagonist leading the great tide of the era!

Perhaps he should take advantage of the Royal Family’s current extreme weakness and… rebel? March south, straight to Crystal Shine, and place the crown on his own head!

Alas, what would he do with Catherine then?

…

“Paul! Paul!” Catherine once again called her daydreaming fiancé back to reality.

“Ahem! My apologies, I was shocked by the king’s foresight. Yes, Ordo can’t go on without change. His Majesty is wise beyond compare!”

The Marquis’s flattery was cringeworthy. Count Merlin decided to ignore it.

“His Majesty needs you on the frontier, but His Majesty also needs you in Crystal Shine. I hope you can first go to the capital to discuss the general outline of the reforms with His Majesty, and then return to build a powerful army.”

“Just as many people have thought, the peace with the orcs is only temporary. Sooner or later, we will drive them back to the grasslands to eat sand.”

After conveying the king’s intentions, Count Merlin returned to his quarters not long after, leaving Paul and Catherine alone.

“Congratulations!” Catherine could clearly feel that Paul was becoming more and more important in her heart. When Paul was ennobled as a marquis, she felt genuinely happy for him, as well as a deep sense of pride.

Of course, it would have been even better without that disgusting and humiliating treaty.

If she were still the princess of old, she would probably have immediately led her troops back to Crystal Shine to demand a proper explanation from the decision-makers in the capital as to what kind of reality they had based such a treaty on.

But she was different now.

She did not know when it started, but Catherine’s state of mind had slowly changed. Her former passion began to fade, and that optimistic, positive, and soaring spirit had vanished from within her.

She could still swear that she held one hundred percent loyalty to the Kingdom of Ordo, but this loyalty had changed into one of doing one’s best and leaving the rest to fate.

Perhaps this change had begun on the day her father passed away.

“Thank you!” Paul replied with a smile.

His tone was so calm that it surprised Catherine. In fact, she had found it strange for a while.

Whether it was the humiliating treaty or the glorious title, Paul had been the calmest person present today.

How deep must this man’s thoughts be!