Chapter 298 Ambition

"Losa, I'm really curious. Are you a special envoy of His Majesty Baldwin or a general of Her Majesty the Queen?"

At the banquet, Leopold held a wine glass and asked Lothar.

"I think I have already explained this to Crown Prince Henry, and the two themselves are not conflicting, just like Harald."

Prince Harald of Norway once served the emperor of the Eastern Empire as the commander of the Varangian Guard. After accumulating a lot of prestige and wealth, he returned to Norway and regained the throne. He was known as the last Viking. .

Leopold smiled and said: "I understand. Lothar, for your victory today and the glory of the dragon slayer, let's have a drink."

Lothar replied politely: "Thank you for helping me. If the jihad starts again, I look forward to the opportunity for us to fight side by side again."

"Haha, I'm also looking forward to such a day."

The two exchanged brief greetings and then separated.

There are so many people here and it’s obviously not the time for a deep conversation.

Before leaving, Leopold gave Lothar a thoughtful look: "Be careful Greeks. Since you mentioned Harald, you must remember that he was also almost killed because he was involved in the whirlpool of palace struggles. Lose your life.”

This refers to the fact that Harald was arrested and imprisoned by the new emperor when the throne changed.

Fortunately, the new emperor did not occupy the throne for a few days before he was deposed. Empress Zoe and Empress Theodora ruled together, and Harald was spared from prison.

After that, Constantine IX became the new co-ruling emperor of the Eastern Empire because he was favored by Queen Zoe, and relied on his ability to eat soft rice. He also used his skills to take over the power of the previous two queens.

In Leopold's eyes, Lothar clearly wanted to follow the example of Constantine IX.

It’s just that he thinks that Queen Lagaia is obviously much more difficult to deal with than Queen Zoe and Queen Theodora.

This is a rare female ruler with vision and skill.

"Thank you for the reminder."

Lothar still said neither humble nor overbearing.

He walked straight back to his seat. Along the way, his eyes inadvertently touched those noble ladies with burning eyes. He quickly frowned and moved away.

The looks in these people's eyes were as if they wanted to break his bones and squeeze out his marrow.

Lothar could even hear many people whispering.

"Although he is a country barbarian, his territory is not small. The Limassol Military District alone is enough to support me."

"And he also controlled the port of Ella in Transjordan."

"Where is that?"

"It doesn't matter, as long as you know it can bring you a lot of money every year, it's enough."

"Oh, it doesn't matter to me how much property he has, but this Frankish barbarian is tall, handsome, and good at fighting. He really suits my taste. Don't even think about arguing with me."

Who is this, speaking so loudly?

Lothar was slightly startled. Just when she was about to look, she heard Anna's voice from the side: "The one who just spoke is the daughter of the Grand Duke of Epirus. Her family territory is rich in saffron and is quite wealthy. Moreover, her Brothers, even she herself is a bunch of idiots. If you marry her, you will most likely be able to inherit the title of Grand Duke of Epirus without any bloodshed."

"It's just that the process won't be too glorious."

Lothar turned her head and immediately saw Anna coming to Lothar's side holding a gold cup.

"You have come to the center of power in the Eastern Empire. Here, you only need to pay one-tenth of what you usually pay, or even less, to get richer rewards."

The value potential of marriage in the Middle Ages was simply immeasurable.

At its peak, the Habsburg dynasty, which started as the Count of Allgäu, was able to control Iberia, most of the Apennines, the Low Countries, Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary. Only a handful of them were actually captured with swords and guns. .

In order to ensure that the inheritance rights would not leak out, the Habsburg family also paid a huge price, such as marrying close relatives to create a so-called "pure-blood family". To put it bluntly, it was to avoid the territory being divided.

The big Habsburg chin that later generations talked about was also the product of their incest.

Lothar hummed softly: "Anna, if someone offered a mountain of gold in exchange for the opportunity to marry you, would you be willing to accept it?"

Anna raised her breasts to a size that was at least equivalent to three Fringillas: "Of course not."

"So neither can I."

Anna retorted: "We are different."

Lothar chuckled and said, "Anna, what kind of person do you think I am?"

Anna hesitated and said: "To be honest, I don't quite understand. Sometimes I think you are upright, kind, generous, and loyal. But as an extraordinary person, you still pursue worldly power. But judging from your performance, you seem to have no idea about it." It doesn’t look like it’s important.”

She really couldn't understand Lothar. If she was obsessed with power, there was no faster way than pursuing the Queen.

Moreover, in Anna's view, this is also a way of win-win cooperation.

"Actually, it's not as complicated as you think. When people live in this world, isn't it just what they pursue?"

Lothar smiled and said: "I do want power and want to create a Habsburg dynasty, but this does not mean that I will do whatever it takes to achieve this goal."

"People like us have long lives and great power. Even if I don't become the king of a country as I wish in the future, or simply lose all my territories and titles, what does it matter?"

"I once thought that when I was a hundred years old, I would take Prajna and Fulin with me to travel around the world, to distant Vinland, or to that dynasty in the East that was as wealthy as the empire."

Anna said thoughtfully: "I understand."

There was a hint of longing on her face: "I'm tempted by what you said. If you really want to leave everything behind and travel, you must count me in."

Lothar thought to herself, we are not that close.

Leopold returned to the mansion where the messengers lived.

As soon as he entered the door, he said with a gloomy face: "Lena, what's going on with Lothar? Doesn't it mean that men have almost no talent as a spell caster?"

The witch wearing a brown hooded cloak wrapped her weak and boneless arms around his chest: "Since it's almost certain, there are naturally a few exceptions that can break this record."

"What's more, there is not only one path for extraordinary beings. The warriors in Northern Europe who drink crazy blood and pass through ancient sacrifices; the totem priests in Africa who believe in evil gods; and the werewolves who are infected by the cursed power."

"Without exception, these roads are dangerous, with almost a narrow escape."

Leopold's tone was a little heavy: "Isn't it possible for me to become a spellcaster with extraordinary power?"

“If your Heavenly Father doesn’t want to give it to you, why force it?”

The witch said lightly: "I can prepare a potion to keep you alive and give you the coveted position of Grand Duke, but I can't help you master such a powerful power like Narosa."

In the eyes of the witch, Lothar was obviously not an ordinary person.

There were a lot of mysteries about him that she couldn't see through. When they first met, it seemed that he only had a small amount of extraordinary power, but when they met again this time, that power had expanded countless times.

even.

In Lothar's body, even a powerful witch like her felt a hint of threat.

This Lothar, and the witches around him, are definitely not simple.

Leopold sighed softly: "In this world, people are indeed different, so why should I win over this Lothar?"

"It depends on what you want. Even if he really gets close to the Queen and the witch named Anna, at most he will become the co-emperor of the Eastern Empire and he won't be able to control you."

Leopold looked slightly startled.

What is the most?

Being able to be a co-ruling emperor, even in name only without real power, is something that many nobles dream of.

The witch looked at Leopold's somewhat jealous eyes, and couldn't help showing a helpless look on her face: "Okay, if it's just extraordinary power, I will try to find it for you."

As Anna said, love always makes people blind.

But the witch is not entirely concerned about Leopold, she just likes Leopold's strength, handsomeness, ambition, intelligence and wisdom.

If one day Leopold becomes senile, she will leave without hesitation.

In her opinion, the witch's long life was meant for enjoyment, but that didn't mean that she was willing to give up everything for Leopold.