"I oppose!"
"The Holy Land cannot endure another round of war."
"Punish the renegade Losa for breaking the treaty!"
"Nonsense, Count! Losa regained lost territory, what wrong is there in that? As for allegedly inciting border conflicts, it's rely Count Losa being forced to retaliate."
"Have you all forgotten our purpose in coming to the Holy Land? To fight the heretics to the end, is this not our duty?"
The noise once again divided the nobles in the hall into two factions.
Clear distinction.
A careful observation reveals that a considerable number of nobles in the Empress Faction have chosen to support Losa.
This made Raymond's appearance increasingly hostile.
Losa's expression remained unchanged.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he walked straight to Raymond's side.
"Lord Tiberias, wouldn't you say your statent is sowhat subjective?"
Raymond frowned.
Before he could speak, Losa continued:
"In my view, this agenda should be — whether to establish the Transjordan Border Territory, rather than discussing whether I am guilty."
In this setting, it seed as if the nobles were transported back to the day when Losa first arrived in Jerusalem.
At that ti, he was rely an unknown landless knight.
But now, he is the rising star of whole Jerusalem, has replaced Reynard, standing up to Regent Raymond as a prominent noble.
"Indeed, Regent!"
Baron Goffrey stood at the front of the crowd and shouted, "We all rember the previous council eting already debated Losa Count's guilt. Since he was deed innocent then, why bring it up again now?"
"Exactly!"
"To continue arguing is aningless in my view. We might as well follow the Frankish honorable tradition by voting to show Raymond Count the popular sentint."
Losa said solemnly.
Raymond's eyes looked disdainful, as if saying, do you want to compare supporters with ?
"Fine."
He said coldly, "Colleagues, if you support Count Losa establishing the Transjordan Border Territory, raise your right hand."
Baron Goffrey and Baron Argon, coincidentally raised their right hands first.
Following them, so mbers of the Empress Faction, including even Guy of Lusignan, raised their right arms. They might not necessarily support Losa willingly, but they were even less willing to support Raymond.
Afterward.
So mbers of the Noble Faction also raised their hands, they were the few friends Baron Goffrey ntioned yesterday, and they were influential major nobles.
This group further motivated a batch of their subordinate nobles to raise their hands.
Raymond's face looked increasingly unpleasant, but fortunately, in the end, those who raised their hands were still less than half.
"Count Losa, popular sentint is already clear, isn't it?"
"Please wait a mont."
A crisp, elegant female voice ca from outside the hall.
"I also support Count Losa's proposal."
Princess Sibilla, wearing a gold crown inlaid with eralds, in a long orange palace dress, ca in full regalia.
As she entered the hall, it caused a sensation.
Many mbers of the Empress Faction began whispering, since Regent Raymond was overly dominant, the Empress Faction indeed had thoughts of allying with the King's Faction.
But because Losa and Baron Goffrey maintain neutrality, their attempts to win support shifted towards seizing the Royal Knight Order's positions left in the kingdom.
"Raymond Count, I am not here in the capacity of the Crown Prince's mother and His Majesty's sister, but in the na of the Lord of Ashkelon and Jaffa. I hope you don't mind."
Princess Sibilla apologized, but her gaze didn't shy away as she stared directly at Raymond.
Raymond's expression looked complicated as he gazed upwards at the empty throne, wondering, Your Majesty, is this your intention?
Can't you see the efforts I've made to stabilize the Holy Land situation?
As the nominal highest ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Baldwin IV could not personally step into the arena to confront the vassals.
Instead, he should serve as an arbiter. Even if the agenda was his own, it should be presented through the mouth of a subject.
Because if the King personally stepped in and had his agenda rejected by Raymond.
It indicates that in Jerusalem, the King's influence is already below Raymond's.
Even if this is the fact, the ssage it sends out is extrely dangerous for both Raymond and Baldwin IV.
The forr would be recognized as a power-seeking ambitious person and have his reputation ruined.
The latter would also be regarded as incompetent, losing all majestic authority.
If events are allowed to unfold, only two possible outcos exist.
One is, Raymond, driven by desperation, chooses to use conspiracy ans to assassinate Baldwin IV and claim the throne himself, as he is also in line to inherit the throne.
The other is, Raymond, in order to prove his innocence, leaves Jerusalem and returns to his own domain, causing the kingdom to split again, leaving the Crusader forces in the Holy Land as a disorganized ss.
Losa's expression remained unchanged.
He had no opinion on Raymond. If he were Raymond, he too would choose the more beneficial option for himself.
But the situation placed both n in opposing positions.
He said neither humbly nor arrogantly: "Raymond Count, now upon inspection, popular sentint is truly clear."
Inside the hall.
Those who raised their hands in support of establishing the Transjordan Border Territory have already surpassed half, with mbers from the King's Faction, the Empress Faction, and even so nobles from the Noble Faction raising their right hands.
The so-called Noble Faction, Empress Faction, were originally loose political alliances. Encountering situations of discrepancy is, frankly, normal.
Even Count Raymond, afterward, finds it difficult to hold those Noble Faction mbers who "betrayed" him accountable, instead needing to woo them to prevent their full shift to Losa's side.
Raymond announced in a somber tone, "Then I declare, starting today, the establishnt of the Transjordan Earl's Domain as a border district, granting Count of Transjordan Losa the authority to declare war freely against the heretics."
Amidst a cacophony of gasps.
Raymond looked at Losa, his voice icy, "Count Losa, hopefully, you rember the words you spoke and don't beco a traitor to the kingdom like Reynard."
Losa bowed solemnly, "I will, Count."
Raymond tried to suppress the anger in his heart and continued, "Next is the third topic: whether to address the behavior of hoarding goods, spreading rumors, and inflating grain prices."
...
The council eting ca to an end.
Losa saw off the last colleague of vassals who exchanged pleasantries with him, the smile on his face gradually fading. In the end, he still found himself oppositional to Raymond.
And moreover as the leader of the King's Faction.
This position originally belonged to Baron Goffrey, but starting today, he was no longer qualified.
Now, the agenda has been passed.
Tomorrow, after His Majesty enacts it, Losa will officially beco the Border Earl, the so-called "Vassal Prince."
At this mont, Losa noticed the Double-headed Eagle Badge in his pocket was sowhat warm.
Lifting it out and connecting.
Inside ca Nishaya's voice, "Lord Losa, I found traces of a Fire Dragon in an ancient book."
"This is the closest dragon species to you, although I can't guarantee it's alive."
The tone was sowhat hesitant.
But Losa was still grateful, saying, "It doesn't matter. Information from books indeed could be outdated, I can verify myself."
"Oh, by the way, what are the characteristics of this Fire Dragon?"
Nishaya replied, "It's a Tyrannical Dragon belonging to the Fire Dragon species. I have an illustrated guide docunting its habits; you can either co to get it from or I can deliver it to you."
"Fire Dragon species, Tyrannical Dragon?"
Nishaya explained, "Yes, Fire Dragon and Sea Dragon are just general terms."
"The Tyrannical Dragon belongs to the wingless Fire Dragon, often residing in volcanoes, and its dragon breath, even among all Fire Dragon species, ranks near the top."
"Okay, I'm now at the Royal Palace entrance. Coincidentally, I'm going to et His Majesty. If you have ti, please wait at the usual place from our last eting."
Nishaya replied promptly, "Okay, I happen to have ti."
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