"Dear guests of the Republic of Liguria, today is the birth day of the First Apostle and the birthday of my brother, Ladislaus Doria.

First of all, please allow me to express my warmest welcome and most sincere gratitude to all of you for being able to attend this banquet."

After the emperor finished his opening remarks, he raised his glass to signal to everyone.

Although the Republic of Liguria has actually had sovereign status since three hundred years ago, the emperor is still the highest point of secular authority and is widely respected.

Therefore, although the emperor only raised his glass in greeting and did not drink even a drop, several young nobles in the audience had already drunk a full glass of wine excitedly, and immediately a Spanish sailor standing along the side of the ship offered another glass of wine.

As Ladislaus walked down that strange corridor, the nobles of the Ligurian city were in a frenzy over an invitation from the emperor.

These young nobles were only unexpectedly invited to attend this unexpected dinner in the afternoon.

Most of them knew Ladislaus originally, and those who had less contact with Ladislaus now of course knew about the relationship between Ladislaus and the emperor through relevant people.

They cast all kinds of envious, jealous and hateful looks at Ladislaus, who was standing beside the emperor at this time.

Especially the phrase "also my brother".

The emperors of the previous generation were romantic and had many illegitimate children. None of these emperors' concubine brothers was ever called the emperor "my brother".

However, the emperor was still called "Ladislaus Doria", which meant that the sorcerer royal family still did not recognize the status of Ladislaus's father.

With mixed feelings, Ladislaus continued to listen to the emperor's toast: "Eighteen years old means adulthood, and it means that a boy will soon assume the responsibilities of a man. It is a critical stage in life and career. Here I wish Ladislaus the best."

Dislaus can take a critical step in his life and break into a new world. Let us drink this cup and wish Ladislaus a bright future."

The emperor's toast was quite brief, but he drank the glass of wine completely, which was a great honor. As the emperor showed the bottom of the glass to the audience, Ladislaus found that his reputation value exceeded 100

, it’s really nice to enjoy the shade under the big tree.

In addition to providing respect, reputation is also an important basis for asserting a title. If you only have distant inheritance rights to a certain title, but if the reputation is enough, you can declare your power to the world.

Of course, this does not mean that whoever has a high reputation will definitely be able to eat meat in his mouth. The key lies in force and backstage, but reputation is also a very useful stepping stone.

This is a consumptive use of reputation. Another use of reputation is to activate titles.

Any social status corresponds to a certain amount of reputation in order to achieve full value, and activation will not consume reputation.

For example, the title of "Member of Parliament" that Ladislaus wanted.

Ladislaus responded with a speech, expressing his sincerity and gratitude to the emperor.

Then he drank the glass of wine in one gulp, and many people responded with one glass, including the emperor's two glasses. At this time, some particularly excited young people in the audience had already drank three glasses in a row.

Passionate Spanish dance music started playing at this time, and the Naval Band of the Kingdom of Spain has a long-standing reputation.

The emperor was not married yet, so he invited Lady Doria to the first dance.

Because Andrea Doria could not come with her, Lady Doria was the only top noblewoman without a male companion, and of course this was also because of Ladislaus.

When Madame Florentino informed her of this honor, her face flushed with excitement and she could not help herself.

Fortunately, Florentino had given enough notice in advance, and a quiet room had been prepared for Miss Harna-Doria to help her mother apply a thick layer of powder.

Therefore, when Lady Doria danced with the emperor under the jealous eyes of the consul's wife and the president's wife, she behaved quite appropriately.

But what Miss Harna was doing at this time was not so appropriate.

She was shouting while surrounded by a group of men.

"Five hundred thalers, five hundred thalers, okay, the Beruk family is offering 500 thalers, does anyone offer 600? Does anyone offer 600?" Miss Harna, who had just finished applying makeup for her mother, said

Her makeup was completely ruined by the sweat on her head.

But no one cared at this time. An old gentleman from a minor family raised his hand and bid for his daughter.

"Okay, okay, the Corleone family is offering 600, does anyone offer 700? Does anyone offer 700? This opportunity is rare, everyone must not save money. In cash transactions, who offers more, Ladislaus

Just invite any girl to dance the first dance, does anyone offer 700? Does anyone offer 700?"

The Belluc family gritted their teeth and paid out 700, but unfortunately they were only a second-rate family after all. In the end, the speaker's brother paid out 1,500 thalers, plus Miss Harna's commission of 50 thalers, and got a good deal for their daughter.

this opportunity.

This was also the last effort of the Belluc family to save the engagement. Of course, they would not succeed. Miss Harna did not even relay the news to Ladislaus that they were willing to pay a dowry of 20,000 talers, which was completely meaningless.

"Cousin, the Pregiossi family paid one thousand three thousand, and I have already received the money." Because her father was not on the ship, Miss Harna could only speak on behalf of the Doria family. Her hard work was not in vain, and she seized the opportunity to fight hard.

Earned a lot of extra money.

"Okay, thank you for your hard work. Just give me one thousand two hundred, and you can buy some rouge and gouache for the other one hundred. It's a little bit of kindness from my brother."

Ladislaus accepted the task of "inviting Miss Pregiosi to dance" with satisfaction. He only lost 1 point of reputation and gained so much money. There was really nothing to hesitate about.

He certainly didn't have to know the extent of his smart little cousin's business skills.

As for the freckles on Miss Pregiosi's face, they were even less worth mentioning in front of Gintal.

But before Ladislaus was about to invite the lady, Miss Harna nervously leaned under Ladislaus's ear and said in the lowest voice: "You should be able to speak in front of the emperor now."

What do you mean? After my mother and the emperor finished dancing this song, someone went out to buy a second dance at 3,000 thalers. If you can climb into the emperor's bed and add another 3,000 thalers, how about you and me?"

The interface of Ladislaus now has a second quest "Suggest a Dance Partner to the Emperor", and a follow-up quest "The Emperor's Mistress" which is still in a bleak state.

Ladislaus finally refused this tempting task, not because of moral issues, and how many silver thalers per pound?

The reason that made Ladislaus give up Gintale was that he caught a glimpse of the stern look in the eyes of Director Florentino. No matter how close Miss Harna got, she could not hide it from the wise "Guardian".

Steward Florentino was angry, that was all for the auction just now. Not this time. If Ladislaus proposed such a low-level thing in front of the emperor for money, he would have to let this distant person out of nowhere.

It's embarrassing for once, and it's a pity that I just acted so humbly.

Constable Florentino is truly loyal, and now Ladislaus is in the limelight.

Fortunately, he soon heard Ladislaus's reply: "It's ridiculous, how could I say such a thing to the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, but if you want to dance with the Emperor, that's no problem, I can say

Said, this is also a good opportunity for you."

This little cousin has a pretty face and a tall figure. She might have a bright future.

Although Ladislaus was unable to help him when he was in the most difficult situation and even forgot his birthday, during the election campaign, she did give him a hundred talers.

If she was interested, Ladislaus would certainly be able to accommodate her, and the emperor wouldn't be offended by such a close relationship to introduce her.

Miss Harna waved her hand without hesitation: "Pull her down, I know my status. I am just the daughter of a city noble. Our family is not the first family in the Republic of Liguria. Even if you say so, even if my father

Even if you save ten times more dowry for me, I won't be able to become the Queen of the Holy Roman Empire. Being a mistress means engaging in intrigues, and I'm not in the mood either. I'll leave first and go back to share the money."

This self-knowledge made Controller Florentino greatly improve Miss Harna's evaluation, and even Ladislaus was also regarded more highly.

"Oh, by the way, is Miss Millier back?" Ladislaus grabbed his cousin and asked the last question.

"She's back, but dad sent her out again in the afternoon."

As Miss Harna turned around and left, the first dance ended. After the emperor and Lady Doria had this piece exclusively, everyone could start sharing the second piece.

Ladislaus walked towards the young lady who had completely covered her freckles with three kilograms of powder.
Chapter completed!