Back in the Royal Palace.

After settling down, the dust-laden crowd enjoyed a thoroughly refreshing hot bath.

Losa immersed himself entirely in the warm water, held his breath, and surfaced after a long while.

He exhaled deeply, glanced at Prajna sitting on the lounge chair outside, and asked with a smile, "Want to join me? It's been a long time since you bathed as well, hasn't it?"

Prajna put down the book in his hand and said calmly, "You are currently in danger, and removing my clothes would make it inconvenient to fulfill the responsibilities of the Heavy Iron Guard. Although I'm not too concerned, I still prefer not to fight enemies in the nude without necessity."

Losa replied, "Indeed, those two Vampire Assassins are quite powerful. At least I don't have the confidence to take down either of them. Luckily, Furinjira and Jeanne's abilities are a perfect counter to them. Otherwise, even if we couldn't defeat them, they would easily escape."

"Furinjira has already subdued one of them as a lower Blood Race under her control. Would you like to meet her?"

"No rush, not for now."

Losa sighed lightly, "I know a mother who has lost her son can be quite terrifying, but I didn't expect Lady Stephanie's actions to be so swift."

This matter has no right or wrong.

Losa killed Hanfry to protect himself, which wasn't wrong.

Lady Stephanie seeks to avenge her son by wanting to kill Losa, which isn't wrong either.

Even Hanfry wasn't wrong. According to Knight Order members from Montreal, Sir Hanfry was originally an upright man, but he gradually lost himself under the Crocodile God's brainwashing and control.

But just because none of them are wrong doesn't mean Losa would be magnanimous and let himself be slaughtered.

Prajna calmly said, "Should we resolve Lady Stephanie as soon as possible? We aren't afraid of Demon-Blocking Gold. Getting rid of her wouldn't be difficult."

Losa didn't hesitate, nodding, "Of course, since she has already acted against me, it is only right for me to retaliate in kind."

Prajna asked again, "Then do you want to eliminate Reynard as well? It's always better to keep the family together."

Losa furrowed his brow.

After a moment, he shook his head and said, "Reynard, as the Lord guarding the gate of Transjordan, actually has military talent. He did well in Mongisa and the surprise assault on the Fire Worship Holy Land."

"Moreover, assassination is the lowest means in political struggles."

If Reynard were to die suddenly right after being stripped of his Count title, it would be a significant blow to both him and Baldwin IV's political credibility.

The reputation he's painstakingly built among the southern nobles of the Kingdom would likely be ruined in an instant.

After Stephanie's death—Reynard should realize that this is a retaliation for their assassination attempt. He likely wouldn't dare to publicize it, and might even have to cover it up for Losa.

As for whether Reynard would seek revenge?

In this era, for lords who acquire lands through marriage, losing a wife could actually be considered fortunate, as it means they can marry a new noblewoman who brings a dowry.

Reynard of Chatillon originally only owned the small fief of Chatillon in Gaul, but acquired the Principality of Antioch through marriage and later obtained Transjordan through marriage as well.

This is a skill he's already well-versed in.

"In any case, if we are to target Reynard through assassination, it shouldn't be during this sensitive and critical time—it would have to be at least a year or two later."

"Of course, if Reynard truly seeks trouble with me, once I gather evidence, I'll punish him openly as a lord. If he refuses to comply, I'll lead an army against him."

Losa lay back in the bath, weariness rising once more.

He narrowed his eyes and gradually fell asleep.

Though Prajna insisted on being by his side at all times, which sometimes bothered him, he had to admit that having her around was indeed reassuring.

When he opened his eyes again, the sky was already completely dark.

The water in the bath, replenished countless times, remained warm.

"Prajna?"

"I'm here."

Prajna stood up and walked in.

"Your Majesty the King's personal valet has come to summon you for an audience."

Losa joked to himself, "I woke up just in time."

"No, I stopped him."

Prajna's tone was very calm.

Losa smiled bitterly, "So that's how it is. Quickly turn around, I need to change clothes. His Majesty's summons surely means something important to discuss."

He quickly changed into a silk ceremonial robe and walked out of the hall.

The efficiency of the Herald was high, or rather, the extra reward Losa had offered was tempting enough. Along with the ceremonial robe, there was also a gold ring engraved with a new crest.

This ring served as a stamp, usable for sealing wax on letters and stamping various documents with ink.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting."

Baldwin IV's personal valet smiled, saying, "It's alright, His Majesty instructed me to wait until you've had enough rest before summoning you."

He looked towards Prajna behind Losa and said, "This lady, His Majesty also invited you, please come along."

Through the deep corridor.

Losa and Prajna entered Baldwin IV's room together.

He wasn't wearing a mask, the disabilities and deformations on his face had almost completely disappeared, on the surface he looked no different from a normal person.

"Sit down."

Baldwin IV pointed to the chair opposite: "When you leave from here, you should go to the Holy Sepulchre Cathedral to keep vigil."

"Losa, you have become a Count, one of the most powerful nobles in all of Jerusalem, what are your plans next? Will you stay in Jerusalem to lead the Royal Knight Order, or focus on managing your own territory?"

Losa hesitated for a moment and said, "I hope to focus on my territory, you should know, I've developed Jorgelisburg quite well. Moreover, during the war, I captured Prince Zahir, and through him and his Mamluk Cavalry, I received a large reward, I wish to use this money to build up my territory."

Baldwin IV showed approval: "Not bad, I also recommend you do that, when Count Raymond returns to Jerusalem, this place will inevitably become a center of power struggle again, Hebron is very close to Jerusalem, if you can quickly train a troop there, it will be a great support to me."

"Your Majesty, since I've decided to focus on developing my territory, then the position of Grand Master of the Royal Knight Order?"

Baldwin IV replied without hesitation: "It will still be held by you, you can send Knight Hans to manage the Knight Order on your behalf when you are not around."

Losa hesitated for a moment, but still told Baldwin IV about the assassination he faced.

He was silent for a while, then asked, "How do you plan to respond?"

Losa felt somewhat anxious, but spoke honestly, "To retaliate with the same means, I plan to send someone to assassinate Countess Stephanie."

Baldwin IV nodded: "You can, a mother who has lost her child, won't have any qualms about anything anymore, as long as she can avenge, she might even be willing to sell her soul to the Devil—but I hope you will stop at this, Reynard, although aware, did not participate, so..."

Losa had already planned, naturally, he agreed: "I understand, I won't make a move against Reynard."

Baldwin IV then inquired about Losa's upcoming governance policies, showing some concern about his decision to implement the "conversion" movement slowly.

Losa said earnestly: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I just plan to use 'tax reduction' and 'rewarding wealth, land' as incentives and guidance, rather than adopting strong measures."

His confidence came from the already upgraded statue of the Throne Angels, which instinctively made the people have a certain favor towards him.

Otherwise, he wouldn't dare to implement the idea of encouraging conversion in the religious atmosphere rich in the Two Holy Lands.

After all, most who travel afar to Hebron for pilgrimage are devout Heretics.

The whole of Hebron, the number of Heretics accounts for two-thirds, this is just referring to the permanent residents, among the pilgrims staying in the city, the vast majority are Heretics.

If he dared to force people to convert with Blades and Guns, these unruly people would immediately pick up Swords and fight desperately against Losa.

In reality, religious conversion is just a facade, under it lies Losa's intended tax policy reform.

Ultimately, the plan is to divide the local forces, forming a "Convert faction", to prevent local powerful forces from raising religious flags, resisting Losa's intended tax policy reform.

The tax farming system in Losa's view should be thrown into the garbage heap of history.

Relying on tax collectors to indirectly rule the people, Losa wanted to levy ten Dinars of taxes, tax collectors dared to proclaim that the Lords wanted to levy a sky-high fifty Dinars.

At that time, the bad reputation was borne by Losa, while the real benefits were all taken by the tax collectors.

Losa's true plan is to confiscate the land of these powerful Heretic landlords, distributing all their land to the Heretic tenants for cultivation.

However, land is limited, there is still a large amount of land, manors, belonging to the Crusader nobles' hereditary fiefs, these people cannot be stirred.

So, it's impossible for everyone to get land.

As for who can get land preferentially?

Of course, it will be the Converts!

"That's good."

Baldwin IV breathed a sigh of relief: "Losa, do you know why I favor you?"

Losa knew this in his heart, but still shook his head to indicate he didn't know.

After all, he couldn't praise himself, right?

Baldwin IV praised: "Besides due to your father's influence, your personal ability, ideas, and character are all deserving of my high regard."

"On that day, when you brought the potion that could transform mortals into Werewolves, I was actually very moved, later, you invited Urding to control the illness over my body..."

"Losa, as a friend, I sincerely thank you."

The principle of returning favors is not understood by everyone.

After soaking in the big vat of power, countless shallow-sighted, profit-driven mediocre nobles are everywhere.

Losa laughed: "Your Majesty, I also thank you for your promotion. Looking across Europe, to be promoted from a Knight to a Count in less than a month is a rare occurrence."

Rare, but not non-existent.

Many Knights, relying on inheritance or marriage, climb straight to become Counts, even Kings, there are precedents to be found.

Baldwin IV chuckled: "I hope our friendship won't fade due to the differences in status between sovereign and subject."

Losa solemnly: "I guarantee it won't, I swear by the name of the Heavenly Father, Your Majesty, I will always regard you as a friend and my lord."

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