Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1777 - 1272: My Life Has Been Like Walking on Thin Ice

"Hmm? This four-wheeled horse carriage giving way, the emblem on it is quite rare... Is it from some nobility?"

"Ah! Supervisor Nuno, that shouldn't be a noble's emblem, it's from a Venetian Company... The head of this company is that Jewish great merchant at the port, who loans money while selling city-state luxury goods! As for this company's carriage… It's indeed rare to see it going out!"

The Portuguese Royal Family's four-wheeled carriage, drawn by two large Andalusian horses, steadily traveled over the gravel road in the outskirts. Another equally luxurious carriage retreated to the edge of the road to let the royal vehicle pass first.

At this moment, Nuno, the Portuguese royal supervisor and the King's confidant, was seated inside the royal carriage. He squinted, looking at the tightly closed curtains of the other carriage, but couldn't see who was inside or how many people there were. He also observed the two Slavic servants driving the carriage, noted the leather armor under their outer robes, and the hand axes at their waists, and was lost in thought.

"Hmm... A Venetian company carriage appearing in the civilian district outskirts... and Bruno Knight's estate is also in this area... Interesting!"

In this era, four-wheeled carriages were still expensive and fragile tools for travel, only usable around well-maintained large cities. Once you ventured thirty miles outside the city, there were no smooth roads to travel on, making it easy to damage the axles and chassis. The mechanical undercarriage of such carriages was also relatively complex, making repair costs high, something ordinary small nobles couldn't afford... Therefore, it was a true symbol of status, a "supercar" exclusive to the royal family, great nobility, and great merchants!

"Master Superintendent, Sir Bruno Knight's estate has been reached! See, quite a nice estate, the best in this area!"

The carriage continued traveling and soon reached the outside of an impressive estate. This estate was located in the outskirts, although it was part of the civilian district, it had good transport links, and the area was quite large.

"A few newly-built brick houses... a stable for horses... a stone mill pulled by mules... and servants' wooden huts... Tsk tsk! A newly promoted commoner knight, who hasn't been around for two years, was able to set up this property near the outskirts of the Capital City. This compares favorably with the family assets of some impoverished barons... It seems this fellow has indeed profited quite a bit from the fleets traveling to and from the Southern Continent..."

Seeing the estate's situation and recalling the Venetian company's carriage earlier, Supervisor Nuno raised his eyebrows, increasingly certain within himself, yet he didn't care and didn't show it on his face. Until Bruno hurried out of the estate, bringing his beautiful wife and mixed-race son, respectfully saluting the royal envoy...

"Respected Supervisor Nuno! Royal Knight Bruno Cao, bows in greeting to you, may the Almighty bless your piety!"

"May the Almighty bless you, Sir Bruno Cao."

Only then did Supervisor Nuno slightly smile, responding reservedly. He took another look at Bruno's wife, slightly surprised in his mind. It was not because of any ulterior thoughts, but rather astonished by the woman's identity.

"Eh? It's a Moorish woman? Sir Bruno Knight married a Moor woman as his wife? Is he not planning to integrate into the kingdom's nobility circle? Hmm... Interesting!"

In Supervisor Nuno's view, for a commoner knight like Bruno of low birth, marital alliances with an old impoverished nobility, marrying the daughter of a baron or knight, was the best way to change his social class and integrate into the kingdom's noble circle! Marrying a foreign Moor wife like this, aside from being beautiful, couldn't bring any political benefit and might even be viewed as an outsider by traditional nobility, unwilling to associate.

The consequence of not being accepted by the noble circle was that this newly-promoted royal knight could very likely fail to establish a lasting noble family, risking descending in status in the next generation, thus falling into decline...

In fact, if not for the maritime exploration of the Southern Continent, and if not for Sir Diogo Cao pulling him at the final moment, promoting him to captain... Young men like this, without background or lineage, wouldn't have had any chance to rise, becoming a noble of the Kingdom of Portugal!

"However, this is not a bad thing... The less background, the more they have to fight for their lives... A Moor wife also means the possibility of collusion with the Castilians is small... Of course, before truly giving him this chance to fight hard, one must examine his character, whether he knows gratitude. Otherwise, even if he fights hard to survive, there would be no reward, and he wouldn't be worth promoting..."

Supervisor Nuno's mind turned, weighing all the pros and cons in a moment. He still showed nothing on the surface, just nodded faintly, saying to Bruno, who had knelt on one knee in salute.

"Sir Bruno Knight, His Majesty has summoned you. Come with me, sit in the royal carriage."

"Ah!..."

Upon hearing this, Bruno trembled all over, clearly somewhat surprised. Uneasy, he raised his head, glancing at Supervisor Nuno, who showed no expression, and then at the royal carriage parked outside the estate, cautiously asking.

"Respected Supervisor Nuno... May I know why His Majesty suddenly summoned me?..."

"His Majesty is waiting. Get on the carriage, and I'll explain."

"Yes! Yes! It's just that the royal carriage is noble, perhaps I should ride behind on horseback?..."