"Bruno, since you've signed this contract, your family is now tied to mine. I'll consider you as a nephew, treating you as part of the family..."

"Yes! Nuno Chief, I've always regarded you as my dear father! I come from a noble illegitimate background, and my father passed away early... If you're willing, I'd gladly kneel and call you Godfather!..."

"Haha, truly the Lord's blessing! To have gained a godson at my age..."

"Ah! Godfather, Nuno Godfather!..."

"Good! Good! My godson..."

As the contract for five thousand Ducats was signed, the relationship between Bruno and Nuno Chief grew significantly closer. And the terms "Godfather" and "godson" added a layer of secular moral lubrication on top of their financial and power interests.

Thus, when Nuno Chief looked at Bruno again, his smile appeared much more genuine and warm. And Bruno, brimming with smiles, served him more diligently than he would his own father. After all, his knight father who abandoned him couldn't make him the Commander of the exploration fleet, nor could he make him a respected Baron!

"Bruno, to be honest, with your commoner background, no matter how extensive your maritime experience, it's nearly impossible to break through that barrier to become a Baron..."

"And if you had returned two months later, missing the second Atlantic exploration voyage... then even I would be powerless to push you towards the door of a Hereditary Baron's title..."

Nuno Chief spoke slowly, revealing the inside story of this Baron enfeoffment. Meanwhile, Bruno stood respectfully at the side, feeling both excited and anxious.

After twenty years of grinding at the bottom, he understood better than anyone how difficult it was to leap from non-hereditary knight to hereditary Baron! Even harder than progressing from commoner to knight!

Under the traditional European feudal order, knights—the lowest level of military nobles—often numbered in the thousands, tens of thousands. During times of frequent warfare, their numbers would greatly increase. Throughout the thousand-year Middle Ages, the position of a knight was the ceiling for millions of commoners in Europe!

Even Isaac Newton, half a century later, renowned for his scientific achievements, could only earn a title of Sir, with no hope of entering the ranks of Hereditary Nobility!

Once one ascends from knight or Sir to Baron, the number of nobles at this level drastically reduces to a tenth of the knights. Most knights, throughout their lives, never break through to the Baron level.

Even the Royal Knight and Great Navigator Diogo Cao, with his distinguished noble reputation and pure noble lineage, impeccable noble virtues, should naturally have been promoted to Baron... but his premature and sudden demise prevented him from taking that final step...

"Bruno, you understand. In the knight's Code of Law, noble birth and lineage constitute the 'honor' of the nobility... Conversely, insufficiently noble birth and lineage constitute the 'original sin' of commoners... This original sin is unrelated to talent, nor can it be washed away by later achievements, like the original sin born after Eden Garden!..."

"All nobles can just as easily see the original sin of commoners. To maintain their rule, they would never easily embrace newly elevated knights. Thus, you had already reached the endpoint of your life..."

"Perhaps, when your son grows to adolescence, if he excels in martial arts and virtues, he might serve as a chamberlain, accompanying the offspring of a prominent family, earning their favor, accumulating legacy for your family... And your grandson might, in a similar manner, draw closer to the Great Nobility, accumulating more legacy..."

"After two generations, the Bruno knight family, having amassed sufficient noble legacy and extended more noble support through marriage... only then might you have the opportunity to methodically leap upward and ascend to Baron family status..."

Nuno Chief spoke calmly, narrating the traditional noble bloodline order in the Catholic World, or "the truth of noble power." Bruno tightened his lips, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness, devoid of any urge to challenge this mountainous, heavy millennia-old tradition.

At the close of the 15th century, the rigid European feudal system, though slightly undermined by the Age of Exploration and Renaissance, remains remarkably solid, and like the faith in the Lord, it dominates the spiritual world of nobles and commoners alike!

Traveling back to this era in Europe, if failing to obtain a noble identity or as some bigwig's illegitimate child at birth, one's life already precludes a full stop, defining the ceiling and the grave...

This concept of bloodline limitations, where one's life ceiling is determined by their lineage, has always deeply influenced the mindset of people in the European world, and is reflected in the overseas colonies established by Europe. If you are of mixed race or lineage, or even a descendant of conquered natives, it is almost impossible to gain trust or ascend to power.

As for historical figures like the eunuch Yishiha from the Jurchen clan who established the Nurgan Metropolitan Authority of the Ming Dynasty, the Hui eunuch Zheng He who voyaged seven times to the Western Ocean, or Jin Tao, an Advanced Scholar born in Korea's vassal... they are absolutely impossible to appear in the stern European world, don't even think about it!

"However, Bruno, you are very fortunate! The naval feats of discovering the New Continent undoubtedly offer enormous opportunities for advancement, even beyond nobility status!... And you are even luckier to have met me! I can fight for this great reward before Your Majesty on your behalf!..."

Nuno Chief spoke decisively, without any modesty or euphemism. Their relationship was close enough, and European nobles never considered humility a virtue. He spoke directly, making Bruno bow his head respectfully and repeatedly perform salutes.

"Yes! Yes! Thank you for your help! Thank you for your guidance! My respected Godfather Nuno!..."

"Haha! Bruno, my godson. After discussing with His Majesty and repeatedly debating the information you brought back... His Majesty has decided that you will lead the second batch of Atlantic exploration fleets, sailing from Sierra Leone to the Southwest New Continent, to establish a new maritime outpost for the Kingdom of Portugal!

"The scale of this fleet is no longer a vanguard exploration team, but a true colonial fleet! This fleet will include two Clark Galleons, two Caravel Reediships, and a supply ship. The fleet will be fully loaded, with a capacity reaching two hundred people! Among them, eighty are immigrants to establish the first outpost in the New Continent, and you will determine the location for the first post!..."

"Ah! Two Clark Galleons? A colonial fleet of two hundred people?!..."

"That's right! Five ships, loaded with two hundred people! After all, according to the information you brought back, the distance from Sierra Leone to the Southwest New Continent is only about three to four thousand kilometers, requiring just a month's voyage, or faster with favorable winds…"

Nuno Chief smiled and patted Bruno's shoulder, speaking meaningfully.

"Bruno, I first used your 'heroic loyalty, credited achievements, and sailing luck' to secure the position of Fleet Commander for the second exploration fleet for you. Then came a problem. The second batch of exploration fleet, with its five ships, would have at least five Knight Captains, including baron's offspring… Thus, your status and credentials can't keep these captains in check to lead this crucial fleet..."

"You must know that we Portuguese naval forces have a strict order. It's never like the Castilians who suddenly elevate a bragging weaver's son to some Fleet Commander position! In truth, such promotion is merely an empty title. Columbus, without any foundation in the navy, couldn't possibly command those veteran noble captains, and at most could only command some equally humble commoner trash..."

"His Majesty actually prefers assigning you as Deputy Commander and appointing a maritime baron or a senior Knight Captain as Fleet Commander... Yet at this critical moment, a key change occurred, enabling me to make that crucial remark and finally tilt His Majesty's scale in your favor!..."

"Ah, Godfather! Thank you! You are like a beloved father to me!... But, what was that key change?..."

"Haha! That change was…"

At this point, Nuno Chief paused, swallowing back his words. Even in such a private setting, even in this moment of pride, he remained extremely cautious and did not reveal the news of King Joao suddenly falling ill and coughing blood again.

Because, in that setting, with only King Joao and him present, if word leaked, undoubtedly the King would hold him responsible, and he couldn't shirk it either…

Thinking of this, Nuno Chief smiled slightly, his expression unchanged, and crafted another explanation. After all, he only needed Bruno to acknowledge his influence and learn to be grateful.

"Hmm… A messenger appeared at the final moment, bringing important changes from the European continent… The main force of the Kingdom's navy will be stationed in Portugal homeland, continuously monitoring the progress of this change…"

"Thus, I said to His Majesty, 'It would be best to keep those seasoned captain officers at home. And let Bruno lead the second Atlantic exploration; as long as he is awarded a baron's title for overachievement... he will undoubtedly be forever grateful to the King and strive to complete the significant task of exploring new routes and pioneering the New Continent! And compared to exploring new routes and colonizing the New Continent, a noble baron's title is nothing…'"

"After hearing my suggestion, His Majesty contemplated for a long time before finally nodding in agreement, granting you this exceptional reward!... As for the unexpected news, it was... King Charles VIII of France has led forty thousand troops, ten days ago, advancing into the Alps! And crossing the Alps, the French army can invade the prosperous Northern Italy and attack the foremost Lombardy commercial city-states!..."