I will be crowned king

By the time Anson rode the carriage to the square outside the Osteria Palace, the place was already bustling with people. Thousands of people poured onto the streets, rushing to watch the excitement.

The Privy Council, which had long expected that today would never be peaceful, mobilized half of the Whitehall Street police officers around the square in advance. They also blocked the entrances and exits of the inner and outer city areas, and conducted inspections of the military camps outside the city and various factories, communities and streets in the city. Very strict entry and exit restrictions have been issued... We have made the greatest efforts to control unstable factors.

But even so, the number of people pouring into the square was still far beyond their imagination: a full five thousand heavily armed Whitehall Street police officers, holding shields and rifles, fought tooth and nail at least ten times, or even twenty times more than them. To maintain order in front of twice the crowd, a road that could only accommodate two carriages was separated from the street entrance to the entrance of the Grand Court.

Even this little space is in danger... The overly enthusiastic people are holding banners and holding wooden signs with slogans and pushing hard against the crowd, making the originally not spacious aisle look like it will be washed away at any time. possible.

“Release the patriotic soldiers, the War Department is the traitor to the kingdom——!!!!”

“Severely punish the criminals in the kingdom and bring them to justice——!!!”

“The War Department, which undermined diplomacy and peace, should apologize to all patriots—!!!!”

"The army that surrendered the land to foreigners must be judged——!!!"

...Looking at the lively atmosphere outside the car window, as if the crowd would bleed into a river in the next second, Anson lowered the curtains and looked at Fabian, who was sitting opposite, still holding a stack of files and looking through something: "We The Storm Legion probably isn’t famous in Clovis City, is this too exaggerated?”

"It is indeed a bit exaggerated." Fabian nodded in agreement: "It seems that the Northern Chamber of Commerce made a mistake when hiring people, which resulted in a slight deviation in the final number."

Anson couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he heard this, and then looked at the crowd of people outside who definitely had no less than five figures: "Deviation?"

"In order to build momentum for today's trial, the Northern Chamber of Commerce has prepared a budget of about 30,000 gold coins to hire manpower. However, they are a foreign chamber of commerce after all, and it is not convenient to do such a thing directly, so they directly gave the money to several labor unions and security companies. The leader, tell them to give money per head, which seems to be two silver coins per person."

Fabian flipped through the file and found a few bills: "But those unions seemed unwilling to get involved in this kind of thing. They took one-tenth of the commission and continued to subcontract. I heard that in the end it was Overwhelmed with only six coppers per person.”

"But even at this price, there seems to be an endless stream of applicants. It is said that the Northern Chamber of Commerce almost exceeded the budget. Not only did they cut off a fee, but the balance will not be settled until next month."

"Even what we saw is not all...well, maybe some of them are really here to join in the fun." Fabian speculated expressionlessly: "Because Alexei said that one-third The police on Whitehall Street blocked the street and community and couldn't get out, so he and the people from the Chamber of Commerce ran over to negotiate."

"..."

Anson sighed deeply and didn't know what to say for a moment: "Then...who are the people from the Northern Chamber of Commerce?"

"Which ones?" Fabian raised his head and glanced at him: "If you are asking those who support us and those who oppose us, the answer is...well, they are all hired by the Northern Chamber of Commerce."

"... Such an aboveboard gathering caused a riot, and no one took action to stop it?"

"That's right, so I have to thank Viscount Bogner and the commander of our fifth infantry regiment, Mr. Julien - without the reformists and the old-school wealthy families like the Renard family who are trying to smooth things over in the Privy Council, this kind of thing wouldn't be that easy. Easy to handle."

The deputy commander of the legion nodded with deep understanding: "Being able to reach this point no longer depends on the efforts of one person, but the concerted efforts of countless people, groups, and organizations, and the continuous contribution of bricks and mortar to achieve this grand scene. "

"The final victory or defeat is no longer about the success or failure of one person, but the ups and downs of hundreds, thousands, or even thousands of people; his will will no longer be just the will of one person."

Listening to Fabian's meaningful and almost explicit words, Anson didn't make any expression and just waited quietly.

The carriage stopped outside the court gate, and the little clerk ran over panting and opened the door. He was still holding his heavy briefcase in his arms, and it looked even heavier than usual.

"The judge and jury have arrived, as well as the members of the Privy Council who came to watch." The out-of-breath clerk was rummaging for something in his briefcase and said out of breath: "There are only fifteen minutes left before the official court session. You must enter the court immediately!"

"knew."

Anson nodded slightly and glanced curiously at the document handed over by the little clerk: "What is this?"

"Information for the jury and the judges." Alan Dawn swallowed his dry throat hard:

"Family background, property, political stance, daily remarks, attitude towards the War Department and the Free Confederacy... all the information you can find has been compiled for you. You can read it again before the trial!"

"Uh, thank you, but..." Anson glanced at the document, which was definitely no less than three hundred pages: "We only have fifteen minutes left."

"It doesn't matter!"

The little clerk took a step forward very considerately and opened the top page of the document: "I have prepared a fool's version at the front... Ahem! I mean, the content is brief, so it's okay if you don't have time to read this."

"And you don't need to understand everything. Most of the content actually has little to do with this trial. You just need to read it a little and confirm which jurors and judges are allies, and which ones are enemies and people who can be won over. That’s it.”

"...If that's the case, why are you preparing so much?"

"Uh... mainly just in case." The little secretary scratched his head: "We don't know exactly what will happen, but of course we still have to be as comprehensive as possible."

"There's no need for that."

Fabian opened the door and stepped out of the carriage and said solemnly, taking the document directly from Anson's hand: "As for the identity of the judge and jury, I will tell you directly if necessary."

As a royal secret agent, the deputy commander of the legion is obviously very confident in this.

"The court does not allow the defendant's entourage to enter, so I can only wait for you outside." The little clerk's expression was very regretful: "Sir Anson, I hope the Ring of Order wishes you all the best and clears you of all charges that slander you. "

"It doesn't matter. You happen to be outside. You can take care of them when others arrive." Anson nodded lightly: "Don't worry so much, I will be out soon."

After saying that, he and Fabian exchanged a look, and the two of them walked straight towards the court door.

Like all Clovis landmark buildings, the court located on the west side of Osteria Palace Square is also a standard "Imperial" building; it has a dome-shaped roof, huge columns full of religious-style reliefs, and exquisite The mosaic floor tiles...the thick and calm appearance makes any Clovis who walks into it feel from the bottom of their hearts that at least the money is well spent.

If I have to say something that is criticized, it is the decoration on the walls on both sides... In a standard or rigid imperial-style building, there is usually no display on the corridors and walls. If there is any, it will only be Wall lamps, or relief murals that are available at the beginning of architectural design; artworks that you really like are usually placed in special showrooms for people to appreciate.

This is very different from the habits of the Clovis people. In a standard Clovis home, the most valuable things must be displayed on the front, preferably where guests can see them as soon as they enter the door; so in a short In one section of the corridor, Anson and Fabian admired no less than three or four dozen oil paintings.

And I don’t know if it’s because these “super masterpieces” are very precious. Anyway, they are all surrounded by metal guardrails, which makes the originally spacious corridor look very narrow. Only the red carpet in the middle can pass normally.

"I heard that the decoration here used to be normal, but since His Majesty Carlos II came to the throne, because His Majesty himself has not been to the court all year round, there have been more and more useless furnishings." Fabian said with an expressionless face. Walking forward, he introduced Anson:

"Today's court has become the territory of some wealthy families. Years of accumulation, intricate network of contacts, and a small and pitiful social circle have given them absolute authority in the interpretation of the kingdom's laws."

"Absolute authority?" Anson glanced at the oil paintings on the corridors on both sides: "Then... where is your Majesty?"

"His Majesty is the master of the kingdom, but when it comes to professional matters, he will not interfere arbitrarily like any previous king, but respects the professionalism of his subjects." Fabian sighed softly and said It seems somewhat meaningful:

"It is precisely for this reason that as long as the court makes a final judgment, there is absolutely no possibility that the Ministry of War will overturn it, because the professionalism and loyalty of the judges are recognized by His Majesty, just like...their loyalty is recognized by His Majesty That way."

"So, the premise of everything is that the Ministry of War is still willing to abide by the current rules; as long as they are still loyal to the kingdom and His Majesty, then winning this trial can end everything."

"What you mean by this is that the Ministry of War may betray the kingdom?" Anson glanced at him.

"I'm just reminding you that it's still possible."

Fabian shook his head: "The other way around is actually the same. Maybe at this time, people in the Ministry of War are also discussing how if they can win the trial, how can you and the Storm Legion be exposed and commit crimes of disloyalty... Here we are. .”

Before he finished speaking, the guards standing on the left and right of the gate made a "pop-" sound, stood upright with their guns raised, held their right hands in front of their chests, and performed a standard military salute to the two people: "God bless Osteria!"

"Long live Clovis——!" Anson and Fabian quickly returned the salute, and then suddenly found that the other party looked familiar: "You are from the club..."

"The Royal Military Academy, a graduate of the Skirmisher Department in the 100th year of the Saint's Calendar, Lieutenant Eli Ace!"

Before he could finish asking, the guard standing on the left spoke first: "Both of us are members of the shotgun club. When you came that day, we were watching."

"Senior Anson Bach...well, if I can call you that, you are the pride of all the juniors in the Skirmisher Department. If we hadn't been assigned to the Western Front immediately after graduation, we both really hope to have the opportunity to join your Storm Legion. You conquer Hantu, Iser, and have a one-on-one, fair and just contest with the imperial army in the new world of ice and snow!"

The guard's face turned red as he spoke, and his slightly trembling right hand was pressed against his heart: "They all say that Major General Ludwig is the youngest victorious general in the kingdom, but for our skirmishers... No! It should be To the entire Shotgun Club, you are the hero who saved the kingdom!”

"Being a hero is too exaggerated. It's not that bad yet... It should be said that all Clovis's soldiers are heroes of the kingdom."

Anson, who vaguely felt something was wrong, waved his hand, pretended to smile casually and asked: "Well...who said this?"

"Who... no one, or rather everyone, we all think so!" The guard looked puzzled and excited: "But even if we all know, it is still very difficult to convince everyone."

"But fortunately, we still have many newspapers that uphold justice and are willing to spread these precious truths to the civilian public... Yes, for example, good stories like "The Battle of Eagle Point City"!"

Understood, thanks to the distinguished Miss Sophia Franz for her outstanding contribution to the media industry in Clovis City, she must be extremely proud now... Anson couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth, but still kept his smile:

"Lieutenant Eli Ace, and this soldier, please open the door for us. The trial is about to begin."

"yes!"

The excited guard pressed the door handle: "Senior Anson Bach, you will definitely be able to clear up the grievances and let the evildoers in the War Department show their true colors!"

The door opened, and a huge circular staircase hall appeared in front of him and Fabian.

The seats on the steps where people were whispering were now full of people. Facing the front were three elderly elderly people wearing black robes and wearing monocles of similar styles, sitting behind a mountain of files.

Anson's eyes were focused on the center of the circular hall, the small space directly under the crystal chandelier that didn't even have a chair.

That...defendant's seat.

"I will assist and provide some reference suggestions. This is the limit they allow, so..." Fabian sighed:

"I can only hope you like this feeling of being... the center of attention."

"All the attention...?" Anson was startled for a moment, then couldn't help laughing:

"When you say that, I suddenly like this 'welcome ceremony' carefully prepared by the Ministry of War!"