I will be crowned king

Carlos II walked leisurely and walked step by step to the center of the hall, looking at the people who were frozen in place and looking at the Supreme Court of Clovis, which he had not been to for a long time.

There was silence in the hall, and everyone—even the frustrated Lieutenant Colonel Crowne had straightened up and looked at this strange yet somewhat familiar figure.

Only Anson quickly came back to his senses and looked intently at this middle-aged man who did not look like he was old at all; because he could vaguely feel that the other person was also looking at him without blinking.

After breathing lightly, Anson stood up quickly, put his left hand behind his back, raised his chin slightly, and hit his chest hard with his right hand that was clenching a fist:

"Long live my king... Carlos Osteria...!"

The dull thumping of the chest mixed with the shouts echoed under the vault of the courtroom.

The next second, some of the people who were frozen in silence pressed their chests with their right hands, some took off their hats, some lifted up their skirts, and some beat their chests and saluted like him, and they all woke up like they were dreaming:

"Long live my King Carlos Osteria...!!!!"

"God bless Clovis, Osteria Wings-!!!!"

The huge sound wave got higher and higher, shaking the surrounding walls and roofs. The cylindrical hall seemed to have become a blooming flower, and the stars surrounded the tall figure in the center like a moon.

The lucky man, the neglected king, the eternal protagonist of street gossip...all were wiped out at this moment, replaced by the master of the Clovis people, the commander of hundreds of thousands of troops, and the only king who could compete with the emperor of the empire without falling behind. The conqueror who occupies the center of the world of order and expands in all directions...

Carlos Osteria.

Of course, since Anson is actually the one standing in the center of the hall, the picture looks like everyone is bowing to him...

But the man in the center of thousands of eyes remained unchanged, smiling very casually and waving his hands around:

"Okay, okay... I just wanted to go to Clovis Cathedral. I passed by here and saw how busy it was outside, so I suddenly wanted to come in and have a look. You don't need to be so formal, just relax a little... ah, just pretend that I'm not here. .”

With His Majesty's permission, the hall that had been so solemn just now finally had some breathable air, but everyone still did not dare to sit down immediately and stood there staring at their king, with expressions that were either uneasy, respectful, or forceful. Be calm - all contempt, calmness, disdain, all are buried in the heart.

As if he had long been accustomed to this kind of reaction from the people around him, Carlos II turned around very casually. A woman wearing a sapphire blue imperial dress appeared in Anson's field of vision. She was accompanied by two female officials and took the stranger with her. The breath of staying away came slowly.

Anne Herred...this very unfamiliar name suddenly came to Anson's mind, but apart from knowing that the other party came from the Herrid family and was the queen of Carlos II, he could no longer recall any information about the other party. .

Or in the minds of the little scribe, and even all the Clovis people, knowing this is enough...

Carlos II, who looked calm, gently took the right hand extended by the queen. Accompanied by the guards, attendants and female officers, he walked side by side behind the three judges, which was also the highest seat in the entire hall.

At the moment when he passed by him, Anson caught a glimpse of the queen from the corner of his eye, who seemed to be deliberately slowing down and one step behind Carlos II. At the same time, he also noticed that the queen seemed to be looking at him from the corner of his eye, intentionally or unintentionally. he.

Why is this? Does the other party also know his existence... Doubts arise in Anson's heart.

As the king and queen took their seats, everyone in the hall returned to their seats.

Looking condescendingly at the defendant and plaintiff in the center of the hall, Carlos II's eyes flashed with a well-hidden indifference, and then he chuckled at the three judges and said:

"So...how far has this trial progressed?"

"Your Majesty, this court is already halfway through and is coming to an end." The old judge who turned around bowed his head respectfully and put his right hand on his chest:

"We have carefully examined the various charges and evidence raised by the plaintiff and found that most of them are not very strong and cannot be used as a basis to judge Brigadier General Anson Bach as treason. We can only judge that he failed to obey the orders of the Army Department due to various objective reasons. Various orders have resulted in various conflicts and contradictions between the two parties.”

As soon as these words came out, Anson and Lieutenant Colonel Crown present raised their eyebrows in tacit understanding.

"All kinds of conflicts and contradictions...huh?"

Sophia looked at the judge on the stage in surprise, and couldn't help but say with disdain: "What do you call this? Can that situation just be explained as a contradiction? Doesn't it mean that the Ministry of War insists on giving Anson..."

"shut up!"

Ludwig, who was trying his best to lower his voice, shouted softly. With an ugly expression on his face, he directly grabbed the girl's arm: "At this time, there is no room for you and me to refute... Just watch silently."

"Can……"

"There is no but! The best choice we can make now is not to become the target of public criticism... Don't forget, you are the governor of the colony, and I led the Jihad Army to fight against Anson Bach head-on. If you stand up at this time, you will be dissatisfied. Isn’t the Lantz family enough for others to care about now?”

Ludwig's eyes were extremely serious, which made Sophia stunned for several seconds before she turned her head and snorted with pretense of disdain: "I just want to complain a few words, who said I want to ruin the atmosphere at this time... …”

With a heavy sigh, the young heir of the Franz family turned his attention to Carlos II on the stage again; the timing of his appearance was definitely not a coincidence, it was as if he had guessed what was going to happen and came here specially to prepare for this event. The trial sets the final tone.

Could it be that all this is his plan, to suppress the War Department while also balancing the reformists who are likely to become stronger because of this, or...

"...The plaintiff has just finished his speech. According to Clovis tradition, it is the defendant's turn now." The old judge said solemnly: "After the speech, the jury will vote based on the previous interrogation process and the speeches of both parties."

"Oh?" Carlos II's eyes lit up, as if his curiosity was aroused:

"So will the final trial result be determined based on the jury's vote?"

"This... is indeed true if there is no new evidence and no additional charges."

"Then..." Carlos II pointed to himself: "According to tradition and the laws of the kingdom, do I have the right to vote?"

"this……"

The old judge turned around, looked at each other with his two other colleagues, and said with some hesitation: "You are His Majesty the King of Clovis, so of course you are."

"Really? It won't cause you any trouble, right?"

"……Won't."

"Really? What if my vote goes against the jury?"

"Then...you are His Majesty the King. Even if that happens, this court will of course refer to the joint opinions of you and the jury to the greatest extent and make a reasonable and responsible verdict."

"Yeah, that would be great."

Like an impatient audience, Carlos II suddenly lowered his head and nodded towards Anson in the dock: "Then... Anson Bach, my general, you can start."

"yes."

Sensing something strange in the atmosphere, Anson nodded slightly, glanced around and stopped in the direction of Carlos II:

"Just now, Lieutenant Colonel Crown used his wonderful speech to repeatedly discuss and warn everyone about how I used 'loyalty' as a disguise to achieve ulterior purposes one after another, following my ambitions in just a short time. In more than two years, I have become a brigadier general from a mere captain, which is enough to prove how vicious I am and how harmful I am to the kingdom - it seems that if I are not killed immediately, the collapse of the Kingdom of Clovis is right in front of me. "

"I just want to say that Lieutenant Colonel Crown is worthy of being a loyal minister of the kingdom... No matter what, at least he is doing his best in dealing with the mission given by the Ministry of War." Anson glanced at the lonely man beside him Figure:

"But it is obvious that he and I have huge differences in our ideas on 'what is loyalty'!"

"Perhaps in the eyes of Lieutenant Colonel Crown, a loyal officer should strictly abide by the orders of the Army Department, absolutely obey every request, and must not have any objections, let alone do things that have not been approved or even explained. .”

"And what I want to say is that if I really obeyed so unswervingly, then it would be absolutely impossible for me to stand here as a living person and plead my innocence to everyone like I am now."

"No! I should have frozen to death a long time ago on the vast snow-capped mountains of the Ice Peak in the morning light. I should have been sitting in Sleepy City outside Eagle Point City. I should have just sat back and watched the Imperial Expeditionary Force conquer the entire land, and then led 3,000 soldiers and 10,000 Imperial soldiers. In front of the large army and at least three times more Hantu vassal troops, they were crushed to ashes!"

"I should just have to watch the legions of the Ysel elves show off their power, and watch the lackeys of the Old Gods of the Thirteen Council successfully seize power and become a stubborn enemy that the entire world of order needs to fight against!" Anson suddenly raised his voice:

"In short... I couldn't even participate in all the above battles, because on the day I returned to Clovis City after the Battle of Thunder Castle, the War Department stopped my allowance. Without the help of my superiors, I couldn't even get it at that time. Paying out a silver coin and having no choice but to work in a textile factory might be my final destination."

"But the fact is that I and the Storm Group, which only had 2,000 people at the time, successfully crossed the snow-capped mountains while being lost, captured Eagle Point City in just one night, and fought side by side with the Hantu people to defeat the Imperial Expeditionary Force. It only takes ten days to quickly turn back and conquer the Royal Court of Yser."

"The reason why I say this is not to prove that I have achieved these successes because I did not obey the orders of the War Department and the Kingdom...On the contrary, whether crossing the snowy mountains or fighting with the Imperial Expeditionary Force, it was the War Department that clearly gave the requirements and orders. What I had to do; what I did was just not follow the steps they expected."

"So what encourages me, guides me to do this, to complete the missions assigned to me by the Army Department again and again, but yet makes my colleagues hate me so much that they even want to push me into desperation?"

Anson asked loudly, and then quickly gave the answer: "It's very simple, it's loyalty!"

"In his...or their view, a good officer should unswervingly obey orders, no matter what the orders are, I agree with this; but while a loyal soldier is executing orders, he should also One thing is clearer, that is what he is fighting for!”

"For military rank, for supplies, for allowances... these are of course also important, but there is no doubt that they are not the most important reason, but they know that this war is closely related to them and to the objects they are loyal to; they are not this The spectators of this war are not insignificant existences, they... are the heroes who determine the victory or defeat of this war!"

"I tell my soldiers this, tell them that I will meet all your needs. I know that you are all His Majesty's loyal soldiers, not just soldier dolls in a toy box. If you want to climb a snow-capped mountain, you need to adapt in advance. Adequate supplies are needed...I told them that the Army Department's order was correct, and jumping off the Dawn Ice Peak is our only chance of victory!"

"Because loyalty does not mean giving up thinking completely, it does not mean that an officer and soldier will completely hand over the judgment of the situation and control of the battle situation to the Army Department... No! A loyal soldier should have a deep understanding of why he As for loyalty, it should be understood that he should and must be loyal from the bottom of his heart to his Majesty and the country to which he belongs."

"So...I succeeded." Anson began the ending slowly and in the calmest tone: "Just as Lieutenant Colonel Crown described vividly, I won the recognition of His Majesty and the Kingdom with my loyal actions again and again, and completed It was a miracle that he became a brigadier general in just two years."

"I don't expect everyone to have the same views as me. If you really think that I have ulterior motives for doing this, that's fine; but I always firmly believe that loyal soldiers will get their due rewards, and our Majesty... will also... He will not be deceived by hypocrisy and allow a despicable person to obtain a position that does not belong to him."

After the words fell, Anson once again beat his chest and saluted to Carlos II and Queen Anne on the stage, standing upright.

The hall was quiet again.

Faced with Anson's "What is loyalty" speech, everyone who was obviously beyond the scope of their understanding didn't know how to express their stance for a while. They didn't agree with it, and there seemed to be something wrong with it if they opposed it.

at this time……

"Pah, pah, pah, pah..."

Crisp applause broke the sudden silence, and everyone's eyes instantly turned to the stage. Carlos II was clapping his hands vigorously and slowly getting up under the Queen's surprised gaze.

He looked around at everyone present, and then cast his eyes meaningfully on Anson:

"Anson Bach, my loyal general..."

"……Welcome home."