I will be crowned king

When the sun set, the busy palace finally ushered in the last lively event of her whole day - the audience ceremony.

As for the fact that the coalition forces had arrived in the morning, why did they have to wait until the evening before officially allowing the audience, or that such a grand ceremony had to be held in the evening... The heraldry officer of the palace and the guards responsible for the reception gave 10,000 reasons based on tradition. The etiquette, arrangements, etc. sound reasonable, but if you think about it carefully, you will realize that they are fooling people.

In fact, everyone knows the real reason: the emperor does not want the ceremony to be too hasty and not solemn enough to lose face; at the same time, he does not want it to drag on for too long to avoid any uncontrollable accidents.

150,000 coalition troops, plus 100,000 private soldiers of the Grand Dukes, were stationed outside Xiaolong City. It was really difficult for him, the emperor who had just nearly lost all his family wealth, to sleep peacefully.

Based on this slightly contradictory feeling, the audience ceremony was officially held at 18:30 in the evening.

According to the herald officials, Xiaolong City in the evening is the most beautiful time of the day: the golden sun slowly sinks into the horizon, and thousands of miles of rays of light from east to west, soaking the earth in blood red.

As the highest-lying Xiaolong City in the surrounding area, or the Royal Palace of Xiaolong City, it will be extremely dazzling under the afterglow of the sun - the shiny palace walls and roofs reflect thousands of lights, like stars rising above the earth.

But I don’t know if it was due to bad luck. When the heraldry officer came to inform everyone, the sky in Xiaolong City suddenly became overcast; the thick dark clouds completely blocked the last light on the horizon, and the magnificent scenery suddenly It became a bit quiet and desolate.

Many officers and nobles of the coalition felt with malice that this was a sign that the Ring of Order had abandoned the Herred royal family.

"I don't know what the process of Clovis's palace banquet is, but please allow me to remind you that the significance of this ceremony is extraordinary."

Royal knight Arthur Herred, with a group of guards and attendants, waited for the guests of the coalition in front of the palace steps with a straight face: "The Banquet Hall is the most gorgeous and one of the oldest palaces in the palace, and The Hered royal family has a history of thousands of years, the most ancient and sacred..."

"On this point, please don't worry at all."

Before the other party could finish speaking, Anson smiled and raised his hand to interrupt: "Since decades ago, Clovis's court etiquette has completely copied the empire's model, and there is no communication barrier between the two parties."

"Not to mention the Crown Prince Hantu, and Count Schlieffen, a wealthy family in the east of Clovis...With these two present, I personally guarantee that there will never be any disrespectful behavior caused by our personnel."

"Then please do it all." Arthur Herred, who still had a straight face, nodded slightly and glanced behind him. The guards immediately moved away, and the heraldry officer who came forward guided everyone to the palace. Go to the door.

After everyone else had walked away, Arthur Herred, who had always been upright, suddenly breathed a long sigh of relief, and his expression suddenly became much more relaxed.

"I'm sorry and please forgive me for the poor reception, but I'm really not used to such a serious atmosphere." The young knight looked at Anson, with a little helplessness in his eyes: "But His Majesty said that this kind of occasion would not be suitable for anyone else." suitable……"

"Your Majesty's painstaking efforts are completely understandable. After all, the situation is too special."

Anson nodded and chuckled: "After all, we are friends. Many things can be discussed and we won't get too serious."

"Oh, you really think so?" Arthur scratched the back of his head: "I think we haven't met much. The last time we 'communicated' was in the colony, when you and Louis fought against the Holy War Legion."

"Of course, you and Sir Louis Bernard are friends, and he is also my friend. Of course, friends of friends are also friends." Anson explained:

"As for communication... I subjectively think that fighting can be regarded as a kind of communication. It is my personal honor to fight against an excellent knight like you."

"...Sure enough, you are different from that bastard Louis Bernard!"

Arthur Herred's eyes lit up: "Looking back now, it's fortunate that you were in the colony at the time. If it had been that bastard, I'm afraid that the Holy War might not have ended until the sky was shattered and the colony suffered heavy casualties - that dead-headed man Ah, I never understand what flexibility means, unlike us!"

In response to the young knight's complaints, Anson looked straight at him and smiled, but said nothing.

Just kidding, if Louis was really the only one in the New World, there wouldn't be any Holy War... Without him disrupting the Empire's counter-insurgency war, the Free Confederacy would never be independent. The Empire might not be able to directly integrate the New World and completely It became an overseas enclave of the royal family.

By then, with the support of the entire new world behind them, the Herred royal family will obviously have more confidence when facing the imperial princes; being able to suppress the entire empire, maybe the emperor can really resist the criticism and completely defeat Clovis. The thorn in the eye became the literal "Guardian of the Ordered World."

Of course, there are no "ifs" in this world.

"Ah, the banquet...er, I mean the audience ceremony will start soon, and the guests should have arrived."

As if he suddenly remembered his own job, Arthur Heritage slapped his forehead and said quickly: "Please follow me. You are the most important guest tonight. The entrance ceremony must be grand enough."

Before he finished speaking, he turned around first; Anson, who was smiling and silent, followed closely behind him and walked along the steps towards the palace gate.

"Speaking of which, when we heard that you became the ruler of Clovis, Brother-in-law Bernard and I were surprised for a while." Arthur did not forget to chat as he walked:

"Brother-in-law, although he doesn't say it, he actually admires you very much. I thought you were really loyal to the Clovis royal family, so you gave up the opportunity to become the king of the new world and decided to come back. However, something went wrong. He drove away the king and became the ruler himself.”

"Hahaha... You don't even know what my brother-in-law's expression was when I heard about this. He was silent for a long time before he could even say a word - he is truly an Anson Bach!"

"Thank you, Lord Bernard." Anson said without changing his expression: "To be honest, I personally have no ambitions, and I have no choice but to do many things; if possible, becoming an Army Major General is already my biggest pursuit in life. ”

"Major General? Come on, there's no one else around here, so why are you hiding it?"

Arthur Herred obviously didn't believe it: "With opportunities in front of you, who can have no ambition? Even I occasionally daydream, thinking about how great it would be if I became the emperor."

"real?"

"Of course it's true. Why are you lying to me? But I am a branch of the Herred family. Even if it is the turn of other princes, it is impossible for me to take my turn, so I can only dream!"

With an indifferent expression on his face, the carefree young knight came to the main entrance of the palace; the fully armed guards on both sides lined up in sequence, stepped back half a step, and saluted the two men in sequence.

Perhaps because the ceremony had not officially begun, the banquet hall at this time was extremely lively: dozens of crystal chandeliers hung from the disc-shaped mural vault, dyeing the magnificent palace with dazzling holy light; two Between the carved pillars on the side were long tables decorated with flowers. The guests present sat around these long tables, laughing and chatting.

Several grand dukes and their vassals, as well as the court nobles of Xiaolong City, have already entered the venue. Even strangers who have never been here before, it is not difficult to see the layout of the various forces from their well-defined "circles" .

Perhaps because they were in the palace, the knights from several major principalities seemed extremely reserved, either clustering in small groups under the pillars, or sitting at long tables, looking at each other with wine glasses in hand.

In comparison, the palace nobles were obviously more adaptable to the surrounding environment. Not only were they closer to the throne opposite the door of the banquet hall, their expressions were also very relaxed when communicating, and they leisurely enjoyed everything in the banquet: music, food, and guards. and impeccable service from the palace maids.

As for the officers of the coalition forces and the knights of Hantu... under Anson's "hint", they were like relatives from the host family who came from afar, wandering around the hall, actively joining in the topics of various circles-no matter What the other person is talking about, or they accept it very happily.

"...It seems that what you said is true. Although the method is very strange, the members of the coalition are indeed very adaptable to this kind of situation."

Arthur Herred, who was stunned for half a minute, was stunned. It took a lot of effort to finally calm down his expression and said, "I am worrying too much."

"It's okay, it's normal for the first time." Anson patted his shoulder to express comfort:

“You’ll get used to it the more times you do it.”

Just kidding, when it comes to the depth and sophistication of the study of imperial etiquette, the Clovis people have to humble themselves to be second best. Even in the entire world of order, they cannot find the first place; there is no place in the whole continent that can be second best to the empire. Customs are highly respected to the highest degree.

"No, I can't stand this kind of environment anymore." Arthur Herred refused without hesitation:

"If I want to endure these guys who are hypocritical to the core, unless the entire empire elects me as emperor - but that is impossible."

"Oh, are you sure?"

"I can't be more certain. I'd rather fight and lose another battle than accompany these people there pretending to smile and thinking about how to get benefits from others." The more the young knight spoke, the more disgusting his expression became:

"Forget it, get ready, I will roll call for you to enter - then my mission will be completed."

After the words fell, without waiting for Anson to reply, Arthur Herred stepped forward and shouted his name in a loud and iconic voice:

"Commander-in-Chief of the Western Front, Clovis is in power, His Excellency Anson Bach has arrived!"

The loud sound spread from the main entrance to the deepest part of the palace, echoing for a long time among the exquisite columns and vaults.

In an instant, the lively banquet hall seemed to be much quieter, and no less than two figures of people cast their gazes in the direction of the main entrance - some were unabashed, and some were hiding, each with their own thoughts.

"Well, no one immediately rushed up and wanted to fight me. It seems that I don't have to worry about my life safety for the time being." Feeling the gaze cast on himself, Anson smiled mockingly:

"I didn't expect that Xiaolong City would welcome country people like us?"

"How is that possible? I have already said hello in advance."

The young knight complained as if he was suppressing a laugh: "The Empire is not Clovis, and the sanctity of the duel cannot be easily stopped even by His Majesty the Emperor. Therefore, in order to avoid some uncontrollable troubles, many dignitaries of Xiaolong City None of them were here today.”

"Oh, can they accept not being invited to such an important occasion?"

"It is precisely because the occasion is so important, and it is related to whether Clovis and the Empire can restore the minimum peace, that they will agree; after all, if they really see you and don't take the initiative to initiate a duel, it will damage the reputation of their family. ." Arthur Heritage expressed full understanding of this:

"To be honest, if His Majesty hadn't arranged such a job, I would have wanted to fight with you."

"That's my honor. Although, it's better not to duel."

Anson waved his hands calmly: "I'm not afraid of your jokes. I'm a pacifist. Conflicts that can be resolved with words usually don't resort to force."

"Pacifist? If you were a pacifist, there would be no war maniacs in the world!"

Obviously, the young knight sneered at his "self-effacing": "I have heard of your famous names, Thunder Castle, Eagle Point City, Yser Wangting, White Whale Port... Even the knight errant who makes trouble everywhere... If you are not as busy as you, why do you cause trouble wherever you go?"

"I can't help it. Reality is so teasing." Anson spread his hands and said it was purely accidental:

"It should be said that although I subjectively do not want to provoke disputes, it seems that disputes always find me, and the vast majority of people are not willing to accept the most peaceful solution - there is no way, I have to resist, right? "

"Well... don't say this at the banquet, otherwise I'm worried that there will be a dozen fools trying to duel you before the ceremony starts."

The corner of Arthur Heritage's mouth twitched: "I hope I really think too much, but I must not let it come true!"

"I have the same experience as you in this regard. Sometimes it feels like the worst-case scenario is nothing more than this, but in the end we still end up in the worst-case scenario... It seems that we really have something in common." Anson chuckle twice:

"So as a friend, can I ask one more little question?"

"Ask, just don't make it too complicated. I'm not as smart as Louis."

"It's not complicated, just a simple little question." Anson glanced behind him casually:

"You said before, 'As long as you can be the emperor, you are willing to tolerate hypocritical nobles,' how much are you serious about it?"

"…………Um?!"

Arthur, who was stunned for a long time before he could react, looked at Anson's back in surprise as he walked into the palace.