I will be crowned king

Early morning, Xiaolong City Palace.

Wearing a bright blue gown with a gold fleur-de-lis pattern and a silver ribbon hanging on his chest, Bernard Molwes paced back and forth in the corridor outside the small audience hall with his hands behind his back, waiting for the summons.

He himself has no interest in spreading. It is better to say that he is more accustomed to standing still or sitting somewhere, which makes it easier to calm down; but as soon as he stops or turns his back, he can feel the gaze of at least two digits. Staring at myself.

In order to prepare for today's audience, Juliana had almost gone through all the attendants and guards in the palace; it seemed that as long as there was a slight disturbance, the emperor would immediately become furious with her, and she would be convicted and thrown into prison.

This huge expense, together with the various entertainments that he had run for himself before, made the small family overwhelmed; if it were not for the face of entertaining guests, he would have almost started selling off the silverware and portraits in the manor... …

Recalling that he led his servants to rummage through the cabinets all night, hanging all the medals that could be found at home on his ribbon, and then ironing the dress himself to help his wife, who was still worried and dressed neatly, Bernard couldn't help but smile bitterly.

He turned around and was about to continue walking in the opposite direction when a burly figure wearing a knight's attire and a breastplate hidden under a white cloak appeared in his field of vision. His exquisite long leather boots were knocked out on the mirrored floor tiles. The rhythm was like a war drum, walking towards him quickly.

Bernard took a deep breath and greeted him with a somewhat polite smile. At the same time, he did not forget to take the initiative to extend his right hand: "Honorable Grand Duke Adlan, it has been several months since we said goodbye. I didn't expect to see you again so soon. …”

"why did not you tell me?!"

Ignoring the palm that had been stretched out in front of him, Archduke Edland frowned and said, "Why did you deliberately conceal the death of Ed Levent when we first met?!"

"I, I didn't..."

"You made a near-fatal mistake, Bernard Morwes!" Archduke Adran took over the right to speak again: "If it is not handled properly, this matter may drag us all into hell. Do you understand or not?!”

"I……"

"Of course you understand. This is why you choose to hide it, but it's not as easy as you think, right?" Archduke Adlan snorted coldly:

"The Levent family are not fools. They have some connections in the New World, not to mention their relationship with the church. You should have understood how risky this is from the beginning..."

"Damn, of course I know!"

Bernard, who was repeatedly intercepted, couldn't help but lower his voice and growl while trying hard to prevent his expression from being noticed by the people around him: "Ed Levent is my best friend, no offense, but I care about his life and death more than you do!"

"Do you think I haven't thought about saving measures? Of course I have! I can assure you that the number of people in the entire New World who know that he is dead will not exceed the number of one hand; even the Green Dragon's disaster I have thought about Try to control public opinion as much as possible and avoid having anything to do with the Old God Sect, just to avoid being found a suitable reason by the church!"

"You are the Grand Duke of Edland and the father of Louis. I respect you - but this is not the reason for you to hold me accountable." Bernard took a deep breath, and the tight collar made him suddenly out of breath:

"I have done my best for the empire. Even if things don't develop in the direction everyone hopes, I still have a clear conscience!"

"But Ed Levent is dead, he is dead." Grand Duke Edland's expression turned extremely ugly:

"If you had told me about this in advance, then I could first visit the Levent family and tell them this regrettable but irreversible result, and then work with them to persuade His Majesty to give up the counterattack plan against the colonies; but now... They originally had nothing to do with the New World, but they have become the most extreme militant faction."

"At present, the only ones who still oppose His Majesty to give up the counterattack on the colonies are the Bernard and Roland families...4 to 2, plus the Holy See's Holy War, this meaningless war is inevitable!"

"Four to two? I remember that the Wharton family has always been strongly opposed..."

"They agreed. The Levent family agreed to give up the position of royal attaché and give it to a young man from the Wharton family." Archduke Adlan said coldly:

"Of course the real price must be far more than this, but the only information I have received so far is this... What do you think is the reason why the Levent family gave in and compromised, my great colonial minister?"

Bernard gasped.

Four of the six Grand Dukes agreed, and counting the royal family, it was five to two... Although not everyone agreed, it was almost impossible to stop the emperor.

No, the situation is probably more dangerous than being unable to stop it - the Roland and Bernard families who oppose the retaking of the colony are wealthy families in the north of the empire and have direct interests involved in the colony; when the entire empire agrees with the emperor, this is exactly what happened. The two major families became the last dissenters.

What would the emperor think, what would the royal family think, and even the thousands of subjects, knights, believers of the Ring of Order throughout the empire...

Cold sweat ran across his gradually stiffening cheeks, causing the corners of Bernard's mouth to twitch unconsciously.

"Very good, it seems you have understood the seriousness of the problem."

Grand Duke Adlan nodded slightly, with a hint of exhaustion in his frown: "At the current point of things, it is impossible to stop the emperor, but there is still a chance to prevent the empire from being involved in this meaningless war. What a loophole was taken advantage of by some despicable coward."

Despicable coward...Bernard turned his eyes; "Clovis?"

"I dare to bet my wife's chastity that they will be overjoyed when they get the news!" Grand Duke Adlan said scornfully:

"Returning without success or achieving a complete victory, the empire's waste of manpower and material resources in this war will be astronomical; the losses caused by then will not be fully restored for three to five years, and the Clovis people... they will gain the right The decisive advantage of the Empire.”

"Of course, it's also possible that they hope to reach an armistice; for those cowardly and cowardly country bumpkins, nothing is impossible." He couldn't help but add.

"Indeed." Bernard agreed deeply, and then asked tentatively:

"So, your plan is to make the Clovis the vanguard of the Crusaders?"

"Not only are they pioneers, but they also need to show sincerity. Aren't they always claiming to be 'pious' and willing to share the worries of the Holy See? Wouldn't they be sorry for themselves if they don't show it well?"

Grand Duke Adlan took a deep breath: "We must let the emperor understand that it is of course possible to launch the Holy War, but it must be the joint action of the entire world of order, not just the empire - that will only appear that we are isolated from the entire old continent, and will It cannot demonstrate his majesty as the guardian of the ordered world."

"But... we have been isolated." Bernard couldn't help but said: "Since the betrayal of the Three Kingdoms of the North Sea in the ninety-fifth year of the Saint's Calendar, and the loss of the Hantu and Iser Elf Kingdoms the year before last."

"That's right, so we can't let the emperor notice this - if he finds out, he will put all the responsibility on the despicable Clovis people." Grand Duke Adlan nodded:

"In the entire world of order, they are the second largest force after the empire; if they even give in, it will be difficult for the remaining forces to be active enough. There will be no unity in the world of order, let alone the formation of a holy war against heretics. Army!"

"That makes sense!" Bernard nodded in agreement.

He had roughly understood Grand Duke Adlan's thinking...not to stop the emperor, but to delay this absurd and meaningless action indefinitely through diplomatic means.

Not to mention the dominance of the Jihadi Army and their respective assigned responsibilities, the armistice agreement alone can last for several months, and the turbulent sea has a sailing period.

One year, no... two years, maybe with luck it can be delayed to more than three years!

In three years, the situation in the world of order has probably been turned upside down. Even if the emperor still wants to take back the colony, there is no more suitable opportunity.

The door of the small audience hall opened, and the royal attendant with his hands behind his back stood behind the door, saluted to the two of them, bowed his head respectfully and said:

"Your Majesty is entertaining the ambassador of Clovis. Please come with us to taste the coffee brewed by Her Majesty the Queen herself."

The two looked at each other, and saw a bit of anxiety and determination in each other's eyes. Then, with a tacit understanding, Gu Youxian followed the attendant into the small audience hall.

……………………

Clovis City, Osteria Palace.

"Is there really no problem with this?"

Putting down the documents in his hands, Carlos II looked out the window worriedly: "Will the empire really agree to such harsh armistice conditions?"

In the quiet meeting hall, the archbishop, with his back to the king, sat at an empty long table; he squinted his eyes, admiring the delicate and beautiful texture of the table like an artist, without saying a word.

"And the Privy Council actually sent the draft of the armistice agreement to our ambassador in Xiaolong City without my consent. It's simply ridiculous!"

"Have they ever thought about how passive we will be once the empire really threatens us in the name of the church and the guardian of the world of order?!"

"Well, even if the Empire accepts our suggestion, wouldn't the result be even worse - the only colony must be surrendered, and Clovis's power will be devoted to a meaningless war, this time for Our strength has been weakened unprecedentedly!"

Words full of complaints and complaints echoed in the empty room, and the original silence quickly returned.

"You seem to be very quiet today, Your Excellency the Archbishop." Carlos turned his head and looked at the back of Luther Franz: "Don't you have anything to say?"

"What?"

"Don't you have any opinions on the draft armistice agreement presented to you by the Privy Council?"

"Of course not." Luther Franz said calmly without looking back:

"I don't know what is written in that document, and naturally I have no right to express any opinion... You must have remembered that I am the archbishop of the Diocese of Clovis, and the church cannot interfere in the internal affairs of the kingdom."

"Yes, yes, of course I understand this!" Carlos II waved his hand impatiently: "But you must have known it, through someone or some way, I don't believe you have seen it longer than I’m still late!”

"But since you insist, I'll tell you directly... The Privy Council has prepared a draft armistice agreement with the Empire in order to form the Jihad Army. It requires the Empire to immediately give up all the lands, strongholds and fortresses it has occupied in the past two years. Restore the borders to the state they were in before the war in the ninety-ninth year of the Saints calendar.”

"In addition, because the war was initiated by the empire, certain compensation must be given. Two fortresses in key locations will be transferred to Clovis and returned to the empire after the holy war is over to prove that the empire has The seriousness and sincerity of sub-jihad.”

"Well, it sounds very reasonable." Luther Franz nodded slightly:

"But based on my personal understanding of the emperor, I am afraid that he will not regard this as an armistice agreement, but Clovis claims to be victorious and is asking for compensation."

"You are absolutely right!" Carlos' voice trembled slightly:

"How could that shameless guy agree to such an excessive request?!"

"He won't." The archbishop looked at him:

"But does that matter to you, Your Majesty?"

Carlos froze in excitement.

"I-I don't quite understand what you mean, why is this...not important to me?"

"If you are eager for an armistice, then yes." Luther Franz said calmly:

"But if you want Clovis to maximize the benefits from this holy war, or reduce losses, then... it is a dispensable thing."

"It is because your ministers realized this that they sent the draft to Xiaolong City without consulting you."

Carlos II: "...Why?"

"Because the emperor hopes to become the supreme commander of the Holy War Army, and also hopes to regain the six lost colonies, and even get more." The archbishop remained calm, and couldn't help but sigh secretly:

"He needs Clovis's support, because this war cannot be a one-man show by the empire, and if Clovis makes it clear that he will not participate, it will give other forces a reason not to participate."

"Although the church will also put pressure on Clovis, at least on the surface he... we cannot interfere in secular disputes, which must be resolved by the empire personally; so Clovis can ask for exorbitant prices and negotiate with the empire - anyway, in the end You should never be the anxious one."

Following the old man's calm and persuasive words, Carlos gradually fell into deep thought. Then he seemed to realize something and spoke cautiously:

"So the most beneficial direction for Clovis is to drag this matter out for as long as possible?"

After hearing these words, Luther Franz suddenly stood up and bowed to him with a serious expression that startled Carlos:

"My king is wise!"