I will be crowned king

After answering Carlos II's doubts, the archbishop explained to him the classics of the Church of Order for half an hour and made a simple prayer of confession.

The two people facing each other knelt on the left and right sides of the chair, put their clasped hands against their chins, closed their eyes while mourning silently in their hearts, and confessed their inner sins to the Ring of Order.

This was part of the agreement between the two people for many years... As the archbishop, Luther Franz could not interfere with the secular world in name, but he could answer the king's inner doubts; so Carlos would regularly summon the archbishop to the palace every week to accept His confession.

From Carlos Osteria, who was still the crown prince before he ascended the throne, to today's "lucky man" Carlos II, the tacit understanding between the two has lasted for decades; whether it is the royal family or the Privy Council, everyone knows the way. What De Franz answered for His Majesty was definitely not just "mentally confused."

But the secret, which everyone knows, can naturally continue as long as the two parties to the agreement do not take the initiative to break it; even so, Luther Franz still insisted on fulfilling the "Archbishop's obligations" and assisted Carlos II in repentance and prayer. I have never relaxed out of habit.

After a quarter of an hour of silence, the archbishop who opened his eyes first slowly stood up, bowed to the king who had calmed down, and left the Osteria Palace.

When he walked out of the gate, a carriage was waiting quietly outside. The honorary governor of Ice Dragon Fjord looked sideways at the archbishop's figure, smiled and waved.

Luther Franz, who looked normal, strolled closer and boarded the carriage with the help of the little maid. He looked so calm and unhurried. Even after sitting down, the first thing he did was not order the car to drive, but ordered it from the wine cabinet next to him. Take out a bottle of wine.

"Write a letter to Anson Bach immediately and have it delivered to Beluga Port as quickly as possible."

"well?"

Sophia, who was pouring wine, was startled by her father's abrupt words. She looked at the calm face with astonishment: "Immediately?"

"No, it's now." The archbishop took the wine glass that was only filled a little, closed his eyes and showed an expression of enjoyment: "There is no time to wait any longer. He must know the ins and outs of the whole thing before March."

"But, but it's January now, and the ice in the Turbulent Sea has not completely thawed. How can I tell that family..."

"I said, you write it." Sipping the wine in the glass, the Archbishop knocked on the roof of the carriage:

"To Friedrichstrasse."

The little maid who was driving did not dare to neglect, and the carriage quickly left the palace gate and disappeared among the crowded streets.

Sophia in the carriage wanted to ask a few more questions, but looking at her father who already showed a waiting expression, she silently took out a pen and paper and leaned against the small coffee table.

Playing with the empty wine glass, the Archbishop took a deep breath and began to narrate in an understatement. From time to time, he would deliberately slow down the speed so that his daughter would not be unable to keep up.

But this obviously underestimated the level of a certain girl... Sophia, who has been working for the family all year round, has developed a photographic memory in her confrontations with various nobles, accountants, and wealthy businessmen. Not to mention the words, even the punctuation marks and tone are... I remember correctly, a contract for a shareholding or acquisition can be drafted during a lunch break.

If she is also classified according to the method of spell caster, her professional ability is at least the level of a blasphemy mage, and she can enter the realm of an apostle in one step.

This "blasphemous mage" could still record smoothly at first, and occasionally had time to wait for his father to sort out his thoughts; but as the content gradually escalated, and he began to touch some secrets that he had never come into contact with before, he started to sweat. It continued to seep out from her round forehead, and the fingers holding the pen began to tremble.

Luther Franz, who still looked as usual, seemed completely unaware of his daughter's changes. His vocabulary, tone, and speaking speed were like countless precision-meshed gears, running at a fast and orderly pace, forming long phrases that made the girl dizzy. .

Sophia's recording speed became slower and slower. At the end, she even had to force herself not to associate anymore, and mechanically manipulated her right hand to write those beautiful words and symbols up and down the parchment.

When the Archbishop finally read out the last sentence, she realized that her cheeks were already wet with sweat, and her right hand holding the pen felt unbearable pain - usually even if the number of words was doubled, she would never be able to do it. It made her feel the slightest discomfort.

Luther Franz, who was silent, poured half a glass of wine himself and pushed it to his daughter’s hand:

"This letter needs to be sent as soon as possible. It is best to leave Clovis City before tonight."

"What should we do?" Sophia's eyes widened. The information letter obviously had no weight, but it trembled slightly in her hands: "Everyone saw you boarding this carriage. Isn't it too dangerous?"

"Even if there is a risk of exposure, we still have to do it." Luther Franz said calmly: "We have no time, and we cannot let Ansen Bach get detailed information until the summer."

"there is no time?"

The girl was very surprised: "But you...haven't you always emphasized that this war will not start until June of this year at the earliest, and all parties will definitely have ulterior motives to cause delay?"

"Yes, but dear Sophia, the most real thing about this world is that it will not move in the direction you want. Countless details affect the change of the situation. Some information that we may never know the truth is very likely It plays a decisive role in a crucial link.”

Luther Franz's mouth showed a hint of solemnity: "I can sense from some information that the danger is gradually approaching, but I cannot determine its true face; out of caution, I think it is necessary to ensure that the relationship with Ansen Bach , there is no information fog.”

"...I, I really didn't expect that you actually care about that guy so much?" The girl paused and shook her head in disbelief: "I thought that in your eyes, he was just a dispensable tool..."

"Keep your knowledge, my dear Sophia." The Archbishop interrupted coldly:

"Don't let temporary emotions influence your rationality... Delicate emotions are full of contagion and empathy for understanding others, which can help broaden the direction and path of your thinking about problems, but you must not let it shake you. "

"To you and your brother, I have been pouring my heart out from the beginning to the end, and I have never lied to you; never doubt that everything I have done is for you and this family called 'Franz'. The only one who cares is you."

Looking at her father's indifferent face, Sophia felt a little complicated.

Quietly looking at the slowly moving street scene outside the car window, she, who was already so familiar with Clovis (the inner city), immediately realized that Friedrich Street was not far ahead.

The girl hesitated for a moment, then bravely asked in a low voice: "How should I send the letter?"

Frederick Street is not only one of the most prosperous commercial streets in Clovis City, but also the headquarters of the "Truth Seeking Order" of the Clovis Tribunal. It is difficult to do anything here without being discovered by the inquisitors. Like ascending to heaven.

Of course, sometimes the most dangerous place is the safest place. A seemingly upright and reasonable place may very well be hiding an unknown intelligence network that spreads throughout most of the world of order.

Could it be that my father really secretly cultivated a force loyal to the Franz family in the city of Clovis without anyone noticing, so that when necessary...

"The carriage stopped at the entrance of the street. There is a newly opened newspaper there. Give the letter to the editor-in-chief of the newspaper with the address." Luther Franz said solemnly:

"If you ask any question, don't answer it. He will know what to do - he is a member of the Truth Society."

"well?"

Sophia was stunned for a moment: "S-Truth Society?"

"What's wrong?"

"Why do you know...they..." the girl stammered.

This question made the Archbishop stunned for a moment. After a few seconds of silence, he looked at his daughter with a puzzled expression: "I... shouldn't know their existence?"

"...No, that's not what I meant!"

"I...shouldn't know something about them?"

"Yeah, it's not this either..."

"what is that?"

"Uh, yes..."

The girl hesitated to speak, then sighed and said: "Are you really sure you want to do this?"

"This does have certain risks, but it is also the safest way." Luther Franz nodded slightly and glanced at the newspaper office not far away from the car window:

"Since the truth is so eager to change the world, it is natural that it will not just watch a brand new force be nipped in the bud; compared to us, they are the ones who will really pass the news to Anson Bach's ears at any cost. "

"Dear Sophia, that's what enemies and friends are like...you need to understand what they want, and then think about how to make them do things for you in a way that satisfies them, or even becomes your unwavering ally."

"Nothing is permanent, nothing can be reversed; a fire that is extinguished will be replaced by rekindled embers."

……………………

New World, Beluga Harbor.

With the White Whale Harbor Council officially approving the aid plan for the five colonies, the Ice Dragon Fjord Colony began to move quickly - but not to provide them with supplies, but to prepare for the 102nd Anniversary of the Free Confederacy. A supreme meeting.

After all, it is to support five large colonies at the same time. In the entire world of order, it may not cause even a small splash, but in the new world, it is already a major event at the level of "regional event". As the only "independent force" in the entire region , naturally we cannot pretend that this does not exist.

Of course, they really pretended not to exist.

After all, this is how everyone has been here for so many years. It is common in the new world for once-thriving communities or colonies to decline or even die due to various reasons, and it will not cause any trouble in the hearts of wealthy businessmen and congressmen who are still living well. waves.

But when Ice Dragon Fjord took the initiative to bring up this matter, and even Polina Frey, the leader of the nominal Free Confederacy, made it one of the issues of the Supreme Council, they could no longer continue to pretend to be deaf and dumb.

Of course they don't care about the life and death of these five colonies, let alone have any sympathy or pity for their "comatriots" who are starving and freezing; but if they watch the Clovis people's power expand eastward and do nothing, they will definitely not do anything about the consequences. It's unbearable.

Although Ice Dragon Fjord and the Free Confederacy are allies, this relationship is not very reciprocal - the entire Confederacy can hardly provide any decent army, and completely needs to rely on the Storm Legion and its servant army to provide security. This identity of Sailing City is temporarily It cannot be completely replaced.

But on the other hand, why should Anson Bach protect the Free Confederacy?

Once the empire really launches a counterattack, can he compromise with the empire and betray the Confederacy to ensure that the imperial army will not endanger Ice Dragon Fjord?

They don’t know, but they think it’s possible!

Anyway, they are all expansionist forces. What was lost in the Free Confederacy can be regained from those five colonies. Even if the war is over, the three North Sea countries, which are deeply involved in civil war, will never dare to anger Ke for a few dispensable colonies. Lowi people.

Therefore, the Confederacy must express its stance and cooperate with the actions of Ice Dragon Fjord to prove its existence and importance. At the same time, it will expand its influence to the eastern part of the New World and strive to include the five colonies into the Confederacy family.

Therefore, in order to resolve the first "diplomatic incident" since the birth of the Confederation, the venue of the Supreme Conference was naturally set at Beluga Harbor in early February.

In order to ensure that the meeting was held as scheduled, the "Supreme Council" envisioned by Anson began to enter the preparation stage. The delegations from each colony happened to have not yet left Beluga Harbor, so naturally there was no need to leave.

The joint delegation of the five colonies had to agree to the request to participate in the meeting after receiving a thousand animal slaves and a batch of metal products sold at low prices by the New World Company, especially agricultural tools.

"So, the question now is how to persuade Louis Bernard to come to attend this meeting?" Karl couldn't help but ask: "After all, Sailing City is the most important colony of the Confederacy. If he does not express his position, he will have no influence on the authority of the Supreme Council. Will it have an impact?"

"No, Louis Bernard will definitely come; as a knight, he will not watch those people starve to death." Anson shook his head and said worriedly:

"The problem now is how to make him accept that he won't rush up with his sword as soon as he sees me, and chop this evil heretic into pieces."

"This is indeed quite difficult. Do you have any ideas?"

"One of them, I am going to send an envoy who is very good at persuading others to sailing city to invite him to attend the meeting - not only resolves the conflict, but also shows sincerity."

"Really, who are you going to send?"

"Well..."

Looking at the curious chief of staff, the corners of Anson's mouth began to rise quickly:

"Didn't you notice...he was right in front of me?"