I will be crowned king

Osteria Palace, inner garden.

Sophia Franz, with her hands behind her back, accompanied a slightly older woman, walking leisurely in the center of the garden, closely followed by a group of palace attendants and young nobles who were looking forward to inviting favors.

Exquisite burgundy empire dress, long hair tied high... Even though she is dressed in casual clothes, the lady still exudes a nobility and elegance that is reserved for strangers; every frown, smile, eyebrow and glance seem to follow the rules Her innate standards and norms make those who come close to her involuntarily feel awe.

She was known by many names: Anne Herred, wife of Carlos II, Princess of the Empire, and the favorite title of the Clovis people - Queen Herred.

For many Clovis people, the most outstanding achievement of today's His Majesty Carlos "Fortunate" II is not to save North Port during the riots and the "Four Nations Intervention", nor to create what the merchants call "Crime" by decentralizing power. The "Miracle of Lovis" was not about building the world's first railway, nor about being forced to inherit the throne in mourning in his early years and ruling the Clovis Kingdom safely for twenty years... but about getting the emperor to agree to the marriage request. , marry the princess to the Kingdom of Clovis.

In this matter, the contradiction between the Clovis people's admiration and dissatisfaction with the empire was clearly reflected: in order to celebrate His Majesty's wedding, the kingdom prepared an unprecedentedly grand welcome ceremony, allowing the newly arrived Princess to enjoy an extremely grand ceremony. of hospitality.

In addition to the extremely respected title of Queen, the position of "Master of Ceremonies" was also created specifically for her - the rituals of all major occasions, the daily life, daily routines of the courtiers, and even the standards of wording were all decided and designated by her.

But in addition, the Queen's officials and attendants are all selected by the Privy Council, and they must apply in advance before meeting His Majesty; they are never allowed to appear in public except on major occasions, and there is no room for interference in the politics of the Kingdom—— Even disclosing current affairs to her in private was considered a crime.

Not only that, the Privy Council even passed legislation to determine that everyone can only address the queen as "Queen". If a specific object must be specifically pointed out, she will be called "Queen Herred". Mentioning the queen's real name without authorization is also considered crime.

There is one and only one purpose: to weaken her influence in Clovis as much as possible.

"...So, what happened next?" Annie blinked her curious eyes, her face full of anticipation: "The great detective Yassen failed to uncover the underground conspiracy of Xiaolong City, and was kicked out of the empire by the emperor...and then what? ?”

"Then...he left for the Seven Cities Alliance, which is now Hantu, to continue the one-year trip agreed with his newlywed wife." Sophia's eyes were a little wandering:

"Of course, there is one more person this time."

"Yes, Priest Draco, who is the author of this book." Anne nodded slightly: "But according to the plot, Yassen should not have discovered his wife Theresa, but it was actually arranged by a certain Clovis noble. The spies around him, waiting for an opportunity to provoke a war between the empire and Clovis' enemies?"

"Uh...well, that seems to be the case, that's why he didn't return to Clovis."

"You mean that Yassen is pretending not to know in order to make the nobles think that his plan has not been leaked?" The queen looked slightly sideways: "Well, that makes sense. Besides, Theresa has completely fallen in love with Yassen. If If he opens his mouth, he will definitely be able to stop the conspiracy of the great nobles!"

"No, that's right!"

"And they went to Hantu this time because Priest Draco's friend was there to solve the problem of inheritance distribution for his deceased old friend - why would a navigator who loves adventure ask for a named person by name in his will? What about priests excommunicated by the church to preside over the distribution of inheritance?”

"Um...maybe because they are close friends?"

"Or, he had already guessed that he was likely to die because of this?" The queen's expression began to become excited:

"Draco is the only person he knows well who is related to the Holy See, so only by entrusting him to him can he get the protection of the Holy See and ensure that his inheritance can be distributed reasonably; but what he doesn't know is that the person who came with him this time There is also a detective named Yassen!"

"Hmm... Referring to the story of Xiaolong City, this so-called 'inheritance dispute' is probably not as simple as it seems. The eldest son who is infamous but has the right to inherit, the second daughter who is doted on but is unruly and willful, and... There is a young son who has high hopes but whose identity is suspicious... he will definitely fight for the inheritance, and the conspiracies and forces behind each will come to light, right?" Queen Anne asked herself:

"Maybe this case will be an opportunity for Yassen to return to Clovis, but I don't know for sure!"

Sophia, who was almost stunned, could only smile apologetically when she saw the other party's excited expression: "I don't see that you are really good at writing, Your Majesty the Queen."

"I don't dare to be proud of this, but there is one thing I am quite sure of." The queen said with a smile:

"Dear Governor Sophia, you are not a good listener if you are absent-minded."

"I, I just..."

Facing the other party's smiling eyes, Sophia, who originally wanted to explain something, had to give up: "Did you see it?"

"Even the attendants behind me saw it."

The queen glanced at the crowd following the two of them, who all turned their gazes to both sides, not daring to look at them.

"You have something on your mind, and it's very serious." She looked back at Sophia, who was a little embarrassed, with a gentle look:

"I won't ask too much about what it is, and if you want to leave to deal with it, I won't stop you."

"NO, I have not……"

Sophia rarely showed a panicked look, her tangled expression seemed to be in great embarrassment, and she hesitated to speak.

After nearly a minute, she finally made up her mind and looked up at the queen again: "It's the recent incident with the Storm Legion."

"...Storm Legion?"

The queen's eyes were extremely confused, as if she had heard this name for the first time - of course she did.

"It's an army of the kingdom in the colonies. It just returned to the royal capital recently." Sophia explained: "Because of the previous jihad and the rebellion in the colonies to join the newly emerged country Free Confederation, they were accused by the Ministry of War of treason and collaborating with the enemy. suspicion."

"This was originally an internal matter within the Army, but recently there have been more and more voices saying that they are actually innocent, and the voices are getting louder and louder, and some people have even approached me; you know, my title is Colonial The honorary governor can theoretically intervene in this matter, but..."

"No more words!"

Queen Anne, whose expression suddenly changed, suddenly interrupted, with a slight panic in her eyes.

"But...ah!" As if suddenly enlightened, Sophia quickly covered her mouth, and at the same time glanced warily at the attendants not far away.

After confirming that the words between the two were not heard by outsiders, she finally breathed a sigh of relief:

"Sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"No, no, no, Governor Sophia, I am the one who should apologize." The queen looked very reserved, but she was obviously much more relaxed than before:

"I should have guessed... How can something that gives you such a headache be an ordinary trivial matter? I'm sorry to cause you trouble."

The two people who were polite to each other looked at each other, and the atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward, and even the original interest in discussing the novel disappeared.

In such a situation, the queen, who was completely panicked, did not let Sophia leave, but took a walk for a while. The two of them separated at a fork in the garden with tacit understanding, and saluted each other and said goodbye.

This was of course done to avoid misunderstandings and conflicting misunderstandings among the attendants and nobles who had seen the scene just now.

Walking among the deserted withered flowers, the nervousness and fear on Sophia's face disappeared around the corner, replaced by a slightly raised corner of her mouth and a proud smile.

Of course this was the plan, and it was only part of the plan - how could the eldest daughter of the Franz family be so rude in public, or even let the news slip?

The girl's purpose is actually very simple. Regardless of whether the nobles behind her heard correctly or not, those attendants will tell Carlos II about today's situation and let him know that he lost his temper in front of his queen today.

In this way, he can guess 70% or 80% of it without having to say anything himself; if he guesses it, he knows it.

In Clovis...or rather the entire world of Order, if the lord and king didn't know something, then he could pretend nothing happened; but if he knew, he had to respond.

This is not only a custom, but also a political tacit understanding, and a moral requirement under the teachings of the Circle of Order - shouldering the responsibilities of being a ruler, and also the basis for maintaining authority.

But as part of the whole plan, Her Majesty Anne's life will not be easy... Although she was proud, Sophia still felt a little guilty.

She had no ill feelings towards the queen who was born in the Hered royal family, and even had some sympathy; in the eyes of the Clovis people, she was probably just an expensive statue; it was even more miserable for Carlos II, who only maintained his rule. Just a stable tool.

No matter what mentality she had when she married into the Osteria royal family twenty years ago, she is now a canary in a cage. No matter how unwilling she is, she cannot change her current situation.

But I am different... The girl thought silently in her heart. Although she is also controlled everywhere and not taken seriously by others, she still has a certain degree of freedom.

Because of this, she will never give up on saving the Storm Legion, the only asset that can break her shackles.

In other words, besides the Storm Legion, how could there be another army that would take her seriously?

But Sophia will definitely not think so - the Storm Legion is an army she has personally formed, financed and cultivated. It is her most important asset, and no one can take it away easily!

She had seen through the War Office's trick: by criticizing the Stormtroopers as traitors and completely severing ties with the Free Confederacy, she would rise to power and take away the power to govern the country from the Privy Council.

But the premise of all this is that the Ministry of War can really control the Storm Legion, or at least Anson Bach himself, and make him admit to the crime of treason.

"What are you talking about? Anson Bach did not go to the War Ministry, but was taken away by the people of the Inquisition?!"

Staring at the little maid Angelica who hurriedly came to find her, Sophia was stunned.

…………………………

"Ah, so you've heard about it?"

In Clovis Cathedral, Archbishop Luther, who was sitting at his desk and reading a newspaper, slightly pushed up the reading glasses on his face: "If that's the case, why did you come here to ask me?"

"Because I have to know what you really think!"

Standing in front of his father, Ludwig said coldly, completely losing his calmness when facing his sister: "You let the trial court do this, which is tantamount to openly becoming an enemy of the Ministry of War. Doing so will put the Franz family at risk. too big!"

"I know what you're thinking. Anson and his Storm Legion are very good subordinates. I don't object to making good use of them, but don't you think it's too arrogant to steal people so openly?!"

"I don't understand what you are talking about." Facing his son's question, Archbishop Luther looked very confused:

"Arresting people is a matter for the Tribunal, and orders are a matter for the Holy See. At most, I didn't create obstacles for them...how did it become that I asked them to 'rob people'?"

"Or do you think it would be more consistent with the current situation to have the War Department control Anson Bach?"

"Of course not!" Ludwig categorically rejected: "He is my friend, the first person I appreciated; of course I will do my best to save him, but not in this way."

"...Which way?"

"What a way to turn the Franz family into public enemies!" Ludwig gritted his teeth with hatred:

"Using religious reasons to arrest people, don't you realize that this will definitely cause dissatisfaction throughout Clovis? After all, you are openly intervening in secular politics and challenging everyone's bottom line!"

"Why must we use this method? Won't those nobles who hope to ally with the Free Confederacy take action? Won't my silly sister make the matter bigger? Can't I mobilize the officers and Whitehall Street police to put him Protect yourself?!"

"So I'm really asking you sincerely, what exactly is this going to do?!"

Seeing the increasingly agitated Ludwig, the archbishop as a father suddenly showed a complicated expression.

But this expression only lasted for a moment, and Ludwig immediately returned to normal without even being noticed.

"Dear Ludwig, if you think so, it proves that this holy war has indeed made you improve a lot; knowing how to think about problems from the perspective of others is a very valuable wisdom."

Archbishop Luther slowly put down the newspaper in his hand and pushed up the glasses on his face: "So I am going to tell you another kind of wisdom, called the bottom line."

"……What's the meaning?"

"Gambling, competitions, duels... most of the time, we don't want the enemy to know our bottom line; but in some cases, taking the initiative to show the bottom line is also a threatening technique." The archbishop said solemnly:

"As you say, my behavior is tantamount to waging war against the War Department."

"Then on the other hand, does it mean to warn them that if they dare to attack Anson Bach, they must be prepared for revenge from the Diocese of Clovis?"

"And then you think about it, they..."

"...Are you ready?"