The Rise of the Black Plain

"Minos Stuart, what do you intend to do to pay for your boldness?" Gloria's father asked after a moment, looking at this son-in-law he had never expected to have.

Joseph had nothing against Minos as a person. In fact, he even admired this young man, as the Stuart King could do what was necessary to complete his own goals, someone who did not depend on family to get what he wanted.

But Minos was far from what he wanted for his daughter, even more so considering this young man's other two wives, something Joseph did not like since this meant less attention for Gloria. And like a good father, he wished the best for his only daughter.

He wanted Gloria to marry another member of the Spiritual Church, someone with similar talent as hers, as well as goals and customs. But, at the same time, it would be best if such a person were monogamous, as were most members of the Church.

But unfortunately, his beloved daughter had fallen for the wrong young man, and now she was no longer able to part with him due to an unplanned pregnancy.

Because of this, he naturally had a certain resentment against the young man who had disrupted his daughter's life and wanted such a person to make some commitments!

"What do I intend to do?" Minos repeated this part of his father-in-law's question and then looked at Margot. "I think I'm already doing everything I should, no? Didn't my mother-in-law tell you about our arrangement?"

Margot made a frown at Minos as her husband said. "She did..."

"Then what more do you want?" He asked and then looked at the redheaded woman at his side. "Gloria, are you by any chance unhappy? Do I mistreat you? Abby? Ruth?"

"Of course I'm happy." She replied as she looked at her father. "Father, Minos is very good to me. He is a much better man than I could ever imagine having. As for Abby and Ruth, they are always by my side and give me full support. We are a close-knit family!"

Margot looked at her daughter and felt immensely disappointed. 'How can she say that? Doesn't she have to share her time with him with these two?'

Meanwhile, Joseph was as calm as before, still looking at Minos. "That's not what we're talking about here. If my daughter weren't happy, you wouldn't be here talking to us so peacefully."

"The point here is, you are harming the Church through Gloria! She should be cultivating diligently to be promoted to the position of Matriarch, but now, in addition to living in the northern region, she is pregnant and cannot cultivate."

Gloria did not like to hear this and asked. "What do you mean? Are you saying that my baby is a retard?"

"Honey, you know your father didn't mean that." Margot gestures for Gloria to be reassured while Ruth, Abby, and Zoe stand silently, watching everything as if they were watching a show.

Joseph then said. "I am happy that I will become a grandfather. But that doesn't change the fact that you will have your journey delayed by a few years when you are still only a Spiritual Emperor."

Minos then said to his father-in-law while massaging Gloria's waist for her to let him handle everything. "That's not a problem. Gloria's cultivation speed is excellent, and she will naturally make up for the lost time in less than a decade."

"A decade?" That fellow looked at Minos, wondering where this lad got the confidence to talk about being able to cultivate to the 8th stage and now about this.

But Minos did not explain. "As for the rest, even if it doesn't happen, it doesn't matter. You know that just one or two levels won't change Gloria's status much. Plus, she can become much more powerful if she has political support, not personal power. So, pregnancy is not an issue."

"Oh? And where will she get that political support from? From you?" Margot asked as she smiled at him, indicating that he still thinks very highly of himself.

Joseph's eyes sharpened as he looked at Minos, waiting for this bold fellow's answer.

"Sure, who besides me has a state on their hands? I guess you don't, eh, mother-in-law?" Minos smiled back.

"Tsk!"

"With your little Black Plain, what can you do for Gloria? She is already one step away from becoming a Spiritual Saint!"

Minos paid no attention to his mother-in-law's comments and said. "The Black Plain still has a long way to go. But what about Vogel?"

"Vogel?" Joseph's eyebrows frowned even more as he remembered the incident on that state's border with the Empire and the problems of that place after the fall of the royal family.

The Church groups in that state, including one of the Iron Hearts, had already made many changes in Vogel. In particular, the royalty members who had stayed behind were executed.

On the other hand, the Church members led by the Spiritual Sage who wished to find Minos had already organized much of that state and were almost putting it back to normal.

Joseph knew about all this and more but not about the negotiations between the noble families of that state and Minos' representatives. Hence, he was interested in what his son-in-law had to say.

Minos then replied to him. "Yes, Vogel will soon have a new king. And it just so happens that the best candidate for such a position is standing in front of you, father-in-law!"

"You?" Margot asked as she strangely looked at Minos.

She and her husband knew that the Stuart family name had come up among the possibilities, but no one in the Spiritual Church was taking such a thing seriously!

Therefore, after hearing Minos' confident tone, she and Joseph found his comment strange.

"Yes, I already have the support of the royal families of Blackrock, Albano, and Rosser." Minos smiled, showing some of his influence to get these people to stop bothering him. "My representatives are already in that state negotiating with the local families. So it's only a matter of time before your Church consecrates me as King of Vogel!"

Zoe, Joseph, and Margot heard this with open mouths, surprised by such a thing but also doubtful of the veracity of the words of this young man they barely knew.

But then, before they even questioned him, Gloria stepped forward to defend her husband. "Minos is speaking the truth. The Black Plain already has a trade agreement with Albano, and my husband is the best chance for Vogel not to fall into a civil war and get together before the Empire destroys their allies."

"Oh?" Joseph, the leader of this Spiritual Church post, opened his mouth upon hearing that and realized there was a bit of reason in his daughter's words.

'This fellow could become the one who keeps the peace at this crucial moment if he were to renounce many of the powers conferred on a monarch...' He closed his eyes and imagined that Minos was smart enough for that.

'Then he will at least have some advantages to improve his state's position with this move, which is enough to give him access to the leaders of 5 states of a higher level than his...'

'In other words, he can get a lot of political influence out of this!'

...