I will be crowned king

"Dang——! Dang——! Dang——! Dang——!"

Salutes one after another soared into the sky following the steps of the allied forces entering the city. Trombones covered with ribbons were heard one after another. The startled white pigeons circled over the city and flew past the ringing bell tower, spreading rain all over the sky. petal.

Despite being mentally prepared, the coalition soldiers were still shocked by the sight before them.

The spacious and majestic streets are clean and smooth, the rows of houses and the people who come to watch show the prosperity. The numerous sculptures and magnificent stone buildings tell the history, and the blooming flowers everywhere show the trendy elegance.

This is a completely different temperament from Clovis City, which is built of steel and concrete, and from the Golden Stone City, which is a perfect combination of countryside and ancient castles. Time has exerted endless magic on her, making people feel ashamed and overwhelmed by her temperament. Deeply impressed.

Of course, what shocked them even more was the enthusiasm of the people in Snapdragon City.

Both sides of the straight street from the city gate to the palace were crowded with onlookers, regardless of high or low, almost everyone was waving flowers and colorful flags in their hands; not only could no anger or resentment be seen on their faces, but there was even... He happily saluted and cheered at the formation of the coalition forces.

Even on the streets and statues on both sides of the street, Clovis's bloody unicorn can be seen everywhere, and the red thorn flag of Hantu is juxtaposed with the fleur-de-lis that symbolizes the empire; many guys who are obviously dressed as nobles even wave their unicorns. They held the horned beast military flag and shouted slogans such as "Long live Clovis" and "Long live Hantu".

As for the civilians celebrating in the streets, the drunkards toasting with blessings, the poets singing in unison... the coalition soldiers were dazzled, confused and surprised.

They couldn't figure it out no matter how hard they tried. They had clearly defeated the emperor at the Halcyon River and routed the royal legion. How come Xiaolong City not only didn't give it a cold reception, but could still be so enthusiastic?

At this time, Bernard Morvis, who was expressionless and even calm in the coalition team, certainly knew it well; although the reasons and processes were complicated, the summarized answer was quite simple and clear:

face.

Whether it is to ensure that the lofty status of the royal family is not shaken, or to maintain the last fig leaf of their authority, the emperor - and even the entire royal family and Xiaolong City must save their face.

Therefore, the fiasco of the Halcyon River must not be acknowledged, and since the fiasco of the Halcyon River does not exist, then Clovis and the Hantu coalition forces who came all the way to see the emperor must be the saviors and heroes of the empire.

Since he is a hero, he should be treated hospitably; the more enthusiastic everyone in Xiaolong City is, the more they can separate themselves from the army that was defeated by the opponent before, and they do not need to bear the series of consequences of the tragic defeat.

This is the logic of the emperor and all the nobles of Xiaolong City; in order to save this last face, they absolutely do not mind spending a lot of money; even if these expenses can be used to repay debts, build new armies or value-added industries, they may not As for what it has ended up like now.

But what Bernard didn't know was that in order to save face, Emperor Joseph Herred had done much more than that...

………………………………

"……What does it mean?"

The cold light passed through the large floor-to-ceiling windows of the heavily curtained bedroom, leaving a shadow of defeat on the face of Anne Herred, who looked ugly: "Dear brother, I am sorry that I really can't understand what you mean, and I still trouble you. Explain it well."

"Why, why do you have to specially arrange for Nicholas to meet with the traitor...I mean, Anson Bach alone before the official interview? Is there any reason why you have to do it?"

While speaking, the Queen Mother of Clovis, the eldest princess of the empire, put her hands on the shoulders of the boy in front of her with a slight force. Even she did not notice that the force was enough to pinch out two marks.

However, the pale boy, or the nominal king of Clovis, Nicholas Osteria, didn't care about this. At this time, he had been completely defeated by the emperor, the coalition forces were strutting around, and he was even "invited" to Xiaolong City. The facts were completely shocking, and I almost lost my ability to think.

Clovis not only invaded the empire in reverse, but even defeated the emperor head-on... This was something that even his father could not do and could not even imagine; let alone winning, he could even gain something in front of the empire. Advantages are good news worthy of special celebration.

But now not only did it really happen, but the people who did all this were actually a group of traitors who betrayed the royal family and conspired to usurp the throne. This was completely beyond the young man's imagination, and the worldview he once took for granted collapsed.

Feeling the gaze cast from behind, Emperor Joseph sat slumped in the soft armchair in front of the fireplace and remained silent; he played with the wine glass and stared at the fire in the fireplace, as if this way he could escape from the cold reality. Escape and restore everything to the way it was days ago.

But perhaps his sister's gaze was too strong. Joseph swallowed expressionlessly and replied in the calmest voice possible:

"This is purely a courtesy."

"etiquette?"

Anne Herred's raised voice and widened eyes expressed her dissatisfaction: "May I ask what the etiquette is that requires Nicholas and the traitor to meet alone?"

"Whether Anson Bach admits it or not, my dear nephew Nicholas is his king and his lord." Joseph III, who did not look back, said solemnly:

"According to tradition, if the emperor wants to accept a certain knight - of course, we will not discuss whether he is a knight for now - to accept the knight's audience, he must first be introduced by his lord, and the knight must also obtain the lord's permission."

"The Ring of Order is up there, is it important?"

"Is it important...Of course it is important!"

As if he was irritated, Joseph III finally couldn't help but raise his voice: "This is tradition, this is order, this is us...the order that all of us have maintained for thousands of years! Under the ring of order is the emperor, and below the emperor It was the Grand Duke and the King, then the Knight, and finally the Commoner, unchanged for thousands of years.”

"Now that group of rebels has destroyed order in Clovis. This influence is like a plague. Once it is allowed to develop, it will be uncontrollable. The more times like this, the more we must defend the tradition. Only in this way, the nobles of the entire empire, Only the Church of the Ring of Order can be on our side, and they will feel that we can still maintain the situation!"

Joseph III stood up tremblingly. Holding the wine glass, his voice was very angry, but his expression was almost pleading: "My dear sister, do you understand us and the current situation of the Herred royal family?"

"B-but..." Queen Mother Anne seemed hesitant.

"I know what you are worried about. Are you afraid that Anson Bach will be harmful to Nicholas?"

Joseph III blocked Anne Herred's mouth first: "Don't worry, although the meeting was in private, it was still in the palace. I wouldn't have dared him to do anything."

"What's more, the Clovis people just want to take advantage this time, they are not crazy enough to really fight with the empire to the death; although Anson Bach is a very bad traitor, he is not stupid, he knows what is right for him The most beneficial."

Anne Herred was speechless and could only remain silent.

She understood that what Joseph III said made sense. What really worried her was whether Nicholas would fall into the trap of the vicious traitor when he faced him alone.

Or even worse... being deceived by the other party's words.

Anne Herred definitely has enough say in this regard. No one knows better than her how good the boy from the country aristocracy is at persuading others; the New World, the War Department, and even the final turmoil in the entire Clovis City, at least have More than half of them are his "masterpieces"!

It was really hard for her to feel relieved when such a guy met Nicholas alone.

But Joseph III didn't know, or he didn't care at all.

"Listen, my dear nephew Nicholas, I need you to help me stabilize that damn traitor. If you stabilize him, you will stabilize the 150,000 rebels." Joseph said solemnly:

"As for you, my dear sister, I need you to continue to help me control the nobles and members of the royal family in Xiaolong City, and let them know what to do and what not to do."

"At the same time, I am going to have a good talk with my loyal princes and let them understand that I am still their emperor, and the Herred family will always be the royal family of the empire; it has been so in the past and it will remain so in the future."

After saying that, he put down the empty wine glass in his hand and looked at the pale boy: "Do you understand what I said?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Nicholas slowly raised his head, his dull pupils looked into the eyes of Joseph III: "Please rest assured, I will definitely complete the task."

"Well, very good, I believe you can do it." The emperor nodded slightly, perhaps because of the young man's attitude, his tone also softened:

"You don't have to worry too much about the rebellion. The Osterian royal family is still the only legal ruler of Clovis; the city of Clovis is still yours. Everything is just a matter of time."

After the words fell, Joseph III didn't look at the two of them again and left directly.

……………………

In the empty side hall, Nicholas Osteria sat alone in an armchair that was slightly larger than him. He nervously looked at the closed door, feeling restless.

Although it was said that he was meeting alone, the emperor did a better job than most people imagined. It was really a "meeting alone" in the literal sense: not to mention any guards, there were not even any servants or maids in the room.

"Click——"

There was a crisp sound, which was the sound of the door handle.

Nicholas quickly tightened his nerves and tried to sit upright, with his arms spread to both sides, pressing his palms on the armrests of the chair, and trying his best to look as dignified as possible - at least as dignified as he thought he was.

A familiar figure came from behind the door: he was wearing a three-cornered hat and a very close-fitting gray general's coat. He had his hands behind his back and was slowly pacing closer to him; he was clearly the one being seen. But the young man couldn't contain his nervousness at all.

Anson Bach, he even defeated the emperor, and it is said that he became the so-called "consultant", so wouldn't he, the king, become a thorn in his side? What will he do to himself, put under house arrest, abdicate, or...

"Salute to you, Your Majesty."

Seeing the cold sweat on the forehead of the young man in front of him, Anson, who originally planned to get closer, decided not to put pressure on the other person. He took off his hat and raised his chest to salute:

"Anson Bach, Lieutenant General of the Army and Chief of the Royal Guards, welcomes Your Majesty!"

Although he was saluting, Anson still stood upright, and his waist was bent so much that it was almost impossible to judge with the naked eye. In the past, this was a serious offense that would have been enough to be reprimanded in public as a serious impoliteness, and enough to be stripped of all titles.

But the stunned young man obviously didn't care about this. Nicholas, who was so shocked that he was silent for a full minute, faced the figure in front of him and tentatively said in disbelief:

"...G-Greetings?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Anson raised his head expressionlessly and looked directly into the young man's eyes: "I'm here to pick you up, as well as Her Majesty the Queen Mother."

"go back?"

Nicholas was even more incredible: "You...you want me to go back?"

"Otherwise, why would we come to Xiaolong City with such fanfare to meet the emperor?" Anson asked with a smile, as if the other party was saying something obvious:

"His Majesty was kidnapped by gangsters. Fortunately, the Ring of Order prevented the worst outcome. Now that the matter is over, as your loyal ministers, of course we will take you and Her Majesty the Queen Mother back to Clovis City."

The young man's pupils shrank suddenly - looking at the other party's extremely sincere look, if he hadn't still remembered what happened in Clovis City, he would have almost believed what the other party said.

Although, Nicholas really didn't understand what kind of trick this guy was playing; even if it was really just pretending, it would be too much to take him and his mother back under house arrest.

Looking at the young man's confused expression that could not be concealed at all, Anson couldn't help but want to laugh in his heart; Joseph III thought he could control himself by pinching the little king and the queen mother, but he forgot that he had absolutely legitimate reasons to put this The two of them were taken directly back to Clovis City.

disagree? If you don't agree, you are maliciously placing the Clovis royal family under house arrest and blackmailing them; then the other party's banner of defending the laws of the ordered world and invading Clovis will disappear; Emperor Joseph Herred will become a loner in the literal sense.

And if it is agreed, Xiaolong City will no longer have any shackles that can restrain itself, and it will blatantly represent the interests of the entire Clovis and negotiate with all parties as a ruling party:

"Your Majesty, please rest assured that the Osteria Palace is still intact. Everyone in the Kingdom of Clovis is eagerly waiting for your Majesty and the Queen Mother to return to the capital to restore the glory of the Osteria royal family and comfort them. The hearts of thousands of subjects.”