I Will Be The Crowned King

Empire, Xiaolong Principality, Lakeside Manor.

A crisp knock on the door woke Bernard Morwes from his sleep. He tried to open his eyes and saw the well-dressed, white-gloved old butler entered the room and put the steaming tray on his own. 's bed:

"Your coffee, sir."

"Oh, thank you, Ryan." Bernard, who was yawning and resisting sleepiness, got up sleepily from the bed. The dream that had gone away seemed to be still lingering in his mind: "What time is it now?"

"Nine-fifty-five, sir; Mrs. Juliana has been heading into town an hour to attend Her Majesty's Garden Party—as she always does," said the old butler respectfully, pulling aside the heavy Wool Flannel Curtains:

"Madame ordered me to inform you that she may be back late tonight, and dinner can be prepared without any further preparation - do you need me to bring your formal clothes?"

"No need, just hand me the nightgown."

Bernard, who was sitting on the bed, took a sip of coffee, and the bitter taste finally made him a little sober: "I'm not going anywhere today, and I'm not going to entertain guests - tell the kitchen to stop preparing lunch, I'm fine today. appetite."

"Yes, sir."

The old butler nodded, and while Bernard was drinking coffee, he brought the ironed silk nightgown, nightcap, wool socks and cotton slippers for him, all dressed like a formal dress.

"Lane."

"Master Bernard?"

"Is the climate in the Principality of Xiaolong always so humid, or have I stayed in the north and south for too long, and I can't even adapt to the climate here?"

"Perhaps this is partly the reason, my lord, but more likely it is because of the Church of Order." The old butler said calmly:

“Not long after you returned home, Your Majesty has agreed to the church’s request to build factories near the capital—each of those factories has a dozen huge chimneys, spewing gray steam into the sky, so much so that the Principality of Xiaolong, which has always been dry, is connected to the sky. The air has also become humid."

"Really?" Bernard was stunned. "When did this happen?"

"Last year—to be precise, it was the end of the 100th year of the saint's calendar, almost at the same time as you went to the colony." The old butler replied respectfully: "As you know, that year, President Luther of Clovis The bishop officially announced that the blockade on the core technology of steam will be lifted and promoted to the entire orderly world."

"Clovis is always the one to be left behind when it comes to deviants...even their archbishop."

"Yeah..." Bernard couldn't help sighing: "But in this way, the empire also has its own steam core, and can produce steel and mine coal in large quantities like the Clovis - losing this last It's not too long before they lose the war."

"Yes, sir."

But His Majesty's empire is likely to last until that day... Bernard secretly said in his heart.

Whether it is building a factory or producing a steam core, it is an extremely expensive investment. Just from the "a dozen chimneys" described by the old housekeeper, "even the dry Xiaolong City has become wet", it is not difficult Imagine how large these factories will be. …

Based on the income and expenditure of His Majesty's treasury, it is absolutely impossible to come up with such a large sum of money, and it must still be borrowed from the church bank; and those IOUs that are already piled up in the treasury are the church's noose that tightens the neck of the empire little by little.

Yesterday they could ask the Empire to open the transit permission for the Order of Judgment, and tomorrow they could "advise" the Empire to produce steam cores like Clovis, and then use the steady stream of "benefits" to make the Empire lay down a steady stream of IOUs until the Empire is one year old The tax of the country is not even on the interest of the loan, and more IOUs must be used to maintain the operation of the country...

So the mighty empire is no longer built on the ancient oath, the knight's sword and crown, and the white IOUs will replace the solid cornerstone bit by bit.

But these have nothing to do with themselves.

Bernard knew very well that, although the Emperor had not really punished him, he would never trust or reuse himself; barring an unknowable accident, Bernard Morwis' career would have ended.

No matter how many reasons and reasons, the colony that took the empire hundreds of years to gain a firm foothold could not escape the responsibility of being a "scapegoat" -- not being executed or deprived of aristocratic titles. , The emperor's conscience has not been wiped out, and the Morwes family is not planning to give up completely.

Juliana... She is proud like all the descendants of Herid. She will never bow her head and obey her fate. She knows there is no hope, but she is still running around all day, begging the queen and the adults in the court for her.

But Bernard has given up.

The Empire might be able to win this war, but what would be the result—could it be possible to restore peace to the ordered world by taking away a few important military positions and putting Clovis in diplomatic isolation again?

Of course it is impossible, even completely thought... The Clovis people who have suffered humiliation, the next resistance will only be stronger than now; their passive response to the war itself is equivalent to acknowledging the dominance of the Empire in the orderly world; And the more the Empire wants to control and suppress them, the more they will arouse the idea of ​​resistance.

This is the way of the land, this is the colony... The stubborn emperor and the imperial court seem to never learn any lessons from their failures.

"I'm not going to see anyone today, and I don't want to be visited by anyone." Bernard stood up and was about to walk towards the dining room: "If anyone comes, tell them I'm not here, and don't let them enter the main building, drink the most

Dear, this chapter is not over, there is still another page ^0^Coffee as soon as possible. "

"Yes, sir."

The old butler nodded slightly, and then stopped Bernard's footsteps: "But since you mentioned the guests, there may be something to report to you first."

"What's up?"

"Before you got up this morning, a guest had already visited the lakeside manor. Out of the most basic courtesy, I did not refuse, but I also told him that you might not want to see the guest for the time being; before I was sure of your thoughts, I had to ask Guests go to the restaurant for a drink.”

"……Who?"

"Excuse me for being rude, but this guest doesn't want to reveal his name." The old housekeeper buried his head in his chest:

"He repeatedly asked me not to tell you that out of the most basic courtesy of a housekeeper, I was forced to agree to his request."…

Forced to agree... Bernard raised his eyebrows: "Let me guess, it's one of my relatives and his status is not low, right?"

The old butler didn't speak, just nodded silently.

Bernard's face immediately sank.

Leaving the bedroom, wearing slippers, he walked quickly through the corridor and stairs to the restaurant on the ground floor; before he got close to the door, he saw a figure with beautiful golden curly hair, holding a glass of crystal clear wine there with emotion:

"Slightly sweet, full-bodied, smoother than silk, and has a faint scent of sour plum... The ring of order is on, this taste is so unique, compared with our breakfast aperitif, it is almost the same Mature vinegar is no different!"

"Nonsense!" Bernard, who glanced at the bottle next to him, couldn't help but rolled his eyes, said subconsciously, "You drink this from the hoarding of the saint's eighty-sixth year, how can ordinary people's aperitif be compatible with This wine looks like... Arthur?!"

"My dear brother-in-law Bernard!"

Arthur Herreid turned around suddenly, and laughed sassily at the shocked Bernard, the wine glass in his hand almost spilled on the other side's face: "I miss you, brother-in-law!"

"How did you come here?!"

Bernard still didn't recover from the shock, and his pupils suddenly shrank to focus on an item in the other's hand that should not have appeared: "Also, can't you drink?"

He clearly remembered that the power of the opponent's "Dragon Knight" bloodline was comparable to that of the main gun of a battleship, but the disadvantage was that it had extremely high health requirements for the lungs and throat, and any damage would directly affect the performance of its strength.

Don't talk about wine... In order to avoid affecting his strength, this guy with a heavy smoking addiction even quit cigarettes.

"That was the past, and now I have found a way to avoid the side effects." Arthur smiled happily: "Well, it's all thanks to that girl."

"Which girl?"

"The one I met when I was in Hantu, the one who almost shot me down... uh, that's not important."

Arthur waved his hand and quickly changed the subject: "Anyway, I'm here today on behalf of His Majesty Herrid to summon his most trusted Colonial Minister."

"In order to prevent the rebellious colonies from completely converging with the Clovis people and entering a situation of confrontation with the Empire, His Majesty believes that some reasonable measures should be taken as soon as possible to bring these colonies back to the right path."

"And you, the distinguished chief minister of the colonies, my dear brother-in-law, are the people in the entire imperial court who know the actual situation of the colonies the most. Your Majesty hopes that you can visit the palace at the recent imperial meeting and tell the courtiers. Tell the truth to the Royal Family and help deal with this unprecedented crisis."

"In order to show respect and attention, Your Majesty specially selected me, who is both the royal family and your relative, to be responsible for the call, and I avoided making a lot of fanfare, so that your brother-in-law, who is resting, can avoid being harassed by worldly eyes."

"Oh, by the way, Your Majesty also told me that you can enter the palace at any time without obeying any rules; but... it is better to try to hold the imperial meeting at a time."

Looking at Arthur who was getting more and more excited, Bernard gradually calmed down: …

"Finished?"

"It's over, how is it, are you excited?" Arthur said excitedly: "I said a lot of good things for you in front of Your Majesty, my dear brother-in-law Bernard!"

"Thank you." Bernard nodded slightly: "I see."

"Oh, then when are you going to enter the palace?"

"No, I'm not going to enter the palace."

"..."

Arthur was stunned.

It was petrified for nearly a minute, as if the young knight who finally woke up from his sleep widened his eyes: "Aren't you going to enter the palace?!"

"Bernard Morwes, do you know how precious this opportunity is?! Do you know how long it took my sister to get it for you?!"

"I know, and I'm very grateful to my wife, your sister."

Bernard said lightly, his eyes were silent as if he could not see a trace of emotion: "But I have made up my mind that I will no longer accept any appointment from the royal family, because I see the facts clearly."

"What fact?!"

Arthur was still in disbelief.

"The truth is, I'm not an opponent of the Clovis, and I'm not suitable to be a colony governor." Bernard looked at him, and his voice was calm and terrible:

"I've tried, I've tried, and I've failed -- not because I'm disloyal, or because I've deliberately done something I shouldn't; the reason for failure is simply that I'm not suitable for the job."

"If His Majesty really wishes to know about the colonies

Dear, this chapter is not over, and there is another page ^0^ for the truth, then he should ask Bernard, or someone from the Roland family, not me, the failed colony governor. "

"Berna..." Arthur frowned: "You mean... Louis?"

"Yes." Bernard nodded slightly, then immediately shook his head:

"Neither."

"……What's the meaning?"

"It means that Louis can definitely give the most correct answer, but it is definitely not the one that His Majesty wants." Bernard pulled out the chair next to him and sat down, explaining in a leisurely manner:

"He will tell His Majesty that the best outcome for the Free Confederacy and the Empire is to abandon war and build a mutually beneficial alliance as an equal."

"But...that's impossible." Arthur stammered: "What Your Majesty wants...to take back the colony, not an alliance."

"So it's better not to let His Majesty meet Louis...or the current Governor of Sail City."

Bernard nodded expressionlessly: "And if he can't even do it, then I, the failed colony governor, can't help much."

"Thank you for your help, and thank you for your sister... But the incompetent Bernard is going to disappoint your siblings. I won't help the empire fight back against the new world and take back the colony, sorry."

After he finished speaking, he took the wine bottle on the table~www.readwn.com~ and filled it with a large glass of wine, as if he was about to get drunk and ready to drink it.

Just as the wine glass was about to touch the corner of his lips, the silent Arthur spoke again:

"Not His Majesty the Emperor."

"Um?"

With his right hand holding the wine glass hanging in the air, Bernard, who was stunned, frowned slightly: "What did you say?"

"It's not that His Majesty wants to take back the colony, but the church... They want to take the new world." Arthur raised his eyes and looked at Bernard:

"Last night, two guys dressed as judges came to Xiaolong City in a carriage from the Duchy of Edland overnight, just for this matter."

"An apostle... an unknown apostle crossed the turbulent sea and went to the new world; if the world of order does not act immediately, if the believers of the ring of order do not turn their eyes north as soon as possible, then the new world..."

"...will become the kingdom of the Old God Sect!"

Dear, this chapter is over, I wish you a happy reading! ^0^