Claude closed Borkal's report and didn't say anything for a long time.
He didn't think that the once dominant kingdom in the eastern part of Freia would end up in such a state.
Reading between the lines of the report, he could imagine the terrible state the kingdom was in. A civil war for the throne had brought great disaster to the kingdom's people and would last for decades.
Not to mention, the new king wasn't a wise one at all. For Aueras, there was still more to come.
Bam!
Eiblont slammed his fist on the conference table. He had just finished reading the report.
"If only I knew this would happen, if only I knew this would happen …" General Eiblont muttered angrily …
Claude could only shake his head. "Alan, we had no other choice.
I know what you're trying to say, but we didn't have a choice at all.
Prince Hansbach and Prince Wedrick weren't suitable targets, so we could only choose the one who posed the least threat to the kingdom's colonies. That's the main reason we were able to defeat Shiks and win the colonial war. Our conscience is clear.
As for how the kingdom will treat our war theatre, that's a matter for the future.
However, I believe that news of our victory should've reached Freia in the past three months. Soon, the kingdom will know that we've defeated Shiks.
In another two or three months, the kingdom's emissary will arrive and we'll know how the kingdom will treat us then. "
"Yes, Claude is right," Bolonik said.
"If we had gone to Prince Hansbach's side then," said Bolonik, "we would have been traitors to the Crown and its colonies.
That's why we had no choice but to serve Prince Wedrick, even though we knew he wasn't a good successor.
Now, all we have to do is hold our posts and wait for the kingdom's emissary.
No matter what, we didn't betray Marshal Michelic's trust in us and protected the colonies for the kingdom.
As soldiers, we have a clear conscience. "
Walking out of HQ, Claude said to his adjutant, Mason Hughes, "Take two men to Colonel Borkal. Tell him that I'll be holding a banquet at my place tomorrow night for him and his family."
During the siege of Lanu, Ferd Manor's high-class villa was one of the few areas in the city that wasn't affected. That was why Claude was able to hold a banquet at home to welcome his friends.
However, when his mother returned from the mountains and saw the ruins of Lanu that looked like a garbage dump, she was a little shocked and started talking about returning to the kingdom. She believed that she would be able to live a peaceful life in Whitestag.
Claude really didn't want to tell his mother the truth, but when Borkal's family arrived tomorrow night, she would know what true peace was and what a painful war was.
In order to commend Borkal for his trip to the kingdom, Bolonik had Skri allocate a large plot of land in the central square of Lanu for his family to start a new business in the colonies. He also received an interest-free loan of 30,000 crowns from the Minsheng Bank to reward him and his family for their carelessness in bringing back 60,000 refugees from the kingdom to fulfill the humanitarian spirit of the colonies.
The next day, at six in the evening, the carriage Claude sent to receive Borkal's family returned.
It had been years since Claude saw Borkal's father, the uncle of the most famous merchant in Whitestag, Rubwill Boderman.
Borkal's wife, a petite woman, and his two sons, aged ten and seven, were also there.
Claude's mother was probably the happiest of them all. She welcomed the arrival of her husband's good friend, Rubwill.
What surprised his mother was that Mr. Rubiwell seemed to have aged a little. His hair was mostly white, and there was a large bald spot in the middle. He was no longer the high-spirited and confident businessman he used to be.
The banquet turned into a classroom for his curious mother. As Rubwill explained, she found out that her hometown, Whitestag, had been ravaged by war. The entire city was in ruins and all men between the ages of fifteen to forty-five were forced to join the army and never returned.
Rubwill's family's business was robbed clean by the soldiers and he had no choice but to bring his family to seek refuge in Simirok.
But the three southwestern provinces were under the control of the eldest prince, so no matter where they went, they couldn't avoid being subjected to endless taxes and confiscation of resources.
When Hansbach finally left Whitestag and the three southwestern provinces were reclaimed by the kingdom, what they received wasn't the long-awaited peace and development, but punishment and fines.
As a merchant company that had its resources confiscated by the eldest prince's army many times, the robbery they suffered was said to be sponsoring the rebel army and they had to pay even more fines to be pardoned.
Rubwill had forgotten how he managed to survive those few years. He no longer cared about the loss of his family's wealth. All he wanted was to protect his family, his relatives, and the merchant company's employees.
He had seen too many tragedies of families being destroyed because they couldn't afford to pay the fines. He didn't want that to happen to those he was close to.
Fortunately, his family's business had been operating in the three southwestern provinces for many years and had weaved a large network of connections, allowing him to avoid the schemes and traps that targeted him.
Just as he felt that he couldn't hold on any longer, his son, Borkal, returned.
That was also the reason why he agreed to sell his family's trading company and followed Borkal to move his family, relatives, and employees to the colonies without any hesitation.
Because of that, his mother gave up on the idea of returning to Whitestag. She warmly invited Rubwill and his family to stay in Ferd Manor until the new house in Lanu was built.
Now, apart from her eldest son whose whereabouts were unknown, the other three children were in the colonies and she had two grandchildren, so she no longer wanted to return to Whitestag.
After dinner, Claude, Borkal, and his father went to the study on the second floor. Borkal had left out a large portion of his report to HQ and it was safer to talk about private matters there.
"Prince Wedrik won't be able to stay on the throne for long," Borkal said shockingly.
"Many nobles in the royal capital are dissatisfied with him, especially the older noble families. They believe that he's incompetent, muddle-headed, a bastard, and a dictator who refuses to relinquish power.
In the long run, the kingdom won't be a kingdom anymore.
There are already many nobles and knowledgeable people working in secret to push him off the throne.
"What a joke. Back then, they opposed the first prince's ascension to the throne, saying that they were worried that he would only wage wars and lead the kingdom down the path of war.
That's why they pushed Prince Wedrik to the front of the throne and reduced the kingdom to rubble. That was what they wanted.
Now, they're starting to regret their decision and think that the new king is incompetent. So, who are they planning to push onto the throne? "Claude sneered.
Borkal shook his head. "No, Claude, you're mistaken. The ones who supported Prince Wedrik's ascension were actually the new merchant nobles. The older noble families were originally neutral, or rather, they were only slightly biased towards Prince Wedrik.
"That's mainly because the first prince viewed the older noble families as his enemies and wanted to remove their influence and influence from the kingdom's military.
"For the sake of their own interests, they had no choice but to stand against the first prince.
However, after Prince Wedrick ascended to the throne, the old noble families realized that they had lost even more. This was because Prince Wedrick had placed great importance on the new business nobles. They could help Prince Wedrick obtain wealth for him to enjoy, allowing him to live a life of debauchery and extravagance.
"The older noble families hoped for the kingdom to settle down as soon as possible and not remain in a state of constant unrest.
In this kingdom's civil war, the up-and-coming business nobles suffered the most. Although these up-and-coming business nobles had always claimed to promote free trade in the kingdom, to put it bluntly, they were just competing with the old noble families. What they wanted was to monopolize the entire kingdom's trade and economic development.
That was why they were natural enemies with the older noble families.
In the kingdom itself, the older noble families had a monopoly on the kingdom's military industry and their influence was spread throughout the kingdom's military.
Two hundred years of development had allowed them to extend their influence deep into the various prefectures of the kingdom and monopolize the local specialties and financial transactions.
"The new merchant nobles wanted to break this monopoly, but they ran into a wall at every turn.
"So, after five years of war in the east, the kingdom handed over the three newly conquered duchies to the new merchant nobles. I believe that Stellin X wanted to support the new merchant nobles so that they could contend against the older noble families. This would allow the royal family to benefit from the stalemate between the two factions and obtain more benefits, reducing their reliance on the older noble families.
"This is also why the first prince tried his best to reduce the influence of the older noble families in the kingdom's military. Unfortunately, Stellin X didn't manage to hold on and passed away prematurely.
"The new merchant nobles weren't satisfied with the small profits they gained from the newly conquered territories and instigated Prince Wedrik to fight for the throne.
This forced the first prince to mobilize his troops in the newly conquered territories.
"Only then did the new merchant nobles realize that they had reaped what they sowed. All their efforts and plans for the newly conquered territories were swept away by the first prince's troops.
"However, Wedrik's father-in-law was Crimsondragon's Field Marshal Siegfeld. As a member of the older noble families, he had no choice but to step in and support Wedrik, allowing him to once again gain the right to fight for the throne against the first prince.
"The civil war that followed was actually a clash between the older noble families and the first prince. Nobody expected that the civil war would turn the entire kingdom upside down.
"When news of the first prince's retreat from Whitestag and assassination spread, Wedrik happily ascended to the throne, thinking that no one had the right to fight him for the throne. From then on, he acted arbitrarily and didn't listen to anyone's advice. He used the new merchant nobles to rake in money for him throughout the kingdom.
"Do you know why the kingdom hasn't settled down yet?
It's all the fault of the new merchant nobles.
"Everything I've seen in the royal capital and on the road has proven the crimes of the new merchant nobles.
"The surrounding prefectures of the kingdom are in turmoil. The people have no way of making a living. Bandits and refugees are everywhere. These are all man-made disasters caused by them.
"They were appointed as special envoys by that incompetent prince Wedrik, the new king we serve, Stellin XI. They swaggered about in the prefectures of the kingdom and called all the citizens who supported the first prince traitors. It didn't matter if they were forced to do so. Even if they were conscripted, the outcome would be the same. Their properties would be confiscated and they would be sentenced to forced labor. Large numbers of citizens would be forced to leave their homes and become refugees.
"The new merchant nobles did all that to make up for the losses they suffered in the newly conquered territories. Secondly, they raked in the wealth of the people for Stellin XI's enjoyment. Thirdly, they cut off the influence of the older noble families in the civil wars so that they could control the trade routes in the kingdom.
"Now, the older noble families and the new merchant nobles are like fire and water. There's a huge conflict between them …"
"Did you come up with all that yourself or did someone tell you?" asked Claude, interrupting Borkal's rambling.
"Umm …" Borkal froze for a moment. He thought for a moment and said, "Some of it was revealed when I was talking to others. Some of it was something I came to understand when I thought about it. Most of it is what I heard and saw in the royal capital."
Claude nodded. Borkal should have said what he wanted to say on his own and not become someone else's pawn and lobbyist.
"Who do you think will become our new king if Prince Wedrik steps down?" asked Claude.
"I believe it must be His Highness Fredri," replied Borkal with certainty.
"Why him?"
Claude asked with interest, "The five princes and princesses of the late king, Stellin XI, have long been evaluated. The eldest prince is steady, the second prince is flirtatious, the third princess is unruly, the fourth prince is cowardly and the fifth princess is greedy.
Now that the eldest prince is gone and the flirtatious second prince is about to step down, the third princess, the fourth prince, and the fifth princess are the only contenders.
Looking at it from all angles, the third princess and the fifth princess should have a better chance. One is unruly and the other greedy. No matter how you look at it, they're more likely to win than the cowardly fourth prince. "
Borkal smiled. "Princess Adelina doesn't stand a chance at all. She's married to the representative of the new merchant nobles, Marquis Ruhlheim.
There's no way the older noble families would remove Prince Wedrik from the throne and push Princess Adelina to the throne. That would make no difference at all.
"Fredri, on the other hand, doesn't have that problem. His wife is the daughter of Madam Maria whom you asked me to visit. Her husband is Viscount Cutef, the vice-jarl of the royal guard and a lieutenant-general of the kingdom. He can be considered a member of an older noble family.
"Fredri, on the other hand, has a peaceful personality and doesn't like war. If he becomes king, he'll definitely pacify the turbulent situation in the kingdom and develop the economy of the surrounding prefectures.
The first time I visited Madam Maria's mansion, Madam Maria and Viscount Cutef only talked about ordinary topics. Madam Maria asked about you and your sister Anna's recent situation, while Viscount Cutef was concerned about the colonial war and the strength of the Monolith and Thundercrash regiments in the colonies' war zone.
I wanted to know the details of the war and felt deeply sorry for their inability to help us get support from the kingdom.
But the second time, I was invited by their invitation. It was a gathering held at their mansion, and all the people who attended were Imperial Guards with the rank of Colonel and above.
Then I saw His Royal Highness Frederick, the 4th Prince, appear and dance with his wife, Princess Christy, Lady Maria's daughter.
Viscount Cutef introduced me to Prince Fredri, who expressed his admiration and sympathy for us for persisting in the colonial war up until now.
But as he's just a prince in name only, he can't help us in the war zone and he felt quite sad about it.
He said that he spent most of his time at home reading and didn't have much to say in front of his brother, Stellin XI, as Prince Wedri didn't like him much.
Before we left the party, Viscount Carter vaguely hinted that the situation in the Kingdom might undergo drastic changes after some time. He said that it was a pity that the two legions in our war zone were too far away from the Kingdom. Otherwise, he could entrust his son-in-law, Prince Frederick, and his daughter to us. He believed that we would be able to ensure their safety.
"I thought he was joking and said that Prince Fredri and his daughter could follow me back to the colonies and that we would ensure their safety.
Viscount Cutef smiled without saying a word.
"When I was on my way back to the three southwestern prefectures, I suddenly remembered what he said and understood right away. He wasn't intending to entrust his daughter and son-in-law to us. Instead, he wanted to push Prince Fredri to the throne and asked if we would support him." Claude smiled bitterly.
It didn't matter if the war zone supported him or not. It wasn't like they could fly across the Silent Ocean.
Viscount Cutef wasn't asking for the war zone's opinion. He just considered the war zone to be a part of Aueras, so he gave them a routine notice to let them know what to do in case there were any more problems.
Prince Hansbach had lost two of the kingdom's ocean-going fleets. There was no way for large scale shipping between the kingdom and the colonies. Even if the war zone supported Prince Fredri's ascension, they wouldn't be able to send troops there unless they took control of the captured Alliance fleet.