Chapter 840: “It’s Okay, You Can Marry Later.”
Walking along the paths of the royal palace, Shien and Capeline chatted about many things besides sightseeing.
Specifically, they talked about the changes in the empire.
After Mara’s coup, many changes had taken place in the empire.
For example, the annihilation of the Raifurut House. Initially, high-ranking officials in the empire investigated the matter, but Harvis unilaterally suppressed it, completely erasing the glorious history of the Raifurut House. Even their base was leveled and transformed into a garden, making it seem as if the ancestors of the Raifurut House could not rest in peace.
Sharing a similar fate with the Raifurut House was the Renitra House.
Saliro’s defection cemented the Renitra House’s status as traitors, leading to the stripping of their noble title and the confiscation of their property. Relatives and subordinates directly related to Saliro were all arrested without exception and were now in prison, likely to spend the rest of their lives there.
Naturally, those Mara supporters who had spread rumors about Harvis and Rockto were also dealt with one by one. Except for a small number who, seeing the situation turn unfavorable, immediately surrendered to Harvis, the other nobles either had their titles revoked, were marginalized, or even exiled to the border, never to return to the Imperial Capital, the political center of the empire.
It could be said that Harvis, upon taking office, acted decisively and ruthlessly, sending all those who had opposed him to hell, ensuring they could never rise again.
Replacing them were confidants promoted by Harvis and Capeline.
In other words, the empire’s power was now completely in the hands of Harvis and Capeline, forged into an unbreakable entity.
Although Saliro’s defection directly took away part of the empire’s knightly forces, causing the empire’s overall military strength to decline, and they also lost a top-tier Legendary Level expert, compared to the previous state of constant internal strife, the current empire, even with its decreased strength, was more difficult to infiltrate and deal with.
In addition, Harvis and Capeline were carrying out drastic reforms, diligently cultivating new nobles, new powers, and new fighting forces. The current empire could be described as flourishing, and even the half-destroyed Imperial Capital was being rebuilt to be even grander and more magnificent.
Under such circumstances, with the foolish emperor dethroned and Harvis and Capeline’s mother awakening from her long coma, the people of the empire not only weren’t disappointed or uneasy about the current empire, but they were also filled with anticipation.
This meant that the people of the empire saw a brighter future in the current empire.
Many could even imagine that in a few years, the empire would not only return to its peak but would also surpass it.
Harvis and Capeline also held great expectations for such an empire, determined to develop it to be even larger and stronger.
“Of course, we are prepared to reconcile with the kingdom and no longer engage in meaningless confrontation.”
Capeline also told Shien this.
“The conflict with the kingdom will have a significant impact on the empire’s development. Therefore, my brother is prepared to end this millennium-long conflict, reconcile the two countries, and even cooperate.”
If such a thing could be achieved, one could imagine the rapid development that would occur between the Mitra Kingdom and the Ragna Empire, the two most powerful human nations.
“This time, our purpose in coming to the Royal Capital is twofold: to participate in the Tripartite Conference and to reconcile and negotiate with the kingdom.”
Capeline stated this.
Currently, Harvis and Rockto were with Ancil, engaging in talks.
“His Majesty Ancil seems somewhat interested, but he doesn’t appear to be actively promoting this matter. I don’t know what he’s thinking.”
Capeline seemed somewhat worried that the negotiations might fail.
Shien, however, smiled.
“Don’t worry.” Shien said to Capeline, “If I’m not mistaken, His Majesty the King approves of this matter, but he doesn’t intend to handle it himself.”
“He doesn’t intend to handle it himself?” Capeline was startled at first, then seemed to understand something, her heart stirring. “Could it be that His Majesty Ancil intends to let Princess Lia de Aldia facilitate this matter?”
Capeline’s political instincts were quite sharp, immediately guessing the reason.
“That’s right.” Shien nodded, smiling. “He originally intended to pass the throne to Lia. Now, he’s trying various ways to let Lia take on some of the queen’s duties and achieve some tangible results, paving the way for her ascension.”
Simply put, it was building momentum.
Hastily passing down the throne and letting Lia establish some political achievements before ascending the throne would yield completely different results.
The former would make the people subconsciously feel uneasy, unsure whether the new queen had the ability to inherit the throne and make the kingdom better.
The latter would create the impression of a capable person ascending the throne, making the people not only feel at ease but also hopeful and expectant when Lia took over.
Just like how Harvis’s ascension created a flourishing atmosphere in the empire, the people would naturally feel happy and hopeful when a capable person ascended the throne.
Therefore, Ancil needed to build momentum for Lia, letting her achieve some tangible results.
If Lia could facilitate the reconciliation and cooperation with the empire, it would undoubtedly boost her reputation significantly.
This way, once the kingdom and empire cooperated, leading to greater prosperity and strength for both countries, the people would always remember the wisdom of Queen Lia de Aldia.
In addition…
“After all, the kingdom and empire have been fighting for many years. There must be many anti-imperial factions within the kingdom who are hostile to the empire. If Ancil ignores their opinions and directly reconciles and cooperates with the empire, they will definitely cause trouble.”
Shien pointed this out.
“On the contrary, if all of this is done by Lia, then even if they have any objections, they can’t directly oppose it.”
Because they wouldn’t know whether this was a genuine effort or if Ancil was deliberately giving Lia a task he didn’t intend to complete, letting her taste the bitterness of failure and learn restraint and reflection.
At least, if they voiced opposition to this matter, Ancil would definitely use this excuse to suppress their voices.
Once Lia succeeded in the negotiations, Ancil would definitely pass down the throne immediately.
By then, it would be a done deal, and it would be too late for those opposing factions to do anything.
If they still refused to give up and tried to cause trouble secretly, that would be obstructing internal affairs, a definite capital offense.
Therefore…
“You shouldn’t be talking to Ancil about this, but to Lia.”
Shien pointed Capeline in the right direction.
“I understand.” Capeline naturally had no reason to refuse and immediately nodded. “I’ll talk to my brother about it.”
Just like that, their conversation continued without pause.
After discussing the empire’s affairs, Capeline began talking about her own matters.
For example, she had been granted the surname Lancefall and become a newly appointed Duchess of the empire. Her fief, the Lancefall territory, bordered the kingdom’s Strimm Duchy, making it the imperial territory closest to the kingdom.
Granting such a territory to Capeline, the emperor’s sister, clearly revealed the empire’s future intentions, which were definitely to pursue a closer relationship with the kingdom.
After all, Shien was a noble of the kingdom.
This was the fundamental reason why the empire was no longer confronting the kingdom.
“Come visit my territory when you have time.” Capeline said to Shien. “I heard that the Strimm House targeted you before. I’ve already prepared several strategies to make them suffer. You can come watch the show then.”
These words instantly made Shien’s expression turn strange.
What made Shien even more bewildered was that the princess’s topics became increasingly suggestive.
For example…
“Do you like seeing me in the kingdom’s attire or the empire’s?”
“Have you ever thought about marrying more women in the future?”
“Would you mind if your future wife was from the empire?”
“You haven’t thought about marrying again yet? You already have quite a few women around you?”
“It’s okay, you can marry later, but I think you should consider having children…”
Topics like these from the imperial princess became increasingly strange to Shien.
Especially since this girl wasn’t holding back. When Shien let go of her shoulder, she instead clung to his arm, pressing her entire body against him, allowing him to clearly feel her…assets.
This wasn’t even the worst part.
What truly made Shien feel suffocated was that this woman not only clung to him herself but also made someone else do the same.
“Tilly, you too.”
Capeline pulled Tilly, who was following behind, over, making her hug Shien’s other arm tightly, even specifically ordering her not to let go, leaving Tilly completely dumbfounded.
“Wait… why am I…?”
Tilly looked at her body pressed against Shien in a daze, then at her hand tightly gripping his arm, and finally looked up at the sky with a bewildered expression, like a confused fruit under a confused tree, as if she were the only confused person in the world.
And Capeline still wasn’t satisfied.
“Next time, don’t wear anything underneath, hug tighter, and press closer.”
The princess whispered these instructions.
“…”
Tilly was dumbfounded.
“…”
Shien fell silent.
The three of them wandered around the palace for more than an hour, but for the last hour, Shien and Tilly basically didn’t say a word, only looking at Capeline, who kept talking about suggestive topics, with bewildered expressions, their worldviews almost crumbling.
However, this scene, in the eyes of others, wasn’t quite the same.
Many people saw the scene of Shien being sandwiched between Capeline and Tilly, strolling around continuously, exchanging glances and whispering amongst themselves.
It was imaginable that today’s events would definitely spread throughout the palace.
Until…
“You jerk!”
A surprised voice rang out.
