The maid stood frozen in place, unsure of what to do. She glanced at William, who simply waved her off. Without further hesitation, she turned and left.
The young prince, Norton II, was still fuming and made a move to chase after her. However, a cold voice from behind caused him to freeze in his tracks.
"Norton II," William said slowly, his tone calm but firm. "You are the crown prince. You should be magnanimous. Publicly humiliating a mere maid like this—is that the behavior befitting the future king of the Navia Kingdom?"
"Hmph!" The young prince, blinded by rage, blurted out, "With you around, will I even have a chance to be king one day?"
The moment those words left his mouth, the queen's face turned deathly pale, and the guards in the garden all turned their heads, their cold eyes fixed on the prince.
William tilted his head back and laughed. "Your Highness, the common folk say that the royal family is cold and heartless. There are even rumors accusing His Majesty's family of oppressing the people. I've always dismissed such talk as the slander of idle gossips. But now it seems these rumors might not be baseless after all. Without me, your entire family would have been destroyed by Rielde and his band of treacherous ministers long ago. Who knows what state this kingdom would be in now? And yet, this is how you treat me, your benefactor and loyal servant?"
He paused, then continued with a hint of sarcasm: "You must be exhausted—so tired that you've lost your senses." Turning to the guards, William ordered, "Escort Her Majesty and the prince back to their quarters to rest."
The guards immediately surrounded the queen and the prince. The queen, panicked, stood up hastily, while Norton II fearfully clung to his mother.
One of the guards gestured politely for them to proceed, and the group escorted—or rather, detained—the queen and the prince out of the garden.
After they left, a guard officer approached William and saluted.
"Where is the king?" William asked, glancing around the garden.
"A nobleman came earlier to visit His Majesty with his daughter," the officer reported. "The nobleman has left, but his daughter remains in the king's chambers, resting with him."
William sneered in disdain. "Is that all he's capable of now?"
He then issued a new order: "From today onward, no nobles or their family members are allowed to visit the royal family without my explicit permission!"
With the Celestial Dragons scheduled to arrive next year, William, though unafraid, wanted to avoid unnecessary complications. He decided to tighten his control over the king and his court. Previously, William had been indifferent to the interactions between the fallen nobles and the equally diminished royal family, even turning a blind eye to their secret dealings. But now, things were different.
...
Like a lion patrolling his territory, William made a round of inspections in the palace before heading to the parliament building outside the palace grounds. The building itself had been repurposed from the confiscated estates of disgraced nobles, with only minor renovations to make it suitable for official use.
As he approached the building, he noticed a nobleman hurrying toward it from a distance. Upon spotting William and his entourage, the nobleman froze in fear and tried to flee, but William's men quickly apprehended him.
William glanced at the sky, then looked at the trembling nobleman before him. "Who is this?"
"Viscount Ochoa," one of William's adjutants whispered.
William called over the gatekeeper stationed at the entrance of the parliament building and asked, "Did Viscount Ochoa sign in today?"
The gatekeeper flipped through a thick ledger. After a while, he replied, "No, he did not."
Cold sweat dripped down Viscount Ochoa's forehead as he stammered, "I went to visit His Majesty the King today, which is why I'm late."
Since William had taken charge of the kingdom's affairs, the nobles had been subjected to his strict discipline. They were required to sign in at the parliament building twice daily without fail. Even a single tardy could result in severe consequences, including the loss of their noble titles.
"I see. Offering your daughter to serve the king, currying favor with him—such matters are more important to you than the functioning of the entire kingdom, aren't they?" William said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You're dismissed. Don't bother coming back."
Viscount Ochoa collapsed to the ground, his legs giving out beneath him.
William paid no attention to the nobleman's humiliation. With the Celestial Dragons' visit looming, he planned to use the pretext of inspecting rural areas and immigration projects to temporarily exile these pampered nobles to remote islands and countryside settlements.
These privileged aristocrats would undoubtedly resist, but William intended to use this opportunity to make it clear that their opinions were irrelevant. In this kingdom, it was William's word that carried the most weight.
...
The events at the palace and the parliament building couldn't be kept secret for long.
The newly established East Blue News was the first to receive the reports.
In the newspaper's office, the editor who first received the scoop was immediately struck with inspiration. With a flourish of his pen, he drafted two sensational headlines:
"Why Was a Poor Maid Whipped by the Prince?""Corrupt Noble Faces Justice from the First Consul!"
The editor fabricated a backstory for the maid, portraying her as a girl from the slums, and exaggerated the prince's reprimand into a whipping. He also recast the nobleman who offered his daughter to the king as a corrupt official. The goal was clear: to deepen the divide between the common people and the aristocracy, while highlighting the brilliance and authority of the kingdom's First Consul, Morgan Stolt William.
The editor submitted the draft to his chief editor, who was thoroughly impressed and forwarded it to Gesseta's office for final approval.
"This editor has real potential," Gesseta remarked, nodding in approval. "Award him a second-class merit."
...
Spring, Year 1511 of the Sea Calendar.
"It's coming down! It's coming down!"
At the docks of Kalmar City, a crowd of people gazed skyward through telescopes, shouting in unison.
A small black dot on the horizon gradually descended, revealing itself to be a hot air balloon as it drew closer.
In the basket suspended below the balloon, a young man waved enthusiastically, his face beaming with excitement.
As the balloon wobbled to a landing on an open field, William led a group of people to greet it.
The principles behind hot air balloons weren't particularly complex, nor did they require advanced technology. The concept relied on heated air, and it had already been invented in William's previous life during the 18th century.
Last year, during William's diplomatic visits to other nations, he had ordered the development of hot air balloons. This was why Sabo's ship had been equipped with sky lanterns using similar principles when he departed from the Goa Kingdom.
The adjutant who had piloted the balloon nimbly jumped out of the basket.
"How was it?" William asked with a smile.
The adjutant seemed to savor the experience for a moment before replying, "The wind up there is a bit strong."
William laughed heartily. Just then, another adjutant pushed through the crowd and whispered something in his ear.
Hearing this, William immediately lost interest in the hot air balloon. After offering some words of encouragement to the first brave test pilot, he left the scene.
When William returned to his estate, he found Gin sitting casually on a sofa in the first-floor hall, dressed in civilian clothes. Aramis was keeping him company, chatting idly.
The moment Gin saw William enter, he stood up. William opened his arms and strode forward, while Gin grinned broadly. The two old friends, who had endured countless hardships together, embraced tightly, patting each other's backs before stepping apart.
"I thought you said it'd be another month or two before you returned to the East Blue?" William asked.
"The old Marine hero suddenly decided he wanted to visit home," Gin replied with a grin. "The Marines and the World Government couldn't refuse him, and since my home is in the East Blue, I hitched a ride back."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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