King
Chapter 1069 - 1069 153 Middle East Front

1069: Chapter 153, Middle East Front 1069: Chapter 153, Middle East Front “Princess Madelena, please escort Marshal Hudson for me,” Caesar IV instructed.

To mount a convincing act and deceive all eyes, every detail had to be meticulously in place.

The princess being seen with the marshal would at most become a tale of a hero and a beautiful lady—no one would meddle too much.

But should the King interact with the marshal in private, that would certainly give people cause for thought.

“Marshal Hudson, shouldn’t you ask me for a dance?” Princess Madelena said, her mood deflated.

The previous scene of sharing the spoils had completely reshaped her understanding.

Fortunately, being born into The Royal Family, she had cultivated the ability to remain unflustered by change from a young age.

Deep inside, she also felt a tinge of regret.

Had she known that Hudson, this dark horse, would rise so rapidly, she would have made her move the first time they met.

Of course, a baron like Hudson could not possibly be a marital candidate for The Royal Family.

But if she had acted earlier, she could have delayed Hudson’s marriage affairs.

Royal strategic marriages do not welcome nobles of humble origin, but that is not the same as not welcoming a marshal who controls the Kingdom’s Army.

Now, Hudson had acquired the value worthy of being courted by The Royal Family.

For a princess destined for a strategic marriage, the treatment she would receive if she stayed within the Kingdom far outweighed the benefits of marrying abroad.

There are no ‘ifs’ in reality; a missed opportunity is missed indeed.

Thinking about it would only lead to frustration and serve no other purpose.

“Your Highness, please!” Hudson replied, somewhat awkwardly.

Heaven and earth be his witness, he truly didn’t know how to dance.

Even if Hudson had risen through the ranks, his origins were that of a minor baron; his available resources were few and far between.

Just maintaining his daily training consumed a considerable amount of resources—he couldn’t afford to hire a professional dance instructor to learn what seemed to the lower nobility like irrelevant skills.

In such a setting, unable to dance wasn’t an option.

For other nobles, failing to keep up with the rhythm invited ridicule.

But with Hudson’s current status, it became a reflection of personality.

Without surprise, when on stage, Hudson’s performance was indeed quite individualistic, at times even leading to intimate contact with Princess Madelena—those unaware might think they were flirting.

They avoided collisions with others solely because everyone very considerately made space for them, quite proactively.

“Marshal, be mindful of the occasion!” Princess Madelena whispered sharply.

For a moment, Hudson turned green, realizing he couldn’t clear his name even if he jumped into the turbulent river.

He hadn’t formally learned to dance, and to make matters worse, Princess Madelena had chosen to execute some difficult moves to showcase her elegance, resulting in him appearing to take advantage of the situation.

Fortunately, Princess Madelena wasn’t genuinely angry, because otherwise, the reputation of a lecher would have landed squarely on him that day.

“Your Highness, let’s go have a drink instead,” Hudson quickly suggested.

They could not continue this charade on stage, or else by tomorrow, this graceful misadventure would become the talk of the entire noble circle.

For Princess Madelena, who did not wish to marry, this might have been a good thing, but for Hudson, it was a disaster.

He had to provide an explanation to The Royal Family.

As they descended from the stage amidst the envious glances of the crowd, what the others did not realize was that Hudson was envious of them too.

Compared to Princess Madelena, who was untouchable, it was these people who stood the chance of a genuine romantic encounter that night.

The true experts in love had all gone off to chat about life with the widowed noblewomen, while only Little White continued to circle around the noble daughters.

…

In the Frank Kingdom, following the end of the Continental War, Lutesya grew ever more prosperous.

To be precise, the entire South Continent was thriving.

The plight of countries in the Northern Continent and The Central Region served as a spring of development for the South Continent.

Faced with the rampant ravaging by the Alien Race Army, nobles and merchants of the Central-Northern Area, yearning for peace, took their centuries of wealth and their families and relocated to the South Continent.

The proactive Frank Kingdom, which took in refugees, was undoubtedly the biggest winner.

In a short amount of time, it gained millions of immigrants.

The arrival of these people provided a dual boost in manpower and finance to the Frank Kingdom for the development of new territories.

With an economic boom and expanding living space, opportunities were everywhere.

For a while, the social conflicts within the Frank Kingdom had reached an all-time low.

Everything was advancing positively, and the only remaining issue troubling the Frank Kingdom was that of “religious problems.”

Having caught the pulse of the era and successfully reaped the greatest benefits of the Continental War, the Frank Kingdom had not only surpassed its rivals but also reached the peak of the Continent.

Moreover, this competitive edge continued to grow wider over time.

In less savory corners, ship after ship of “Human slaves” were delivered from the Central Continent and the Northern Continent, fuelling the Frank Kingdom’s development.

Whether it was the Slave Traders’ extensive reach or some under-the-table deal between the first Human Kingdom and the Alien Coalition, nobody could say for sure.

In the absence of evidence, it was as if these things didn’t exist.

Besides, purchasing slaves from Different Races wasn’t something that only the Frank Kingdom was guilty of; the difference was they had acted first and on the largest scale.

A transaction where both parties had something to gain couldn’t be considered aiding the enemy.

The moment the Alien Coalition, led by elves, refused to indulge in racial extermination and accepted the surrender of Human soldiers, the seeds for this trade were sown.

For the Aliens, the Humans controlling certain areas were a potential threat.

Selling them off in exchange for essential development resources, when outright slaughter wasn’t convenient, was clearly the best choice.

With the downfall of thirty-one Human nations that seemed to be destroyed at alien hands, the reality was that the remaining Human Kingdoms and the Alien Coalition had jointly carved up their legacy.