King
Chapter 659 - 659 1 Earl of Layton County_1

659: Chapter 1, Earl of Layton County_1 659: Chapter 1, Earl of Layton County_1 The dust has settled and the farewell banquet was especially lively.

Crown Prince Caesar personally attended the Blood Moon Castle, performing his duties for the nobles of the kingdom.

It was evident that Caesar III had gone to great lengths to pave the way for his son.

By tradition, the celebratory banquet after the great war should have been held in the royal palace, but this time it was instead held at the border.

They claimed that this was to commemorate the fallen soldiers, but everyone understood very well that this was merely to provide Crown Prince Caesar with more opportunities to appear before the public.

Emotional bonds are formed through interaction.

The more times people interact, the more likely it is for them to encounter like-minded friends.

Being the crown prince, as long as he wanted to win people over, he would not suffer from lack of supporters.

Frankly speaking, Crown Prince Caesar’s performance was not bad at all.

Apart from the major setback in the expedition against Moxi Duchy, he had not done anything that could incite public anger.

Even if he had grievances against someone, he would always show a welcoming smile.

Being able to conceal one’s real inner feelings is a necessary trait for a monarch.

As Crown Prince Caesar continuously mingled among the crowds, Hudson tacitly yielded the stage and quietly stepped back to allow him to put on his performance.

Regrettably, the mood quickly changed following the entrance of the New Northern Five Dukes.

Hudson, who should have mediated and eased the atmosphere, was nowhere to be found.

The major nobles of the kingdom reveled in watching the brewing conflict, as if they were eagerly awaiting a clash between the two parties.

Those nobles who were close to the royal family could only look on anxiously.

This was a test specifically meant for Crown Prince Caesar, and any attempt from others to help would only cause more harm than good.

“Torsten, Rodriguez, Anheer, Pedro, Duke Hiro, it’s been a while, how have you all been recently?”

Whether it was deliberate or coincidental, Crown Prince Caesar intentionally mixed up the order of the Northern Five Dukes when addressing them.

Within a political group, there is always a hierarchy.

Whose voice weighs heavier, whose voice weighs lighter, these could be discerned from the order of their appearances.

However, this understanding was all inherited from the previous generation.

The old generation has passed, but the new generation has yet to adapt to the original rules of the game.

After all, the strengths among the five major families in the north were relatively equivalent.

The ranks within the alliance were never fixed; whichever clan’s ruler was more capable and respected, their influence within the alliance would be greater.

Crown Prince Caesar’s seemingly insignificant addressings were actually filled with provocation and incitement.

The only issue was that his tactics were too juvenile, making his intentions apparent to everyone.

“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness, we’ve been faring poorly recently!” Duke Hiro responded with irritation.

Speaking utterly truthfully, their recent days had indeed been bitter and difficult.

With the sudden passing of the older generation, their internal affairs were left unsettled.

These successors were forced into their positions.

They weren’t able to manage their internal affairs smoothly and their predecessors left behind a slew of problems waiting to be solved.

The external troubles were even greater, with the hostility of the kingdom’s aristocrats causing sleepless nights for the five of them.

This complex situation had never before occurred in the history of the northern nobility.

In the past, even if a power shift occurred, it never involved all five families simultaneously.

Even when a family ran into trouble, they could rely on the support of their allies to stabilize the situation.

Yet, now all the leading families are in trouble at the same time, and their allies who would normally band together for warmth are also unable to look after themselves.

Not only are the five head families facing trouble, but the minor nobles who relied on them are also going through a change in succession.

After all, when the boss fell due to his illicit arms dealing, those who had followed him could hardly remain untouched, could they?

Not getting caught by the investigation team counts as luck.

But once found out, they might as well slit their own throats!

The whole power bloc had undergone severe internal turbulence.

That was the core reason why the northern nobility did not seize the spoils of war.

The choice to show up publicly after the dust had settled was not only to curry favor with everyone but also to seek sympathy.

People can’t but sympathize with the weak, being members of the same noble camp, the more pitiful and helpless the northern nobility appear, the more likely they can arouse people’s sympathies.

This sympathy might be worthless in face of interests, but in situations not involving personal interests, it’s another story.

In order to imprint the image of “poor and helpless” deeper in people’s minds, they now do not hesitate to provoke Crown Prince Caesar, and deliberately carve out an image of a pitiful noble being oppressed by the royal family.

“That really is terrible!

But my dear brother Hiro, I believe you can handle these small troubles!” Crown Prince Caesar said sincerely.

Clearly, he had noticed the calculation of the northern nobility.

Hence, he chose to play along.

He might as well announce to everyone that he and they shared a deep brotherly bond!

…

Both parties were drama queens, playing out a heart-stirring meeting, an event lascivious enough to make Hudson roll his eyes.

Admittedly, those nobles matured early.

Even though they were only in their teens or twenties, they had the attitudes of sly foxes in their fifties or sixties.

If they were to continue developing in this way, in twenty years, these guys would turn into sly foxes dominating the political scene.

As for now, they were getting too engrossed in their role-play and the old guys had seen right through them.

Perhaps, only the politically dim-witted among the younger generation would be fooled.