King
Chapter 723 - 723 24 The Crown Prince's Grand Wedding_2

723: Chapter 24, The Crown Prince’s Grand Wedding_2 723: Chapter 24, The Crown Prince’s Grand Wedding_2 A king is also human, and it’s only natural to express occasional displeasure and throw a small tantrum.

Returning to his homeland, Hudson was treated much better this time.

Unfortunately, watching Earl Piers head to his estate, all he could do was feel envious.

The Koslow family also had a house in the capital, but its location and size limited its grandeur no matter how much modification was done.

It was fine for him to live in, but it was kind of embarrassing to receive guests there.

As an actual Earl, Hudson was known as a major noble in the Alpha Kingdom.

An estate that matched his status was a scarce resource in the capital, not something that could be bought merely with money.

Therefore, Hudson simply stayed at the inn, occupying the major noble reception area alone, causing a great fright to the inn staff.

Major nobles prefer staying on their own premises, and rarely stay at inns when they arrive at the capital.

The VIP areas at the inn were typically vacant, and only occasionally used to host foreign guests.

Everyone is inherently lazy, and when something isn’t used frequently, there tends to be negligence in maintenance.

But as it turned out, all these worries were superfluous – Hudson had never been a fussy person.

After arriving in the capital following a day of arduous travel and then being pulled into a banquet, he fell right asleep upon returning to the inn, with no time or energy to attend to minor details.

…

At the Jade Palace, Caesar III greeted the arrival of King George, dragging his exhausted body.

Both nations attached great importance to this marriage alliance and put forward their utmost sincerity.

Crown Prince Caesar went out with the highest standards to welcome the bride, while King George, being the good brother, went in person to send his sister off.

Clearly, such grandeur was not simply about the marriage alliance, but more importantly, to further deepen the alliance between the two nations.

Among the human kingdoms in the Northern Continent, the Alpha Kingdom, Warhammer Kingdom, and the Moxi Duchy were the three strongest.

Even after an Orc invasion, this structure remained unchanged.

Now that the Warhammer Kingdom has initiated endless internal strife, many of the Northern Continent’s affairs have fallen into the hands of Alpha Kingdom and the Moxi Duchy.

In what should have been a fortunate event for both nations, neither could fully appreciate their luck given the current situation.

After some casual conversation, Caesar III, as the host, initiated the formal discussion.

“George, the Orc Empire may be in decline, but the situation in the Northern Continent still leaves no room for optimism.

In the past, we only had to worry about the Orc threat.

Now, not only do we need to consider different races, but we also must deal with internal conflicts among our own people.

Let’s put aside the powerful forces like the Frank Kingdom, Iberia Kingdom, and the Clergy for now.

The mere Dante Kingdom, Black Forest Kingdom, South Coast Kingdom in the Central Region are already big headaches.

Seeing our two houses heavily wounded, they’re getting restless and extending their grasp towards the Northern Continent.

While their actions are tentative at present, once their ambitions are revealed, it would be hard to stop them.

Even if we plan to jointly create a Magical Beast Legion, it can only temporarily stabilize the various kingdoms of the Northern Continent.

If our two houses fail to take strong measures promptly, the choices of these opportunists would likely be disappointing!”

Crisis may not always reveal true friendships, but it can create allies.

A common enemy has brought the Alpha Kingdom and the Moxi Duchy together.

“Your Majesty is correct, the three major Central Kingdom’s reach has indeed extended too far.

If we don’t issue a warning, I’m afraid everyone will forget who the true master of the Northern Continent is!

Unfortunately, the Moxi Duchy has suffered significant losses in the war, and even if we want to teach them a lesson, we are now powerless.

But it’s different for your country.

You have worked hard for decades to build a strong foundation for the Alpha Kingdom and it will only take a few years to heal the wounds of war.

In the upcoming course of action, we wish to maintain consistency with your Kingdom in order to uphold the prosperity and stability of the Northern Continent!”

George said, clearly flattering.

Giving up the leading role isn’t the issue of being coward or not.

It’s that regional hegemony in the Northern Continent holds no meaning for the Moxi Duchy, which is currently mired in a debt crisis.

After all, there can only be one ruler in a region.

For the Moxi Duchy, which has never been a ruler before, it is very difficult to harbor such ambition during a time of severe hardship.

The choice to form an alliance with the Alpha Kingdom at this moment is more about self-preservation than any naive idea of expansion.

Not to mention George, even the current Caesar III’s desire to expand is not strong, rather it is mostly about maintaining the existing base.

“Archduke George sees the problem clearly.

Without the Orc invasion, the Northern Continent could not tolerate their recklessness!

But now is the time for us to remain calm, not rush.

If the three of them want to cause a ruckus, let them.

The problem is if they have the power to start the fire, but not put it out.

When these difficult times pass, we will have plenty of opportunities to settle accounts with them.

No matter how much they have consumed now, they will have to regurgitate it several times over later!”

Caesar III proclaimed dominantly.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

The untimely coughing utterly disrupted the atmosphere that Caesar III had been building.

George, who had been full of confidence in the Alpha Kingdom, began to waver deep in his heart.

The strength of the Alpha Kingdom was multifaceted, one important factor being Caesar III’s rule.

If he were to fall and be replaced by a mediocre ruler, that would pose a completely different situation.

“Your Majesty, you must take care of your health!”

George said sincerely.

The alliance between the two nations had not formed in a day or two, the diplomatic marriage had already started, and it was too late to reconsider.

All he could hope for now was that Caesar III would live a few more years, prop up a sky for the two-nation alliance, and stabilize the current situation in the Northern Continent.

“Rest assured, I know my health, and I’m certainly not going to die for a while.

Let’s get back to business!

In addition to the current serious international situation, we have a new problem – the debt crisis.

I’m not sure what the situation is in your country, but the situation in the Alpha Kingdom is terrible.

Those annoying nobles, out of their own self-interest, are even discussing terms with the kingdom at this time.

laugh if you must, given the current complex situation, the kingdom’s Magical Beast Legion plan is likely to be downsized.

How to deal with this will depend on the results of the upcoming negotiation!”

Caesar III stated worryingly.

This seemingly sincere speech, full of gloom, fell upon George’s ears.

He hadn’t had time to plead his poverty and misery yet, but the opportunity to borrow money had already been blocked off.

How was he going to navigate this?

In the end, his face was not thick enough.

After a slight hesitation, Archduke George stiffly offered his reassurance: “Your Majesty, no need to worry too much.

Every family has a few troublesome nobles.

If your country’s finance is not optimistic, our situation is even worse.

This year’s tax revenue is almost entirely war bonds printed in previous years.

The royal treasury is so empty it could be home to rats.

Even the salaries of officials, I can’t afford to pay on time!

We must persevere!

As long as we persist, eventually we’ll be able to…”

The more George spoke, the more something felt off.

It seemed the financial problems of the Moxi Duchy were even more severe, so why was he the one offering comfort now?

Realizing he had been duped, George inwardly cursed Caesar III.

Still, the two maintained a congenial conversation on the surface, despite a somewhat strained atmosphere.

Perhaps sensing the conversation between his father and his uncle had hit a snag, Crown Prince Caesar, who was accompanying them, seized the opportunity to intervene: “The banquet is about to begin.

Let’s talk about the remaining issues tomorrow!

“George, it’s not often you come here.

I’ll take you to appreciate our Alpha Kingdom’s…”