King
Chapter 753 - 753 38 Assassination Case_1

753: Chapter 38, Assassination Case_1 753: Chapter 38, Assassination Case_1 Upon exiting the Royal Palace, Hudson’s head was still buzzing.

It wasn’t easy for an emerging noble, let alone for the leader among them.

It was clear from the current situation that no one was willing to cooperate with him when things went south.

If he had known this was Crown Prince Caesar’s scheme earlier, he wouldn’t have bothered to get involved and make enemies.

Reason tells him that if he keeps getting caught up in such things, the reputation he earned on the battlefield would eventually fad away.

A battlefield can be a platform for success, but it can also be a place of failure.

Hudson was acutely aware that the primary reason he was being ostracized was not because he was an emerging noble, but because his performance in battle was too flawless.

If he were an old man in his hundreds, it might have been more acceptable.

Everyone considering that he didn’t have long to live, they might have been more than happy to glorify him.

Unfortunately, Hudson was in his early twenties and could potentially be active in the kingdom’s political arena for decades.

With some thick-skinned maneuvering, he could stay relevant for up to a century.

Anyone with half a brain would realize that such a potential power broker should be suppressed soonest possible.

Otherwise, if they let Hudson run his course fluidly, how would their own descendants fare in the future?

The conflict over core interests determined that no matter how hard Hudson tried, he would never be truly accepted by all parties.

The situation now was that established nobility felt threatened about their interests once Hudson became powerful, whereas the emerging nobility lacked confidence to advocate for him.

The Royal Family had a more complex mindset.

While they needed his military abilities to deter external enemies, they also feared Hudson would become a threat to the monarchy.

Due to these factors, Hudson, who was adept at forming alliances, was finding himself alone and cornered in the political arena of the kingdom.

If it was just political trouble, he could deal with it.

However, the vigilant stance held by all parties severely restricted his actions.

The situation of the Southeastern Province was critical.

Most of the time, he found himself stuck in a defensive position rather than making proactive strides.

Although he had considered being more dominant, unfortunate examples from history of heroes who died young stopped him cold.

Reason told him that if he dared to step up now, he would either die young or becomes the latest recruit in the Cult organization.

Hopping countries in the hope of better prospects was not an option.

Such a decision would only result in a more tragic ending if things turned awry in the Alpha Kingdom.

It’s the same anywhere, when your existence threatens others’ interests, you are perceived as a cult.

If you can’t change the world, adapt to it.

After reviewing the success stories of many Major Nobles, Hudson found their common successful experience – “survival”.

Comparatively, the cards in Hudson’s hands now were more favorable.

He did not have to strive too hard, just bide his time and his age would eventually deliver him to the core of power.

The fancy name for it – the perseverance, was actually to keep a low profile to make people more comfortable and secure.

It is easier said than done.

If he hadn’t once received a severe beating from society, he might not have willingly chosen to keep a low profile at the prime of his life, even if he was in power.

With a cup of tea to soothe himself, Hudson regained his composure and began to ponder the content of the Royal Palace meeting.

Crown Prince Caesar wouldn’t stage such a drama at the risk of offending a host of established nobility without a compelling reason.

The invitation to the Clergy to preside over the ceremony seemed like a joke, but Hudson was well aware of the potential reality.

Given the current international situation, should Prince Caesar dare to send the invitation, Shelter VII would likely personally oversee the ceremony.

Although the reputation of the Clergy has plummeted among nobility, its influence remains strong among the general population, and even finds silent supporters within the nobility itself.

Securing support from these individuals would equally be crucial to solidify the monarch’s reign.

However, these elements alone were insufficient to provoke the Crown Prince Caesar to such extremes.

As individuals of reputation, a subtle hint would have sufficed.

Why did he have to spell it out himself?

Even if the Crown Prince couldn’t keep his peace, the seasoned politicians in the Royal Family would have advised against such an approach.

The only explanation for this was that it was deliberate!

Writing down the phrase “land annexation” on the table with his finger, Hudson sighed deeply.

It’s evident who Crown Prince Caesar is trying to woo.

Either those who had completely annexed their neighbors, or newly-risen and unstable powers.

No wonder he dared to use established nobility as a stepping stone.

From the very beginning, the two sides were at odds with no room for compromise.

If one were to trace this back, the real instigators were the five major families in the north.

Despite damaging their reputations in their ruthless annexation spree, they reaped significant benefits!

It was thanks to these benefits that they leaped from being peripheral lords to the top clans in the kingdom.

With such a prime example in front of them, it was impossible for anyone not to have some thoughts.

The only issue is that there were no Orcs in the south, obliterating any chance of engaging in proxy warfare.

Even involving foreign enemies wasn’t an option.

In the power struggle, everyone implicitly agreed not to kill nobles.

As long as they did not die in battle, they could usually keep their lives.

If brute force doesn’t work, one resorts to more technical methods.

Before the rise of the nobles of the North, everyone had more integrity.

They would wait for smaller nobles to falter before taking an opportunity to annex them.

That has changed now.

Waiting for small nobles to crumble was too time-consuming.

Ambitious individuals have learned the art of cunning maneuvers.

Hudson might not be well informed about other places, but in recent months in the Southeast Province, there have been plenty of accidents concerning small nobility.

Whether they were committing offenses and fined heavily, suffering financial losses in businesses, being targeted by robbers, or picking fights with neighbours due to a clash of egos…

No matter how plausible the stories seemed, in the end, these nobles involved were drained of their vitality.

It didn’t matter if the minor nobility noticed something wrong, they had no evidence.

Could they possibly expect someone to admit it voluntarily?

If they didn’t break the silence, their decline could be endured by retaining a nominal noble rank; but pulling the trigger could lead to either “forced” death or “force” alliance with the Cult.

Ironically, the greatest architect of the minor nobility’s downfall was not the major or medium size nobility within the province, but infighting among the minor nobles themselves.

Both Governors and Prefectural Governors only did two things – raise taxes and fan the flames.

By such means, if the Kingdom didn’t take timely action to stop it, the Southeastern Province might be almost partitioned before Crown Prince Caesar established his prestige.

After a rational analysis, Hudson was surprised to find that he had underestimated Crown Prince Caesar.

No matter how big the daytime outburst or the subsequent impact was, he had indeed deterred the old nobles.

Until he could gauge this new leader’s true colors, everyone would certainly be more cautious about their next moves.

After all, if you can’t command respect through prestige and respect, then making subordinates fear you is also an excellent management method.

It all depended on his subsequent performance.

As long as his current dominant persona wasn’t broken, and if his political skills were just a little more forceful, he could possibly emerge as the second Caesar III.

…

At dawn, at the funeral of Caesar III, Hudson couldn’t help but want to laugh as he saw the Major Nobles, with red-rimmed eyes, in attendance.

They were fooled by a bunch of old foxes.

But it was normal as the more experienced usually had more overthinking tendencies.

Anyone would be scared when facing a king who would become irate at the slightest provocation.

With the legacy that Caesar III left, the Royal Family now had the ability to suppress any Major Noble in the country, and this power was in the hands of a young and vigorous king.

Once everyone was in line, Hudson could relax.

No matter how tense the international situation was, it would not directly affect the Kingdom for the time being.

Let others start a war!

What matters is to peacefully farm, as Master Hudson loved peace.

“Ah!”

“Catch the assassin!”

…

A scream followed by a cry to “Catch the assassin!” came from the crowd.

The once orderly funeral instantly became chaotic.

The slap in the face was so sudden that Hudson didn’t know how to describe his feelings as he went from heaven to hell.

The question now was:

Who was the target of the assassination?

Was the assassination successful?

There were many important people at the funeral, and any one of them could cause a stir if they died.

…

“Who was assassinated?”

Crown Prince Caesar asked angrily.

The king’s funeral had been interrupted, and so had his own ceremony.

According to the tradition of the Alpha Kingdom, the old king is buried in the morning, and the Crown Prince takes the crown to ascend the throne in the afternoon.

Now with this incident, the ceremony would definitely be affected.

Something like this happening on the day of succession was a real bad omen.

Someone would have to take the blame for this.

But the most important thing right now was figuring out who was the target of the assassination.

If it was some medium or small noble within the country, that would be fine.

But if it was some important person internationally who was unlucky, that would be trouble.

“Your Highness, the one attacked was Prince Claude of the Black Forest Kingdom!”

As soon as Earl Francis, the Foreign Minister, finished speaking, the face of Crown Prince Caesar turned pale.

It was exactly what he feared.

The Black Forest Kingdom had been ready to take action, looking to seize an opportunity to expand north.

Now, this incident simply handed them an excuse.

“Issue a command, have the Imperial Guard maintain order immediately and catch the murderer!

Department of Foreign Affairs, immediately send someone to check whether Prince Claude is safe.”

Crown Prince Caesar gave his orders decisively.

What’s done is done, he could only try his best to salvage the situation.

Now, he could only hope Claude was safe, so there would be room for maneuver.

If Prince Claude has an accident…

The terrible consequences; he dared not even think about it.

The ministers next to him were also petrified.

The prince of a neighboring country had an accident at their place; such legendary event actually happened before their eyes.

…