Chapter 134 - 134 For Cute Sherry
Alex Gis Cascade was meeting with Count Cutter in his detached palace. It was a matter of factions, but specifically about the Industrial Guild in the Royal Capital.
"The Industrial Guild has recently switched their consultation partner to Lord Sowell on their own. Thanks to that, I've lost the profits we used to get from them."
Alex's words carried a slight anger. Count Cutter sensed this and proposed restraining the Industrial Guild.
"Shall we put pressure on the Industrial Guild?"
"No, stop that. If we do, they will turn to Lord Sowell again. Their feelings will shift even more toward him. We must wait until something happens that Lord Sowell cannot solve, and they come asking us for help."
Since Aurora stopped the domestic distribution of the gold leaf made by Steve, the Industrial Guild in the Royal Capital had gone to Aurora for consultation at every opportunity. Since Aurora did not accept monetary rewards, the threshold for asking her was low for the Industrial Guild as well. In reality, they were requesting the removal of regulations that led to more profit than money, but since these were not sudden demands, the Industrial Guild had accepted them. They would be gradually stripped away, but the cunning part was that Aurora did not let them realize it.
And because of that, Alex's faction was the one suffering. Since many nobles had no territories, requests from the Industrial Guild in the Royal Capital were a valuable source of income outside the country. With that cut off, dissatisfaction was arising.
However, even Alex did not have the courage to pick a fight with Aurora. Even though he was the Second Prince, he did not have the power of the leader of the Western faction's group. If things got messy here too, all the nobles of the Western region would side with Carter in the succession struggle. So, he did not want to engage in open conflict.
Therefore, Count Cutter proposed putting pressure on the Industrial Guild rather than Aurora.
Alex stopped even that. Although he was angry, he was not so foolish that he could not calculate. Count Cutter might have hesitated to support Alex if he were that foolish, but since he had the sense not to act on anger alone, he was relieved about that part.
"We need some credit for Your Highness around here. And preferably a new source of profit. To maintain the centripetal force of the faction."
"There is something I am curious about. A request for diplomatic permission has come from the Kingdom of Merda."
"Oh?"
The Kingdom of Merda was a vassal of the Kingdom of Cascade, and independent diplomacy was prohibited. Therefore, they had to ask for permission from the Kingdom of Cascade each time.
This time, it was to promote dishes using gold leaf, and Queen Sherry and the diplomatic corps were going to visit surrounding countries. Naturally, even if permission was granted, someone needed to be appointed as the overseer. That job was being offered to Alex.
Hearing the details of the diplomacy, Count Cutter felt a possibility.
"Queen Sherry of the Kingdom of Merda is the older sister of that Lord Archibalt. And if it is promotion for dishes using gold leaf, it is also related to the matter of the Industrial Guild."
"Turn misfortune into fortune. Although we lost the income from the Industrial Guild, if I accompany the diplomatic corps and gain some credit as a result, would that not be good?"
"Yes."
There was no specific thing they could do, but since she was a queen who was the topic of conversation and her younger brother, he thought there would be some chance if they acted together. In any case, Alex was at a standstill in the current situation, so he had to move.
Originally, he wanted to solidify his footing domestically, but since he could not find anything to do domestically, he decided it was unavoidable to go abroad and accepted the role of overseer for the Kingdom of Merda.
Count Cutter agreed to this as well. He felt at a standstill just like Alex.
Thus, permission was granted for the diplomacy of the Kingdom of Merda, and Alex was to accompany as the overseer.
To the east of the Kingdom of Merda was the Kingdom of Meizack. Karl Tis Meizack, the Crown Prince of that Kingdom of Meizack, was currently 20 years old. He was already married and had children, yet he wanted to welcome Sherry as his wife.
A decorative queen sent to the Kingdom of Merda, which had become a vassal after losing to the Kingdom of Cascade. At first, he thought that was all, but when he learned that the Kingdom of Merda, which had lost territory and had its main ports taken away, quickly regained its strength through her achievements, the Crown Prince became interested.
When that Crown Prince visited the Kingdom of Merda as part of a diplomatic corps, he saw Sherry. Sherry did not have a figure that seduced men, and although her face was well-proportioned, she was not the most beautiful woman in the country.
However, Sherry appeared to shine. Even though she was a queen from another country, it was clear that the officials of the Kingdom of Merda revered and loved her. And at diplomatic events, her instructions were precise. If one were to investigate the situation in the Royal Capital, the queen's popularity among the people was high.
It was only natural. The Kingdom of Merda was buzzing with prosperity due to the policies Sherry had devised. And the destruction of vested interests, which was a merit gained from the wounds of defeat. Even commoners could become officials, and depending on their achievements, the path to becoming a high-ranking official was opened, so support from the commoners was immense.
Now, she was even called the treasure of the Kingdom of Merda.
Karl Crown Prince wanted to obtain Sherry, who was like that. He knew that doing so would lead to war, but he thought it was worth obtaining even at that cost.
As they say, love is blind. Karl Crown Prince was in love with Sherry. It was an unrequited love, though.
At that time, the calm Karl Crown Prince returned to his country, but he still wanted to obtain Sherry somehow. He consulted his father, the King.
Of course, he could not say he fell in love with a married woman, so the pretext was that obtaining Sherry would weaken the Kingdom of Merda.
However, the King opposed it.
"I can understand what Karl says. However, Queen Sherry's younger brother is that Dragon Head Medal holder. No country that touched him remained unscathed. Moreover, the Fries Holy Church, which has spread faith across the continent and is said to have more power than kings and emperors, even respects his existence. It is said that the Saintess being in the church of his territory is a sign of special treatment. It is dangerous to touch the Kingdom of Merda. Especially the queen is absolutely out of the question."
The King of the Kingdom of Meizack chose not to get involved after seeing the fate of surrounding countries that tried to touch the Kingdom of Cascade. The current relationship between the Kingdom of Meizack and the Kingdom of Cascade was neither friendly nor hostile. When they investigated the domestic situation of the Kingdom of Cascade, they found that due to rapid territorial expansion, there was a shortage of personnel, and there was no external ambition for now.
That was why he did not want to stir up trouble on purpose.
Opposed by the King, Karl retreated once. However, the flame of burning love did not easily go out. Moreover, the more obstacles there were, the more the flame of love burned.
He retreated with a strong desire to obtain Queen Sherry on his own.
And then, a report came to Karl Crown Prince that the diplomatic corps of the Kingdom of Merda was coming.
Moreover, leading that diplomatic corps was the beloved Queen Sherry.
Karl thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and decided to use this visit of the diplomatic corps. He used his subordinates to detain the diplomatic corps.
The King of the Kingdom of Meizack panicked at his son's actions and tried to get the detention lifted, but he threatened that if soldiers were sent into the Crown Prince's detached palace, he would die along with Queen Sherry.
Understanding that if anything happened to Queen Sherry, the country would surely perish, the King ordered the soldiers not to make any moves. And he immediately sent envoys to the Kingdom of Merda and the Kingdom of Cascade.
King Abel, receiving the report from the envoy, was furious, and King William was panicked. The Kingdom of Merda was permitted to wage a war for self-defense if attacked by an enemy country, but other aggressive wars required permission. There was a debate on which category this case fell into, but in the royal palace of the Kingdom of Merda, the voice that it was a war for self-defense to rescue Queen Sherry was loud.
Then, they could not immediately deploy troops because everyone became cautious so that nothing should happen to Queen Sherry, who was being held hostage. Moreover, if anything happened, they had the momentum to wipe out the people of the Kingdom of Meizack.
On the other hand, in the royal castle of the Kingdom of Cascade, both the King and the Chancellor prayed to God that nothing would happen until Steve could be contacted. This was because if anything happened to Queen Sherry, it was unknown where Steve's anger would be directed. They intended to argue if they were told it was the responsibility of the Kingdom of Cascade that allowed the diplomacy, but it would be troubling if such logic did not hold.
And before the worst follow-up news arrived, they managed to contact Steve.
Steve, informed that Sherry had become a hostage in the royal castle, immediately declared he would go to the Kingdom of Meizack.
"Excuse me, I am going to rescue my sister. Is that alright?"
"Permission granted."
"Good luck."
Since it was technically a war with a foreign country, Steve asked for the King's permission.
There was no reason to oppose here, so the King granted permission immediately. The Chancellor bowed his head saying "Good luck," and when he raised his head again, Steve's figure was already gone.
While everyone was being tossed around by the selfish actions of Crown Prince Karl, the Crown Prince himself was in the room where Sherry was detained. Just the two of them.
Crown Prince Karl made the same request to Sherry for the nth time.
"Be my wife. Then I will release the others of the diplomatic corps."
Sherry wanted to sigh in exasperation, but to prevent Crown Prince Karl from becoming desperate and hurting the personnel of the diplomatic corps, she did not show such an attitude.
Instead, Sherry asked a question.
"If I were to become your wife, what benefits would there be?"
"I am the Crown Prince. Eventually, this country will be mine. If that happens, you can live a better life than now. With the Kingdom of Merda's finances, you cannot live a luxurious life."
Crown Prince Karl promised a luxurious life, but that did not move Sherry's heart.
"A person who knows contentment can sleep peacefully even in a poor life, but a person who does not know contentment will be dissatisfied no matter how luxurious they live. That is no different from a poor person. I am satisfied with my current life, so I do not desire any more luxury."
"Then, what do you desire?"
For Sherry, who did not desire luxury, Crown Prince Karl asked what she desired.
"Well, for example, if it were something I have never seen like the Dragon's Head Pearl or a Fire Rat leather coat, my heart might move."
"Do you think you can obtain such things that appear in legends?"
"Yes. If it were my younger brother, he would obtain such things. If you try to forcibly obtain me, you will definitely clash with my younger brother. Can the Crown Prince overcome that?"
Hearing Sherry's words, Crown Prince Karl thought. Could he really win fighting Steve? And he reached the conclusion that he could. Of course, that was because he made a convenient simulation in his mind.
Crown Prince Karl thought half of Steve's exploits. Because if he really had such power, he would have already conquered the continent and created a great empire by now.
He never thought that Steve had no such feelings at all and just wanted to make his territory profitable.
"Our soldiers are all elites. No matter how strong your younger brother is, the result of an individual against a country is clearer than looking at fire."
"I look forward to seeing how long those elites can last against my younger brother."
"It should be the other way around. Even if he is my beloved one's younger brother, if he invades our country, I will not spare him. Try to persuade him to surrender while he still has his life."
Crown Prince Karl thought Sherry's words were a joke. And he would realize Steve's true strength a little later.
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