Orlando continued to talk about the major changes that had taken place in the empire during this period of time. For example, Howson's control had expanded from Oliska to the cities near the Devil's Throat, which was equivalent to half of the Northern Territory being in Howson's pocket. Of course, with Howson's current abilities, this was already his limit. Unless he received the support of the army, his influence would only continue to expand. Otherwise, just a new prime minister. Even if Stark was an expert of Tangerio's level, there was nothing he could do.
Saint-level experts might be able to easily destroy a city or a land, but they were unable to make more lords loyal. In the end, Stark had almost no foundation on Planet Heaven, apart from his combat strength. Howson had fallen out with Roderick, so most of the lords were holding a wait-and-see attitude. Howson could no longer expand his influence, which was indeed quite embarrassing for him.
In addition, there were two commanders in the Dawn Palace. Leon, the former leader of the Silverfrost Guards, and Sara, the commander of the King's Sword, had both left the imperial capital. Ryan took away more than half of the Silverfrost Guards, and Sara took away all the members of the King's Sword. Because the two of them had been acting in secret and Howson was busy expanding his influence, it was already too late by the time he discovered it. Dawn Castle had lost two great experts and a large number of guards, especially the King's Sword, which existed in name only, which was a huge blow to Howson's prestige.
In addition, Leon and Sara soon announced that they believed Woodrick's words that Julian was the rightful successor to the throne and would do everything in their power to ensure that Tangerio's will was carried out. Currently, the two of them and their men had joined Woodrick's army, and Howson was furious about it, but it didn't help.
On the southern side, under the leadership of the Boleyn Clan, Hoey announced his support for Julian. As a result, most of the southern lords joined the alliance, but the southern experts and armies were several levels weaker than those in the north. If Julian wanted to counterattack, he would have to wait for Woodrick and the others to arrive before he had enough strength.
But before that, there was one more problem that needed to be solved.
"That is, how to prove the authenticity of His Highness Julian's inheritance to the other neutral lords and the generals of the Imperial Army." At this point, Orlando bowed to Julian and said, "Please forgive me, Your Highness. After all, the testimonies of Woodrick and Earl Allen are not enough. We need more concrete evidence. Otherwise, even if Howson was ousted, His Highness would obtain the throne. But in the eyes of others, Your Highness's throne was won through fighting, not inherited legally. I think there is a difference between the two. "
Julian nodded. He knew this very well. After all, the throne that he fought back was not legitimate. Since he could fight for the throne, the other princes could as well. If someone with ulterior motives was allowed to operate behind the scenes, the Empire's internal strife would probably never end. Only by proving the legitimacy of his throne would the Imperial Army pledge their loyalty to him. Only by controlling the country's power could others completely give up on the idea of fighting for power.
This path was not easy to take, but Julian could only take it this way. This was the fundamental way to resolve the empire's internal strife.
"That night, Father had already regained his final radiance. He knew that he couldn't make it back to Oliska to announce his decision, so he could only use Woodrick and Earl Allen as witnesses. If we had returned to Oliska smoothly and announced all of this, there would have been none of this. But before that, Howson used some unknown method to obtain the signatures of the Grand Chancellor and the Dean of the Privy Council to legally inherit the throne. " Julian sighed, "Although there are too many problems, at least on the surface, Howson is legal. That's right, then he framed me for murdering my father. At this time, no matter what General Woodrick and the others say, they will only make others think that they are only saying this out of support for me. "
'"Count Allen and the others are witnesses. What they said should have been recognized by the empire's laws, but because of Howson, people can't judge it. So now, it's very difficult to prove the authenticity of Father's will … "
Everyone was silent. This was indeed a difficult problem to solve, so they just ate silently. The atmosphere at the dining table immediately became solemn. This was a problem that had to be solved. If he could not prove the legitimacy of Julian's succession to the throne, then even if he seized the throne, it would not be too comfortable to sit on it.
Allen suddenly put down his knife and fork, which focused everyone's attention on him. Allen narrowed his eyes and said, "Perhaps there is no way at all."
Julian's eyes lit up. "Tell me what you think, my dear friend."
'"To be honest, it's very difficult to convince people of the authenticity of the Great Emperor's will, but just because this path doesn't work doesn't mean we have no way out. There's another way. That's what I think. What if people knew that Stark was the culprit behind the assassination of the Great Emperor? "
His words were like a spark in the night, weak, but they aroused the light of hope. Nabott followed Allen's imagination and murmured, "If everyone knows that the new prime minister is the culprit behind the Great Emperor's murder, then Howson, who strongly admires the new prime minister, will naturally be implicated. In that case, Howson's words will have to be completely overturned. Even with the signatures of the two lords, the court has every right to overturn the legitimacy of Howson's succession and investigate further. "
"This is indeed a feasible path, but Earl Allen, only you and I were present when Father was attacked …" What Julian meant was that in the absence of a third party, such a question would circle back to the original point.
"No, it's not just us." "There was another person present," Allen reminded.
Julian was stunned, and then he cried out, "You mean Mason?"
'"That's right, Sword Lord Mason was there too. He saw Stark with his own eyes, and more importantly, Mason is neither on our side nor on Howson's side. At least not for now. I know this will put His Highness in a difficult position. After all, without Mason, the Great Emperor would not have appeared in the Lonely Mountain Tundra, and Stark would not have had a chance to take advantage of it. But now, Mason could be the key to turning the situation around. Moreover, His Majesty did not intend to take his life at that time. So, Your Highness, I think it is necessary to find the Sword Lord and try to get him to identify Stark. " Allen said, "Even if Howson denies it, the accusation from the Sword Lord is enough to shake his current position. Another thing is that Stark is not a human and can be regarded as an outsider. If this is confirmed, then Howson's throne will be unstable, because in the history of the empire, there has never been a prime minister who has been an outsider, right? "
Julian's chest rose and fell, his lips pursed tightly, and his eyes were very complicated. Allen knew that it wouldn't be easy for him to do so. However, Mason was indeed the only one who could turn the situation around. As for whether to do so, it would ultimately depend on Julian.
Everyone at the table stopped and waited for Julian to make a decision.
A moment later, the prince sighed softly, "Well, I can't think of a better way than you, Count. However, I'm afraid it won't be easy to find the Sword Lord. "
"I will inform Grand Duke Hua Hua. The Boleyn Clan will do their best to find the whereabouts of the Sword Lord. Please rest assured, Your Highness." Solin said on the spot.
"Then I'll have to trouble Duchess Elizabeth." Julian nodded.
After that, they stopped discussing matters related to Howson. Julian asked the Orlando couple about the customs of the Southern Territory. It seemed that he would be staying in the Southern Territory for a long time, so it was naturally better to integrate into the land as soon as possible. Orlando answered fluently. He spoke humorously and was the son of Hoy the Iron Spear, so he quickly won Julian's favor. After the banquet, Julian asked Orlando to arrange for him to stay in White Castle, while Allen stayed in a house not far from White Castle.
This was originally a Christian property. At that time, Orlando had asked people related to Allen to withdraw from Ark Harbor out of fear of Allen. Now that the relationship was very different, the house, along with other Christian properties, was back in Vera's hands.
When Allen arrived at his residence, there were no other outsiders here, so everyone let go of their mouths and talked freely. Miro vividly described his great achievements to Vera, especially the large number of believers in the cities of Mirahan, which made the priest extremely proud. The young Abel was entangled by Arte, the future heir to Ark Harbor and Ou Ban's youngest son. After Arte learned that Allen had accepted Abel as an apprentice, he pestered Allen to teach him swordsmanship. Allen kicked him to Abel and asked him to teach the little count some basic postures, which distressed the youth.
In the hall, Vera, who was tired of listening to Miro's boast, left the priest to the side and came to Allen, who was standing alone in front of the window. Allen looked through the window at the distant street and said, "The city is as peaceful as ever."
"The Orlando couple have done a good job. Unfortunately, peace will soon end." Vera said indifferently.
"That's right, the empire is in chaos. The two princes are fighting for power. Even a city like Ark Harbor, which is far away on the edge of the southern border, will be involved in this dispute."
"No, it's not as simple as the internal strife of the empire that breaks the peace of this city." Vera said in a distant and empty tone, "You have to be prepared. Darkness will soon spread across this land. Not long ago, I foresaw that the shadows from the west would spread across the empire. Wherever they passed, I saw endless flames and heard the cries of women and children. All of this made me feel very uncomfortable. "
"Western Shadow?" "You mean the Shadow Duchy?" Allen said in a deep voice.
The Duchy of Shadow was located at the end of the land west of the empire, and Vera's hint could not be more obvious. The Holy Maiden of Christianity nodded. "Not long after I saw that scene, I heard a few words from Belmore about the alien alliance."
"Speaking of which, why isn't Belmore here?"
"He went to pick up Mr. Hubble. I heard that Mr. Hubble is preparing to come back and will bring important information."
Allen slapped his forehead. Before they went north, Hubble had been arranged by Edward to infiltrate the Duchy of Shadows. Now, the big fellow was finally coming back. He murmured, "Then I need to prepare strong wine. I need a lot of barrels!"
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