"Your Majesty … Your Majesty, please reconsider!" The City Hall Director's wails could be heard outside the door before Roland could even see him.
When Barov Hermon ran to his desk, panting, Roland calmly put down the teacup in his hand. "What's there to think about? The coronation ceremony? "
"No, I mean... announce to all the territories that you'll marry a witch as your queen." The old Chief Steward wiped the sweat off his forehead and secretly glanced behind the king. "This is really inappropriate, Your Majesty!"
After submitting the announcement to the City Hall, Roland knew that the news would definitely cause a stir, so he was not surprised by the other party's reaction. If he wanted to eliminate any obstacles, the first thing he needed to do was to unify the voices of the City Hall.
He did not make this decision on a whim. After the end of the Months of Demons, the army of Neverwinter would once again enter the Fertile Plains to uproot the demons' last stronghold in Taquila. In addition to the spring plowing, new construction plans, and trade, the whole of Graycastle would be very busy this year. According to the traditional rules, from the time of inviting guests to the time of the coronation, it would take about two to three months, and it would be even longer if the wedding was included. This was tantamount to lowering the productivity of the kingdom in a disguised way. It was fine to hold one during peacetime, but it was obviously not a good choice now.
However, there was a rare tranquility this winter. This could not only stimulate the vitality of the subjects, but also did not need to make a big fuss.
Most importantly, Roland hoped to fulfill this promise as soon as possible.
Of course, as a feudal monarch with great authority, he was entirely capable of accomplishing all of this by himself. There were too many examples in history where, no matter how absurd the order or the seemingly impossible request was, it could become a reality under the will of the ruler. Moreover, this matter was far from exaggerated. However, since the framework of the City Hall was built by him, he would not personally dismantle it unless it was necessary.
It was much more efficient to use power within the rules than to wantonly squander it.
"What's the reason?" Roland knocked on the table and asked deliberately.
"Of course, the heir —" Barov said anxiously. "Witches can't give birth, this is something everyone knows, especially when the war is coming. If anything happens to you, the other nobles will become restless, and the people won't be able to rest easy!" He gulped. "If you just want to be with Lady Anna, you don't have to do this."
"Oh? You mean … "
"You only need to marry a daughter of a minor noble," the steward advised. "She can be used to shut everyone's mouths and show her face when necessary. As for how you treat her in the future, it doesn't matter. With this layer of cover, you can do whatever you want — "
"So Anna can't get this title?" Nightingale suddenly interrupted. "Just because she's a witch?"
"I think Lady Anna won't mind these superficial things." Barov coughed twice. "If it's for the stability of the kingdom. If His Majesty can't speak, I can pass the message. "
"You're not her, how do you know she won't mind? As far as this relationship is concerned, I bet she doesn't want to see a puppet involved in it! "
"But this has nothing to do with feelings, it's about the heir..."
"Enough." Roland raised his hand and said, "After all, you just need to give the people under you a reasonable outlet, right?"
"Vent?" Barov was slightly taken aback.
"Isn't that the case?" He pretended to be careless. "After defeating the Pope, I took all of her lifespan, so I don't need anyone to inherit the throne. This is also the reason why I decided to marry Anna. Unfortunately, only a few people, including you, know about this. For those who don't understand magic power, if they don't see it with their own eyes, I'm afraid they won't believe it. Because of this, they need a psychological sustenance or outlet to appease their uneasiness. Am I right? "
Since the battle with the church in Coldwind Ridge, the higher-ups of City Hall more or less knew that he had passed a test called the Battle of Souls. The winner wins everything, and the loser loses everything. Although it sounded very unbelievable, the appearance of the ancient witches and the existence of the transfer of souls added a lot of credibility to this statement. And after he officially used this reason to convince Pasha and the others at the United Front meeting, everyone tacitly agreed to this statement.
"Yes, yes, that's what I mean." Barov was completely unaware that he was falling into a trap. "As long as there's a nominal heir, the voices of opposition will naturally subside."
"So I have a simpler way." Roland shrugged. "A year ago, when we attacked Hermes, I accidentally found Gerald Wimbledon's lover, and this tavern maid was pregnant with his child."
"What... what did you say?" The director suddenly widened his eyes. "Are you sure that the child is Wimbledon's..."
"Yes, his hair and eyes are both gray." He nodded and said.
"Why, why didn't you tell me at that time?"
"If you knew, it's still unknown whether the mother and the child could still be alive now." Roland picked up the teacup and took a sip. "What do you think? A ready-made outlet is more convenient than your idea, isn't it?"
An heir candidate who would never be able to ascend to the throne would provide plenty of topics to talk about, but at the same time, wouldn't pose any threat, and could be replaced at any time … Seeing Barov's flickering eyes, Roland knew that Barov must have thought of all this. He didn't even need to do much. He only needed to announce to the people that there was such a person and then recall him back to Neverwinter.
The rest would be filled in by the people's discussion and spread.
"If the mother is a tavern maid, this child can only be regarded as an illegitimate child. I must arrange a higher status for him, otherwise it will cause criticism. Also, it's better to keep this maid under control. Compared with nobles, they are indeed easier to control..." Barov had already calculated in his mind.
Roland could not help but raise the corner of his mouth. The scene in front of him seemed to have returned to three years ago, when he had just become the fourth prince of Wimbledon. However, at that time, he had to spend a lot of effort to get Barov to follow his rhythm of thinking. Now, he only needed a few simple words. As long as it came out of his mouth, no one dared to question the authenticity of it, even if it was something like immortality.
"Go and make a plan. And when you're done with the enthronement, bring it to me for a look." He waved his hand and signaled Barov to leave.
After Barov left, Roland heaved a sigh of relief. "I didn't expect you to speak up for Anna."
"Sorry, I couldn't help..."
"No, you don't have to apologize. You did nothing wrong." He could not help but look at Nightingale. He found that her expression was much calmer than he had expected. "It's just that I thought you would …"
"Would what? Frowning and sad? "Nightingale rolled her eyes at him." I thought you mentioned it too late. Of course, if it wasn't for Anna, I wouldn't have taken this step. "
Thinking of the relieved look on her face when she reappeared after disappearing for two days, Roland could only think that the change had something to do with the agreement between her and Anna.
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