Chapter 302 (1): Everyone Has Good Traits, but not Those from Franc

Buckingham Palace.

Baron Kilmer, the newly appointed commander of the Royal Guards and the Knights of Honor, submitted a report to Queen Sophelia. After declaring war on Prussia, Windsor had been making grand declarations. While she hadn’t been doing nothing, she moved on immediately after snarling at injustices.

On the surface, Windsor was watching the fire burn from the sidelines as usual, sticking to the tradition of forgoing basic decency. In secret, however, Queen Sophelia had been concentrating the authority that had been delegated to the Tulip Families under the banner of the external war.

She moved decisively without pulling punches, her first swing hitting the framework of military and politics built around the royal family—the Royal Guards being one example. Members of the Tulip Families were marginalized and sent away from the Buckingham Palace under the guise of promotion, replaced with the elites that the royal family had been secretly training.

Such as the mysterious Baron Kilmer and the two Vice Ministers of Magic who had taken the posts with golden parachutes. Sophelia was sending a warning to the wildly spreading vegetation while trimming her home garden.

Plants couldn’t simply grow according to their natural tendencies alone. Although they craved sunlight, the scissors were in the hands of the homeowner, and a plant growing against the will of the homeowner would invite the scissors.

Slash!

Gone is your head!

However, those who were no strangers to revolutions would know that while the homeowner’s scissors were quick and fierce, the roots of the old trees were so complex and interconnected that the homeowner couldn’t just cut them the way they wanted. A skilled gardener needed to customize the pruning method according to the plants, their growing conditions, and the environment. Only then would a potted landscape be art, sellable at high prices to maximize the homeowner’s gains.

Careless pruning not only would leave the plants undesirable to the market but would likely also damage the scissors.

Clank!

Your scissors are broken!

As Auston had said, facing the Queen’s scissors, the Tulip Families acted respectfully on the surface while moving secretly in retaliation, like model patriots.

Sophelia had received many reports these days. The one today came from the Bernthal branch of the Lando family. In the report, Bernthal described Auston’s arrogance and criticized his ambition with a generous dose of embellishments, including but not limited to establishing an alliance between the Lando family and the Church of Moonlight, as well as purposefully creating scandals for the royal family.

To summarize, Auston had no respect for the sovereign, the Lando family was expanding, and Bernthal, despite his devotion to Windsor, lacked the manpower or the supplies to complete the mission that the Queen gave him.

Sophelia put away the document in disappointment. When she saw Baron Kilmer—Prince Douglas in disguise—pick up and flip through the document, she frowned and tried to stop him. The report mentioned the rumors about her and Auston, which she believed were better kept from her husband. Although she had a clear conscience, there was nothing wrong with avoiding misunderstandings. After all...

Her husband did share some physical similarities with her ex-boyfriend. Her husband never brought it up, but that had to be a point of contention for him.

Still, Sophelia didn’t stop him because that would make it seem like she was covering up the truth. It wouldn’t do anything but create misunderstandings.

Besides, Douglas was in charge of the countermeasures to keep the Tulip Families in check, including the Bernthal family, who had lived far from Londan. If Douglas wanted to know what was written in the report, he could just ask Bernthal. Then Bernthal would only make more absurd embellishments to the story.

“The Lando family and the Church of Moonlight...” Douglas lowered the document and frowned at Sophelia. “Do you know about it, Your Majesty?”

“It’s no secret to the leadership of the Ministry of Magic, but it’s a surprise how well he’s done it.” Sophelia shook her head. It was Vice Minister Yvette’s idea to have Wayne approach Moonlight’s High Reverend Filomina as a representative of the ministry, executed with Sophelia’s permission. It was meant to appease Filomina. Later, Obed was exposed as a traitor, and the ministry did not require Wayne to continue his seduction.

It was a surprise that he had actually slept his way to Filomina’s heart.

“Things changed faster than the plans could keep up. The Lando family was loyal then, so I felt secure to entrust the mission to Wayne...” Sophelia smiled. “Of course, I still trust the Lando family. Auston has given me a reason to fight for his support, hasn’t he?”

“Are you sure that isn’t a threat?” Douglas said irritably.

Dear Prince, you’re letting your personal feelings cloud your judgment.

Sophelia knew the crux of the problem, but she didn’t point it out, or it would only escalate the conflict and cause irreversible consequences. She said matter-of-factly, “I know the connection between the Lando family and the Church of Moonlight, and they also have a close relationship with the Church of Nature. Auston isn’t threatening me by putting his cards on the table; only this particular card is a little too strong for his usual pattern.”

You sure know him well!

Douglas scoffed silently. It was an understandable reaction for a man who had never lived a few days without hearing about his wife’s on-and-off relationship with her ex-boyfriend, and he couldn’t even come out to clarify the rumors. Anyone in his position would want to knock the ex-boyfriend down a peg.

But he couldn’t. Windsor belonged to the Queen, while Douglas was the Prince Consort rather than the King. Whether the Queen’s spouse had the right to succession would depend on her.

“Let’s not go into that further. Auston has given me a response, so it’s now my turn.” Sophelia thought for a moment. “I’m pretty sure that this isn’t Auston’s move—it’s too straightforward and aggressive. It’s probably done by Wayne, representing the Lando family’s future allegiance...”

“The fact that Auston has allowed Wayne to do this could mean two things: either Auston has betrayed me and done this on purpose, or Auston cannot control his heir.”

Sophelia analyzed the information at hand and came up with two possibilities.

Putting aside his grievances, Douglas responded, “Whichever is the case, the Lando family is opting for a hard-line approach. Loyalty that isn’t absolute is absolutely not loyalty. You can’t trust Auston as you did before.”

Sophelia smiled bitterly. Who should she trust if not Auston? The other Tulip Families would only be more untrustworthy than Auston. There was no absolute loyalty. Loyalty was only a name given to aligned interests.

“Baron Kilmer, your plan was a little too bold,” Sophelia said, suddenly regretful.

“It’s efficient,” Douglas said with an impassive expression. “Besides, power has been divided for so long that these people have forgotten their place.”

Sophelia nodded. That much was true. The responses from the Tulip Families showed how power had amplified their ambitions. If they didn’t centralize the power now, the royal family would only decline further.

When the next sovereign took over, the nation’s military, politics, economy, and culture would all be under the control of the Tulip Families, rendering the Crown nothing but a puppet. It wouldn’t so much be a constitutional monarchy but an illusional monarchy.

What a headache!

Seeing Sophelia’s troubled frown, Douglas continued, “War is the best excuse. You can’t let this chance slip. We have enough power to concentrate authority. You don’t have to worry about the Tulip Families getting out of control.”

“Perhaps...” Sophelia glanced at her husband and saw his rousing ambition. After some deliberation, she said, “I’ve placed too much trust in the Tulip Families, which is detrimental to the concentration of power for the royal family. You may deal with them at your discretion on my behalf.”

“Don’t go overboard. I’m collecting power, not bodies.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll only swing at the traitors. I won’t leave a fissure that cannot be mended between the royal family and the Tulip Families.” Having gotten what he wanted, Douglas looked at the report on the table.

The Lando family had been going around. Auston had embraced a High Reverend, and Wayne had pulled another one. The family was too great an obstacle to tackle, so it would be wise to leave them to the end.

However, if Douglas could gather all his power and bite off the Lando family first, that would set a powerful example, compelling the other Tulip Families to control their ambition. Then, the royal family would be able to complete the concentration of power in the shortest time.

The Church of Moonlight, the Church of Nature...

Douglas wasn’t worried about the two High Reverends, but the churches they represented. After debating with himself, he decided to consult the Church of Darkness.

Only magic could defeat magic; similarly, only a church could defeat a church!

Douglas had drafted more than ten plans against the Lando family, but he hesitated if he should go after them first.

Reading his thoughts, Sophelia said with a smile, “So? Tricky, isn’t it?”

...

It is tricky. The risk is as great as the potential gain, so it’s difficult to make a decision.

“I’ll meet up with Auston and confirm his stance. It’ll be best if we can negotiate.”

...

How are you negotiating and where? Are you going to summon him at night?

Have you really broken up?

The more Douglas thought about it, the more he seethed. He should be the victor as the Queen’s husband and the father of her two children. However, his similar appearance to Auston nagged at him and made him wonder if he was the substitute instead.

Frankly, he really, really hated Auston. The more Sophelia trusted Auston, the more he hated the man.

Now, there was another person whom he hated: Wayne Lando!

He resembled Auston too much. Although he was an illegitimate son that Auston had been raising and training, he was stated as Auston’s son-in-law in all traceable records due to Auston’s manipulations through his connections. They all lied without batting an eye. The MI6, especially, had even fabricated official documents to support Auston’s lies.

Look at their eyebrows and eyes. How could they not be biological father and son?

The Tulip Families must think that the royal family is blind!