Assassination Case

Hudson emerged from the palace feeling dizzy, his head still buzzing.

It's tough being a newly emerging noble family, and it's even tougher being the leader of that family. Just look at the current situation; when they start causing trouble, they don't include him.

If he had known earlier that this was a scheme by Crown Prince Caesar, he wouldn't have bothered to become the one to offend people.

Reason told him that if he continued to mess around like this, the reputation he had built up on the battlefield would be squandered sooner or later.

Success and failure both stem from the battlefield.

Hudson was well aware that the main reason people rejected him was not because he was a newly emerging nobleman, but because he performed too perfectly on the battlefield.

If he were a 180-year-old man, I reckon everyone would accept it. His days are numbered anyway, so just keep him in a high position.

It's a pity that Hudson was only in his early twenties, yet he was able to remain active in the kingdom's political arena for decades. If he had been a little more shameless, he could have remained active for over a century.

Anyone with a modicum of common sense knows that such potential power brokers must be suppressed beforehand. Otherwise, if Hudson continues to run his business smoothly, how will their descendants survive in the future?

The conflict of core interests meant that no matter how hard Hudson tried, he could not be truly accepted by all parties.

The current situation is that the old aristocracy is worried that if he becomes too powerful, he will seize everyone's interests; the emerging aristocracy lacks confidence and has their own agendas, so they have no intention of pushing Hudson, the leader, to the top.

The royal family's thoughts were more complex. On the one hand, they needed his military talent to deter foreign enemies; on the other hand, they worried that if Hudson became too powerful, he would threaten the Royal Authority.

A combination of factors has led to Hudson, who is adept at building alliances, finding himself isolated and helpless in the kingdom's political arena.

If it were merely a political problem, that would be one thing, but the key issue is that the wary stances of all parties have greatly limited Hudson's actions.

As can be seen from the conflicts in the Southeast Province, he was forced to adopt a defensive posture rather than take the initiative most of the time.

It wasn't that he hadn't considered making a strong move, but when he thought of those heroic figures in history who died young, Hudson gave up the idea.

Reason told him that if he dared to show his face now, he would either die young or become another key member of the Heretical Cult.

Don't even think about switching countries. If you can't make it in the Alpha Kingdom, you'll only suffer a worse fate if you switch to another country.

It doesn't matter where you are; when your presence harms the interests of others, you are Heretical Cult.

If you can't change the world, then adapt to it. After studying the rise of countless noble families, Hudson found their common secret to success. "Survival."

Comparatively speaking, Hudson currently holds a better hand. He doesn't even need to make much effort; he can simply wait out the inevitable and, as he gets older, step into the heart of power.

It's euphemistically called "training patience," but in reality, it's climbing too fast, making everyone uncomfortable and insecure.

It's easier said than done.

If he hadn't suffered the harsh realities of society and suddenly found himself in a position of great power, forcing him to choose seclusion at the prime of his life, he might not have been able to do it.

After finishing a cup of tea, Hudson regained his composure and began to review the contents of the palace meeting.

Crown Prince Caesar risked offending a host of established nobles in the country by staging such a grand spectacle; there must be other reasons behind it.

Inviting the Church to the coronation may seem like a joke, but Hudson knew very well that it might actually happen.

Given the current international situation, if Crown Prince Caesar dares to extend an invitation, Pope Pius VII will most likely personally come to preside over the ceremony.

Although the Church may be universally disliked by the nobility, its influence among the common people remains deeply entrenched, and there is even a group of supporters lurking within the nobility itself.

Gaining the support of these people is equally important for consolidating the throne.

However, these factors alone are not enough to make Crown Prince Caesar go to such lengths. Everyone here is a respectable person; a hint would have sufficed, why say it outright?

Even if Crown Prince Caesar were to lose his composure, the experienced political veterans of the royal family would stop him. The only explanation is: it was intentional!

Hudson wrote four words on the table with his finger, "Land Consolidation," and sighed deeply.

Anyone who has observed Crown Prince Caesar apparent has courted either those who have already conquered their neighbors, or those who have risen to power but whose foundations are unstable.

No wonder they dared to use a group of old nobles as a raft; indeed, the two sides were on opposite sides from the very beginning, with absolutely no room for compromise.

If we really delve deeper, the instigators were the Five Great Families of the North. Although they ruined their reputation by engaging in large-scale land annexation, they actually reaped the benefits!

It was through these benefits that they rose from frontier lords to become the most prestigious family in the kingdom.

With such a ready-made example, it's impossible for everyone not to have their own thoughts. The only problem is that there are no Beastfolk to the south, so they can't play the trick of using someone else to do their dirty work.

Even introducing external enemies is unacceptable; in the internal strife among humans, everyone tacitly agrees not to kill nobles. As long as they don't die directly on the battlefield, they can generally save their lives.

If brute force won't work, then let's use technical methods.

Before the rise of the Northern Nobles, everyone had relatively high moral standards and waited for the minor nobles to decline before seizing the opportunity to annex them.

Things are different now. It would be a waste of time to wait for the minor nobles to decline on their own. All the ambitious people have learned to play tricks.

I'm not sure about other places in Hudson, but in the Southeast Province, more than a dozen minor noble families have had accidents in recent months.

Perhaps it's a crime resulting in a hefty fine; perhaps business outside has failed; perhaps the territory has been robbed; or perhaps a fight has broken out with the neighbors due to a quarrel...

No matter how plausible the story may seem, in the end, these nobles involved were all severely weakened.

Even if a minor nobleman discovers something is wrong, it's useless. Without evidence, how can he expect the other party to admit it voluntarily?

If you don't expose the truth, you can still survive with a nominal title after the family's decline; but if you do expose the truth, you'll either be "forced" to die suddenly or "forced" to collude with Heretical Cult.

Ironically, the biggest culprit behind the decline of the minor nobles was not the major and medium-sized noble families in the province, but rather the infighting among the minor nobles themselves.

The Governor and prefects in various places did only two things— Tax Increase and fuel the fire.

If the kingdom doesn't take timely action to stop this kind of turmoil, the Southeast Province will probably be almost completely divided up before Crown Prince Caesar can establish his authority.

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

Regardless of the extent of his outburst during the day and its subsequent impact, he did indeed intimidate a group of established nobles.

Before everyone can figure out what kind of person this new leader really is, they will definitely be more restrained in their actions.

After all, if a leader cannot win people's respect through high moral character, then instilling fear in their subordinates is also a good management method.

It mainly depends on his future performance. As long as his current strong persona is not broken, and he becomes even more ruthless in his political methods, he may very well become the second Caesar III.

At the funeral of Caesar III in the early morning, Hudson couldn't help but laugh as he looked at the group of nobles with red-rimmed eyes in attendance.

A bunch of old foxes were actually fooled like that. But thinking about it, it's normal; old people are shrewd and will inevitably think things through more when faced with a situation.

Anyone would be terrified of a mad King who would flip the table at the slightest provocation.

With the wealth left by Caesar III, the royal family now has the power to bring down any major noble family in the country. And this power is ironically in the hands of a young and ambitious King.

With everyone behaving themselves, Hudson was relieved. As long as there was no domestic unrest, no matter how tense the international situation became, it wouldn't directly affect the kingdom for the time being.

Let others fight the war! Farming peacefully is the best course of action. Lord Hudson is a peace-loving man.

"Ah!"

"Catch the assassin!"

A scream rang out, and shouts of "Catch the assassin!" immediately erupted from the crowd. The once orderly funeral scene was instantly thrown into chaos.

The slap in the face came so suddenly, plunging him from heaven to hell in an instant. Hudson didn't even know how to describe his feelings.

The problem now is:

Who was assassinated?

Was the assassination successful?

Many important figures attend funerals, and the death of any one of them can cause a stir.

"Who was assassinated?"

Crown Prince Caesar questioned angrily.

His father's funeral was disrupted, and his coronation ceremony was also ruined.

According to the tradition of the Alpha Kingdom, the old King is usually buried in the morning, and the crown prince is crowned and enthroned in the afternoon.

Now that this has happened, the ceremony will definitely be affected. Encountering something like this on the day of one's ascension to the throne is absolutely a major misfortune.

Someone has to be held responsible for what happened. But the most important thing right now is to find out who was assassinated.

If it were a minor nobleman in China, that would be fine, but if it were a prominent international figure who were unfortunately murdered, that would be a much bigger problem.

"Your Highness, the assassinated person is Prince Claude of the Black Forest Kingdom!"

No sooner had Count Francis, the Foreign Minister, finished speaking than Crown Prince Caesar's face turned ashen; what he feared most had come to pass.

The Black Forest Kingdom was already eager to seize the opportunity to move north and get a share of the spoils, but now that this has happened, it's practically handing them an excuse.

"Send word to the Royal Guard to come immediately to maintain order and arrest the murderer!"

The Foreign Affairs Department should immediately send someone to check if Prince Claude is safe.

Crown Prince Caesar gave the order decisively.

What's done is done, so all we can do is try to salvage the situation. Now we can only hope that Prince Claude is alright, then there's still room for maneuver.

If something happens to Prince Claude...

He dared not think any further about the terrifying consequences.

The assembled courtiers were equally stunned. A prince from a neighboring kingdom had met with an accident in his own home—a truly legendary event—and it had actually happened before their very eyes.