The uproar over establishing a separate Church came to an end. Caesar IV completed the ennoblement of the nobles at top speed, then used the excuse that construction in the Near East was "urgent and arduous" to send all the lords back home.
In Hudson's view, this was purely a sign of a guilty conscience.
They had secretly taken a huge slice of the cake from the Moxi people behind the kingdom's nobles' backs. It would be troublesome if anyone found out.
The best choice was to send the lords back to their fiefs first. By the time everyone received the news, it would already be an established fact.
The newly added territory was the queen's dowry. Though its size was somewhat excessive, there were precedents on the Aslant Continent for giving fiefs away when marrying off daughters.
If anyone asked, the answer was simple: the Moxi royal family was generous!
On the surface, it was merely a dowry. There had been no under-the-table deal of any kind.
Under the system of monarch-subject relations, even with a shareholder system in place, the king still held greater political influence than the local lords.
As long as the king followed the rules and did not get caught, even if everyone had their suspicions, they could only grit their teeth and accept it.
Without wasting a moment, Hudson resigned from his military post, handed over command to the Military Affairs Department at top speed, and returned directly to his territory.
The established strategic goals had all been achieved. There was no need to remain in the Royal Capital and make himself unwelcome.
The proposal for a Near East Protectorate had failed to pass, but since the Near East provinces lacked a core leadership, their military and civil affairs still had to be managed