Outside Plantagenet Palace, while waiting for old Tritan to get the Astral Logistics rolling, Murphy noticed that Shani beside him had fallen silent.
Leaning on his cane, he glanced at Prince William, who was climbing down from a carriage nearby in his military uniform, a pack on his back, and saying goodbye to Queen Elizabeth, who was sobbing uncontrollably. He said:
"Did Louis's behavior scare you too?"
"To be honest, I was terrified."
Shani spoke softly behind her mask:
"He's probably the first monarch in the first millennium of this era to so actively admit his mistakes and beg his victims for forgiveness.
"I thought he was just putting on an act in front of you, but when you suggested King Louis visit Scarlet Keep to pay his respects at the Ten-Year War memorial, he agreed so readily that I immediately realized he wasn't just saying it.
"This guy really is..."
She trailed off.
"How should I put it? He's doing something that undermines royal authority, and yet I have a feeling that if King Louis really does it, not only will the people of Transia forgive him, but the moderates within the Plantagenet Kingdom will also tell the story as a fine example.
"His political instincts are terrifyingly sharp.
"He knows what he'll lose and what he'll gain by doing this. He knows that apologizing in front of that memorial won't destabilize the country. On the contrary, with this continent suffering a locust plague, it'll help unite the people even more.
"He could even use this to transform his image in the eyes of his people!
"He'd go from a tyrant hungry for power to a wise ruler admired by all. Most importantly, doing this after the Order Alliance is truly established could make King Louis one of the