Chapter 135

The aftermath of the battle between the Grade 10 Grand Warrior and the Grade 10 Grand Magician turned this place upside down.

And at the center of it all,

Napoleona sat there with a dazed expression.

She had effectively emerged victorious from her fight with Franklin.

Furthermore, the Pirate King himself had even apologized directly to her regarding the matter.

However… at that moment, her face bore no trace of joy.

Napoleona knew.

On the surface, it looked like a victory.

But in reality, it was essentially her defeat.

The Pirate King, who referred to her as a guest.

While they had grown much closer compared to their disastrous first meeting, she couldn’t deny that there was still quite some distance between them.

On the other hand, Franklin had referred to her using the term “my,”

This could be interpreted merely as a relationship between a direct subordinate and their superior, but beyond that…

It seemed to Napoleona that something sticky and profound tied the two together.

A mix of envy and jealousy surged within her.

At the same time, a question began to form.

Just how deep did that bond between the two go?

“I can get an idea about relationships between men and women but… is it overthinking to consider it that far?…”

There was nothing solid to back up her simple intuition, just a vague feeling.

Moreover, even if her suspicions turned out to be true,

While Napoleona felt envy and jealousy towards Franklin,

She figured that, detached from that, this would only complicate her life further. No need to feel frustrated about it.

“There’s no law that a man must have only one woman by his side… Especially if the other isn’t just an ordinary person but a king…”

Of course, this king was more symbolic — a Pirate King rather than a king of a nation. However, he wielded significant power and strength nonetheless.

Thus,

She thought it necessary to gather more details.

And regardless of either side, she felt it was important to wrap up the tasks at hand first.

Napoleona slowly stood from her seat, intending to engage the Pirate King about matters left unsaid.

Just then…

“Admiral! Napoleona Admiral!”

“Huh? What’s going on?”

Myura dashed over, urgency in his stride.

He glanced around cautiously before carefully leaning in to whisper at Napoleona’s ear.

Then…

“Wha… what? Is that true?”

“Yes, it is. It’s news that just arrived from Pare.”

“Wha… this is insane…”

Before she knew it, a curse slipped from Napoleona’s lips.

And the news she had just received was indeed shocking.

*

The establishment of an absolute monarchy equated to the seizing of power.

The king sitting in the capital seeks to put all the nobles in the nation under his control.

The reason this was possible was due to bolstering the king’s authority while effectively binding the power of the nobles controlling various regions through policy.

In that regard,

The Assembly situated in Pare served not only as a venue for policy decisions but also acted like a wedge to control the nobles in respective territories.

Nobles who had made significant contributions to the country or passed regular examinations laid down by the state would be granted the position of an Assembly member, which gave them the power and prestige to be involved in national matters.

The fame and power to participate in the management of this vast nation, rather than their cramped domains, helped to satisfy their personal ambitions while also aiding in managing their territories.

Conversely, those who could not achieve this were bound to fall behind relative to neighboring territories.

This coveted status of membership was attractive, but

There was one key element involved.

Nobles elected as Assembly members were inevitably required to bring their families to reside in Pare.

Therefore, even now, many nobles had relocated to the city from various regions.

And they effectively served as hostages for the king to control the local territories.

Those elected were typically heads of households or influential figures, at least heirs of their families.

As long as they sat with their families in the king’s direct territory, openly defying the king was impossible.

Additionally, the power to appoint members of the Assembly was solely within the king’s rights.

Thus, the kingdom’s Assembly could be seen as a tool to efficiently grip the necks of the nobles,

And this was as true now as it was when the revolutionary army seized power and shattered the absolute monarchy.

In this tumultuous time,

Skillfully managing and manipulating the Assembly was crucial to averting this crisis.

However…

“Robes Fiora… what in the world is she thinking doing such a thing?”

The news just received was that Robes Fiora had slaughtered all the Assembly members.

And it wasn’t a simple killing either,

She had dragged them to the guillotine in broad daylight and executed them in front of countless citizens.

“Rumor has it… this was done to prevent a rebellion when the Holy Empire Army invades. The nobles would be hoping for the revolutionary army to lose and the Holy Empire Army to win.”

“Th-then… what about the queen? Has Queen Louis been killed too?”

“Fortunately, it seems that the Pirate King had taken precautions beforehand. She is presumed to have escaped from Pare in advance.”

“Phew…”

While they avoided the worst-case scenario, the situations that had already unfolded were dire.

Until now, the local nobles had simply observed the situation quietly despite rumors of a revolution circulating.

However, having slaughtered all the ‘hostages,’

They were likely to rise up against the revolutionary army out of grief and hatred from the loss of their families, leading to various disturbances.

“No… if they were really that worried, they should have either confined them or something, but killing them all without a plan? At this rate, the noble families across the country will rise up!”

Amidst the headache of dealing with the enemies right before her, Robes Fiora only seemed to be adding more.

Feeling her stomach churn with the realization of this fact…

Napoleona began to think that she had one more issue to address with the Pirate King, and hurriedly moved on.

*

“It has come to this. Robes Fiora… has finally crossed the line.”

Suddenly hearing Napoleona’s report…

In the so-called latest report from Pare, I could only frown.

The situation was already troublesome enough, but it had twisted further due to Robes Fiora’s great purge, which reads like a blunder.

While this was also part of the flow from the original work, from my standpoint, it was a matter that I would have preferred not to have unfolded so suddenly.

“At least I’m thankful that Queen Louis was summoned…”

With precautions in mind, Queen Louis had hastily summoned Cheshire to this place.

As long as she was present, the king’s authority could prevent the worst-case scenario, but

The nobles would undoubtedly begin to stir at the news, and potential rebellions still held a significant possibility.

“Especially there… a rebellion is almost a 100% certainty. Given the complete annihilation of the Assembly, their fury is bound to be MAX level…”

As I envisioned the unfolding events,

I felt the moment had come to make a decision.

“The situation in the Kingdom of Frantz is bound to worsen from here. Even if the war is won somehow, the nation will likely wander for years without stability… On the other hand… I’ve just achieved the greatest purpose I came here for.”

I had successfully cut off Duke Ocleang’s breath, something I had long aimed for.

Though the conclusion was far from what I expected, it was true that I had dealt with the scoundrel who dared to lay hands on my daughter.

Now that I had fulfilled my first objective, there was little reason left to remain.

However…

“No matter what, if I abandon Napoleona and leave now, things will get pretty troublesome for me later.”

Thanks to Franklin’s actions, Napoleona was now tied to me with a certain amount of debt.

Moreover, if I were to take off right after accomplishing my goal, it would undoubtedly leave a negative memory for her.

Considering what she might become in the future, I didn’t want to leave such a debt lingering.

To smooth things over at least, it was necessary to show her that I could take care of the ‘enemies’ I’d promised to deal with first.

With the thought that a resolution was in sight,

I turned to look at Napoleona as she was conversing about other matters.

To resolve the Assembly issue, the most crucial task right now was to annihilate the enemies before my eyes.

That is… to cut off the Holy Empire Army’s breath,

I simply listened intently to Napoleona’s plans.