When Marcel returned home, his wife had already been waiting with others for quite some time.
“Dear, what happened? Those muddy-legged soldiers are back on the streets again. I was supposed to go horseback riding with Lady Peter today, but now suddenly I can’t go.”
Besides his wife, there were also several other members of the Marcel family, including Marcel’s brother and other relatives.
They all put down their work and gathered here as quickly as possible after seeing the soldiers from the Southwest Borders back on the streets.
This is also why the Marcel family could continue from the previous dynasty to the present, being one of the top old noble families in the Royal Capital. Regardless of what happened, they had to act in unison and would never take matters into their own hands.
Last time, the soldiers on the streets cleaned out a batch of nobles who were not loyal enough to Her Majesty the Queen. Now these muddy-legged soldiers were trampling into the Inner City District with their dirty military boots, and the nobles in the Inner City began to panic, especially since Her Majesty seemed to have grasped some clues about the assassination of the King.
Marcel reassured his wife, saying, “Don’t worry, this doesn’t concern us. You didn’t discuss anything sensitive with Lady Peter, did you?”
“No, I followed your advice. I just treated Lady Peter as an ordinary friend, and our interactions are limited to those of common ladies.”
“You didn’t promise her anything, right?”
Seeing Marcel’s serious expression, his wife nodded and said, “She hinted to me multiple times that she wanted to talk about something, but I always found an excuse to run away.”
Upon hearing his wife’s answer, Marcel felt relieved. After tightly hugging his wife, he instructed, “Take all your letters with Lady Peter and submit them all to the palace.”
It was fine to have no deep connections, so they could straightforwardly submit all correspondence with those pests, which likely wouldn’t cause many issues. Her Majesty might not even check every letter one by one; she just wanted an attitude.
The essence of sitting on the fence is not to linger on the wall, but rather to jump off it decisively at critical moments.
Then, looking at the people welcoming him at the entrance of the residence, Marcel treated it like a family meeting and shouted, “Her Majesty the Queen has obtained information about the mastermind behind the assassination of the previous King. If any of you have connections to the murderer, speak up quickly. Don’t drag the entire family down with you.”
In reality, much of this information had been leaked by Marcel himself. Marcel even worried that Her Majesty was playing a dangerous game and was afraid she didn’t have enough clues, so he wrote down many of his own speculations and clues.
Some things are either not done or done to the extreme.
For the Old Party, this was a crisis, but it was also an opportunity. As long as they sold out their teammates harshly enough, in the end, it would be the Old Party that uncovered the murderer of the King. They would not only cut ties with those pests but also elevate the Old Party’s prestige.
Because the clues were provided by the Old Party, when they obtained the permission for cannon trade, the nobles of the Southwest Borders would have to give the Old Party some face.
By then, the power of the Royal Capital would likely return under balance, and the future of the three-win situation that Her Majesty spoke of might truly be realized.
Marcel was not worried about Her Majesty shamelessly seizing the Old Party’s credit; if that precedent were set, all of Her Majesty’s accumulated reputation would collapse, and reform would be out of the question.
The current situation in the Royal Capital had not yet reached the point where the Queen would tear her face with the Old Party. Rather, Her Majesty’s displayed political talent had exceeded Marcel’s expectations, and her ability to manipulate factions was quite exceptional; such a person would not easily overturn the table.
The family members around Marcel all shrank their heads, and no one dared to speak.
Seeing this, Marcel sighed and said, “I’m going to the study first; you all can disperse. If anyone has contact with those pests, you can come find me in the study. The rest of you should gather information. Be courteous to the nobles of the Southwest Borders; they may not necessarily be our enemies in the future.”
Upon listening to Marcel’s orders, the family members dispersed, and of course, some were also plotting how to return later.
After calming his anxious wife again, Marcel headed to the study.
Soon, a servant delivered intelligence: Her Majesty was no longer in the palace, and the church decided to restore Her Majesty’s title as the Saintess. Therefore, she had been moved to the cathedral, protected by the Goddess Church.
Moreover, the gates of the Royal Capital had been temporarily closed, especially in the Inner City, where all nobles were practically unable to step out.
Many noble families who wanted to flee had already been detained.
Some family members also returned in succession, reporting truthfully to Marcel about their connections with the behind-the-scenes masterminds, hoping that Marcel could save their lives.
Fortunately, these people’s positions were not high, and their influence was limited. Marcel believed he could still manage the situation. After reprimanding these individuals, he instructed them to submit evidence and wait for news.
Seeing that Marcel only asked for evidence and did not demand they turn themselves in, those people kneeled before Marcel, crying and pleading, promising they would never dare again and would always follow him as the head of the family.
After all, these people had already seen the soldiers from the Southwest Borders on the streets with firearms, arresting people.
Her Majesty’s methods were straightforward and brutal; they were effective, and no one truly dared to criticize Her Majesty’s cruelty. Although Her Majesty did not kill many, she would actually kill when necessary. These nobles only dared to point fingers at the new Prime Minister, calling him a traitor since the Prime Minister would not retaliate.
Including Marcel, the numerous nobles began to reminisce about the Klan era. Although it was brief, Klan was considered an exceptionally good king, his methods not so fierce, willing to communicate between both sides, not readily allowing the army to take over the city defenses.
The reforms that Klan had proposed, which the nobles found unacceptable at the time, had now surprisingly become amiable. After all, these reform plans fit the image of a good king; wasn’t he reforming for the revival of the national dynasty?
The more Marcel thought about it, the angrier he became, even hitting the table in frustration. Why didn’t he accept Klan’s proposed plans back then? Why didn’t he rush to stop things upon hearing any rumors? What a good king was lost just like that.
Now, Klan was dead, replaced by a more brutal ruler who acted without regard for consequences, and a new Queen who had just lost her husband. Were those pests happy now?
It could be said that without the pressure from the rise of the Anju Kingdom, Klan would have been the perfect king in the hearts of all nobles. Of course, it could also be attributed to Klan’s brief reign and early death, leading these nobles to automatically add a filter to their memories.
Especially in comparison with the new Queen.
Many nobles from the Old Party hypnotized themselves with this reasoning, blaming those pests. If those pests had not assassinated the King, Klan would still be a relatively gentle ruler, and Her Majesty would not have lost her husband soon after marrying. She would not have ascended the throne, nor would she be in the current situation.
These nobles selectively forgot Klan’s frenzied attempts to strengthen the Queen’s power just before his assassination, as well as his collaboration with Lilith on a reform agenda.
