Imperial Crown.

Chapter 525 The Wise Emperor

Lux saw the letter Raven left behind the next morning.

Lux wakes up at 6 a.m. every day without fail. After washing up, she does a half-hour morning prayer before personally preparing breakfast for Raven. Although she comes from a noble family, Lux grew up in the Church of Light and later became a priestess in Eagle Territory, so she had long developed the habit of being self-sufficient.

When she brought breakfast to Raven, she was startled to see the empty room, and then she noticed the letter Raven had left on his desk.

After reading the letter, Lux was already in tears. She pressed the letter to her chest, closed her beautiful eyes, and tried to calm herself. The deep affection between the two needed no further explanation.

After pausing for a while, Lux deliberately stayed in the room a little longer, tidying up Raven's bed before leaving.

"From now on, no one is allowed to come to the second floor without my permission."

Lux summoned three maids and the goblin sisters, abandoning her usual gentle demeanor and speaking in a cold voice.

Seeing Mrs. Lux's unusual behavior, the five women, not understanding what had happened, nodded solemnly with slightly flustered expressions.

To avoid arousing suspicion, Lux continued to provide Raven with his daily meals and hot water for bathing as usual, but she personally delivered them to Raven's room.

As the days went by, the five maids gradually learned some of the inside story. It turned out that Earl Raven's condition had worsened, and it seemed that his time was up, after all, Earl Raven was already so old.

……

The Keynesian Empire, the city of Minergar.

In a small, cramped, dark, and airtight room, the heavy breathing of two men rose and fell.

"Did you see it?"

A deep voice rang out.

"I saw it."

Another, slightly more ethereal voice remained silent for a moment before speaking slowly.

"Do you see clearly?"

He continued in a deep voice.

"See clearly."

Her light, clear voice paused noticeably for a moment before she spoke.

"Is it magnificent or not?"

He asked slowly in a deep voice, tinged with a hint of excitement.

"majestic!"

She replied in a light, clear voice, swallowing her saliva.

"Isn't it spectacular?"

His deep voice suddenly became rapid, and he gradually started to pant.

“Spectacular!”

She answered without hesitation in a light, clear voice.

"Did you see that fleeting look of disdain on Eric's face?"

The questioning in a deep voice continued.

"I see, Your Majesty."

The dwarf Piler nodded vigorously, his two gecko-like eyes fixed on the recording crystal in front of him. In fact, this recording crystal had been sent to the capital and to King Keynes XVI several months ago, but His Majesty never tired of looking at it and would drag him to the small room almost every day to examine it closely.

The scene projected inside was Raven kneeling and begging for his life before the dragon. It was recorded clearly from all angles, without any blind spots, and in 360 degrees.

The high-level image crystal could clearly see even the tears on Raven's face and the stains beneath him, down to the finest detail.

The magnificence and grandeur that Habs inquired about were naturally referring to the dragon in the image crystal! A living, adult dragon hadn't appeared in human kingdoms for almost three or four hundred years. Habs was naturally incredibly envious. When he first saw Zolzahn, Habs couldn't wait to set off immediately for the Orc Empire, ride on Zolzahn's head, and become her master.

Fortunately, Pierre persuaded him to stay.

Habs reluctantly put away the recording crystal, a strange sense of satisfaction on his face. He led Pierre to a more spacious room, took out a stack of tarot cards, shuffled them in a variety of ways, and then drew three cards, placing them on the table in order. " conferment of a title. Execution. Silence. Which card should we play first?!" Habs asked meaningfully.

"Uh, this..."

Pierre's expression revealed a measured embarrassment, and he gave an awkward laugh, "How could I possibly fathom His Majesty's will?"

"There are no outsiders here, why are you pretending?" Habs said somewhat displeased, sensing that Peele seemed a bit strange whenever Raven was involved. Peele quickly lowered his head in apology, then stroked his smooth chin with his small hand, occasionally glancing up at Habs's expression, seemingly genuinely trying to guess Habs's true thoughts. In fact, Peele already had the answer in his heart. Based on his understanding of Keynes XVI, a knighthood was out of the question, and the rule of silence didn't apply to Habs! That left only one option, the only one—beheading! But since Habs had asked on purpose, the answer was clearly not logical. It seemed that this emperor was about to pull another stunt.

"Beheading!" Piler said firmly. Whatever the real answer, Piler would choose beheading. It would both sever his ties with Raven and make His Majesty appear resourceful—killing two birds with one stone, wouldn't that be wonderful?!
“Wrong!” Habs retorted loudly.

"wrong?"

Pierre looked at Habsburg with a shocked expression, as if he did not recognize the emperor in front of him.

Habs was very pleased with Pierre's expression, and laughed heartily, "The correct answer is—a noble title."

"A title of nobility?"

Pierre was very puzzled and hurriedly asked in a tone that was a mixture of humility and worry, "But Your Majesty, although we have spies planted in the Eagle Army and the mercenary groups, what if Raven also guesses this and deliberately puts on this show to deceive us?!"

"I knew you'd think that!" Habs said, as if he hadn't expected it. "Then let me ask you, if you were a dignified Imperial Earl, and you really encountered a situation like Raven's, would you kneel down and beg for your life like a dog?!"

Pierre pondered for a moment, then slowly and laboriously shook his head. "No."

“That settles it!” Habs picked up a bottle of Angel’s Tears, took a sip, and said, “Besides, you just said you saw the contempt and disgust on Eric’s face with your own eyes! Who is Eric? He’s Raven’s most trusted confidant all along! If the contents of this recording crystal were really just a carefully arranged and planned scheme by Raven, then why didn’t Eric show it more clearly? Wouldn’t that be more convincing?! It was precisely that fleeting moment that revealed Eric’s truest thoughts. Raven’s act of kneeling and begging for mercy without regard for anything else did indeed arouse Eric’s disgust!”

"Ah! Your Majesty is wise!" Pierre exclaimed in complete admiration.

"Actually, without this image-recording crystal, I would never have granted Raven another title." Habs's expression darkened, his eyes becoming incredibly deep, and he spoke calmly and confidently, "But it's precisely because of this image-recording crystal that I suddenly decided to grant him a title. And it must be a grand affair, and it must be done while he's still alive!" Habs walked to the table and slowly sat down. "Make several hundred of these image-recording crystals. They must, absolutely, very precisely... accidentally fall into the market, especially in the Nord Province. Understand? Peele?"

“In that case, even if Raven becomes a marquis, he’ll be a laughingstock!” Pierre said with a chuckle. “You understand, Your Majesty, you understand.”

"in addition"

Habs tapped the table with his long, slender fingers, making a crisp, rhythmic sound. "Summon all ministers for a cabinet meeting. Also, it's time to put this pawn, Vesdon, to use."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Your decree will be carried out." Pierre proclaimed loudly, then withdrew from the room, shook his head almost imperceptibly, sighed, and walked out of the palace.

The cabinet meeting was held as scheduled just three hours later.

Around the long table, old-school and new-school nobles sat facing each other in a clear distinction. At the head of the table was King Keynes XVI Habsburg, with Prime Minister Hamilton to his left.

As the name suggests, the old-school nobles are families who once shed blood and risked their lives for the Keynesian Empire. They are ancient families with real power, territory, and heritage! These ancient families have deep roots and are long since bound to the empire, forming a situation where they rise and fall together! They have truly achieved the state of being "too big to fail" and "too big to be messed up"!

The new aristocracy consisted of families that Habs himself had promoted. These families might not have many other abilities, but they were absolutely obedient to Habs and loyal as dogs.

Habs didn't want things to turn out this way either, but if he had even the slightest way to counterbalance the old-school nobles, he wouldn't have chosen to distribute the territories surrounding the capital and promote three new ducal families. These old-school nobles, relying on their past achievements, were more stinking and stubborn than rocks in a cesspool!
"I have summoned you ministers today because there is a small matter that needs to be discussed."

Habs got straight to the point, throwing the documents in his hand onto the table. "These are the battle reports that Raven has been sending over the past few months. I glanced at them briefly, and he said that a total of 500 million orcs were killed, including 200 million goblins, 100 million tiger-men, 100 million boar-men, and 100 million werewolves."

"laugh"

An untimely, contemptuous laugh suddenly rang out in the council chamber.

Then, a rather dashing middle-aged man stood up, clenched his left fist, and casually tapped it against his shoulder, bowing deeply to Habs at a ninety-degree angle. It must be said, this was impeccable etiquette. Immediately afterward, the middle-aged man's magnetic voice rang out: "Your Majesty, please forgive my rudeness! Although I already knew something about this fellow nicknamed 'Little Bee,' his shamelessness and utter lack of principles still shattered my worldview!" The speaker was none other than the leader of the new-style nobles—Serafino. His eloquent manner was truly refined, exuding an impeccable sense of politeness! It was the kind of politeness where you clearly disliked what he said and did, but you could only suffer in silence, suppressing your anger. If Raven were here, he would definitely recommend Serafino for customer service; this vibe was just too perfect!

As a new-style nobleman personally promoted by the Emperor, Serafinu naturally wanted to demonstrate his value to the best of his ability. He understood Habs's thoughts best, and it was precisely this keen intuition, sharper than a dog's, that allowed his family to become a giant among the new-style nobles. Whether analyzing past experience or judging from today's situation, Serafinu was perfectly clear that Habs absolutely hated Raven! Therefore, his contemptuous laugh just now was not a rude act, but a carefully planned move. He had even silently practiced it four or five times before the laugh even escaped his lips! "Your Majesty," Serafinu continued, his face radiating visibly sincerity, "not a single word of this little bee's words can be trusted! The true number is probably less than half! Besides, the entire Bloodhowl Province has a total of 500 million orcs! Let alone Raven killing 500 million! Even if he only killed 200 million! 100 million! Then I think this cabinet meeting definitely wasn't held today, nor was it just our Keynes Empire holding it! The Holy See and the Titans must have sent people long ago, right?"

Serafino's words made a lot of sense, and for a moment, everyone in the council chamber nodded in agreement.

“Hamilton, as Hand of the King, what are your thoughts?” Habs said, turning his head to the left without giving a clear answer.

"Hand of the King" is the official title of the Prime Minister and a relatively formal job title.

Hamilton rubbed his palms together. "Undeniably, Raven's war exploits are somewhat exaggerated, but I've verified this with Marquis Baldwin of the Mantledale Province. Bloodhowl Province has indeed been defeated by Raven; it's practically become a playground for mercenaries and adventurers." Hamilton's words were airtight, neither explicitly affirming nor denying, leaving himself an escape route with ambiguity. "Besides, knowing that kid as I do, since he dared to report so much, I believe at least a third of it is credible!" At this point, Hamilton's face suddenly broke into a smile. "Although our Keynes Empire occupies the central region of the Middles Continent, we also bear the risk of simultaneously resisting both the orcs and the Order of the Death Hand. Every now and then, we also have to consider the monster tides escaping from the Elven Empire! No matter what, even if Raven has made a thousand mistakes, as long as he has truly killed a lot of orcs, he has rendered meritorious service to the entire empire! I think we should reward him slightly to demonstrate Your Majesty's great kindness and magnanimity. Young people, after all, are bound to take the wrong path if they are too eager for quick success."

"Yes."

As soon as Hamilton finished speaking, many voices of agreement arose in the council chamber, mostly from the three old-fashioned noble families.

"hehe"

Serafino's sneer immediately rang out, "Prime Minister, you certainly have a short memory! Let me recall Raven's character for you!" Serafino stood up again and shouted, "Just four years ago, His Majesty had just conferred upon him the title of Earl, yet Raven not only showed no gratitude, but shortly after returning, he murdered the Viscount Little Raven of Hippocrates in the same province! He even concealed the truth afterward and secretly annexed the Viscount's territory! Those were imperial nobles! Not his dogs! He killed them without a second thought! And before this matter was even settled, this beast became even more outrageous, actually committing insubordination and killing Marquis Anthony..." "He was also beheaded!! Although Marquis Anthony was merely a court noble with no fiefdom, he wasn't someone a mere border noble could kill so easily! Where did he place the Empire then?! Where did he place His Majesty?!" Serafinu said pointedly, "The Prime Minister really makes it sound so easy, brushing aside these capital crimes that deserve the extermination of Raven's entire clan a hundred times over with a mere few words! While he may have rendered meritorious service in slaying the orcs, it's far from enough to atone for his sins. If he truly wanted to, he should have simply died in the orcish empire; that would have been better for everyone, and we could have preserved his good reputation!"

“Back when the Hand of Death wreaked havoc, Viscount Morgan, also from the Nord province, was willing to risk his life for his reputation. Why can’t Raven do the same?” Serafino said darkly, his eyes flashing.

"Humph"

Ejihad, the leader of the old-school nobles, scoffed, "You make it sound so easy. How about this: you take your army to the Orc Empire. Even if you don't kill 500 million orcs, just 50, and I'll personally go to the Orc Empire and bring that brat Raven back, and dismember him in front of you, how about that?" "Hmm?" "Dare you, Serafino?" Ejihad had a lion's beard, and his personality was as fierce as a lion's tiger. His voice boomed like a broken gong, "I don't think it's that Your Excellency the Prime Minister has a bad memory! It's that a certain..." "People—no, a certain group of people—have forgotten how they earned their titles over time!" "Raven certainly deserves to die! But those families who only know how to flatter and deceive for titles should be considered a cancer and eradicated completely!" "Although Raven was of humble birth, at least he bore the Griffiths name! His ancestors were the founding fathers of the nation of Keynes! Unlike some people, whose entire families, numbering in the thousands, have shed not a drop of blood for this country? How utterly shameless!"

……

(End of this chapter)