366 The Annoyed Nobles (2/2)

”Anyway, in the next years, focus on improving your magic power first,” Fernando said to Lucien.

...

In Rentato, in Nekso Palace.

”We have to stop this! The Church and the Congress can't launch the war!” James, the bareheaded duke said aloud.

The major nobles of the Kingdom of Holm who were right now in Rentato were gathered by King Feltis and Prince Patrick for the emergency that broke out today.

The leader of the noble parliament, Flenburg Duke Rakers, looked at James in a cold way, ”Stop them? We've tried so hard to maintain the balance so the damned sorcerers can make their own living, but you see how they paid us back? It's going to be a horrible mistake if we keep supporting them!”

Rakers was wearing the red wig and his face was carefully shaved. The deep wrinkles at the corner of his eyes shaped the contrast to his blue eyes. His eyes were shaped as those an imposing griffin, which complied with his title, King's Griffin.

”No matter how open-minded and radical a noble is, he would not completely abandon the Church; and no matter how conservative a noble is, he is also aware of the fact that, without the Congress, we nobles would never have the power and status that we're enjoying now.” Wolfburg Duke Russell did not want to waste any time but directly put the fact on the table.

Then the argument between the Conservative and the Liberal suddenly stopped. Silence presided over the palace.

Seeing the king's squinted eyes, Hackson, Chancellor of the Exchequer, hurriedly made a pretended cough and said, ”Please be careful with your language, Russel. Our honor and power come from God's blessing, the generosity of our king, as well as our own effort.”

Prince Patrick said seriously, ”The Church first caused the conflict, and we shall not put all the blames on the Congress. Meanwhile, we can't let this rich and beautiful land suffer from war, so the mediation work is our responsibility.”

Mentioning their own benefits, power, and status, the nobles gradually came to an agreement. Only several old nobles who were extreme conservatives furiously left the meeting halfway.

After assigning all the tasks to the nobles, only the king and the prince were left in the palace except the servants.

The old king cast Prince Patrick a meaningful look and slightly shook his head. As he turned around, the king murmured to himself:

”What's the future of kingdom… What's the future of the family…”

All of them knew that the balance was too delicate to last forever. However, right now, they could only turn a blind eye to that fact because there was simply no better choice.

...

In the coach, Flenburg Duke suddenly sighed.

Another noble who was sitting opposite to him in the coach asked, ”Sir?”

”The Congress of Magic is way too powerful. If we keep spoiling them like this and let them grow, we'll pay for sure. James and those people are too myopic,” said Rakers.

”Then why did you support mediation?” asked the noble, ”Let the Church and the Congress fight.”

Rakers shook his head, ”Launching the all-out war right now isn't good for us. We have to find the proper chance to defeat the Congress with one strike together with the Church, and then, again, we support the remaining power of the Congress so the Church would not take all the power. We keep repeating it this way, and thus hopefully the balance can be kept.”

...

”How long can we keep this balance?” asked the bareheaded duke James in Russel's coach.

Russel answered in a deep voice, ”One day, we finally need to make a choice—whether we should weaken the Congress, or completely remove the South Church like the countries under the control of the North Church. Before the Saint Truth dies out, the Congress will not become a threat to us. Also, the balance in the overall situation is easier to maintain than the smaller balance in an individual country. Without being careful, this precious thing can be broken.”

”If so… we won't be able to ascend to Mountain Paradise.” Hackson sighed.

”Mountain Paradise? Haha..” James repeated with a laugh.

...

Several days later, Allyn still remained safe and sound. No war was launched by the Saint Truth.

Lucien got the message from Florencia:

”This weekend, your Holm Crown prize will be granted to you in Allyn.”