Chapter 566: Chapter 36: Return to the Royal Capital Again

An army of hundreds of thousands was ultimately too slow; it couldn’t outrun the cold snap sweeping south across the continent.

Fortunately, Robson didn’t need to bring the entire army all the way to the Royal Capital.

Showing up at Barishik with three hundred thousand men would probably have scared the comatose Louis III awake.

However, while Robson couldn’t take the three-hundred-thousand-strong army with him, he still had to take his own troops.

To be precise, it was over two thousand men: the First through Third Regiments plus the Cavalry Team. The Fourth through Seventh Regiments were sent back to the Affleck Domain.

Robson hadn’t yet replenished his legions and planned to deal with the matter after returning to Affleck.

Marquis Oscillate had not yet woken up, and the Edward family’s Personal Guard Knight Order was traveling with Robson.

The situation in the kingdom was rapidly changing, and Robson had to reach the Royal Capital as quickly as possible.

After leaving the miscellaneous troops behind, the marching speed of Robson’s army improved dramatically.

They covered thirty miles a day.

....

As they withdrew from the central warfront, Robson clearly felt the temperature rising.

The northern cold snap was blocked by the spurs of the Demon Beast Mountain Range, making the Frankish Great Plains much warmer.

Quite a few people came to greet them along the way.

Robson had a full two thousand men with him; it was only natural to announce their passage when crossing another’s territory.

When people heard it was the recently renowned Earl Robson, they immediately came out to receive him.

However, Robson was in a hurry to get back to the Royal Capital and didn’t linger in anyone’s territory. He simply exchanged greetings with them as a courtesy.

Most of the people who received him were family members, not the true heads of their houses. Since Robson didn’t stay, they didn’t dare say much.

It was worth mentioning that Princess Yifulei had cheered up considerably of late.

Robson and Valentino spent every day with her. Valentino would tell the princess the same jokes Robson used to tell her, making the princess laugh again and again.

Seeing the two of them getting along well, Robson stopped staying around. After all, he had to avoid gossip.

’The Prince just died, and I’m getting this close to his widow. We’re in a politically sensitive period...’

Moreover, as Princess Yifulei gradually cheered up, her arrogant and unruly nature began to show.

Lord Robson had no liking for haughty princesses who barely reached his chest. The Countess was far more to his liking—gentle, considerate, a woman who could be both elegant and unrestrained.

These happy days did not last long.

As they drew closer to the Royal Capital, the princess began to think of her future and once again fell into a melancholic state.

Valentino’s mood wasn’t great either. She was thinking about her marriage to Robson.

As a young woman, Valentino had an incredibly strong desire to marry the man she loved.

But, as a politician, Valentino also knew that this was not a suitable time to get married.

Marquis George’s attitude was currently ambiguous; it was unclear whether he planned to move against the southern faction first, or against Robson.

Marquis George had ample reason to move against both Robson and the southern faction. Moreover, neither the southern faction nor Robson was currently as powerful as the Marquis, so he would surely choose one of them as his target for the next few years.

If Marquis George moved against one, the other would have a chance to catch its breath. Clearly, both the southern faction and Robson needed that chance.

In the plans conceived by Louis III and the Marquis, the marriage of Robson and Valentino would mark the formal establishment of the northern heartland faction.

Getting married at a time like this? Wouldn’t that just be provoking Marquis George?

Robson, on the other hand, wasn’t unhappy. Right now, he just wanted to get back to the Royal Capital as quickly as possible and dive into the political storm of Louis III’s twilight reign.

Risk and opportunity coexisted.

.....

「Barishik.」

Today was supposed to be a big day.

The core legions of the expeditionary force were all returning today.

Oscillate, Robson, Earl Lu Wen...

But the Royal Capital had seen a few too many "big days" recently, making this event seem rather insignificant.

Barishik’s upper echelon had held a discussion on how to receive the returning expeditionary force.

The main heroes of this expeditionary force were primarily Robson, Oscillate, and Prince Noah.

According to the original plan, there was supposed to be a grand ceremony, with the King coming out of the city to greet them and citizens lining the streets to welcome them.

But now, His Majesty Louis III was still deep in his slumber.

Everyone was watching to see how one person would react: Marquis George.

Right now, Marquis George was the most influential living figure in the entire Royal Capital.

Everyone had originally thought that Marquis George would simply sweep the matter aside and forbid anyone from attending the welcome.

Unexpectedly, Marquis George’s proposed solution was for him to personally lead the welcome for the kingdom’s heroes.

However, even so, it was only the kingdom’s highest-ranking officials who went. About twenty or so people stood in the wind, with several hundred Soldiers protecting them.

Seeing the caravan of carriages gradually appear in the distance, Marquis George let a smile grace his face.

The long line of carriages drew steadily closer.

Robson had not received word that Marquis George would come out to greet him, but unexpected situations were a perfectly normal part of life.

He stopped his carriage, helped Valentino and Princess Yifulei alight, and approached the welcoming party with the other nobles.

Marquis George’s gaze went first to Princess Yifulei, who stood behind Robson.

"Life is full of changes, Your Highness. Just focus on nurturing your child. We Franks never mistreat our own," Marquis George said with a smile.

News of Princess Yifulei’s pregnancy had already reached the Royal Capital, and everyone had reacted differently.

The most intense reactions, naturally, came from the royal family.

When Louis III was on the throne, he heavily favored the royalist faction but suppressed the royal family. It sounds confusing, but it was indeed the case; the royalist faction and the royal family were two different concepts.

Currently, the royal family only held the positions of Archbishop and Chief of the Imperial Clan in the court—basically, they were insignificant. Therefore, the royal family wanted to use this political tide to return to the political stage.

But the royal family had been away from politics for too long; to return, they would need the support of the new monarch. Princess Yifulei was a foreigner and obviously wouldn’t support them. Even if her child was born, they would have to wait eighteen years! In eighteen years, it would be far too late.

As for the other court officials, their only demand was that after the princess gave birth, the child’s bloodline be tested with Magic to verify its purity.

If the child was Prince Noah’s, the court officials were actually quite fond of Princess Yifulei.

A political novice, a widow with an orphan—these were bywords for someone easy to bully. Perhaps they could take this opportunity to reclaim all the power Louis III had taken from them.

Princess Yifulei grew a little nervous at Marquis George’s show of goodwill and looked toward Robson.

"Your Highness, this is Marquis George, one of the foremost ministers of the kingdom," Robson introduced.

Upon hearing this, Princess Yifulei simply nodded in response.

Robson felt a headache coming on.

’A princess like this... she really doesn’t seem suited to rule a country.’

Marquis George chuckled, his eyes narrowing slightly as he pondered whether or not he should support this Princess Yifulei.

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