Chapter 74 - Undercurrents
Charlotte had grabbed the whip and struck the man because there was simply no precedent for the City Guard being dispatched to guard a Duke's residence.
Jose Mellerfield, and the Dukes of Greenland before him, had visited Platinum City many times. On each occasion, they stayed wherever they pleased, and the security of their lodging was handled by the knights and squires the Duke brought himself.
When had it ever fallen to the City Guard to provide protection?
At such a sensitive time, the sudden surrounding of the estate where the Duke of Greenland and his family were staying by the City Guard was something Charlotte simply couldn't interpret as "protection."
More than "protection," Charlotte felt this act resembled being taken hostage!
If the Greenland side had reacted even slightly more mildly, accepting this so-called "protection," Charlotte had no doubt the mastermind behind this incident would smoothly turn it into standard practice for the future.
It wasn't hard to guess the objective of the mastermind wanting to "protect" the Duke of Greenland and his family – with great changes imminent in the Empire, everyone wanted to secure more influence in the shifting power dynamics. This mastermind was just another ambitious player on the board.
On the surface, this mastermind appeared to be the Privy Councillor, Marco Lyman.
But it was obvious Marco Lyman himself had no reason to offend the Duke of Greenland, nor did he possess the standing to challenge him. He could only be acting as a representative for some faction.
Charlotte was curious: which faction did this Marco Lyman belong to?
However, she couldn't claim any familiarity with these imperial ministers. The only one she had met a few times was Archbishop Maitland Conto, who also served as the court chaplain. So, even wild guessing offered Charlotte no starting point.
"Charlotte, are you alright?"
Andre, leading a contingent of guards, hurried over, asking anxiously the moment he saw her.
"What could possibly happen to me?" Charlotte waved a dismissive hand.
"I heard from the servants that you got into a fight with the City Guard outside?" Andre looked Charlotte up and down but found not even a speck of dust on her.
"I was just about to ask you, brother," Charlotte stopped and retorted, "Why are all these miscellaneous people blocking the entrance to our home? What are you, the eldest son of the Duke of Greenland, doing? Why didn't you drive them away? Were you taking a nap?"
"But they had His Majesty's orders..."
Andre hesitated. He had initially felt uneasy about these unfamiliar armored soldiers appearing at their doorstep – an instinctive wariness common to the scions of vassal lords. But when the City Guard repeatedly claimed they were acting under the Emperor's command, Andre hadn't pressed the issue further.
Charlotte rolled her eyes at her brother. "You believe whatever they say?"
Charlotte considered it possible that Emperor Leopold might have tacitly approved Marco Lyman and the City Guard's actions. As Platinum City's defense force, the City Guard reported to the Imperial Council and represented the royal family's authority to some extent – but not overwhelmingly so. It was just the right tool to subtly probe the attitudes of the vassal lords.
However, Charlotte absolutely refused to believe that Emperor Leopold had ordered Marco Lyman's actions.
Emperor Leopold's life was drawing to a close. He had invited the two Kings, two Dukes, and one Marquis to Platinum City for Henry's lavish wedding precisely to appease these powerful figures and ensure a stable transition of the throne. He had no reason to do something counterproductive that would infuriate the Duke of Greenland.
"I've already seen their written orders. They came under the command of the Count of Redpine Hill."
The Count of Redpine Hill was the title held by Privy Councillor Marco Lyman.
Charlotte knew saying this much was enough; her brother wouldn't dwell on the deeper implications.
"Damn it! A mere Count dares to throw his weight around in front of the Mellerfield residence!"
Just as expected, upon hearing his sister's words, Andre immediately took his guards out to drive the City Guard away.
Half a day passed. Towards evening, Duke Jose Mellerfield of Greenland returned with Duchess Rosie.
Having left slightly later than Charlotte and Jose Mellerfield, Rosie had also gone to the palace, not to see the Emperor, but her sister, Queen Mary Holovin.
Upon hearing what had transpired at the estate, even Rosie's expression darkened.
"My sister wouldn't do this..."
Rosie instinctively defended Queen Mary Holovin, but as the words left her mouth, she felt a pang of uncertainty.
Truthfully, Rosie's reaction was quite normal. There were only a handful of people in Platinum City with the capability and audacity to scheme against the Duke of Greenland, and Mary Holovin was one of them – arguably the one with the highest suspicion, given her track record.
Back when Helen had taken her own life, Mary Holovin had immediately stepped forward to arrange the marriage between her younger sister and Jose Mellerfield, corresponding multiple times with the Duke of Greenland to negotiate.
At that time, Jose Mellerfield's relationship with Helen's family, the Gatu Kingdom, was already extremely strained, and he genuinely needed a new ally; the Kexin Royal Family was a decent choice. However, with his wife having just passed away, Jose Mellerfield wasn't exactly in the mood to remarry immediately, so his replies were somewhat vague.
Unexpectedly, Mary Holovin somehow "accidentally" lost these letters, allowing them to circulate outside the palace. News that the Duke of Greenland and the Kexin Royal Family were discussing a marriage alliance spread like wildfire.
It had to be said, Mary Holovin's move was both precise and ruthless.
King Ethel Holovin of the Gatu Kingdom was furious. His daughter had just died, and his son-in-law was already eagerly seeking a new wife. He nearly mobilized his troops to march west and clash with the Greenland Duchy. Jose Mellerfield was forced to immediately proceed with the marriage alliance with the Kexin Royal Family, securing an ally to jointly fend off the potential aggression from his former father-in-law.
Without Mary Holovin's scheming, whether Jose Mellerfield would have actually married Rosie remained uncertain. After all, no matter how much King Ethel adored his daughter, Helen was still just a princess; the Greenland Duchy and the Gatu Kingdom could potentially have maintained diplomatic relations on a political level.
The crucial message conveyed by the letters Mary Holovin "accidentally" leaked – that the Greenland Duchy might have already allied with the Kexin Kingdom – was the spark that truly ignited the conflict between Greenland and Gatu.
Because the Greenland Duchy lay to the west of the Gatu Kingdom, and the Kexin Kingdom to its east, an alliance between the two would leave Gatu vulnerable from both sides – a situation King Ethel Holovin could scarcely tolerate.
Jose Mellerfield was a clear-headed man. He understood that once King Ethel Holovin suspected he had allied with Kexin, it was best that he had indeed allied with Kexin. Only then would Ethel Holovin's fury transform into apprehension and caution.
It could be said that regarding the marriage alliance, Mary Holovin had truly been a master manipulator, treating even the Duke of Greenland as a pawn. It was entirely plausible she might attempt to use the Duke of Greenland again now for some purpose – after all, Henry wasn't her biological son.
However, Jose Mellerfield shook his head. "I know it wasn't Her Majesty the Queen."
Seeing the confusion in Charlotte's eyes, Jose Mellerfield explained, "City Guards were also dispatched to protect His Majesty King Alphonse's residence."
"How is Father?" Rosie asked quickly, concerned.
"It was nothing. His Majesty Alphonse had his men beat up all the City Guards and then chased them away," Jose Mellerfield said.
Charlotte raised an eyebrow slightly. "Did the City Guard also go to Duke Bonan's place?"
"Yes. And also... His Majesty Ethel's residence as well." Jose Mellerfield still sounded a bit unnatural mentioning his former father-in-law. "However, Duke Bonan didn't have any conflict with the City Guard."
"Grandfather is here too?" Charlotte said in surprise. She had assumed, given the poor relationship between Ethel Holovin and Emperor Leopold, that even if he agreed to attend Henry's wedding, he would arrive on the very last day. "Grandfather didn't kill all the City Guards sent to his place, did he?"
Charlotte had merely blurted it out casually, but to her surprise, Jose Mellerfield nodded. "Yes, he killed them all. The matter went directly before His Majesty the Emperor. That's how I heard about the City Guard's actions while I was at the palace."
Charlotte let out a soft "tsk."
That night, a frigid wind howled outside the window, carrying flurries of snow.
Jose Mellerfield, covered by a thin blanket, sat reading by the fireplace. Charlotte happened to be passing by when her father suddenly called her over.
Jose Mellerfield pointed to the chair opposite him.
Charlotte understood and sat down.
"Regarding today's events, you did the right thing, but you were a bit reckless."
Jose Mellerfield was clearly referring to Charlotte whipping the City Guard.
"Firstly, you are a young lady, after all. What does it look like for you to personally strike someone? Secondly, you shouldn't have insulted Marco Lyman's noble title. There are many Counts in the Empire; your Uncle Philip is also a Count. If your words reached his ears, would he be pleased? Would the other Counts be pleased?"
"I'll remember that," Charlotte responded earnestly.
Jose Mellerfield nodded, inwardly quite satisfied with Charlotte's actions today. If those City Guards had remained until he returned, dealing with them would have been somewhat troublesome for him. This wasn't because Jose Mellerfield wanted to be held hostage by them, but because the manner in which he dealt with them would reveal his stance.
The reactions of Duke Bonan (Fernandez Pasteur), King Alphonse Murat of Kexin, and King Ethel Holovin of Gatu towards the City Guard perfectly illustrated their respective positions.
Duke Fernandez Bonan's tolerance of the City Guard's arguably offensive action indicated his high hopes for the marriage alliance between Anne Paste and Henry. He desperately wanted a stable transition of imperial power, marking him undoubtedly as staunchly pro-royalist.
King Alphonse of Kexin had the City Guard beaten and driven away. Clearly, Alphonse strongly disapproved of the action, unwilling to spare face for the Emperor or the Imperial Council, even though his own daughter was the Queen.
This suggested that some sort of rift might still exist between Alphonse and Emperor Leopold, inevitably bringing to mind the absurd kidnapping incident from months ago. Perhaps that case held other undisclosed secrets.
King Ethel of Gatu was the most direct: he simply killed them all, making no effort to hide his dissatisfaction with the imperial family.
Jose Mellerfield neither wanted to be held hostage by the City Guard nor wished to reveal too much of his position prematurely – or perhaps he hadn't yet decided on his stance. Therefore, having his children drive away the City Guard while he was ostensibly unaware was undoubtedly the best outcome.
"Are you planning to visit His Majesty Ethel tomorrow?" Jose Mellerfield asked again.
"Yes," Charlotte admitted frankly. Her relationship with her birth mother's family had always been good; there was nothing to hide.
Jose Mellerfield fell silent for a moment, then said, "What do you think the Greenland Duchy's approach should be regarding relations with the Gatu Kingdom?"
Charlotte was somewhat taken aback. She hadn't expected Jose Mellerfield to ask her such a question; her father had never previously consulted her on matters of state diplomacy. However, after serious consideration, Charlotte replied, "That depends on whether Father wishes for war or not."
"Of course, I do not wish for war," Jose Mellerfield answered without hesitation.
Jose Mellerfield was a moderate. He valued preservation and stability. Even when Helen was pressured into suicide, he chose not to conduct a large-scale purge of opposing factions within his territory. Even when manipulated by Mary Holovin, he endured it patiently, calmly choosing to follow the Queen's wishes and ally with the Kexin Kingdom.
These choices might have seemed correct to Jose Mellerfield, but they were precisely the aspects Count Perode most despised about him.
Her father's answer was entirely within Charlotte's expectations. She nodded slightly and added, "Then the Greenland Duchy should remain neutral."
"I thought you were going to say Greenland should ally with the Gatu Kingdom," Jose Mellerfield said, slightly surprised.
Charlotte shook her head. "Regardless of whether Greenland joins the Gatu Kingdom's side or the Imperial side, Grandfather will immediately raise troops in rebellion."
Jose Mellerfield gestured for Charlotte to continue.
"If Greenland joins the Imperial side, then that faction will have the support of the Bonan Duchy, the Kexin Kingdom, the Marquis of Blackstone, and the Greenland Duchy. At that point, the Gatu Kingdom would be isolated and without allies, leaving Grandfather with no choice but to fight desperately. However, if Greenland allies with the Gatu Kingdom, then with the combined strength of Greenland and Gatu, they could easily rebel upon His Majesty the Emperor's death. Grandfather would have no reason to miss such an opportunity. Therefore, if Father wishes to avoid war as much as possible, neutrality is the only path for the Greenland Duchy," Charlotte explained.
Jose Mellerfield sank into deep thought.
After an unknown period, Jose Mellerfield seemed to return to himself. Seeing Charlotte still sitting nearby, he said, "You should go back and sleep. When visiting your grandfather tomorrow, it's best to go early to avoid appearing disrespectful."
"Understood," Charlotte nodded. As she was about to stand up, another thought occurred to her, and she asked, "Father, do you know who instigated Marco Lyman to mobilize the City Guard?"
Jose Mellerfield didn't answer directly. Instead, he said, "Marco Lyman and Lucheni Holovin are close friends. Lucheni Holovin is Henry's father."