The window on one side of the living room has been opened, and heavy rain is falling from the sky. The strong wind from time to time blows the raindrops in along the open window, making the dark red-brown floor wet. The sky is filled with dull yellow and iron.
The black mist was torn apart by rain and wind, and dissipated into nothingness.
Philip leaned on the couch, his face similar to Duke Negan's was filled with heavy emotions, and the deep wrinkles on his forehead had not disappeared since he sent people to the Holy Wind Cathedral. He was used to waiting during his ten years in the army.
, but now that he is a Duke, Jean is increasingly disgusted with this feeling of waiting for the result.
Diagonally opposite him, Rawls was also leaning on the sofa, holding in his hand the documents related to the Hillston Police Department that Philip had reviewed.
It is undeniable that after the Hillston Police Department introduced police auxiliary personnel and civilian police officers, it has greatly reduced the pressure on personnel in the police department, and has also given many small and medium-sized companies and large company personnel a sense of identity.
The Hillston District under Philip's jurisdiction is extremely special. It is small but full of companies. The people here are at least middle-class and have high quality. It is the financial heart of Backlund. This has also led to the police department's
The work is largely administrative rather than maintaining law and order and investigating crime.
The police profession was only born in the last decade or so, and many of its officers were transferred from the original police constables. Such police officers can work in more chaotic places such as the East District and Dockside District, but for people like Hillston,
It is difficult to implement in certain economic regions.
They cannot use violence like they do to gangsters, gangsters, and gangsters. Even extreme words will cause those who have been working in the Hillston area to seize the opportunity and send legal letters directly to them. Adrian Firm
Just in the Hillstown area, at least thirty related incidents are handled every year.
According to the suggestions given by Rawls, police auxiliary personnel and civilian personnel should select some people with gentle temperaments and high quality. They can give priority to students who cannot afford high tuition fees. They are very suitable for temporary or part-time jobs.
Work.
The salary of the police in Loen is not high. On the one hand, this profession has just been born. On the other hand, during the period of the police officer, he colluded with gangsters, gangsters, and prostitutes and used his power to blackmail, so there was black money coming in.
But this is not a problem for the wealthy Hillston Police Department. Philip raised their salaries when he took office, so it can attract enough students who cannot afford high tuition.
Whether it is Philip's status as the son of a duke or that he has inherited the duke, it is enough for the rich and powerful bankers in Hillston District to maintain a friendly attitude towards the Hillston Police Department. After all, the ruling party is still conservative.
Party, you still have to go through the Conservative Party to obtain a title.
Sanders, wearing a priest's robe intertwined with storm and lightning, walked in hurriedly. The wind and rain outside had no impact on this "windstormer".
"Your Excellency, the Witch Sect held a ceremony to resurrect the 'Original Witch'. After receiving the news, Archbishop Radar immediately created heavy rain and strong winds to destroy the ceremony, but did not capture the person who performed the ceremony. The Church of the Night and
The Church of Steam is still conducting follow-up exploration.
But according to the information obtained in the early stage, it was related to Prince Edsac. He was tempted by the witch and tried to rebel. However, after the conspiracy was exposed, he had committed suicide. The rest of the information has to wait for feedback from the Church of Night and the Church of Steam."
Philip, who had already stood up, looked serious. When he heard that it was related to Prince Edsac, a hint of ridicule appeared at the corner of his mouth, and then disappeared.
"Where did the early news come from?"
"Church of the Night."
Phillip nodded, sat back on the sofa, and fell into deep thought.
Rawls glanced at the report on the table and asked:
"Before the heavy rain came, the ceremony seemed to have been affected?"
"Yes."
Sanders also knew that this was the person whom the young duke trusted the most, so he did not hide it and replied with a heavy expression:
"Even if the bishop destroyed the ceremony, it still caused serious casualties. It was okay in Hillston, Queens, and Jowood, but at least there were more casualties in the East End, Dockside District, and Factory District where people were more densely populated and were the center of the ceremony.
Thousands of people died as a result, and this number may increase in the future."
"I see."
Rawls turned to look at Philip who was sitting on the sofa in deep thought, picked up a document from the Hillston Police Department and said:
"Philip, now you need to rush to the Hillston Police Station immediately. You must know that you are still the chief there. The three major churches and the Prime Minister will be with you for the follow-up matters. You don't need to do anything more."
For Philip, there is only one point where the young duke can be criticized, and that is that he serves as the chief of the Hillstown Police Department in his capacity as a duke. If Duke Negan had not been assassinated and Philip inherited the title less than half a month later, the Parliament would have
Various discussions have piled up, and this has long been a reason for criticism by the New Party.
Even if the emergence of the Great Smog does not have a big impact on the Hillston District, Philip, as the Chief of Police of the Hillston District, must appear there, otherwise the New Party will definitely be defeated after the "compromise" of George III.
Hold on to this.
Even if this position is not attractive to a duke, there is still a big difference between taking the blame and resigning and voluntarily leaving office.
Sanders looked at Philip fiercely. It was really dangerous to go out while the plague was still spreading. You must know that the witch who caused the plague had not been caught yet. Once an assassination occurred again, it would be difficult for the Church of Storms to obtain nobles.
of trust.
After hearing Rawls's suggestion, Philip stood up without hesitation and said in a deep voice:
"you are right."
Then he said to Sanders who looked anxious:
"Notify the church and the archbishop, let the guards prepare, we will set off immediately"
Even if Sanders was no longer willing, he had no choice but to obey the order and hurried out of the living room.
Looking at the disappearing figure of "Windwinder", Philip stretched out his right hand, palm facing the ground, and solemnly declared in ancient Hermetic language:
"This place is isolated from inside and outside."
The invisible spirituality spread out and blocked the living room area.
After doing this, he turned to Rawls and asked:
"Do you think this matter really has something to do with Prince Edsac?"
"Is it not?"
Rawls raised his head slightly, feeling a little incredible. Did Philip also discover something? But this is different from my impression of him?
"It seems that you also think this matter is weird. Although I have not met Edsac, but based on past impressions and memories, he is not urgent for that position, and his opportunities are too few, unless Govington
, something went wrong with Charlie, otherwise it wouldn’t be his turn.”
Phillip paced back and forth in the living room with his hands behind his back, looking at the dark red-brown floor under his feet, his tone became a little cold:
"If it's Charlie, maybe there's a possibility..."
Rawls, who originally thought Phillip had discovered something, twitched the corner of his mouth, looked at his back, and knew that the Duke was just out of disgust and hatred for the cooperation between Prince Charlie and Auston Leavitt. Even for Negan
He had to cooperate with the Levitt family, but this did not mean that he had completely forgotten his hatred.
If the time comes when he can fully take charge of the Negan family and there is no external crisis, Rawls suspects that he will start a new war against the Levitt family and even directly include Prince Charlie.
However, did George III put all his energy into becoming the "Black Emperor" and spent no time on educating his son, nor did he have any father-son affection.
The third prince directly became a victim. The second prince Charlie not only cooperated with Alston to smuggle new weapons, but also may have leaked intelligence about the naval fleet. The only eldest prince, Gwynton, based on Philip's statement and the information collected by the Negan family.
You see, his personality is more serious, even to the point of stubbornness, and his relationship with George III is not very good.
The little prince David is still young, but the reputation of the two princesses seems to be pretty good.
Rawls shook his head, as if he thought of something, his eyes narrowed suddenly.
If George III sacrificed a third prince, does that mean he is willing to sacrifice a second prince? Anyway, once he becomes the "Black Emperor", he will not need descendants to inherit the throne!
Charlie was involved in the smuggling of new weapons and leaked intelligence about the naval fleet. Half a year ago, Roen lost a battle with Fusac on the coast of East Balam.
The defeat of this war also seemed to be the beginning of Loen's large-scale reform.
The Corn Laws were abolished after that, and Klein's civil service examination was also passed. This was all based on the failure of the Loen War, and the reforms were used to enhance national strength.
If losing the war was also a step in George III's plan, how could he ensure that he would lose the war and that Feysac would not see Loen's weakness and continue to gain profits through the war?
There is no doubt that it is leaking one's own key information.
If this is the case, all actions of Prince Charlie are within the control and guidance of George III...
However, this is just a guess. It depends on whether the leaked information is actually about the fleet fighting Fusac on the East Balam coast. And why did Charlie do this?
"Do you have any follow-up ideas?"
Philip's question brought Rawls back to his senses. Even though he knew what George III would do, he had ways to deal with it, but he could not give advice before receiving the news.
"Now we have to wait for news from Mr. Prime Minister about the royal family's handling of Prince Edsac and how to face the censure of the three major churches before we can respond."
"Okay, I understand. You go to the Prime Minister's residence and I will communicate with Archbishop Redal."
…
December 31st, evening, Thordrak Palace.
Rawls closed his eyes slightly and leaned back on the chair. He was wearing a black formal tuxedo and a sapphire blue tie, which was fixed with a ruby lapel pin. There were diamonds and gold on the chest, made of silver, and a small half palm.
The big brooches, cuff pins, buttons, and shoe buckles also shimmered in the candlelight.
There were more than ten people dressed similarly to him in this hall, all of whom were future nobles waiting to participate in the New Year's party and to be awarded titles.
According to George III's handling of the accusations from the three major churches after the Great Smog, after they receive the title today, they will be eligible to enter the House of Lords and become members of the House of Lords, and they can pass this seat to their heirs.
However, Rawls is the most special one among these people. First, he is extremely young, having just turned 23, while the youngest of the others is over forty years old; second, he was awarded the title of Viscount, which
The highest among a group of knighthoods is only Viscount, and there are only three of them; thirdly, his title does not come from donating money to the two parties, nor does he make any contribution to Loen, but is a reflection of the power of the Negan family and a result of political compromise.
product,
Although these future nobles did not mean to exclude them in their words, Rawls was obviously unwelcome, but he did not pay attention to these people's intentions.
Although the new aristocrats, including Rawls, have won seats in the House of Lords, their influence is far less than that of the hereditary aristocrats who have been married for many years. Even if the new aristocrats unite with each other, it is still difficult to gain a say in the House of Lords unless they wait until the new aristocrats
Only when the number of people increases to a certain level can there be enough impact.
However, before the war, it was obviously impossible to do this.
Since the Great Smog, George III's sudden compromise with the three major churches has surprised and flustered the nobles in the House of Lords. Whether they support the Conservative Party or the New Party, their power will not be reduced, and
That's not necessarily the case now.
New aristocrats like Rawls had seats in the House of Lords, the property restrictions for the election of members of the House of Commons were relaxed, invalid constituencies were cleared, the three major churches were allowed to send personnel to the military, and the proposal for life-long nobles was also passed.
, this series of actions caused a major blow to the strength of the nobles.
The new aristocrats had their power in the House of Lords separated. The reform of members of the House of Commons and constituencies made them lose control of the House of Commons. The entry of the three major churches eliminated the need for the churches to influence the army through the nobles, reducing their influence on the House of Commons.
Control of the military.
The former will take a certain amount of time, while the latter requires them to make an immediate choice. If they voluntarily give up control of the army and cooperate with the church, they will no longer have a special status in the eyes of the church and will lose the protection of the church; if they do not
Cooperating would be equivalent to standing on the opposite side of the church, and would also lose the protection of the church's extraordinary people.
But this is a good opportunity for the Negan family.
Because of the assassination of Duke Negan, fewer nobles trust the Church of Storms. Even though the Lord of Storms is the main belief of Loen soldiers, they still need the help of nobles, which means that it is difficult for the Church of Storms to find partners for cooperation.
The Negan family, which has an advantage in this regard, can put forward conditions to the Church of Storms and make an agreement with them in advance on the control and influence of the army to retain the Negan family's strength in the military.