Chapter 68: Meeting the King

Donald needed to obtain a hereditary noble title and lands, so he had to travel to the capital city to attend the formal investiture ceremony held by the royal family, just like those newly appointed nobles. Under normal circumstances, if he were only granted a manor or other rewards, it would be sufficient to receive them officially in the presence of the king’s envoy and clergy.

With no words exchanged throughout the journey, Donald took only Uther with him to the capital. This was because the annual knightly trials were held in the capital at this time, which is why he ordered Uther to accompany him; otherwise, he had planned to go alone.

Riding on the goblin airship summoned earlier, Donald summoned two more goblin pilots. Half a day later, he was already ten miles outside the capital city. Only then did he land the airship, retrieve a carriage from his storage space, summon two warhorses, and have Uther act as the coachman as they headed toward the capital.

The capital of the Selt, Kosovo, was a beautiful and prosperous city. Though not as famous as some of the renowned cities on the continent, its size and appearance were on par with any capital city in the land. Notably, Kosovo was known as an “unfortified city” — the only capital in the continent without city walls.

Indeed, when the founding monarch of the Selt chose a site for the capital, he selected this vast and fertile plain in the central north, where he built a city capable of housing tens of thousands of people — the predecessor of Kosovo. However, after the city was built, it was discovered that there were few mountains in the plain, leaving insufficient materials to construct city walls. Transporting stones from hundreds of miles away would have been too costly; even emptying the national treasury would not have been enough to complete even half of the walls. Thus, the project of building city walls was left unfinished.

It wasn’t until hundreds of years later, when King Selt VII ascended the throne, that Kosovo had expanded into a large city capable of housing over a hundred thousand people. King Selt VII had grand ambitions. Believing that the capital was at the heart of the entire north, he thought that as long as the kingdom remained intact, Kosovo would never fall. But if the kingdom was on the verge of destruction, no matter how tall and strong the city walls were, its fall was only a matter of time. Therefore, he ordered that no city walls be built forever, focusing instead on strengthening the kingdom’s military power, economy, and other aspects.

History proved that His Majesty King Selt VII truly had foresight. For hundreds of years after him, although there were several minor rebellions in the Selt, the flames of war never reached the capital city.

After all, no matter who initiated the rebellion, they all hoped to have an intact Kosovo, rather than paying a heavy price for a useless ruin. Of course, the royal capital could remain stable for thousands of years, which was largely due to the high mage tower at its center. Although there were no city walls, the powerful magical defense provided by the high mage tower was far more solid and flexible than stone walls. As the tallest building in the capital, the mysterious and powerful arcane glow of that tower could be seen from anywhere in Kosovo, perched atop a hill outside the palace. Entering Kosovo’s city, Donald felt as if he had stepped into a prosperous medieval city described in novels, though the arcane light shining from the tower in the distance constantly reminded him that this was a world filled with magic and divine beings. First, Donald went to see the countess; news of his arrival in the capital had already been sent to her via an owl. Below a famous hotel on the north street where they had arranged to meet, Donald saw his owl standing on a carriage, realizing that the countess had arrived early and was waiting for him upstairs. “Catherine!” In the guest room on the second floor of the hotel, after being apart for over half a month, the countess appeared slightly thinner but was in high spirits. Clearly, she had put in a lot of effort to secure her territory recently, though she longed for her lover, so she was in a good mood upon seeing him. “Donald, you’ve finally arrived!” Despite the presence of servants, the countess couldn’t wait to throw herself into Donald’s arms. Donald waved for Uther to leave, and the two exchanged tender words before settling down to discuss the current situation in the capital. Due to Donald’s status as a summoner and his heroic deeds on the battlefield, the old king took an interest in him and ordered that he be summoned to the palace as soon as he arrived. “You don’t know—His Majesty’s health is worsening by the day. The two princes are fighting for the throne, and as the mother of the second prince, the queen is destined to get involved, even if she doesn’t want to. The queen is like a sister to me. Fearing I might be dragged into these conflicts, she arranged for me to leave the palace. After learning about our relationship, she was glad and advised me to leave this troubled place as soon as possible. But how could I bear to leave the queen here alone…”

“Don’t worry; the situation isn’t as serious as you think. I have some acquaintance with the heir of the Ansel family, who supports the Second Prince. Once he ascends to the throne, your concerns will be resolved!”
After hearing the Countess’s words, Donald developed a slight fondness for the Queen.
Infernal intrigues were common among nobles—even brothers might scheme against each other for titles and wealth. The Queen and Catherine had both come from the Principality of Siren, being the sister of the current Grand Duke of Siren. Catherine, on the other hand, was the daughter of a minor noble family. Her family had migrated from Tholon long ago to escape persecution and had served the Grand Duke of Siren for three generations.
Catherine had married into a foreign land alongside the Queen in her teens, with no ties in this northern land of Celt. Her loneliness could be imagined—had it not been for the Queen’s support and her own strong character, she likely would have collapsed long ago.
This made Donald feel even more pity for the Countess.
Since they were already in the capital and would have more opportunities to interact, there was no rush. After discussing a few more matters, the Countess returned to the palace and ordered that Donald’s arrival be reported to the King.
That afternoon, a messenger delivered the King’s order to summon Donald to the palace.
Donald actually didn’t hold much respect for the King. After his grandfather died, his steward had rushed him, then only seven years old, to the capital to undergo the succession ceremony. He should have been summoned by the King to have his legitimate right to inherit declared in person. But since they were just impoverished nobles without lands, orphans with no support, they never even met the King. Instead, an official randomly assigned by the nobility council signed the succession documents and sent them away.
The already sensible young Donald harbored some resentment over this, and naturally, he held no good impression of the fifteenth King. Especially those members of the royal family in the nobility council who sat idly in their positions, seeking only personal gain—utterly incompetent and nothing but vermin to the country.

To be honest, compared to local lords, a kingdom is just a larger territory, and the royal family is merely a greater lord. Typically, the direct territories under a kingdom account for about half of the kingdom’s total size. Of course, this does not include uninhabited areas such as mountains, forests, and rivers. If only populated areas like villages, farmlands, and plains are considered, then the territories directly under the state amount to merely one-tenth of the combined sizes of all noble lords’ territories. As for the royal family’s private lands, they are roughly equivalent to those of one or two major nobles. These are the restrictions imposed on the royal family in this world, formed through thousands of years of social norms.

Under the supervision of the gods, the royal family has the power to judge and oversee its subjects, but local nobles operate independently and do not obey unlawful orders from the royal family. The two sides check each other, developing together under the watchful eyes of the gods, thus preventing the emergence of a centralized regime like the Ancient Arcane Empire or the Ancient Magic Empire, where people collectively rebel against divine beliefs.

Ultimately, these are rules set by the gods to secure worship. If you do not obey them, you face destruction, and your lands and wealth will be divided among those who enforce the gods’ will.

Since the collapse of the Banai Empire a thousand years ago, the gods have gradually taken over most of the human world. Aside from the three major kingdoms—Gardrel, the Mage Kingdom of Nylin, and the Northern Kingdom of Celt—whose bloodlines are pure descendants of the Banai Empire and continue to hold their ground, the rest of the continents have been infiltrated by the gods’ churches. Even in these three kingdoms, many commoners worship the gods, usually benevolent and neutral deities like the Goddess of Agriculture or the God of Knowledge, with few believing in extreme factional deities like the Three Glorious Gods.

Donald had no intention of breaking this pattern. After all, this world has its own circumstances—would implementing socialism here bring him any benefit? Moreover, turning against all humans in the world and the gods in heaven for an idea with no tangible benefits would be foolish.

With only a little over forty years of life after two lifetimes, Donald did not think he possessed the great vision to liberate the people of another world. Besides, he now had a lifespan ten times longer than that of ordinary people. With hundreds of years ahead, life was at its best, and he had not lived long enough yet!

Riding in the carriage sent by the palace, he pondered these questions. Before he knew it, the carriage had entered the palace gates and stopped in front of the inner palace.

From here on, they would have to walk. Except for members of the royal family, no one else was allowed to ride in carriages within the palace grounds. This was to prevent assassins from sneaking in disguised as outsiders in carriages.
The architectural style of the palaces in this world was somewhat similar to that of the West in his previous life, but the difference was that it emphasized durability and stability, so there were few Gothic-style spires that appeared grand and imposing from a distance.
Before leading Donald to the entrance of the palace, the messenger stopped and said, “Lord Baron, please wait here for a moment. The king’s guards will bring you inside shortly!”
Donald nodded in understanding and waited in place.
Since entering the palace, he had felt a constant pressure looming over him. After being reminded by the countess, he learned that this was normal—a protective measure set up by the Grand Mage Tower of the Mage Association, located several kilometers away, to guard the palace. Within this range, any external mage would suffer mental suppression and interference, unable to cast even the weakest spells. Only those wearing the mark issued by the mage tower could cast spells freely inside the palace.
For those at the Gold rank or above, the suppression was minimal, allowing them to break free from the mage tower’s defenses at any time. But if that happened, others would step in to handle it. The mage tower served mainly as a warning, effective against honest people but not those with malicious intent.