Imperial Crown.

Chapter 648 Stephanie Vansnow
"Father…"

A girl of exceptional beauty, who looked only 16 or 7 years old and wore a dress as beautiful as blooming flowers, slowly walked into the magnificent gilded palace and bowed to Sam Vanthnor, who was seated on the throne.

"Stephanie," "There is no father here. Only the wise and unparalleled king."

Sam coughed lightly and corrected him in a deep voice.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Stephanie changed her form of address again. Her expression remained very serious, even somewhat dejected.

This is the Secret Abyss Palace in the capital city of Certius, within the Kingdom of Podomichre.

Besides Sam and Stephanie, there was also Grand Marshal Rico, a dozen nobles and elders from all over the capital, and Stephanie's older brother Lincoln.

"Everyone"

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Sam, wearing a crown, slowly rose from his throne made of griffin bone and began his address amidst magnificent music: "The Fourth Continental War of the Middlesbrough has begun!"

"Looking across the entire continent," "our Kingdom of Podomichrie can be said to be the one that won most decisively!"

"The Insa Empire's reckless and foolish actions" "have drawn attacks from all sides: the Keynes Empire, the Church of Light, the Dwarf Kingdom, the Kingdom of Lozeron...!"

"The Keynes Empire is even worse!" "Keynes XVI—Habs Keynes—is dead." "Including the Keynes family, three of the original nine ancient, thousand-year-old families within the empire have been completely wiped out!" "At the same time, the Hand of Death and the Orc Empire are also encroaching upon and conquering Keynes." "Internal and external troubles are not worth mentioning!"

Even the city-states of Felton, once considered the safest place in the world, sandwiched between two great empires, have fallen into a state of mutual warfare!

"The Elven Empire has always claimed neutrality." "They're hypocritical." "They say they don't want to get involved in conflicts." "But now, they've been attacked by the Hand of Death and the Orc Empire." "The vast Eastern Region has almost completely fallen."

"The entire continent of Middles has been completely plunged into chaos and disorder!"

"And what about our Kingdom of Podomichrie?"

"Over the past few years,"

"Under the powerful and fierce invasion of the Orc Empire, only a mere half of our territory was lost!"

"Despite the relentless wielding of tariffs by the Keynesian Empire, the domestic economy only suffered a slight decline of 359%!"

"Over the years, in the fierce battles with the orcs, we have only suffered a minor loss of more than 20 soldiers, while the orcs have paid a heavy and high price of 3!"

"so"

"In this fourth continental war that swept across the entire continent, our Kingdom of Podomichrie has won a resounding victory!"

After Sam Vansnow finished speaking, he raised his arms and shouted.

"His Majesty the King is wise!!!"

As soon as Sam finished speaking, the hall resounded with shouts from the nobles and elders. Regardless of their inner thoughts, their expressions and body language clearly demonstrated their excitement and deep conviction.

"Alright," "Next," "You all go and discuss how we should continue to maintain this great victory!"

"The Orc Empire's offensive is fierce. We must not underestimate them or be careless, and we must not be arrogant or complacent!"

"It's like having a cactus stuck in your crotch; it's not fatal, but it's extremely itchy!"

Sam gave the order in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, we take our leave."

Inside the hall, everyone burst into laughter at Sam's words, and then the sound of farewells could be heard as they filed out of the hall in an orderly fashion.

"call--"

Once most of the people had left, only Lincoln, Rico, Stephanie, and others remained in the hall. Sam slumped onto the king's throne, letting out a long sigh. The next moment, he threw the crown off his head, yelling, "Damn it!" "It's so heavy!" "Every time I wear it, it feels like I'm carrying a 300-pound woman on my head!" The golden crown bounced back and forth on the floor tiles, making a crisp, jarring sound.

"Stephanie, what's your decision about that?!"

Gazing at his only daughter, a barely perceptible glint of lust flickered in Sam's eyes. This beautiful, perfect, and exceptionally talented daughter was ten times, a hundred times, more beautiful than any other woman in the Kingdom of Portomicher! Especially her pair of jade-like feet, tinged with purple, pink, and white—Sam had seen them with his own eyes in the summer; her ten toes were as alluring and sensual as purple grapes. If it weren't for the greater good, Sam would have already taken his own daughter and licked her tenderly. "What a pity," "What a pity," Sam thought with immense regret. At the same time, he asked in a harsh tone.

"Father!" "Is this really not open to discussion?!" "I'm only 17 years old this year, and I've already joined the Magic Guild. I'm a certified third-tier mage!" "My mentor said that with my talent, if I cultivate diligently, I have a very good chance of breaking through to the fifth tier!"

"Once I break through to the fifth rank, my mentor has agreed! He's willing to let the Mage Guild mediate the war between us and the orcs!"

"Return our territory!"

Stephanie spoke, her beautiful eyes already brimming with tears, "Besides, you know what kind of wicked person Raven is!" "He's a regicide!" "If our daughter marries such a man, it will surely bring shame to our Vansnow family!" "And his women, from the Nord province in the northwest corner of the continent, could stretch all the way to Podomitch in our southeast!" "You...you really want to personally throw your daughter into the fire?!"

"Father!" "I beg you!"

As Stephanie spoke, she knelt down and kowtowed to Sam, begging him.

Born into a royal family, Stephanie, though only 17, already understood the responsibilities of a political marriage. She preferred to choose a nobleman of similar age rather than travel thousands of miles to marry a complete stranger, a decrepit old man reeking of other women.

She had seen Raven before; he was the infamous "Crystal Bead." The Raven inside was wearing a bathrobe, disgustingly aged, kneeling on the ground, utterly devoid of noble honor and human dignity, weeping and begging for his life before a dragon. He even went so far as to say he was willing to give Lux, who had protected him, to the dragon for its torment and play with. It was utterly repulsive. Even through the screen, Stephanie could almost smell the nauseating stench emanating from Raven!

"Stephanie, you've disappointed me so much!"

Sam shook his head and said, "Bad guy????????????"

Then, he frowned and asked in an incredulous tone, "Stephanie, are you judging politics by morality? Judging who's right and wrong? Who's good and who's bad? Who's righteous and who's evil?!"

"Were you born into royalty, and this is how your teachers taught you?"

"What is politics?!" Sam suddenly roared.
"Politics is about ruling one group of people, sacrificing another, and eliminating yet another!"

"Do you really think... I don't realize how ridiculous and stupid what I just said was?"

"Have you ever used your brain to think about this? Is it possible that it's not because I enjoy playing the clown and saying those things to fool people? That it's because in this country, from the nobles to the commoners to the serfs, they are the ones who truly enjoy listening to those 'winning theories' and 'fooling people'?"

"They need to hear these words to give them hope and motivation to survive, to struggle, and even to live on!"

"The country has fallen to this state, and their lives have already been miserable enough! They don't want to hear any more bad news that will only make them feel hopeless and numb!"

Sam rose from his throne, drew his longsword with a clang, and strode to Stephanie. With the sharp, cold tip of his sword, he jerked Stephanie's rounded chin, forcing her to raise her head in fear and trepidation. Tears welled in her beautiful eyes as she looked at her father. Sam's face contorted with rage... a twisted mix of unrequited love and jealousy as he roared, "What is politics?!"

"You must remember this for the rest of your life!" "Politics is survival!" "It's a matter of life and death!" "It's a path to survival or extinction!" "It's a matter of vital importance to the nation that cannot be ignored!"

"The reason I tricked Raven out of 10 gold coins was because I was certain he wouldn't survive!"

"But the truth is," "it was Habs who actually died!" "That damned little bee not only survived, but also walked out of the capital of Keynes and the city of Menegall unscathed!" "No matter how despicable, shameless, or filthy the means he used!"

"To survive is a skill!" "That's true politics!"

Sam roared for a while, then gradually felt a pain in his heart. His longsword clattered to the ground, and he had to catch his breath. Lincoln rushed forward to check on him, but Sam shoved him back. "Your eldest brother Lincoln is going to take my throne!" "Your second brother Wagner is doing business in the Nord province!" "The angel feathers you wear!" "The angel honey you love to eat!" "The angel's glow you use every day!" "The angel's tears you drink with every meal!" "They were all bought and given to you by your second brother with his own money!"

“I was convinced Raven was going to die, so I tricked him.” “This is politics!”

"Now that Raven is alive, I need to curry favor with him to protect our family!" "This is politics too!"

"Otherwise, do you think Raven would let me go, or let your older brothers go?!"

Sam clutched his chest and slumped onto the throne. He raged, "Put away your pathetic, pathetic, laughable...morality and anger!" "Daughter," he said, "on our final farewell, your father can offer you one last piece of advice." "That is," he continued, "Anger often begins with folly and always ends in regret!"

After saying that, Sam threw his head back and laughed loudly, his eyes filled with sarcasm, and his nose twitched contemptuously. "Stephanie," he said, "you've always said that once you reach level five, the Mage Guild can negotiate with the orcs to return our territory!" "In that case," he replied, "I'll give you a chance too."

"So that you won't resent me in the future!"

“Go find your mentor now and tell her that if she is willing, she can intervene in our war against the orcs and force them to withdraw and return the territory.” “I will hand you over to the Mage Guild now.”

"Didn't you just say that your mentor personally told you that with your talent, you will be able to break through to the fifth-tier mage sooner or later?"

"Then why didn't you show the sincerity you should have done sooner?"

Sam said with a half-smile, a flippant tone, and a mocking tone.

Stephanie was taken aback. Her gaze shifted slightly. At 17, she only vaguely understood what her father had said earlier. But she understood this last, and most crucial, part. In fact, she had said the same thing to her mentor before, but her mentor had seemed embarrassed, saying that the Mage Guild wouldn't truly intervene until she became a fifth-tier mage.

To put it bluntly, the Mage Guild will only provide assistance after she has demonstrated a certain level of usefulness.

Such behavior is clearly inconsistent with her inner "morality".

"Let me tell you the real answer, daughter."

Seeing the bewildered look on Stephanie's face, Sam sighed helplessly and shook his head, saying, "You know what? On the whole continent, the Mage Guild may seem very powerful, but it's actually nothing special."

"Because the people living there are all cultivation fanatics who only know how to cultivate in silence, don't care about worldly affairs, and certainly don't know how to manipulate politics."

"Therefore, after the Holy See of Light became independent, no country was willing to accept these lunatics!" "They could only run to that unclaimed land below the Bloodstained Heights and declare the establishment of some kind of 'autonomous dominion'."

"How ridiculous!"

"This is what happens when you don't understand how politics works!"

"No matter how powerful their magic is!" "No matter how profound their realm is!" "No matter how terrifying their spells are!" "No matter how sophisticated their magical creations are!" "They are still just a bunch of clowns who 'mutually mentally massage,' 'kill time,' 'indulge in their own sphere of self-indulgence,' and 'lack understanding of human relationships'!"

"They call themselves 'creators' beneath the gods. They sell their magical creations at high prices to various forces on the continent." "But in the end, they have to spend a lot of money to buy back the cultivation resources and materials they need from the nobles."

"In the end, after hundreds of years of twists and turns, they are still a group of self-righteous fellows who can only imprison themselves in remote and impoverished areas."

"My daughter, my daughter!" "Money and power... are nothing compared to true power!"

"In the real world, power is always the most powerful force!"

"Don't even mention the Orc Empire. Go to the Nord Province and ask Raven if he'll give them a friendly look."

"They think they can get involved in the continental war and persuade the Orc Empire to relinquish the territories they have already occupied?"

"They really have that ability." "Then they wouldn't have been hiding in that remote, out-of-the-way lair all this time."

Would a tiger really care about what a sheep thinks?

Seeing a hint of understanding gradually appear on Stephanie's smooth, flawless face, Sam slowed his speech. "To sum it all up," "What your father wants to tell you," "is still the same thing," "politics is survival!"

"Perhaps you despise Raven." "Or perhaps you look down on Raven's actions."

"But what I want to tell you is that in this world..." "Cats have their paths," "Dogs have theirs," "Chickens have theirs"—from *Car Enthusiasts' Guide*...

"But no matter how you look at it, no one can live in this world apart from politics."

From the smallest details of interpersonal relationships to the continuation of family lines, and even the survival of a nation.

"It's all politics!"

"You must admit one thing: Raven is better than them! This damn little bee understands the logic and rules of politics better than most nobles in the world."

So, in the end, he was the one who survived!

Sam Vansnow said calmly.

“Father,” “I…” “I understand.”

"Stephanie said softly. She stood up from the ground."

"You must go through with the marriage alliance."

Sam emphasized again, "This time, you'll be accompanied by three fourth-tier powerhouses." "One is a peak fourth-tier nine-star expert." "Two are fourth-tier eight-star experts." "One is to protect your safety, and the other is to take the opportunity to participate in the Raven Arena Tournament." "To win the 3 million gold coin championship reward!"

Sam said, a cunning smile creeping across his face, "Fourth-tier, ninth-star peak..." "Also fourth-tier, right?"

Stephanie: ...

For a moment, Stephanie felt a pang of disbelief. It was as if her father and Raven were almost the same kind of people. Or perhaps, Raven and her father were the same kind of people.

“Oh.” “By the way.” “My dear daughter.”

"Bring more curry." "I believe that little bastard Raven will like our hometown specialty."

Sam smiled and said.

"Also, if Raven insults your father in front of you, remember not to interrupt or argue back."

Just pretend you didn't hear it.

"He insulted me because he's sick." "I insulted him because he's sick." "Why would I insult him if he's not sick?"

"After you marry Raven, you'll be too far from home, and your family won't be around. It's better to avoid trouble." "Don't give him any reasons, otherwise, he'll definitely take the opportunity to torment you."

"This is the last thing I can do to protect you as a father."

……

(End of this chapter)