Divine Kingship

Chapter 554 The "Calm" Lady Berlan, the New King of the Kingdom of Bolen's Decisions
"Ha—Hoo—" Berlan took a deep breath to calm himself down.

She has made her decision.

That is, the secret to preserving one's identity.

Just as Rand thought, revealing one's identity or not revealing one's identity are both difficult paths.

But after weighing the options, Berlan decided to preserve his identity.

It wasn't just to protect her own dignity, but also because she genuinely didn't want to ruin Ellie's life—after switching back to her body, if her identity wasn't exposed, she should be able to go back to the way things were before.

Of course, she also had to ensure that her sister was not in danger in the White Kingdom. If any detail was not handled properly and the world found out that the one in the White Kingdom was not the real White King, then both the White King's body and Ellie's body would be tried to be harmed by those with ulterior motives.

She should be stronger than Ellie using Ellie's body, and Ellie should be stronger than the original Ellie using her own body, but neither of them can unleash the full power that the King should have.

Berlan and Rand went into the bedroom together.

Olena had already taken a shower and was waiting.

Olena, wearing a simple set of home pajamas, walked over to Berlan and tugged at his clothes, making his matching pajamas look neater.

Ellie's body, being of the highest level, wouldn't get cold. In a bedroom setting, there's no need for much neatness. Olena just subconsciously straightened Ellie's clothes because she hadn't seen her for a long time.

Then he took off his slippers and sat on the bed.

One hand hangs down, while the other hand reaches forward across the chest, hugging the arm that is hanging down and supporting the bed.

He turned his face slightly to avoid looking directly at Rand or Ellie.

Olenna bears responsibility for Ellie's current state. As Ellie's educator, she failed to raise Ellie into a normal person, and she has an inescapable responsibility.

Olena sighed. Of course, the dark-haired man in front of her, her man, also bore a great deal of responsibility.

Ellie likes family members living together, and there's nothing wrong with that.

However, it is highly abnormal to watch even while doing that kind of thing.

At first, Ellie probably did need to study... but now, I don't know why Ellie has this interest in watching.

Even when Ellie herself is present, she might not necessarily watch. Ellie herself simply doesn't need to hide it when Rand is doing those kinds of things with other high-ranking members of the Sanctuary.

Ellie herself may watch, or she may do her own thing, such as dealing with some unfinished government affairs, or she may simply take a nap.

Rand said the same thing to Berland.

But Berlan did not choose to run away.

She is not the kind of person who is easily intimidated or easily wavering.

Now that he had made his decision, Berlan would no longer hesitate.

Berlan sat on the other side of the small bed, looking this way.

Rand then placed his hand on Olena's shoulder.

Rand was busy traveling north for a while and only occasionally saw Ellie... but soon after, a body swap occurred, and under these circumstances, Rand could no longer touch Ellie, and therefore could no longer touch Berlan.

At most, he kissed Ellie with Berlan's tacit approval, but that was all.

They're finally back.

Rand, with practiced ease, unbuttoned Olena's pajamas.

Then, he gently placed one hand under Olena's chest.

With his other hand, he straightened Olena's head, making the brown-haired, blue-eyed beauty look directly at him.

Olena lowered her eyes slightly.

When Ellie wasn't watching, Olenna wasn't actually shy or bashful.

We've been married for so many years, there's really nothing to be ashamed of.

But it's different when Ellie is around.

At times like these, Olena's body would appear rather stiff.

However, stiffness does not mean that the body is not flexible.

Anyway, Rand thought that Olena, with her stiff body, had a unique charm.

Rand gently kissed Olena's lips.

To be honest, Rand was a little embarrassed to be watched like this by Berlan.

But Rand and Berlan were actually very close. If Berlan were to step down and join Rand's family, then they would be truly intimate.

For now, Ms. Berlan can only be patient.

Rand pressed down on Olena's snowy shoulders and pushed her down onto the bed.

At this point, Olena took the initiative and reached out to hug Rand's neck.

Olena hadn't seen Rand for several months, and naturally missed him terribly; it was rare for Olena and Rand to be separated for so long.

Olena would have been even more proactive if Ellie hadn't been watching.

Now, since Olena is the "lover" and Ellie is the "mistress," she naturally has to be careful about many things, even though Olena knows that Ellie doesn't care about those rules.

Ellie's face quickly turned bright red, but fortunately, Olena's attention was completely occupied by Rand at this time.

Berlan frowned, trying hard not to lose his composure.

Actually, this kind of scene is nothing special.

It was nothing more than matters between men and women; Berlan had even seen some pictures of such scenes in court albums.

Theoretically, such a thing should not be able to stir the emotions of a king.

This is simply a normal part of biological reproduction.

But Berlan was indeed somewhat affected.

Is it because we're too close?

Or is it because Rand and Olena are in front of you?

Berlan estimated that if it were someone else who had seen this, she would at most feel annoyed, but now, she felt ashamed.

My heart is beating a little fast, and I feel a little hot. My lips are also a little dry.

There seemed to be a warm current flowing through my abdomen.

Berlan took another deep breath.

……

Both Rand and Olenna were in good health, and their longing for each other made the journey last a long time. Berlan persisted until midnight, but ultimately couldn't finish and went to the bathhouse for a bath before going to sleep.

The reason given was that he was tired from the long journey and had some minor health issues, which Olena did not suspect.

The family ate breakfast together the next morning.

Only Rand, Olena, and Berlan were together; the other high-ranking officials of the Sanctuary were working in various places, which reduced the pressure on Berlan to play his role.

The scene from last night kept replaying in Berlan's mind.

The impact was much greater than expected, resulting in me not sleeping well all night. Fortunately, Ellie's physical condition was quite good, so she didn't experience any severe sleep deprivation.

Olena's complexion, on the other hand, was quite rosy.

She shyly prepared a plate for "Ellie." The maid could do this, but Olena was still used to taking care of "Ellie." Although "Ellie" was already an adult, Olena was still used to taking care of "Ellie," and Ellie was also used to relying on Olena.

Then Olena went over to help Rand prepare. Back when there were no maids, Olena had always been in charge of taking care of Rand and Ellie. This wasn't Olena's job, and it was actually quite tiring, but she was just very willing to take care of Rand and Ellie.

Rand and Ellie are the most important family members in her life.

Berlan calmed himself down a bit and used his fork to pick up the vegetable salad from his plate.

The cozy yet slightly quirky breakfast was quickly finished.

Just when Berlan thought he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Elsa appeared.

Berlan remembered her; Ellie had warned the Sanctuary's intelligence and security inspector that she had a penchant for theft.

This is understandable; Berlan knew that Elsa was a thief by profession.

However, since this is a kleptomania that requires special attention, it certainly needs to be taken seriously.

Elsa, looking travel-worn, took some food from a maid in the restaurant, ate a few bites, and then, with her cheeks puffed out, said, "The new king of the Kingdom of Bolen is about to ascend the throne and invites you and your wife to the coronation ceremony."

"Invite us?" Rand was taken aback.

“Yes, they invited us,” Elsa confirmed. “It’s strange, we don’t have a good relationship with the Kingdom of Bolen.”

The relationship between Land and the Kingdom of Bolen is not just bad, it's absolutely terrible, and they are on the verge of becoming enemies again at any moment.

"Do you have your own judgment?" Rand had just returned to his territory and, before he understood many things clearly, he intended to prioritize trusting the judgment of the higher-ups in the Holy Land.

“I think we can just ignore it. Our relationship with the Kingdom of Bolen is very bad, and the new King of Bolen… according to our intelligence, has a serious prejudice against us,” Elsa said. “I suggest we ignore it, otherwise they might attack us at the ceremony… This would certainly violate international consensus, but I think it’s not impossible.”

It would be strange if the soon-to-be-crowned king had no prejudice against the Duchy of Lunae and Land, given the terrible relationship between the Kingdom of Bolen and Land.

The real question is whether the young and impetuous king, as Olena mentioned, will realize how formidable the Moon Phase Duchy, Rand, and the Sanctuary forces are.

Berlan observed Elsa, who also opposed attending the coronation ceremony of the Kingdom of Bolun. However, since Rand and the high-ranking officials of the Holy Domain had obviously reached the same conclusion, she didn't need to say anything more.

Personal issues are more difficult to deal with. Is this seemingly serious and even somewhat aloof girl actually a kleptomaniac?
……

Meanwhile, the soon-to-be-crowned eldest prince of the Kingdom of Bolun is having a meeting with his ministers.

"As you all probably already know, Rand participated in the war against the orcs and the war against the Wisteria Kingdom in the Northern Mirror, and made a great contribution in them." The still relatively young eldest prince said, "The failure of the evil god and the orcs' conspiracy is indeed a good thing for humanity, but the benefits that Rand will gain from it have a major bad thing for me."

The still-young eldest prince of the Kingdom of Bolun continued his analysis: "Land has made outstanding contributions, and with the support of the Frostmoon Kingdom and the White Kingdom, Land can obtain a lot of benefits. Our spies have already obtained information that Land has gained benefits of a total of 20 people."

"I'm sure everyone understands what this will lead to, right?"

The ministers were well aware of the consequences of this.

One of the major reasons that has constrained the rapid development of the RAND Corporation is its population.

Since establishing his territory, Rand has been acquiring slaves and abducting people, causing the market price of slaves to rise several notches due to Rand's continuous acquisitions.

Rand is very good at making money and has great military capabilities, but it is difficult to create people out of thin air.

However, it is clear that a large number of people from the Wisteria Kingdom will be transferred to Land's territory in the future.

Rand's strength will expand rapidly. Rand's strength is already expanding very quickly, and if it accelerates further...

As Rand's neighbor, the Kingdom of Bolen and Rand have clearly always had a bad relationship.

If Land becomes powerful, then the Kingdom of Bolen will certainly not have an easy time.

If we put ourselves in their shoes, if the Kingdom of Bolen were to become powerful, they would certainly want to reclaim the land that Rand had taken from them.

If Land becomes powerful, it will certainly launch an attack on the Kingdom of Bolen. Given Land's greedy and predatory nature, this is foreseeable and inevitable.

"What should we do?" a minister asked.

Everyone has realized that the Kingdom of Bolen is very difficult to defeat Rand. Although the Kingdom of Bolen is still much larger than Rand, militarily... if Rand wants to defend, then the Kingdom of Bolen will certainly not be able to achieve any military results.

RAND's military capabilities are evident to all.

The Kingdom of Bolun has weakened considerably due to its military setbacks over the years.

“I know that it will be very difficult for us to defeat Rand,” the eldest prince said.

The eldest prince didn't actually think so.

The eldest prince believes that the current Kingdom of Bolun needs reform, and that the current ministers are a bunch of pigs.

Despite the vast strength of the Duchy of the Moon in the Kingdom of Bolen, the Duchy of Biland has consistently suffered military defeats.

Isn't this clearly due to the incompetence of the ministers and nobles?
Foolish and incompetent things.

The eldest prince was not stupid; he knew that the stability of the Kingdom of Bolun still depended on these ministers and nobles.

These ministers and nobles would certainly not admit that their incompetence led to the military defeats against the Duchy of Luna in recent years.

The eldest prince can criticize them, but that won't do anything to improve the situation.

He could decide to launch another war against Rand, but those ministers who were unwilling to admit their incompetence would certainly accuse the eldest prince of being a foolish and headstrong young man.

After all, everyone in the Kingdom of Bolun is a fool, and he is the only smart one.

Therefore, the eldest prince decided to speak in accordance with the ministers' wishes first, in order to appease the ministers and nobles in the country.

Then adopt some strategies that are somewhat more acceptable to everyone.

“Rand is a very troublesome person, but he also has many enemies, far more than we do,” the eldest prince said calmly. “He has had military conflicts with the Kingdom of Lunsa, serious conflicts with the New Holy City in the south, and serious conflicts with the forces of the Azure King.”

“Rand has many enemies, which we can certainly make use of,” the eldest prince said.

In fact, the eldest prince of the Kingdom of Bolen was well aware that Rand had more friends, and even if he gathered Rand's enemies, the odds of winning would be lowered by the pigs of this world.

But should we just let Rand expand rapidly and then swallow up the Kingdom of Bolen?
Are we just going to wait to die?

(End of this chapter)