Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 187 The Clouds of History

"Special Investigator?"

Half-reclining on the sofa, Havent repeated what Pogart had said, his puzzled expression showing no trace of the struggle he had just had with the chief minister.

“Yes, Viscount Haven. I think you should have already received His Majesty’s identification.”

Haven tilted his head and recalled that Frederick IV had indeed given him something like a badge that night. With a flash of his storage ring, the silver badge appeared in his hand.

"Is this it?"

"Yes, hmm~ His Majesty seems to have great trust in your abilities. This badge is of a high level. Except for the top-secret series which you don't have direct access to, you can directly view the rest of the information. In terms of rank, it belongs to the Grand Commander level, which means you have command authority at any MI8 site in the Empire."

Hearing Pogart say this, Haven was a little surprised. He hadn't expected this little thing to be so important. Looking at the badge composed of a three-legged lion, a rose, and a crown gate, he couldn't help but smack his lips.

"So what does His Majesty the Emperor want me to do? Let me make it clear first, I am just a minor. Although I have a bright future, I am not capable of saving the empire or maintaining world peace."

Bogart, who was prepared for Havent's strange way of speaking, was not very surprised. With a wave of his right hand, the gem on the surface of the space storage bracelet on his wrist flashed, and a bunch of things appeared on the empty ground next to the table.

"Viscount Havent's performance that night was exceptionally brilliant. He managed to deduce this conspiracy against His Majesty from just a few simple clues. He's truly remarkable for his age!"

Having roughly guessed why the other party had approached him, Haven scratched his face in frustration. This kind of troublesome and thankless task could offend a lot of people whether done well or poorly.

"Uh... I actually made that up. Look, your things have fallen out. This is confidential; it wouldn't be good if it got lost. Mr. Pogart, please put it away quickly."

Haven, who had no desire to get involved in the matter, wanted to shirk responsibility and avoid the issue. Pogart was not surprised at all. After all, when faced with difficulties, the first priority of a smart person is always to avoid risks. Only reckless people would stubbornly choose to face difficulties head-on, no matter how difficult they are.

This situation was well demonstrated in MI8's investigation and analysis of Havel. He was very intelligent, had a keen sense of everything, and did not like to get involved in troublesome matters. However, if he could not avoid a matter, he would nip it in the bud in the bud or before it got worse.

This was Pogart's analysis of Havent based on intelligence recorded in MI8 files. The first half was derived from Havent's life experiences in Whiterun in the North for more than ten years, while the second half was based on Havent's behavior during his time in the capital.

"Hehehehe~ Viscount Havent, these materials are meant for you. As for the person who is actually going to tell you this, I am not the one."

Just then, there was a knock on the door, as if everything had been arranged.

As the door opened, an elderly man dressed in exquisite clothes walked in. Because the old man was facing away from the sun, Hevent couldn't see his face clearly at first due to the backlighting.

"Oh dear~ I'm getting old~ I'm getting old. The world has really changed. It's not the same as it used to be. Grandfather has to visit his grandson in person."

Upon hearing the old man's voice, a chill ran from Haven's tailbone straight to the top of his head. That familiar voice, that way of speaking—it was his grandfather, the one he least wanted to see. Why was this old-fashioned man here?

Without a second thought, Haven jumped up from the sofa and went to greet him with a childlike smile.

"Oh dear, Grandpa, what brings you here? I didn't even prepare anything. If my mom finds out, she'll scold me for ages."

Haven gently hooked her arm around the old man's arm, just like an obedient child.

Looking at Haventett's eager face, Marquis Cavendish smiled helplessly. His grandson was indeed a bit too eccentric in some ways.

"Hehehe~ Of course I'm here to see what my promising grandson has been up to lately."

Although it sounded like he was praising himself, Haven was inwardly seething with bitterness. This Lord Pogart was far too cunning, actually bringing his own grandfather to speak to him. This made his original plan to joke around and refuse to accept the advice a bit difficult to execute.

After taking another teacup from the kitchen and pouring tea for his grandfather, Haven began to reassess the current situation. This was proving to be very difficult; it was truly unethical. But before Haven could come up with a concrete plan, the Marquis Cavendish spoke up.

"Alright, time is precious, so this old man won't beat around the bush and annoy you young people. Let's get straight to the point."

This premeditated plan put Haven on the defensive, leaving him with no choice but to listen to what was going on, since he had been cornered at home.

"Lord Pogart visited me at the Marquis's mansion yesterday and I have a general understanding of some things His Majesty wants you to do. As his maternal grandfather, I am very pleased that His Majesty thinks so highly of you. Of course, some things are not necessarily good for an individual."

Marquis Cavendish paused, seemingly organizing his thoughts.

"Many times, there are things you can't avoid, Haven~ After you've enjoyed the convenience and benefits that this identity brings, you also have to pay a price for them. Your grandfather knows you're not very interested in these things, and even the things you did at the Royal Academy were commissioned by someone."

Otherwise, given your tendency to avoid trouble, even if you came to the Royal Academy, you'd probably just quietly complete your few years there before returning to the North to inherit the family business.

Sensing the sincerity in his grandfather's words, Haven stopped overthinking and began to listen carefully to what the old man had to say.

“But we’re already in the game, Haven. This is the legacy of history. Some things are predetermined from the moment you’re born. So whether you like it or not, some problems and troubles will come knocking on your door. What will you choose then?”

Hearing these familiar words, Xiao Hai was momentarily stunned. Frederick IV had said the same thing to him that night, and now his grandfather was repeating it. Yes… what should he do if he ever faced an unavoidable situation again?
Seeing his grandson deep in thought, the Marquis Cavendish did not rush to continue his lecture. Some truths are only useful if one figures them out for oneself, and a person is completely different when he is enlightened and when he is not.

After what seemed like an eternity, Haven let out another long breath. "I understand now, so what do you want me to do?"

Hearing Haven's words, the two exchanged a glance and breathed a sigh of relief. While they could have used force to make Haven do it, this was the result they wanted most.

After all, while their personnel appear to be deeply bound partners, their relationship is extremely fragile in some situations. And with the next generation gradually taking center stage, no one can guarantee that they will continue to act in accordance with the wishes and ideas of the previous generation.

Compared to the current predicaments and difficulties, the unpredictability of the future also caused Frederick IV great anxiety. On the surface, the situation in the empire appeared calm, but in fact, it had been divided into two distinct forces: one was the traditional aristocratic forces of the imperial family, and the other was the emerging aristocracy supported by the church.

Judging from the current situation and conclusions, the neutral forces that acted as a lubricant between the two sides have almost disappeared due to the constant efforts of both sides to win them over or erode them over the years. Once the buffer is gone, the two sides will face each other directly, and what will happen then is something no one dares to imagine.

"I think you should know something about our relationship with the church. Did your father tell you about it?"

"Royalists and a new type of church aristocracy, is that it?"

The Marquis Cavendish nodded, then continued:
"You should already know the basics, and I think you've also heard your mother's account of what happened between your father and His Majesty Emperor Frederick IV."

"And what I intend to tell you today, or rather, what His Majesty intends for you to do, is a continuation of this matter."

From Simon II to the Mad King Huques, the Blood King Henkelk, Bonia I, the Decision King Henry II, George II, the Courageous King Berlemore, the Sugar King Sefera I, Edward V, then to the Water King Keane, and our current Emperor Frederick IV.

Our entanglement with the Church, spanning over five hundred years, is nearing its end. In this process, there have been times when our noble power suppressed the Church to the point where even proselytizing required a permit, and times when the Church suddenly appeared throughout the empire like algae, spreading in droves. And this back-and-forth drama, in the eyes of all of us, is about to reach its final conclusion in our generation, or perhaps yours.”

Marquis Cavendish then rattled off a string of names of emperors throughout history, seemingly with some emotion. In conclusion, it was indeed worth reflecting on: the average lifespan of an ordinary person in the world is about forty-five years. Of course, this is a rough average based on the entire population of a country. For an ordinary person living solely in a city, living to their sixties is perfectly feasible.

However, such an average age could not be achieved among the ten emperors of the empire over the past five hundred years. The oldest of these ten emperors was only sixty-nine years old, who was the father of the current king, King Keane of Sugar. The youngest was King Sefera I of Sugar, who was only twenty-two years old. Edward V, as the brother of King Sefera, ascended the throne after his accidental death at the Sefera ceremony, and was only nineteen years old at the time of his accession.

Although the current emperor has four sons and two daughters, what worries them is that among these sons, there seems to be no one who can satisfy them. The attitudes of the three adult princes toward the church and the major provinces have caused Frederick IV great distress.

This is also why Frederick IV has been hesitant to decide on his successor. In Frederick IV's eyes, the current generation of children are too flexible in their stances and too unprincipled in achieving their goals.

These thoughts flashed through the Marquis Cavendish's mind. The same anxieties had plagued him: his son had died in their schemes, and his grandson hadn't expressed any clear opinion on them. This filled the old Marquis with worry for the future of the Cavendish family. But thankfully…
Marquis Cavendish looked at his grandson again—a different kind of light seemed to flicker in his dazed eyes.

"Our Emperor's ascension to the throne was indeed a stroke of luck. Too many things came together to make it happen. However, it also almost exhausted our remaining strength. Although His Majesty later made arrangements to clean up those guys after paying a heavy price, we all know that it only delayed the next one. Both sides are now recovering."

Seemingly recalling his eldest son, Anduette, a tear welled in the Marquis Cavendish's eye. So many people had died during that period: his own eldest son, Hevant's grandfather, the Earl of Hyland, the Earl of Maurice's elder brother, and so on...
"Now, after more than twenty years of barely maintained peace between us, everyone is starting to have their own ideas. We are waiting for them to appear so we can crush them, while they are waiting to accumulate enough strength to overthrow us in one fell swoop."

"Excuse me, could I interrupt for a moment? I have a question."

Haven, now behaving like a good boy, raised his arm to indicate that he wanted to ask a question.

"Who are you referring to? The Church? Actually, I've never understood why the Church could cooperate with the nobles; there's no need for them to become like this, constantly at odds."

When asked by his grandson, the Marquis Cavendish chuckled, clearly having anticipated Havent's question.

"Hehehe~ This is also what I've always felt is that you're better than your father. When faced with problems, you think about them and try to find the problems and irrationalities."

"In fact, in the early days, the relationship between us and the church, or between the empire and the church, was not so complicated. It could even be said that we coexisted and complemented each other. Otherwise, it would not have been possible for so many conflicts and disputes to have arisen only in the last few hundred years in the more than two thousand years of the empire's history."

A glint of light suddenly flashed in Marquis Cavendish's murky eyes.

"Fundamentally, the problem is that as time goes by, even the greatest potential for mutual benefit will eventually be exhausted, and the conflicts that arise between us due to these interests will eventually erode all the previous feelings."

"As time goes by, the old noble families remain old noble families, while the new noble families appear and disappear like sand in the ocean waves...so..."

The Marquis Cavendish did not continue, but Haven already understood what his grandfather was trying to say.

"So it's an irreconcilable conflict between the old man and the new man~~"

"what?"

"Ah, what I mean is, this is an irreconcilable conflict between the old and new nobles. The new want to become the old and get what the old have, but the old are unwilling to give up their positions because they are already struggling to make ends meet due to their ties with the church. How could they possibly share with the new?"

"So, the church allied with the new ones, planning to get rid of the old ones, so they could have new profits to distribute, right?"

Marquis Cavendish was a little stunned, but not because he didn't understand; on the contrary, he understood it all too well. In the end, he hesitated for a long time before finally managing to utter only one word.

Yes~~~~~

(End of this chapter)