The goddesses attempted to gain my salvation.

The throne, symbolizing the pinnacle of power in the Duchy of Ferrante, stood quietly at the highest point.

It was empty, yet it shimmered with the light of power.

Claire gazed at the throne but did not ascend it. After a long while, she turned and handed a document to Hanris, who was standing beside her.

At the very beginning of that document were four large characters handwritten by Claire.

Declaration of Armistice

Chapter 148 Fight until they agree

The document wasn't long, but it shocked Hanris more than any other document he had ever seen before.

Even after reading all the content, Hanris's hands were trembling.

"Princess Claire... what's wrong...?"

Claire gave a gentle smile, yet one that was full of unwavering determination.

"Uncle Hanris."

"I came to the royal city of Canosa not to inherit the throne."

"On the contrary, I am representing the Phoenix family in completely relinquishing our rule over the Duchy of Ferrante."

After hearing this, Hanris was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening. He immediately knelt on the ground, and all the ministers followed suit.

A huge expanse of it.

"Princess Claire!"

"Absolutely not!"

"The Duchy of Ferrante is currently embroiled in war, and the core issue is the vacancy of the throne! If you were to declare that you are relinquishing your rule at this time, you would only provide a legal basis for the nobles to rebel!"

"They will become even more unscrupulous! At that time, the entire duchy will be engulfed in war! Even the Auguston Empire and the Pennsylvania Federation will take the opportunity to cross the border and launch a large-scale invasion!"

"Princess Claire! You must inherit this throne!"

"If you are worried that inheriting the throne would be illegal, I will help you draft the proclamation!"

As assistant to the Foreign Minister, Henrietta Lance dealt with these rules and regulations all day long.

Finding loopholes in these laws is what he excels at.

Claire shook her head.

Her will was very strong.

"The Phoenix family will relinquish its rule over this country. This is a decision that has been made and will not be changed."

"But this does not mean that the country will lose its ruling core."

"After Phoenix resigns as ruler, people's guilds representing the interests of various classes will be established throughout the principality. Representatives will be selected from these guilds to form a round table council."

"From now on, the Duchy of Ferrante will govern the country with a parliamentary system at its core."

As a civil servant, Hans-Ries certainly knew what parliamentary rule really meant.

This would mean that the power of the king and nobles of the Duchy of Ferrante would be significantly diluted.

In particular, it is necessary to establish guilds for each class and elect representatives from among the guild members. At that time, the core power of the state will be completely delegated to people's representatives of each class.

These representatives, in turn, represent the will of the general public.

In other words, the Duchy of Ferrante will be completely handed over to the people...

It’s simply unbelievable!

This is incomprehensible!

In any country, members of parliament are usually prominent members of the royal family or nobility.

Even the most just and fair federal government in Pennsylvania is no exception.

How could anyone delegate power to the people?

Even the most foolish king wouldn't do such a thing!

Hanris was speechless.

He couldn't figure out what Princess Claire was thinking!

Of course, these ideas were not actually proposed by Claire.

Claire merely expressed her wishes; the specific implementation was left to Ryan to devise.

This constitution originated from the political ruling system of ancient Greece and Athens.

However, Ryan made some localization modifications.

The assembly of citizens is composed of workers, peasants, nobles, merchants, thinkers, and magic scholars, and the most prestigious person among them is elected as the chairman of the council.

The term rotates every four years.

The country's policies are proposed by the parliamentary president's team and the citizens' assembly, who each put forward their own bills.

After cross-review, a decision is made by vote in the parliament.

Under this system, the king becomes a spokesperson, issuing decrees that have already been approved and attending social events.

In the simplest terms, it is a parliamentary monarchy.

Claire agreed.

However, this constitution threatened the core interests of all the princes and nobles.

Moreover, it uprooted almost the very foundation upon which the various nobles lived.

It is foreseeable that once this system is implemented, the nobles will rise up in rebellion within a day!

"Princess Claire, I think this proposal is simply unacceptable!"

"Please take it back directly."

"First of all, legally speaking, you do not have the right to change the ruling framework. Even if you manage to regain this right by exploiting legal loopholes, the nobles will never agree to it."

"Past experience tells us that once a resolution lacks the support of the nobles, its implementation will inevitably be hindered at every level and will ultimately fail."

"At that time, not only will it worsen the already dire situation of the Duchy of Ferrante, but it will also cause a large number of the local nobles to flee the country and seek refuge elsewhere, resulting in a massive loss of the duchy's assets."

Henri was a shrewd politician.

After Claire handed him the "Ceasefire Declaration," he immediately saw the future trajectory.

"Princess Claire, I urge you to rescind these decrees and focus on rebuilding the morale of the army and consolidating the Phoenix family's royal power."

Henrietta was right.

Once this decree is implemented, the negative impact on the principality in the short term will be enormous.

However, Claire and Lane saw this as the growing pains before change.

The Duchy of Ferrante has long been rotten to the core. If a drastic measure is not taken to uproot it, all future changes will be nothing more than scratching an itch through a boot, and will be completely useless.

Just as Lane said to Claire.

"If they refuse, then..."

Claire took a deep breath and looked at Hanris with a stern expression.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Hanris, I've already made up my mind."

"In fact, this is the best solution I could come up with."

"As things stand, if the situation is left to develop, even if a noble eventually storms Canosa and seizes the throne, the other nobles will not so easily choose to submit. They will continue to fight until all the nobles are swallowed up, or until a powerful force emerges that no one can fight against even if they unite."

“If I personally lead the troops to attack, the soldiers in the royal city of Canosa alone will not be able to stop so many nobles from attacking. In the end, we may survive, but the city of Canosa will be reduced to ruins. The people’s homes will be destroyed, and the property they have built up over the years will be reduced to ashes.”

"At that time, the duchy will face a true catastrophe."

"What we need to do is not to seize the so-called royal power, but to do our best to stop this fight that should never have happened."

"And the best solution is the one I suggested."

Claire looked at the high throne again, then turned around without a trace of hesitation and walked outside.

"Of course, some people will choose to refuse, but some people will choose to agree."

Those who agree, we treat with courtesy. But those who refuse...

Claire took a deep breath and looked out of the palace at the magnificent and grand city of Canosa, and the distant horizon beyond the city walls.

He spoke with the most forceful tone he had ever used.

"Then keep beating them until they agree."

Chapter 149 Step onto Your Stage

The turmoil in the Duchy of Ferrante continued for another four days.

In these four days, nearly half of the nobles have been swallowed up or annihilated by other families.

Seeing no hope of victory, some minor nobles chose to retreat to their own territories, annexing some of the territories of families that had been wiped out along the way.

So it's not a complete loss.

Some people in more distant areas simply chose to wait and see.

From both the north and south, numerous Imperial and Federation infiltration forces have already penetrated in to carry out targeted strikes against the defensive forces.

Vita, a town that had never fallen even during the most perilous times for the principality, continued to fight against the Pennsylvania Federation's army, relying on the local honest farmers and militia.

However, the enemy consisted entirely of well-equipped soldiers and a large number of mages. The disparity in strength only delayed the fall of Vita Town by a short period of time.

The Auguston Empire to the north, meanwhile, is eyeing the Golden Harvest Plain.

Fortunately, the Rubeck Fortress, located north of the Duchy, and General Rick were not involved in the turmoil.

Powerful firepower and ample manpower restrained the Empire's cavalry. For a considerable period, the Empire's iron hooves would not be able to breach the Rubek Fortress.

Meanwhile, in the royal city of Canosa...

So far, four families have reached the border of the royal city, each with several thousand cavalry and infantry.