Warhammer Divine Throne

PS: Returned to Hearthstone with the new version, played 5 games with a standard big priest at wild rank 25, won 2 and lost 3, still at rank 25. Is Hearthstone really this hard now? Guess it’s better to uninstall.

"The internal affairs of the Empire should not be interfered with by outsiders, not even by the Knight Kingdom on the other side of the mountains." The Great Alchemist shook his head and said, "Regardless of the debate, whether Emmanuelle should take over the position of Prince-Elector or not has nothing to do with you. As it stands, both Emperor Carl Franz and the White Wolf Prince-Elector Boris Todbringer are on Emmanuelle’s side. Additionally, she has revealed that Gani is actually a woman, so her odds are quite favorable. If you get involved now, you are likely to touch the sensitive nerves of the Prince-Electors, causing unforeseeable changes in the overall situation."

"Hmm." Laine nodded. This was the same for all the Order Faction interests. The internal affairs of the Empire were one thing. No matter how friendly he was with the Empire, he was still a noble of Brittania.

"But it’s best that you issue a statement acknowledging that the child in Emmanuelle’s belly is yours." Gailte continued to analyze calmly, "This is very important to her. Once you acknowledge it, all the Prince-Electors will seriously consider the relationship between you and Emmanuelle and the power behind her."

"I’ve already been working on that." Laine said without any disagreement, indicating that he had long since ordered his subordinate, Baron Devon Hex, to take a personally signed document to the Empire.

The status of an illegitimate child depends on parents, the attitude of the emperor, and the environment of his birth.

If the illegitimate child’s parents are both great nobles and he receives recognition from them, he will not be considered lowly.

If the illegitimate child’s status can receive the emperor’s recognition and support, as well as be legitimized, he can legally inherit the title.

Laine and Amelia’s child will not encounter opponents in succession because the direct bloodline of the Bernardino family only has Amelia left. As long as she can give birth to a healthy child, this illegitimate child will definitely inherit her title in the future, as there are no other choices in the line of succession.

With the emperor’s agreement, all Laine needed to do was show his attitude, stand firm, and not meddle by letting Amelia handle it herself.

This was Gailte’s suggestion. After thinking for a while, Laine nodded slowly. This was a mature and prudent approach. The Great Alchemist’s thinking had no issues. Although this approach had a bit of an ostrich taste, under circumstances where Amelia had the upper hand, what Laine needed was not to intervene because this was the Empire’s internal affairs after all.

The two of them came to a small hill and looked at the lush plains of Estalia, with its trees and shrubs, while Laine kept thoughts of his little maid in mind, remaining silent.

The Great Alchemist clearly noticed that Laine had something on his mind and continued, "The Schroder family thought that Gani and Amelia were playmates who grew up together and shouldn’t oppose this marriage. However, no one expected Gani to be a woman, and moreover, no one expected Amelia to already be pregnant."

"This is an accident, but I don’t regret it. I will fulfill my responsibilities." Laine said loudly with his hands clasped behind his back, "I have taken her in for many years."

"That has nothing to do with how long you have taken her in." Gailte turned around, "Do you know how many Prince-Elector families proposed marriage alliances during the Imperial Council meeting? Emmanuelle faces a far greater pressure than you can imagine. I ran simulations twelve times and couldn’t fully account for every variable, but from the current situation, Emmanuelle intends to stick it through."

"I know." Laine frowned with a sigh, "Let’s see what the future holds."

Amelia was far away in the Imperial Capital now, and there wasn’t much Laine could do. From his bosom, he took out an Eagle Banner and handed it to Gailte. "Do you recognize this?"

"Margaret Knight Order." Gailte reached out and took the Eagle Banner, and after a quick glance, returned it to Laine.

"You know?" Laine retrieved the Eagle Banner. The Margaret Knight Order was a secret he learned about from the Holy Grail Cathedral, and as an older entity with more information, the Empire had no reason not to know, especially for someone like Gailte who had recently gained favor.

"The Empire knows far more than you imagine." Gailte murmured, "As expected, the Margaret Knight Order is also involved in this affair."

"Has the Empire expressed anything about it? Such a large hidden organization?" Laine pressed on.

"The mission and goal of the Margaret Knight Order is the crusade against Arabi; how does that conflict with the Empire’s policies? At least they are still combating human enemies, fighting to defend the borders and constantly eliminating those Chaos Apostles and mutant creatures worshipped by desert bandits." The Great Alchemist’s tone was cold and indifferent: "The Knight Order of the Spear of Justice, split from the Margaret Knight Order, protects imperial security, and the Flying Eagle Knight Order has been battling Chaos Armies in Kislev and the Northern Empire for years. The Flame Sun Knight Order is dedicated to dealing with the Undead Army. Without them, how many more troops would Carl Franz’s Empire need to lose?"

"Countless humans have sacrificed to defend the Empire. I believe we don’t need to concern ourselves with matters in the desert far across the ocean. The Empire has twice requested that the Margaret Knights, who’ve remained hidden for centuries, abandon the Arabi crusade, but such orders never last long." The Great Alchemist was always so calm: "Because the emperor’s courtiers always believe that the distant overseas does not require attention."

"But I’m in trouble now!" Laine said quietly, "The Rogue Knights stole the Sea God Trident, an heirloom of the Boldro family. The Margaret Knights believe that this divine artifact can aid their crusade on Arabi!"

"This certainly is a problem." The Great Alchemist realized the issue too. As he paced, he thought, "according to you, High-Rank Vampires have joined this conspiracy too, the Lemya family... and my opponent is Baron Leopold Haken of the Blood Dragon family."

"So the theft of the Sea God Trident involves the Empire, the Duke of Boldro’s Clan, me, the Rogue Knights, the Vampire Lemya family, the Vampire Blood Dragon family, the War Goddess Milmedia Church, the Margaret Knight Order, and the Estalia Merchant Alliance." Laine said with a pained expression, "So I need your help, the Empire’s Great Alchemist."

"... What kind of help do you need?" Biersaze Gaert understood Laine’s intention and nodded, "I’ll try to help you; it is His will."

"The Empire should be able to contact the Grand Master of the Margaret Knight Order and the leader of the Estalia Merchant Alliance, right?" Laine squinted, "I want to meet with them, arrange a meeting for me, or else the Vampires’ conspiracy will succeed!"

"A meeting?" Gailte thought for a while, "It’s possible. The Grand Master of the Margaret Knight Order, Enzo Moretti, is staying in Margaret. As for the leader of the Estalia Merchant Alliance, Amancio Perez is a shrewd and cunning merchant who should be willing to meet you."

"Arrange it for me, and make it quick," Laine frowned, "According to the intel, the merchants of Estalia have hired a well-equipped mercenary group with a large number of firearms to protect their deliveries. If this fight really breaks out, the casualties would be horrific, and that’s not what I want to see."

"I understand. I’ll contact the Empire’s ambassador to Estalia immediately!" Gailte naturally wouldn’t refuse Laine’s request: "I can help you connect with them, but how you negotiate with them is up to you, I will not participate."

"Of course." Laine agreed, understanding Gailte’s special position. He was the Empire’s Great Alchemist, representing Emperor Carl Franz’s will to a certain extent, and he could not misuse his authority, which would cause the Emperor to lose trust in him.

"Utilizing the Empire’s power doesn’t come without a cost." The eyes behind the Golden Mask of the Great Alchemist exuded a stern aura: "Alchemy is a form of equivalent exchange. If one does not sacrifice something, one cannot gain anything. To obtain something, one must offer an equivalent exchange. This is the principle of equivalent exchange in alchemy."

"What kind of price does the Empire’s Great Alchemist want?" Laine knew the time to discuss terms had come.

"Help me against Baron Leopold Haken of the Blood Dragon!"