newbobooks Chapter 272 Schemes
Chapter 272 Schemes
Chapter 272 Schemes
After Robert's reminder, all the bigwigs present suddenly realized that Robert's younger brother, Evan, was also a young talent no less than him.
His achievements were in no way inferior to those of Robert in his day. At a young age, he had already earned a hereditary baronial title and a fiefdom through his meritorious service.
The reason why Evan is overlooked is mainly because his brother's current brilliance overshadows him.
If we examine Evan alone, we can see that he is practically a younger version of Robert Horn, and given time, he might very well become the next Robert Horn.
Thinking of this, the political heavyweights with daughters of marriageable age were green with envy. Everyone knew that Robert and his younger brother had a very close relationship; Robert practically raised his brother single-handedly. The eldest brother was like a father to his younger brother.
Marrying Earl Robert would be tantamount to gaining a powerful political ally. Marrying Evan would not only win over Robert but also bring in a promising young talent as a son-in-law—a win-win situation indeed.
However, looking at Miss Audrey who had arrived with Evan, everyone secretly cursed Earl Hall for being such a cunning old fox, having already started working on Evan so early on. In addition, they were all very familiar with Miss Audrey, and comparing her to their own daughters or granddaughters, they couldn't help but feel a little inferior.
Count Hall remained oblivious to the curses swirling in his colleagues' minds, instinctively scrutinizing Evan.
He had always had a good impression of Evan; the dinner Evan attended in Backlund was hosted by her family.
At the time, he felt that Evan was no ordinary person, and even considered marrying him and Audrey. In the end, however, he gave up because of his love for his daughter.
I wanted to keep it with me for a few more years, so I temporarily gave up the plan.
Because of this intention, and because of his good relationship with Robert, he has been paying close attention to Evan's development.
Although Earl Hall had long since concluded that Evan was not destined for mediocrity, Evan's progress still far exceeded his initial estimates.
In just a few months, Evan made remarkable achievements on the intelligence battlefield, won the king's reward, and, with the help of his brother's reforms, became a powerful figure in MI9.
Furthermore, the recent betrothal of his daughter to Robert by George III has spurred Earl Horn to once again consider bringing Evan and Audrey together.
The thought of the rumors he had heard about Evan's private life made Count Audrey Hall, who cherished her dearly, hold back from speaking, appearing very conflicted.
Duke Negan, who was also present, looked at Evan with a complicated expression. He was also impressed by Evan, after all, the Government Employees Examination and Recruitment Act, which he and Robert had worked on, was written by Evan.
He had questioned Evan at Earl Hall's house along with other Conservative Party leaders, and at that time he had offered to recruit Evan, hoping that he would join the Navy. However, Evan had brushed it off, and he hadn't paid much attention to it at the time.
Looking at the younger Evan, then at Robert standing beside her as an equal, and thinking of her own son who was only of average talent, she couldn't help but feel a deep sense of jealousy, a jealousy of the deceased old count.
Although the old Earl lost his own child, he found two exceptionally outstanding heirs to continue the glory of the Horn family, which made Duke Negan, who was often worried about the next generation of successors, feel a pang of sadness.
However, while Duke Negan felt heartbroken, his political instincts alerted him, for he also saw Audrey coming with Evan.
The Conservative Party, which now represents the interests of the great aristocracy, is basically divided into three factions.
The old faction was represented by the Duke of Negan, the younger faction by Robert Horn, and the enlightened faction by the Earl of Hall.
This is a relatively healthy power structure, but times change, and the decline of the old faction and the rise of the new faction are only a matter of time.
Even though the old faction's power was gradually declining, Duke Negan didn't need to worry too much, since he had too many bargaining chips to divide and win over. But what if the leaders of the two factions got married?
Duke Negan, sensing that his power was in danger of slipping away, almost instinctively wanted to eliminate the possibility, and nearly spoke out, wanting to directly introduce his daughter to Evan, or his son to Audrey.
But having been in charge of the Kingdom of Rune's politics for over a decade, he swallowed his words, and instead of using Robert's earlier remarks to bring up Evan's marriage, he said to Evan:
"Robert told me that you suggested he incorporate the newly established Strategic Support Force into the Navy's order of battle?"
Evan, who inwardly rolled his eyes at Robert for shifting the blame, was taken aback when Duke Negan suddenly brought it up in public.
But he quickly focused his mind and looked at Duke Negan calmly, saying:
"Yes, Your Grace, I believe the kingdom's future strategic direction remains focused on the struggle for colonies, so placing the strategic support force within the navy is more appropriate!"
Duke Negan was a naval officer, and forming a strategic support force was the most important thing in Robert and Evan's minds, so he had to be extremely careful when facing Duke Negan.
"There's a high-level gathering at the Naval Club next week. If you have time, you should check it out; you should find it worthwhile!"
Evan was somewhat surprised by Duke Negan's sudden gesture of goodwill, but he didn't have time to think about it and excitedly replied, "I will definitely go!"
Robert, who was standing nearby, heard the Duke of Negan's attempt to win him over. For a moment, he didn't understand what the Duke was thinking, but he also felt that it wasn't a bad thing, so he didn't say anything.
After Evan finished speaking with Duke Negan, Audrey stepped forward, hugged Earl Hall's arm, and greeted the others.
Just as Earl Hall was about to ask Audrey why he was with Evan, a tall man with a long, narrow face and wearing a white wig walked out of the villa and announced that everyone could pay their respects to His Majesty the King in turn.
After a period of commotion, the nobles lined up in order of family unit, status, and seniority.
Evan is the youngest hereditary nobleman in the Kingdom of Rune. He has already established his own household. In terms of both seniority and age, he should be the one most trusted by the logistics department.
However, he benefited from Robert's unmarried status and was unable to carry the weight of his wife, thus ranking seventh alongside Robert.
After everyone had lined up, Duke Negan, guided by a court attendant, entered the villa with the young and beautiful Lady Della and his somewhat mature-looking sons.
While idly waiting in line, Evan kept his eyes fixed on the nobleman who came out of the villa to announce the audience.
He was Viscount Strafford, the most trusted Chief of the Royal Guard of King George III.
He had once served under Hugh's father, and after Hugh's father was executed for treason, he unexpectedly gained the trust of George III, became the captain of the guard, and spearheaded the purge of Hugh's father's former subordinates.
Back when Evan had just begun to make a name for himself in MI9, and everyone was paying attention to Hugh by his side, that was when he planned to trip him up from behind.
However, before his plan could be truly implemented, Evan soared into the sky like a rocket, becoming someone he could no longer easily interfere with. Afterwards, he didn't cause any more trouble for Evan or Hugh. It was unclear whether it was because someone had given him a hint or because he already knew that 'Evan' was no longer the same Evan and didn't need to worry about Hugh ruining things.
If it's the former, that's fine; but if it's the latter, then Evan needs to pay attention to this person.
After all, swapping Evan for someone else would definitely cause Robert to turn against them, and the Augustus family would probably keep this matter strictly confidential.
If Viscount Steward really knows about this, then this person must be quite extraordinary, and Evan might just get Hugh to keep an eye on him.
By the way, I haven't seen Fors for several days. I wonder how the plan I gave her about getting close to the Abraham family is going?
If I had been able to establish contact with the Abrahamic family before obtaining Alger's ghost ship, I might have been able to acquire one.
The extraordinary features of the "Travel Base".
Catherine Grey's grandfather, the demigod Collins the Craftsman, still owes me a favor. Perhaps I can ask him to help me combine the Ghost Ship with the Traveler's extraordinary ability, making it similar to the vehicle of Nast the King of the Five Seas, which can travel through the spirit world.
After all, according to MI9 and Lord of Mysteries, his vehicle was created by the Solomon Empire through the sacrifice of a "traveler".
Perhaps because Evan was envisioning his future cool ride, he kept staring at Viscount Stratford, which made Viscount Stratford sense it and look towards Evan.
Evan did not dodge; he met Viscount Stratford's gaze with a friendly smile and nodded to him.
Viscount Stratford responded with a warm smile.
Robert, having noticed the interaction between Evan and Viscount Stratford, casually asked:
"What's wrong? Is something the problem?"
"It's nothing, it's just that I was thinking about how it was this Viscount who exposed Mason Dill's rebellion to His Majesty a few years ago!"
Robert frowned, as if he had thought of something, and then asked:
"I remember you had a subordinate who was Mason Dill's daughter. When you first joined MI9, did you quickly gain a foothold because of her identity? Did she catch the eye of the Church of the Night?"
Robert always believed that Evan's success in MI9 brought him into the sights of the Goddess of Night and the Church, and that the Witch Cult and the Aurora Society favored him, making him a chosen one. Evan never corrected Robert's mistake.
After all, the explanation that the Goddess of the Night had favored Evan since Tingen is clearly less convincing than this one.
"We need to be prudent in our actions; this is a critical period for us!"
Robert clearly misunderstood Evan's meaning, thinking that Evan wanted to exonerate Mason Deer, so he couldn't help but remind him.
Evan nodded in deep agreement, but didn't say anything more.
Robert knew Evan's personality, and seeing him nod, he felt relieved and stopped paying attention.
There were many people to pay their respects, so George III could not allocate too much time to each person. Even when receiving top nobles, he could not go too far. So it was soon the turn of the brothers Robert and Evan.
After tidying up his uniform and checking his medals, Robert and Evan, led by a waiter, entered the villa's grand banquet hall, which could accommodate thousands of people. They bowed to King George III and his queen, who were seated on the throne. Standing on both sides were George III's brothers and sisters, as well as their own or their brothers' and sisters' children.
So much so that Evan couldn't even sneak a peek to find his future sister-in-law.
After Robert and Irwin bowed, King George III raised his hand authoritatively, gesturing for the brothers to straighten up, while the Queen, standing beside him, looked at Robert with a gentle smile and said:
"You can relax a bit, after all, we're family now!"
The mother-in-law found her son-in-law more and more pleasing to the eye. It turned out that the Queen was very unhappy when she heard that George III had found a husband more than ten years older than her most beloved youngest daughter.
After all, when it comes to her children's marriages, the Queen is more inclined to take a holistic view and is less willing to consider political factors. Although her marriage to George III was a typical political marriage, the Queen was more concerned about age than Robert's fame.
Moreover, as a princess of the Kingdom of Fennepot, married into the Castile and Augustus families, the Queen wielded considerable influence in court affairs and matters concerning her children.
If it weren't for Princess Oliana Augustus's wishes, the Queen would have rejected the marriage long ago.
However, after agreeing to the marriage and knowing that things could not be changed, the Queen put aside her dissatisfaction with his age and examined Robert's conditions from other angles, and then saw the shining points in Robert.
He holds a high position of power and authority, is highly capable, has no scandals, and, most importantly, comes from a good family background.
As a princess of the Castile family, the Queen was aware of the Horn family's origins, as the Horn family was, to some extent, the legitimate successor to the Einhorn family.
The little princess's marriage to Robert is not considered a step down. More importantly, even after marriage, the little princess can stay in Backlund and stay by her side.
After careful consideration, the Queen became increasingly satisfied with Robert's conditions and finally acknowledged that George III had found a good match for the little princess.
While the Queen seemed increasingly pleased with her son-in-law, George III was more focused on reforms. He asked a few questions about government affairs, then turned his gaze to Evan, who stood beside Robert, and said:
"I've already heard from Earl Robert that both the formation of the Strategic Support Force and the development of aircraft were your ideas."
I've made such a big fuss today all for your aircraft demonstration.
So, are you confident you can conquer everyone?
"Of course!"
Evan said it with absolute certainty.