The Duke's words were true, and the praise was sincere. Jenkins wanted to laugh at the pointless probing, but he knew it was best not to.
"I don't know if your father has said anything to you, and I don't know if the Church of the Sages has talked to you about something, but there is one thing you must know. Those who don't consider the bloodline of illegitimate children a few generations ago."
Without waiting for Jenkins to respond, he said again:
"But a noble person must be noble no matter where he grows up. The blood of the Middleton family flows in your body. Mr. William, your talent and fortune are quite good. I don't know if anyone officially and you Speaking of it, but now allow me to tell you - Jenkins Redandpoort Williams, you are the most likely man in this country to lift the crown right now."
The old man said the last sentence very seriously, and Jenkins looked at him equally seriously:
"First tell me that my current situation is not achieved through hard work, but luck, and then praise my talent and ability. Is this also testing me?"
He ignored the topic of the crown, but asked this. No matter what, he must take the initiative in the conversation. He is not a simple young man in his twenties. Even if the topic is heavy, he will not lose his normalcy and patience. After all, Jenkins didn't really care about the crown.
"I just want to tell you the truth... Of course, I'm also very glad that you can see the 'little trick' I used, which will be useful to you in the future. But judging from your life trajectory, you should I don't have a chance to come into contact with this kind of speech skills, could it be that Her Royal Highness the princess helped you during the two months you were in Loen?"
The Duke maintained great respect for Jenkins, but that respect was clearly cautioned and alienated. This is the truest attitude. The competition for the crown has not officially started, so it is the most correct to restrain one's stance.
"Tonight, His Majesty invites you to have dinner at Cold Spring Palace."
Last but not least, the most important thing.
"Only invite me?"
Jenkins asked.
"Yes, only you are invited, you don't need to bring a female companion. Correspondingly, there will only be you and His Majesty at the table."
"Can I tell someone else about this... I need someone to help me choose clothes."
He said so.
The old duke smiled: "You can do whatever you want, this is just an ordinary invitation. His Majesty likes your book very much."
This is a lie, even a cat can guess it is a lie.
Jenkins agreed to the invitation, and then changed the subject, wanting to learn more about the envoy who was secretly sent to his country by the king of Cheslan, what happened now. The Duke told Jenkins that there are still many people in Cheslan who support the royal family, so Beldyland officials, who had received news of the assassination in advance, have ruled out all dangers except for the assassination just now.
"I can't tell you the gentleman's address. You know why. As for our attitude towards Cheslan's peace, you can talk to His Majesty at night. I think His Majesty would like to discuss politics with young people."
After saying this, the Duke did not get up and leave, but paused and sighed:
"I just conveyed the meaning for His Majesty, and I would like to say a few words in my own capacity."
"Of course, you can talk, I'm listening."
Jenkins nodded.
"From my personal point of view, I appreciate you very much, Mr. William. Even though you have not received a complete orthodox education, have no political experience, and have not even expressed any political stance, I still appreciate you very much."
"but… "
Jenkins said in his heart that this practice of praising people first, if there is no need for others, then there is a high probability that there will be a turning point.
"But I don't think you are the best candidate. Even in front of you, I still want to say so."
"Why is this?"
Jenkins asked knowingly.
"Because I don't want the efforts of the previous kings, and the efforts we have made for democracy and justice for so many years, to end up in the hands of the church."
The old prince's eyes seemed to glisten when he said this.
"I know you probably don't agree with what I'm saying, and think I'm…"
"No, I fully understand your point of view."
Jenkins shook his head and interrupted him very impolitely:
"You are worried about the power of the Church of the Sages behind me. I am calling the queen to further interfere in domestic politics, so as to break the shackles of religious power in the High Tower Agreement, and let the power of religion touch the secular country again. And even if I can Guaranteed to remain neutral in state and religion, but sooner or later, my descendants will take over the power from me. What I can do, my descendants may not be able to do. And I will take the crown , itself has caused the fact that the Church of the Sages has infiltrated the kingdom's regime. After decades or even hundreds of years, it can be predicted that there will always be a day when the royal power will decline and the church's power will be over-expanded at the same time. At that time, the religious power will once again override the royal power, and maybe even the transmission of the king's power will only be realized in the presence of a cardinal-level religious force in the future."
"You know more than I thought."
The old prince was a little surprised:
"Has anyone talked to you about this?"
"Does this still need to be discussed?"
Jenkins shook his head.
"So what's your opinion, Williamette? Do you think you're going to be king?"
"Duke, isn't it too early to talk about this? I don't think I need to express my attitude now. Of course, I also admire your loyalty to the royal family and the country, but some things don't always follow people's expectations." Willingness to develop…”
Probably hearing that Jenkins didn't want to talk about this matter anymore, the Duke didn't exchange any more greetings, got up to say goodbye, and then left. Jenkins sent him down the corridor, thinking about the religion and kingship he had just mentioned.
In his original world, the development of history has explained the relationship between the two, and showed the direction of progress chosen by the wheel of the times. But those can't be completely copied to this world. After all, there is no god who can perform miracles at any time in the original world, and there is no group of extraordinary people walking on the earth. Jenkins himself doesn't know how to balance the relationship between the two. He is not arrogant enough to think that he can make development arrangements for a completely different world just because he has read more history books.
The original history and lessons have great reference value, but they are not completely suitable for the current world. Jenkins understood the meaning of the words "advancing with the times" and "adapting measures to local conditions" very well. Therefore, when he talked with the Duke just now, although he expressed dissatisfaction with the other party's statement, he did not reveal any inclination between royal power and religious power.
"Being the king of the world means more responsibilities and burdens to me; but Alexia is right, maybe saving the world requires the control of absolute power in the world. Any choice I make will have a negative impact on history. Influence, an outsider like me should be more cautious when facing important historical node choices, after all... The Duke is right, the penetration of religion into secular kingship is almost certain to happen after I take over the throne. "
Jenkins told Hathaway Britney and Alexia about accepting Her Majesty's invitation to have dinner at Cold Spring Palace in the evening.
The red-haired girl and the blonde girl looked very nervous. After learning about the arrangement, they turned down the arrangement to go to the theater with their friends and insisted on helping Jenkins choose the right clothes.
While there was time to meet Alexia, the short lady said that Jenkins had foreseen the meeting in advance, so don't be nervous.
"What should I say then?"
He still asked nervously.
"Say what you want to say, of course."
Alexia said, and then directed the servants to pack their luggage:
"The meeting tonight will not make any substantive decisions. This is just the first meeting between the Queen and you. I believe you will have many talks before the final result. What you need to pay attention to is just wearing Be more formal, and pay attention to etiquette at dinner. If you want to bring chocolates, remember to inform Cold Spring Palace in advance, and they will arrange separate seats and meals for cats."
"Is that so? That's great, it's great to have you by my side."
Jenkins complimented, then gave her a gentle hug.
"It would be nice if you could be by my side all the time."
The short lady said it deliberately, which reminded Jenkins of what happened last night. He was supposed to accompany Alexia on the night when she was promoted to the eighth-level demigod, but he only stayed with her for an hour and a half before leaving.
"When all this is over, I will be by your side."
he promised.
"That would be wonderful."
Alexia replied casually, and at the same time asked the servants to move the box containing the books to the door.
"Speaking of which, your birthday is coming, what gift do you want?"
"Birthday?"
Jenkins was taken aback for a moment, and it took him a while to remember the date of birth of the original owner. It has been nearly a year since I came to this world, and I really need a birthday. He hadn't realized it before, but recalling the memory fragment now, memories of those past birthdays flooded his mind. It's worth noting that the Williamettes celebrated birthdays for each unmarried child, not until they reached adulthood.
"I don't need anything. You can give me anything for my birthday. As for tonight's clothing and etiquette, you don't have to worry about it. Hathaway and Britney are helping me prepare the clothes."
"That's okay, they have good eyesight."
Jenkins took her to mean choosing clothes.