"Honored be those who hold the responsibilities of their accolades close to mind and heart, for they are true nobles above all else, serving, protecting and nourishing their nations for the sustaining of law and order."
- A Marl Kahn proverb later adopted into the nation's noble code of chivalry.
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While its stability and prosperity in the present is a thing of envy of its fellow Alliance members, the Marl Kah from over 20 years ago was nothing short of an apocalyptic sight of anarchism.
During the reign of King Fernando II, Marl Kah experienced a massive economic recession aggravated by unfinished public works that was supposed to be funded by its cabal of corporations and special economic regions that failed to materialize enough taxes to support it. No one was spared in this economic stumble in Marl Kah...
The renown San Gabriel corporation saw its company shares plummet as soon as its previously profitable factories had its workers organize strikes in order to receive better pay and working shifts.
The Sentosa group of companies, a renown consolidation of supposedly stable, family-owned businesses, had all of its assets liquidated in a span of a week after it had to file bankruptcy for the losses it accrued by failing to pay back its debts to nearly all banks in the country.
Many more cases such as these happened but what could've killed not only Marl Kah but the entire empire of Ostadonia was the then venerable and supposedly "too-big to fail" Flores Corporation teetered to collapse after its facilities were hit by bombings and arsons started by workers' union members that were later exposed to be Atlanterran-backed rebels.
To save this corporation which is the backbone of Ostadonia's defense industry as its foremost developer and producer of Logical Calculators, it took both the sacrifice and absolute cruelty of a monarch that would later be considered as one of the nation's most contestedly controversial figures.
King Fernando II started his reign as a man of principle who stood by the values ingrained to him by nearly several millennia of an unbroken dynasty of monarchs that ruled the ancient kingdom of Lakandula, which is the only native government of the Marl Kahn isles that survived its 600 years of Cattleyan colonization.
Posturing himself as a hard-liner traditionalist, a robust and decisive military leader, and a man that is prepared to make decisions even if it meant his unpopularity amongst the public, it was only in hindsight years later that it became clear that this became his undoing.
During those years, public works such as railroads and bridges that are vital to connect the major islands of the archipelagic state became the focus of the royal government whose economic agendas needed to focus on exponential growth to make up for the time they lost by depending on foreign transportation companies for even their own local products.
Forming agreements with numerous companies predicated on special tax exemptions and rights to be the first to give their offers on future government contracts, the work on the public projects started quickly... until it became apparent that in their rush to get things done as quickly as possible, they forgot some people who have just the same or even more contributions to the work.
All of a sudden, workers in factories, construction sites and even public-sector workplaces went on strikes, demanding higher wages or lower taxation as they began to see the special exemptions and rights that the companies received to be greatly unfair, stating that "We're paying for things to make the rich richer while they won't pay for their fair share".
Normally, a special revision would be made in order to address this glaring mistake in the provisions as it did make the common citizens suffer by having their taxes pay for public works that are going to be used by the companies more while being taxed less in the process... but no revision would be set in response to the public outcry.
This was the first example of King Fernando II's mistake... and it wouldn't be the last.
Soon, he would once again deny to revise his decree regarding stopping the operations of Qiman casinos when it is one of the most profitable businesses in the country, stating that he wants to make his people "swerve away from unfruitful activities such as gambling". While some religious and political groups applauded his decision, it drove a rift between Marl Kah and Qima that persists to this day.
Weeks before the completion of the national railway line, it would be revealed that Belo construction corporation who handled the final touches for the project massively inflated the price of their work for the sake of allowing the Sentosa group, who is their parent company, to pay back some of their debts that are about to expire and pocketed the rest. When ordered to give back their ill-gotten wealth, the board members cut off all communications and went into hiding abroad.
To put the long story into a short form, by the time that King Fernando II realized that he cannot keep on insisting to be unmovable on his prior decisions, the entirety of the public is already distrusting of the royal government, their economic partners are teetering on total collapse and the four members of the Ostadonian alliance are threatening to eliminate them from the group due to their unstable national affairs.
At that point, it only took a close family friend that they entrusted with the position of Defense Minister to lead an army to the royal palace of Casa Estanza and threaten them with a coup, for the king to realize that there is nothing more that he can do to salvage the situation.
Alongside himself, his family and a few loyal friends and their families that insisted to continue being with them, they flew to the territory of a close family friend in the Feudal territories of the empire where they lived in exile as their nation began what is later called the "greatest social experiment for an absolute people's democracy" in existence.
Here, for the next few years, King Fernando would be a king without a nation, a monarch in exile... he would die in foreign soil and his remains would only be returned a few years later when his nation, who finally came to terms with both his and their own mistakes, demanded to have his descendants and the system they represented, to return and lead them again out of a tumultuous time.
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"I still remember it to this day... how you treated us with kindness and hospitality yet we cannot do the same when it was our turn to lend you our aid."
"Please, Sir Fernando. It's the rules that we have to obey as part of the feudal domains... it's our lack of contribution to the empire that brought us down to that point. You need not be bothered by it."
At the living room that had its furniture rearranged to become a formal receiving area, the Bougainvillea family and the Salonga family met face to face after years of being apart.
"Oh please, Selena. If not for that thing, then we insist that you receive our apology regarding Sir Joseph. It was one thing to fail to convince the other alliance members to rescind your demotion from Barony to Baronetcy, it is another thing entirely to be absent at the funeral of the man who received us so kindly and generously during our exile... Oh, how my heart cries whenever I remember the day we received your letter about his loss." Queen Liwayway spoke regarding Joseph's death, stating her grief about not being able to be there for him and his bereaved family during the funeral.
"I know he'll be overjoyed to receive your kind words, madame... Still, let it not grieve you anymore. I believe Joseph wouldn't want to burden any of us anymore after he's gone... although admittedly, I still find myself dreaming of him and yearning for his warmth to this day..."
"...That just shows how great of a man he is to all of us. I believe Father Ferdy would say the same if he was here." noted the king after thinking back about Joseph.
The nostalgic conversation ceased when out of nowhere, Prince Ignacio addressed Joshua about the recent Silesia war.
"Baron— I mean, Viscount Joshua. I heard reports of about your exploits in the Silesia war. I heard you were the one that struck Fort Nickson alongside your Wizard Corps, yes?"
"You've heard right, Your Highness. Reinforced by our Wizard Corps sent by my younger brother a few months after I left for the front, we assailed the Atlanterran stronghold of Fort Nickson which helped to decapitate their offensive all across the ocean."
"Ah! Hearing it from you certainly gets my blood pumping. Haha! It was your first war and you already earned enough merit to last for a lifetime."
"Please, Your Highness. You honor me too much... If anything, I owe my life and my victory to the brave men who fought beside me and laid down their lives for our cause. May the glory of the victory be theirs and not mine alone."
"Well said, Viscount. You've certainly made your father's memory and legacy proud. While we're in that topic, may I ask what you plan to do now?" Joshua's words received the smile and praise of the king who then asked him what he plans to do at the present.
"Well, ever since we discovered a massive reserve of magisteel and mana quartz under our territories and our new subordinate knight house, I've been busy raising up and expanding our new mining and metal fabrication factories. I believe that unless something bad happens in the near future, that would be my work for a while and—" just as Joshua is about to finish his words, Jonathan bent over to reach the table and knocked on it which their Marl Kahn guests understood and giggled at.
"Haha! Baron Jonathan, I see that you're looking after your honored brother too, huh?"
"You're right to knock on wood on that, Baron. It certainly doesn't hurt to follow some superstitions here and there."
Joshua looked at Jonathan with a half-embarrassed and half-annoyed expression, however, his response surprised and amazed those around him.
"Well, now that father is gone, the two of us are now the only remaining men in this family. We have to look after and be there for each other. I'm doing all of this because I know that if I'm the one in a messy situation, Joshua would do the same for my sake."
"Jonathan..." Joshua mumbled, amazed with what Jonathan said.
"Hmph... Well put, young Baron. It seems like my worries about Joseph's passing is for naught. He did leave good sons to preserve all of his work and the principles that he stood for. My son, you should learn from their example." King Fernando remarked and reminded his son to adopt the same virtue.
"I shall, father."
A while later, Martha and Spica approached their masters and guests and invited them to the dining hall for a lunch feast. According to prevailing Ostadonian etiquette, none of the servants save for those who would help in bringing in the dishes and attending to the nobles should be present, however, the total opposite applies to Marl Kahn customs that are also similar to the Bougainvillea family's house rules.
"Oho...! I see that the number of helping hands in the manor grew alongside your territories and peerage. Having a meal in this table with all of these familiar and new faces sure reminds me of the old times."
"""We're all honored, Your Majesty..."""
"Please, the honor is mine, friends. Come now, let's thank the heavens for this grace and joyously dine upon this feast. Liwayway, if you may..."
"I'd be pleased..."
After the queen gave a short prayer to thank their food, the guests, members and servants of House Bougainvillea began to dine and converse with the others on their periphery. May it be small talk, gossips or formal conversation, everyone had their fill of the dishes and the words of fellow friends and family.
By the end of the meal, King Fernando stood up with a wineglass filled with sparkling champagne and rose a toast.
"I dedicate this toast to this family and its subjects who have so graciously sheltered us in our time of need and shared our glory in our well-off times. To the health and continued growth of House Bougainvillea!"
"""Val-Yae!!!""" (T/N: An Ostadonian cheer for toasts and dedications)
After the feast, the members of the Marl Kahn Royal family split up to talk with the Bougainvillea family. At the sun room of the manor, Queen Liwayway and Selena, talked about private matters that they likely share as women and mothers, while Prince Ignacio strolled at the garden of the manor with Joshua, likely asking him about the recent war in Silesia. That left King Fernando to talk with Jonathan at the study room of the manor after he handed a sleepy Syrene to Martha to let her take an afternoon nap.
"It's been a while since I last saw you, young Jonathan. Not since your 7th birthday, I believe."
"You're right, Your Majesty. I do remember you coming to Walter town during my birthday and father's return from the war in Madiq. Believe it or not, I still have the rattan ball that you gifted me from back then."
"Ah! The Takraw you mean. I see, I see... I wanted to stay for a while and teach you how to play it but as you know, our people has been requesting us to return to Marl Kah at that point. You kept it as a display then, I assume?"
"The one you gave, yes. But father bought a Takraw later from a shop in Marin and taught us how to play it... but since it was a pretty "physical" sport and I was far too young, mother told me to not make it my sport of choice or else, I might get too broad for my clothes, Haha!"
"Oh! So you do know how to play it, huh?"
"Just enough to make it interesting for the other person, I guess... and after years of not playing it actively, I may have gotten somewhat rusty." Jonathan spoke before standing up and opening a chest at the corner of the room which is filled with Syrene's toys. After digging up something within it, he showed it to the king who had a smile trace up on his face. "...shall we try it out then, sir?"
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By the afternoon when the sunlight has somewhat mellowed out, four men wearing loose shirts and shorts, and had their forelegs and arms lightly wrapped with bandages, stepped out into the courtyard of the manor which has a net spread up between it.
"Jonathan, you dingus! My injuries still aches and of all games, this is what you offered?!"
"Oh, shut up! It's high time that you get out of the office and flexed those bones, aren'tcha?
On one side was the Bougainvillea brothers who quarreled about having to play the game.
"Father, are you sure you're still in shape for something like this? And your eyes are getting—"
"Shut it, boy! I'm not old enough to not get fired up with the mention of playing Takraw. You better give it your all too! I won't have you shame House Salonga with any sloppy playing!"
"...Roger that, sir!"
And on the other side was the father and son of the Marl Kahn royal family. King Fernando, despite his age, was burning with excitement and determination.
"Both sides, are you ready?" Queen Liwayway, acting as the referee, asked both sides and received their approval. She then tossed a coin that determined whose team would serve the ball first and it sided with the Bougainvillea brothers. "Alright, you're the first to serve boys. Get to it!"
"Don't go and pull a muscle now, Jonathan."
"Same to you. Don't shame father's teaching... Here goes—!!!"
After tossing up the rattan ball and kicking it up and over the net, it arrived at the side of the Marl Kahns where Ignacio received it with his right foot, making it bounce up just enough for Fernando to kick it back to the brothers' side.
"Oof! Almost dropped it!" Joshua spat out after nearly missing the skillful return.
"Kick it up here!" Jonathan shouted after running near the net and preparing for a drop shot.
"Alright! Your ball!"
"Kih! Hyah—!" Jonathan jumped high and with a body flip, brought his foot towards the ball and skillfully dropkicking it to the opponent side.
"Not so fast, kid!"
"Wha—!?"
With speed that no one expected, Fernando ran towards Jonathan and met Jonathan's kick above the net. With his greater experience in the game and muscle mass at the legs, his opponent failed to overpower his kick and the ball fell on the Bougainvillea's side.
"Point to team Salonga!"
"YEAH!!!"
"Nice block, father!"
While the two were cheering, Joshua took the ball and helped Jonathan back to his feet after he fell flat after having his kick blocked.
"Nice try Jonathan, but don't take it to heart. We'll pay 'em back."
"You got it... Let's do this!"
For an hour, both teams gave it their all while the audience who began to learn about the game little by little watched with great interest and awe. After a while, cheers began to sound at every skilled exchange of the ball and gasps sounded at every suspenseful serving and receiving.
"This is it, lads... It's "do or die" for you two."
With a score of 18-20, favoring the father and son duo who won two sets already. The game was at its match point and everyone was holding their breath about how the game would end.
"Let's get to it then, old man!"
"Right! Give us all ya' got!"
"Haha! Them's fighting words! I like it! Let me show you my signature service kick then! HYAH—!"
After tossing up the ball, Fernando jumped and kicked it with his signature move that made the ball to fly without spinning, basically making its trajectory hard to predict. Jonathan, being a baseball player, knew the move immediately.
"Darn! It's a knuckleball!"
"Wha—?!"
"Joshua! Don't use a kick!"
Jonathan's quick assertion and Joshua's reflexes made them survive the trickshot. After receiving it on his chest and letting it bounce, Joshua kicked the ball back to the opponent side where Ignacio received it with a kick and prepared it for another move by Fernando.
"Haha! You boys are far too young to get cocky in this game! I was born with a Takraw near my momma's foot!" the old man boasted before kicking the ball back with the same non-rotating trickshot.
"Joshua!"
"Got it!" Joshua once again received the ball with his chest and kicked it near the net where Jonathan prepared to kick it back with a shallow dropkick.
"Hah! You're fighting me too, Baron! That kick ain't getting over here!"
"Ghh—!!!"
All of a sudden, Ignacio appeared and met Jonathan's kick attempt with his own, essentially fighting over who can kick the ball over the net first and harder.
"That's where you're wrong then!"
"What the—!?"
Jonathan, after canceling out his body flip by landing on his left foot, kicked the ball back towards Joshua who was really the one who would kick it back... all he did was provide distraction and enough time for Joshua to gather enough power and secure his posture.
"Sorry to rain on your parade, but you ain't winning yet folks!"
"I'm good here, Jonathan!"
"Then get going! Hyah!"
With a slow, parabolic trajectory, the ball flew towards Joshua with the perfect speed to let him hit it with what can only be considered as a virtuoso's move.
"HI-GYAAAAH—!!!"
With a high jump and a flip that moved his body upside down and also made all of his muscles to add power to his kick, Joshua performed a perfect roll spike that made the ball fly into the opposing side with enough force and speed that it cannot be blocked or caught.
"Point to team Bougainvillea! Match point rescinded, continuing until 25 points on either side!"
"""YES!!!"""
"KEEP IT UP, MASTERS!!!"
With Liwayway's declaration, Joshua's point was accepted and the Salongas' lead was taken away. With this, everyone's abated breaths were loosed and they cheered for the two.
"Hehe! Still looking down on us, old man?"
"We showed you enough to recognize our skills, don't we?"
"Heh! You might be good... but not good enough yet. We still have a couple of exchanges left! Do your best or I'm leaving you at the dust!"
While Jonathan, Joshua and Fernando was still fired up, it was Ignacio's next words that cut off their passion for the game.
"Umm... actually, father... we might have to cut the game short now."
"Huh? What are you talking about, boy? Come on and serve the ball already and—"
"Serve what? The ball is all crushed and messed up..." just as his father was about to end his complaint, Ignacio placed the squashed up rattan ball on his father's hand before leaving the playing court. "Besides... I think we should freshen up and be presentable for this new guest who came over, yes?"
Ignacio's words was followed by the distant, rumbling noise of an airship that appeared from the horizon. At that moment, Spica stepped forward from the crowd and made an announcement to everyone.
"Marquis Elmor Taiga is coming to the manor. We have to unfortunately cancel this game for now, honored guests."
"Hrm... Yes, yes. I get it. We can't play with this broken Takraw anyway. And who was it you say? Marquis Taiga? The one in charge of East Serafina, yes?"
"Correct, Your Majesty."
"Hmph... I guess we do have to wipe away this sweat and get presentable."
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Fifteen minutes later, the carriage of House Taiga arrived at the front of the Bougainvillea manor, bearing its leader and the current ruling lord of the region. Without the normal courtesy line of maids and servants due to his sudden arrival, he walked into the mansion where he only had to look around for a moment before noticing King Fernando and his family at the living room.
"...Your Majesty." he spoke before kneeling in front of the royal family.
"...You may rise, Sir Taiga of Serafina. And please, speak casually. This is not the time nor place for anything formal."
"As you command... Your Majesty, I would like to ask what brings you to east Serafina all of a sudden? If you sent over a missive even a day before, I would've loved to bring you over and honor you at Marin."
"Please, Marquis. I am not here at my capacity as a monarch. I'm here to visit friends, both late and living, to reminisce about the old times and check up on their future." Fernando spoke, motioning to the Bougainvillea family that he is referring to. "And while I would be honored to be received in Marin, I'm afraid I cannot linger here in the Feudal domains for longer than today. By evening, we'll have to fly out to our true destination."
"Your true destination... where would that be, if I may inquire, sir?"
"Where else? The Empire of Tenka, of course."
The mention of Tenka caught the attention of the Marquis who was shocked about the revelation. He was so surprised that he failed to notice that the Bougainvilleas did not share in his shock.
"T-T-The Imperial capital then, I assume? Y-Your Majesty, if I may be so forward here. I believe that would mean that you are meeting with the Tenkan Imperial family?"
"It would be, yes. But as you may already ascertain, I would be pleased if you would keep this information private. This is a matter between our sovereign royal houses, not of anyone else's."
"A-As you command, Your Majesty..."
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While King Fernando and Marquis Taiga was talking, I heard whispers from Joshua and Prince Ignacio which I became interested with. Adjusting my bow tie in a way so it would be covered up, I activated my Soul Core to cast a hearing amplification enhancement spell to eavesdrop on their conversation.
To say that their private words was amusing would be putting it lightly...
"Just like before, he really is a suck-up."
"I can't deny that... Even during father's funeral, he kept on asking if anyone in your family would personally come to mourn with us."
"Wow... that's another level of insanity."
Even I cannot deny the fact that Marquis Elmor Taiga has some kind of desperation to belong within the good graces of King Fernando, or to be more precise, the Salonga royal family... and this is mostly based on the fact that the Salong family has enough influence and experience to basically shake the foundations of the Empire.
There is a popular saying in Ostadonia that goes like: "From Tenka comes Peerlessness and from Turkman comes Ferocity. From Boreas comes Willpower and from Qima comes Resilience... But all of this would be useless without Marl Kah's Decisiveness."
To put it simply, if Ostadonia losses Marl Kah, so will its existence.
"Do you think he's trying to be a bridge for simmering things down with Tenka?"
"Likely. Despite siding with us against the local lords, he's ultimately bound by the influence and orders from the ruling Imperial government in Tenka. If he can act as a way to reconcile Marl Kah with Tenka, he'd happily do it."
Joshua is right. Despite our father's relationship with him before as both friend and noble peer, at the end of the day, Marquis Taiga is a man bound by his own interests and responsibilities. When forced to make a choice, he'd prioritize his own ends over sentimental things.
Unlike him, King Fernando is a more reliable family friend, not just because of what our family did for his' own during their lowest point, but because unlike the Marquis, they can afford to make and stand on their own decisions.
My eavesdropping was cut short when King Fernando and Queen Liwayway stood up from their seats and gave their farewells to us, followed a beat later by Prince Ignacio who did the same.
"Well then, the sun is setting and the stars will soon be out. While I would've loved to partake on another generous feast here, I'm afraid we have to go ahead with the rest of our trip now."
"Again, we're truly grateful for inviting us over, our dear friends... and also letting us give our true final farewells to Joseph. With that, we can finally let go of our grief and poignantly reminisce about him again."
"A-Ah, thank you for everything again, House Bougainvillea. We are truly grateful for your hospitality."
Their thanks and kind words made mother a bit emotional as she received it and gave her own polite words.
"Please, the honor is all ours in this House. If ever you wish to visit again, our doors are always open and our stoves warm with grace."
One by one, the royal family gave us embraces and Queen Liwayway even smooched Syrene's face like a grandmother who hasn't seen her grandchild for a long while. After a few more heartfelt words, they left to head back to their carraige, followed by Marquis Taiga who insisted to lead them with his airship convoy up to the new edge of Silesia's border with Qima-occupied Yibang.
Within ten minutes, their airships flew out and headed north-east, destined to arrive in Tenka by the morning.
"Maaaan~! This sure was a long day..."
"How dare you say that when you're the one to kick off that Takraw game?! Darn it, my aching muscles are still killing me..." Joshua rebutted me and complained again about the game earlier, citing some muscles that he pulled.
"Do you want some menthol patches, sir?" Spica, being the ever-reliable assistant head maid, quickly offered a few stick-on methol patches that some herbalist in Stella recently made to relieve muscle cramps and aches.
"Oh, that's a lifesaver! Let me have some then for later. I'll use it after taking a bath. Can you guys warm up one for me?"
"We will, Viscount. I'll call you once it's ready."
And so, our long day ended without much problem... or at least, that is what I thought before we read the headline of the newspaper two days later that utterly shocked all of us.
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At Tenjin Imperial Palace, King Fernando III's sudden arrival and request to have an audience with the Tenkan Emperor sent the staff of the palace into a frenzy.
Normally, a visit like this would be prepared months before the actual meeting. Letters would be exchanged between the two sovereign nations' respective government foreign ministries, venues would be scouted and seriously scrutinized for every miniscule thing and there were even instances when roads that just had its reconstruction finished was closed off to be broken up and repaved just to make sure that it would be smooth enough to not have a single bump once the visiting monarch will pass through it.
As such, to say that the suddenness of his and his family's arrival was incredibly shocking would be understating it... and that suddenness also means something else...
"I don't understand... why are you doing this, King Salonga? Why here... and why now?"
"...Perhaps because I know that if I took my time with the proper channels, it would already be too late for me to do anything. I guess you can say that unlike the common folk that you can bury with mundane bureaucracy, I really am a special case, aren't I?"
At the private meeting room in Tenjin palace's inner court, the two monarchs talked in deep secrecy. Dropping all formality and speaking as equals, it also meant that they can be truly honest with each other.
"Fernando, we talked about this... You cannot be this forceful in your moves. You may have special powers and considerations as a monarch, but you cannot force your will on everything you do. That bureaucracy that you loathe so much is not just a delaying tactic, it's standard protocol to make sure that everything gets done correctly and up to standard?"
"Oh my friend... What did those politicians do to you? Why did you give up and let them take your balls, only to return it whenever they want you to run an errand for them?"
Fernando's words that can also be interpreted as an insult cut deep in the emperor's pride, but he cannot dismiss it because he knows that he was indeed right.
"Of all people, you should be the one who knows it best... The fall of the Salonga family decades ago set a precedent for the other monarchial nations to have more of its governance ran by elected individuals than hereditary lords. It was only the failure of the Marl Kahn People's Union and the monarchy's reinstatement that stopped it from snowballing further." the emperor reasoned, trying to find common ground with his fellow monarch... But Fernando did not back down and even showed his true colors.
"It's exactly because of that reason that I came here all of a sudden, unannounced and uninvited. The electoral movement all across Ostadonia is forming an oligarchial caste that's making our nations bleed out and rot from the inside. It's hightime that we uproot this pest before it spreads any further."
"F-Fernando! You cannot say that! Despite being monarchs, we still have to abide with—"
"Which is exactly my point... We have to abide with the laws made by elected men, meant to control us so that we cannot become despots. And yet, no one bats an eye for those same men when they bend the laws in order to become despots at all but name."
"Fernando..."
"I have seen this corruption with my own eyes... I am sickened by it. And because of that, I aim to break it before it devours my nation and this empire... and if you're not willing to help me in this, know this, my friend..."
King Fernando's next words carried enough weight to shake Ostadonia in its foundations.
"...I will remove Marl Kah from Ostadonia, land, labor and all. If I cannot protect Ostadonia as a whole, then I will protect my nation who I am responsible for."