Chapter 39: An Audience with the King

As the largest city on the continent, Franc City had a population of over 300,000. It had towering city walls and wide streets, and as far as the eye could see, there were the magnificent main temples of the major churches and the tall Mage Towers.

This was because all the major churches had temples here, the Mage Guild had one high and four mid-level Mage Towers, and the Royal Palace also had five Mage Towers.

But all this was just so-so in Christine's eyes, while Elena and the twin fox girls kept looking out the window.

Just look at the picture you found online.

The Stewart family had their own mansion in the town of Frank, and it was not known which ancestor of the family had purchased the property. Since the long lives of dragon mages were basically spent waiting for their heirs to grow up and go on adventures across the continent, no one wanted to stay in one place for hundreds of years.

Some ancestors returned to their territory before they died, leaving behind relics, while others were never heard from again. Christine even suspected that some of them were still alive, because according to her father, it had only been about 200 years since her grandfather went exploring.

The manor was in a prime location in the noble district, next to the estates of two field counts. In fact, when the family's ancestors bought the property, the land prices in the Noble District were not expensive, but after more than a thousand years of development, it was no longer affordable for ordinary nobles.

In fact, many hereditary nobles would have to live with the merchants in the wealthy districts if they didn't have ancestral properties, let alone buy a mansion in the Noble District, let alone the smallest villa.

The servants had long since cleaned the mansion and lined up in the courtyard to greet the baron. They had lived in France for a long time and had heard a lot about nobles beating their servants if they were not satisfied, and their young master was probably not easy to serve.

In fact, Christine didn't pay any attention to the servants and went straight to her room.

First, she sent Knight Albert Lussac to the palace with a wagonload of olive oil. One reason was to deliver a message to the king, telling him that she had arrived and that it would be up to the king's mood when he would receive her. The other reason was to deliver the gifts and the "shield tax" on the way, as early delivery showed respect to the king.

What no one expected was that the royal knight would return with Knight Albert to formally announce that the king would summon Baron Stewart the next morning.

The reason why it was so important to summon him immediately was first of all because Christine was the Baron of the Field, and secondly because the King was very interested in her deeds.

The first time the King heard of Christine was because the Baron of Lorient and the Baron of Stewart were at war, so she was unable to send someone to handle the inheritance procedures in the hope of receiving provisional recognition.

There were only so many noble families in the kingdom, and the king was naturally aware of the Baron of Lorient's situation. Christine was just a young girl, so the king felt that the battle should be a foregone conclusion.

Unexpectedly, things took a turn for the worse. Not only did the Baron of Lorient die in the battle, but the Baron of Stewart annexed the Baron of Lorient. Then there was the construction of the Mage's Tower and the port city, which attracted the king's attention even more.

It should be noted that there was no connection between the immediate summons and the rumors that Christine was the most beautiful woman in Brittany.

The next morning, the royal knight arrived at the manor with a group of guards to escort Baron Stewart to the palace to meet the king. When the group arrived at the main entrance of the palace, the accompanying cavalry could not enter, and only Knight Albert could accompany them. Christine also had to transfer to the royal carriage, as the palace was not a small area.

Since it was an official audience, it was held in the main council hall.

Knight Albert could only wait outside the hall. A servant led Christine inside, and at the end of the corridor was a huge, gold-inlaid door, clearly carved with protective magic spells.

The two knights pulled the door open, and then the chamberlain called out, "Baron Stuart, an audience with His Majesty the King!"

As she entered the council chamber, she saw King Louis Capet sitting high on the throne. The other person was about fifty years old, with a dignified appearance. He wore magnificent robes, a crown, and held a scepter. He looked exactly like the king Christine had imagined.

In fact, because the French kingdom was of divine lineage, all the kings of previous generations were tall, well-dressed, and at least as strong as a fifth-level knight.

Apart from the king, there were no other ministers present, just four royal knights standing on either side of the throne and a few attendants.

Christine wore a gorgeous magician's robe today, because on the continent, priestly and legal robes were suitable for any occasion. Otherwise, she would have to wear a skirt, do her hair, and wear jewelry, which would be too much trouble.

Christine bowed and said, "Christine Stewart is here to see His Majesty the King."

"Grant a seat!"

A servant brought a chair.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Christine gracefully sat down.

King Louis Capet looked at Christine. As a king, he had naturally met many beautiful women of all races, including half-elves. However, he had to admit that only goddesses could compare to Christine in appearance.

"Baron Stewart, I like your gift very much. You went to a lot of trouble."

The king had to mention it after receiving the gift.

"I'm glad you like it. I chose it carefully."

There was no such thing as modesty in this world. Of course, one had to let the recipient know that one had carefully prepared a gift.

"I didn't know that Baron Stewart was already a third-level mage at such a young age."

The king said this after seeing the mage insignia on Christine's robe. She had gone to the Mage Guild before coming here to take the promotion exam and was promoted to the third level.

"Your Majesty, my mother is a seventh level mage who has been teaching me since I was young. Master Adret Morningstar of the Elves stayed in my territory for a few months because of the construction of the Mage Tower, and I was fortunate enough to receive his guidance."

By saying this, Christine was telling the king that it was only natural for her to have advanced quickly, since she had a good foundation when she was young and was taught by a famous master when she grew up. It should be noted that there were very few master-level mages on the continent, and even lower-level mages who had been fortunate enough to be taught by a master in the past were rare.

The rest of the conversation between the two sides was just polite talk. The king showed that he cared for his vassals and nobles, and Christine showed respect for the royal leadership, so the meeting ended in peace.

Seeing is believing. After meeting Christine, King Louis Capet knew that Baron Lorient had not lost the bet. After all, as a king, he had some knowledge of people.

Could someone who had been promoted to a third-level magician at such a young age be simple? Besides, could someone just ask a master mage to give them pointers?