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Chapter 246 All Pieces on the table, only one left...

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"I wonder if this was your goal from the start or if maybe it changed over time." Winthrope said as his tone changed, becoming slightly melancholic as he looked at his hands

"..."

\'His tone is as if he\'s narrating his time on war...\'

"Within Resko\'s Elders, you were the youngest, and now, maybe even the most reputable one."

"To the youth, you are their idols, to the old, their hope."

"You delivered justice when they could not, you welcomed those from the outside in their name… You handled them as if you were in charge."

"You reactivated the Church, giving them the respite they so desperately needed, you… Made them reliant on your figure, no… To them, you\'re akin to the chosen one."

"No matter what I do, I don\'t think I would ever be able to turn that girl to my side, her belief in you was extremely solid, almost as high as that of her Goddess." He said with a sigh as he raised his head to look at Dale

"I already know of her significance, she\'s not just any girl… She\'s the chosen one, a Noble, with a Family whose roots I do not dare pursue."

"I\'m not a very religious man… I always put my faith in the hands of the people, but… I\'m not foolish enough to deny the Gods."

"She saw in you something I can\'t, and no matter how much I try to lie to myself, I can\'t really see that special thing..."

"Or maybe… She was told that." He said as he crossed his fingers above his legs

"Do not take this as an offense, everything you did has its own small pile of merits tied to it, what I\'m talking about is something more… Complicated."

"That is why I cannot understand it."

"..."

\'Is this how it looks from their perspective?\' Dale thought as his expression remained still

"... From the beginning, you built your influence, if I were to ask anyone who they trust would lead them to better living conditions, then they would say your name first, followed by the other Elders."

"That is how much of an impression you left on them."

"..."

\'Technically speaking, none of the Elders ever did anything noteworthy during their time as… Well, elders.\'

\'Instead, ever since I arrived change after change has been implemented, so if any of the Villagers were to think of major changes to their lifestyle in recent years, they would only be able to think of what happened this past month.\'

\'And at the center of all these changes is me… This isn\'t necessarily the good kind of adoration though… Hopefully, it does not degrade into dependency.\'

\'Resko is a community, not just my actions.\'

Seeing the fact Dale was pensive, Winthrope stood silent for a few moments since he also needed some time to think about what he was about to say next:

"Then… There\'s us."

His tone slowly went down as if he was tired.

"While most of our young despaired or cowered in their corners, withering day by day; When our old was forced to remain indoors due to the dangers of the forest; You showed them that not all was lost."

"That it is possible to do something beyond themselves. Something I and many others had been trying to do for years."

"But when you lift someone\'s spirits time and time again only to disappoint them, there comes a day when they won\'t respond to you anymore."

"We need something new to stimulate us… Someone that won\'t disappoint us." Winthrope added as he clenched his hands

"That was why, despite meeting them for little time, you gave them an everlasting impression."

"And thus, with just a bit more of a push, it wouldn\'t be difficult to turn that impression into adoration, respect, and trust, the hardest things for any ruler to acquire from their people."

"Not to say, you got the support from our strong, the Raiders let by Sarferato because not only you displayed bravery and strength in battle, you are the current wielder of their Legendary Symbol, Caladgolg."

"I wouldn\'t be surprised if you already possessed other means to claim legitimacy over them." He said with a chuckle as Dale\'s expression turned dark

Because he did have that… He was in possession of the Southern Imperial Sigil…

"To top it all, you are a Noble birth, though what kind of pedigree you have, however, that does not matter." He added as he shook his head

"Even if you were not, it wouldn\'t have changed what\'s to come, but it further solidifies it."

At this point, Dale didn\'t need to hear it anymore, he already understood loud and clear what Winthrope was previously talking about, including his own perspective on the matter.

But he didn\'t stop him from talking, there was no need to do so in the first place.

The more he knew about the man who would actually manage Resko, the better.

"Then… We return to the question at hand."

"To gather all into a single cohesive group, there\'s a need for one to rise and lead all to prosperity, a shining beacon."

Touching his own chest, Winthrope said as he shook his head.

"I cannot be said person, I\'m not Charismatic enough nor do we have the time to grow it, hence my reason for only staying as a Governor for a year."

"Someone needs to rise to the position, to become the true Monarch, I may claim such Title for now, but without the support of all Pillars that constitute Resko, that is nothing but a clown hat."

"I can only pave the foundation."

"All of this, your words and the idea of bringing the Monarchy… Wasn\'t this your way of officially taking over the city?" Winthrope asked as his expression sharpened

"..."

\'It does looks like I planned for this but that\'s also a rather forced way of looking at the situation.\'

\'I didn\'t act with this as my end goal, I did it for the sake of our necessities at the time and for the sake of the people... But this isn\'t bad either, as long as he doesn\'t talk about this with others in the future.\'

"... In one fell swoop, you now have the fate of an entire region in your hands, the dream of many Nobles of the past, something many tried but failed."

"The only thing left is for you to take the Crown."

"That earned you my respect, there\'s nothing I can do to stop it, in fact, the more I heard about you the more I feared this very possibility."

"It would all but take your word… A word and you would put yourself in the center position…"

"It was selfish of me… I wished to maintain the old ways but… That isn\'t what we need, and the Kahler household doesn\'t have that running in our blood either."

"Sometimes I wondered if there would be any space in this City\'s future with the way things were going but… You suggested the Monarchy."

"So I concede, and offer it to you, the Crown, everything, in exchange for your cooperation and a promise, to never give up on this city…"

"Despite it never belonging to me, and the fact the Crown does not technically belong to anyone either, someone has to take it, and who else but me, the descendent of the Kahler and Campbell households?"

"This may all look… Superfluous to you, but the Monarch signifies way more than just a Title and a position for the people."

"Like the broken Church that served no actual function and the unfulfilled promises I gave the people in the past, it gives them hope."

"And in the far… Far future, if the chance ever arises… When the people from afar question your existence…"

"Then you can raise your head and proclaim yourself as a rightful ruler without fear."

"You may have thought me as a fool for the way I spoke before, for putting that much emphasis on my name, but we need to look far away, into the eventual time when Resko will open its gates to the outside."

"Inneviately, if you wish for it or not, they will judge you based on their rules… What will you do then?"

"Even you do everything right, even if we follow every single rule there is… For all I know, the rules might\'ve changed to the point even all of our preparations turn this Monarchy into a self-proclaimed one and not the re-establishment of a past one."

"It looks all the same but one is treason and the other is a glorious act, to be commemorated."

"In the end, it is but a faraway problem…"

\'I may not even be here by then.\'

"So… Going back to your question, what gave it away?" Winthrope asked with a small smile

"Everything."

"..."

\'He makes it sound as if I was the leader of a Cult or something…\'

\'But… I did have the intention of taking control of Resko from the beginning, to monopolize it…\'

\'I just didn\'t expect things to follow this route.\'

\'To be the Monarch of Resko... To be the Lord of a City is usually the highest and final stop during a specific\'s region Reputation Quest.\'

\'Like becoming the Head of a starter Village, there are tens of thousands of players competing with one another to take over those positions right now as I\'m here.\'

\'But at this rate, it seems I\'ll be the first to take the Crown, even if only many months later.\'

\'The future of Azimuth lies in the hands of the players who will slowly have their influence seep everywhere, so before that happens, I have to seep in mine and clog those cracks.\'

\'But there\'s one thing he hasn\'t addressed yet... A topic he\'s avoiding.\'

\'If he wishes to make me the Monarch... Then he has to legitimize it with... Marriage.\'

Dale\'s expression turned sour.

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Notes

This is it for this interaction, starting next chapter we\'ll meet with someone else and hopefully end that interaction there as well.

As I said, I\'m trying to make this work more dynamic by cutting the interactions between characters a little.

In this one for example I would have Dale converse with Winthrope over that subject for likely a bit more before leaving, ending that subject there.

But I was now thinking of jumping that conversation and showing Dale\'s reactions, maybe he\'ll also avoid the topic.

I\'m experimenting.

Peace!