Chapter 28

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Chapter 28: King’s Torment

At the age of sixteen, Leader One already had a well-thought-out plan to take over the throne.

The original plan was to take action in 1848, as it was a great opportunity to leverage the situation. Leader One had been developing his personal army, wealth, influence, and support from all levels over a long period of time.

If the original plan had been followed, Leader One would have become a true king after seizing power, despite some potential influence from the 1848 Revolution. He would have been a monarch with real power, armies, and wealth.

However, the plan was executed prematurely, thirteen years ahead of schedule. Leader One’s personal power was still immature. He had to compromise with various levels of society to come to power and ended up as a prince regent instead of a king.

As a prince regent, Leader One theoretically wielded real power just like a king but had to satisfy the interests of all levels of society and fulfill the promises made before the coup. Otherwise, the parliament and military could find ways to remove him.

If Leader One made everyone happy, they would be willing to let him continue ruling. The king at Hohenzollern Castle would always be protected.

During the reign of Leader One’s father, the former king, he held absolute power over all social classes. He did as he pleased and everyone had to please him. However, he was assassinated.

As the prince regent now, Leader One was not a puppet but no longer had the same absolute power as before. He had to keep those who supported his rise to power happy in order to retain their support.

After gaining recognition and true power, there were two ways for Leader One to gain legitimate authority. The first was to change the feudal system or establish a constitution and make himself the King of Prussia despite being low in the line of inheritance.

The second way was to skip becoming King of Prussia and instead lead Prussia to unite Germany as a prince regent, then directly become the German Emperor.

However, these were future plans. Leader One needed to first deal with the pressing issue at hand.

"Your Highness, where will you work and live in the future?"

Leader One only owned one place, the Estate of Brandenburg Prince-elector, which had already been transformed into the Prussian Academy of Sciences and Academy of Engineering.

With the king sick and Prince Wilhelm dead, their properties went to the Hohenzollern family. As a prince regent, Leader One could temporarily "borrow" some assets.

How much property does the Hohenzollern family have now? They own Mecklenburg, East and West Prussia, Danzig, Upper Silesia, Western Poland, Potsdam City, the Rhineland region, and a quarter of Cologne. Technically, these lands are considered the private property of the Hohenzollern family.

In reality, many of these lands have been granted to nobles or are managed by civilians. The Hohenzollern family can only collect taxes or grant unwanted lands to deserving individuals.

There are theoretically 1400 tons of silver and close to three tons of gold that belong to the Hohenzollern family, but in reality, they are kept in the treasury as reserves of precious metals. If these were misappropriated, it could spell disaster for Prussia.

Among the properties that Leader One can use are 55 castles and 470 manors scattered throughout the country.

Some castles are old and in disrepair, while most manors are large farms in the countryside.

There are only 19 royal gardens located in Potsdam and Berlin City that cover over 3 hectares.

Up until now, Leader One and Catherine have been living in a small apartment in the city, but now as prince regent, they need to find a more suitable place.

Leader One spread out a map of Berlin on the table.

"’Catherine, why don’t you choose a manor, I’ll give it to you as an inherited estate,’" Leader One said.

"Catherine casually picked one and said, ‘Let’s go with this one.’"

Frederick’s Field Palace in the southeast outskirts of Berlin covers an area of 55 square kilometers, surrounded by wasteland and forests. In 1835, Berlin wasn’t very large, but in the future, this area might be included in the city.

Leader One picked up the family’s property catalog and turned to this page.

"This is a palace built by Frederick the Great for his children. Since Frederick the Great had no heirs, no one has lived in this palace. Inside, there are 900 paintings from the Renaissance period, over 200 antiques, and a ton of silver. All of these are now yours, so let’s rename it Bittenfeld Palace."

Catherine took the deed and asked, "How about renaming it Redel-Catherine Palace?"

Leader One thought for a moment and replied, "It’s up to you. This land will forever belong to your family."

Catherine suggested, "Why not continue living with me, Your Highness? I can be your close protector."

Leader One never used force against others, so many people didn’t know he was actually a very powerful Magic Energy Knight. After all, he used to be with Gneisenau in the past.

Catherine and the other eleven Magic Energy Knights served as Leader One’s bodyguards. If anything really happened, it was likely that Leader One would protect his bodyguards.

"Let it go, don’t mention protecting me again," said Leader One with a smile.

Catherine said, "Your Highness, you promised to pass down this palace to me, but now you’re changing your mind."

Leader One replied, "How am I changing my mind? I did promise it to you for generations. If your descendants can’t keep it, that’s not my concern."

Catherine, "How can I inherit if you don’t let me have a child?"

Leader One, "Then have one."

Catherine, "How can I do it alone?"

In this small apartment in the city center of Berlin, the dark wood panels and wallpaper, along with a simple brazier fireplace, create a warm atmosphere, but a chilling intent to kill is spreading.

Leader One felt something was wrong, he wanted to run, but was grabbed by the neck and fell on the bed.

Catherine was skilled at killing, she had slaughtered all of Leader One’s "descendants", this wicked woman.

Three hours later… Leader One seized the opportunity and ran out of the bedroom, hiding in a corner of the sofa.

Catherine approached with a satisfied smile on her face.

"One more time."

"I refuse, you cannot treat me like an animal, I am a prince regent after all."

"One more time tonight, Your Highness… hehehe."

"No."

"Stop talking nonsense, hurry, come into the room with me."

The following several hours were filled with inhumane torture. Leader One, who used to boast about himself as a hero, encountered Catherine, the queen of torture.

Catherine had a stunning figure and charming beauty. Being a Magic Energy Knight with incredible resilience, she could become fanatically devoted to the things and people she liked.

Leader One was the person she liked, and doing things with Leader One was what she enjoyed the most. Double the love meant double the fanaticism, which brought relentless torment to Leader One.

"Let’s discuss and try to be more moderate, shall we?"

"Then Your Highness can stay with me from now on, and we can go visit the Redel-Catherine Palace together."

"Ah…okay."