Pirate Kingship-Chapter 767 - 490: Wild Hunt King, Offense and Defense Reversed (Part 2)

Isabella knew time was of the essence. After expressing her gratitude, she immediately called for her trusted attendant and discreetly issued a series of orders.

The faction headquarters centered around the Burgos Cathedral sprang into action. Even through the projection, one could feel the sudden onset of a tense war atmosphere on the other side.

It seemed like they were planning a preemptive strike before Puppet King Louis could act out desperately.

After everything was arranged, Isabella glanced again at Byron, followed by Jeanne Don Quixote and her group of People of Castilia, and after a brief pause, she once more spoke:

"I must thank you for your 'care' for Miss Don Quixote, the knights of the Order of Bitter Knights, and the Debo siblings.

I will pay your 'hard work fee' via an account on Online Financial Street.

Can they leave now?"

This is what professionalism is all about.

The basic skill of a competent politician is to lie with a straight face, turning 'ransom' into a hard work fee, while not mentioning the loss of the Treasure Fleet, ensuring everyone's dignity remains intact.

Byron nodded with a smile:

"Anytime."

He had no desire to risk offending all factions of the Kingdom of Castilia and even a Kingdom's Guardian, Boat King of Barcelona, to keep these people here.

He might as well do a favor by letting them go back and continue their deadly struggle with Puppet King.

He was their 'savior.' There was no need to worry about them turning against him in the future.

Before parting, Byron glanced at the back of Knight Isaac from the Order of Bitter Knights and suddenly asked Isabella casually:

"Your Royal Highness the Princess, if I may, what do you plan to do with the loan from the Order of Knights?

I happen to have a substantial amount of idle funds. If the project return rate is good, maybe I could also invest.

I guess it shouldn't be for your wedding with His Majesty Ferdinand II of the Kingdom of Aragon, right?"

Ever since he discovered the other's little secret, he had been curious about the specific use of this loan.

With The First Stock Certificate at hand, using Castilian money to invest in a potential throne stock of Castilia was surely not going to be a loss.

If the other party indeed ascends to the throne, drawing blindly from the Castilian Treasury would certainly be profitable.

But Isabella shook her head:

"Thank you for your generosity, but as a Cardinal Bishop, my marriage to Fernando is already an exception, everything is kept simple and will not be extravagant.

Setting an example for the devout believers of both Kingdom of Castilia and Kingdom of Aragon."

At this time, church theory technically prohibited clergy from marrying.

But the prohibition had been turmoil for hundreds of years, and the desires of clergy remained hard to suppress, with those breaking the vows outnumbering those keeping them.

A certain Pope once thought to resolve the growing desire and the conflict with not-so-devout faith, marriages were forbidden but keeping mistresses and boys could be allowed.

Even a special tax for clergy called "mistress tax" was introduced.

And to prevent tax evasion, it was collected from every clergy member, regardless of whether they kept mistresses or boys.

It solved the problem while expanding the finances, very satisfying.

But it also indirectly proved that the True God The Bound Creator had not turned his gaze upon the Mortal World, or else he would first slap these 'demons.'

By a few hundred years later, the command banning marriage had almost become a mere formality, especially for those clergy who made significant contributions and received papal approval.

Saint Isabella was one of them.

In the aftermath of the Dark Millennium, as church power quickly waned, and as an unprecedented major shift was about to occur,

The Holy See of the Saint Peter Cathedral was happy to see a deeply devout Sequence Extraordinary seize more power.

As for the real purpose of the loan, Isabella was clearly unwilling to say more.

Even if she was magnanimous about the Treasure Fleet being hijacked, being able to calmly communicate with Byron now was already a testament to her exceptional temperament.

If she were King, by now, she would have already ordered a fleet to wipe out the Pirates.

Finally, she only forced a smile:

"For now, my funds are still sufficient. If I need financing, I will carefully consider applying for 'your' financial support..."

Before she finished speaking, she suddenly turned her head to look outside the cathedral, her expression slightly changing:

"Has a battalion of City Guards arrived? Has something happened to Enrique, or has Louis already acted?"

Through the projection, Byron couldn't see what was happening but could hear the increasing noise and screams.

Guessing that most likely Puppet King's forces attempting a sneak attack collided head-on with the Crown Princess's forces, who were also preparing for a sneak attack, and they immediately started fighting.

Clearly at this moment Isabella no longer had time to chat idly with Byron, the pirate leader, and immediately cut off communications.

Yet at the last moment, Byron heard the crisp sound of a flute and several loud... dragon roars!

The Sailing Logbook and Divine Sight connection allowed him to vaguely 'see' the last scene on the opposite side with his own ears.

It seemed that Isabella had a mythical era relic, a Dragon Flute, in her hand.

At this point, Byron finally understood what this Crown Princess secretly borrowed money to do:

"Bribing an Ancient Dragon Soul with money, using a Dragon Flute to forge a giant dragon army, playing as... Dragon Mother? 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

What an impressive feat, what formidable assets!"