The Romantic Trials Of A Transmigrated Empress-Chapter 385: On this, he was determined.

Sigrid was not yet convinced and Roland could see that. "Do you like my father’s idea?"

"I am not against it." She answered, without looking up. "And I say this knowing that my family will stand against it. Nobles with armies are a threat to the crown. When they unite, they are just as powerful as we are." She popped a slice of berry in her mouth, grimacing at the extra sweetness. "We should consider centralizing power." freёnovelkiss-com

Roland let go of her hand and grabbed a hold of a spoon. "Sigrid, the idea is attractive and warrants great thought but empires are run on reality. The reality is that noble houses without private armies are houses without teeth. They become commoners with titles and lose their abilities to be pillars of defense for the empire."

Sigrid thought about the democratic world she had come from. Power was in the hands of the president and there was one army. Everyone else was a commoner, rich or connected.

She tilted her head, curious. "Do you want to know why I am in support of the idea more than why I am against it?"

Roland flipped his hand upwards for a second, "Color me intrigued."

"Before your father took the throne, there was a war and he was losing. In order to win, he went to your mother’s family and groveled at the feet of your grandfather for help." She dropped the fork and picked up a slice of pizza by hand. "Grovelled Roland. Maybe I should repeat it one more time. Grovelled.

He knelt and begged the De-Kensington’s to send their army to overwhelm his brothers and in return, he would marry your mother, make her queen and make the house of De-Kensington powerful.

But the act of being forced to kneel before another man and beg stayed with him. He hated your grandfather, your mother and inevitably you and your brothers that have De-Kensington blood."

Galen threw a small towel to the ground. "So all these years we spent wondering what we could have done to him that was so bad that he denied us his affection and presence, the answer was that he knelt at the feet of our grandfather!"

"Yes," She confirmed.

Galen was in disbelief. "So he blames us for what he did willingly!"

"Yes." She confirmed again.

Galen laughed.

Roland did not care for the reasons anymore, he just wanted Sigrid to understand the importance of houses having knights. "Sigrid, there are places where the royal army does not reach or reaches late. Places where lawlessness thrives. Sometimes, we even have small insurrections that go nowhere because they are stopped in time. This is because privately trained knights of noble families nearby stop them. Those knights are not ornaments, they are trained for a purpose."

Sigrid studied Roland’s eyes. They burned not with defiance but loyalty. He was loyal to the nobles just as most were loyal to him. "If we increase the size of the army and the police, we can cover all those areas."

"It does not change a thing." He increased his voice a little, seeking to drive the point home. "Nobles earn their titles by making contributions to the empire. Many of these houses have been spines in war. When the royal treasury is empty, they fund the war, provide food and other resources.

When Medoris attacked Eldoria during my grandfather’s reign, the royal army was centralized here in the capital and in boarder towns. The outer keeps? They were guarded by household knights, If not for them, we would all be Medorians now. Eldoria would have been swallowed."

Sigrid put the pizza slice down. She had not yet bothered to bite into it. With a frown, she asked, "Doesn’t it ever worry you that they will turn their swords against the crown?"

Roland nodded seriously. "Of course I worry. It is a valid fear that every man that sits on the throne has. Sometimes, I wake up at night, go out and stand in a watchtower and look out at the city wondering which nobles are sitting together and plotting the downfall of the ruling house of Maximus.

But, fear does not rule, I do. Disarming loyal houses out of hypothetical paranoia is my father’s way of leadership and it invites real disaster. Be honest, my father lost the loyalty of the Thorin house when he forced your grandfather to hand over his military power and disband the Thorin army. If our marriage was not a great one, I sometimes think that your family would have moved to Medoris or grown treasonous thoughts."

Mauve gasped.

A servant dropped a plate.

Galen just looked back and forth between the couple. He could not tell if they were fighting or having a civilized conversation.

Roland spoke while tapping a fork on a plate, "Noble houses are deterrents. Without deterrents, outside forces grow bold. Rebellion isn’t born from strength--it breeds in weakness and neglect."

Sigrid pushed a slice of bread to the corner of the plate that he was still tapping, making an irritating clanking. "For me, all I hear is that war is inevitable."

Roland sighed sadly, "It always is--for someone. But, my belief is that as long as we are always prepared, we have a winning chance. The royal army is just one army, if we rely on a single blade, we invite calamity the day that blade shatters."

Galen decided to add to the wise words of his brother. "If the nobles are stripped of their little power and lose their loyalty to the crown, their houses will not send their children to join the royal army. They will not open their resources to us. When war comes, rather than defending the empire, they will be looking for safety in neighboring kingdoms. We risk falling if they don’t stand with us."

"This is why even the emperors of the most powerful and developed empires everywhere still maintain the tradition of noble houses and their private armies. It is not for their sake, it is for our benefit." Roland shared his last words on the subject.

The subject was heavy and the discussion, intense. Some of the servants that overheard it all had to wipe sweat. They half expected the crown prince to break something when he was explaining.

Silence reigned. Sigrid looked at Roland and he looked at her. She was wondering what to get him for his birthday. He was wondering if this was the last of this subject.

He also hoped that she would not go around his back and bring the matter to the public or introduce it during any kind of meeting with the nobles.

This idea had to die, whether it was proposed by her or the king.

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