In the absence of references, the painter had to turn to the king himself for help. They are husband and wife and know each other best.

As he walked into the studio, Henderson saw Elaine.

It was a very delicate woman, not strictly pretty, but with extremely white and even translucent soft skin. The round face is a little baby fat and looks cute. She was wearing a long pink dress at the time, which was rough in texture and workmanship, but it matched her overall temperament. Henderson walked straight into the studio without letting the guards pass it on, and Elaine, holding the palette and brushes, was at a loss, rather embarrassed and panicked. That kind of embarrassment and a subtle look with a hint of female reserve made Henderson instantly fascinated.

He suddenly forgot about the portrait of his deceased wife and asked Elaine if she could finish a work featuring herself as a model in five minutes.

In front of the king, she thinned the pigment with a large amount of toning oil in black and red, and presented Henderson's image on canvas with watercolor techniques.

The composition is simple and accurately captures the characteristics of the individual. Henderson looked at himself in the painting in a daze, a little obsessed.

He still remembers every detail of that day, including every word he said.

"I'd like to see this work."

She just drew it seriously. Every movement is beautiful, and every stroke is incomparably vivid. Henderson stared at her so infatuatedly that he couldn't speak, and he couldn't find any words to describe the amazement in his eyes.

Elaine is also in love with Henderson. She knew that he was the king, but she did not devote herself to this love because of the other party's status. She sensed something strange in Henderson's fiery gaze...... To be honest, she was frightened at the time, but she quickly adjusted her mentality and continued to draw Henderson, who was far less fat than she is now, but at best sturdy and handsome.

During the first kiss, Henderson felt himself short of breath. It was a wonderful feeling he had never had with his deceased wife. The kiss at that time was hard, like two pieces of soft flesh that had nothing to do with each other. But unlike the kiss between Elaine, she is more active in the process, and it can even be said to be rough. She always held Henderson's face very hard, as if he was the most precious treasure in the world, and he would not leave for a second.

The kiss was so long that Henderson, as a king, trembled, lost all his dignity and reserve, and could not keep a clear head and restraint, but could only accept it with reluctance and joy, and enjoy the infinite pleasure that followed.

People who are deeply trapped in the whirlpool of love always feel that all flowers bloom only for them, the sun will always cover them, there will be no haze in the sky, as long as they love each other, there is no difficulty that cannot be overcome.

One is a king, the other is a commoner, and there is no good ending between them. The more intense the love, the more painful it becomes, and they must face the harsh reality.

At that time, Calis's father was still alive. The old duke has an extremely persistent loyalty to the royal family. The scandal between the king and the painter spread inside and outside the court, and Henderson was too young and vigorous to listen to anyone's admonitions, and was bent on taking Elaine as his wife. The Queen Mother was so angry that she was about to go crazy, and the rest of the royal family also commented on it, believing that the King's move was offensive and beyond the normal "aristocratic game".

Of course, it's not a problem to like commoner women, and it's okay to play occasionally, but if someone like Henderson is determined to upgrade "Toy" to "Queen", then he will touch the red line of the aristocratic circle and will be opposed by everyone.

For the first time in his life, Henderson wanted to exercise his "power as king." He intends to challenge the entire noble circle for Elaine. Young people are always so flamboyant and wild, energetic and driven, whoever dares to stop me, I will kill whomever I want.

Elaine is dead.

She was wearing that long pink dress and lying tightly on the bank of the river. Two days after the disappearance, he was finally found, and the whole person had been soaked in the river until it was swollen, and the baby's fat face looked more round. She looked serene, with two visible strangulation marks on her neck, and a few gnawing marks on her exposed legs and feet, which were dried by rats and fish and shrimp...... For them, the dead soaked in the river are food.

When he heard the news, the only consciousness in Henderson's brain was "revenge".

He roared out of the bedroom like a madman, shouting and shouting to gather the guards, no shoes, running up and down the hallway barefoot, only to find no response.

As if by magic, the guards turned a deaf ear to the king's cries, and turned a blind eye to his actions, and even the captain of the guard, who had heard the news, stood with bated breath in the middle of the exit, as if a statue had deliberately blocked it.

"I am the king, and I command you to find the murderer!"

The Queen Mother hurried over, slapped Henderson in the face, and angrily reprimanded: "For the sake of a commoner, you are willing to degenerate." Don't forget, you're the king! ”

Henderson covered his swollen and aching face and glared at him, he didn't dare to turn his face with his mother, but he understood why the guards refused to obey the call. Instead, he stumbled to the nearest guard, reaching for the arquebus that the man was carrying on his shoulder.

"Arrest him!" The aged Queen Mother rebuked again, and at her order, the captain of the guard and the soldiers took Henderson's arm and locked him in a small cramped room.

For two whole days, Henderson stayed inside without eating or drinking.

The Queen Mother would come to see him every day and tell Henderson something.

It was she who made the Duke of Calis kill Elaine. The old duke was the most loyal to the royal family, and was equally angry at the fact that the commoners had bewitched the king. In order to guarantee the purity of the royal blood, the commoner painter had to die.

"You can disobey me, but you have to understand who made you have everything you have now. Henderson, you've let me down so much, but I think you can save it. If you can change your mind and discard those unrealistic thoughts, you will still be a king. ”

Henderson understood the subtext of his mother's words. That means that there is a high probability that the crown will be in someone else's hands. It's no surprise at all: she's a powerful fertility machine...... I'm sorry, but this statement is extremely disrespectful to the Queen Mother, but it is Henderson's true thoughts. If she feels that she is not suitable, she can replace herself and choose one of her many sons to sit on the throne.

Henderson chose to give in.

After all...... Elaine is dead.

He later discovered that the so-called "power of the king" was just a joke. There are so many things that I can't control, and my control over the country is far less secure than I think.

The most obvious example of this is the military. The influence of the Calis family was deeply rooted in every corner of the kingdom's army. Whether the current duke or the old duke, they are a living sign in the Rhine army. Almost all the generals were the students of the old duke, and they could refuse to obey the king's orders, but they took to heart the duke's casual orders and carried them out without discount.

This is not a fantasy, but a scary, serious reality.

The Queen Mother finally died.

The night after the funeral, Henderson was alone in his bedroom, drinking two bottles of fine wine in one sitting.

"Mother" is supposed to be a warm and kind title, but her possessiveness and desire for control of power is too strong. Looking at the white and round moon outside the window, Henderson, who was drunk and hazy, suddenly felt the wrinkled face of the Queen Mother appear on the surface of the moon.

With a satisfied smile, he raised his glass and saluted, "Goodbye, you damn slut......"

Little by little, Henderson took back control of the kingdom. He did it very secretively and with great patience. Instead of starting directly from the top of the military, they turned their attention to business and civil affairs, gradually weakening the influence of the Calis family by constantly cutting military spending under reasonable pretexts. Henderson, on the other hand, stepped up the promotion of junior officers. He personally assumed the post of director of the Military Academy, and ensured that he personally bestowed honours on the officers and warmly invited them to the royal dinner...... With the death of the old duke and the succession of young Calis, the king finally had his own forbidden army in the army, rather than the impostor who had the name of the forbidden army but would not obey orders.

If you want to get, you have to give.

All of this going on in the shadows needs to be hidden, and Henderson isn't sure what the Calis family would do if they knew about their plans. As a result, he became a profligate from a very early age, eating and drinking, and mingling with different women every day.

Only fat people and waste do not go unnoticed. And it's not enough to just be waste, the saying "invincible appearance" has existed since the era of civilization. Henderson is a handsome man, and if he wants to radically reduce the importance of his opponents, he will have to make a fundamental change. His method is simple———— eat desperately and try to gain weight.

500 figs, 100 garden birds (roasted), 1/2 garlic roasted lamb shank, double foie gras, unique southern bay pie, apple pie, six different cheese flavors, a basket of grapes, more than three kinds of wine......

Obese people always give the impression of being "stupid". Henderson managed to do just that. He had gained weight until he had gained more than 160 kilograms, and his chair had been crushed several times by his abnormal weight, and then he felt about the same, and he switched to eating in a normal way.

Of course, according to the criteria after obesity.

No one takes a fat person seriously, especially a fat person who has a silly smile on his face all day and switches to food no matter what he talks about.

Although he is the king.

The effort has finally paid off, at least for now, if the Duke of Calis wants to send troops against the northern giants, he must get the king's own consent. Otherwise, even if he and his family had a huge influence in the army, they would not be able to do so. Henderson had the financial power firmly in his hands, and he was completely in control of how many troops he could send.

The Rhine is a powerful country. Don't say it's a million troops, even if this number doubles, there will never be a problem with logistical supply.

As for the argument that other kingdoms took advantage of the situation and attacked the Rhine while the war situation in the north was stable, it is even more of a joke. Henderson calculated that even if all the current regular army in the country was wiped out, he would have enough money to recruit enough men to form a new force in a week.

The fighting power of the new army is certainly not as strong as that of the veterans, but it is superior in numbers, and the ants bite the elephants to death.

All of these things are secrets exclusive to Henderson. He set up a secret vault outside of the treasury. This is through profits generated outside of normal taxation. For example, the interception of goods, the addition of new taxes, and the construction of underground commercial networks.

Among them was Elizabeth's comptoir.

Carlis knew nothing about it, and Henderson would never share these secrets with him.

He is my enemy!

Your father killed the woman I love the most.

Although Henderson had no affection for his current wife, he still fulfilled his duties as husband and king. For the former, Henderson gave care and attention, at least to maintain a harmonious relationship between the two parties, and also had a child, that is, the crown prince Mokell.

For the latter, Henderson poured all his affection into Mokell. He's my son, and I'll probably have one heir in my life.

Obesity comes with a lot of bad negative effects. Many years ago, Henderson noticed that his health had deteriorated dramatically. It may be severe fatty liver disease, or it may be various complications caused by too much fat in the body. He was not afraid of this, because he had already prepared his mind. Henderson took his son with him and taught him how to be a good king, instilling in Morkael his past experiences, lessons, pains, joys, hatreds, and all that was good.

He felt like his time was running out.

The good news is that this kid has a strong character and is a person who never admits defeat. He worked hard to learn everything his father taught him and was able to understand his father's joys and sorrows. He was more distant from his mother and much closer to his father. Because he usually likes to wear black clothes, he is also known as the "Black Prince" within the court.

All of this today is also Henderson giving his son a lesson.

He hugged Mokel tightly, hugged the person he loved most in this life except Elaine, and muttered to himself: "My son, you must be strong, but you must also learn to cry when you are strong. You have to try and know what it means to cry. Remember this quote from me: a prince who does not shed tears will never be a good king. ”

……

Papal territory, capital, Gabriel, underground.

The Pope stood near the doorway of Laboratory Six, looking with interest at the man who had been immersed in the pool in the middle of the room.

Directly ahead, there were two rows of Holy Cult troops armed to the teeth. There were ten in each row, with one-handed round shields and spears in the front row, and arquebuses in the back. They were arranged in a standard battle formation, both muzzle and point, all aimed at the pool.