The day after Alfonso announced that he would fight to the end, the British sent a high-profile mission.

The leader was none other than the British Foreign Minister, the Earl of Granville, and Alfonso's good friend, Crown Prince Edward, whom he had not seen for a long time.

But they are not the most conspicuous, the fleet that comes to escort is.

In order to "protect His Royal Highness", Britain dispatched a formation of 16 warships, six of which were ironclad ships completed in recent years.

When they appeared in the harbor of Oviedo, even the illiterate dock workers sensed the threat involved.

It stands to reason that at such a time, you should send your own fleet to escort the convoy to show that you are "not weaker than others".

But on the one hand, the Spanish fleet was in the Mediterranean, and on the other hand, there was really no need to compete with the British navy.

It is no joke that the military spending of the Navy is equal to 80% of the sum of the next four countries.

So the only people who came to greet Edward were Foreign Minister Cruze and a group of Foreign Ministry officials, and there were no ships to accompany them, and even the soldiers only came with a guard of honor.

In addition, the port of Oviedo also set aside an area for British warships to anchor and send supplies just right.

If the British have bad intentions, they will be able to take it without much effort.

Such a clear show of weakness was very satisfying to the British, and at least showed that Spain still maintained respect for Britain after the easy defeat of Italy.

The only person who wasn't happy about this was Prince Edward, who looked embarrassed as he watched his navy take over some of the docks' defenses.

Edward and Alfonso had always had a good relationship, and although the correspondence was infrequent, it was never broken, usually once every two or three months.

In his vision, this is him bullying the neighbor's little brother with a bunch of horses.

He was tempted to say something to Cruze to show that he had no ill intentions, but the Earl of Granville stopped him with a look.

Edward could only use small talk to lighten the mood.

He couldn't help it, although he was nominally leading the visit, but it was Granville who was actually in charge.

Just like Britain, the power of the government is greater than that of the royal family, and if it were all done according to the will of the royal family, perhaps Britain and Russia would have merged into one country long ago.

……

A day and a half later, at two o'clock in the afternoon on October 11, Alfonso met Eduard in the royal palace of Madrid, after a long absence.

It was evident that Edward wanted to rush up and give Alfonso a warm hug, but under the strong pressure of the Earl of Granville, he could only complete the routine of visiting the courtesy.

Edward did not find a chance to be alone with Alfonso.

In terms of status, the king of Spain is higher than the prince of England, so the reception is not done by Alfonso himself, he is just a meeting.

According to the principle of reciprocity, it should be received by members of the royal family, but the Spanish Bourbon is either too old or too young, and has no choice but to be sent by Foreign Minister Cruz and Prime Minister Adolf.

Edward was not interested in the upcoming activities such as visiting the estate and enjoying musicals, but was curious about Adolf, the leader of the Progressive Guards.

When he first heard about Adolf's deeds, he had fantasized that if he had such a subordinate, he would not do whatever he wanted. If anyone dares to interfere with his hobby, he will be sharked off with a word.

He would have liked to talk to the other party if he could, but the current occasion was completely inappropriate to discuss such a sensitive topic.

The British crown prince, in particular, should not show the slightest affection for this kind of thing and this kind of institution.

So halfway through the musical, Edward found an excuse to slip out, and based on his previous experience, the guards would not stop him.

After all, they should have thought about it when they brought themselves on a visit...... If he didn't fancy his personal relationship with Alfonso, why would he come?

Sure enough, Edward was able to break away from the British with ease, and under the guidance of the maid, he was finally able to be alone with Alfonso...... Nor is it solitude, because when he arrived in Alfonso's office, Prime Minister Campos was there.

"Edward."

Alfonso heard the door push and casually said hello.

“……”

After not hearing a response, Alfonso looked up in confusion - Edward was staring at him with blazing eyes.

Alfonso immediately understood what the other party meant, and when he was in Paris, he saw Edward calling him his brother.

But...... At this time and that time, I am now the king of Spain, how can I be depressed and live under the people for a long time?

And I'm 2 years older, past the age of a child!

Thinking of this, Alfonso lowered his head and continued to read the papers.

Seeing this, Edward didn't treat himself as an outsider, and sat directly on the sofa chair in front of the desk, holding his chin and looking at him quietly.

The scene fell into a subtle embarrassment for a while.

"Ahem." It was Campos who broke the silence with two coughs.

Seeing that both of them looked at each other, he hurriedly said: "Enrique (Minister of Finance) has something to report to me, and I will leave first." ”

Alfonso, of course, was noncommittal.

...... "slam" the door slammed, and the atmosphere in the room relaxed.

Alfonso no longer pretended to read the papers, and he said helplessly to Edward: "Tell me what's going on, I'm busy." ”

was secretly dissed, Edward was not annoyed, he smiled: "I haven't seen you for two years, just follow the diplomatic corps to come and see you?" ”

"You may have this idea, but the British government will certainly not agree to it, you are definitely here for business." Alfonso said mercilessly.

"Okay then." Edward nodded: "Then I'll be blunt, how is the rainbow octopus?" ”

"......" Alfonso, who was still waiting to discuss Italian affairs, couldn't help but roll his eyes, but after thinking about it, he said: "It's okay, the record has been good."

But after all, it's a 4-year-old middle-aged and elderly horse, and I'm thinking about ...... last few races."

"Sell it?"

"Change careers and become stallions." Alfonso said.

"Good idea." Edwards said, "Otherwise, if you sell it, I will ask for a penny." ”

"What can't be sold for a price, it's worth more than 10,000 pounds at most now, and it's mine to give it to me." Alfonso said lightly: "It's as if you're short of money, you spent 20,000 pounds to bet on Spain's victory before, and you made a lot of money." ”

This time it was Edward's turn to be a little surprised, this gamble was a gamble within a small circle of their nobles, how did Alfonso know?

He thought about it carefully, and he couldn't remember who had any connection to Spain.

"Progressive Guard spies?" Edward probed.

"Guess." Alfonso had an unfathomable expression.

------Off topic------

Water the everyday, lest you say that the protagonist does not exist.

If you don't want to see it, you can bring it up