Chapter 48: Dreams Of A Kingdom

Everyone in the room fell quiet. They believed in Victor but declaring to establish a kingdom was something that made Victor's loyal commanders a tiny bit skeptical. Taking the initiative Duke Cassell was the first to speak.

"My grandson what you desire is something that many people have tried and failed. There has not been a kingdom on the Bulgar continent in over 2 centuries. Now I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you crush the Grand Duchy of Maximillian. How do you think the other grand duchies will feel when you declare your intentions to rule the continent?"

Duke Cassell was right in his doubt. Assuming Victor took the territories of the Grand Duchy of Maximillian he would only control the bottom third of the continent. There were still 6 dukedoms, a marquisate and 2 grand duchies left that would oppose Victor and his rising kingdom. 

"You are right grandfather it is a dangerous dream, that leads down a thorny path, but when I take over the Grand Duchy of Maximillian we can cross that bridge when we get there," Victor replied calmly.

Victor's calmness did not reassure anyone, but regardless of their feelings, they still needed to think about what to do with the Maximillian family. At this point, they could only prepare for war and react accordingly to how the Maximillian family moved.

The meeting proved to be unproductive, although they discussed how they would respond in certain situations and listened to Victor's pipe dream of creating a kingdom, nothing fruitful was produced. 

After the meeting, Victor was faced with some downtime. With nothing planned for the afternoon, Victor chose to use the Fertility Boosting Pill that he had in his inventory. In his study, Victor took a moment to mentally prepare for the pain he was about to receive from taking this pill.

Swallowing the small pill, Victor sat in his chair awaiting the impending pain. At first, there was nothing, no tingling sensation, no numbness or anything. Suspicious of the lack of pain, Victor sat in his chair in silence, expecting for the pain to increase at any second. 

A few minutes had passed and nothing had happened. Thinking he had escaped such torment Victor stood up and went to leave the study. After a few steps Victor was about to open his study door, but an instant and sharp pain began to torture Victor's nether region. 

Nauseous and in tears Victor collapsed to the ground in excruciating pain. For minutes that felt like hours, Victor violently squirmed on the floor of his study while his consciousness wavered. At one point Victor was praying for death, that is how horrific the pain was.

10 minutes had passed and the pain finally ceased. Deflated and mentally fatigued, Victor spent an hour in the fetal position. Sebastian opened the study door and came in to report something to Victor, but proceeded to find him in such a peculiar position. Not saying anything Sebastian slowly exited the study despite Victor calling out to him.

Not sure if the pill worked successfully Victor realised that finding out would be a lot harder than he thought. He had only been married to Clarisse for a single day and all they had ever done was kiss at their wedding ceremony. It would take some time to get to know Clarisse properly, but Victor had grown used to the idea of her as his wife. 

A few months had passed and now it was the 2nd anniversary of Victor's ascension to the Duke of Luxenberg. Unlike the grand party that was held for his 1st anniversary, this time around there was no celebration or party.

During the months since his wedding, Victor had been focused on continuing to improve his larger territory. With a new dukedom and marquisate added to his realm, there was lots to do. Improving the roads and developing more villages was an immediate priority. Maintained roads and better villages would quickly improve the quality of life for the citizens.

Farmlands would need to be further developed to increase food production so the Grand Duchy of Luxenberg could feed all its people. Apart from the improvement of the basic necessities in the region, the were other sectors that Victor and his advisors focused on.

Leaving the military matters to Marshal Soult and Generals Bertrand and Rapp, Victor began to focus on expanding his influence. This was done through the use of his diplomats and merchants.

Victor sent his diplomats to deal with the other dukedoms on the continent. Through the skill of the Luxenberg diplomats, relations with the other dukedoms had risen. They were not considered friends of the Grand Duchy of Luxenberg but were amicable peers who had no outstanding issues or hostility. 

The summoned merchants were able to join other local merchant guilds and work to not only improve commerce in Hannover but also spread the name of Victor Luxenberg abroad. Going to the Asharan for trade, the summoned merchants while working were able to spread Victor's exploits to anyone keen to hear about the current landscape of the Bulgar Continent.

While things in the territory were progressing, so was the relationship between Clarisse and Victor. The married couple's relationship was able to grow slowly and steadily. Eating multiple meals together and sharing a bed, the 2 of them were able to bond and truly get to know each other.

On the night of Victor's 2nd anniversary, the couple and Veronica shared a meal with Marshal Soult, Florence, Sebastian and a few of the other close administrators. It was a calm and friendly setting where Victor's inner circle were able to celebrate his anniversary.

Cheers and chatter filled the dining room that Victor was so often let out of as a kid. Now he had a wife, his sister and many close subordinates to enjoy life with. After the celebratory dinner, Victor and Clarisse retired to their bedroom.

"Congratulations on your 2nd anniversary, my dear," Clarisse said warmly as the couple got into bed. Victor with a gentle smile said, "Thank you Clarisse, today was enjoyable. I am happy to have you as my wife." Blushing at his kindness Clarisse leaned in and kissed him.

Startled by such affection from his wife who had not kissed him since their wedding, Victor was unsure of how to act. He wanted to be affectionate with his wife but was nervous of forcing himself upon her. Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he decided to reciprocate Clarisse's affection with his own.

From then onwards was a long and passionate night for the young married couple.