Chương 48: Get rid of my servants

"So, your majesty. What do you think about Napoleon Bonaparte?" Nancy asked as she made herself look as intellectual as possible. She was not really able to read; she didn't need to do so in her mind; her position was being a good wife and bringing to life healthy children for his husband.

"Napoleon… a person at the right time and place; after all, no matter how good he was, he would have never been able to ravage the deep of Russia. Just like me, if Napoleon had never destroyed Spain, we would have never been able to obtain power in South America. My family would still be a noble family of the Holy Roman Empire, fated to small nobility." Felipe said as he wondered what that would be.

"That is still impressive… I heard the roman empire was the most powerful." She said as she spurted what little she knew about it.

"I guess it is," Felipe said as he shook his head.

She looked at Felipe out the carriage window and began o think. She was desperately trying to find a way of taking his attention, yet nothing had worked.

Her biggest asset was her breasts; she understood all men lust for them. Yet, Felipe didn't look at them like how her father or his guest would.

'He said he doesn't like nobility… or Royalty… I have a chance.' Whenever she doubted herself, she remembered what she heard while spying on them. She remembered that Felipe said he was looking for something in a woman, the laughter after she left made it look like they were talking about her mature body. Still, she quickly realized that was not what he was looking for.

"Your majesty… what kind of woman would you consider good enough to be your wife?" She sent it. It was a question asked while she was with her father and the Governor inside a carriage. They were on the way to the city, and the horse ranch owner had a large enough carriage for him to sit comfortably.

Quincy understood the hidden meaning of things and decided to ride with the soldiers when the Young Lady agreed to ride with them.

"… Not spoiled," Felipe said as he smiled, enjoying her serious face trying to hide that she was mostly embarrassed.

"What does that mean exactly." She asked as she didn't chicken out from his direct view.

"She must be able to attend for herself. No need for servants to be able to take care of her children. For starters." Felipe said as he began to think about Maria, his latest conquest. Unconsciously, all her traits became a baseline for what he was willing to accept.

"What else?"

"She must know how to read and write; she must know math and current affairs of the world alongside having their own thoughts. Not just what they heard, but what they think." Felipe explained what he would like extra.

"A woman doesn't need to read, then they will get their head full of absurd ideas." The Governor said as he laughed at the end, thinking it was a joke.

"…" Felipe only lifted and lowered his eyebrows quickly, showing the incapability of being able to

respond to the Governor's remarks.

Nancy seeing that felt disheartened, not knowing if Felipe was playing with her, but she remembered her remarks when she was not there; Felipe was not lying.

"Father… can you please get rid of all my maids and slaves? I also want to learn about writing, reading, math and current world matters." Nancy said with all seriousness, not caring about the still-laughing Governor.

"… I can do that." He said as he looked at Felipe with some nervousness. His daughter was indeed spoiled, which is why she could be so bold in trying to get what she wanted, which was being Felipe's wife.

Felipe only nodded as he was quite impressed about that. She totally ignored the Governor, whose laughs were no longer loud small, and light as he basically laughed about the boldness of the young lady.

"What are your lickings?" She asked again as she unashamedly kept going.

"Writing would be my biggest hobby," Felipe said as he maintained constant eye contact with the young lady. "I have published multiple novels within my newspaper. They are few as I don't normally have the leisure to write them."

"Is that so? What do you like to write about?" She asked, interested, as there was nothing that he could do wrong in her eyes.

"Kings and successions, betrayals and romance. The Church has banned 4 of my 7 books that might give you an idea of their content."

"..." She opened her eyes with some concern.

"Indeed, there are a lot of critics of Your Majesty's books." The Governor said as he quickly changed the topic.

"Churches are led by men. Their own interpretation of god, and they have their own agenda. That is the only thing I don't like about them. I prefer churches when they are empty."

Felipe explained his opinion a bit.

"But, the pastors speak for god," Nancy said.

"We are all humans, even kings and emperors; they are all flawed. Like Napoleon, he invaded Russia, which lasted until the winter, killing his chances of European hegemony. Priests and pastors are all human, influenced by our same desires, and for more than we like to think they are perfect, they are not."

"…"

No one said anything as they all there had different thoughts about it.

"But my thoughts are mine and no one else's," Felipe said, not wanting to increase the religious tensions.

They had very large religious differences though Felipe did not care about them. After all, his family was first Orthodox before they were Catholics. Nonetheless, friction between Protestants and Catholics was marked by decades of wars and blood.

"Father, can you buy the books that his majesty has written? I want to read them." Nancy said as she made up her mind as she would have to support her future husband no matter what it was.

"..." John looked at Felipe as if he wanted to say no, but in the end, he looked at his daughter and quickly thought about it. "Sure, I can find them. That will help you learn how to read."

"Thank you, Daddy." She said with a smile.

Felipe just smiled and didn't say anything as they were entering the main downtown of Charleston after a long time of carriage riding.

"Do you come a lot downtown?" Felipe asked as he ignited small talk again.

"Yes, I like coming down to see what is new and to see new clothing," Nancy said, embarrassed as everything she did came crashing into realization.

"Um."

Not long before they arrived at the main mansions where they were going. It was not owned by anyone but by multiple people, almost like a club.

Nancy quickly left the carriage as her shame was higher than ever. She knew the whole place well, so there was nothing to worry about.

"We might not need any agreements after all," Felipe said as he left the carriage.

"Which agreements?" The Governor asked. He has spent the whole time with Quincy, while Felipe and Jhon have been constantly talking when they are not together.

"I want some horses in my house; I would be taking them on account," Felipe said with a smile. He oversimplified the whole thing as if it was a small thing to ask for.

The Governor felt it was good enough as he looked around and saw the number of people that stopped doing whatever they were doing to just look at the carriage arriving at the clubhouse; the clubhouse had quite an impressive entrance with a red carpet and fancy guards.

Felipe also looked around and saw the faces of many who could not see him when he first arrived and now wanted to see them; some of them were his own employees; nonetheless, everyone wanted to see a crown prince.

It was not that weird; the first monarch to step into the USA was King George the 4th in 1939, who was trying to obtain the Americans' support in the war efforts against Nazi Germany. More than 100 years later!

The USA, the country that prided itself on independence from the UK, the beacon of freedom worldwide and the representation of the divine right to rule, was in one place. The people were much more curious, just like in later generations; the Americans and even the world would get so invested in the lives of the royals. But they were just mortals; most would die of age thanks to always being protected, but no money was enough to protect them from the claws of death, no divinity, no immortality, no nothing.

Felipe just nodded to everyone as if he was saluting them all; he saw no reaction as they were stoically looking at him. Trying to figure out what made him so different from them. His height made him literally higher than everyone else, and his visible muscular body made him literally stronger than everyone else. Such a view, such representation will mould the perception of a monarch for years to come.