Empire Rising: Spain

Carlo finally opened his eyes, a hint of coldness and disdain in his gaze, and said in an emotionless tone, “Tell me, how many of our noble lords were involved in this incident?”

“According to our investigation, in the past few days, about 12 nobles have met privately several times and have strengthened their ties with Isabel of France.

These 12 nobles are led by the Duke of Osuna, and this small group seems to have a tendency to expand.” Kadir lowered his head slightly, nervously reporting the specific information.

“Duke of Osuna?” A faint smile appeared on Carlo’s face, nodding slightly, his chilling smile unabated, “Very well. Continue the investigation, but do not alert the enemy. I want to see how many parasites our country really has. Before the final action, the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau should not make any moves, just let them plot their supposedly successful conspiracy!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Kadir nodded and respectfully withdrew.

“Duke of Osuna?” After Kadir left, the smile on Carlo’s face disappeared, leaving an expressionless coldness.

“Carlo, are you okay?” Queen Sophie walked to Carlo’s side, looking at him with concern as he exuded a chilly aura.

“Is the situation serious? Do you need my father’s help?” Queen Sophie asked with a worried expression.

“No, it’s not to that extent yet.” Carlo shook his head, his face once again showing a warm smile as if nothing had happened, “Alright, let’s not talk about this, Sophie.

Where’s the little one? How is he doing now?”

Speaking of her son, a gentle smile appeared on Queen Sophie’s face, and she said happily, “The little one just fell asleep. Carlo, time flies so fast, in the blink of an eye, the little one can already turn over.”

Carlo nodded, his smile unabated, “When the little one starts crawling, let’s have a second child. The Spanish Royal Family is sparse, it’s up to us to branch out.”

Talking about having children brought a faint blush to Queen Sophie’s face, but she nodded nonetheless.

Having received a noble education, Queen Sophie naturally understood the importance of nobles branching out. Without heirs to inherit the family property, at the least, the noble title and family assets may fall into the hands of collateral relatives, and at worst, the family may face extinction.

European nobles still place considerable importance on family inheritance, and naturally, they try to avoid this situation as much as possible.

How to avoid it? Of course, by having more children. Especially considering the high infant mortality rate during this era, newlywed noble couples in their twenties often ponder the issue of having children.

“Hahaha.” Carlo happily embraced his wife, gently tweaking Queen Sophie’s slightly blushing nose, and said with a smile, “I’ve already thought of names for the next child.

If it’s another boy, he’ll be named Martin, and if it’s a girl, she’ll be named Sofia. What do you think?”

Queen Sophie nodded, showing no objection.

At the end of October 1875, a shadow started moving in the dark corners of Spain, spreading across several regions.

Carlo, of course, knew who these people were and what their purpose was. But for Carlo, it wasn’t yet the time to reckon with them.

Allowing them to recruit more potential rebels and then capturing them all in one go is Carlo’s ultimate goal.

No matter what, the Bourbon family has always posed a hidden threat to Spain. Only by thoroughly resolving this issue can Spain’s subsequent development be considered fully stable.

But soon, the situation developed beyond Carlo’s expectations.

The number of nobles in contact with Queen Isabel quickly exceeded 20 and slowly approached 50.

The primary reason so many nobles began contacting the Bourbon family was due to a piece of news that even shocked Carlo: Queen Isabel of the legitimate Bourbon family had joined forces with the Carlos Faction.

Yes, in order to secure the throne of Spain, Queen Isabel chose to ally with the Carlos Faction to jointly face the already influential Savoy Family.

This puzzled Carlo. Why didn’t Queen Isabel choose to ally with the Carlos Faction when Carlo first ascended the throne?

If they had joined forces when Carlo’s position was not yet secure, they might have caused Carlo more trouble. But now, if Carlo hadn’t allowed it, it’s unlikely that Queen Isabel’s commotion could have grown so large.

Ultimately, it was the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau’s investigation that provided Carlo with answers.

It wasn’t that Queen Isabel was unwilling to join forces with the Carlos Faction in the early days of Carlo’s reign, but rather that the Carlos Faction was unwilling to cooperate with Queen Isabel at the time.

After being expelled from Spain, in order to preserve the Bourbon family’s throne, Queen Isabel announced that she would voluntarily renounce the throne and pass it to her son Alfonso.

But this proposal did not receive agreement from Prim and Serrano. After all, they had just driven out Queen Isabel, and to now support Queen Isabel’s son as the new king would mean their revolution had failed in another form, wouldn’t it?

Perhaps after Alfonso became the new King of Spain, those who once propelled the revolution might face a reckoning.