Chapter 484: The twins’ vote
Michael was actually surprised how well Princess Elizabeth drove the car. The automobile was an automatic, which meant it was easier to ride, but most people would still need a couple of hours before they got the hang of it.
Not Elizabeth though. It only took her half a minute.
About five minutes later, the car came skidding towards the castle into a full stop. The princess whose hair used to be tied up into a neat ball, now had her hair fully let down.
She got out of the car, swung her hair around like a model for a sports car, and took a deep breath of contentment.
"Liz?" the prince asked, unfamiliar with this side of his sister.
"I feel truly free," Elizabeth said, breathing out fresh air. "Did you see how fast I went? I felt like I could fly. It’s an even better feeling than riding a Wyvern through the skies."
Prince Harry did see the speeds at which the automobile ran through the grass plains. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before.
"That roaring? Is it from the monster that is hidden inside the automobile?" the Prince asked, hearing the constant humming of the car’s engine.
"There’s no monster inside. It doesn’t run on animals or magic. It runs on fuel," Michael answered. "It’s like oil."
Princess Elizabeth put her hands on the hood of the car. "You mean to tell me that something that goes this fast is only powered by some kind of liquid? That’s it? You don’t need magic or anything else?"
Disbelief was clear in her tone. When she drove the car, she felt an immense amount of power coming from inside the vehicle. It was unimaginable to her that there were no magic mechanisms inside that allowed it to move at that speed.
Michael explained to them the mechanisms of the automobile. He told them how the engine created mini explosions by compressing and lighting up the fuel from the inside. They didn’t understand it all that much, but they followed the logic.
"Do you know what this means, brother? This will completely revolutionize the way we travel the world!" Princess Elizabeth claimed.
"Truly...I can see it now. With the speeds that it could go up to, I can imagine that it will become the new and accepted mode of transportation in Metropolis! If it doesn’t need any magic, then ordinary people can use them as well!"
Prince Elizabeth nodded fervently, agreeing with her brother. "That’s true! Also..."
They began discussing the socio-economical impacts that the automobile would create in Metropolis.
As expected of royals, their education allowed them to think in terms of the entirety of Metropolis.
They talked about the effects of the automobile on the roads, which would need renovation to make it smoother and more organized. They discussed a lot of other topics including the castle itself, the different districts, and the other companies.
Anyway, Michael was glad to see that they understood the true uses of the automobile.
"The only downside I see is that it is limited to its fuel," the Prince astutely observed.
"That’s true. But if my automobile is permitted to be sold inside Metropolis, then I will put gas stations everywhere for refueling."
They were satisfied with his solution once he described what a gas station was.
"Let’s talk more about this later," the Prince said, trying to calm down his excitement. "If my mother sees this automobile for herself, I can safely assure that she will also understand its value."
"You have our vote, Michael," Princess Elizabeth ensured. "We will endorse this automobile to our mother. And once she finds out about that soda thing, I’m sure she’ll look into you more fondly. She is quite weak to her grandchildren."
"That’s great!" Lylia cheered, hugging Michael.
"Well done, son. You’ve influenced yet another territory to accept your technological advancements," Bart said proudly.
Meanwhile, Max couldn’t help but shed a single tear from his eyes as he saw this scene.
His nephew earned the recognition of the royal twins! Everyone said that Vanderbilt children were a disgrace to Yze’s legacy. And he thought he proved them right ever since their business began to fail.
But now, here came his nephew, proving everyone wrong!
And it was at that moment that someone knocked on the door.
"So here you were...I was looking everywhere for you guys. I thought you left me."
Everyone looked back at the veranda and saw a man dressed in black royal uniform leaning against the door frame.
"Uncle Jack. It’s nice to see you," the Prince muttered under his breath.
Michael thought the greeting was normal, but then he noticed the prince’s slightly furrowed eyebrows, betraying his true feelings for the man who interrupted them.
"We aren’t expecting your visit," Princess Elizabeth said, curtsying quickly. She looked like she didn’t want to greet him at all, but the manners she learned forbade her from being rude.
Uncle Jack ignored them and looked beyond, towards Michael and his family.
"Oh, I didn’t know we had guests. I wasn’t made aware," he said, staring at them.
Uncle Jack had long, slightly curly hair that obscured the sides of his face. He had eyebags under his thin, sharp eyes.
And contrary to the red hair of the royal family, Uncle Jack had jet black hair and a pasty white complexion as if he hadn’t seen the light of the sun in over twenty years.
"Who are these lovely people?" he asked with a smile in his mouth, but a glare in his eyes.
Prince Harry immediately put himself forward, trying to block Uncle Jack’s view of Michael and the automobile.
"They are the guests of my mother. She explicitly demanded that we treat them with respect and care while in her absence," Harry said, warning him.
"Oh, they’re the guests of my dear old sister-in-law?" Uncle Jack chuckled.
Michael looked towards Princess Elizabeth, silently asking her to clarify the situation. He clearly saw from their interaction that their relationship with their uncle wasn’t that good.
"This is Uncle Jack. He is the brother of our late father—unfortunately," Elizabeth explained.
"Unfortunately? How rude, my dear niece. How can you say that when we’re family?" Uncle Jack said, pretending to wipe off a tear.
"Family doesn’t try to usurp our mother’s throne," Prince Harry accused.
Uncle Jack had his hands on his waist, laughing to himself. "There’s no evidence of that! Don’t go off accusing innocent people, Harry.
And usurp? If I did what you said I did, then it wouldn’t be called usurping. It would be called ’taking what’s rightfully mine’. Metropolis should have been under my control, if not for my stupid brother handing over the throne to his wife."
Princess Elizabeth bit her lips as she tried to reign in her anger. She wanted nothing more than to run him over with the automobile, but she couldn’t. Like he said, he was proven innocent despite the accusations.
"I’m sorry for him," Harry said to Michael. "Since he is our uncle, we can’t do anything to him. I think it would be better for you and your family to leave now and just go back later."
Just then, Uncle Jack walked forward and approached the automobile.
"It’s too late for that, my dear nephew. i already heard you say that this thing will revolutionize Metropolis. What a load of bullshit," Uncle Jack scoffed, glaring at the automobile.