RLQ - Chapter 8
Chapter 8: Flower in Darkness
"Until you are put on the stake, the Empire cannot afford another rebellion," the Archbishop said, his steel-blue eyes like gleaming blades under the moonlight. "That is all."
"Really?"
Adele said, suddenly grabbing the Archbishop's collar.
The Archbishop instinctively grabbed her wrist. "What are you doing?"
He was still wary, remembering Adele's trickery in the church earlier.
"Who's there?"
A shout rang out.
Followed by clear footsteps approaching from the other end of the corridor.
Both their expressions changed slightly. The patrol guards on duty were currently Dalton's men. If they saw the Queen meeting privately with the Archbishop, it would be immediately clear who had betrayed Dalton earlier.
The patrol guard, hand on his sword hilt, quickly walked towards the pillar.
The moonlight was cold, and there was no one behind the pillar.
The Queen and the Archbishop were hidden behind a fresco. The royal palace always had countless secret rooms and hidden doors, which Adele knew intimately. The problem was... the secret room was short and small. The Queen leaned against his chest sideways, and all the muscles under the Archbishop's monk's robe stiffened.
In the urgency of the moment, he had forgotten to release the Queen's hand.
The darkness made their senses particularly sharp. He clearly felt the warmth under his fingertips, her blood flowing slowly in her veins like a river, flowing towards the deep darkness, towards the unknowable secrets.
Footsteps sounded outside the fresco, and the guards entered with torches.
They strained to suppress their breathing. Time stretched in the narrow space, a faint fragrance mixed with dust, like all the hidden gloom and sorrow in this luxurious court. It was beautiful, yet it lured people towards depravity and eternal damnation.
The torchlight dispelled the darkness, illuminating the interior clearly. Indeed, there was no one.
The guard checked several times, then left suspiciously.
"He's gone," the Archbishop reminded her.
Adele wasn't in a hurry to leave. She chuckled softly in the dim light. "Why did you come to find me? My dear Archbishop."
The word "dear," inherently carrying intimacy and closeness, took on an indescribable quality when spoken by her, like the intense fragrance of blooming roses, or a mermaid luring sailors to their doom in a storm.
"The danger is far from over," the Archbishop warned. "If you still have wisdom, you'll know you should stay far away from that group of heretics from the New God Sect, not fuel their wicked flames."
The Queen was silent for a moment.
Just as the Archbishop wondered if his warning had been too subtle, she spoke slowly.
"Do you know?" Adele said. "Your tone almost made me think you were jealous of Dalton."
The Archbishop's breathing turned cold.
Adele pushed open the fresco, and moonlight streamed into the secret room. She lifted her layered skirt with one hand, preparing to step out. But she stopped again quickly. Archbishop Rhodri made a questioning sound behind her.
"You're still holding my hand."
Adele tilted her head to look at him.
The Archbishop released her abruptly, as if burned by hot fire.
The Queen, in her elaborate gown, stepped onto the cold stone floor. Moonlight lay quietly on the ground. She released her hand, and her skirt fell, the embedded gems and pearls reflecting the brilliance of stars for an instant. She turned lightly and walked away, her layered skirt blooming like a flower.
The Archbishop stood alone in the darkness, lost in thought.
After a moment, he noticed a faint light where the Queen had just stood. A gem lay quietly there, likely having fallen from the Queen's skirt—or perhaps the Queen had dropped it.
He hesitated for a moment, then hid it away.
Adele pondered the warning brought by the Archbishop.
She instantly pinpointed the source of the danger—religious conflict.
The Roland Empire was located to the right of the Sea of Heaven, controlling the Rose Strait that connected the Sea of Heaven and the Red Sea. Maritime commerce had always been prosperous. Since the technology of three-masted ships matured, a new vitality, accompanied by commercial expansion, was injected into the Empire's life. People sought the right to pleasure from God.
Now, within the Roland Empire, the New God Sect and the Old God Sect were at loggerheads.
The most recent major conflict between the old and new sects occurred in the second year of Adele's reign. Appointing Dalton as Knight Commander and Marshal of the Empire was, to the domestic faithful, a signal that the Empire was choosing the New God Sect as its state religion.
—This could easily trigger a new religious conflict, and she would be the first to bear the brunt.
What exactly would the danger be?
Archbishop Rhodri's other secret identity was the Vice-Commander of the Roland Temple Knights. Adele was confident that if he knew what the Old God faction was planning, he wouldn't hide it from her. Even he couldn't know the details, only sensing a crisis... Assassination? Or something else?
Adele understood the Archbishop's meaning—
He hoped she could show favor to the Old God Sect in the future to ease the situation and avoid danger.
But the contradiction wouldn't disappear just like that; she was determined to resolve it completely.
Therefore, the Queen not only didn't neglect Dalton, but on the contrary, she even accepted his invitation to go hunting together on a bright, sunny morning.
To the left of the Summer Palace castle was a royal forest.
Although they were out hunting, the Queen's mind didn't seem to be on it. She rode a silver horse along a winding tributary of the White River, the wind blowing her dark blue cloak. She wore a hat adorned with pearls and black swan feathers, a veil covering her beautiful face.
The royal hunters drove deer, wild wolves, wild boars, and other game out of the forest. This was not only to ensure that the nobles wouldn't return empty-handed but also to prevent bears or other more dangerous animals from harming important figures.
Dalton followed beside the Queen. He had changed into a knight's tight-fitting attire, his long fingers playfully holding a bow and arrow.
"Is there anything you desire?"
Dalton didn't participate in the other hunters' encirclement of the deer herd. Instead, he tilted his head to look at the Queen. Sunlight filtered through the dense leaves, falling on the corner of his eye. His cold, sharp features had a similar quality to a drawn blade.
"What can you hunt for me?" Adele countered.
As they spoke, the attendants following behind let out uneasy gasps, accompanied by a wild roar. The bushes in front of them trembled, and a brown bear with bloodshot eyes stepped out. The hunters driving out the beasts had made a mistake; their oversight had allowed a dangerous animal to enter the hunting circle.
Adele reined in her horse.
She suppressed the instinct to take the crossbow from her waist.
The brown bear seemed angered by the noise and scent of blood. After a low growl, it charged directly towards them.
Whoosh—Whoosh—
Three arrows shot out from beside her almost simultaneously. One pierced the bear's forehead, one its throat, and one its heart. They went straight in, and blood spurted into the air, a display of violent beauty.
Dalton released the bowstring, his expression grim.
This hunt was his invitation to the Queen. If anything went wrong, the responsibility would fall on him.
"Would you like a bearskin as a cushion?" Dalton quickly hid that hint of gloom. He turned to the Queen and suggested with a smile.
Adele's fingers moved away from the crossbow. She gently accepted the gift.
The brown bear was quickly dragged away by the attendants. To avoid further accidents, at Dalton's suggestion, they did not venture deeper into the forest but walked down along the stream to the lake known as "Swan's Tear" for a picnic.
Meanwhile, Heinrich and a councilor arrived at the forest with a document.
"My apologies, Her Majesty is hunting and is unavailable to receive visitors."
An attendant stopped them, speaking politely to Heinrich.
Heinrich and the councilor exchanged glances, both looking very displeased.
Recently, in the Imperial Council, Dalton's influence had noticeably risen to an unbearable degree. When he clashed with the nobles, the Queen often sided with him. Furthermore, using his position as Knight Commander, under the pretext of "protecting the Queen's safety," he had strengthened his control over the palace.
It could be said that no one could bypass Dalton to see the Queen directly now, and even if they did, Dalton or his people would certainly be present in the audience chamber.
The Queen's attitude was exceptionally indulgent.
Heinrich stopped the councilor who was about to lose his temper.
He knew this obstacle was Dalton's move against him—or perhaps with the Queen's tacit approval.
"We can discuss it at the meeting just the same," Heinrich said, returning to his usual demeanor, making it impossible to tell if he was angered.
The councilor grumbled and left. Heinrich pondered for a while, then chose a small path and took a detour.
When he passed through the forest and reached "Swan's Tear," the scene before him suddenly stung his eyes.
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