RLQ - Chapter 34
Chapter 34: Soul Given to You
Dalton stepped forward before Heinrich to help the Queen alight. While there were personal reasons involved, it wasn't entirely for personal gain. As the Queen walked towards National Assembly hall, the venue for the Parliament, Dalton lowered his voice and quickly reported an unexpected incident to her.
A member of the House of Lords and a city representative from Laixi Port had clashed the previous evening, and it had escalated to physical violence.
"Where did they come to blows?"
Adele smiled and waved to the people lining the street while asking in a low voice.
Dalton's expression became subtle. After a pause, he quickly and vaguely mentioned a location.
"What a diligent and responsible group of gentlemen," she said, her smile unchanged, but her tone laced with sarcasm.
It was no wonder Dalton's expression was subtle. The place where the two gentlemen had their dispute was in the southeast district of Gelt City, a well-known brothel area. Given that, the reason for their conflict was quite obvious... a reason utterly unfit for public mention.
Annoyingly and helplessly, despite the absurd cause of the incident, the Queen still had to note it down and remain vigilant.
—The day before the Parliament was set to convene, a dispute arose between members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Such a coincidence made it hard to believe there wasn't someone pulling strings behind the scenes.
Adele and Dalton's conversation was brief, accompanied by the ringing of the red bell from the tower. They arrived at the Parliament Hall in National Assembly hall.
In the Parliament Hall, dominated by gold and red, members from both houses were already seated. The hall was narrow east-to-west and long north-to-south. Three massive chandeliers, specially crafted by goldsmiths, hung above everyone's heads, each holding at least several hundred candles. The light from over a thousand candles, refracted by mirrors in the corners of the hall, illuminated the space with solemn splendor.
After the Queen was seated on her throne, representatives from the two houses stepped forward and knelt in greeting.
Adele rose gracefully from the throne and returned the bow with humility.
Once the formalities were complete and silence fell, the Queen delivered the opening speech according to tradition. This speech would set the theme for the current Parliament session and the future direction of the government's efforts.
"Gentlemen."
The light from the crystal candelabra fell upon the Queen, the diamonds on her crown refracting dazzling brilliance. Under everyone's gaze, she spoke with steady power.
"Three hundred years ago, to protect the interests of every person in the Empire, representatives of families and cities answered the Empire's call, coming from all corners of the nation to gather before the monarch they loyally served, establishing this ancient and glorious institution. Since then, it has become the sword and shield of the Empire's honor."
"Today, I sincerely thank you and this ancient institution for all the efforts and contributions made to the Empire over many years. At the same time, I hope you will remember the mission of the Parliament. For, in the upcoming sessions, we will face the most severe challenge the Empire has seen in fifteen hundred years."
"Gentlemen, let us not overlook this fact—our enemies are everywhere, while our friends are as rare as morning candles. Thirteen years ago, our enemies seized our last foothold on the west side of the Sea of Heaven, our beautiful Nightingale Island. And now they are attempting to jointly exclude us from the free trade market, they are strangling our sea lanes, the arteries extending from the Empire's land, they seek to make us anxious, to make us thirsty—Yage, Tuva, and West Wule, among others, are plotting to invade our sacred territory, to seize our glory and splendor."
"All of this stems from the loss of our arm on the sea."
"This is a new era, and we must see what is happening on the ocean: sails replacing oars, breaking through wind and waves while also breaking through the barbaric, traditional old age. The wealth of the world flows on the sea. Whoever controls the ocean controls the world; whoever loses the ocean loses everything. Therefore, in this Parliament, we will propose articles that will have significant consequences for the Empire's prosperity."
"These articles will determine the fate of the Empire. I demand that each and every one of you, when participating in the vote, constantly remember the responsibility you bear on your shoulders."
"Gentlemen, the new era has arrived. We must make a choice—"
"Change, or death!"
The great bell chimed, and the Imperial Parliament officially commenced.
Except for the opening and closing days of Parliament, the Queen resided in a palace not far from the Parliament building. However, this did not mean the Queen lost control over the assembly. On the contrary, everything that happened in Parliament was reported to the Queen's ears.
Adele listened with a frown as the messenger relayed the news of the parliamentary debates, suppressing her anger.
Whether it was the House of Lords or the House of Commons, if they wished to negotiate or communicate with the Queen regarding certain proposed articles, they needed to send their respective representatives to the Queen's audience chamber to await reception.
When the messenger brought the latest news of the debates, sweat beaded on his forehead.
"What a bunch of fools!" the Queen exclaimed, rarely showing such anger. "If they want to waste everyone's time over such a trivial matter, then let them get out!"
Although Adele usually wore a smile and treated people kindly, this did not mean she never got angry. As much as her smile brought ease and joy, her anger instilled trembling and fear. Now, two reckless individuals had run headfirst into her wrath.
The Queen's anger was directed at the two noble member and city representative Dalton had mentioned.
As the articles were discussed and voted upon one by one, the House of Lords and the House of Commons began arguing over the hidden tax clauses in the Port Regulations.
At the height of the debate, these two gentlemen inadvertently brought their previous day's grievances into the discussion. The noble member mocked the city representative, saying, "A fellow who can't even spare the money for a prostitute, no wonder he can't afford this small tax"... This sparked a chaotic quarrel.
"Throw these two fools into Whitehall Prison for dereliction of duty. Tell the others to remember where they are."
The messenger left, drenched in sweat.
"They probably wanted to see which house you favor, the House of Lords or the House of Commons," said Archbishop Rhodri. He was responsible for conveying the Queen's expectations to the members of Parliament. This task was originally handled by Heinrich, but this year the Queen had assigned it to Archbishop Rhodri.
Dalton also wanted this job, but unfortunately, just as Heinrich was the leader of the nobles, Dalton was, in a sense, the representative of the commoners.
Since the Queen had replaced Heinrich, she would not openly favor the House of Commons.
With a subtle and precise hand, she manipulated complex relationships, possessing both the keen gentleness of a woman and the majesty and inscrutability of a monarch.
"Let them guess then," Adele commented sharply. "A bunch of fools."
People always said the tide of the era surged forward, and wise people should learn to go with the flow. But in reality, there were many stubborn individuals clinging to the past. These people would never realize their foolishness until they were severely battered and bruised by the new era.
Archbishop Rhodri raised his hand to unfurl a piece of paper, preparing to write down the Queen's verbal decree. He was seated by the window, and as he raised his hand, the diamond cufflink on his wrist refracted a small, flickering spark of light.
The glint caught the Queen's attention, and she turned her head to look.
Archbishop Rhodri instinctively pulled back his hand, trying to hide the little secret on his sleeve. But he was a step too late; the Queen had already seen it.
"You kept it?"
Adele asked, her meaning clear.
Archbishop Rhodri's quill paused in mid-air. His face stiffened, unsure how to reply.
"A woman's gemstone embedded on a bishop's robe, hmm?" Adele leaned slightly forward, reaching out to touch the gem she had discarded. Her silver hair brushed against Archbishop Rhodri's hand. Her voice held a hint of teasing—Archbishop Rhodri couldn't quite tell how much of her ambiguity was genuine and how much was feigned.
She was an exceptional Queen, but conversely, as a woman, she was by no means a good object of affection, for she was far too dangerous.
Just like now, the distance between them was so close he could smell a soft, sweet fragrance, yet she looked up and asked, "I heard that when Father Balde stepped onto the guillotine, you saw your mentor off?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Archbishop Rhodri replied. "He guided me onto the path of seeking salvation. Even though our choices differed, he was ultimately my mentor. As a student, having found the true path, it was only right to inform him."
Adele gave Archbishop Rhodri a peculiar look.
She was half-tempted to ask him if old Father Balde hadn't been angered to death by his path—following a heretical monarch who didn't believe in God, such a path would surely shock most clergy, wouldn't it?
However, Adele did not underestimate Archbishop Rhodri because of this.
Archbishop Rhodri's ability to become the last person canonized in the Roland Empire meant his perseverance and wisdom far surpassed ordinary people. If not for the strange rain she knew about from her previous life, he wouldn't have suffered such a collapse of faith—in fact, Archbishop Rhodri's confusion at that time wasn't solely due to the rain.
Adele believed that even without her, Archbishop Rhodri would eventually embark on the path of faith reconstruction.
He was one of the few who retained compassion and an extraordinary obsession with truth.
His previous firm belief in the Old God Sect stemmed from this, but it was also why he was more deeply impacted when the church's actions contradicted his vision of salvation. In the original historical trajectory, the St. Lorrain Sect was ultimately destroyed, and Archbishop Rhodri himself founded a sect completely different from both the New God and Old God Sects.
The rain of Divine Judgment merely tore open all the doubts he already harbored with the most violent impact, laying them bare before him.
After the peculiar conversation between monarch and subject on the rainy night, the Archbishop resumed his daily religious activities the next day as usual, and began participating in the political activities of the Privy Council under the Queen's rule—and demonstrated a keen political acumen.
"Someone told me you are in contact with the New God Sect and are undertaking the translation of classical books, including those of heretics," the Queen observed Archbishop Rhodri's expression carefully. "Tell me, Archbishop, you aren't planning to throw the puppet idols into the fire, are you?"
She didn't care what the Archbishop had understood that day, or what kind of faith he had reconstructed.
But she did not want him to take an extreme path and ignite an atheist revolution in Roland. Although for the ruling class, faith could be changed at any time based on interests, the Empire did not need to initiate such a revolution, centuries ahead of its time, so quickly.
The Queen certainly didn't want the Empire to become an enemy of the world right now.
"You don't need to worry."
Archbishop Rhodri's voice was so low only he and the Queen could hear it. He held the Queen's hand, which she was about to withdraw.
"You are a god, and also a devil, and I place my soul in your hands."
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