Eileenburg (6)

The seven-day run of "Night Meeting" had a major impact: theaters would invite rival theaters to perform together. The actresses from the Snow Theater were the most sought-after; they could captivate the audience without uttering a single word—a power and presence unmatched by actresses from other theaters. Actresses began to diversify; while high notes still dominated the market, various minor keys and singles became popular, and classical and folk music blended together.

“Mi, the Queen has invited us to meet at the Derek Palace,” Ellen said as she entered, holding a silver invitation. Mi was considering Ellen’s piece for the Flower Nightingale competition. This time, she wanted to unveil the hidden world beneath the glitz and glamour of Sun City, and to bring the situations of the Citadel and the neighboring city to the stage.

“Us?” Mi put down his pen. “How would the Queen know about me?”

“The Queen is in power now, and King Derek is in very poor health,” Ailian explained. “There’s nothing in the entire Flower Kingdom that the Queen doesn’t know.”

"Do we really have to go?" Mi hadn't been to Derek's Palace in a long time, and since moving into Ellen Castle, she hadn't even seen Bertram for a long time.

"I should still go see her," Ailian thought, remembering the old steward's instructions. The king wasn't involved in official matters, so they could simply ignore him. The queen was different; she was busy with state affairs. If the queen requested an audience, the steward worried that Ailian might be planning to offer up the longevity seed. However, the Adventurers' Guild hadn't sent any messages, so the old steward felt it best for Ailian to see the queen and find out what she wanted.

* * *

In Queen Angelus's reception room, Eleanor and Mi awaited the Queen's audience.

"Her Majesty the Queen has arrived." With the announcement from the guards, Ailian and Mi rose from their seats. Queen Angelis entered in casual attire, followed by her chief lady-in-waiting, Wen.

“Your Majesty!” Ailian bowed, followed closely by Mi.

"Alright, please sit down." The Queen gestured for the two to rise and take their seats in the main seats of the reception room. A maid brought in hot tea, and Ailian and Mi sat on the left, while Wen sat on the right, quietly observing Ailian and Mi.

"You are Mi?" Queen Angelis glanced at Mi and gestured to Wen.

“Miss Ellen,” Wen stood up, “there is something I need to trouble you with.”

Ailian glanced at the Queen and then at Wen, before patting Mi's shoulder reassuringly and saying, "I'll be right back."

“Miss Ailian values ​​you highly.” The Queen picked up her teacup and glanced at Mi, seemingly wondering what Mi possessed that made a long-lived creature so fond of her. Mi smiled and nodded. She watched Ailian follow Wen out and realized that the Queen’s main purpose in summoning her this time was to see her.

"You came from Redstone Town?" The Queen couldn't see anything special about Mi.

"Yes." Even now, as he dealt with the royal family again, Mi still remembered that wisp of blue smoke.

"Is Anne alright?" The Queen stared at the teacup in her hand.

“Annie is fine; she eats and sleeps well.” Mi thought for a moment. “Annie is a teacher that all the children in town both love and fear.”

"What did Anne say to you?" The Queen remained seated.

“Annie just said, ‘If you’re not feeling well, go back to Redstone. Redstone will always be there.’” Mi thought for a moment and then repeated Annie’s last words.

"Did you write these songs about Ailian?" The Queen put down her teacup and suddenly changed the subject.

“Some are,” Mi said thoughtfully. “There are two teachers at Ellenburg who write lyrics and compose music, and they are the main ones in charge. I’m just offering an idea.”

"Why did you write it?" The Queen paused, then continued, "There are so many songs in Sun City. I know Beth sent quite a few to Eileen. Why don't you use them?"

Mi thought of aria after aria, forever praising the achievements of royalty, the noble bearing of ladies, and the valiant figures of adventurers. She only wanted to record the lives of ordinary people. Mi looked at the dignified Queen, something a ruler could not understand. She honestly said, "I am simply writing down what I have seen."

The Queen presented the latest gossip news, featuring Elaine's new song "Pink Street Girls," with only one comment: "The voice of a group of women whose thoughts have never been seen before."

“Sun City offers plenty of jobs for women,” the Queen said, propping her head up with her hand and rubbing her temples. “Why do you think there are so many women on Pink Street?”

“There must be a reason why a woman can walk down Pink Street,” Mi thought for a moment.

"There must be a reason," the Queen smiled, a smirk playing on her lips. "You know, ten years ago, Sun City barely had any waitresses. Now, the saleswomen in shops and the female stall owners in the market all manage to make a living." A hint of anger flickered in the Queen's eyes; she was determined to get women to stand up for themselves.

“Your Majesty,” Mi thought for a moment, “the women of Sun City occupy a very strange position, or even a very strange division. You see, I’ve only ever seen maidservants in Sun City. The women of Pink Street have simply changed from being maidservants to being maidservants to different people.”

"The lady-in-waiting—" The Queen lowered her head and pondered for a moment. She stared at Mi and asked, "You're right. What if, I mean, what if, the royal family orders the abolition of the lady-in-waiting?"

“Your Majesty,” Mi looked at the woman before him, whose expression was slightly grave, “could you abolish the system of maids? Accompanying maids is just one aspect of it.”

"Dismiss the maids?" The Queen shook her head. "There are many things that the maids need to do; they can't be dismissed."

"It can't be abolished," said Mi, "nobles need a large number of servants. They need help with dressing, eating, and even walking. Without maids, these nobles can't survive a single day." Mi looked at the Queen, "You can't abolish the nobility, and you can't abolish the maids either." The Queen understood this as well: "Mi, could you write about more different women in the future?"

“Different women? A great mother? A beautiful lover?” Mi didn’t know what the Queen was thinking. She asked, “What kind of woman do you want?”

“I think those—” the Queen thought for a moment, “the heroines of the Adventurers’ Guild.”

“Those people are extremely few, one in a hundred, one in a thousand.” Mi roughly understood the Queen’s meaning. “Does Sun City offer more women’s jobs?”

"Why?"

“Only when the work is entirely women's can women be promoted to management positions. No skill is innate; women lack opportunities to practice.” Mi thought for a moment, “Does Your Majesty know about the Lincheng Girls' School?”

“I know,” the Queen shook her head. “There are also girls’ academies in Sun City, all for noblewomen. Even if commoner women are exempt from tuition, they can’t stay there for long.”

Mi roughly knew the reason: "What courses does the women's college offer?"

“Horse riding, vocal music, etiquette, languages, etc.,” the Queen said, “similar to the Royal Academy of Education.”

“Perhaps,” Mi glanced at the pampered and elegant Queen, “Your Majesty needs to establish a women’s technical college to break down the professional barriers between men and women.”

"A women's technical college?" the Queen asked, puzzled. "What do they study?"

“What should they learn?” Mi repeated, “All the skills that allow women to survive, not by pleasing, not by flattering, not by using their bodies, but by using their own hands to survive.”

"We have women's clubs, we have seamstresses, we have..." The Queen wanted to say that women have many choices, and they also have to give birth, so they naturally have fewer working hours than men.

Mi knew that Queen Angelis wasn't a noblewoman; she was the first commoner queen in history, born in the west of the city, joining the Adventurers' Guild as a child, and later even venturing to the snowy region with adventurers. Perhaps the queen's experiences were too legendary, as she didn't know how ordinary girls lived. Mi also didn't know that in the year or so he'd been in Sun City, he'd spent half his time in Ellen Castle, a place almost like a paradise. The restaurant had a young cook named April because she was a relative of the owner. As for female workers, aside from the well-dressed sales assistants in the shops, girls were only seen in the market in the west of the city. Girls in Sun City either stayed at home or frequented Pink Street and Theater Street; their only other options were to work as maids for nobles or in their own homes.

"Does Your Majesty know about the 17th Girls' School in Lincheng?" Mi tried to recall the Queen's experiences, as she had studied at the 17th Girls' School in Lincheng.

“I know.” Queen Angelis’s expression softened, and she seemed to recall her happy childhood days as she said gently, “I loved it there, Lin City 17 was wonderful.”

“Sun City is the capital of the Flower Kingdom, so it should be better than Lin City 17.” Having been in the Flower Kingdom for so long, Mi had to admit that Lin City 17 was the best place she had ever seen, except for its strict control over population movement.

“That’s determined by Lincheng’s special location.” Queen Angelis handed over a cup of tea. “Miss Mi came from Redstone Town, so she must have met the Sand People.”

Mi nodded, and Queen Angelis said quietly, "The Shali people are a problem on the border. The Flower Kingdom lacks minerals and weapons, and since we can't wipe them out, we can only use human lives to fill the gap. The entire Flower Kingdom has no prisons, and everyone has been sent to the border posts."

“This does not stop evil.” Mi thought of Lady Aldrich. Nobles always have privileges. Are the people of the Acropolis and the neighboring city desperately trying to stop the Shari people just to support nobles like Lady Aldrich?

"Miss Mi must think that the Citadel is more noble than the Sun City," Queen Angelis hesitated for a moment before using the word "noble."

"Compared to some nobles of Suncity, they are indeed more noble and courageous." The corruption of power is inevitable.

“That’s because Miss Mi entered through Border City 17. Not all the cities and towns near the city are like the ones Miss Mi has seen.” Queen Angelis turned her eyes away. “The situation in Lin City 17 cannot be implemented in Taiyang City, let alone in all the other cities.”

"Why? What's wrong with educating the people and promoting education?" Mi didn't understand. Since the royal family saw the benefits of Lincheng 17, why didn't they promote it more vigorously?

“Miss Mi, as you can see, there aren’t that many jobs available in Sun City,” Queen Angelis said, setting down her teacup. “Sun City needs a large number of porters, most of whom come from the surrounding towns. Because Sun City’s citizens own property, they are less inclined to engage in strenuous manual labor. Sun City is a commercially developed city, attracting a large influx of young women. Mi, your feet are human legs.”

You're saying this was their own choice?

“In the Flower Kingdom, only the city of Weicheng and its neighboring cities have population control. The residents of Maicheng and Xingxingcheng are free. It is these free people who allow Tai*Yang*City to continuously send people to Weicheng and its neighboring cities.” Queen Annis looked at Mi. “You have come all the way from Weicheng. Have you ever seen anyone voluntarily going to Weicheng and its neighboring cities?”

People always want to choose a better life.

"A better life, Miss Mi should know, is built on the efforts of another group for some people."

"The sacrifices made by Weicheng and Lincheng?"

“I would prefer to call Weicheng Lincheng more noble, because the peace and stability of the entire Flower Kingdom is built upon their contributions.” King Angnes picked up his teacup and took a sip. “Lincheng’s education is so good, and it is the power of education that gives the people of Lincheng a sense of responsibility.”

"Education is a process of domestication, from passively enduring attacks to actively taking responsibility." Mi didn't know what to say. The border was never a choice made by one person; it was a wall forged by the blood and flesh of generations.

"This is cooperation. The entire people of the Flower Kingdom are working together to build the Flower Kingdom into a strong fortress, and each person is a small stone in this fortress."

When Aileen returned, both the Queen and Mi were silent. After Wen brought Aileen back, the Queen quickly announced the end of the audience, and Wen escorted Aileen and Mi out of the palace on the Queen's behalf. Mi waited for the carriage in the wide corridor. In the room on the second floor, the Queen looked at Aileen and Mi by the roadside and asked, "Grandma Anma, is that the person Annie brought for me?"

Elder Anma stood beside the Queen: "Ang, Seg has severed her ties with the royal family. You must remember this."