Chapter 337 Internal Conflict
With the queen's order, the king's guards surrounded the unarmed parliamentarians and the gate began to rumble shut.
The dark-haired man standing in the front was young, tall, and thin, even wearing glasses. He looked as if a single sword strike could easily cleave him in half. Yet, as the guards gradually gathered around him, his face showed no trace of fear of imprisonment, torture, or even the gallows. He calmly bared his thin chest beneath the sharp swords and guns.
The divine light emanating from that pale face made him look as if, even if he were cut in half, unable to stand, he could still claw at the floorboards and forcibly crawl forward, crawling towards his destined fate. The faces of the council members around him, though showing some instinctive unease, remained angry and resolute, even possessing a martyr-like composure. And the young man, surrounded by such a group, looked like a saint.
This actually subtly frightened the king's guards to some extent. Under the gaze of those cold and sharp gray eyes, they couldn't help but breathe lighter.
"Dear Queen, please don't be so angry," a lazy and charming female voice suddenly interrupted the extremely brief stalemate. "I think that during the Blooming Conference, arresting a group of parliamentarians who were granted the right to speak by the King as... 'traitors' does not seem to comply with the legal practices of the Silver Iris Empire?"
"Your Excellency Apatera," Esmery said slowly with an unfathomable expression, staring at the "princess" who had been wandering for so long. "If I heard correctly, Your Excellency Nova just now declared that 'this Blooming Conference is no longer necessary.'"
She narrowed her eyes slightly. "Why, is the Temple of Eros planning to challenge the royal authority together with a group of traitors?"
"My dear Analene, how could this be?" The priestess feigned surprise, covering her lips with her hands and laughing softly. "Of course, only Your Majesty can declare the Blooming Conference over, and I cannot bear such a terrible responsibility!"
"It's just that our dear Mr. Ghost has always been 'favored' by the gods—" She drawled out her words, deliberately making the word "god" vague. She even took the opportunity to flirt with the professor, boldly ignoring the inexplicable chill that washed over her. "So, if such a lovely person were to be sent to the Royal City Prison for no apparent reason, and if they were injured or suffered, and if that caused the gods' distress and brought down their wrath on the Royal City... that would be more trouble than good, wouldn't you agree?"
"The gain is not worth the loss?" The queen stared expressionlessly at the priestess who also possessed the seal of the God of Love. She asked coldly and bluntly, "Sir Apatara, are you reading out the oracle from the Goddess of Love, Analene, in public... or are you using the name of the God to put pressure on the royal family?"
She didn't quite believe that Analenie, who had disappeared for a long time, would continue to "favor" a toy that had once caused her failure.
The priestess's expression suddenly turned gloomy and ferocious for a moment. Both parties knew that the so-called "god" was naturally not the god of love - but she did not expect that the queen would dare to be so tough under the threat of that god. What on earth did this bitch rely on?
"Your Majesty," Cardinal Pavaton Miller of the Glorious Church also slowly stood up. "The Glorious Church also believes that, after all, the Blooming Conference has not yet concluded. Relying on such drastic actions at this moment, drawing swords against a group of Imperial senators exercising their political power, and even accusing them of 'treason'... is not a wise move."
His voice was low, flowing gently and solemnly through the hall. Some members of the Holy Council nodded slightly, many of them priests who had previously expressed sympathy for the civilian councilors. "The Radiant Church sympathizes with the anger of His Excellency Nova and the other members of the Third Council, but what you need right now is a rational dialogue, not an escalation of violence."
"I implore Your Majesty to reconsider and revoke your order," he said, leaning forward gracefully, his attitude respectful but unconcealed, his intention to take sides. "Don't let anger and suspicion blind you and bring unnecessary turmoil and unrest to the empire."
——Just a few nice words. If it can weaken the royal power and strike a blow against the royal family's recent arrogance, the Glorious Church will be happy to see it happen.
Esmeralda's cold golden eyes slowly swept over the people present: Cassius II himself could be ignored, and the charlatans of the Holy Council looked shameless and ready to take advantage of the opportunity to take sides and make profits; the useless people of the Royal Court Council were either trembling with fear or pretending to be quails and trying to protect themselves; as for the Citizens' Council - or the Citizens' Council, the leading guy looked calm and confident, as if he had a backup plan.
What was it? Her expression shifted slightly, her peripheral vision flickering to the shadows surrounding Cassius II. It was said that the assassin accompanying the ghost was a dark sorcerer whose power rivaled that of a saint, skilled in concealment and assassination—kidnapping the king? Assassinating the queen? But Sandra, the guardian of the royal court, was also in the shadows of the hall, so she wasn't too worried.
As for the most difficult "God"...
"Guards." A cold light flashed in the queen's eyes, and she said coldly: "What are you waiting for—"
“Report—!”
A cry of panic tore through the nearly frozen air of the hall, interrupting the queen's orders. A guard tumbled in, his face pale, his helmet askew, his voice shrill and distorted with extreme tension.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, this is bad! Thousands of Royal City residents have flocked to Yuanxin Palace, surrounding the palace gates completely, and the number of people is growing!"
Esmerel's pupils shrank violently, and she turned her head abruptly to look in the direction of the ghost. As the soldiers reported, the members of the Citizens' Council around them could clearly not hide their joy, but only those smoky gray eyes were looking at her with extraordinary calmness, as if they had expected this.
"They, they were all shouting," the soldier swallowed tremblingly and repeated reluctantly under the queen's livid face, "they were shouting - 'Release the ghost! Release the Citizens' Assembly!'"
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience was in an uproar.
Duke Kamu jerked his head up, shock evident in his eyes. He knew Ghost had been publishing frivolous articles and engaging in ridiculous propaganda, attempting to incite the masses—but he had actually managed to get so many strangers from the royal city to stand up, risking the gallows, and gather in front of the palace on time to protest in his support?!
Who is he? Could it be that the God of Love really favors this person so much that he is so good at bewitching people?
Outside Yuanxin Palace, countless dusty civilians gathered outside the heavy and magnificent palace gates, their faces filled with the same anger, and their numbers grew. The outside of the palace still bore traces of scorching, but the shouting was like a tidal wave, rising higher and higher.
"Release the ghosts! Release the Citizens' Council!"
“There is no crime in speaking for the people!”
"—Death to the traitors! Death to the embezzlers! Hang them!"
Hiding in the crowd, the Shadow Chaser vanished silently. The assassin leader was within the Kite Heart Palace. All they needed to do was to use magical artifacts to broadcast the proceedings of the third Blooming Conference to a large crowd, deploy personnel hidden among the crowd to spread the word and provide guidance. Add to this the previous preparations, and the crowd, already simmering with pent-up anger and nearing breaking point, would naturally turn on their true enemy.
Inside Yuanxin Palace, the anger on the queen's face could no longer be suppressed, and a flash of violence flashed across her eyes.
"Where are the Royal City Army?!" she shouted coldly, "Is it so difficult to mobilize manpower?! Drive this mob out! Anyone who dares to attack the palace gate will be killed without mercy!"
"No! No way!" To everyone's surprise, Cassius II suddenly screamed, "Esmeri, have you forgotten the rebellion in the Northern City? It started with a furnace worker dissatisfied with his pay, and the troublemaker was doused with ice water and thrown outside the city to freeze to death. Eventually, a city-wide mob stormed the city lord's mansion and murdered his entire family. The royal city had to dispatch a full force to massacre most of the city before they could barely quell the rebellion, which also bankrupted the empire's finances!"
"We can't kill anyone! If we start this, they'll try to rush in and tear us apart!" The King of the Silver Iris Empire yelled incoherently, his chest heaving violently with excitement, his body trembling slightly. "Why don't you just agree to them?! They don't ask for much, just let them go!"
"--His Majesty!"
Esmerel stared at him in disbelief, a flash of deep fatigue and sorrow in her eyes. Either he should submit obediently, or he should swiftly kill all challengers who dared to offend the royal family, making an example of them—the only option was indecision! The most fatal indecision! It would only drag the entire royal family into the abyss of ruin!
Cassius II shuddered under his wife's furious glare, but he still insisted, "No, we can't kill those civilians, otherwise everything will be over!"
Everyone was silent, waiting to see where this rare internal conflict between the empire's most noble couple would lead.
“…”
Esmerel stared at him for a long moment, then closed her eyes. For a moment, she seemed to be on the verge of collapse—but upon closer inspection, it was probably just an illusion.
"...The Blooming Conference is indeed not over yet." The queen practically gritted her teeth, "Guards, escort the members of the Third Council out of Kite Heart Palace. Let the common people see them leave."
"Thank you for your generosity," the ghost nodded gracefully at her, speaking his first words since being surrounded by guards, as if he had everything under damn control.
But as soon as he turned, out of the Queen's sight, and walked towards the wide-open palace gate under the guards' watchful eyes, the professor's originally leisurely pace gradually quickened, and he whispered in a voice that only he could hear: "Just as planned."
"—Now, get ready to run!"
The queen's cold gaze followed the tall figure closely, the murderous intent in her eyes almost condensing into a tangible blade, until he and the people behind him disappeared at the end of the palace gate. In the distance, a burst of joyful and encouraging cheers from the common people seemed to erupt.
"Now, the Blooming Conference is completely over." In the dead silence of the Kite Heart Palace, Esmeri said unusually calmly.
The next second, she stood up suddenly, and the sudden burst of terrifying pressure almost made the nearest guards unable to hold their weapons.
"Pass on my orders now!" The queen's voice suddenly rose, became hoarse, cold, and carried an unquestionable bloodiness, instantly tearing apart the short and pitiful "peace".
"Seal off the Royal City and impose martial law throughout the city—immediately arrest the chief ghost of the People's Party and his followers! Dig him out even if you have to dig deep!"
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