Chapter 76: Golden Ouroboros (Twenty-four)
◎Dudelai Coup◎
At the end of the Christian calendar year 1081, the Papal States welcomed another Sunday. Compared with the frequent wars and rainstorms of the previous year, the Syracuse Peninsula was calm this year. Roman was slowly getting back on track under the rule of the new queen. Compared with the fierce queen mother, the princess who grew up in Roman and succeeded to the throne was obviously more popular because of her "local nature". She was young, beautiful, and gentle. Her governing methods, which were a little awkward compared to her mother, also gave the nobles room to breathe. So at first glance, Roman's situation was even better than when she was in Amenra's hands.
After the administration got on track, people began to instinctively worry about the queen's marriage. During this year, Emperor Calais continued to send gifts to his fiancée to Beligo, but at the same time, his romantic affair with his male favorite, Viscount Julia, had become a well-known topic throughout the Syracuse Peninsula. Bards embellished their story with exaggerations and spread it to every corner with lyre, so even in the most remote country taverns, the names of the emperor and the baron would be frequently mentioned.
Of course, they were not bold enough to spread the anecdotes of a monarch in public. Instead, they changed their names and made up a fictional historical background. However, everyone is not a fool. When it comes to snooping into gossip, humans often have a keen wisdom that transcends genes. Everyone knows who the two male protagonists of this story are. All kinds of strange plots and creative ideas emerge in an endless stream. Even Ferrante, who had fueled the flames, was amazed.
The Roman people listened to this explosive "royal secret" with great interest, while at the same time angrily cursing the ungrateful Emperor Calais.
"He has already married our noble Queen!"
Feeling betrayed that their own daughters had been betrayed, people's favorable impression of Calais dropped to an all-time low. At the same time, public support for Her Majesty the Queen, who was "poor" and "endured humiliation for Roman," reached its peak.
It is clearly a marriage between two countries, but now it seems that the people at the bottom do not even consider Calais as an ally.
The queen in the Bieri Palace was happy to see this happen.
"I need my people to be loyal to me. As for Calais? I think he doesn't mind paying a little reputation for his 'poor' fiancée." Sanxia wrote this in the letter and waved to her loyal lady-in-waiting. "Find some more bards to tell François' story in various places. If there are newer good scripts, give them money."
The Queen happily closed the envelope and stamped her emblem on it.
Before this letter reached Florence, another piece of news flew across the vast continent like wings.
A coup d'état took place in Calais. Duke François, who had kept a low profile for nearly two years, rebelled against his nephew. Dudulais became a chaos. The most prosperous capital of the Syracuse Peninsula became a gathering place for mercenaries, troops, vagrants, and speculators. People fled with their families. Even the royal palace became a battlefield between the two sides. What was even more amazing was that, except for Dudulais, other cities were not affected by the war at all.
This incident was so strange that no monarch could understand how it happened.
In short, within just half a month, half of Dudley had been blown down, steam armor could move freely in the ruins, blood plasma accumulated on the ground, and every living person was forced to become a master of street fighting survival in the shortest time possible.
What is even more amazing is that under such circumstances, Francis IV did not leave Dudley.
His act of staying in the palace surprised many people who despised him, and forced them to look at this ridiculous monarch with a bad reputation in a new light.
Perhaps, he still has some good points? At least he showed the courage and firmness that a monarch should have.
The civil unrest in Calais occurred suddenly and ended suddenly. After Dudlais was completely reduced to ruins and even the emperor moved into the royal prison, Duke François, who had originally had the upper hand, fled from Dudlais alone without a single servant with him. He hid for two months under an assumed name and was exhausted, and then appeared at the border of the Papal States.
He requested to enter Florence under the name of political asylum and seek the protection of the Pope.
To this end, he even held the baptism ceremony of conversion again to prove that he had submitted wholeheartedly to the Holy Lord. In return, the Holy Lord's spokesperson should protect him.
This hot potato instantly attracted the attention of the whole world to Florence.
Raphael and Julius, who had been happily enjoying the feast, said: "..."
They never dreamed that they would have a share of this melon.
Neither Raphael nor Julius wanted to take over this big trouble. The Papal States and Calais were at peace. Would they be crazy to get involved in this mess and take in a loser of a coup? François had lost all his fiefdoms and wealth, and a month after he fled, the emperor also stripped him of his royal title. He was now a penniless and destitute vagrant, and there was no benefit in taking him in.
But as Pope, he couldn't be too blatant.
Raphael temporarily refused to allow François to stay in the Papal Foreign States on the grounds that a grand welcome was needed for the Duke, and at the same time he prepared to set off for the border - of course, at an elegant and slow pace in keeping with the customs of the aristocracy.
While he was stalling for time, letters from Dudley were arriving in Florence from another direction.
Unexpectedly, the little emperor did not talk eagerly about the uncle who escaped from him. Instead, he chatted with Raphael enthusiastically in the letter.
"Good day, my supreme noble man, the ruler of my faith, the place where my soul and dreams are, I am glad that you finally remembered me. The irises of Dudley are blooming. I planted them in the bedroom. The weather in Dudley is a bit bad recently. The gardener told me that they need suitable temperature and light. I had to burn some useless artworks in the storage room. God bless them, they are growing very well now..."
Raphael suppressed the strange feeling and read on, skipping over long passages of the emperor's self-narration. His tone was filled with excessive enthusiasm and happiness, as if he lived in a carefree paradise and was eager to share his happy life with his companions. However, everyone knew what a terrible situation Dudley was in now, which made his narration full of distortion and weirdness.
"...I caught a few more birds in my favorite maze garden. Oh, maybe I should introduce you to my maze garden. It is a very beautiful plant building. Everyone who has seen it praises it highly. I am of course happy to share it with you. Unfortunately, due to some well-known reasons, it is currently under renovation. But this is just a minor problem that is not worth mentioning..."
After a long and complicated conversation, the little emperor seemed to finally remember the reason for writing the letter, so he said lightly: "My uncle has caused you trouble, hasn't he? It's really distressing, but everyone has a few relatives who are not so obedient, I understand this very well, I hope you can forgive my mistake - I will come to fix this mistake soon."
Just as Francis IV said in the letter, he traveled day and night and soon arrived at the border of the Papal States. The former Duke, who had been shut out for a long time, was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He had obviously realized the reality of his silent rejection, and the ghostly appearance of the emperor's carriage confirmed his thoughts.
As the Pope's representative, Julius put on a standard etiquette smile, but after seeing him, François, who had seemed very excited, lost his smile in an instant. When the little emperor didn't smile, the inhuman feeling of a cold-blooded reptile was infinitely highlighted from him. Julius didn't show it on his face, but in his heart he had already put the other party on the first-level alert list.
The little emperor didn't even get out of the car. He leaned lazily on the soft pillow, only half of his face showing from the window. His amber pupils were like cold snake eyes, and his thick, curly long hair was draped over his shoulders. There was an oppressive strong smell of spices in the car, emanating from the gaps. ☉
"Thank you for your help, Your Majesty. You helped me find my uncle who accidentally lost his way." The little emperor lied with his eyes open, but Julius listened without changing his expression.
"Then I will take my uncle back. There are many people in Dudelai who are looking forward to meeting him." The little emperor rolled his eyes slightly and showed a rare cruel smile with a hint of joy.
Julius had no intention of exploring what the "expectation" in his words actually meant. He took a half step back and let the emperor's guards enter the castle behind him. On the first day François arrived here, they put him under house arrest in various ways. This was both a form of surveillance and protection. If he died within the jurisdiction of the Papal States, they would have no way to explain themselves.
However, before the guards could enter the castle, the awkward silence was broken by the hurried sound of horse hooves. Julius was keenly aware that something had happened. The knight, who was wearing the uniform of the Papal Palace, rushed up to him and whispered a few words into his ear before he could say anything.
The expression of the head of the Portia family remained unchanged, but the little emperor in the carriage slowly narrowed his eyes.
After hearing the message from the Pope, Julius raised his hand and gestured from a distance, and the castle gate slammed shut in front of the guards sent by the little emperor.
"I'm sorry, I think there might be a small misunderstanding between us," the Secretary General of the Papal Palace pushed up his silver-rimmed glasses, his expression showing just the right amount of apology, "Your Majesty did not mean to ask Monsieur François to leave, but to invite him to visit Florence. This is obviously a mistake on my part."
The little emperor stared at him coldly and asked word by word: "Are you sure?"
"Of course." The man with iron-gray hair had never been afraid of anyone, not even the emperor. When he held the power of Portia and disrupted the economy of the Syracuse Peninsula, the little emperor was still trembling under the shadow of his uncle.
“This is just a temporary invitation,” Julius said gently, not wanting to make things too radical. “It’s temporary.”
Even so, the little emperor's expression did not ease. In order to get here as quickly as possible, he did not bring many people with him, and he did not need to bring many people. His plan was to kill François on the road after picking him up. This could be seen from the fact that he did not bring a second carriage, and Julius certainly discovered this.
It would be irrational to conflict here.
The little emperor gritted his teeth slowly but put on a smile. The smile with an exaggerated and weird arc and eyes without any smile looked particularly distorted when put together.
But he looked like he figured it out pretty quickly.
"Okay, if this is Raphael's wish, I will certainly fulfill his wish." His tone was as sweet as stringy syrup, sticky and disgusting.
"Tell my dear uncle that the door of Dudelai is always open to him." After saying this, the little emperor left without any reluctance.
In the spacious carriage, the young man who had been kneeling at the emperor's feet kept trembling close to the emperor's calves, not daring to make any sound.
Viscount Julia, who had gained fame for bewitching Emperor Calais, was now as obedient as a little rabbit.
Compared to his days as a violinist in the band, he now possesses an overly dazzling appearance. His features, maintained with expensive jewelry and a luxurious lifestyle, sparkle like diamonds. His long hair draped around his waist shines like gold, and his purple eyes seem to glow with the luster of gems.
After two years of training, his demeanor and expression had become infinitely close to that of another person. Fortunately, he never showed up, otherwise, the moment he appeared in front of Julius, he would have been beheaded on the spot by the furious patriarch of Portia.
This is unquestionable blasphemy against the Pope!
François reached out and stroked Julia's head. The Viscount lowered his head obediently, accepting this gesture of petting a pet: "Your Majesty..."
"Hush, don't talk," the little emperor's voice was as light as a whisper, "Dear, you made me a little unhappy today. You chose my incompetent and useless uncle instead of me... Oh, dear, dear, who else can tolerate you like this except me?"
The Viscount did not understand what he meant at all, but his long experience told him that he must not refute at this moment, so he gave his crazy lover a smile that he had practiced countless times, just like he had done before.
Francois looked at him, was silent for a while, and suddenly changed his tone: "Well, dear, you see, as long as you smile at me, I will fall in love with you countless times."
Julius watched the carriage go away, his face suddenly turned cold, and he asked the dusty knight: "What happened to Assyria?"
The knight only received orders from His Majesty that something had happened in Assyria and that Duke François must be stopped in the Papal States. Apart from that, he knew nothing.
Julius, with a gloomy face, protected the rebels in front of Emperor Calais, which undoubtedly created a deep rift in the relationship between the Papal States and Calais. He didn't know what news Florence had received, and he had no way of judging the pros and cons of this decision. He believed that Raphael's choice was his only instinct.
After such a great turn of events, the former Duke had fainted on the bed. Julius frowned and looked at the old man on the bed. He turned away with disgust and said, "Send him back to Florence."
When the Secretary General hurried back to the Papal Palace, what greeted him was not Raphael who had prepared a thorough speech, but the news of the sudden defeat of the army of the Southern Sargonid Dynasty of Assyria and the sad news that the Pope suddenly fell seriously ill.
"Everything happened very suddenly," Lucreza, a girl who often followed His Majesty, was the only one who knew what happened at the time. Facing the gloomy Secretary-General's questioning, the plainly dressed girl organized her words clearly and said everything, "One day after you left, His Majesty Ferrante's spies brought back the Assyrian war report. We don't know what happened on the battlefield, but according to the news spread by the Pilgrimage Alliance... they said that His Majesty Amenra died in the battle."
Julius was looking down at the brief report. When he heard this, he suddenly looked up, his eyes revealing an expression of shock that he could not help but reveal.
If Amenra dies, the tripartite situation among Calais, Roman and Assyria will collapse in an instant, and the alliance formed by fragile marriages will also change. Especially now that Calais has completely eliminated all internal troubles, can Roman still restrain this huge empire and long-time rival?
Duke François must not be allowed to die - this became the first thought in Julius' mind. He must leave a handle for Emperor Calais. As long as the Duke is alive, there is a possibility that his throne will be overthrown, and Calais will not be able to act recklessly.
Moreover, they needed to hold this handle tightly in their own hands. As a talisman of the weak Papal States, Julius immediately understood Raphael's idea.
But what does this have to do with Raphael’s serious illness?
Lucresa took a breath and tilted her head in confusion. "I don't know either... But after he received the news and immediately ordered the knights to go to the border to stop them, he sat there and didn't speak for a long time. It was not until Doctor Polly came to massage His Majesty that he discovered that His Majesty had developed a high fever without knowing when."
The unexplained illness made Julius' heart sink. He remembered Raphael's fragile body and poor health when he was first brought back. All the doctors were sure that he would not be able to live a long and healthy life. Later, he was forced to undergo a cruel bone-breaking operation, which was a second devastation to him. For a long time afterwards, Raphael would even get a fever when he was blown by the wind.
So much so that even after he was exiled to Cantrera Castle, Julius still instinctively worried about him and went to take care of him every day.
But that was a long time ago. If you count it, it was...
Julius was stunned for a moment. It was only three years ago, so why did he feel as if a long half lifetime had passed?
His thoughts wandered briefly, but he pulled them back by force: "I understand."
Lucreza looked up at the increasingly powerful Secretary General and asked hesitantly, "Your Majesty will be fine, right?"
Julius glanced at her and said in a steady tone, "Of course, I won't let him die before me."
He was stunned for a moment after blurting out these words, and then he repeated them slowly: "...I won't let him die before me."
Lucreza looked at him and saw something in the man's eyes, and she couldn't help shuddering.
The author has something to say:
Time jump method! Skip it for a year! The plot begins to soar.jpg
By the way, "Storm" is so good that I am obsessed with it. It is simply a paradise for a person like me who likes to have fun! I love my crazy little brother woooo!
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