Chapter 1061: Act 233 – The Baby Girl
Time moved slowly, measured in minutes, and the nobles quieted down again. Veronika took a map from Sidney and marked several areas on it with stones and branches:
“The December Square and the surrounding area are filled with rioting crowds. Every street from the South Gate to the East Gate is completely blocked. South of the Queen’s District, we noticed a few guards confronting the advancing crowd. In short, these areas are not safe for passage.”
As she gestured, she explained:
“Once inside the inner city, there’s an Imperial Guard stationed. Even if the patrol cavalry and city guard encounter problems, these troops directly under the Imperial family will remain loyal. A small number of temple monks from the Knights of Flame are also stationed here. Even if higher-level forces infiltrate, it would be impossible to break their combat effectiveness in a short time.”
She turned to Brendel, asking, “How confident are you?”
Brendel shook his head and honestly replied, “Not at all.”
The night wind blew over the hills, rustling the corners of the map, and the stones and branches fell to the ground, leaving everyone feeling the deep cold of the night.
Veronika did not care about the map; it held little meaning. She looked at the young Erluin, her expression not unexpectedly displeased, as if this was the answer she had anticipated.
The female commander said, “Then we must at least avoid the rioting crowd; they might become your aid.”
“That will be difficult,” Baron Hommez spoke up at this moment. He was the eldest son of Duke Huaye, and Faina’s brother. He was a young man with a strong upright demeanor: “The current unrest is far lesser than the records from twenty-three years ago, let alone the turmoil in the year of the great transformation. It will be hard to have an impact on the inner city.”
The others present fell silent, clearly skeptical about the opportunities brought by the unrest. However, Brendel felt it was not that simple. If the rioting crowds were influenced by the Everything Returns Society, that would be one thing, but the Shepherds rarely returned empty-handed. Once they acted, they surely had ulterior motives.
However, he did not voice these thoughts. He understood that in this era, nobles struggled to differentiate between the factions of cultists. Even someone as discerning as Veronika often confused the Shepherds with the Everything Returns Society.
Although he could articulate the differences, he could not clarify why he understood the cultists so intimately. This was a topic best left unspoken.
Only Chancellor Nidwen appeared calm, having startled everyone earlier with her presence but now returned to being taciturn. She silently observed the discussions around her, yet her spirit shone brightly, as if she feared not this cold night, with sparkling eyes that brimmed with vitality.
Young Nidwen hesitated for a moment before speaking, “Her Majesty has known for a long time that there are heretics inciting the public behind the scenes. She seems indifferent and may be aiming to establish authority through bloodshed.”
Though referred to as Young Nidwen, this current Imperial Chancellor was over sixty, and by the lifespan of the Vaunte iron folk, he was nearing middle age. Although he had not been favored by the Queen recently, he retired from his political position only at the last moment and his understanding and speculation about the Queen’s political intentions made him arguably the most authoritative person among those present.
“The political instability in the Bankler region indeed makes murder the best means.” Veronika nodded.
Only Brendel frowned. Coming from a civilized world, the concept of slaughtering civilians was something he found hard to accept, although he understood that such notions were trivial to the nobles.
In nature, social animals often reduce their populations to achieve balance with the environment; humans do the same whether through war or internal strife, especially in times when expansion is challenging.
The root of the turmoil in the heart of the Empire stemmed from disrupted supply lines, and the wars in Meze and south of the Evergreen Path seemed unlikely to end anytime soon. Consequently, population reduction was the only way to lessen food consumption.
“Lord Nidwen, what do you think?” Veronika turned her gaze to the old Chancellor.
Old Nidwen sighed, “Years ago, Her Majesty was not like this.”
Brendel was taken aback, not expecting the former Chancellor to say such a thing. The others were similarly caught off guard but the old Chancellor’s words evoked memories among the older nobles—such as Duke Mehotofen.
“Indeed,” the latter nodded, “it’s quite unexpected for Her Majesty to become who she is today.”
“How was she before?” Brendel suddenly asked.
His question was not a sudden burst of curiosity, but he sensed that Old Nidwen had a purpose in raising this topic.
“Commander Veronika should remember,” Old Nidwen replied.
Veronika paused and then nodded slightly, “Her Majesty was once called the kindest princess in the Empire, but that was in her days as a princess.”
“I remember it clearly,” Duke Mehotofen smiled, “Back then, we studied etiquette together at the Griffin Royal Academy. The princess often spoke with us young people about the future and ideals. She was particularly concerned about the Empire’s standing, believing that the Crusian people could achieve prosperity and strength not just through war but also through commerce and development…”
“Yes, I was a staunch opponent of that at the time,” Veronika could not help but chuckle, as if recalling the youthful past, “I was about the same age as the princess, and her naivety frustrated me to no end. However, she was indeed vastly different from now. She was especially focused on commerce, wanting to achieve a second era of civilization through expansion into the Black Forest and trade contacts within civilization since the return of glory.”
At this point, Brendel could not help but touch his nose, thinking that this strategy sounded somewhat familiar.
“To be honest,” the female commander’s tone turned somber, “I actually resonate more with her current self, but her way of dividing the Empire is intolerable to me. Moreover, her actions against the princes violate the rules of nobility.”
At this moment, Brendel suddenly realized how little he knew about the Queen of the Empire. In another part of history, she was merely a transitional figure, with her reign being a time that bridged the two great emperors.
People are familiar with the Silver Queen, who was Constance above the supreme throne, representing the most peaceful period of the Empire, where everything was tranquil. The only notable event was the Third Holy War, but this war would serve as a prelude to a much larger war involving another legendary emperor.
However, the history of this Queen’s reign and her days as a princess were hardly known.
Brendel was similarly struck to find that his understanding of the Queen’s times as a princess was limited to a few scant descriptions from Turiman.
Why had she changed so drastically?
Brendel suddenly recalled a conversation from that time, involuntarily murmuring to himself, “…so what did she see during that imprisonment, besides crystallization disease?”
Old Nidwen suddenly lifted her head, looking sharply at Brendel, then shook her head.
“No one knows, but I have my suspicions.”
The two were like playing a game of charades, leaving everyone else puzzled, but only Brendel could understand that this question had returned to its origins.
It was a question that even Turiman had spoken ambiguously about, but the elder in front of him conveyed:
“I have my guesses—”
He froze for a moment, focusing intently on the former Chancellor of the Empire.
The elder fell silent for a moment, as if hesitating, but finally mustered the courage to speak, “I have heard a tale that someone saw the princess return with a baby girl.”
“What?”
“From the crystal.”
Brendel immediately grasped the significance of this baby girl.
The Chancellor halted the conversation, glancing around, and both Duke Mehotofen and Young Nidwen instantly understood, finding an excuse to take their leave. Only Baron Hommez seemed slightly confused but was swiftly pulled away by his sister.
Faina cast a worried glance back at Brendel as she left.
Veronika prepared to leave as well but was retained by the old Chancellor.
“You remain, Commander; you are involved,” he said, “In the past, I once doubted this claim, thinking it was mere rumor, but after witnessing Her Majesty’s actions over the decades, I’ve come to clarity.”
Neither Brendel nor Veronika interjected. They understood that what the old Chancellor was about to say was the crux of the matter.
Indeed, the old Chancellor spoke slowly:
“I suspect that the baby girl is a newborn kind.”
“What is a newborn kind?” Veronika asked, puzzled.
Brendel suppressed the tumult in his heart, recalling past readings, and explained to the female commander, “There are many theories regarding newborn kinds, but the Bud people believe the greatest possibility is pure-blood divine beings…”
“Divine beings?”
“Not merely divine beings, but pure-blood divine beings. The Minren are also diluted descendants of divine beings, and the dark dragon Odin is a divine being, but the true pure-blood divine beings only include the Knights of Azure.”
The old Chancellor nodded slowly beside him: “Lord Baron knows more than I, thus it can be said the Knights of Azure from the Epic of the Azure are also newborn kinds.”
“Why would there be a newborn kind baby girl on the final battlefield?”
“I do not know. Perhaps she is a descendant of Odin and the Witch Queen.”
“That is impossible,” Brendel shook his head. “The bloodline of divine beings dilutes over generations. The descendants of Odin and the Witch Queen can only be Minren.” He paused and asked, “Lord Nidwen, why do you think so?”
The old Chancellor fell silent, as if pondering, but ultimately steeled himself to speak: “Few know that, after the Holy War, Her Majesty the Princess once took a vow of chastity. Of course, this was a secret, and the one who held the vow was Varla.”
“Later, Her Majesty married Duke Olson, and seven years later, the Duke was assassinated by cultists while on his way to the Meze region. During that time, Her Majesty gave birth to seven princes and three princesses. I thought that everything had passed… but later I suddenly realized the connections and began to harbor doubts. After a quiet inquiry to Varla, I found out that Her Majesty had never broken her vow.”
“What!?”
Both Brendel and Veronika could not help but exclaim; they had never heard something so bizarre.
“What about the princes and princesses?”
The old Chancellor nodded: “Since that time, I started to harbor doubts. On one hand, I announced my seclusion and no longer involved myself in internal matters of the Empire; on the other hand, I quietly investigated and eventually found some clues. I discovered that for the past decade, Her Majesty had been secretly supporting well-known alchemists, eradicating dark cultists in East Meze and imprisoning Myad, actually to obtain the divine blood from the Shepherds.”
“You mean…”
“I suspect Her Majesty is attempting to reproduce the newborn kind. The princes and princesses are her creations, of course, she publicly claims these children are her own, and her marriage to Duke Olson serves as a fine cover, but in fact, there have been suspicions within the Empire. After all, Her Majesty’s body hardly seems like that of a woman capable of bearing offspring.”
“Wait,” Brendel suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He couldn’t help but think, does this mean the next Emperor of the Crusian people might be an artificial being? But he quickly reminded himself that the Empire’s Crown Prince was an exception, since he was the son of Constance’s elder brother, who had taken the throne from her brother. Thus, she would eventually return the throne to her brother’s bloodline, which was one of the promises made by the Silver Queen to the dragon and the predecessors of the Empire.
“It’s nothing.” He waved his hand, indicating that he had thought too much.
The two looked at him strangely but did not press further.
However, Brendel thought of another question, “If Her Majesty is attempting to reproduce the newborn kind, then what is her intention? Where did that newborn kind she brought back from the final battlefield go?”
As he posed this question, unexpectedly, the old Chancellor shook his head: “That is unknown. Not to mention that pure-blood divine beings cannot be reproduced by mere mortals, I also don’t understand why Her Majesty remains obsessed. Nevertheless, that newborn kind did not end up in her hands.”
“What?”
“I happened to investigate this matter. The existence of that child was deliberately concealed, and only a few knew of her existence. Among the three parties involved, I found a man named Parmid Andote. Unfortunately, I arrived too late; by the time I found him, this gentleman had already passed on. I spent a substantial amount of money to purchase all his notes from his widow, learning the truth through fragments of his writings.”
“I can be certain, Lord Baron, that it was your grandfather who helped the princess at that time conceal this matter, and that baby girl was eventually taken away by a woman named Gloria. This woman is not from the Empire—initially, I went down the wrong path, thinking she had a close relationship with your grandfather and consequently wasted a lot of time investigating that but found nothing. Later, I shifted my approach and began investigating those close to your grandfather and discovered that this woman was actually your father’s fiancée, and there happens to be a princess named this in the royal lineage of the Kingdom of Erluin.”
