bookrandom Chapter 554 This seems to be my room
Chapter 554 This seems to be my room
"Even if such a thing really existed, it wouldn't be our Gaia Empire that would be the first to break our oath."
The meeting room was silent for a long time. Finally, someone spoke up, breaking the oppressive atmosphere and attracting Catherine's attention.
"Lord Avery."
Catherine looked at the priest who replaced Bishop Quincy. His Majesty the King was not present at this council. The speaker was sitting at the front of the long table and did not stand up when he saw the princess.
"Excuse me, Your Excellency. This is a meeting to discuss the future military operations of the Gaia Empire, and you—"
Avery placed his fingers together on the long table. He had not yet been officially promoted by the Pope to be one of the twelve bishops, but his tone showed no respect for the Crown Prince.
"His Majesty the King has officially signed an imperial decree suspending your involvement in all military decision-making. If you still have doubts about the decree, you may request a review, but before that..."
The man stood up and looked across the long table at the now-grown princess. "Please stick to your duties."
The room temperature seemed to have dropped to freezing point, and all the ministers instinctively shrank their necks.
There was a silent exchange of glances, and even the princess's party showed helplessness in their eyes. Her Royal Highness, who had always been steady and cautious, had given the Church enough leverage with her radical behavior during the duel trial. They even threatened that if Her Royal Highness had not been so reckless in cracking down on the Knights of Light during those days, the temple might not have suffered such a heavy blow.
Now that the church has lost two highly respected bishops in succession, the newly appointed Avery, whether out of sincerity or stance, has shown great disgust towards the princess, even exposing the conflict between the king and the crown prince directly, without giving the princess any face at all!
But in the face of such a direct expulsion, the princess still refused to leave. On the contrary, she kept walking, walked past the ministers with different expressions, and sat down opposite Bishop Avery.
This made Avery's eyebrows jump - this arrogant girl turned a deaf ear to his words!
"What's wrong, Lord Avery?" Catherine sat down and saw Avery was still standing. She looked up at him and said, "You're just not participating in the decision-making process. You don't say you can't observe the proceedings, right? The Church has a responsibility to educate the Crown Prince. Poor Bishop Quincy is gone, and I'll still be relying on you in the future."
Compared to Quincy, Avery had too little contact with this princess. He thought that verbal stimulation could drive away the shameless lady, but he never expected that this seemingly noble princess was actually like a piece of malt sugar that sticks to the teeth and cannot be shaken off at all.
He showed some anger on his face: "This involves military secrets——"
"Then let's talk about something else." Catherine leaned back in her high-backed chair and changed the content of the meeting without further explanation.
"Which side do you represent in determining that the alliance covenant has been broken? The alliance agreement back then did not include the signature of the Church of Light." It's even hard to say whether there was a God of Light at that time.
"...The elves are the masterminds behind all the recent chaos in High Court!" Avery announced to everyone in the council chamber with a stern face. "Not only have they stirred up public sentiment, they have also murdered Bishop Harris with incredibly cruel methods! Such provocations by the enemy will surely lead to consequences!"
"Then why did they do this? I have read all the files on the murder of Bishop Harris. The word "elves" has never been mentioned in any of the dozen or so long scrolls. Did I miss something?" Catherine asked knowingly without changing her expression.
Avery choked, and the priests behind him exchanged glances rapidly.
"Of course, they're afraid of the Empire's strength and are attempting to break through from within...Are you questioning His Majesty's decision?!"
"It's precisely because I trust my uncle wholeheartedly that I ask this question. The Knights of Light are the sword wielded by both the King and the Church." Catherine looked around. "But the King isn't here, and neither is the First Knight, who should be representing him with the crown. As the Crown Prince, shouldn't I question the legitimacy of the Council?"
There was a buzz of discussion at the scene, and such accusatory remarks made the church members even more angry.
After several rounds of verbal battles, the military meeting finally ended hastily due to the disruption caused by Her Royal Highness the Princess, without any substantial progress.
The ministers stood up one by one and watched Her Royal Highness the Princess leave first.
"You're so excited."
It was not until they walked out of the palace where the meeting hall was located and came outdoors that the Minister of Finance, Mr. Fitch, dared to speak as a peacemaker. He had dealt with the princess many times and was quite familiar with each other, but today's commotion in the meeting hall was really not like Her Royal Highness's usual style.
"When they want to take money from you, you may be more excited than me." Catherine pursed her lips. She received the news in a hurry, and disrupting the meeting was the fastest reaction she could make at the moment.
Mr. Fitch chuckled and stroked his beard, "Waging a war requires sufficient preparation and budget, not to mention the back-and-forth spying between the two sides before that.
This is a long game, and it won’t start so soon. You have plenty of time to persuade His Majesty the King…”
"The battlefield in Ozler has been going on for more than a decade. I know what war is all about better than you do."
Mr. Fitch's words failed to impress Catherine. The mention of "game" disgusted her even more. The princess remained expressionless: "Besides, I don't think His Majesty the King has the patience to play any long games."
He was already crazy about the flesh and blood of the elves. How could a madman wait that long?
Mr. Fitch wanted to persuade her a little more, but the princess didn't want to listen anymore. "Good day, Mr. Fitch. I wish you all the best."
Her Royal Highness the Princess strode forward, leaving the hunchbacked old man where he was, "Hey hey."
"Isn't this a good thing?"
Leila followed the flying black skirt around the corner, walking a step behind. Her cold eyes swept around, and her prying eyes immediately disappeared. The red-haired female knight turned her head and said indifferently:
"The large number of troops stationed around Highgarden has always been your greatest obstacle. Now they are about to be mobilized—"
This is the royal palace. Leila didn't say everything, but Catherine already understood what she meant.
It was impossible for her and Bishop VII to complete the crown relay peacefully; war was inevitable. The Knights of Light were the king and the church's greatest support. If they left the capital, her room for maneuver would greatly increase.
The accompanying adjutant, Kirk, also agreed and nodded happily when he heard the princess's firm voice:
"No."
He saw the princess shake her head firmly, "I want that position, but it's not just for the sake of getting there."
This war between races must never begin.
It is the general trend for all races to unite and fight against the Void Beasts. There is no foundation of trust between the Gaia Empire and the Forest of Elves. Instead, they have built high walls of defense against each other. Once a head-on conflict breaks out, the slight looseness that she has finally pried open in the wall over the years will be directly buried by the war.
Catherine's eyes flashed with anxiety.
We must contact Teacher Gichel as soon as possible.
Where is she now?
……
"Uh, this seems to be my room-"
Lilith stayed with Melissa in the manor in the city of Goletia tonight. When she turned over in a daze in the middle of the night, she saw a dark figure sitting on the edge of her bed through the slit of her eyes.