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Book 5: Chapter 14: Cornered
Book 5: Chapter 14: Cornered
Book 5: Chapter 14: Cornered
The rain finally stopped at long last.
The two idiots up there must have finally sensed that something was wrong and stopped the plan. Given the immense size of that creature, the entire city would have been covered in red had they carried on the plan until the end.
The air was now filled with a pungent, fishy stench. At least the huge internal organs in the fish did not fall on the city since those two idiots up there were smart enough to realize something was wrong in time. With this, their ambitious plan to hide a note in the belly of a fish came to a close.
No one would take the blood rain as an auspicious omen. Thanks to the horrible plan that this bunch of idiots came up with, it would become harder to convince the mass that Leniah was the rightful successor to the throne.
If the same thing had happened in the ancient times of the previous world where Lilith had lived in, there would probably be a rebellion on the very next day after the ascension ceremony.
Lilith looked at everyone who was drenched in the blood rain down there and let out a long sigh. She massaged her temples, trying to soothe her headache.
She should have known better than to trust these idiots from her clan and risk it by seeking their help. Their brains were simply wired very differently compared to other creatures in this world. The ideas they came up with were always difficult to be understood by ordinary people.
In fact, they were probably the only ones who could manage to drag a gigantic fish which was the size of a city all the way out here and attempt to cut it open in midair.
As for the brocade book which indicated that Leniah was the rightful successor and was supposedly hidden in the belly of the fish? The blood rain was falling too heavily for anyone to see it.
And now that the blood rain had stopped, not many people had courage to look up at the sky again.
In any case, this turn of events spelled trouble for Lesiah.
……
“Care to explain, Your Highness?”
The crowd parted and a balding old man slowly came out from it.
He was dressed like a gorgeous nobleman. Unfortunately, his expensive clothes had been dyed red by the blood rain that fell from the sky earlier. Even so, the coat of arms on his chest remained prominent, signifying his noble status in the empire country.
The old man was none other than one of the three dukes of the Macedonian Empire, Lord Augustus.
“What explanation for what, Lord Augustus?”
Lesiah narrowed her eyes slightly. She was surprised that this old man still dared to show his face in front of her after all the things he did. The fact that he dared to show up meant he was going to take advantage of this incident to completely crush her.
After all, vicious men like him do best in kicking a man when he’s down.
Lord Augustus did not even show any respect that he should have toward Lesiah. His wrinkled face scrunched up with undisguised anger as he questioned her in a cold voice, “Still playing dumb, Your Highness? Is this a farce Your Highness has deliberately created in order to amuse us?”
Lord Augustus was livid. This was no doubt a torture for a germaphobe like him. He flung his sleeves. Since his clothes were completely soaked, the blood in them splashed everywhere. Some even got onto the corner of Lesiah’s dress. The red looked especially glaring on the white fabric of her dress.
The guards of honor in Leniah’s entourage were holding decorative umbrellas. Since they were carefully handpicked guards, they were naturally capable people. When the blood rain was about to fall, they reacted quickly and shielded the two princesses with the umbrellas. So unlike Lord Augustus and most of the people who were completely soaked, Lesiah and Leniah remained pretty “dry” despite the blood rain.
Lesiah did not expect this would become an ammo for the old man to use against her.
She did her best to suppress the anger rising within her, then calmly replied, “It was just an accident, Lord Augustus. You’re overthinking about it…”
“Accident? Overthinking? How can I not overthink? The ascension ceremony today is a sacred event for the empire. Putting aside how inappropriate it is for the young princess to take the throne when she is not in the direct line of succession, can I take this so-called accident as…”
Lord Augustus laughed grimly and continued, “A divine intervention to stop this ascension ceremony?”
His statement immediately caused an uproar in the surrounding crowd. The voice of opposition then gradually got louder.
“Yes, our empire has never seen a female emperor in its long history! Let alone being reigned by the young Princess Leniah, who is the second daughter of the late emperor!”
“This must be a divine punishment! A divine punishment for such a great sin committed! If we continue this, something even more terrible surely awaits us!”
“That’s right! It’s not too late to stop this! I implore Your Highness to stop this farce at once and set things right!”
“We implore Your Highness to stop this farce at once!”
“We implore Your Highness to stop this farce at once!”
The crowd that Lesiah had calmed down not long ago turned rowdy once again. The voices were sparse at first, then they eventually grew into a sea of opposition that nearly drowned Lesiah.
It seemed that the old man was prepared for this, but the blood rain gave him a better excuse.
“Silence!”
Turning the power of the voice amplifying magic tool to the maximum, Lesiah’s voice immediately overpowered those voices of opposition.
“This grand ceremony is of great importance to the empire’s future, and your unruliness has no place here!”
The authority she had gained through her reign for the past several years still prevailed over the uneasiness in the hearts of the masses who were incited by the duke’s words. The crowd once again calmed down.
However, some people naturally could not stand by and watch Lesiah succeed in calming down the situation.
“Your Highness, your words are too harsh. Your subjects, myself included, are merely offering you our humble suggestions for the good of the empire. How can you describe it as unruliness?”
Another respectable middle-aged man, who wore a monocle, slowly came forward. He smiled and continued saying, “Your harsh words break the fragile hearts of your faithful subjects.”
“Tch.” Lesiah clicked her tongue at the sight of this man.
This person was not a duke but he was the right-hand man of Lord Ryland, who was one of the three dukes of the empire. Lord Ryland was an extremely cautious man who would never take the risk of making a public appearance. This time was no different. He must have sent someone over to speak on behalf of him, while he huddled in a corner to secretly observe the situation.
To see this person appearing here meant that Lord Ryland was already somewhere nearby. It seemed like he was also opposed to having a real emperor above him and getting in the way of his business.
“Haha, a bunch of truly faithful subjects you all are, for two out three dukes to go against my decision. I’m afraid that all of you are not qualified to talk about loyalty with me,” Lesiah sneered. “What wisdom did you bring with you here today?”
“Oh, we wouldn’t dare to call it wisdom,” Lord Augustus said earnestly. “We only hope that Your Highness will change your mind on this foolish decision to crown the young princess, who is merely seven-years-old and carry on being the good crown princess you’ve been. We pledge to continue serving and supporting you to the best of our abilities.
Lesiah’s gaze turned icy cold. “I suppose that beneficial advice is always unpleasant to hear…”
Lord Augustus nodded her head sincerely. “I am glad that Your Highness thinks so.”
“But what if I disagree with you? Lord Augustus, you are not going to rebel against me in the name of the empire and great righteousness, are you?”
Lord Augustus’ face instantly changed. Treason was not something to be taken lightly.
If he showed even the slightest hint of admitting to it, it would not be impossible for Lesiah to immediately order for him to be executed on the spot.
“Naturally, your loyal subject would not dare to even think of it, however…”
“However?”
“Your Highness, please remember that you are still only considered a regent.”
“So what of it?”
Lesiah’s face remained expressionless, but she already understood what these old guys were planning to do.
“I hope that Your Highness remembers that there is one rule which was passed down to prevent situations where the regent forcefully claims a throne.”
Lord Ryland’s right-hand man took off his monocle, wiped it before putting it back on again and said, “If the three dukes can come to an agreement, then it is possible for them to cancel the decree issued by the regent.”