novelraw Chapter 190: Shadow Peace - Saintess King
Chapter 190: Shadow Peace - Saintess King
190. Shadow Peace - The Saintess Queen
I slowly stepped into the King's Audience Chamber.
A vast room decorated in red and gold.
The place where the King of Francia, as the ruler of all Knights, had reigned for generations, a culmination of the King's authority itself.
Now, all the windows were covered with curtains, illuminated only by the light of Magic Lamps, but I had heard that originally, the light coming through the stained-glass windows would have softly illuminated the King's throne.
I hadn't seen the sight myself, but it's a rather famous story.
I slowly walked towards the storm of light raging on the throne located in the center of the room.
In the middle of the downpour of light, which swirled like a storm, Eris stood with her eyes closed and hands outstretched, concentrating her mind.
Not long after I stopped walking, the swirling light began to slowly gather, and Eris slowly opened her eyes.
Her white hair, which had lost its original color and fluttered, dyed gold, in the storm of Divine Power that overwhelmed the faint light of the Magic Lamps, settled down.And her mysterious purple eyes, slowly revealed.
The Queen of Francia, who was no longer the Saintess under my support.
Before the Queen, who made even this Audience Chamber seem shabby, I thought there was no one who suited this room as much as she did, and I slowly knelt.
“Marquis Pierre de Lafayette greets Her Majesty, Queen Erisliste Lilianne De Francia.”
“Rise, Marquis.”
I rose and spoke lightly.
“Welcome back to the country. Was your journey to the Germania Empire a peaceful one?”
Eris giggled and replied.
“Except that the journey to and from was a bit boring?”
I gave a bitter smile.
Kaiserin Cecilia of the Germania Empire had asked Eris to attend the funeral of the Kaiser, no, the former Kaiser, Otto II.
For a half-sister who started a war to steal Eris’s throne to invite her to her husband's funeral is generally hard to understand, but…
Naturally, there was strong opposition from the National Assembly.
-It's dangerous! It’s not even within our borders, what if something unfortunate happens…
But Eris simply dismissed it.
-The Empire is exhausted too. They wouldn't want to do anything that gives us another reason for war, so they'll do their best to ensure my safety. Of course, I'll be taking a Guard detail.
-Aren't they the ones we just fought a war against not long ago? There’s a limit to shamelessness!
-All the more reason I want to go. Who knows if this will alleviate some of the old animosity? Besides, the National Assembly does the ruling. If I, who have nothing to do, can help Francia's diplomacy by enduring a little trouble, isn't that a net gain?
With the Queen speaking like that, the assembly members found it hard to oppose any further, and it was eventually passed.
Cecilia might have asked Eris to attend to mourn her husband, but that couldn't be all.
Considering the skill and political prowess she had shown, there must have been an intention to secure legitimacy for her underage son. Eris wasn't unaware of this, but she agreed nonetheless.
And from what I heard, Eris had conjured a light that covered the entire Imperial Palace of the Empire, bestowing a blessing, and the Empire’s nobles and subjects were said to have shed tears of emotion and knelt at the miraculous sight.
It was printed in large letters in the Newspaper that there were countless people praising the mercy and grace of the Saintess Queen who had blessed the late Emperor and the Empire despite the war, so she had perfectly kept her word on her way to the Empire.
“But, didn't you use a lot of your power in the Empire?”
And yet, she’s doing that as soon as she arrives. Isn't that straining her body?
Hearing my words, Eris's expression turned somewhat playful.
“I thought maybe it grows the more I use it, so there was an intention to experiment.”
“...Haha.”
'She’s a ‘Saintess’. Is it okay for her to go around experimenting with the power given by God?'
In the end, it was an act of mourning the dead and for peace, so if you ask if the intention was bad, it wasn't, but...
Seeing the young Saintess, who had struggled after healing just a few dozen people when we first met, now older than I was back then and acting like this, feels quite strange.
Eris looked at me, her eyes curving as she smiled and said.
“It turns out it doesn't just grow by using it a lot.”
It seems like a result that should be disappointing, so why is she smiling so strangely?
As I was wondering, Eris rose from her seat.
“On the way back, I was going to do some relief work, but they called me back in a hurry, saying there were things that needed approval, and then it was boring because it was over as soon as I signed a few things. If it was going to be like this, they should have just let me go.”
Saying so, Eris approached me with a somewhat mischievous smile.
When she makes that face, she's usually thought of something not good...
Eris came right up to my nose, covered her face with both hands, and suddenly burst into tears.
“Huuuuuh—!”
My brain ceased to function.
What, what is this.
Why is she doing this out of the blue.
“Traitor!”
The sound that erupted from Eris's mouth left my mind reeling.
“Y-Your Majesty. What on earth do you mean.”
“I was using the excuse that even the Marquis, who is older than me, isn't married yet to fend off all the nagging to get married, but you couldn't even wait for me to return from the Empire!”
“Ah.”
I sighed involuntarily and placed a hand on my forehead.
After I proposed to Christine and was all excited, I told Dumont about it so he'd stop bothering me, and the very next day, the news of our marriage was in the Newspaper.
And now even the Queen, who hasn't been in the Capital City for even a day, knows about it.
Dumont, that damn pot-bellied old man...
Eris lowered the hands that had been covering her face and said with a beaming smile.
“Congratulations on your marriage! But I will hate the traitor.”
“...Thank you, Your Majesty. But a traitor, why on earth am I a traitor...”
This is absurd.
Instead of giving a clear answer, Eris just stuck her tongue out at me slightly.
...A queen so unfitting for the throne.
Good grief.
Only sighs escape me.
Right, since it came up, shall I ask?
“Then, Your Majesty.”
“Yes?”
“Is it that you do not wish to marry?”
“Yes.”
I chuckled at the answer that came without a second of hesitation.
If Count Anjou heard this, he'd probably grab the back of his neck and collapse.
“If that is the case, could you perhaps tell me the reason? If the reason is valid, I, as your subject, shall lend you a hand.”
Eris's face brightened, and she uttered words unbecoming of a Saintess, unbecoming of a Queen, and even more unbecoming of a Saintess Queen.
“Wow, really? Can I just pass Count Anjou off to you, Marquis?”
“...If the reason is valid.”
Since Eris was still beaming, I sighed lightly and asked.
“As expected, do you have an aversion to things like political marriages?”
“That's right, I'm a little... with someone whose face and personality I don't know.”
Eris laughed awkwardly at that, then gave me a slight eye-smile and said.
“Unless it was someone like you, Marquis-nim.”
“...I will get angry, Your mischievous Majesty.”
With a girlish face, Eris giggled, spun around, and took a step back from me, then she finally opened her mouth with a slightly more serious expression.
“I am a queen elected to prevent a war, aren't I? Must a queen who was merely elected like that continue the line, and must her child be elected again to carry on the royal bloodline of Francia?”
“Well. Your Majesty's position itself is unprecedented.”
“Right? It's just that other royal families do it, so we should too, but I don't really like that. We overthrew the old regime and created a new one, so do we really have to follow the old ways just because? Besides…”
Eris added, twirling her long silver hair with her finger.
“And it's questionable whether the royalty or nobility of other countries, who propose political marriages to wed the ‘Queen of Francia’, would be satisfied with the existence of Francia's National Assembly and a royal family that does not step forward.”
“Indeed, there is a strong sense that they are taking a shot, thinking they have nothing to lose.”
Even though it was her own story, Eris let out a small laugh and then put on a rather skeptical face.
“As the current Queen of Francia, I may not actively step forward, but it’s not as if I have no influence. And I'm not entirely without authority either.”
“As you say, Your Majesty.”
In the first place, the system of an elected monarchy that reigns but does not rule was a kind of compromise born to delay the war with the Empire as much as possible.
While she has no clear and significant real power, a certain degree of authority was granted to Eris during the negotiation process with the Empire.
On top of that, as long as she has the absolute support of being the Saintess Queen, even the National Assembly cannot treat Eris carelessly.
In fact, during her short reign, there have been quite a few matters that Eris pushed through despite opposition from the National Assembly.
Until now, due to the unique circumstances of wartime, Eris's intentions being good and the results also being good, it hasn't been a problem, but...
“Um, I. I have more of a hot temper than I look.”
“...I am well aware, Your Majesty.”
Hearing my answer, Eris gave me a slight glare, then soon smiled slyly and said.
“The thought that someone might try to wear the halo of the Saintess Queen and handle this country as they please, just because they are my husband or my child, makes me quite angry. To think how much blood, how many sacrifices this country was built upon.”
Eris spread her arms and smiled as I watched.
In a way, like a Saintess, and in another way...
“I can't stand to see that happen. I'd rather tear it all down with my own hands.”
As if she were an archangel punishing the fallen.
I let out a hollow laugh.
Goodness.
What if Maximilien Le Jidor and Eris had had the chance to have a serious conversation?
Would he have lamented that a descendant of the old regime, and a symbol of the religion he denied, was a leader of the people who loved this country more than the National Assembly?
Eris, by her very existence, is the queen most needed by this newborn and still chaotic country. As a spiritual anchor and a focal point, there could be no one greater.
And yet, at the same time, she is aware that her very existence could be the worst enemy of the National Assembly and the government of the people.
I bowed to Eris as politely as I could.
“If that is Your Majesty's will, I will do my best to ensure you are not bothered by this matter any further.”
Eris replied with a gentle smile.
“I thank you for your dedication, Marquis.”
I slowly raised my head.
But then, not as Erisliste Lilianne De Francia, the Saintess Queen.
What about the personal happiness of Eris as a human?
I didn't say it out loud, but unexpectedly, Eris, who was looking at me, smiled and said.
“Pierre de Lafayette, my swindling supporter.”
“Haha, I've told you I've never swindled you, Your Majesty.”
Eris chuckled, then slowly opened her mouth.
“You know, if I were to fall in love, I'd want to experience a love like yours and Christine's.”
What should I say to that.
Should I tell her she'll be able to find such a love someday?
As I was thinking that, Eris smiled softly.
“But, I can't do that.”
“...Why?”
Eris placed a hand on her chest and replied in a gentle tone.
“Because I am for everyone. ...Because I must be for everyone.”
-If I work this hard, maybe God will forgive my mother's sins and mine.
“Even if I fall in love with someone, I can't give them my all. Surely, I would make the person who loves me unhappy by trying to save everyone. So, instead of that.”
The girl who hated being called a Saintess more than anyone.
“I will not love just one person, but everyone. If by my hard work, everyone can become even a little bit happier.”
Grew into an adult whom no one could deny was a Saintess.
“Then someday, before those who have passed. ...Before my mother, I can be proud, right?”
She said with an incredibly soft smile.
“At that time, I'm sure I'll also be able to smile very happily.”