Game of the World Tree Chapter 885: Empress Maria II
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Early June 1073 of the Eternal Era.
That is five months after the Eternal Church launched a holy war against the Life Church.
As the war continues, the decline of the aristocratic coalition in the human kingdom becomes more and more obvious. On various battlefields, the Life Church has launched a counterattack.
From the Dead Desert to the Elf Forest, from Maple Moon Free Leader to the Southern Path Seeker Alliance, the news of the defeat of the noble coalition forces continued one after another, and was sent back to the center of the human kingdom like raindrops. More and more, and more and more The exaggeration made the human nobles even more panicked.
At the same time, in the human kingdom, especially the Holy Mania Empire where the Eternal Church has the strongest control, the missionary activities of the Life Church, which were originally successfully suppressed by the Eternal Church, are once again in full swing and secretly carried out with the reversal of the war situation. Get up...
An extremely subtle atmosphere began to spread throughout the human kingdom and the Holy Mandea Empire.
When the time came to mid-June, another major news happened in the Holy Maniah Empire.
Ever since the "God of Dusk and Sunset" incident, the Imperial Empress Maria II, who had been so angry that she was bedridden, finally regained consciousness for a moment after being in and out of coma for nearly two years.
However, not long after she woke up, the nearly 84-year-old empress of the empire learned about the Great Holy War and the repeated defeats of the noble coalition. She was so angry that she fainted again on the spot.
But this time, the condition of the Queen of the Empire deteriorated sharply and she never woke up again...
The news that the Queen was critically ill quickly spread throughout the empire center, and the top management of the entire human empire fell into chaos again.
Especially after the cardinal of the Eternal Church who is good at healing magic was invited to the Queen's bedside by the central nobles. After performing the healing magic, he could only shake his head helplessly, the atmosphere of the entire Imperial Cabinet and the Imperial Parliament became even more intense. Subtle.
Everyone realized that the queen, who had ruled the empire for seventy years, had finally run out of oil and might die at any time.
The Holy Mania Empire is about to change.
The external war was defeated and the internal political situation was unstable.
This made the noble council of the Holy Mania Empire even more chaotic.
Especially after the news that the Queen of the Empire was critically ill spread, the nobles with their own agendas quarreled even more fiercely in the parliament.
About the candidate for the next emperor, about the situation of the Great Holy War, about their own interests...the nobles were quarreling.
The Queen is like a sea-fixing needle.
Even if the Queen has been seriously ill in the past two years, and the Noble Council and Bishop Winster have been regents, the entire Holy Mania Empire can still operate normally with the prestige accumulated by Maria II in the past seventy years.
However, when the Queen is critically ill, when everyone can feel the turbulent atmosphere in the empire's middle and high-level affairs, which may change at any time, the nobles will unconsciously start to make plans for the future and start to unite. Start taking sides...
Similarly, there are also careerists who are beginning to make moves in secret.
However, just like a coin there are always two sides.
Perhaps because the repeated defeats of the Great Holy War severely frustrated the imperial nobles, especially those powerful nobles who had the strength to compete for the throne, the entire Imperial Council did not care about the current imperial royal family, the Tres family, continuing to inherit the imperial throne. objection.
However, the nobles began to fiercely debate whether to appoint Princess Teresa, the orthodox heir of Maria II, as the new emperor, or to elect a more experienced adult royal member from the Tres family to become the emperor. quarrel.
Among them, the big nobles tend to support young princesses as emperors, while the small and medium-sized nobles hope to choose a royal member who can turn the tide.
The two sides were quarreling fiercely in the Imperial Parliament, and it seemed that they had long forgotten the fact that although the Imperial Queen was critically ill, she was still alive and still the master of the empire...
"The throne must and can only be inherited by Princess Theresa! According to the Holy Seal of His Majesty Karl I, Princess Theresa is the first heir to the empire! She is our future Emperor!"
In the Imperial Parliament, after learning the news that the Queen was seriously ill, the Elector and Speaker Duke Corrence, who had withdrawn from the battlefield overnight, said firmly.
"Her Royal Highness Princess Teresa is too young. Although according to the Holy Seal, she is indeed the first heir to the empire, the entire empire is facing internal and external troubles. This is not something that a girl under fifteen years old can handle. ”
"What we need is a more mature and powerful emperor! According to the "Imperial Emperor Selection Law", we have the right to choose a more suitable candidate from the Tres family!"
On the other side of the parliament, the Marquis of Weimar, a representative of the small and medium-sized nobility, shook his head.
"Your Majesty the Marquis! Princess Theresa's succession to the throne was decided by the Imperial Parliament two years ago. Have you forgotten it?! Not to mention, His Majesty was only thirteen years old when he succeeded to the throne. That’s all!”
The Duke of Corens retorted.
The Marquis of Weimar also sneered:
"Your Excellency, Princess Teresa is kind and cowardly in character, but she is far inferior to your intelligent and precocious Majesty. If you allow an ignorant child to inherit the throne, do you want to join the nobles in controlling the center of the empire and controlling the parliament? ?!"
"Presumptuous!"
"Shameless!"
The nobles quarreled and even fought in the parliament, and the whole venue was in a mess.
This made the regent, Bishop Winster, who was sitting on the side of the parliament hall and watching the farce-like meeting with cold eyes, frowned and his eyes were full of disappointment.
"Enough! What time has it been! We are still quarreling. Now the jihad is unfavorable and the situation is unstable. This is not the time for internal strife!"
Looking at the increasingly chaotic venue, he couldn't help it after all, and used his legendary power to stop it on the spot.
The legendary pressure spread, and the venue gradually became quiet. However, when the nobles headed by the Duke of Collens looked at Bishop Winston, their unkind eyes quickly turned into a sneer:
"Holy war is not good? If the Eternal Church had not forcibly declared the Great Holy War at this time and encouraged the empire to send troops to the Southern Territory and the Maple Moon Free Territory, how could it have become like this? Moreover, the war has reached the current situation, and the judgment of the church Why haven’t the Legion and the Angel Legion taken action yet?”
"Watch your words! Your Excellency, Duke of Corens! Are you expressing dissatisfaction with the church?!"
On the other side, Archbishop Cahill, who represents the Eternal Church and is one of the three church electors among the seven electors in the empire, changed his expression, stood up from the church seat, and shouted angrily.
Beside him, Archbishop Dolon, the last church elector besides Archbishop Winster, also stood up and looked at the Duke of Corens with a gloomy look.
"Am I right? This holy war was originally initiated by the church."
The Duke of Corens snorted coldly.
At the noble seats, in addition to the former Maple Moon Leader family, representatives of the Rosen family, the Corens family, and the Belencia family, who controlled three of the four secular electors, all stood up and expressed their support for Ke The support of the Duke of Lens.
For a time, the noble council, which was originally discussing the successor to the throne, became more chaotic and disorderly.
Bishop Winston sat in the regent's seat.
Looking at the red-faced nobles and bishops arguing, even yelling and fighting, he looked very disappointed.
He sighed softly, stopped drinking, stood up gently, and left the chaotic venue.
Having stopped the entourage of priests and knights, Bishop Winston came to the outside of the Parliament Building alone.
The sunshine in June shines on the neat streets of the eternal holy city of Manyia, giving the white-gold buildings on both sides a layer of sacred brilliance.
The faint ringing of bells from a distant church came in the distance, mixed with the faint singing of the choir.
Looking at the streets that had become increasingly deserted since the start of the Great Holy War, and the apparent increase in homeless people and poor people in the corners of the streets, Archbishop Winston paused for a moment and sighed.
He took steps and walked slowly towards the Eternal Cathedral of Manyia.
Like the street, the front door of the Eternal Church is still deserted. It is completely unbelievable that this place was once a religious holy place with people coming and going, and an endless stream of devout believers visiting it every day.
Entering the church and passing through the empty church, Bishop Winston returned to his prayer room.
Kneeling before the sacred and eternal statue, he stretched out his hand and drew a sun symbol on his chest, sighed and murmured:
"My great and wise Lord..."
"May you protect your people and survive this disaster, may you protect your people and rise from the ashes..."
"Your glory will always shine on the earth, and your true name will always be spread among the people."
While Bishop Winston was praying devoutly, there was a hurried knock on the door of the prayer room.
"Lord Winster! The knights of the palace guard are here! They said that your majesty is awake! His majesty wants to see you by name!"
It is the voice of the church pastor.
Winster's prayer movements paused slightly.
He was silent for a moment, then slowly stood up and walked out of the prayer room.
……
When Bishop Winston came outside the church, the knights of the palace guard were already waiting in front of the gate, and also waiting was a luxurious carriage painted with the royal emblem.
"Your Majesty Bishop!"
Seeing Bishop Winston, the knights knelt down and saluted respectfully.
Bishop Winster nodded slightly and stepped onto the carriage with the help of a knight.
The church is not far from the palace.
In a carriage, Bishop Winston quickly entered the palace, which represented the highest power of the empire.
Perhaps because today is the day when the noble council holds a big meeting, the palace is also quite deserted. Only some maids and palace attendants can be seen coming and going.
When Bishop Winston came to the palace where the Queen was, he still did not see even one noble.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty is waiting for you inside."
The knight saluted and opened the gorgeous palace door for him.
Bishop Winston nodded and entered the palace room.
The palace was deserted, and there was no one else except the Imperial Queen Maria II on the hospital bed.
Her Majesty the Queen, who has dominated the Holy Mania Empire for seventy years, seems to be a loner at this moment.
No feudal political entity can tolerate the inaction of the supreme ruler for two years.
Even in the history of the Blue Star Celestial Dynasty, those emperors who had not been in court for decades still firmly controlled the government while staying away from the court.
Not to mention, the entire history of the Holy Mania Empire is a history of constant competition between the nobles and the emperor, and the constant struggle between decentralization and centralization of power.
After two years of intermittent coma and a two-year political gap, although the queen's prestige is still there, she has essentially been sidelined by the Parliament of Nobles.
At this moment, she has been abandoned by the nobles.
Maria II was half lying on the bed, tilting her head and looking quietly at the scenery of the garden outside the window.
Her hair was messy and her appearance was withered. Her old appearance looked like a dead branch that could be broken at any time.
She is almost 84 years old.
Looking at the imperial ruler who looked like the setting sun on a western mountain, Bishop Winston felt inexplicably sore in his heart.
He is also from the Tres family.
In terms of seniority, he should even call the majesty in front of him his cousin.
When they were young, the two even had a good friendship and were inseparable playmates.
Of course, he stepped into the legend and had a lifespan far longer than ordinary people, but Maria II lacked talent in the extraordinary way.
Bishop Winter still vaguely remembered the days when he was playing with the then princess Maria II in the palace when he was a child.
Now that I think about it, maybe that time was the most beautiful and carefree day.
Seventy years is a long time, but it is also very short.
Bishop Winster witnessed with his own eyes that the girl inherited the throne from her father who died suddenly when she was young. At that time, Maria faced the denunciation of the domestic opposition and the eager gaze of four secular electors. .
He witnessed with his own eyes the girl's continuous efforts and learning in the unstable political situation. She personally went to war when she was less than sixteen years old, suppressed the noble rebellions one after another, and finally stabilized the situation.
He also witnessed with his own eyes the girl's New Deal after taking the throne, injecting new vitality into the empire that had been in decline decades ago, and repairing the Holy Mania Empire in the ocean of history. After thousands of years of sailing, the giant ship has been riddled with holes...
However, the power of one person is too small.
Even if this person is an emperor, even if this person is the ruler of an empire.
She has tried her best, but still cannot truly resolve the conflicts within the empire.
At this moment, the girl who was once innocent, beautiful and lovely, the girl who was smart, smart, decisive and brave has reached the twilight of her life...
Even though she worked hard all her life, even though she worked hard all her life, what she left to her successors was a country that was even more chaotic and unstable.
Bishop Winter's expression was very complicated, and a trace of guilt flashed deep in his eyes.
When she heard the sound of the door being pushed open, Maria II turned around slightly.
Her cloudy pupils looked at Bishop Winston, a smile appeared on her old face, and even her eyes seemed to be a little brighter.
Different from her sickly look a few days ago, Maria II seems to be looking good today and her face is a little rosy.
"Liner, you're here."
She called softly.
Leiner was Bishop Winston’s nickname before he entered the Eternal Church and became a monk.
His former name was Linus von Treis.
In other words, Prince Tres.
Hearing the long-lost title of Reiner, Bishop Winter felt a sore nose.
He sighed softly, leaned over and saluted, respectfully and politely:
"Cardinal Archbishop Winston of the Eternal Church, I have met His Majesty..."
For a moment, Maria II’s eyes seemed to dim slightly.