Chapter 176: Twentieth Episode: Chapter 4 (2/2)

***************

The lights brought brightness to the evening night market. The smell of barbecue and smoked fish seemed to have melded into the essence of the entire city. The True God gave this city of the Romans a mosque and all the prints that indicated a conquest. The multi-colored windows of Saint Sofia Church were proof. However, the servants of the God of Light that came and went from the city did not pay much attention to the centers of belief that the pagans occupied. The thing that these clergies had come all the way from the distant Roman Vatican to Anatolia for was the future of this land.

When O'Neil Andrew Morisette and his entourage arrived at the last national palace of Byzantine, his brother did not come out to greet him like before. He found Figg in one of the dazzling Persian bathrooms.

Figg's body was concealed by the steam and only his head was exposed above the water surface. He was humming an ancient Narcissus ballad. When he saw his younger brother, he placed the wine glass on the pan that was floating on the surface of the water.

”Have the honeymoon ended?”

Oscar gave a light laugh. A group of Persian maids was undressing him. An impudent young lady accidentally touched his sensitive part.

”I thought you wouldn't go back to shore anymore,” Figg Andrew Tibotty sighed contentedly. The steam in the bathroom and the maids' massage had allowed him to completely loosen up.

Oscar stepped into the pool. The water temperature caused him to frown. The steam quickly caused him to redden similar to a huge, bright red cooked prawn that appeared extremely appetizing.

”Come, let me look at you!” Figg called to his younger brother. However, he did not scrutinize his brother's face but turned him around.

”Ola, ola!” the Second Brother imitated his younger brother's tone and shouted. He poked lightly at the ”claw marks” on his brother's back. ”It seems that your married life is extremely blissful!”

Oscar laughed and slapped his brother's arm away, ”Don't be such a fool, alright?”

Figg also broke into a laugh and said to his brother under his breath, ”How is your new wife?”

Oscar gave a mischievous laugh. ”If my wife is considered from the Persian women's point of view, then… she's of the best quality!”

”Hahahahaha…” Figg burst into raucous laughter, but his amusement was quickly replaced with loneliness. ”Are you leaving us?”

Oscar pondered a while before replying, ”Guarding our home and defending our country is a soldier's responsibility. The officers of the Guards have to take action and undertake this mission that history and our great motherland has given unto us soldiers and establish a new resistance merit over the mountain of the enemy's corpses and the sea of blood.”

Lastly, Oscar spread his hands towards his brother, ”that is what was said in the military's combat mobilization order.”

Figg shrugged; he was not interested at all in the pretext of the Guards. ”Have you thought about it? How the arrangements for Sasha and that wife of yours will be?”

Oscar heaved a sigh, ”Our people will regard Arayna as a freak; I will not bring her back to Titan. As for Sasha… I haven't made up my mind!”

”Won't it be settled if you just go ask Sasha?” Figg sized up his younger brother unpleasantly. ”It's not that I like telling you off, it's just that you give me a feeling of indecisiveness when it comes to women.”

”Really?” Oscar sat up from the pool, ”that terrible?”

Figg nodded, ”Yes, absolutely terrible!”

Oscar could only give a bitter laugh, ”I feel uneasy; how do I say this? I fear that something bad may happen to Sasha. Oh gosh! Her mental age will forever be stopped at the time when I first got to know her!”

Figg grabbed his brother's arm, ”However it's said, Sasha is already your wife. Regardless of the situation you're facing, you can't let her be harmed. This is your responsibility and also the mission that the family has entrusted to you!”

”I know…” Oscar nodded continuously. However, he suddenly fixed his gaze on the water surface, lost in thought. Alanis' face emerged on the surface of the water.

”I've decided…” the head of Andrew suddenly snapped his head away. His wife that was about to become an empress immediately vanished without a trace from the surface of the water.

”Decided on what?” Figg eyed his younger brother worriedly.

”I've decided to… lay out my cards to the Vatican! And it must be as soon as possible!”

”Why? This has to be taken slowly, we've talked about this!” Figg also sat up. Since the matter had touched on this, it had to be addressed seriously.

Oscar dismissed the maids in the bathroom and deliberated about the feasibility of the entire matter.

In the end, he had finally straightened out the overall reasoning.

”Figg, we should have all seen it! Although the string of victories on the Great Plains of Anatolia stemmed from the knights' selfless fighting, but think about it, just how many people have donated money and goods, how many western volunteers have joined our ranks? If we start to calculate from during the punitive expedition to the east in year 799, the knights that pledged their loyalty to the family have increased from the initial four hundred thousand to the five hundred and sixty of today! Think about it… what is the reason for such a situation today?”

Figg contemplated. He had no choice but to admit… ”It's the Vatican that stirred up the entire religious world!”

”That's right!” O'Neil Andrew Morisette patted his brother's shoulder, ”the Vatican had invested a huge amount of physical and financial resources for the punitive expedition to the east! Moreover, His Grand Eminence Radriere VI is not a fool. He would not freely send us these war resources and strongly spread propaganda.”

”Just what are you thinking?” Figg narrowed his eyes. He knew that His Grand Eminence Radriere VI was not a fool and that was the reason he had put off interpreting the last sentence until now.

Oscar pointed towards the west, ”There... the Westland Kingdom Alliance is launching a massive offensive against Titan and Dulin's Crown Princess, which won't ever receive any response from the Holy See.”

”You're saying that... it's the Holy See that facilitated all these?” Figg's eyes widened.

Oscar nodded, ”No matter the kind of role the Holy See plays for the Westland Kingdom Alliance, its isolation of the Imperial Morisette Household is a fact. It is exerting pressure on my wife.”

”What does this have to do with us?” Figg snorted and turned his head away. He had no control over the matters of Dulin.

Oscar glanced at the ceiling of the bathroom. It had a fine sculpture and ceramic tiles inlaid with golden decorations.

”I believe that... if we don't reach an agreement with the Holy See that pleases Radriere VI, he will keep delaying the coronation ceremony of Titan's new Empress indefinitely, just as what we did to him,” Oscar averted his gaze and once again turned back to his brother.

”But the main issue now is that only if Alanis is able to obtain the Royal Crown conferred by the gods will she then be able to become the Titan Empress in the truest sense. And before this, the Westland Kingdom Alliance indeed has the right to challenge and question her identity. After all, they have two former Titan princesses. The husbands of both these princesses are within the selection scope of Titan's Imperial Household.”

”I understand what you mean now!” Figg's mind was cleared. ”You want to make Alanis' crown a condition in the agreement.”

”That's right!” Oscar nodded. ”As long as Alanis ascends the throne and together with the success of the military affairs--”

”Hold it, hold it!” Figg immediately silenced him. He did not wish to know about the things that would take place in Dulin. He only wanted to know what would become of his Anatolia in the agreement between his family and the Holy See. ”Tell me about the concessions you are able to make. I want to know whether it's still within the limit that I can put up with.”

Oscar scratched his head, ”I think... I will tell the emissary of the Holy See that the heir of that Persian Princess and I will present the glory of ancient Byzantine once more!”

”Just what kind of joke are you pulling?” Figg exclaimed loudly and pinched his brother's face.

”My young Oscar, look around us! The current Anatolia is the territory of the Persian Ottomans. It is their True God who is ruling over this vast land. We cannot sow the belief in the God of Light forcefully nor force the pagans to leave this place. That would be a disaster to the Andrews that are here!”

Oscar suddenly burst into laughter, ”My brother, don't panic! I know that that is an expectation that is impossible to achieve.”

”Then are you joking around about these kinds of matters with the Holy See?”

Oscar shrugged, ”Anyway, in the agreement with the Holy See, the one with the E signature will try to pressure you. I will not acknowledge it!”

”You're saying…”

”That's right! It's just as you imagined!” O'Neil Andrew Morisette seized his brother's shoulder, ”Deceit, extortion, contradiction. In short, no matter how the Holy See slanders, I am okay with it! Now I only wish to for His Grand Eminence Radriere VI to place his crown blessed by the gods onto my wife, Alanis' head.”

”Oh no…” Figg Andrew Tibotty massaged his forehead, ”If this happens… when the Holy See discovers the actual facts, everything that he stood for will become your enemy!”

Oscar shrugged. ”Whatever! There isn't the slightest movement in my Persian wife's belly. The heir to the agreement is still something we are still clueless about…”

Figg stared at his younger brother with distrust, ”I think the situation isn't as optimistic as you make it appear! I hear that you rarely leave the bedroom these days. Your wife is already giving it her all…”

Oscar scratched his head again. Speaking about this made him a little worried. His wife's ferocity during lovemaking was not faked. She used the ancient Persian love medicine to rub her eagerness and hope onto her body's most sensitive regions.

”Should I… return to Dulin earlier?” Oscar consulted for his brother's opinions.

”I think so…” in the end, Figg covered his brother's head with the bath towel.

***************

The last noises of the night only sank into the ultimate peacefulness once the moon had reached its zenith in the sky. The heavens were twinkling with brilliant stars. The god that the people worshipped was controlling the shooting stars. They flitted past, bringing blessings and loss. It seemed that no one could capture that spectacular instance.

The nights of Dulin were eerie and frightening. Many literary scholars had discussed this issue. Why was the great city only left with sinister shadows once its magnificent daytime had faded?

The streets of Dulin rarely had streetlights. The candles and kerosene oil in the streetlamps was frequently the target of thieves. In the darkness, sleek flagstones stood out on the pavement. These flagstones reflected the dim moonlight. This faint light could be seen everywhere in the heart of the city, including the church, the splendid palace and the narrow, desolate allies of the destitute.

What did war bring to ancient Titan? The south of the Empire had struggled out from the swamp of rebellion. One would know the answer by looking for explanations there! However, the well-off and thriving capital nobles had never experienced such suffering! To be more precise, it had been two hundred over years since they had truly experienced the turmoil of war. They boasted that they were true nobles. The true nobles would discuss the Empire's governmental affairs in an office with a soothing environment and portray the state of the Empire using quill pens that have been meticulously sorted out. However, when all of these had become a custom of the palace bureaucrat's ideology, what the warning signal of war from the Tower of Heroes brought about was not the great boldness of joining hands against the enemies, but the panic-stricken trembling of a soul gripped with terror.

”Where have the enemies hit?”

”How many cities have they looted?”

”How long until the Guards retreat?”

”What is the Empire's Supreme Governor doing? Still tending to her health?”

Most of the time, these were the questions that Count Philip Goolean heard. He had lost in the running for the Imperial Household's Palace Chief and was also relieved from his duties as Confidential Secretary by the young Princess Alanis. So, Count Goolean was at the lowest point of his life.

Overall Cabinet Coordinator? Philip gave a laugh. This post sounded nice and all but compared to his previous post, this Overall Cabinet Coordinator was merely a non-essential little role. The script of this small role only included the contents from two aspects. First was to listen to the rantings of the cabinet members; the second was to pass on this worthless prattle to the Imperial Household. It was evident that this was a strenuous and unrewarding role. These changes made Philip start to suspect that if he had not treated Prince O'Neil with such warmth, he would have been met with a different circumstance by now.

***************

”Your Highness, the huge figures have arrived!” Philip gave a deep bow to the Empire's Crown Princess on the wheelchair. In exchange, he only received a snort from Princess Alanis.

Philip withdrew from the palace tactfully. He knew that him at this moment was only slightly better off than a pitiful creature. Many who were more unfortunate than him did not even have a place they could set foot in at Her Imperial Highness Crown Princess Alanis' palace. Every day, changes were seen in the court. Those who gained power conversed arrogantly with high voices while those who fell from power turned tail and acted pitifully! Moreover, the situation was always like this.

The former Imperial Confidential Secretary spat quietly. He had a clear understanding and knew that there was not a need to waste efforts on such things.

The Chief of the Imperial Palace Bodyguards, Colonel Basil Kenny pushed the Empire's Crown Princess into the affairs hall of Hamilton Palace. Within the hall, the cabinet members and the ministers of each governmental sector had gathered in their respective little circles. When they saw the palace doors open, they hurriedly crowded forwards. They used false concern and hypocritical flattery to try and please their new master.

Alanis Alfa Morisette still had the countenance of having ”returned from the grave”. Only the lipstick and eye shadow on her face were emitting radiance on her face while the other parts were a mask of dusky blankness.

”Marshal Robin, make an introduction to everyone!” the Empire's Crown Princess turned her head slightly and looked towards the group of military men.

The Chief of Staff of the Imperial Guards, Marshal Robin Sparse stepped out from among the sea of gleaming army rank badges. He used the most standard military etiquette to greet the Supreme Governor of the Empire.

”Your Highness, the battle situation is actually very simple. The south and north have yet to discover the enemies' trail. We can confirm that the Anti-Titan Alliance intends to attack the traditional defensive line.”

Alanis hung her head. Her father's crown had been passed into her hands. Another day of not being able to be crowned and she would have to look at it for another day. She really yearned to know how she would look wearing the crown. Although in private she could absolutely do so in the mirror, she did not dare to try it on just like that. She feared that she would be a cause for gossip for the people with ill intent in the palace and was even more afraid that the crown did not suit her figure.

”How is the defensive line?” the frail Crown Princess averted her gaze from the crown.

Marshal Robin bowed slightly. To address this issue, he could only use a voice that the princess alone could make out.

”Still adding on defense troops from the Region at the rear. We plan to wait until the supplies--”

”Oh come on!” a cabinet minister with sharp hearing cut off the mutterings of the Guard's Chief of Staff. ”The front lines are retreating and the rear is readjusting their soldiers. We just want to know when will we be able to chase the invading enemies out from the doors of our country!”

”Yes, yes!” another cabinet minister cried piercingly. ”Kutzjeline has already started off the forerunner war this noon! Don't tell me that the Guards can only invest a group?”

The capital nobles' chatter instantly became noisy waves. These mindless figures pointed to the silent military men one after another. They continued to interrogate and point their fingers at them as if the military men owed them a few golden Tis.

”Everyone shut up!” Alanis' bellow suddenly erupted and reverberated throughout the entire palace. She gauged the surrounding cabinet ministers with a mocking gaze.

”You all keep asking what this Empire is doing. But I want to ask, what have you all done for the Empire?”

The cabinet ministers stopped their debate. It seemed that… everything that they had done for the Empire could only be summarized as continuously producing saliva.

Alanis moved the wheelchair with difficulty, ”Those who do not have a right to speak, stand to the left!”

These capital nobles who were fond of dressing up in all palace attires of various designs crowded to the left of the Empire's Supreme Governor dejectedly while the solemn-looking commissioned officers of the Guards stood straight in their original positions in an orderly fashion.

Alanis faced her military personnel, ”I know what you all are worried about! You're worried that the troops and supplies transported by the Region at the rear can't keep up with the pace of the war. You all are worried that the enemy will add on even more armies to the battlefield. You all are also worried whether the young princess can stand up from her wheelchair and ascend the throne smoothly to continue the reign of this dynasty!”

The princess swept her gaze to and fro among the soldiers. She suddenly got off her bottom and used cold, intense eyes to bore into her soldiers.

”Today… I wish to tell you all, no matter how unreasonable the enemy's forces are, I still have full confidence in you all and everything by your side!”

Alanis' forehead was beaded with sweat, but she still kept at it. She supported her whole weight with great effort and also her heavy, tingling legs.

At last, under the startled shouts of the crowd, Titan Empire's young Crown Princess stood up!

The ground was trembling and she was swaying, but the soldiers of the Empire had already drawn their swords and chanted Long Live to their new ruler!

Hamilton Palace shook slightly under the cries of Long live! Count Philip Goolean was taking in everything that unfolded indifferently. From how he saw it… or perhaps one could say, he could not help but admit that Alanis Alfa Morisette was indeed equipped with all the qualifications to ascend the throne, especially the tyrannical authority coalesced from her dauntless courage and ever-strong self-confidence.