Volume 2: Empire Chapter 154 Accumulation of Power
Rose Manor, Saint-Lun City.
The increasingly tense situation forced Agatha to cancel all her outings. She added guards inside and outside the manor, and spies set up cross-magic sentries in important areas outside the manor.
As the imperial spies sent abroad were secretly recruited into the imperial capital, the power available to Agatha gradually increased, but it was still far from enough to fight against Fania.
In the study, Agatha sat behind the desk and listened to the report from her personal maid. She was not wearing a skirt, but a neutral outfit, with her hair tied up in a bun, and she looked ready for battle at any time.
"Your Highness, we have contacted almost all the ministers in the imperial capital, and most of them do not want to express their positions. Several cabinet ministers all refused to meet the people we sent. The situation is very unfavorable to Your Majesty..."
Fania can now see the situation in the palace. Despite this step-by-step approach, Emperor Augustine still stayed indoors, and it was no wonder that everyone in the palace was in danger.
Not to mention the ministers, even the people within the Secret Intelligence Service were extremely pessimistic about this struggle for imperial power.
Agatha was in good spirits, her eyes were sharp and revealed an unyielding edge.
"Any news from His Majesty? What's Milscom's reply?"
The lady-in-waiting replied: "There is still no news coming out of His Majesty's bedroom. Milscombe's answer is still the same: he will lead the royal knights and palace guards to protect His Majesty's safety."
Agatha couldn't help but sigh: "Royal Knights? Palace Guards? After Fania announced that he was the new emperor of the empire, how many of them dared to attack the new emperor!
I don’t know what the emperor is doing. His son has already put a knife to his neck, but he still hasn’t shown up.”
The lady-in-waiting said worriedly, “If we cannot rely on the Royal Knights and the Palace Guards, I am afraid that we, the Secret Service, will not be able to stop Prince Fania from forcing his troops into the palace.
This morning, an elite force that withdrew from the southern front has quietly entered the city, including the Assault Bear Squad."
"Has the Assault Bear also been transferred here by the Grand Prince?"
The Assault Bear Squad was one of the special operations units formed by the strongest warriors in the North, specializing in high-end battles. In the battle against the barbarians on the southern front, even if the Abyss Apostle personally took action, he did not gain much advantage over the Assault Bear Squad.
Fania's dispatch of the Assault Bear to the Imperial Capital at this time was obviously aimed at the "Raven" of the Secret Intelligence Bureau, a unit composed of ace spies.
In a head-on confrontation, the Raven is no match for the Assault Bear.
Agatha did not react much to the arrival of the Assault Bear Squad. She asked again, "Any news about the Governor of Meteorite?"
The female official replied in embarrassment: "No! The Governor's Office of Raging Waves City refused to provide any information related to the Governor of Meteorite.
Your Highness, the Governor of Meteorite cannot be unaware of the situation in the palace. Does his absence mean that he supports the Crown Prince?"
Agatha did not immediately answer the lady-in-waiting's guess, but looked at a newspaper on the table.
The newspaper was the Winter Metropolitan Daily News of the Yate County Union, and the most eye-catching article in it was "The obituary of Mr. Luke, a talented steam engineer."
The newspaper was from five days ago. It was delivered from Winter Capital to Imperial Capital. The meteorite should have arrived long ago.
Why is there no news about him till now?
"Your Highness..." The lady-in-waiting reminded Agatha who was distracted, "These are just my wild guesses. Governor Meteorite is definitely still loyal to you."
Agatha couldn't help but smile and said, "Yes, he is definitely still 'loyal' to me. Continue to pay attention to the movements of Governor Meteorite and all parties in Raging Waves City, and report any news to me immediately."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
At this time, the door of the study was suddenly pushed open, and Princess Dale ran in from outside: "Sister Agatha, I haven't seen you for three months, I missed you so much!"
The guards who followed in saw that Princess Dale had hugged Agatha, and immediately bowed and apologized: "I'm sorry, Your Highness, we didn't stop Princess Dale."
Agatha looked and said to the guard, "It's okay. I know my sister. It would be strange if you could stop her."
The guard said, "Your Highness, the one who escorted Princess Dai'er here is Miss Qingkong. She is waiting outside the door."
When Agatha heard that Qingkong had also arrived, she immediately said, "Please invite Miss Qingkong in."
Then Agatha said to Dale: "I am also very happy to see you, but Miss Qingkong and I have something very important to discuss now. You should go and see the sculptures I have made recently. After I finish talking to Miss Qingkong, I will come to you and listen to what you have experienced in Dongdu?"
Princess Dale knew that what Qingkong and Agatha were talking about must be very important, and she had plenty of time to chat with her sister: "Okay, I'll see what new works my sister has. See you later!"
"In a moment!"
The lady-in-waiting took Princess Daier away.
Qingkong followed the servants in, and Princess Dai'er, who was leaving, waved to her, looking innocent and carefree.
The door of the study was closed by the guards who left, and only Qingkong and Agatha .
Agatha invited Qingkong to sit on the lounge chair by the window. Outside the window was a plant glass greenhouse filled with blooming roses, which looked particularly bright against the backdrop of the snow outside the greenhouse.
"Thank you for taking care of Dale during this time. I didn't expect that she would secretly follow you to Dongdu. I hope she didn't cause you too much trouble ."
Qingkong leaned against the back of the lounge chair, admiring the scenery outside with his green eyes, and said lightly: "Princess Dai'er has a very keen sense of change in the palace. She sensed the danger and fled.
And I know where to escape to.”
Agatha couldn't help but smile and said, "She has been very smart since she was a child. If many royal family members are going to die in this palace upheaval, her chance of survival is greater than all of us."
Qingkong turned to look at Agatha: "Meteoric asked you to go to Raging Waves City, why are you still here? Fania is not something you can stop now."
"But someone has to do something." Agatha took a deep breath and said, "If I stand up, at least there is a chance to stop him. If even I give up, he will really kill the king and his father.
Meteor will not honor him as the emperor of the empire, and neither will Alex... The empire cannot be divided at this time!"
"If the Empire really needs a new emperor...are you interested?"
Qingkong's question made Agatha turn her head, her eyes full of speculation: "My father is still alive, but he cannot show up for some reason. The succession of the emperor of the empire has its rules, and it is not my turn yet.
You, do you know something that I don't know?"
Qingkong and Agatha looked at each other and said, "I know some news that you don't know, but I can't tell you now. You just need to answer me... This is a good opportunity for you. If you are willing to take on the responsibility of ruling the empire, I think Meteorite will support you."
Although Luke had already consulted Queen Christina in Snow City, he asked Agatha one last time about her attitude towards the throne.
Agatha didn't know what news Qingkong had obtained that made him ask such a question at this time.
She thought for a while and said, "No... I have never had too many thoughts about the throne, especially after meeting Meteorite, which makes me feel that obsession and competition for the throne are really ridiculous.
This era is no longer the same as before. The lofty throne is nothing more than a cage sentenced to life imprisonment to me.
When everything settles down, I will take a long vacation and go on a long journey. I will go to see the strange places mentioned by the meteorite and explore the secret places where treasures are hidden. "
Qingkong knew that Agatha was not very interested in the throne, but he did not expect that he would have such a great influence on her.
"Your Augustine family is really full of extremes. There are princes who fight for the throne and are bleeding, and there are princesses who want to escape from royal life.
Since you have no interest in the throne, you probably wouldn't mind Queen Christina being the regent, or even becoming the first empress of the Golden Shield Empire."
Agatha asked in astonishment, "What do you mean? What on earth do you know that you would make such a ridiculous suggestion!"
Qingkong said: "Meteorite is currently escorting Queen Christina back to the imperial capital from the northern border. Her Royal Highness said something about Your Majesty.
Your Majesty is doing something extremely dangerous. If he succeeds, it will bring a greater crisis to the empire than Prince Fania's usurpation of the throne."
Agatha said solemnly, "What on earth is my father doing?"
Qingkong replied: "I think... it would be best if Yunxing told you the specific situation. My mission is to stop His Majesty when he finally takes that step!"
Agatha understood what "stop" meant.
"You want to murder the emperor?"
"As long as he can stop, I won't do anything to him."
Agatha looked at Qingkong, an elf known for her mystery, beauty and power. Every time she saw her, she would fight against the oppression she exuded.
"It seems that I have to wait until I see the meteorite to know the truth."
"In fact, I don't recommend that you know too much of the truth. It's best to let His Majesty leave in a dignified manner."
Agatha forced a smile and said, "It's my business whether to accept the advice or not. Is there anything I can do before Meteorite and Her Majesty the Queen arrive in the Imperial Capital?"
Qingkong looked out the window.
“I will use the sewers of Saint Lun City to set up a large-scale secret technique, which can provide us with some combat power that can serve as cannon fodder when Fania launches a coup.
After the secret ritual, the sewers of Saint Lun City need to be overhauled. Fortunately, it is winter, so there will be no flooding of the imperial capital..."
Agatha also looked out the window and saw that the snow was falling even harder.
"The sewers in Saint-Lun City should have been repaired long ago."
…
In the northern border of the Golden Shield Empire, due to the outbreak of war, all the residents in the northern border who could escape fled. Those who could not escape would not run out casually in this bad weather, so Queen Christina's convoy ran on the snowy plain for two days and encountered almost no one.
This is also related to the fact that the team deliberately bypassed cities and towns.
The four royal horses pulling the carriage trotted forward, and Luke scanned the sky through the open window with a monocular.
After a while, he sat back in the car, pulled out a folding table between himself and the Queen, and spread a map of the North on it.
The carriage was slightly bumpy as it moved.
Luke found the current location of the convoy on the map, pointed it and said to Queen Christina, "I just saw the Harrier Hawks used by the Northern Legion for reconnaissance. We must have been discovered by them. There must be traps and ambushes set by assassins ahead."
The Queen asked: "What should we do? We are still in the Northern Legion's control area. We cannot escape their surveillance."
Luke thought about his strategy.
If Taotie is willing to accept a ride from a stranger, the easiest way is to fly directly to Saint-Lun City with Queen Christina.
After thinking for a while, Luke said, "Our whereabouts have just been exposed, and the assassins are not so quick to arrange attacks. At night, you and I will ride horses and separate from the team, and let your guards attract the tracking in the sky. The two of us are small targets and are not easy to be exposed.
Besides, riding a horse is fast, and we can reach the imperial capital in another day and night."
Luke's suggestion made Queen Christina fall into deep thought.
Being attacked is not only a personal safety issue. Even if you fight off the assassins, you will waste precious time. If you are entangled by waves of assassins, you may miss the best time to return to the imperial capital.
Being separated from the guards does make them less of a target, and the light cavalry are faster.
But she was the queen of the empire, and being alone with a young man for a day and a night would definitely cause some rumors in the future. Royal scandals were a hot topic for gossip among the people.
Especially since she married an elderly emperor at a young age and then stayed alone in the cold palace for several years, while Yunxing was the object of admiration of all the young ladies from the powerful families in the empire.
Queen Christina was well aware of the nobles' ability to fabricate rumors and discredit each other.
But without much thought, Queen Christina said to Luke: "Okay, I'll listen to you. At night, you and I will ride away quietly."
Luke didn't think too much, his attention was all on the map. Beyond the northern border, the road was flat, and the royal horses bred by the extraordinary could run freely. Even if the assassin discovered him and the queen, it would not be easy to intercept them.
Therefore, the best and final ambush location for the assassin should be near Saint Lun City. There is a city guard corps stationed outside the imperial capital, and the assassin can set up an ambush circle while waiting for the opportunity.
Luke plotted his route on a map.
Queen Christina watched Luke holding a pen and drawing while thinking, and couldn't help but think of herself when she was a princess.
At that time, I liked to lie on the tower of the castle, looking at the endless golden rice fields outside, and fantasizing about what kind of person I would marry.
When I was in my teens, I loved reading stories about knights and princesses. The knight would brave danger and overcome numerous difficulties, defeating one enemy after another and saving the princess, and then the two of them would live happily together.
What is happening now is so similar to those stories, except that I am no longer a princess, and happiness has long become a luxury.
At one point, Christina suddenly came up with a bold idea.
But she finally laughed at herself: "Stories are all lies, we are all slaves to fate!"
