Chapter 657: 135. Vortex
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
In the early morning, as sunlight poured down from the heavens, with the sound of ringing bells resonating both inside and outside, the great doors of the Golden Palace slowly opened, resembling an entrance to a world leading to another, unfolding before a few arriving carriages.
Although they were called “carriages,” in reality, all these vehicles were drawn by mechanisms.
In recent years, the mechanism association advocated by the Empress has completely revolutionized transportation in Nali. Of course, there were obstacles, and it wasn’t achieved overnight, especially with the Chief Financial Minister who nearly burst into tears upon seeing the approved purchases of mechanisms compressing the budget. However, after numerous debates with the Minister of Environment and Health, the Finance Minister ultimately had to abandon his arguments.
The primary reason was he could not go against the Empress, and secondly, he was indeed tired of the smell of horse dung that plagued the streets of Saint Nali.
After several carriages gradually came to a halt, the door of the leading black carriage opened outward, and a fairly robust old man with white hair stepped out; it was the newly appointed Prime Minister, Ooni.
This old man seemed to lack any significant ability, yet surprisingly, he had become a perennial tree amidst the stormy political environment, while many others crumbled like straw, he remained steadfast and even rose through the ranks, ultimately becoming Prime Minister at the age of sixty.
This was entirely due to Ooni possessing a unique ability that no former Prime Minister had: an exceptionally keen power of observation.
Not just towards people, but also towards situations.
This innate capability allowed him, in his private life, to maintain a long-term mistress and male companion while still being able to stand safely under Elizabeth’s rule.
This ability had become his passive instinct, and this morning was no exception.
As Ooni stepped down from the carriage and breathed in his first breath of fresh air outside the Golden Palace, he felt a heaviness in his chest, as if sensing a weight before a downpour.
He reached out to rub the air, but did not feel the moisture he expected, so he could only grunt softly and turn to look at the several carriages parked behind him.
At this moment, the doors of those carriages had also opened, and several prominent figures of Nali stepped out.
Just a glance, and Ooni did not want to look any longer.
Minister of Defense Pietro, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ryuji, and Director of the Bureau of Secrecy Albert.
These were the only relevant figures in the complicated political landscape, and the presence of even one was enough to give him a headache, not to mention now they had all gathered together.
He sighed inwardly but maintained a neutral expression as he watched them approach and greet him,
“Good morning, Prime Minister.”
“Good morning, Prime Minister.”
“Hehe, good morning.”
Ooni chuckled lightly, clasping his hands behind his back as they walked together toward the Golden Palace. It seemed that apart from the initial greeting, Ooni had nothing more to say and just continued walking ahead.
The others exchanged glances as they walked and after silently communicating, it was the Minister of Defense who spoke up first,
“Yesterday, Prime Minister, you were summoned by Her Majesty, and today you are called for the routine report. It must be exhausting for you, Mr. Ooni.”
“Just some minor matters. Compared to you ‘dangerous elements’, yesterday’s financial meeting was much easier for me.”
“Not at all.” Minister of Defense Pietro chuckled awkwardly but continued, “I assume with Mr. Ihsan’s capability, the financial report yesterday must have satisfied Her Majesty?”
Ihsan was the current Chief Financial Minister of Nali, and it was he who delivered yesterday’s report.
But as mentioned earlier, Ooni possessed exceptionally keen observational skills, and he instantly understood what the other was trying to ask.
Ooni blinked and then replied noncommittally,
“Being satisfied yesterday doesn’t mean satisfaction today; I trust you understand this, Lord Pietro.”
“…”
Ooni left the other ministers behind and quickly walked toward the Golden Palace, seemingly not wanting to engage in too much conversation, allowing the remaining few to exchange glances before reluctantly following.
The reason for Ooni’s actions was simple; he realized the ministers had grievances against Empress Elizabeth, and it appeared to have reached a breaking point.
The outer courtyard of the Golden Palace was livelier than usual, Ooni noted as he observed the inner court officials passing by in the palace.
It seemed Her Majesty had driven all the inner court officials to live in the outer courtyard, though he did not know the reason why.
As they passed, two inner court officials standing in the corridor were whispering to each other, but Ooni only caught a few snippets,
“Really? Did you see that?”
“Absolutely, I think we must have moved out of the inner court for this reason.”
“Could it be that Her Majesty really…”
“Otherwise, why would she have secretly killed all those dogs? Dozens, nearly a hundred! My God, I heard they were all buried in the grass of the inner court. I don’t know why she had to kill those lovely little creatures, but I think it has to do with us moving out…”
“Shh!”
The two whispering courtiers hurriedly silenced themselves upon spotting several ministers entering the palace from the main door and returned to focusing on their tasks.
In fact, Ooni hadn’t heard all that clearly; he could only vaguely catch a few scattered phrases like “Her Majesty” and “reason”, which should pertain to matters inside the Golden Palace.
He simply blinked, pretended he hadn’t heard anything, and continued forward. After passing through several corridors, he entered the conference room. At that moment, the Empress had yet to arrive, so he took a proper seat at the side, closing his eyes in wait for her presence.
Today, the Empress arrived later than usual. Typically, they would already be seated and waiting for her to come in, but today they had been seated for nearly ten minutes without a sign of Her Majesty.
Of course, they dared not voice any dissent but felt curiosity about this unusual delay.
“Tap! Tap! Tap!”
It wasn’t until a heavy, powerful sound of footsteps echoed outside that Ooni opened his eyes and, along with the other ministers who had been prepared for a long time, looked toward the door.
“Good morning, everyone.”
Elizabeth entered the conference room with a rather neutral expression. Although her face still lacked warmth, she couldn’t hide the radiant sparkle in her features.
Ooni had already witnessed it yesterday, but the nearby ministers were experiencing the striking difference in Elizabeth for the first time.
How to put it, casually commenting on the Empress was a severe crime, but this feeling was ultimately unavoidable.
If in the past Elizabeth felt like a blood-soaked, battle-worn blade, the current Elizabeth was more like a newly forged, polished sword.
This didn’t mean the Empress was any less dangerous; it was just—
Hmm, she seemed more vibrant?
It felt as though one had abruptly transitioned from the harsh depths of winter to the invigorating early spring, perhaps it was this sensation.
Also, who knows if Her Majesty recently obtained some secret elixir that invigorated her, giving her a complexion so radiant that even her mood seemed markedly improved.
It was a pity they dared not casually converse with Her Majesty; otherwise, the old man would have liked to inquire if she was using some sort of secret potion.
Ooni thought this but still respectfully greeted the Empress, “Good morning, Your Majesty.”
Elizabeth, empty-handed, sat at the head of the table, her vacant gaze sweeping over the several ministers who had prepared below, as if instantly comprehending everything. Before they could open their mouths, she looked toward Minister of Defense Pietro,
“Lord Pietro, before we officially report, do you have something to bring up?”
The minister called upon blinked, glancing at his colleagues but not daring to look at Elizabeth, remaining silent for a while before finally yielding, spreading out the proposal he had in his hand and saying in a deep voice,
“Yes, Your Majesty, it’s regarding the disastrous defeat of the Allied Forces on the Southern Continent.”
“Go on.”
Elizabeth leaned back against her chair, watching the crowd below with keen interest, allowing her icy gaze to sweep over every inch of their expressions, as if wishing to dissect any secrets concealed beneath their reactions, as if that would bring her endless amusement.
“Half a month ago, the Allied Forces on the Southern Continent suffered an unprecedented defeat during the siege against the Red Dragon Court in the South. Not only did the general appointed by Her Majesty die, but a massive number of recruited troops completely disbanded and even went missing. We did not arrange personnel to reorganize the army. Counting the missing and the deceased soldiers, the total might reach seventy or eighty percent. With such a number, even a hundred thousand pigs couldn’t be rounded up in a single day, yet it only took a day for the Red Dragon Court to crush us. It’s simply—”
“I am aware of the situation; the report stated that there was a strange phenomenon in the sky at the time, which caused our army’s collapse instead of the Red Dragon Court.”
“Then according to Your Majesty, what should we do next? Is the Southern Continent really to be given up so easily?”
“Indeed,” Elizabeth declared bluntly, seemingly unconcerned about the outcome there, as she issued her command, “I have decided to cut off all Allied Forces in the Southern Continent to minimize losses.”
Pietro opened his mouth, seemingly in disbelief, murmuring,
“Wait, Your Majesty, I don’t understand—”
“Is it difficult to understand? Or is it that you do not understand, but rather have objections to this decision?”
“I—”
Pietro opened his mouth, and under Elizabeth’s immensely pressuring gaze, he was so frightened that he could hardly speak; even beads of sweat formed on his forehead. But in the end, he still trembled his jaw, and after battling countless “I have no objections” that sought to escape his lips, he finally managed to say,
“I have objections. Regarding the Southern Continent, the Eastern situation, the Northern Region, and the matters at sea, if I may be frank, I do not grasp Your Majesty’s deeper intentions. It is not just me; my colleagues and several other ministers also have doubts regarding your decisions.”
Ooni, sitting at the side, closed his eyes and sighed silently, not expecting these fellows to still have the courage to voice their grievances against Elizabeth.
After all, in the past few years, Nali’s foreign policy had solidified under Empress Elizabeth into an unprecedentedly tough stance, especially against Shivali and Cardu, which had previous disputes. Had it been merely this, the ministers might not have expressed anything, for surely among their elders, someone had participated in the disputes with Shivali hundreds of years ago. Holding a hint of national vendetta would be quite normal.
However, what truly confused the ministers below was that the Empress seemed to delight in engaging in proxy wars.
The previous human Allied Forces on the Southern Continent were of this sort, with very few Nali people counted among them; the army was entirely composed of recruited Easterners from the Western Continent, stirring up chaos in the Southern Continent while supporting a puppet regime of the Green Dragon Court.
This was not just the Southern Continent, the Eastern side of the chaotic Western Continent was similar; there, a fervent religious military organization, known as the “Pure Holy Ointment Army”, had been established, waging wars against many small countries that had stabilized, under the banner of “restoration”, further inflaming tensions.
The Black Chieftain at sea betrayed the other major pirates, crazily hunting down rogue pirates; the Northern Region’s Sardinia and the Turan Family were also secretly supported to contend against the rising Parasol Tree.
Over the years, these ministers watched as the Empress attempted to meddle in numerous affairs, pouring vast sums of money yet yielding nothing but a land of death and chaos.
Had it not been that Nali had indeed grown stronger and wealthier in recent years, and these events had not impacted the interior, perhaps it would not have been until today that Pietro spoke these words to Elizabeth.
Pietro laid out his thoughts and concerns to Elizabeth, clearly conveying one point, “Your Majesty, please take a step back and cease these actions.”
After speaking all this, a layer of cold sweat broke out on Pietro’s forehead. He cautiously glanced at Elizabeth, only to find that she merely listened attentively and was not looking at him.
This lack of eye contact somewhat relieved his burden. For some reason, he genuinely feared the moment Elizabeth glanced his way; it was a terrifying feeling difficult to describe, akin to being stripped naked under the sun’s blazing heat.
Elizabeth had yet to express her opinion, and during this time, Director of the Bureau of Secrecy also took the opportunity to speak up,
“Your Majesty, although the Pure Holy Ointment Army on the Eastern continent has made smooth progress in warfare, mercilessly annihilating the nations along the way, we have received reliable news that many resistance organizations have been brewing in the nations that have fallen. Combatting our supported Holy Ointment Army directly is no longer an option for them; they may thus become extreme, targeting us who stand behind the Holy Ointment Army. It’s entirely possible they might carry out terror attacks within Nali, even plotting actions against Your Majesty.”
This was the situation: although the Pure Holy Ointment Army supported on the Eastern Continent easily battled those small states, it couldn’t compare to the hard nut of the Red Dragon Court. Yet, even the most brutal acts of genocide would leave behind roots. The recent intelligence confirmed this.
The Director of the Bureau of Secrecy, standing alongside Pietro, fundamentally rejected such thankless foreign meddling, especially since these past years, Empress Elizabeth had never revealed her true motives for engaging in such actions.
Was it truly to divide interests on the Southern Continent?
If that were the case, why recruit from the outside and why the subsequent lack of focus on that side?
“What?! A potential attack against Your Majesty? Albert, I command you…”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ooni, who had remained silent, couldn’t stay put upon hearing that there might be plans for a “decapitation operation” against Elizabeth. He hurriedly raised the matter’s importance. However, Elizabeth merely smiled slightly, remaining indifferent, not only to the assailants targeting her but also to their two earlier counsels.
She appeared to see no need to explain her reasons for acting; the appreciation for their genuine advice briefly flickered in her vacant eyes, but beyond that, there was nothing.
Elizabeth raised her left hand to stop Ooni, who hadn’t finished his words yet, casually saying,
“Your duty is to prevent any terror attacks against Saint Nali. As for those targeting me, if they have the courage, let them come; they are welcome to try.”
“Your Majesty, it’s better to be cautious; you…”
“Shh, let’s drop this topic; I’m bored. Next agenda.”
Pietro had said a considerable amount, and Albert had also added much, perhaps anticipating numerous consequences from their counsels, fearing they might be dragged away by the enraged Elizabeth for decapitation, or at least marginally devalued and insulted. Yet, they never expected Elizabeth would not act against them.
Maybe it was because Her Majesty had been in high spirits these days?
However, it seemed she desired no explanation at all, merely treating their counsel as air.
Yet, the ordinary ministers under the Empress, their heads bowed and not daring to look her in the eye, could hardly see what Elizabeth saw at this moment.
They saw Elizabeth at the main seat, still listening listlessly to their reports on other matters. However, in her seemingly empty hands rested a luxurious, exquisitely adorned golden cup that seemed to already be clutched within her palm, gently swaying as her wrist moved.
“Swish, swish.”
As she swayed, the golden cup emitted a heavy yet subtle sound of liquid, reminiscent of fine red wine sloshing in a goblet.
Elizabeth’s golden eyes slightly shifted as she looked down at the golden cup and noticed it had accumulated much thick, crimson liquid, resembling sludge.
That unclean liquid was nearly overflowing the cup, yet in Elizabeth’s hand, it remained light as a feather, swirling as her wrist turned, creating a vortex that threatened to engulf everything around it.
It appeared she was just a little bit away.
As she gazed down at the swirling murky liquid in the impure golden cup, Elizabeth mused in anticipation,
“What arrangements should I make for the honeymoon with Fisher next?”
