Chapter 154: Victoria's Mother
***
That voice was probably coming from inside mansion No. 2. It was so distance away, with at least 2 walls in between, so I couldn't make it out clearly, only catching the faint drift of words like "Church" and "Advisory Council." The one shouting them was a woman I didn't recognize, a voice I'd never heard before, but her lungs were sothing else, loud enough to drown out the rain outside the window.
My brow furrowed slightly.
What on earth is going on next door... another headache?
I tilted my ear and listened for a while longer. It seed like that sa strange woman had been going on and on the whole ti, and I hadn't really caught Victoria's voice at all... was she even in there?
I'll go check once the shouting dies down.
Carrying my half-finished pie, I settled onto the living room sofa and started chowing down with gusto... if I didn't finish these soon they'd actually go bad, and wasting food is simply not an option.
But even by the ti I actually finished the whole thing, the noise next door still hadn't let up, if anything, it was getting worse. I sat on the sofa patting my little round belly for a while, then headed upstairs to change into a fresh dress, gave my hair a quick once-over, grabbed a black lace umbrella, and stepped out the door, making my way toward the neighboring house.
The rain was pouring down in sheets, soaking the hem of my clothes in no ti at all.
I hurried to mansion No. 2 and found the big iron gate to the outer courtyard standing wide open. Parked at the entrance was an exquisite, lavish horned carriage, the carriage body appeared to be gilded, and the sturdy white horned horses were restlessly stamping their iron hooves, snorting and whinnying without pause. Standing on either side of the carriage were a good number of soldiers gripping longswords, their armor gleaming, lined up in neat formation that stretched all the way into the courtyard interior... the Iron Guard.
So those unpleasant fellows are back again...
I lowered my head and thought it over for a mont, then decided to go in and have a look.
It wasn't that I wanted to stick my nose into all this ss, it's just that right now, the most pressing thing was figuring out what was happening over in Cataloma, and I couldn't afford to wait another mont.
But the mont I stepped forward, those guards blocked my path.
"Miss, this is Her Majesty the Queen's estate, you cannot..."
"Miss Sylvia!"
The guard's words weren't even finished when I heard soone call out to from a distance. I followed the voice with my eyes, and Lecter was crossing the courtyard lawn, his gaze lighting up as he strode quickly toward .
"Show so respect! This is an honored guest of Her Majesty the Queen."
He snapped at the Iron Guard, then turned to with a broad smile. "Miss Sylvia, Her Majesty the Queen has been expecting you for quite so ti, please co in."
With that, Lecter gave a deep, formal bow. He wasn't carrying an umbrella, and he was nearly soaked through, yet the gesture was perford with every bit of proper ceremony, his respectful manner left the Iron Guard at the entrance thoroughly puzzled, though they didn't dare obstruct him further. They had no idea who I was, and presumably hadn't been given orders to bar everyone from entry, so they could only exchange baffled glances as they watched walk in.
But my brow just furrowed deeper.
"Green-haired guy, what's going on in there?"
I certainly wasn't going to believe his story about Victoria waiting for , more likely our dear Queen had run into so new headache and was using my na as an excuse to duck out of it.
Lecter led toward the mansion, and as he walked he turned his head and lowered his voice. "Her Majesty the Queen's mother has arrived..."
...Victoria's mother? Wouldn't that make her the Queen Dowager of Isenbell... no, she probably isn't that anymore.
Either way, her showing up at a ti like this was bound to an trouble.
"Have they found Abel yet?" I asked.
Lecter shook his head at that.
"Not yet. Tanis is leading a search team. I just got back from the northern district of the royal city, there are things I need to report to Her Majesty as soon as possible. But right now..." Lecter paused, choosing his words carefully while keeping a cautious eye on my expression, then let out a quiet sigh. "Things are a bit complicated... let's head over first."
...Alright then.
We made our way quickly to the mansion, and before we even reached the door I could already hear the woman inside shouting in exasperation: "...secretly pulling the Church to your side, turning this perfectly fine royal city into an absolute ss! As a queen, you have no sense of responsibility... Victoria, listen to !"
There was a loud clang, sothing had been hurled to the floor and shattered.
"What you're doing is abandoning the entire royal family! Abandoning the nation! This will ruin us! You'll ruin —!"
Lecter and I both froze at the doorway, exchanging a glance.
A brief silence fell inside, and then Victoria's calm voice followed: "The Advisory Council has already passed my decree. Do you have anything else to say, Mother? If not, you may leave."
"...Passed? Ha! Who passed it, those Church clergy? Victoria, this is the royal city! Since when have they ever had a say here!"
"Mother, then in your view... who does have a say in this royal city?"
"The royal city is tied to everyone's interests! Isenbell is ours! Naturally, we should be the ones who have a say!"
"When you say everyone, does that include the common people?"
"...The common people? Victoria, are you seriously speaking on behalf of those ignorant, foolish masses? Don't make laugh! What are the common people? The common people are deadwood, they're fish on a chopping board! All they need to do is live happily; they don't need to worry about a single thing. But what have we endured! What burdens do we carry! We are the ones who created all of this for them! What's wrong with them giving a little back!"
"Victoria, drop the act. You just want to consolidate military power, disband the Iron Guard, and use that to suppress the Clive family, stop hiding behind the common people as an excuse!"
"Think of it however you like."
"Am I wrong...? Look at ! What kind of attitude is this, I'm your mother! Your father neglected the family when he was young, and I raised you and your brother all by myself! What now? You've grown up, you've found your wings, and you want to seize all the power for yourself?"
"..."
"Didn't you tell your uncle that we're not fit to be your family... Victoria. In your heart, we're just a bunch of leeches and parasites sucking you dry, aren't we? Only you, Victoria, think yourself above everyone else... Hmph, not fit to be your family? If you've got the nerve, say it to my face!"
"...Say sothing! "
Victoria said nothing.
I stood awkwardly at the doorway, not quite sure whether to go in or not. I glanced at Lecter beside and found him looking a little dazed, his slightly vacant eyes carrying a faint flicker of sothing sorrowful.
I gave him a gentle nudge with my elbow.
Lecter snapped back to himself, offered an apologetic smile, then stepped forward into the room and gave a soft cough.
"Ahem. Your Majesty, I apologize for the interruption... Miss Sylvia is here."
I folded my umbrella and set it by the door, shook the rainwater off my shoulders, and followed him inside.
The interior layout of mansion No. 2 was much like my own ho, though it felt a touch more plain and understated. At a glance, I didn't spot anything particularly valuable. Straight ahead past the entrance was the main hall, where over by the sofa next to the fireplace along the wall, Victoria sat face to face with a woman who carried herself with a graceful, well-fed elegance.
The woman had golden hair and golden eyes, her appearance bearing a six or seven-point resemblance to Victoria, though with a touch more fullness to her figure. She had a pair of enchanting phoenix eyes that could draw anyone in, sohow more alluring than Victoria's. Despite her age, she was still quite a strikingly beautiful woman — this was obviously her mother.
Between the two of them sat a low tea-colored table, and at their feet lay a shattered glass vase. The flower arrangent that had once been inside it was now scattered loosely across the floor, vivid red petals strewn across the carpet, solitary and forlorn against the backdrop of rain beating at the window outside.
Victoria's face... still showed no expression whatsoever.
She raised her head, just about to speak, when the woman across from her cut in first: "Miss Sylvia. The youngest Pontifical Knight in history, the youngest daughter of the Grand Duke of Shanter Castle Scalliger... Victoria, is this your trump card?"
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