"Article 1: The National Assembly declares that Adele Roland has shamefully stolen the power that does not belong to her, and has brought disaster to the Empire as a heretic."
"Article 2: The National Assembly declares Adele Rolland to be sentenced to death."
The clerk read out the final verdict, and the judge and jurors stood like a flock of crows in black, all in silence.
Adele, the interrogate sitting on the chair, stood up and turned around to inspect the guards and the crowd. Light poured into the church from the high side windows and fell on the queen's silver curly hair. She smiled gracefully and made the final defense for herself:
"It is my original sin to wear a crown as a woman.[1]"
August 28, 1557.
The first queen of the Roland Empire was guillotined in the rebellion.
...
Adele thought she was going to hell.
One second she ended her life, and the next second she returned to the night of the mutiny.
Leaning on the back of the carved chair, Adele tightly grasped the armrest with a hand that symbolized the royal ring, and a message from nowhere came to her mind:
— That was the century-old history of the empire after her death.
After her overthrow, the struggle for the throne threw the empire into chaos for three decades. Intervention from other countries, conflicts between domestic nobles and civilians, disputes between new gods and old gods...all these have brought the once powerful and glorious empire to its end. The history books describe her as "she is a promising king, but it's a pity that she can't live up to her fate."
"The rebels are coming," the head maid drew back the curtains, walked quickly to the Queen and begged, "Let's go through the secret passage, Your Majesty the Queen."
In order to ensure the safety of the owner of the palace at special moments, the royal palaces of the Roland Empire often have secret rooms for emergency evacuation and many small secret passages. The uproar approached the courtyard, and the windows could see the light of the torches, and the Matron could only hope that these secret passages would save her mistress' life.
"Don't do anything useless, Kelly."
Adele affectionately called her loyal head maid.
Her tone was unusual, and an extremely ominous guess immediately flashed through Mrs. Kelly's mind, and her face turned pale. She knelt down on the soft cushion in front of the Queen's chair, held the Queen's hand tightly, and said tremblingly, "Your Majesty..."
Adele knew she understood what she meant.
There was no way they could escape.
Theoretically, in addition to the twelve honorary guards, the Queen should also have a National Guard and a Gentleman's Guard to provide personal protection. However, Adele knew that the gentry guard composed of elite nobles had already betrayed at this moment. They surrounded the exit of the secret passage tightly, just waiting for her to throw herself into the trap.
The commotion outside was getting closer.
The other maids were not as calm as Mrs. Kelly, and couldn't help sobbing. When the heavy footsteps passed through the Privy Chamber and reached the door of the inner hall, their expressions were like the end of the world.
Fortunately, the footsteps stopped, and the other party seemed to have no intention of letting dozens of soldiers rush into the queen's room at the same time.
Mrs. Kelly quickly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and stood beside the Queen's chair with a serious expression, as if it was not the rebels who were about to break into the door, but the officials who usually visited.
The metal spurs on the bottom of the boots hit the rocks with a crisp sound.
Adele sat up straight and looked at the officer who walked in.
The visitor was very young, and if he hadn't shown up under such circumstances, he might be very popular among the court maids. He has dark black curly hair, a high nose bridge, and cold drooping eyes. He wears a more capable narrow-waisted jacket, breeches and boots, and a black cloak covered with pearls and precious stones, which is popular among nobles nowadays. Under the cloak hung a dangerous flintlock.
"You are being rude, sir."
Mrs. Kelly bravely accused the officer of having crossed the line of court etiquette and stepped on the rug in front of the imperial chair.
Adele made a gesture to stop the chief maid from angering the officer in this situation: "Don't worry about it, Mr. Dalton has something to do. It's like this, isn't it?"
She identified the person who came.
Robert Dalton, a senior officer of the Roland Empire. He is a Neotheist who rose to the top with the help of the church reforms in the empire five years ago. That adventure had paid off handsomely for him, and he didn't hesitate to join the current mutiny again.
In the previous life, Adele left from the secret passage and fell into the hands of the gentry guards. It was not until the National Assembly held a trial against her that she was seen in court.
What impressed Adele about him was that he was an important figure in the history of the end of the Empire. Dalton was ambitious and the military leader of the Neotheistic sect for thirty years of chaos. On the other hand, his personality is extremely distorted, and he is feared by others, and many history books criticize him.
Adele stayed, not to wait for death, but for the chance that might happen to Dalton.
— He was born a commoner.
In fact, the moment Dalton saw the Queen sitting in the room, for the first time, he sincerely thanked the new gods for their protection - if they existed. Now, in front of the group of noble asses, he has obtained the most important piece of the riot.
Dalton carefully looked at his "chess pieces" before approaching.
In an instant, he realized that there was no more dazzling chess piece.
The young queen sat in a jeweled-edged royal chair, her silky silver curls hanging from a shell-shaped shawl. She is wearing a cardigan today, and the tight sleeve skirt wraps her graceful body like petals, spreading out layers under her slender waist. The ruby known as the "Heart of the Empire" lay on her almost translucent white chest.
She was watching him.
Even more striking than the "Empire Heart" were her rose-colored eyes, beautiful as a dream in the candlelight.
Empire Rose.
Dalton remembered what the Rolands called the ill-fated queen when she was still a princess. Right now, even Dalton, who has been criticized by his political opponents as "a commoner who doesn't appreciate it" and "the blade of war", realizes that the rumors are true-the queen is indeed breathtakingly beautiful.
He stretched out a slender and soft hand in the female dynasty.
Dalton hesitated for a moment, stepped on the soft cushion in front of the Queen's chair, half-kneeled down, and kissed his hands: "Everything has been arranged, for your safety, please follow me out of here. Queen His Majesty."
"Will we go west or east when we leave, sir."
Adele asked.
Dalton was so close to her that she could smell the remains of gunpowder and blood on him.
To the west of the imperial capital is the dreaded Waihall Prison, where she was imprisoned by the nobles after the riots in her previous life. To the east is the Imperial Day Palace on the banks of the White River, with stronger military defenses. In her previous life, she wanted to rush there to organize defenses and counterattacks.
"Go to a safe place."
Dalton cleverly avoided the temptation hidden in the Queen's words, he was not here to be a loyal guard. But to tell a beautiful woman that he came to take her to prison, even he thought it was too cruel.
"Then wait for your sea mercenaries to land from the west, and take away the ports of those nobles and priests when they are drunk for victory. Is it?"
Adele said softly.
This is what she learned from her rebirth, and it is also the life-saving straw she must grasp.
She knew exactly what Dalton was—an out-and-out careerist. If she wanted to survive him, she had to prove that it was in his greater interest for her to live. And just so, she knew what he needed.
Dalton is a commoner, and the political system of the Roland Empire has been rigid for a long time, and she has only ruled for three years and there is no time to change much. There is a natural confrontation between civilians and nobles. It is difficult for the nobles who believe in the old gods to allow civilians like Dalton to carve up the power that was originally monopolized by them.
After her death, the battle for the throne will start again, and the nobles will also take the opportunity to expel Dalton.
Dalton is not an idiot, he is a gambler, involved in the chaos has his plot - the thirteen external ports on the west side of the Roland Empire.
"Who told you this? Her Majesty the Queen."
Dalton stood up abruptly.
Short, piercing screams.
The flintlock dangling under Dalton's cloak disappeared, reaching the Queen's forehead with lightning speed. As long as he moved his finger, the queen of the Roland Empire would die on the spot. The maids sat down on the ground in fright, and some of them even closed their eyes tightly.
Adele stretched out her hand, and with a powerful movement, stopped Mrs. Kelly who subconsciously wanted to rush forward.
Dalton knew that those nobles couldn't tolerate him.
They're just waiting to put the Old Gods on the throne and kick him out of the army, a guy from the mud. For this reason, he united with foreign New God sect forces, secretly hired a mercenary with the help of spies, and planned to take the lead in occupying the territory when the nobles were fighting for the new king.
These things are secret, even his immediate personal guards don't know.
Once exposed in advance, those guys who stared at him like hyenas would not hesitate to send him to the gallows for "treason".
"How do you know?"
Dalton pressed.
Mrs. Kelly could almost smell the choking smell of gunpowder before her eyes, and she almost fainted, but her mistress remained calm.
"I am the queen, sir."
Adele smiles.
Dalton found that under the crown, the Queen's eyes were not only like bright red roses, but also like fresh blood in the heart.
"Is the name Regent not as good as the Governor of Thirteen Ports?" Adele asked like a naive child, "With your bravery, you will be able to easily suppress those mobs and rebels, and after arriving at the Palace of the Sun You will be the uncrowned king."
"You are instigating me to fight with the adults who are besieged outside the castle."
Dalton rubbed his fingers back and forth on the trigger, showing a sharp smile.
Adele raised her hand, grasped the cold gun body, and led it down to her snowy left chest. As she did so, her beautiful eyes remained fixed on the ambitious officer.
There was no sound of gunfire.
"Don't you want to conquer Roland? And..."
Adele held the gun to her heart and leaned forward to approach Dalton. She paused, her voice swirling on the tip of her tongue, with an almost coquettish and evil charm.
"Conquer me."
The author has something to say: Missed a note, make it up~
[1] Adapted from "The only crime you care about me is that I'm a woman, a crowned woman" - "The Queen of the Wind"
Some modifications have been made to the setting, and the fantasy elements have been reduced. I wanted to try the court and social life that the tyrant is less involved in.
The plot + Shura field are double-lined, and the non-traditional Shura field_(:з」∠)_The queen is a real femme fatale, and the cover is my daughter of Shengshi Meiyan. For the rest of the edible items, see the text. This is a series of men and women who are mentally ill, and it is a free essay (although I don't know if I can let it fly).
That's probably it. I feel like it's been a long time since I saw you last time, and I'm not used to it.
New story, I hope we can continue to walk together
Daily update, and the update time will be fixed at twelve o'clock in the future.