Dalton's boots trod the bloody ground, and the hem of his hunting jacket dripped blood.
He pulled the short knife out of the chest of the assassin in front of him neatly, and warm blood flew up like a fountain, splashing on Dalton's body. The corpse fell heavily, staring blankly at the sky full of spires.
"It's really bad."
Cardinal Luvis frowned, he had already changed into a monk's black uniform. The bishop was able to escape from the pursuit of the previous Pope, thanks to the fact that he was not addicted to wine and prostitution like other cardinals, and had the habit of exercising as an ascetic monk, and his skills were much better than ordinary people.
Even so, the series of hunts and killings he encountered after entering the Papal State still strained Cardinal Luvis's nerves to the limit.
After arriving in the Papal States, the number of assassins from the Capel family and other pope candidates was simply overwhelming. Along the way, Cardinal Luvis had no choice but to be thankful that he had accepted the help of Queen Roland, otherwise it would be almost impossible for him to successfully rendezvous with his family's support, let alone reach the holy city without incident.
"The Luvis family will always remember Her Majesty the Queen and your help," Cardinal Luvis solemnly held the cross hanging on his chest, "Please tell Your Majesty that the Luvis family has never been stingy with their friends. "
Dalton turned his wrist to shake off the blood on the hunting knife.
The rest of the musketeers also dealt with the enemy in their own way. At this moment, they gathered together and lined up neatly behind Dalton. They were standing in a dark alley right now. Dalton took the cloak handed to him by his deputy, and with a shake, the black cloak unfolded in mid-air and draped over his shoulders.
He unhurriedly put the knife back into its sheath, and casually raised his eyes to Cardinal Luvis on the opposite side—maybe it will be the future Mr. Pope—without hiding the threat in his eyes: "If you forget, I will come again A trip to the Holy City, Cardinal."
The guards of the Luvis family stood behind the cardinal, and when they heard this blunt words, they were angry.
Cardinal Luvis himself didn't think there was anything wrong.
Even after seeing Dalton's ability to lead soldiers and his skill at the beginning, Cardinal Luvis still had some thoughts of recruiting. But following the observation along the way, Cardinal Luvis has completely dispelled this idea—this man is an unruly sword, it is unparalleled in sharpness but hard to tame, it can often cut people.
unless…
Unless the sword willingly puts its handle into the hands of others.
It's hard to imagine what kind of person can control this extremely dangerous weapon of war.
Cardinal Luvis couldn't help admiring the queen far away in Roland. Although she is a woman, she can do things that many kings can't do. Precisely because she is a woman. What a ridiculous idea... Whenever Cardinal Luvis thought about it, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
There must be something more important and more powerful than beauty, than feelings, that plays a decisive role in such a relationship.
Or rather, it was something like that that sparked a deeper attachment.
Cardinal Luvis couldn't figure out what that thing could be.
"Then, goodbye," Cardinal Luvis bid farewell to the musketeers who escorted him to the Holy City with respect and vigilance to Queen Roland. Good luck to you!"
The team received by the Luvis family quickly left and headed for the Sistine Chapel.
Dalton grabbed a handful of blood-soaked hair and pushed them back. His black hair was disheveled, and the sun shone through the undulating eaves, casting the strange shadow of the gargoyle on his face. He raised his head, looked at the holy city shrouded in cloud and turmoil despite the clear sky, and took a breath.
The air is filled with the stench of corpses, future blood, and the struggle of poverty and hopelessness.
"What a rotting heart," he murmured.
Staying in the Pope's country, staying in the holy city, every day, this feeling will become deeper and heavier.
In Dalton's view, the Holy City is like a gigantic corpse, decorated with gold powder and precious stones, mice and flies sing on the corpse day after day... The Holy City, the sacred place for all believers in the world In this land, dense towers like gun forests coexist with criss-crossing dark alleyways, clergymen wearing sacred robes coexist with a thriving prostitution industry. How many priests don't have one or two illegitimate children hidden under their robes, what's more, the Pope who just died of illness, his illegitimate children are as honorable as the princes and princesses of various countries here.
Thieves, whores and robbers.
However, this is the holy city.
If you put it in the past, these are nothing. But when a person emerges from the stinking water and smells such a trace of fresh air, the dirt and putrefaction that he was accustomed to before will become unbearable.
"Let's go!"
Dalton said, without hesitation, he left this place of pilgrimage for countless people behind him.
"Back to Roland!"
The musketeers let out a cry of joy.
Along the way, not only Cardinal Luvis, but also Dalton and these soldiers were deeply touched. They saw a lot of mercenaries, and the treatment that many soldiers received in the Papal State - when the nobles needed them, they could get one or two points of attention, but when the big men didn't need them, they could only be like garbage The same was thrown aside.
Lowborn soldiers are valued by no one but their queen.
The Musketeers knew what good they had done with Dalton—a treasonous act of mutiny that would have left many kings bitter. After the God's Judgment, the queen's majesty became more and more serious day by day, and they became more anxious every day, for fear that the queen would come to settle accounts sometime later.
Their generals still have something to rely on, but what about them
They are nothing but lowly people.
Yet the Queen graciously forgave them. After they no longer need to be afraid of General Dalton, they are still allowed to act as their own guards, and they are given positions that they did not dare to expect before according to their abilities.
Gods, where in the world is there such a monarch
Just like Dalton, they missed Roland and the queen who lit the flames on the rotting corpses, and they couldn't wait to go back and plunge into the raging flames.
"Go back to Roland."
Dalton whispered to himself again.
He was surprised to find that the queen's face was so clear in his memory, her crown, her eyes, her hands... It was as clear as a shackle that locked the soul, which was joyful and terrifying.
His Majesty.
— Her Majesty the Queen, just, tolerant and merciful.
—Her Majesty the cruel, hard-hearted Her Majesty.
……………
When Dalton set off for Roland, a man was on his way to meet the queen.
There are many people requesting to see the queen, including officials, messengers, businessmen, and litigants who want the royal court to make a verdict... The crowd waits in the courtyard of the queen's official residence. When they saw Mrs. Kelly coming out, they immediately hugged her—everyone knew that Mrs. Kelly was the queen's most trusted person, and she always introduced those who were lucky enough to be received by the queen.
Mrs. Kelly didn't look at the men who tried to bribe her, but walked to a corner of the colonnade and nodded to a man leaning on the pillar.
When the man came out, the people waiting here couldn't help showing disgusted and fearful expressions. The black leather boots wrapped the slender line of the calf, the brown cloth trousers tied up the strong and straight thighs, and the hard-wearing jacket was only buttoned with a few buttons at the bottom, which did not conceal the curvy chest under the vest.
A woman who is not ashamed to wear pants like a man.
Where Abigail walked, the crowd avoided it like a patient with the bubonic plague.
They whispered and made no secret of their malice and contempt. But no reckless guy dared to step forward and say a word—the guy who did this before was kicked out of the colonnade with ease by the long legs wrapped in combat boots. superior.
Regarding this incident, the courtiers around the queen did not look like they had seen it at all, which showed that she was a very important person that the queen wanted to see.
The appearance of Mrs. Kelly confirmed this.
Along the way, Mrs. Kelly gently reminded Abigail of the etiquette that this rare female pirate captain should have when meeting the queen. Abigail could feel the kindness behind this whispered exhortation, which was clearly connected with the kindness of another person.
A good sign.
Perhaps, Abigail thought, the dagger hidden in the bottom of her combat boots was of no use.
After entering the audience room, Mrs. Kelly introduced Abigail to the queen as usual, but she soon found that her introduction was useless.
Almost at the moment they stepped into the audience room, the eyes of the Queen of the Empire and the head of the Iron Cross Pirates fell on each other.
Mrs. Kelly bowed her knees slightly, then stepped back, leaving room for the queen and the female pirate.
They stared at each other at the same moment, observed each other carefully, as if they both wanted to judge from the face of the other whether she was the person they were looking for - in addition to a bit of scrutiny, there was more expectation in the eyes that seemed to be waiting for a long time .
What Abigail saw was a silver-haired queen, a real queen.
Not those "perfect" noble ladies who entrust their power and territory to their husbands or fathers, nor those timid puppets who entrust their power to nobles and officials. She has firm and sharp eyes, and her long and sharp eyebrows make Abi Gail thought of the falcon's wings on the snow mountain. She wears the bright red sash that symbolizes the imperial army, and regards it as the most important and inseparable decoration on her body, just as she firmly wears her own crown.
The young queen smiled and held out her hand to Abigail.
Abigail stepped forward, knelt down on the cushion, held the Queen's hand extended to her, and saluted.
"Before I met you, I kept thinking about what you would look like." Abigail said happily, she could not hide her eyes from looking at the queen.
"Did I disappoint you?"
Adele asked kindly.
"For now, no." Abigail asked back. "What about me? Have I let you down?"
When she observed the queen, she got the answer from the queen's long and sharp eyebrows and the ribbon worn on her shoulders. got the desired answer.
Hearing this question, the queen smiled.
"I'm proud that the empire's waters can breed sea roses like you."
As the queen said, she patted the place beside her lightly, signaling Abigail to sit down on the chair closest to her.
"I heard that you generously gave up all the booty the Iron Cross won in this battle, and used all your wealth as a bet to persuade other pirates to donate the captured booty to the empire. Why did you do this? "
At first, the queen hoped that the pirates would make their first appearance, not in Rose Strait.
It is not an easy task to drive a group of rebellious and free pirates, if you are not careful, you will let this sharp knife stab yourself in the opposite direction. To this end, the Queen has made a lot of preparations. However, as that person said, "the world is impermanent", the governor of Port Zaragoda's stupid behavior disrupted the queen's original plan.
She had to write a letter, ordering the pirates who had just gathered to go to the Strait of Roses to intercept the fleet of the Free Merchant City. In this way, she can't guarantee that the pirates can obey the command and can cultivate a reasonable cooperation method between the two parties—at least, the queen is ready for some pirates to rob the merchant ship and flee directly with the goods. .
Fortunately, the Iron Cross Pirates and the Raven Pirates organized order and established the first "healthy and smooth" alliance and cooperation between the pirates and the imperial government.
In this, the role played by Abigail is undoubtedly crucial.
— This is also the reason why the Queen was able to sign the letter of appointment for the special members of the Naval Committee relatively smoothly after receiving the news.
It's just that for Abigail, she took a big risk.
Unlike Captain Saran, Abigail has already met the queen and reached a secret cooperation agreement with the queen. Once the queen accepts the confiscated goods, she refuses to give the pirates the rewards they deserve. Abigail, who pledged all her wealth and the pirate group as a guarantee, will go bankrupt in an instant, and her prestige in her pirate group will also plummet in an instant.
In the end, she will face the mutiny of her subordinates and the pursuit of other pirate groups.
"Isn't this what you want?" Abigail asked, "Since you want to form the flank force of the Imperial Navy with pirates, you must let the shark-like pirates know that they should obey the command of the Imperial Battle Flag."
"Indeed," the queen nodded, "this is what I want. But, haven't you thought about the possibility that you might go bankrupt because of this?"
"Are you going to ruin me?"
Abigail asked, her red hair melting into the flames in the firelight.
"Look at this."
The queen opened the drawer, took out a thin sheet of paper, and handed it to Abigail.
Abigail took it, looked at it by the candlelight, and fell into a long silence. The queen did not rush her, but waited patiently.
"Before meeting you, I prepared something." After Abigail finished reading, she put the very light and heavy letter of appointment on the table. She looked up at the queen and said frankly, "What do you want to see?"
"please."
Abigail pulled a dagger out of the sole of her boots.
Her boots had an ingenious design. The bottom of the boots looked like a high heel was designed for the convenience of riding a horse. The terrifying assassination weapon was hidden in the high heel and escaped the search.
It was an odd dagger—or a blade would be more accurate.
Thin as a cicada's wing, light as a feather.
When it cuts a person's throat, it will kiss the person's trachea and artery like a piece of paper, and it will be unimpeded like cutting cheese with a wire.
Abigail put the blade on the table.
"I think I need to thank you." Facing such a terrifying weapon, Adele said gently, without changing her expression, "You helped my guards find out the negligence, maybe you would like to tell me, What you wanted to do with it."
"Let me see what the first queen of the empire is like," Abigail stared into the queen's eyes tightly, "I can be the sword in your hand, and I can be your fangs at sea, because only With you and I are true allies. But if you wear the crown and submit to discrimination and prejudice, then I will kill you."
Instead of being angry, the queen laughed: "Why?"
"I would rather the first queen of the empire die by my hands than see a queen who is content with a cage and makes the cage that is already strong enough even stronger."
Abigail answered crisply.
There is nothing sadder and more terrifying than a person who is numb and becomes a slave, but still drags others into slavery.
In particular, if such a person becomes the queen of the empire, she will never become the hope of countless women, but will help those arrogant guys kill hope together.
"I'm glad you are not. I am willing to serve you. Unlike all your knights, they are loyal to you because you are Roland's monarch, and I am loyal to you because you are Roland's queen."
Abigail said she stood up, took a step back, and did what all knights do—what all men are entitled to do—get down on one knee.
"Then, Your Majesty, after seeing such a blade, are you still willing to give me the letter of appointment?"
"knight?"
The queen smiled, with a gentle reproach in her tone. She took out a badge she had already prepared from the side—the badge of a member of the Roland Empire Naval Committee, and pinned the badge on Abigail's chest herself.
"No, I don't need a knight."
Abigail raised her hand to touch the badge on her shoulder.
The cold badge had hard edges—ever since she was a child, she knew that she was different from other girls, that she didn't like diamonds, that she didn't like jewelry, that she couldn't embroider or make music. She longs for the sword, for fighting, for being able to get rid of the heavy dress, and ride and run freely like a man.
"The navy commissioner is just the beginning," the female dynasty stretched out her hand, her gentle voice faded, revealing the majesty and determination of a king, "I hope that Roland can not only have a female naval commissioner, but also a female admiral , a marshal. Tell me, can you do it?"