Chapter 421 - Episode 404: The Queen's Majesty
"Wait!"
Everyone's gaze turned toward Anrietta, who had spoken for the first time since this commotion broke out.
"Your Majesty! Please, do not stop—"
"I have heard your words. Therefore, it is only right that you listen to mine. Or are you unable to hear the words of your Queen?"
As Anrietta stepped forward, having the guards clear a path, Earl Auteuil fell silent.
Now, how will she settle this farce? Thinking this, Noein silently watched the situation as one of the many attendees.
"...I shall now speak with Earl Auteuil. No one is to interfere. This is an order from the Queen of this country."
After declaring this while looking around at the Guard soldiers, Anrietta whispered something to Viscount Tajinette by her side, then descended from the elevated front of the hall with a quiet, dignified presence. Viscount Tajinette, who seemed to have received instructions, followed behind Anrietta with sword in hand.
"A-Anrietta..."
"Klaus, it is alright. Please, just watch from there. This is a place that I, as Queen, must settle."
Looking back at her consort, whose gentle and somewhat timid nature left him flustered, Anrietta smiled kindly and then faced forward again to descend the steps.
"Let me through."
She commanded the soldiers who were lined up as if to block the path to the front of the hall, and as Anrietta approached Earl Auteuil and the others, Marquis Paradir spoke up.
"Your Majesty, it is dangerous!"
"Marquis Paradir, please, you as well, just watch."
"But... it cannot be helped. Guard! Apprehend Earl Auteuil and his cohorts, dead or—" "Your Excellency."
Viscount Tajinette quickly approached Marquis Paradir, who had tried to move the soldiers surrounding Earl Auteuil to prioritize Anrietta's safety. Although the blade of the sword was not pointed at the Marquis, she emitted a cold determination that suggested she would not hesitate to cut him down if necessary.
"What... do you realize what you are doing, Lord Tajinette?"
"I return those words to you, Your Excellency Paradir. Her Majesty the Queen commanded that no one interfere. Her Majesty ordered me to let nothing obstruct her actions. Even if it be Your Excellency, I shall show no mercy if you ignore Her Majesty's command."
"...Even if it puts Her Majesty's person in danger?"
"I am the sword that protects Her Majesty's will. To believe in Her Majesty's thoughts and to open the path she walks must be the true form of a subject."
"...Kh."
Perhaps realizing that Viscount Tajinette, who was stubbornly committed to being the King's sword, could not be persuaded, Marquis Paradir fell silent with a bitter expression.
With no one left to obstruct her, Anrietta moved further forward. Passing by the bewildered soldiers, she finally reached the space directly in front of Earl Auteuil.
"Earl Auteuil. And those of you who agreed with the Earl. Do you truly lack faith in me as your Queen to such an extent? Am I truly that unreliable? To you, am I merely a figurehead Queen after all?"
"What!? ...We have said no such thing. We merely hoped that Your Majesty would remember the truly proper form and the path the Kingdom of Lancel should take. It is precisely because we believe that Your Majesty can lead the kingdom correctly that we brought this appeal—"
"That way of thinking is the very proof that you do not trust me! Fool!"
As Anrietta shouted, the hall fell silent at the sharpness of her voice. Everyone was surprised by the dignified, powerful words of a woman who, at first glance, still looked like a girl.
"The correct way for this kingdom to exist. That is something that changes with the era. In the first place, the Kingdom of Lancel itself was a country that did not exist a hundred years ago. To the many people who lived a hundred years ago, or even longer, the fact that a single state has unified this region—where small countries should have stood side by side—would likely appear as something wrong. A 'correct way' is a concept that is that fleeting."
At that point, Anrietta's stern expression changed to one of sadness.
"I believe that considering and deciding the correct way for a state to exist for each era is the right of a King, and simultaneously, taking responsibility for it is the duty of a King. And yet... why is it that you, who should be my subject, decide the correct way for the country and force it upon me, Earl Auteuil? My loyal subject, who I should trust, who has continued to support me until today."
Earl Auteuil, called a loyal subject, wore an expression as if he had been caught off guard by Anrietta's words.
"First, the royal family of this country, which spent over sixty years solidifying the foundations of the state, welcoming a royal spouse from the Rhodeberg royal family—originally during my eldest brother's generation—was based on the thoughts of the late King, my father, the King from two generations ago. To recover the national strength of this country, which was wounded by the previous civil war and still bears its scars, I intend to succeed my father's will and shift to an open-door policy, further enriching the country through exchanges such as trade with other nations."
Pausing her words, Anrietta glanced toward Noein and Helga.
"The same applies to having exchanges with countries ruled by beastmen, or countries where the treatment of beastmen differs from our own. To avoid making a failure like my brother Cadne, who usurped the throne and ran wild, and to ensure that those who make failures like Cadne are not born in the future, I believe our country must have exchanges with diverse nations. Precisely because there are many countries on the Adleon continent with values different from the Kingdom of Lancel, we must first exchange words with those countries and make at least the effort to walk the path of coexistence and mutual prosperity as much as possible."
"...B-but, to hand over the country to foreigners in such a way—" "Be silent. Listen to me now."
In a quiet but powerful tone that permitted no rebuttal, Anrietta did not allow Earl Auteuil to speak.
"Opening the country to the outside and handing the country over to foreigners are different things. You, who led a calm and rational faction among the military nobles and came down to me, should originally be able to understand that. The reason I aim for an open-door policy is to make the Kingdom of Lancel a wealthier and stronger country. It is a path I have thought of and chosen myself, precisely for the sake of our country and thinking of the subjects of our country... and I had hoped to borrow your strength to walk this path."
Anrietta directed her gaze toward Earl Auteuil and each of the several nobles who agreed with him.
"A weak country cannot form an equal relationship with other nations. Precisely because we take an open-door policy in diplomacy and economics, we must simultaneously make the country's defenses even more robust. To open the country and simultaneously protect the country, I wanted to borrow your strength. I believed that I could rely on you, who pride yourselves on martial prowess yet understand reason. To make this country wealthier and protect it together with you. I had envisioned such a future."
Being told this while being looked at directly, Earl Auteuil instinctively averted his eyes from his sovereign. To Noein, who was watching the situation, it looked as though confusion and shame were seeping into his expression.
"...I intended to show through my actions that I am a monarch who can explain my thoughts to my subjects and execute those thoughts, a monarch who can protect and enrich the country in my own way, and that I have achieved that much growth. If that did not reach you, it could be said that it is my failing."
"Y-Your Majesty, that is..."
Earl Auteuil opened his mouth to deny the words Anrietta spoke as if muttering with her eyes cast down. Anrietta raised her gaze and looked straight at him, silencing him once again with that action.
"If you say that I am a monarch not worthy of your trust, if you say that you know the answer to leading this country correctly... then right here, with that dagger, kill me."
"What!?"
Earl Auteuil and his supporters were aghast, and a stir spread through the hall. For everyone present, Anrietta's words were unexpected.
Noein also felt surprise that it was unexpected, but at the same time, he thought it was a development he had seen somewhere before.
"I declare it here and now. I declare that even if Earl Auteuil cuts me down and takes my place, he shall not be held accountable for the crime; if he wishes to lead the country, I permit it. Everyone here is a witness... With that, Earl Auteuil. Do it if you can. If you can take the history of the Kingdom of Lancel, the history of the countries that preceded it, the lives and livelihoods of one and a half million people, the houses and pride of the kingdom's nobles, and the steps of mutual prosperity with friendly nations—if you can shoulder all of that upon yourself and lead correctly, then kill me!"
Anrietta declared resolutely.
A woman still in her teens raised her voice before a man more than two rotations of a decade older than her, a man two heads taller than her. She shouted, entrusting her own life and the life of the country solely to her own resolve and pride. Everyone there saw the figure of a strong Queen in her.
Earl Auteuil, the very person who saw her before him and had words hurled at him, was no exception.
"...! My beloved Queen! I... I was entirely wrong. I was arrogant. Unable to understand Your Majesty's resolve, unable to notice Your Majesty's greatness, my own immaturity and shallow thinking that led to such a foolish act—no matter how much I regret it, it will never be enough."
Earl Auteuil, staring at the floor as if he could not possibly raise his face, fell to his knees, and his supporters followed, voicing their regrets one after another.
They seemed to truly regret their shame from the bottom of their hearts, and tears of manly weeping even splattered onto the floor.
"I do not beg for forgiveness. There is no way we, who disturbed the celebration of Your Majesty and the Prince Consort and acted in a way that defiled Your Majesty's resolve, could be forgiven. To show at least some intent of apology, I shall commit suicide here and—"
"You shall not."
When Anrietta answered immediately, Earl Auteuil and the others looked up with desperate expressions.
"Y-Your Majesty..."
"To commit suicide to show intent of apology. It sounds good, but that is mere escape. I will never permit you to end your lives and become comfortable by fleeing from your own shame... Of course, I cannot leave you in your current positions. I shall seize your assets and dissolve your houses. I shall strip you of all honor, strip you of power, and after placing shackles upon you, send you to an unimportant frontier."
Anrietta approached to a distance where she could reach Earl Auteuil and looked down at him with sharp eyes.
"Even so, you must live. If you truly regret your actions of today, then use your bodies for the Kingdom of Lancel while exposing your living shame. No matter the position, no matter the duty, use your entire lives to work yourself to the bone. While doing so, witness how I make the country stronger and wealthier, and after seeing with your own eyes that I was correct, live out your natural lives. Only then shall your honor be recovered, and depending on your work, the restoration of your houses may be permitted."
For proud nobles, this was a far more harsh punishment than being ordered to commit suicide or having their heads severed. It was as good as being declared to continue living in hell while smeared in unbearable humiliation.
At the same time, it was also mercy. It was a forgiveness that promised the recovery of honor and the salvation of the clan after a lifetime of atonement to Earl Auteuil and the others who had committed such an incredibly foolish mistake.
"Earl Auteuil. And the others as well. Today, you committed a mistake that can never be forgiven. However, I have not forgotten that you served me during the previous civil war and protected me, who was then only a young and immature princess, with your lives. How could I forget your devotion... That is precisely why I give you the punishment of exposing your living shame, and the salvation after completing your atonement. Accept it. Please, accept it."
"...Yes! As Your Majesty wills!"
Earl Auteuil and the others threw their daggers onto the floor and prostrated themselves before Anrietta.
"I shall hand down the formal judgment later. For now, remain in confinement at your homes under the surveillance of the Royal Army... Guard!"
The Guard who had been surrounding Earl Auteuil and the others were finally permitted to act, and they led everyone away while remaining alert to the Earls' movements.
Once those who caused the commotion were all taken out, silence flowed through the hall. A strange silence resulting from the commotion settling for the time being and the thread of tension snapping.
And then, as if to break that silence, applause rang out.
When everyone looked toward where the applause was heard, the one clapping was Oscar Rhodeberg III. He looked straight at Anrietta, smiled slightly as if praising her courage and resolve, and gave her a nod.
Following Oscar's lead, his wife Ingrid also began to clap, and Noein, seeing this, followed. Eventually, Helga, and then the other attendees, began to clap their hands one after another.
Anrietta, who had settled the commotion with her dignified behavior as Queen, now looked around with a smile appropriate for her age, looking somewhat relieved.
Surrounding her, thunderous applause echoed for a while.