Chapter 725 - Protest
Chapter 725: Protest
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Boom!
Lilian slammed the table furiously and her palm tingled. But she wasn’t in the mood to mind such small details. She stared at all the parliament members fiercely.
“What do you mean by this!?”
“We have no intentions of offending you, Your Majesty.”
A middle-aged man stood up, swept a glance to the elderly parliament chairman who had shut his eyes to rest, and said with a smile.
“We’re asking on behalf of the people. These are their concerns and uncertainties. Of course, we refused to believe. But, perhaps you aren’t aware, Your Majesty, similar rumors have spread throughout the entire Country of Light, so it isn’t surprising to see our people panicking. The Country of Darkness’s ambush came so sudden that our troops by the border have crumbled. But, Munn Kingdom has suffered minimally. The Undead Army has even failed to break down their first defensive line. Isn’t this strange, Your Majesty? Why is Munn Kingdom, who is totally unrelated to Country of Darkness, able to defend the attacks? According to our intelligence received, the Munn Kingdom mobilized their defenses before the Country of Darkness attacked. But they didn’t inform us about that. So…”
“So you think that the Munn Kingdom and Country of Darkness are colluding?!”
“No, Your Majesty. We don’t see it this way. But this is what the people say.”
“…”
“…”
Lilian puckered her brows as she knew why the Country of Light was routed. It was because their army didn’t resist at all. Moreover, most of them were instantly devastated as soon as they saw the Undead Army arriving at their doorstep. As a result, they put up a short fight and crumbled almost immediately. Lilian was extremely dissatisfied because she thought that the soldiers didn’t fulfill their duties and she didn’t expect that the Light Parliament would push the blame of their army’s failure to the Munn Kingdom…
Lilian scanned the surrounding while hoping for someone to speak up for her. But, she couldn’t find any. The other two Archangels had gone to the front line to stabilize the situation. Logically speaking, they didn’t have to take actions into their own hands. But no one expected the Country of Light to crumble that quickly. They couldn’t possibly allow the Undead Army to invade their way to Casabianca.
But deep down, Lilian also knew that even the two Archangels were around, perhaps they wouldn’t speak up for her because they didn’t usually communicate with each other. Unless it was a formal occasion, Archangel Boulder wouldn’t be around her and Lilian was afraid of this Archangel who never smiled. Even though Archangel Serene taught her a lot, she knew that this was just a relationship between teacher and student and apart from that Archangel Serene wasn’t too concerned about her. Lilian had always felt lonely. She couldn’t find anyone to talk to in this imperial palace and even if she wished to make friends with the Battle Angels, the Battle Angels were worried about the differences in their identities.
Until Lydia appeared.
Lilian remembered fondly the scene when Lydia was appointed as an Archangel and that was their first meeting. Back then, Lilian was as curious as a cat and she gazed at the young lady in anticipation. Lydia appeared to be older than her by a few years, but Lilian didn’t feel the detached and indifferent vibe from her. On the contrary, Lydia was full of life and vigor and wasn’t fearful of Lilian.
When Lilian looked at Lydia, the latter had even winked playfully and that was when Lilian knew that she finally had a close friend. Thereafter, just as Lilian expected, Lydia didn’t keep a distance away from her like the other two Archangels. Lilian and Lydia occasionally chatted and spent time intimately and even harmlessly exceeded their master and servant relationship. Although these interactions were minor, it made Lilian happy. Ever since she was born, she had never felt this delighted. It was due to this that the annual Dragon Soul Ceremony became Lilian’s only festival, where she didn’t neglect authority and political position because it was only during the ceremony that it was perfectly justifiable for her to meet Lydia.
But for unknown reasons, the person that came to her mind wasn’t Lydia. Instead, it was another young man with long, black hair, and deep colored eyes. At this moment, one of the parliament members disrupted her thoughts.
“There’s another person worthy of an investigation.”
“Who?”
Lilian held down her dissatisfaction. Then, the name shook her.
“Rhode Alander.”
“Why?”
“According to our intelligence gathered, some regions within the Munn Kingdom crumbled to the Undead Army, but not only did Grenbell, in the sovereignty of this young overlord, resist the attacks, but they had also done so twice. He seems to be aware of this attack and is mentally prepared for them. We think that this is problematic. If he holds information in this regard, why didn’t he provide it to us? Also, he became the overlord of Grenbell for only half a year and it was originally uninhabited territory. Yet, he defended against the enemies which even the Munn Kingdom’s two largest armies and Eastern Plains couldn’t do. We believe that there’s a high possibility that this man is the key person to this entire incident.”
“I’ve heard about this too.”
Lilian clutched her hands, lifted her head forcefully and stared at everyone.
“Paphield-Grenbell is Munn Kingdom’s main front line. If it weren’t for their hard work in defending against the Undead Army, perhaps the Munn Kingdom is in a complete mess now…”
It was impossible that Lilian didn’t have any doubts about this. It was mentioned earlier that even though Lilian was naive, it was simply a personality and not an intelligence issue. Even the group of idiots in the Light Parliament had raised such doubts, so how was it possible that she wasn’t aware of it? However, also due to her personality, she didn’t think of the situation negatively. Even though she also hoped that Lydia could give them an explanation, she wished to privately grumble, communicate, and understand the situation from her as friends, instead of investigating and probing in a solemn court.
“We suspect that he has secret connections with the Country of Darkness. In fact, we have evidence to prove our point.”
“Huh?!”
Lilian was baffled. She bit her lips and frowned.
“Evidence?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. According to our intelligence, this overlord has once appeared in Soraka Mountain and interacted with a Vampire noble from Country of Darkness. Moreover, his territory was damaged the least in that battle. It is hard for anyone to not relate him with the Undead Creatures.”
“…”
“Your Majesty!”
The remaining parliament members stood up and Lilian shrunk to their imposing manner. But she stood firmly and gazed at them with an unwavering expression.
“The enemies are approaching. We don’t have much time to hesitate. We sincerely beg your permission. The people are hoping for an answer. Our neighboring territories and nations are waiting for us to seek justice, freedom, and truth. We have to ensure that our people aren’t stained and tempted by darkness before we deal with our external enemies!”
“…”
Lilian sucked in a deep breath. She subconsciously shifted her gaze to the silent elderly chairman as though he was her last hope.
“Chairman, what do you think of this?”
Lilian asked. The elderly chairman lifted his head. He looked as haggard as a 90 years old man and a flickering flame in the lamp that was about to extinguish. He stood up calmly, shifted his gaze between Lilian and the others. Then, he shook his head and let out a long sigh.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I… I don’t have any thoughts on this. Since everyone has made their decision, I think… their stand is firm.”
Lilian felt her limbs freezing as though one had thrown her into an ice cave. She stared at the elderly chairman while the latter looked at the ground blankly.
After a few moments, Lilian broke the silence.
“I… I understand. But… This is a major matter. I-I must consider it carefully.”
“Please make an early decision. This is for the lives of all humans in the Light Mainland. You should know this, Your Majesty.”
“I…!”
Lilian lifted her head in a reflex action and glowered at the man who said that. But after a few moments, she looked down again.
“I… understand. I will consider it.”
The bells rang and announced the end of this meeting. The parliament members stood up, bowed, and left. Shortly after, the crowded room instantly became cold and cheerless. The elderly chairman gazed at Lilian in silence before leaving his seat.
Boom…
The heavy door closed and Lilian was alone in the spacious room.
“Grr… Grr…”
She clenched her tiny fists. Tears flowed down her cheeks and fell on the back of her hands. She didn’t even realize that she had bitten her lips tightly and her eyes were red and bloodshot. She lowered her head and allowed the surging sorrow and pain to overwhelm her. After a few moments, she wiped her tears and sobbed as she picked up the pen beside her. She paused, but eventually inked the spotlessly white piece of paper while crystal clear tears dripped from her chin.