An Address to the King (II)

Silence filled the atmosphere.

The faint clunkings of the factory machineries still could be heard from afar.

Hearing all of it, the king just stood there, motionless. His eyes were gazing at the nobleman and the crowd behind. There were thousands of them, looking up to him as they waited for his answer.

Beside him was the black-haired lady, her elbows in her hands, just stared at him, unresponsive.

It seemed that the silence would go on, until he finally declared,

"A sovereign ought to be far from the absolute master of the people. The sovereign is the foremost servant of the state, the state whose paramount duty is to safeguard the well-being of its citizens."

After a small pause, his gaze softened, directed at the pavement on the ground.

"It is indeed true that the government has always acted without consulting the wider public in regards to important matters of high interest. We could see that this has only served to deepen the divide between the government and the people, proving the fact that it has failed to directly address the concerns of the public."

Then, at once, he turned a fierce gaze forward.

"Thus, We shall address these concerns by convening a formal parliament, which will include representatives from every social class, in a united assembly here in Cölln exactly one month from today. The representatives will have the opportunity to express, discuss and come to an agreement on their views and ideas for the future of the country, including discussions concerning the domestic government and the country's position in the matter of national unification."

Sensing doubt from them, he lifted his wrist at once, palm facing their gazes.

"Put your minds at ease. We assure you that the representatives shall be chosen by the people of Weiss. While We cannot make it a direct election, voters shall choose electors who shall then choose the members of the Assembly. The matter of a free, just, and a united Serrenland should always be a priority. This is Our promise to you, and We give it by Our own name."

A brief moment of silence.

"Is that all?"

"I believe so, Your Majesty. You have made me glad to be one of the first to bear this good news in me." Said the nobleman.

The king nodded in acknowledgement.

It was the hope they were all waiting for.

Many had turned against their people, many had deemed their voice unnecessary. Calls for reforms and freedom were made, but the force of which the monarchies of the continent trampled them back into submission was something that the people could not possibly endure.

However, here is it, the clear path towards change. Fate had turned in their favour!

The people erupted in cheers, their hope renewed, their faith in the king strengthened. They cheered the nobleman, who had become the symbol of their struggle, who had spoken for them when they could not, who had shown them that even the highest ranks of society could be on their side. But they also knew that they were not alone, that they had the support of the king, that they had each other.

As the king and the lady made their way back to his entourage, the square reverberated with cries of jubilation. It was a moment of pure joy and optimism.

They chanted the king's name, they waved their banners, they hugged each other, tears of happiness streaming down their faces.

"God save the King and the fatherland!" someone shouted, and the cry was taken up by the whole crowd.

It echoed across the city, across the country, a symbol of hope and determination that would inspire generations to come. The crowd would continue to cheer the king's entourage as the last man of the royal guards made their way towards the city palace, vanishing from sight.

The people knew that this was only the beginning, that there was still much to be done, but they also knew that they had taken the first step towards a better future. They had shown that their voice was not unnecessary, that their demands were not trivial, that their hope was not in vain. They had shown that they were ready to fight, to struggle, to sacrifice, for the sake of their country and their destiny.

On that day, the event had thoroughly filled the minds of the citizens. Families would mention it over their dinner. The clerks at the Cölln Stock Exchange would breathe out a sigh of respite. Newspapers would be revised at the eleventh hour, prior to being dispatched to every household in the city by dawn.

Once more, life in Weiss had returned to normal. But riots would continue to plague the rest of the confederation as many were starting to stand up against their rulers.

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"Princess!"

An auburn-haired knight strode into a greenhouse.

It was a giant structure made of ornate glass. Iron frames supported the surrounding glass panels on the walls and the roof. In the middle, the transparent dome was as high as a three-story apartment building, making way for sunlight to go through. Arches were surrounding the entire section of the room. Inside, both tropical and subtropical plants including palm trees, ferns, and orchids were filling the immediate vicinity.

"The protesters! They have turned violent!"

The knight took a breath of the warm, humid air. She was in a hurry to reach the building as fast as she could get. It seemed that she had reached her limit the moment the urgency vanished. With a red garb over her white uniform, complete with a buckled sword, hanging next to her waist, she let out a small sigh.

After a moment of reorienting herself, the knight walked forward, eyes to the front. She passed along the vegetation nearby before finally stopping.

At the other side of the room—on a wooden bench, sat a young woman, white-haired and adorned with a light-blue dress. Her gaze steadily shifted towards the female knight.

"Livia…"

"Princess, you must flee out of Wenia and its boundaries as soon as it is possible, out from the ensuing crossfire between them and the army! I shall escort you right away, Mr. Heinrich is already waiting in the yard."

"...Well, I suppose we should?"

"By all means, Princess! Time is on us."

Rushed on by the knight, the lady in blue stood up.

"What went on? How is the situation outside?"

"Terrible. The nobles had begun to evacuate their residences and offices in the city the second after the situation spiralled out of control… What an accomplishment!"

Facing down at her clenched fist, the knight puffed in anger.

"It's fine. There is just no helping it… What about the palace?"

"The royal guards are busy keeping off the main palace from the storming angry mobs. His Majesty and his wife are currently making their way out from the stables as we speak. It is just a matter of time that this palace shares the same luck."

"I see… Then let us go with haste."

The princess acknowledged as she began to follow the knight out. She glanced at her back for a brief moment.

"Things have turned for the worse. What will brother do, I wonder…"

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In a faintly-lit room, a single figure could be seen, sound asleep. It was a young woman, white-haired and in a white clothing.

Wearing nothing other than her nightwear, she opened her eyes idly. She then pulled down her blanket to her hips and roused, half-awake.

A familiar morning.

After focusing herself for a while, she glanced at her surroundings.

The room was spacious yet moderately furnished. It had a simple bed, a cupboard, a chair, and a work desk. With the candle put out and curtains blocking sunlight that went through the windows; the carpets on the ground, the books lined on the shelves; everything was dark.

'…A dream?'

The woman rubbed off her eyes with a hand before covering up a yawn with the other.

"It has been years since then…"

She instinctively relaxed her body as she stretched her hands up, pushing her chest to the front.

"...Hnnnn."

Feeling energised, she rose straight up onto the carpet-wrapped floor. Her mind wandered out of the room as she was moving towards the desk.

'Now that things have moved in this particular direction… It is interesting and weird at the same time to know how the future would develop.'

Records of the past quarter budget and letters belonging from officials all across the continent were spread neatly over the desk. Last night she had been busy with writing orders to deal with developments on the latest technological research and outlining some other possible changes that she wanted to be made in law.

Her staff were busy with relaying her decisions from her office in the ministry building. She had appointed a large staff of civil servants, diplomats, and military officials who had always been working with him to implement his policies and manage the affairs of the state. Varying ideas were exchanged and reviewed, and after that, she passed the night inside her private residence.

Aside from her staff, she had a team of secretaries that ensured efficiency in managing administrative tasks such as correspondence, record-keeping, and scheduling. They were responsible for managing the flow of information and paperwork in and out of the office so that she would be well-informed and prepared for important events and meetings.

The woman then picked up a single printed document among the other papers on the desk. It contained the most ambitious project of all policies she had undertaken in the past years of her life.

"... The Greater Serrenlander Solution"

To complete it, she had jolted every single detail Weiss would need to put together its weight; every single step that she could think of that Weiss could take and increase its power and project its influence within the Serrenlander Confederation.

The grand strategy that Weiss could play to its advantage. The ways that it could, at the very least, convince the disparate countries of the confederation that a Weiss-led unification would be in their best interest.

"It still makes me wonder though… Are the present conditions sufficient enough to embark on a journey for expansion…"

For many years she had recalled.

'A world so close, yet so far away…'

In the world was a kingdom. The otherworldly kingdom she recalled was a state embroiled in a tumultuous period of its history. One of the key issues facing the kingdom at the time was the question of a national unification. Supporters of nationalism of the world presented the kingdom as the natural leader in their movement for the creation a single, unified, nation-state.

'Who am I?' The question that has always been asked throughout mankind's history. It was identity—the missing key towards the realisation of one's self. In times past, to express this identity, a person would say they came from a town, a region, or even a family.

A day had come for an idea transcending over those times: that the identity that belongs to the nation is rather bound by the same language, history, fate, and shared-future. And so, it became a just cause to wish for the nation united into a single country. Through that same ideology, Weiss had started to be pulled towards the very same trajectory as the kingdom did. Such is the force of nationalism.

As she had recalled of the lives of a certain the leading statesman of the country, she could be the very first to answer that the otherworldly kingdom and Weiss had striking similarities with each other from which she could prudently take a reference of.

Weiss was seen as the champion of the unification movement not without any reason. It was the largest and the most powerful country out of all the Serrenlander states. Its military was well-trained, its economy—robust, and it had a well-developed infrastructure, positioning itself as the best suitor to lead a unified Serrenland. The key role it played in crushing the Francien Revolution and the later establishment of the Serrenlander Confederation also gave Weiss some level of esteem and legitimacy within the confederation.

All these made Weiss a dominant power that possessed leverage and influence over the Serrenlander states, of which it was using to promote the cause for unification.

However, the very symbol of the decaying remains of the old monarchy stood still on her way…

Owing to the fact that the Heldenburg monarchs had ruled over the Holy Latium Empire since almost a millennium of its foundation, it was high chance that Weiss and Osterland would clash for domination within the confederation.

'It is an inevitability,' she thought.

"Well… looking back at it now…"

It had been a long and uphill way before she had received her office from the king of Weiss. But taking the reins of a large country such as Weiss in itself was not the end of the affair, but just an onset of the ongoing storm that definitely had struck the countries of Serrenland.

Moreover, Weiss was not a relatively homogeneous country. While it was predominantly Serrenlander in nationality and Serrenlander was widely spoken as its lingua franca, significant cultural and linguistic differences still existed between the various populations of Weiss.

As a result, her job had been made increasingly difficult as she must work to bridge these differences between the many interest groups of Weiss, lest the country may fall into ruin before the much-anticipated unification.

"Anyway…"

There is still much work to be done—even though that day, she planned to take her time off the office. Like any other person, even when her job as a stateswoman was exceptionally demanding, she also recognised the importance to relax and rest.

'But this is a dire situation.'

The situation demanded a quick refitting of the already established governmental system. From now onwards, it would be a race for the nation-wide dismantlement of the current order and for the subsequent border expansions.

All the while the fact that she was to be at the centre of it…

While she was still deep in thought, a maid started knocking on the door gently and waited for the young woman's response.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Your bath is ready, Miss." she replied in a quiet and respectful tone.

"Shall I bring your dressing gown and slippers?"

"Yes, please do," the young woman responded.

"I'll be there in a moment."

She took a glance at the clock while she was putting away the document back onto the work desk, walking towards the doorway.

The young woman then quickly opened the door and went off into the corridor, heading towards the staircase. Her residence had an indoor bath. Even for the nobility, it was an unusual facility in urban cities of the time.

In the meantime, her mind was almost entirely preoccupied by the events surrounding the day before.

A peaceful demonstration of faith.

'Comparison would not just do it justice—it's an indication of a better outcome… His stubbornness was the one who brought down the ire of the people. Was that what his blunder led his county to?'

Paula thought to herself as she was walking down the stairs. To be ready for this moment, she had herself and her kingdom prepare for years.

'The Will led him here; this is a second chance.'

"I shall make it right this time."

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