Volume 9 Chapter 524:
Book 9: Chapter 524: Alfred the Thirds Retirement and the New Successor to the Throne
In the cell of Emperor Alfred the Third, deep in the Royal Prison, in Gabriels City, capital of Gabriel Empire. Bella and Kriss met the original Imperial Emperor Alfred the Third, who seemed to have aged, which should have been the effect of the ups and downs during this period.
After seeing Bella and Kriss, the emperor looked a little surprised, as if he was wondering why his daughter had come to pick him up rather than any prince. The infected Demon King had only mutated and did not infect the emperor himself. Imperial Emperor Alfred the Third did not have a high combat power, so infecting him was meaningless.
“Have a seat. If there’s anything, we’ll talk over there!”
With Emperor Alfred the Third’s greeting, Bella and Kriss walked to the table and sat down and had a parents meeting in the prison cell. It was Bella’s first time encountering such a special meeting. Fortunately, the Royal Prison had taken into account the emperor’s privileges and provided meals to Alfred the Third. Besides wine, he had everything, including a reasonable mix of meat and vegetables.
Apart from the special prison environment, it was fine to treat it as a normal family dinner. After Bella took a few mouthfuls of rice and vegetable, she took out the three legendary-grade flowers found at the Hundred Flowers Festival—‘Star of the Sky’, ‘Spirit of the Sea’, ‘Boon of the Land’, and other flowers. Bella still remembered her true purpose for meeting the parents. It was to propose the marriage to Emperor Alfred the Third.
“d.u.c.h.ess Belina, are you serious? You should know that if not because of your strange hobby, a d.u.c.h.ess with a status like you would have a lot of n.o.ble families to choose from. Why should you take such a big risk with my daughter?”
“Your Majesty, of course, I am serious. I’m true to Kriss, and I’ll never like men in this life.”
“Kriss, are you also serious? Although I’m an unqualified father, I still hope you can find your own happiness.”
“Yes, Father. I’m also serious. You don’t have to worry. Bella is very good to me.”
In contrast to Bella’s calmness, Kriss was not very used to this ‘coming out’ declaration. When she had reincarnated on Earth, she had never declared such a thing. Bella had not never declared it before, but she was stronger. Even with this ‘coming out’ declaration, she was very skilled.
Emperor Alfred the Third looked at Kriss, who blushed so much that she looked down without daring to look around, and Bella, who looked normal, as if what had been said just now was normal. He seemed to understand something. If not because of the wrong gender, Bella and Kriss were not much different than a son-in-law visiting and proposing a marriage to one’s daughter.
Emperor Alfred the Third reached out to indicate Bella to follow him outside the cell. He wanted to talk to Bella alone. Kriss, who wanted to follow, was stopped by his gesture. The Royal Prison’s dungeon was a separate cell and was very far from the other cells. There was no need to be worried about being eavesdropped on.
“Your Majesty, is anything the matter? Kriss and I truly love each other. You don’t have to introduce any man to me. I really will not like the opposite gender.”
“Don’t call me Your Majesty. That’s such an unseemly t.i.tle. I’m not against your affair. It has already happened. There’s no point in opposing it. d.u.c.h.ess Bellina, I’ve been wondering if you’ve gotten your gender wrong. You’re a woman with the dominance of a man, but how is that kind of thing possible?”
“Father-in-law, you have to believe your own eyes. Besides, no one ruled that a woman cannot be domineering. It’s just like the Manasvir Empire’s Empress Manya Felan. Isn’t she supporting an empire by herself without the emperor?”
Emperor Alfred the Third was unexpectedly enlightened. It was not as Bella had expected. He was not like many conservative parents who would strongly oppose this love beyond common knowledge, to the point that they would never agree. He probably also knew that even if he was against it, Bella’s determination would not change and would still be with Kriss. Greeting the emperor was just a formality.
Emperor Alfred the Third talked to Bella about Kriss afterwards, just like a father chatting with his son-in-law before his daughter got married. He talked a lot about Kriss. Before Kriss’ hair turned silver, he still cared a lot for this daughter. After Kriss had a silver hair, because of the rumor that the silver hair represented bad luck, he was biased towards her. He later wanted to use his daughter as a political bargaining chip and marry her off as soon as possible to the top in the empire, the Renald Family. This was the emperor’s political plan afterward.
Unfortunately, Bella had unexpectedly emerged, causing the emperor’s plans to change again and again. Alfred the Third confessed that when he had sold that piece of southern land to Clement, he did not look well on Sarnia Duchy, which was established by a d.u.c.h.ess. Due to the influence by human’s traditional concept, the emperor did not think that a woman would be able to govern a country well.
The brutal fact that he had been proven wrong made Emperor Alfred the Third sober up. Bella managed a duchy and had even repelled the attack of a million of the Beastmen Coalition from the Beastmen Continent. Right now, she had formed a powerful Southern Alliance Army. If not for the deep bond between Princess Kriss, Bella could completely raise the flag for rebellion. She did not need to pretend to be evenly matched to bargain with the Northern Alliance.
“Father-in-law… you’re… I’m here to propose a marriage. I just need to be able to marry Kriss. I’m not here to seek your throne. I cannot take your seal.”
“Bellina, it’s the same handing it to you or Kriss. I’m really old. The world is for you young people in the future. Do your best. The future of the empire is in your hands. I’ve actually written my retirement edict.”
Emperor Alfred the Third handed Bella the seal that he always carried with him. The previous usurper, the Renald Family’s head, Duke Renardle and his son, Renardec, did not obtain the seal from the emperor. They were planning to recreate a new Renald Empire and had engraved another new imperial seal. When Bella met the emperor, this imperial seal had been preserved, fortunately.
At first, Bella did not want to take the emperor’s seal. Receiving such a hot potato during this extraordinary period was simply not in line with Bella’s style of doing things behind the scene. However, Emperor Alfred the Third was clearly determined and shoved the imperial seal into Bella’s hand. He had been Gabriel Empire’s emperor for over 30 years.
Although Alfred the Third still had energy, he felt that he should step down. Maybe in the future, the future of the empire should be handed to the younger generation like Kriss and the others to handle. Kriss did not know much about politics, but with Bella, it should be fine. Bella had proved her strength. From the time she had succeeded in the counterattack of the Beastmen Continent, she was already destined to be more than a mediocre d.u.c.h.ess.
“From now on, the empire will be left to you. I will return to the Valley of the Emperor, and the imperial name of Alfred the Third will end today.”
“Father-in-law, Prince Daniel and the others are still on the lookout outside the imperial capital. Won’t you say something?”
“No. Do as you wish. I used to worry too much instead of being able to stabilize the empire. No matter what happens in the future, I hope you can always stand on Kriss’s side to support her. I’m not the emperor anymore. This is just a little capricious request from a father.”
“Father-in-law, don’t worry. I will always stand by Kriss’s side. As long as I am here, no one can force her to do anything she doesn’t want to do.”
After Emperor Alfred the Third handed over the throne with a relaxed look on his face, he told Bella to take care of Kriss and help look after his other daughters before he quietly left. Bella had arranged in advance for the Southern Alliance to send soldiers using the Grim Airs.h.i.+p Fleet into the palace area to pick up Emperor Alfred the Third.
The Valley of the Emperor was a secret area, where successive emperors of Gabriel Empire retired when they were old and abdicated to their sons. Emperor Alfred the Third was also planning to retire in advance and leave the rest of the matter to Bella and Kriss to deal with. With his emperor’s seal, Kriss would have proof of the throne.
When Bella returned to her cell, she saw a regretful Kriss. She saw the all-too-familiar imperial seal in Bella’s hand and had probably guessed what Emperor Alfred the Third had said to Bella outside. Bella went forward and gently hugged Kris before comforting Kriss’ sadness.
“Bella, what did Father say to you? Where is he?”
“Kriss, your father has entrusted you to me. Rest a.s.sured. He’s not in a good mood and said he would go to the Valley of the Emperor to relax. I have arranged for people to escort and protect him. You do not have to worry about his safety.”
“That’s right. His son-in-law has s.n.a.t.c.hed away the throne. I guess Father is also very depressed! He thought very highly of Royal Brother Daniel.”
“s.n.a.t.c.hing the throne? Kriss, I’m not the one who is going to become the emperor. You are!”
Thanks to Bella’s comfort, Kriss returned from her confusion and firmly took over the imperial seal. Although there had never been a woman ascending the ruling throne in the Human Continent, Kriss was willing to be the first to try. As long as Bella was by her side to support her, it was not a big deal becoming the emperor.
After solving the problem of Emperor Alfred the Third, Bella and Kriss arrived at the Sky Prison, where multiple rounds of fighting had already broken out and the ground was littered with the corpses of various Demonic Beings. The two remaining Sword G.o.d experts of the Gabriel Empire had already lost to the Demon Captains before Bella and Kriss arrived. Even the first Sword G.o.d Gabriels, who was a Sword G.o.d who was equally famous with the capital of the Empire, had lost to the Demon Captains.
The two defeated Sword G.o.ds, all covered in a cloud of ashes, were obviously beaten by the Demon Captains, and the signs of infection on their bodies had faded quite a bit. Looking at the Demonic Beings surrounding the Royal Prison’s Sky Prison, these two Sword G.o.d experts had shocked faces, looking like they still hadn’t figured out what the situation was now. When had the Royal Prison of the imperial capital become a venue for the Demonic Beings to operate?
“Where is this place? Is the empire already finished?”
“What’s with these demons? Their combat style is not at all the same as those demons of the Twelve Demon Kings.”
Before the two Sword G.o.d experts could understand the situation, the Demon Captains controlled them. When Bella and Kriss came in, they did not find any infected Demon Kings and only saw a large hole in the ceiling of the roof. After seeing Bella, several Demon Captains that were in charge of command at the scene hurried over to report the situation to her.
“Lord Demon King, I’m incompetent and have let that guy get away.”
“Lord Demon King, we have seriously injured that Demon King, so he will not be able to run far. We’re willing to atone for our sins and go after that Demon King. He has escaped to the north.”
“No need to chase. The others are waiting for him outside, so he can’t get away. You guys clean up the Sky Prison. By the way, keep the captured humans here for now and wait.”
Bella didn’t chase after the fleeing Demon King. According to the calculated time, the sisters Mary Rose and Mary Lola, the Dark Creation G.o.d and White Creation G.o.d, had already come out from the destroyed dark realm. They came out just at the location where the infected Demon King appeared, so they were given the responsibility to clean up.
The matter at the Royal Prison had come to the end for the time being. When Bella and Kriss wanted to leave, a Demon Captain secretly gestured to Bella, a gesture that it had something to report secretly. Bella was aware that the Demon Captain must have some information to report to her alone. Since Kriss was present, it could not be said.
Bella found a reason to let Kriss leave for a while. After that, she personally walked over to ask the Demon Captain what was going on. Kriss did not notice the situation. She was a little resistant to the environment of the Royal Prison, so she did not go deeper to explore why Bella had to send her away. After confirming that Kriss had left, the Demon Captain was finally relieved.
“What is it that you couldn’t say just now? Report it as soon as possible. Kriss is one of our own. You don’t have to avoid her or anything.”
“Lord Demon King, I do not dare to question the Lord Demon Queen. However, I’m afraid she would worry about it.”
The Demon Captain had high intelligence. They knew about Bella and Kriss’ intimate relations.h.i.+p. There was no such problem among the demons that the same gender could not be together. They naturally addressed Kriss as the Demon Queen, which was an acknowledgement of her status. At the same time, they also naturally knew that the Demon Queen and Emperor Alfred the Third, who had left not long ago, were father and daughter.
“What! Someone sneaked an attack on the Airs.h.i.+p Fleet and tried to kill the previous emperor?”
“Lord Demon King, when the airs.h.i.+ps of the human allies took off just now, they were almost attacked with long-range catapults. Fortunately, we intercepted the falling boulders in time.”
What Bella did not want to happen still happened. The Northern Alliance had somehow known what was going on in the palace and wanted to take advantage of Emperor Alfred the Third’s departure to attack the area where the airs.h.i.+ps docked with long-range catapults, thus finis.h.i.+ng off Emperor Alfred the Third. Once he died in an accident, Bella and Kriss would very likely be charged with regicide.
This time, the plan had been foiled by the Demon Captains, and the infiltrating a.s.sa.s.sins who had betrayed the coordinate of the Grim Airs.h.i.+p Fleet were very soon cleaned up. However, Bella was not sure how much information they had actually pa.s.sed back. Originally, she still wanted to try to avoid a premature war with the Northern Alliance, but unfortunately, it seemed to be somewhat impossible to do so now.
Early the morning of the day after the attack, the Southern Alliance pre-empted the attack by sending troops into the imperial capital, Gabriels City, and the Imperial City. The Northern Alliance did not expect the Southern Alliance to make such a surprise attack, and by the time they got the information, the people from the Southern Alliance had already succeeded in taking control of the palace.
Emperor Alfred the Third’s abdication edict had been disseminated through various channels. The parties were not very surprised at it, as they had guessed. The real surprise for all parties was that the successor to the throne was neither the previously decided heir to the throne, Crown Prince Daniel, nor the two remaining sons, but Princess Kriss.
Emperor Alfred the Third’s abdication edict was obviously playing a word game. It was said that the empire was to be given to Princess Kriss and Princess Regnant Bellina to guard, and that the person they approved would inherit the throne. Although there was no denial of the Crown Prince Daniel’s right to inherit the throne, with this deceitful setting, he must be approved by Bella and Kriss. If they did not, then he simply could not ascend the throne.
In the emperor’s secret hall in the palace, Princess Kriss was presiding over the Princess Regnant enthronement ceremony for d.u.c.h.ess Bellina, and the two were wearing very formal ceremonial outfits. Bella was clad in black knight armor, while Kriss was wearing a crown on her head, a snow-white princess dress, draped in a cape as she held up a special crown, ready to put it on Bella.
Bella half-kneeled in front of Kriss and accepted the crowning ceremony of a Princess Regnant. This was the only time that Bella, who had always been strong, looked at her concubine girlfriends with a condescending gaze. Kriss had the honor of being the first to make Bella look down.
The Princess Regnant’s crown was different from the Emperor. The pattern on Bella’s new crown was deliberately designed to be consistent with the Emperor’s crown. Kriss was thorough and designed her crown to be the kind used by the Empress.
“Bella, you’re destined to be the crowned emperor, and I’ll…”
“Stop. Kriss, you’re mistaken. You’re the emperor. I’m not taking up this duty!”