Chapter 415: Continent Manipulator (4) |
The nobles carefully approached the queen.
“Your Highness, there is no need for you to enact punishment upon your own royal personage.”
“We were impressed by your resolve to demonstrate justice, but the saintess has already dedicated her body to a goddess. We worry that punishing such a figure with lashings might displease the gods.”
“…….”
The nobles were met with cold gazes.
The queen, generals, and soldiers had already formed their own perfect triumvirate. The nobles were merely outsiders. Queen Henrietta sternly proceeded with her trial.
“A ruler’s trial must be firm and unwavering.”
“Y-Your Highness, please consider our positions here.”
“The sentencing will now be carried out! Bring forth the whip!”
The sight was quite a spectacle. With each step the queen took, high-ranking officials like the regiment commander, the cavalry commander, the knight captain, the court mage, and various other dignitaries rushed forward to hold her back. They all cried out in unison.
Eventually, Queen Henrietta reached the saintess.
“Jacqueline Longwy, disrobe your top! Surely you will not dare ask for forgiveness now!”
“……Yes, my queen.”
The saintess removed her white top, presenting her back to the queen. Her skin was smooth without a blemish. Queen Henrietta received the whip from her attendant and brandished it. The surrounding people screamed in horror.
“You mustn’t, Your Highness!”
Despite their efforts to intervene, the whip cruelly struck the saintess’ back. Jacqueline Longwy wobbled forward. She had almost fallen over, but she managed to endure the pain without even groaning with her iron will alone.
‘I-It wasn’t an act! This is actually happening!’
‘How could she whip a saintess? Has the female dog of Brittany finally gone mad!?’
The nobles were in utter shock.
They weren’t the only ones taken aback. Some of the soldiers had optimistically believed that their queen wouldn’t actually whip the saintess severely. However, when the sound of the whip reverberated throughout the hall, the soldiers panicked.
“One lash!”
The queen swung the whip mercilessly. There was no time for anyone to catch their breath. The second lash cut diagonally across the saintess’ back, leaving a long streak of blood. The saintess leaned further towards the ground.
And then came the third lash.
“Ahhh!”
Up until now, the saintess had suppressed her groans, but she could no longer hold them back. She let out a sky-rending scream as tears streamed down her face. The generals and soldiers all prostrated themselves, echoing her cries with loud wails.
In the end, Queen Henrietta finished delivering twenty lashes.
“…….”
The saintess had collapsed to the floor. Her posture had already fallen apart by the tenth strike, leaving her weak and powerless. She could only flinch with each strike and convulse in agony, her back now a horrible mix of dark red and purple.
“Take Deputy Commander Jacqueline Longwy to her quarters and tend to her wounds.”
Queen Henrietta ordered, her face now covered in tears.
“I am next.”
When the queen received her punishment, an even louder wail erupted than before. From the regiment commanders to the rank-and-file soldiers, Brittany’s soldiers wept regardless of their background or rank. To them, Henrietta de Brittany was not just a simple monarch but akin to a goddess.
“Hgh……!”
The red-haired queen endured the twenty lashes as she had promised. Surprisingly, Henrietta didn’t scream throughout the whipping. She bore the lashes stoically in the same seated position. This was only possible since she was akin to a swordmaster.
The queen staggered to her feet.
“Next……it’s the turn of my generals.”
The roughly ten generals shed tears as they removed their tunics. They weren’t crying out of fear of the punishment, but rather out of sorrow for their beloved queen who had to endure this tragic ordeal.
Henrietta proceeded to whip each of the eleven generals in turn. They all endured the punishment without flinching, their resolve unshaken. Their queen had endured twenty lashes without a cry, while they had to endure just five. How could they dare to let out even a whimper…….
No, the whip actually didn’t hurt at all. The Queen’s whipping was miserably weak. It was only natural. How could someone who had just been subjected to a flogging wield a whip with any strength? Nonetheless, Queen Henrietta executed the punishment, saying, ‘One lash…… two lashes…….’
It didn’t hurt. This fact made it even more painful for the generals.
The queen could have punished herself after punishing her subordinates. Yet, she intentionally placed herself second. Why?
The generals understood the queen’s intention well. It was deliberate. After receiving twenty lashes, even Henrietta de Brittany would be drained of energy. In that state, executing punishment properly would be impossible.
In truth, the queen and saintess were the only ones to suffer…… The generals were merely punished formally. The queen deliberately excluded the generals from today’s trial, stating that she couldn’t lash out at her innocent generals.
“Your Highness……. Your Highness…….”
As time passed, Henrietta’s grip on the whip weakened. As the ones being lashed by the whip, the generals were keenly aware of the weakening lashes. Rather than diminishing, their tears only increased.
Eventually, after punishing the last general, Henrietta collapsed. She had fainted.
The queen was carried away on a stretcher to her quarters. There was not a dry eye among her attendants. The entire Brittany army became like a mourning family, their cries echoing through the air.
In one corner of the makeshift court, another group of protagonists in this trial—the two hundred Sardinian rebels—were bound with ropes. They were overcome with emotions of gratitude, remorse, and guilt towards the saintess who suffered for their sake, and towards the queen who neglected her own well-being to protect that saintess.
Truly, all humans present were swept up in intense emotions.
Except for the southern nobility of Frankia.
“…….”
The soldiers were glaring daggers at the nobles.
If gazes could kill, then the nobles would have probably died a hundred times over by now. The nobles were already being seen as “the arrogant sons of bitches who forced their holy saintess and queen to suffer” by the Brittany army.
“I-It does not appear that a favorable light is being cast upon us.”
“Let us quickly leave.”
The nobles hastily retreated to their base, with the soldiers’ chilling glares haunting them like shadows.
News of the trial quickly spread like wildfire throughout the rebellious regions of Sardinia.
The saintess, considered the most noble of humans, sacrificed herself for the sake of two hundred humble peasants, who had risen in rebellion and were indisputably guilty. This story left a profound impression not only on the Sardinians but also on the Franks.
In contrast, the reputation of the eight southern nobles plummeted drastically.
Firstly, these nobles profited in a cowardly manner during the previous Chrysanthemum War. Despite only dipping in their toes near the end of the war, they were able to obtain land. Their actions didn’t have even the slightest hint of chivalry.
Secondly, the nobles turned their backs on their motherland, Frankia, declaring autonomy and independence. Due to this, the slaves that originated from their land were not liberated. They showed no adherence to Noblesse Oblige.
Thirdly, they stood idly by while the queen of a nation and a saintess were subjected to punishment, all for the sake of retrieving a mere two hundred prisoners. There was no tolerance for the prisoners, nor any respect shown towards figures of higher authority. It was a display of immaturity on a human level.
Cowardice that ignored the principles of war.
Selfishness that abandoned loyalty and tradition to one’s motherland.
And above all else, the blatant inhumanity revealed during the trial.
For these three reasons, the southern Frankish nobles completely lost their popularity. The Sardinians rebelled even more fervently. Even the upper classes and nobles, who had been carefully observing the situation, raised their voices in protest.
The nobles spared no effort to suppress the rebellion. They shamelessly ordered the Brittany army to suppress the rebels. Since the rebels were severely lacking in weapons and supplies, it was basically impossible for them to defeat the Brittany army in a head-on confrontation.
However, a bizarre situation occurred.
The rebel forces began to surrender to the Brittany army one by one.
As soon as Saintess Longwy appeared on the battlefield riding her white horse, the rebel forces immediately changed their stance and raised their white flags high. Even though the Sardinian people were willing to point their swords at the “cruel Frankish tyrants”, they gladly bowed to the “kind and noble saintess”.
Of course, this surrender was not without calculated compromise. With no hope of support from the mainland of Sardinia, the rebel forces had no choice but to seek a new sponsor. The Brittany army was a suitable option.
For starters, Brittany’s mainland was far from them. Brittany lacked the capacity to directly govern the Piedmont region. There was a high probability of considerable autonomy being guaranteed. Moreover, Brittany was a military powerhouse, so they would also be safe from foreign pressure…….
In terms of both emotions and calculated judgment, Brittany passed with flying colors.
When a wave surges once, it cannot be stopped. The rebel forces quickly surrendered to Brittany, and in some cases, cities and towns they had previously captured also surrendered to Brittany voluntarily.
“This is outrageous! Brittany is nothing but a mercenary in our employ! Instead of safeguarding their employer, they have turned their spears against us… How can such treachery be allowed?!”
The nobles were enraged as they voiced their protest to Brittany’s queen.
Queen Henrietta accepted the letter of protest and replied succinctly with just one line.
“How can we refuse when a thousand voices demand that Brittany care for Piedmont?”
It was then that the nobles realized that they had summoned not a mercenary but a wolf. Queen Henrietta had every intention of swallowing up the Piedmont region in one gulp!
The nobles urgently requested reinforcements from their homeland of Frankia. Facing Brittany alone would be far too reckless. However, the response they received was much shorter than Queen Henrietta’s letter.
“Impossible.”
Earl Bercy wasn’t foolish enough to mobilize troops for the nobles who did not participate in forming their new government. If anything, he was able to watch the Piedmont rebellion with a sense of relief since it was turning out well.
The nobles were quite literally surrounded on all sides.
However, their troubles did not end there. Like adding fuel to the fire, as soon as Brittany seized control of Piedmont, they turned their reins and invaded Frankia. The nobles’ original territories were now in danger.
“This goes against the Le Havre Treaty!”
The nobles sent envoys to voice their complaints.
After Brittany’s defeat to Frankia during the Puppet War, a vow was made so that ‘the Kingdom of Brittany and the Frankia Empire will not invade one another for the next 14 years’. The envoys cried out that by invading their land, the queen had clearly broken this national treaty.
However.
“You are no longer under the jurisdiction of the Frankish Empire. Therefore, there is no violation of the treaty, is there?”
“What……nonsense.”
“I have already consulted with the Frankish Empire. I sought confirmation whether this action constitutes a violation of the treaty.”
With a flick, Queen Henrietta tossed a scroll to an envoy.
The envoy, with trembling hands, unfolded the scroll. It contained the words of Earl Bercy, stating that the territories of the eight major nobles were formally recognized as independent states with complete autonomy, thus Frankia would not get involved.
Queen Henrietta smiled smugly.
“It seems your lords must choose whether to surrender to us or return to allegiance with the Franks. Oh, right. Tell them that if they surrender to us, I will treat them well. After all, were we not once bound together as employer and employee?”
The envoys wanted to faint right then and there.
***
TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. It’s been a while, but I don’t have much to say. So much has happened this past few months that I’m just sort of taking it easy right now. I hope people don’t get too upset at this current pace cause I’m currently just trying to collect myself. Work has been… annoying and life outside of work has been pretty gloomy after everything that’s happened. Nothing finding a good game to get addicted to can’t fix.
Side note, I tried the new Wuthering Waves game, and I’ll be honest, it’s pretty much Genshin but with a very thick layer of Chinese paint. Obviously, its combat and movement systems are much better, but that should be a given considering it came out almost 4 years after Genshin did. Other than that, its story tries so hard to sound profound or smart but introduces a new Chinese word like every other sentence that it makes everything annoying to read. This is all just my opinion, so take it as you will. I definitely don’t see myself playing more of it. I guess I’ll wait for ZZZ in July and Project Mugen waaay in the future.
I said I didn’t have much to say but then I ranted, heh. I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.