"Many?"
Flora was sitting on the throne. She looked as helpless as a lonely person. Beside her were only Victoria, Count, and four other unknown members of the Royal Parliament. It seemed that the kingdom, or rather, the royal family, was about to collapse. The word "loyalty" meant nothing to the nobles who had already fled.
"Your Majesty, as a new Viscount of the Empire, I am willing to do everything I can."
Many did not say anything else. They only knelt down on one knee and expressed their determination. Although it was a bit cliché, Many's actions were not pretentious at all.
How many people could travel thousands of miles to show their loyalty at the last moment of the Imperial Family's crisis?
Perhaps no one else would have done so, but for many — since a person had accepted someone else's kindness, then they would definitely repay it.
The current situation might be extremely dangerous for others, but for Many, there were many choices.
Should they continue to fight the rebels?
Many had the convenience of the teleportation circle and the Space Ring. On top of that, Lady Vasaki had almost unlimited mana. It was not an impossible choice. However, Many was not a king, nor was he a member of the Royal Family. He could only do his best to complete the mission given by the Royal Family.
Willing to be a pawn?
As a leader, he naturally knew what he was doing. He was just giving Flora a chance to choose.
"You're here …"
Flora stared blankly at the figures kneeling on one knee. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. The queen suddenly stood up and walked down from her throne to stand in front of Flora.
"At a time like this, you are not willing to give up on me?"
Flora's question made many people raise their heads, while Madam Vasagir, who was beside her, twitched her mouth uncomfortably.
Her words seemed to have two meanings, but Many could not say anything else. He nodded and did not stand up.
The scene in the main hall was extremely desolate. A lonely king was surrounded by less than six people. In times of crisis, only these people were willing to stand on the side of the decadent royal family. As for the rest … forget about the rest.
It was all fate.
Flora knew very well that the empire was destined to fall one day. However, compared to being destroyed by the undead, it was not a bad ending.
A good beginning and a good end?
For an empire that was already rotten to the core, these rebels didn't seem to bring a new life to the empire. Instead, it was the beginning of another fall. Flora could clearly see what the rebels would do after they took over the palace — they would fight for power. It could even be said that the so-called war had only just begun.
Was there any meaning to the royal family's resistance until now?
Flora looked at Face Paint, who was kneeling on one knee. She suddenly felt a lot more relieved.
Sometimes, being greedy for something could bring both beauty and destruction. The crown on her head was a status and glory that many people could only dream of. However, Flora remembered something in her father's will … "When it's time to give up, give up. When it's time to pick it up, pick it up."
Many's aura made Flora feel at ease. It was just like the time when she was with Many on horseback. Thinking back to those beautiful memories, Flora smiled. She lifted her hand and took off her crown.
Fighting for the country to the death was no longer appropriate. Flora held the crown in her hand calmly and said to Many softly, "If I say that I am willing to give up the throne and the chance to continue ruling this country, will you agree?"
Many looked up and stopped at the hem of Flora's royal robe. He thought for a moment and answered, "I will support any decision you make unconditionally."
"Are you serious?"
Flora lowered her head a little and whispered into everyone's ears.
This action didn't look like a king and a noble at all. It was more like a naughty child playing in the countryside. The nobles and Lady Vasaki looked at the king who suddenly took off her crown. They didn't know what she was doing.
Many also looked up. He didn't understand why she asked such a question. He just nodded and said, "It's true."
He didn't know what else to say, especially in a situation like this …
"Send my order. Ciceville Palace, stop resisting. Tell the mages to stop attacking," Flora said to the few servants who were still standing at the door. "This country doesn't need any more casualties to topple it. Let it end here."
Give up?
The nobles around her stared blankly at Flora. They didn't know if they should feel regretful or lucky. They knew that if they continued to resist, they would die together with the Queen. That was why they made the decision to resist. But when they heard the order to "surrender", they felt like a heavy burden had been lifted off their shoulders. "That's right. You're right. You're right.
Victoria stood at the side and watched as Princess Flora casually threw her crown onto the throne. She then walked down the throne that symbolized the highest authority. To her, this was something unimaginable. No one could imagine that Flora would make such a quick decision in this situation. To put it bluntly, this was called "running away". In history, when a dynasty was about to fall, the members of the royal family would die together with their last ally. Moreover, these stories were passed down through the ages …
But in reality, surviving was much more important than being told stories. Victoria didn't need to know why Flora would make such a decisive decision in a situation like this.
"From now on, I'm just a normal girl," Flora said as she walked in front of Many.
Flora walked up to Flora and added softly, "But, I hope that I will always be your queen."
* * *
Stu squinted his eyes and looked at the direction of Sissevair Palace. The magic shield that covered the sky suddenly disappeared. At the same time, the main gate of the palace slowly opened. The corpses of the soldiers who rushed to their deaths had piled up. But now that the battle had stopped, they suddenly didn't know what to do.
Marquis Barton received the news immediately. He waved his hand and the soldiers began to enter the palace!
The mages who stayed behind quietly stood in their original positions. Despite the sudden abandonment of resistance by the Royal Family, these mages did not seem to mind the change in their stance and the current situation. To the mages, honor and belonging were not that important. What they pursued was the true essence of magic, and fighting was only a way to improve their skills. At the same time, it was also a requirement of the 'employer' — whoever paid for their research would be the 'employer'. The lives of the mages were precious, even more precious than the nobles of the Empire.
When they were prisoners of war, nobles would never be killed. But in a battle, magicians who were captured alive … Of course, magicians would not be called "captured alive" because when their allies completely lost the ability to resist, they had the right to give up on helping their allies. These kinds of privileges made magicians, especially human magicians, a very special group. Right now, seeing the rebel army break into Sissevair Palace, they didn't seem to feel any sense of danger.
Archmage Sith sighed softly. His old friend had passed away a day ago. And now, he had witnessed the fall of an empire. Although the change of regime this time didn't cause too many casualties … It could even be said that the speed of the change of royal power was rare in history.
A faint magical wave came from afar. Sith understood that the king he had been loyal to had disappeared from this palace.
Prince Stu didn't enter Sissevair Palace immediately. To him, it was a place of sorrow, or perhaps … a place of revenge!
The hatred in Stu's heart swelled for no reason. However, after knowing that his father was dead, Stu didn't feel any joy. On the contrary, as a prince, he felt a tinge of disappointment. These weren't what he wanted. Originally, this prince thought that when his father finally died, he would feel incomparably carefree!
However, the truth didn't happen as he imagined. As a prince without any real power, Stu understood that what he could do in this coup d 'état was as far as he could go. Why did he do it?
Stu had asked himself the same question, but he couldn't give an answer. Perhaps the jealousy in his heart and his fragile heart that couldn't take a blow had led him to where he was today. Now, Stu was very open-minded. If he couldn't get it, no one else could!
This was Stu's ultimate goal. He wrapped his cloak around himself and disappeared into the dark corner of the street. However, he didn't know that there were two blurry figures behind him.