RLAAQ - Chapter 23

RLAAQ - Chapter 23

Refusing Love As A Queen

Archbishop Rodri opened the heavy scripture and was about to read out the prayers that should be included in the ceremony for this very special "divine judgment" to everyone.

The Queen spoke first.

"I ask God, the only Just Judge, the Maker of Peace, to render justice, and I humbly ask for your blessing and mercy upon me, my people, and my kingdom." 

Adele's voice echoed clearly through the cathedral.

There was an uproar in the church.

No one knows why the Queen forcefully interrupted Archbishop Rodri's words and started the sentencing herself.

"The blasphemous heresy..."

Balder stood not far from the high platform, his old face shrouded in the shadow of the vertical pillars. He was holding a yellowed holy book tightly in his hand, his withered body was supported by the power of anger and hatred, standing upright, his eyes staring unblinkingly at the Queen on the high platform, his lips moving.

"You will regret your attempts to deceive the world, let God reveal your evil soul, let God take away the crown you have usurped, let everyone see how despicable you are..." 

"If your justice still exists in the World, then let the rain that has not come for a long time come! Let the water of life for all things come!"

Adele raised her hands and placed them on both sides of the crown. She looked directly at the statue in front of her, with no awe or humility in her eyes, like a sword.

She was tired of having others judge her.

Those people, those guys, what qualifications do they have to judge her?

August 28, 1557.

On this day she stepped onto the guillotine.

The sun scorched the earth, and she stepped onto the guillotine amidst the sounds of abuse and curses. Crows flew over the pointed towers. The executioner polished his knife, and she knelt down at the place where her mother had died. She heard the wind blowing over the rocks, heard the flagpole being broken, and heard the curses disappearing briefly in the wind and then boiling.

Look! This is God's will!

She brought the drought!

Violate the natural order!

In the midst of the abuse, the executioner raised his knife high, and heavy rain poured down.

A sudden rainstorm without warning.

That was when fate carved the most fatal knife on her throat.

This heavy rain sealed her conclusion - "Heresy and the rule of women went against the laws of nature and brought disaster to Roland" - turning everything about her into a hysterical and absurd joke.

"Come and prove my glory!"

Adele resolutely took off the crown on her head and placed it on the cold rock in front of her.

Rodri heard her last words, her voice was low and hoarse, like a roar that had burst out from her throat after suppressing it for a long time - towards fate and the world.

"To prove that my crown is well-deserved!"

The sun fell through the painted rose window in the center of the pointed arch dome, covering the Queen and the solemn statue of the God on the high platform.

Kelly stood under the high platform, with many noble ladies and ladies standing beside her. She knew that they were looking at her with ridicule and pity. Only she knew that she was in such a peaceful mood. She folded her hands in front of her and stared unblinkingly at Adele, who was kneeling alone on the high platform.

Her Princess, her Majesty, her family, and her faith.

How long has passed? Watching the Young Princess grow up, watching the Princess never shed a tear since the death of the Queen. 

Three years ago, on August 20, she stood in St. Mary's Cathedral and watched the Archbishop place the crown on Adele's hair. She was overwhelmed with joy and burst into tears.

It's all over.

At that time, she thought... everything was over, and the girl she took care of would be happy from now on, and no one could hurt her anymore.

Why isn't it over?

They wanted the Queen to accept God's judgment, and Kelly also wanted to ask God - why did he give her master so much suffering? Isn't she determined enough? Not fair enough? Not kind enough? Not kind enough? Don’t you love this country enough?

No, if what her master had done wasn't enough, no one in this world could.

Not anymore.

Time passed little by little.

The last trace of the coolness of the morning had long since disappeared, and the harsh afternoon sun had taken away the remaining moisture on the ground. The people waiting outside the church just felt like they were standing in a furnace. Their clothes were soaked with sweat, but they dried quickly, and some even fainted from the sun.

The result of the trial seems to have come out. The dissatisfied and questioning voices of the people outside the church can be heard clearly even standing inside the church. In the church, people's whispers have turned into loud voices. "Heresy", "temptress", "sinner", "divine punishment"... all kinds of vicious words collided back and forth under the interlaced marble ribs.

There is no God in this world.

Kelly thought calmly, holding the poison hidden in her sleeve.

Old Father Balder tremblingly raised the book and raised it with all his strength.

Then, with his hoarse voice, he shouted to all the people in the church who were also waiting impatiently.

"A woman who is a heretic is not worthy of governing the country, and a Queen of witches is not worthy of desecrating the throne! Gentlemen! Ladies and ladies, Look at the sky outside, look at the scorching sun like a torch, isn't God's will clear enough?"

Dalton cursed and was about to go over and shut up this old guy who deserved to go to hell.

"Could it be... Cough cough cough..."

Old Father Bald wanted to say something more, but he started coughing violently.

He couldn't say a word.

Dalton didn't believe that this stubborn and arrogant crazy old man would simply choke on his own saliva. He stopped, narrowed his eyes slightly, and found a tall and silent monk standing behind the old priest. As if he was worried that the old priest would faint due to emotion, he pressed against the old priest and supported him. 

A poison that is not fatal but has a necessary use...the method of the Two-Headed Snake family.

Dalton looked up and looked in the direction where Heinrich was standing. The eyes of the two men who hated each other briefly and coldly collided.

During the parade on that day, the Queen had already dealt a fatal blow to the Old God Sect. This ancient and gigantic monster was dying but was unwilling to loosen its control over the country. The last ones who were unwilling to fight against the fanatics, in Balder led by the old priest and Brother John, we gathered in the cathedral today.

Although old Father Balder was poisoned and silenced by the monks bribed by Heinrich in time, the few words he just said were like stones thrown into the lake. Caused an uproar.

One, two, three...

One after another scriptures recording the teachings of the old God were held high.

"She is not worthy of being a King!"

They don't know who was the first to roar, and then the Old God believers and all the people who were fanned followed and roared, 

"Let her get down! Get her off! "

Get down!

Get down!!

The sound rushed up to the dome.

The Queen heard Heinrich's rare curse, heard Dalton ordering the soldiers to gather around the high platform to prevent the rioting crowd from rushing up to hurt her, and heard Archbishop Rodri While loudly reaffirming the order of divine judgment...she was hit by the surge of malice, but her thoughts were so calm.

Tick, tick...

She counted the sound of the church clock in her heart.

Adele... Adele...

In the monotonous, sentence-like ticking sound, Adele remembered her mother's story when she was young. She tells stories of castles, cavalry, and monarchs. Her face was illuminated by the warm orange firelight, and her hands were warm and strong.

Then the fire quickly rolled up and burned down the palace. She was allowed to say the last few words to her relatives at the last moment before execution.

She held young Adele in her arms and called her name lowly and urgently.

"Adele, my daughter, the continuation of my life, I will protect you, protect you with my life, my soul, and everything.

Adele, you have to remember that everything that cannot destroy us or crush us will only make us stronger."

The mother's tone was so urgent and anxious as if she was afraid that she would not be able to tell her the most important things at the last moment of her life, and that she would not be able to impart her most precious things to her.

Adele, my daughter, I love you forever.

After saying the last sentence, she turned into the decisive and proud Queen again, raising her head and giving orders to the executioner.

Bring it on!

Adele heard the wall clock pass by the moment she would remember forever, and heard the red bell echo in the air.

The heavy rain on August 28, 1557, was the fatal knife that fate carved on her throat. Now she will hold this knife and slash it at all the enemies who hate her and despise her.

Everything that cannot crush her, destroy her, or kill her will make her stronger.

Bring it on!

Dalton's musketeers surrounded the high platform and used their guns to drive back the advancing crowd. Unable to get close to the high platform, the Old God believers standing in the corridor on the second floor simply climbed up the railing, angrily cursing "Heretics, get off here", and wanted to throw the heavy scriptures at the Queen on the high platform.

Bang!

A gunshot broke the solemnity of the church and stung people's eardrums.

Dalton had a cold face, and it was he who pulled the trigger without hesitation.

The believer of the Old God didn't seem to have thought that he would shoot so decisively and wantonly in the church - as a sacred place, the church always prohibited fighting and bloodshed. His eyes widened, he fell down from the railing and hit his head hard on the hard rock amidst the screams.

Brains mixed with dazzling blood spattered.

"Bring her down!"

Heinrich cursed and shouted loudly to Archbishop Rodri who was approaching the Queen. At the same time, he pushed away a fat congressman blocking the way in front of him and moved closer to the high platform.

The first victim of a violent conflict appears and the situation gets out of control in a dangerous direction.

Why the hell is she insisting on this weird divine judgment? And why didn't he just go and help those old bones of the Old Gods?

Isn’t it the right interest of the Two-Headed Snake family to come first?

Things must have a price.

Heinrich told himself this in his heart.

Although he reconciled with the Queen after the rebellion, the feud caused by the betrayal always lingered there. Now the Old God Sect has been forced to a dead end by the Queen. If the Queen wins today, the Heinrich family will gain greater benefits from their choices, otherwise, they are likely to be expelled from the imperial capital again.

Heinrich avoided the answer deeper in his heart, he told himself that this was just a bet.

The patriarch of the Two-headed Snake family, who was famous for his elegance, pulled out his rapier from under his cloak and stabbed it neatly into the chest of the monk holding the holy book in front of him.

When the rapier was pulled out, hot blood splashed onto Heinrich's cheeks and hair, dripping down from the corners of his eyes.

Corpses and blood became emotional catalysts.

The people of the Old God Sect quickly took out the cold daggers from under the monks' robes, cursed angrily, and surged toward the high platform. The ladies and ladies, who had not expected that things would evolve to this point, trembled, screamed, and cried in panic.

The moment Dalton stepped onto the first step, on the high platform, the Queen stretched out her hands.　

She grasped the crown.　

Click.

All chaos seemed to be forcibly suspended by an invisible force.

Thunder exploded in the sky, and the sound spread rapidly in the sultry and restless air, shrouding everyone in it. The thunder was so loud, so majestic, so terrifying. The moment it sounded, the angry look was taken away from some people's faces. Those who had just tried to rush away from the rifle guards stood there blankly.

They raised their heads and stared blankly at the sky.

It's thunder.

It was thunder, unlike anything they had heard in months.　

They almost thought it was their hallucination, but in the next moment, all the window lattices in the church made a sharp sound - the strong wind roared in.

The high double-arched windows on the west side of the church were torn by strong winds. Hundreds of strong winds collided and rushed into the church. Everyone's clothes were blown by the wind, and the corners of their clothes made sharp and shrill sounds. In the strong wind, thunder sounded one after another, as if the Gods were angry.

"Your Majesty!!"

Amidst the horror of the crowd, Kelly's joyful voice stood out, even breaking through the rumbling thunder.

Everyone turned to look at the high platform again.

On the high platform, Adele stood up slowly, holding her crown tightly with both hands, the silver tips and the edges of the gems piercing her flesh.

The smell of an approaching rainstorm was carried and enveloped the earth. High in the sky, countless mountain-like dark clouds came from all directions and gathered together. The sun that was scorching the earth just now was completely blocked, and the restless crowd outside the church fell into a deathly silence.

People looked up in a daze, one after another, becoming silent stone statues.

The light cast by the huge rose windows in the middle of the four facades disappeared. Before the candles could be lit, the church fell into darkness. The God of thunder drove the carriage to run over in the middle, and the glass windows trembled with a dull rumble and a sharp click.　

Lightning slashed across the sky.

Adele turned to face everyone in the church and raised her crown high.

Archbishop Rodri was originally standing on the steps, but at this moment he involuntarily stepped back.

Adele standing in the light was printed in his pupils.

The lightning illuminated her clearly, and she stood in the circular light cast by the rose window at the main entrance of the church. One side of her fine linen robe clung tightly to her body in the wind, and one side fluttered. Her curves were exposed, but no one, not even the most lustful man, would notice this at this time - a majesty, a god-like majesty enveloped Adele.

She is a rose.

A rose that stands strong and beautiful in the strong wind.

No one but God can forge a rose out of iron, stone, gold, the softest and hardest things.

The cold wind blew in, and the world was shrouded in darkness and blue.

Adele stood in front of the statue, pale lightning illuminating her cold face. In the eyes of everyone, she put the crown firmly on her head.

She crowned herself.

There is no pope, no holy oil, no God, only herself and those who should surrender to her.

In front of Adele's eyes, the knife held high by the executioner in the past life passed by, and the shadow cast by the circling crows passed by. Those past events were driven away forever at this moment.

She grabbed her own crown and the glory that had been deprived of her.

"I am Adele Rolland."

The leaded window lattice on the central wall of the west facade of the church is inlaid with stained glass windows. The saints depicted on it are gathered together across the distance of time and space. They participate in this special event together. Coronation ceremony. Lightning criss-crossed, and the Queen's shadow was magnified infinitely, even covering the statue of the god standing behind her.

She spread her arms and her long linen skirt became her robe.

"I am the daughter of two Kings, and I am the King of Roland!"

The heavy rain came, flooding the whole world.

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