Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 222 Fire and Light in the Storm

Beatrice sat woodenly on the stool, while the nuns around her were fixing her clothes and putting on makeup for her.

Her attire was extremely simple, a pure white church robe, but the fabric was of quite fine quality. If you looked closely, you could see the intricate dark patterns on it.

This is a cloth woven in a factory using a steam loom. Due to the extremely high failure rate of the machine, only a few meters of this precious cloth can be woven every year. Only the nobles can enjoy it. It is far from comparable to those hand-woven cloths.

The priest robe made of such fabric was just a base. On her shoulders, she wore a red cloak.

This is an ornament that can only be worn by clergy above the rank of bishop. There are many more Candlelight Society churches than bishops. Only senior bishops who manage medium-sized and larger churches have the opportunity to obtain this light red cloth. They are called cardinals and are qualified to wear red priest robes.

But these things were nothing compared to the scepter in her hand.

That is the cardinal's scepter. The person who holds this scepter manages the entire church on behalf of the Pope. There are only seven people in total. These seven people are also called the Council of Keepers of Secrets. The Pope is selected from these seven people.

Coincidentally, there is no Pope at the candlelight vigil now.

"Wait, wait!" Beatrice suddenly turned around, and she subconsciously loosened her hand holding the scepter, and the silver scepter fell to the ground.

The next moment, four or five hands caught it at the same time, and the scepter did not fall to the ground. The nuns carefully passed the scepter back and placed it in front of Beatrice.

"No, that's not right. Why are you giving me this? I've only been a member of the church for less than a year!"

Beatrice looked at the scepter with some horror. Once she picked up the scepter, her status would be comparable to any duke in the empire. The position of the Pope would be vacant, and she would stand at the pinnacle of power in this world.

But, how is this possible?
"Lady Beatrice, this is proof of the glory of the Joan family. This cardinal scepter was bestowed upon the Joan family by the first Pope. The Council of Secret Keepers will always reserve a seat for the Joan family."

"But this should belong to Uncle Jules, Mr. Jules! I just became a Transcendent and haven't even been promoted to [Secret Keeper]. How can you give this to me?"

"This is what Lord Jules meant. He is busy with other things now. You don't have to worry too much." The nun rolled her eyes and the others left the room.

The nun, her face covered with a black veil, slowly came closer, bent down, and whispered in Beatrice's ear, "The Queen has also agreed to this."

"Queen."

Beatrice's eyes widened instantly, her pupils trembling as she slowly turned to the nun who whispered in her ear: "You are."

"A nun, sir, no need to mind." The nun said with a chuckle.

Beatrice closed her eyes and asked softly, "Did Lord Jules give me anything else, like a letter?"

"No, Mistress Beatrice, Mistress Jules never writes."

Beatrice closed her mouth and nodded quietly, allowing the nuns who entered the room to wrap her in layer after layer of gorgeous patterns.

"Your Excellency, you will be participating in a royal enthronement ceremony. The Queen will be in attendance personally. Please remember to observe your manners."

"Okay, who is it canonized?"

"He's just a minor figure, don't worry about him. After the enthronement, the Queen will also announce the end of the war in the west and give out rewards. This is the highlight."

"The war in the west is over!? We won??"

The nun didn't say anything. She raised a finger to her lips and said, "The Queen will arrange everything."

Beatrice clenched the corner of her clothes in her hand, and it took all her strength not to show any abnormality.

The empire's western war has been going on for several years, is it over just like that?
She suddenly remembered what Hughes had said to her in Castel: the empire's wars could not be stopped. This huge machine relied on external expansion to move forward. If it stopped...
Beatrice looked down at the silver scepter in her hand.

The nun winked at her.

The Ruoan family is always loyal to the royal family and is the royal family's most loyal pawn.

"The Queen will arrange everything." Beatrice muttered to herself and gently closed her eyes.

"Mr. Jeremiah, I beg you, I beg you, please don't go to the sea again. There's something wrong in the sea. This isn't right!" Ken tightly grasped the corner of Jeremiah's clothes. "Let's wait for the 'Prince' to come back. He will complete the canonization ceremony today. After he returns, we can go to Castel to investigate."

"Go away!"

Jeremiah pushed Ken back hard, and Ken staggered a few steps and fell on the dock. Josh walked over and supported him.

Jeremiah didn't even glance at him as he strode towards his boat.

The sea water has receded so much that the foundation of the pier, which was originally covered by water, has gradually been exposed.

The sea seemed to have a hole in it and was drying up slowly but inexorably.

No one knew where the sea water would recede to, and no one knew what was in the sea water. Most of the people on the boats jumped off and shivered on the dock as they watched the water level getting lower and lower.

Countless people gathered on the dock, some screaming, some cursing, and some kneeling on the ground praying.

Jeremiah walked to the edge of the dock. As the sea water receded, he was now taller than the bow of the ship. He only needed to jump forward to reach the Black Pearl.

When he took a step forward, he suddenly paused and looked at the boy who was grabbing his clothes again.

"Jeremiah!" Ken panted, his body covered in mud. "Don't go. Let's wait for the 'Prince'."

"Are you still hoping someone will rescue you?" Jeremiah's tone was unexpectedly calm. His eyes were red, his face was ferocious and crazy, but his words didn't tremble at all. "I'm a pirate, I'm the captain. I won't abandon my ship. I won't die on shore!"

"But."

Jeremiah drew his scimitar, and the crowd immediately retreated far away. He patted Ken's pale face with the back of his knife and said, "Go back, boy. You are destined to die on your soft bed. I will help you find Castel."

After saying that, he turned around and leaped suddenly, rolled on the bow of the boat and stood up, without even shaking the scimitar in his hand.

The sailors cheered.

"Anyone still want to get off the boat? Get out now!"

The pirates looked at each other, and someone said, "Boss, after the unification of the Storm Ocean, everyone who wanted to get off the ship has already left."

After the Pirate King unified the Storm Ocean and established the Pirate Court, the pirates no longer had any wars to fight. They could only drive their ships to collect taxes for Gem Bay and act like pirates who didn't act like pirates.

Most pirates either settled on land or joined the Pirate Court, scheming against each other in the small territory of Gem Bay.

Jeremiah looked up at the dock. Countless eyes were fixed on him. It had been the same since he'd left Jewel Bay, when former pirates stood on the shore, watching his ship sail out to sea. The water was disappearing, and perhaps one day the ocean would vanish entirely. So what? He was a pirate captain, and nothing would change that.

The pirate captain turned around expressionlessly and looked at the shrinking sea.

There was a sound of something heavy falling behind him. Jeremiah did not look back. He raised his scimitar with a fierce smile and shouted at the top of his voice:
"Set sail! Boys, hoist the sails, and let's go to the sea!"

The sky in the Rhine is always gray, but today it is particularly dark. It starts to rain soon. The gas lamps in the palace light up, and the cold light pierces the rain curtain in the darkness.

Beatrice, holding the scepter, walked quietly through the crowd.

Everyone who saw her dressed up was shocked - everyone knew Beatrice. The soap she brought some time ago was very popular among the upper class circles in the Rhine. Many ladies wanted to order some from her privately, but found that she seemed to have disappeared inexplicably.

And when I saw her again, she actually picked up the cardinal's staff?
It seemed that only at this moment did people remember the girl's surname and that she was also a member of the Ruoan family.

But there are many people in the Ruoan family, how could they let her take up the scepter?

Speaking of which, it seems like it’s been a while since we’ve seen anyone from the Ruoan family.

All the nobles had smiles on their faces, but certain emotions were quietly transmitted and spread in their eyes, sweeping across the entire palace.

The Joan family, the royal family, the Vatican, and well-informed people have begun to look uneasy. The Queen has been on the throne for eleven years. She has had many enemies, but she is the only one who has won.

Who will she attack this time?
The nobles were silent as a mouse, they were all chess pieces, at the mercy of the Queen. The only people who could still stand outside the chessboard were perhaps a few dukes on the border.

The crowd slowly retreated, several maids led the way, and the queen arrived.

Beatrice raised her head and looked curiously at the person who slowly walked out, the Queen of the Saint Mir Empire, the most powerful person in the world.

As a member of the Ruoan family and the most loyal subject of the royal family, she has never seen the queen in person.

The empire is like a sophisticated machine, with each gear having its own function. To whom she is loyal, whom she despises, her enemies, and her friends were all determined when she took the name of Joan. The scepter in her hand and the red dress on her body are more important than her flesh and blood and soul.

Countless sophisticated gears make up various organizations, and countless organizations constitute the empire. Now, the helmsman of this huge chariot has revealed her true appearance.

Beatrice blinked, then bowed her head.

She had imagined the Queen's appearance countless times, but when she actually saw her, she suddenly realized that she was just a symbol like herself.

She is the empress of the empire and also a gear in the machine of the empire. She is the crown, the throne, and the jewel-studded sword. That piece of flesh and blood is just the thing that carries these identities.

It was as if it was not a living person, but the personification of the word "Queen".

She is an empty symbol.

Beatrice quickly shook her head. She had been exploring the Corridor of Truth too much recently, and the aftereffect of overdrawing her spirit was that she could not distinguish between reality and illusion. After she calmed down, she saw the Queen's face.

It was a beautiful and stern face with exquisite makeup without a single flaw. She had a smile on her face, but everyone who looked at her was silent.

It was not until she saw a ray of silver light in the Queen's eyes that Beatrice realized that her sequelae had not yet subsided. She quickly calmed herself down, and when she looked at the Queen again, everything was back to normal, and there were no more hallucinations.

The Queen took her seat, and Beatrice was guided to sit on her left. She was secretly surprised, but did not show it.

The Queen had already made arrangements, and she just had to be a good cog in the wheel.

A court councilor read a long document, and soon a handsome man came up.

Beatrice looked at him, but she only felt as if she saw a ball of fire.

I'm hallucinating again, Beatrice thought to herself. She took a deep breath and looked again, and everything was back to normal.

For some reason, the side effects were more severe today. She was debating whether to secretly take a pill to suppress them, but there was no chance in front of everyone.

The senator continued to chant, his steady voice like a lullaby. Beatrice had no choice but to suppress her discomfort and try not to show it.

She listened in a daze. It seemed that the man in front of her was being introduced - the only son of Grand Duke Tis, who was to receive a reward for reporting a traitor.

She had heard about this matter. This man betrayed his father, betrayed his loyal subordinates, and sold out everything he could in exchange for a nominal title.

It is said that even his subjects looked down on him and even called him "Prince".

Beatrice remembered that when she was a little girl, she had admired this "prince". At that time, he was a real prince, with a heart of justice, who never hesitated to lend a helping hand to the weak, just like what was written in knight novels.

Even in the Rhine, many stories about his deeds have been circulated.

The "prince" knelt before the queen, who drew her ceremonial sword and tapped it lightly on his shoulder.

She couldn't help but sigh. If only she hadn't met him today. It seemed like every dream would be shattered. The hero she once admired was now kneeling on the ground like a dog, wagging his tail and begging for mercy - he would definitely become a more loyal member of the royal party than herself. Apart from the royal family, no other force would accept him.

Let's end all this quickly, the highlight is coming next. Let's see how the Queen uses this chess piece of hers to destroy Tis, pacify the North, and now win the war in the West. The Queen has gone from one victory to another, and the empire is becoming more and more invincible. She has written a glorious history, so where will she go in the future?
Thunder roared outside the house and a storm was coming.

Beatrice looked up, her vision blurring again. She was beginning to hallucinate. What would the prince become this time? He wouldn't really turn into a dog, would he?

Beatrice looked up in amusement, then blinked.

"Prince" is still a ball of fire.

A ball of blazing fire illuminated the dim palace.

Beatrice rubbed her eyes in confusion, and the hallucination gradually faded away, and she saw blood all over the ground.

The "Prince" grabbed the sword blade. The sword was very sharp. The wound on his hand was deep enough to see the bone, but the "Prince" seemed unaware.

He stared at the queen in front of him, the anger that had been suppressed for countless days and nights in his eyes was like a raging fire.

The tip of the sword pierced the queen's neck.

The Queen's eyes were full of disbelief. At this moment, she finally no longer looked like an empty symbol. She opened her eyes wide, and the expression on her face changed from shock, to anger, to confusion and fear. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but just slowly fell down.

The delicate makeup was stained with blood and the crown fell to the ground.

She is dead.

(End of this chapter)