After being forced to step down, the once-annoying nun eloped with me.

Although the situation was somewhat different from that of the parishes, which were already openly at war, the Central District was generally filled with peasants who had nowhere else to turn and were rebelling.

The knights of the capital and the guards of the rising towns remained holed up, trying to repair the portals. Some of these attempts succeeded, while others failed.

The majority of those that succeeded did so because the portals weren't severely damaged and could still be salvaged. After being salvaged, the portals returned to their original functions, but they might explode again if the volume of data transfer increased significantly.

The failures were due to maintenance errors and excessive overall damage, ultimately leading to a complete shutdown. Once a portal is closed, it's very difficult to reopen, just like shutting down a glass factory's furnace—the cost of cleaning up the glass shards alone is enough to rebuild the furnace.

Once the portals are closed, the Roman Empire has no chance of repairing them given its current technology... But then again, does the Roman Empire really want to repair those portals?

Prince Garsen, representing the royal faction and its nobles, along with General Dreschka of the military district, certainly hoped for a successful restoration. Only with a stable portal could the Roman Empire's security and commerce return to normal.

But for the Return of the Prodigal Party, they would rather the portals continue to break down, or even the portals of the entire Roman Empire be shut down, as they hope the situation will remain stable.

The damage to the portal network means that the Roman Empire's forces used to suppress the rebels will be unable to move quickly. This inability to move quickly means that while the military regions and the National Revolutionary Army are preoccupied with dealing with the current peasant rebellions, the Restorationists can deploy their troops like a sharp dagger to strike at the weaknesses of various regions within the Roman Empire.

Although it may sound problematic, at least the core idea is correct—at this moment, the Regent Party members are meeting in a salon. They are preparing for their next move because, barring any unforeseen circumstances, they must bring Yang Hao back before the Roman Empire collapses, and the best way to do so is naturally to use the young empress's identity.

At this moment, there were hardly any snacks left at the salon gathering. The food supplies for Isgard were still en route, and even the nobles could only afford ordinary bread and somewhat cheap grilled fish.

They showed little interest in eating. Partly because they were used to this food, and partly because it concerned the young queen's important matter, and they needed to concentrate on ensuring the plan would go perfectly.

"Although the Empress is merely a puppet, a target—to be honest, His Majesty the Regent certainly harbors extremely complex feelings towards her. Although we are [Return to Reign], we must never actually kill or injure the Empress. We only need to capture her and imprison her, and then use that as a basis to publicly request His Majesty the Regent to return to the Roman Empire."

At that time, regardless of whether His Majesty the Regent harbors hatred for the Empress, desires to get to the bottom of things, or simply wants to protect her, he will have to accept our arrangements! However, this means we must ensure that the Empress is surrounded only by our people, and that she is not allowed to remain in the capital, but rather in a core city in the eastern or western region...

In this situation, who exactly is the Queen's current maidservant?

One nobleman asked the question, and another nobleman followed suit:

"The Queen's current maids are, firstly, Prince Gassen's head lady-in-waiting, and secondly, Miss Natalia, who appears to have been demoted from her position as Chief Justice."

"We certainly can't touch Prince Gassen's head lady-in-waiting—after all, we only want His Majesty the Regent to return, not to completely antagonize the royal family. Besides, only the royal family has the legitimate right to rule the Roman Empire, so we absolutely cannot kill Prince Gassen's head lady-in-waiting. Instead, we should gently persuade and entertain him..."

That former presiding judge? I don't recall her having any connections, right?

"No. She was someone who left her hometown and removed her family name to follow the late king and study. If you have to say what her background is, it's probably the late emperor."

"But the late emperor is dead—alright, considering she served the late emperor, let her cause trouble if she doesn't interfere too much. But if she prevents us from taking the empress away...then just get rid of her."

Chief Justice Natalia abandoned her family in her youth, cut her hair, and chose to follow the former emperor of the Roman Empire on his conquests while learning ancient legal knowledge. Finally, after the founding of the country, with the help of the regent, she became the most just chief justice in the history of the Roman Empire.

This court president had virtually no backing in Roman. If one had to say she did, many people would probably show her leniency out of consideration for her past service to the late emperor. But in the end, the late emperor was dead, long dead. Who would care if a dead person were to rise up again and condemn them for not taking good care of the late emperor's family and friends?

So in a sense, Natalia has become a thorn in the side of the pro-revolutionary faction. Because if they want to take the young empress away, they must first get past the head lady-in-waiting and Natalia. And to get past Natalia, they are essentially destined to kill her.

If she were still the presiding judge, perhaps the nobles would still be wary of her—but now she is just a maid, no exaggeration to say she is a fly with a relatively high status in the Roman royal family.

This fly may indeed wield immense power in peacetime, but ultimately, it's just a fly. Prince Garsen wouldn't be so distressed by the death of a fly, and His Majesty the Regent, exiled by the Chief Justice, wouldn't be so kind to her either. So, since it's just a fly, let it be killed.

...The nobles reached a consensus. But just then, they suddenly noticed that the Night Witch, who was supposed to attend the meeting, was absent. What happened?

"I heard that Prince Garsen has instructed her to monitor the Queen and the former Chief Justice's movements—which is why she can't come. But this has given us an advantage."

"I see... So, what should we do next? I mean, if His Majesty the Regent really does return..."

"What else can we do? Let him lead us to rebuild Roman, and then we can live a quiet life... Although we won't earn much money or benefit under the Regent, it's still better than that scoundrel Prince Gasen causing trouble everywhere! I heard that Alesser's elite troops have already been deployed... Sigh... that ungrateful beast! If the late king could come back to life, I'm afraid..."

"..."

Another night of hustle and bustle.

But in the dead of night in the palace, in the memorial hall where future generations pay homage to the great coffin of the late emperor, everything seemed so quiet.

Prince Garsen's newly hired attendant was leisurely strolling around the memorial hall, which should have been heavily guarded. He had easily gained the right to move freely in the Roman Palace, and although the head lady-in-waiting was very suspicious of his identity, the mentally fragile prince was already extremely happy and pleased with his skills.

In his delight, Prince Garsen did not forget to reward his servant, and this reward gave the demon the opportunity to come into contact with the memorial hall.

The servant is an "Ancient Demon" among the demons of the Demonic Calamity—but after many years of learning, it has mastered human language, learned how to disguise itself, and understands when to say and do what. It doesn't see humans as mere food, because it understands that if it can incite civil war among humans, then when the next Demonic Calamity arrives, this world will become yet another new home for demons.

However, instigating a civil war without revealing his true identity as a "demon" would take a very long time. So, while his attendant secretly orchestrated events, he also attempted to corrupt those around him.

Unfortunately, although the Roman palace had many mortals who could be corrupted, in the end, the only ones most worthy of corruption were a living person and a dead person.

The living person is Prince Garsen: he is a hypocrite, and he has the corresponding power. His nature is even more filthy than that of a demon. At least a demon would not calmly betray its own kind. At most, it would watch the weak starve to death when there is a shortage of food, or the fire-breathing bulls would accidentally injure their own kind when they lose control. That's all.

Who is the dead person?

The attendant's hand gently touched the two pure gold coffins in the room. His fingers traced the raised gold characters on the coffins, from which he learned the name of the coffin's owner.

This is the former emperor of the Roman Empire, Benjamin Roman.

He was the greatest king in the history of the Roman Empire. When the empire was still in the tribal stage, this king won the hearts of the people and united the surrounding tribes in an incredible way, defeating the barbarian Kheshig and the Great Khan Huttutuq at the time.

As the centaurs and Manchus retreated, the king was killed by an arrow in the back during his advance.

Perhaps the Romans thought it was just a tragic accident, a divine punishment from the God of Light who couldn't bear to see humanity win too easily—but the demon's special abilities could reveal all of this.

The attendant, through his own abilities, understood the moment he touched the coffin that this was Prince Garsen's conspiracy.

After all, Jason had always been jealous of his older brother. Just as a mediocre person would always be envious of the talent and achievements of a genius, Jason's choice, given his inability to catch up with the genius through hard work, was in line with common sense.

A poisoned arrow, barbarian archers who had been bribed beforehand, and priests, doctors, and even mages who deliberately stayed away from the main force of the army.

"All of this was simply to eliminate those better than oneself, and then everything that followed was to eliminate those even better—what a pity, what a pity. In the end, you successfully eliminated two people who could have saved the Roman Empire, but in the end, you couldn't save your own country; instead, you could only make it worse and worse..."

"Should I say, did you do a good job? After all, I am a demon. But I think you did a terrible job. Garsen, Garsen—why do you think I chose you as the object of my corruption? It's because you are the only one worth corrupting right now...in this court, you are the last person I could find to corrupt."

The attendant sighed, stroking the golden characters on the coffin, and then looked at another smaller coffin placed next to it.

It has to be said, Jason is truly a talented individual.

The fact that Garsen could secretly murder his own brother and sister-in-law without arousing suspicion is enough to prove that he is indeed a genius in scheming.

If Garsen had been able to suppress his jealousy and properly assist the late emperor and regent, perhaps the servants would now have two better targets to corrupt... It's just a pity.

After this one bad apple spoiled the whole bunch, all the servant could do was to decompose the only worthwhile apple.

This will take a long time, and the benefits may not be as great as the servants imagine—but at least it will bring convenience to the demonic calamity ten years later... Although that is only the "beginning" of the real demonic calamity, let it bring as much convenience as it can.

But then again...

Doesn't the parish have that thing now—the [Corpse Rebirth Divine Art]...?

The attendant looked down at the two coffins and then thought carefully about Prince Garsen's character.

Without a doubt, Prince Garsen was an all-powerful figure—even demons wouldn't intentionally harm their own larvae, yet Garsen was more demonic than any demon, willing to cut off his niece's tongue to secure his position...

It's perfectly reasonable for someone like that to use the corpses of his own brother and sister-in-law to secure his power, isn't it?

"While this is indeed good news for us demons... well, as expected, Garsen, you are still just trash that I wouldn't even bother to eat."

The attendant shook his head and left the empty memorial hall. His opinion of Prince Garsen was steadily declining; if he could, he would rather corrupt the young empress than corrupt Garsen.

Unfortunately, the young empress had no power. Unfortunately, this young empress hadn't even reached the point where she needed to learn the art of court politics—

More importantly, Garsen also intended to marry off a child who wasn't yet of the appropriate age. The servant figured the person might die halfway through their corruption, so after much deliberation, he decided against it.

After all, the devil wouldn't waste his energy on a child who was going to die sooner or later.

At least not now.

............

1 a.m. on January 6.

Inside the Purple Palace, in Yang Hao and Theresa's bedroom.

After everything ended with a final tremor, the two collapsed on the bed, breathing heavily. After resting for a while, they got off the wet bed and lay down on another dry bed.

This can be considered Yang Hao and Theresa's daily routine after they had completely made their feelings for each other clear—by day, they were Barthel Lisa and the future Bartholomew or Caesar, but by night, they were each other's little puppy or kitten.

Their intertwined emotions made their bond even stronger. However, whenever Teresa finished relieving the stress of the day, she would always lean on Yang Hao and drift off to sleep.

This is always a precious time for them to reflect on the progress of their work and studies throughout the day. Today, for example, they are reflecting on the "unified rule" discussed tonight.

“As expected… such a big event needs to be announced in a grand and spectacular way.” Theresa curled up, nestled against Yang Hao’s chest, playfully sucking on his chin and stubble. “After all, this isn’t something we can just consider over after signing a contract, you know? This is an opportunity for us to boost national confidence, happiness, and a sense of belonging… especially since Constantinople has only been elevated to power for a few days, and everyone is still caught up in their underground lives. A grand celebration signifies a new beginning, and that will definitely make our country better, right?”

"I know. I was just about to tell you... but how come my little kitty suddenly knows so much?"

Theresa's gaze shifted to the right, and Yang Hao knew this was a sign of her guilt—it definitely wasn't that Theresa had gained enlightenment; it was something she had learned from ancient books. But would Yang Hao reprimand her for her "learning"?

of course.

He reached out and pinched her thigh, which made the cat suddenly let out a small squeak of "Meow?!" and then she bit him. Only then did Yang Hao laugh heartily and end his playful fight with Theresa.

After all, the establishment of a "United Nations" is certainly no small matter. If ordinary people get married and simply obtain a marriage certificate, and can keep the ceremony as simple as possible, then for the ruler of a nation, even the birth of a child requires a grand celebration, let alone the momentous event of two great powers jointly ruling.

A celebration can enhance citizens' sense of identity with the new nation, strengthen national cohesion, and, more importantly, give the Bayern people, who have just escaped their hellish existence, a sense of reality that they are living on the ground.

This might be similar to PTSD symptoms on Earth—many Bayerzens, after returning to the surface, still subconsciously live underground. They don't have a sense of reality living on the surface. Only after taking the elevator to the frozen underground and seeing the demon corpses being mined do these Bayerzens have a tangible feeling of "I have survived."

This won't do. Yang Hao and Theresa don't want their people to become mentally impaired because of these post-war symptoms, not to mention that every citizen is precious. Under these circumstances, it would be better for everyone to find a reason to hold a grand ceremony, to mourn the sacrifice of their ancestors, to commemorate the nameless warriors whose bodies could not be found after their deaths, to live for the moment and let out a good cry of their weariness and pain underground.

This was originally part of the plan; Yang Hao had intended to establish the festival during his wedding with Teresa—but now it seems there is a more suitable date.

That was January 15th, the day the universally recognized United Nations was publicly announced—also the day Yang Hao rescued the little empress. He had to rescue the little empress and the chief justice before the 15th. He would raise the little empress as his daughter, and if the chief justice wished to live a peaceful life, there were plenty of places for him.

However, he knew Natalia would definitely not be able to stay idle. But that was fine, as the newly established Bayerzens was lacking in everything... especially in clerical positions like law enforcement, where it was practically impossible to find cultured individuals to fill the roles.

If the presiding judge is willing, the position of presiding judge of the Bayerzmann Grand Court will be hers—but then again...

“Theresa…that…”

"Don't move... Let me adjust myself, I'm having trouble breathing like this... Hmm, what's wrong?"

"About Anna."

"Oh..."

That's what Yang Hao thought, but whether Teresa was willing to accept it was another matter entirely.

After all, he knew that Theresa really wanted a child, but if Yang Hao publicly announced that he would treat the little empress as an adopted daughter, it might cause quite a few problems in Bayerzans and the United Kingdom regarding the issue of succession.

After all, Anna's identity is quite special. She is the child of the late Roman Emperor, who is also Yang Hao's sworn brother. She possesses the innate right to inherit the Roman Empire, but precisely because of this, after Yang Hao publicly acknowledges her as his adopted daughter, she will simultaneously possess the right to claim sovereignty over two countries...

It's hard to imagine what kind of disadvantage Theresa and Yang Hao's own biological child would face when confronting the future Anna. Therefore, Yang Hao is very worried about Theresa's opinion... After all, ever since he learned that the little queen was unwilling to speak, he knew what he had to do.

He was Anna's last remaining family member in this world. He couldn't abandon the child.

What about Theresa? She doesn't even know Anna... What was she thinking?

Yang Hao looked anxiously at the girl's hair lying next to him, but in response to his concern, the girl simply rolled her eyes.

"I understand your thoughts. After all, I know best what my little dog is thinking—but, Yang Hao, you also need to understand, okay? I don't mind Anna becoming our adopted daughter, and I don't even mind Natalia being closer to you, after all, Natalia is indeed your savior..."

But you should also know that we're not an ordinary family anymore. Our family can't just have an "adopted daughter," okay? Especially since I'm the last descendant of the Purple-Royal Royal Family... you know what I mean, right?

"I know. We need a child of our own."