Outer Perimeter of the Imperial Capital
We arrived at the imperial capital without a hitch. There was nothing worth paying attention to. We just slowly headed southeast. We crossed more and more towns and villages as we went. The people dressed more extravagantly, corresponding to the distance we were away from the imperial capital. We saw more and more smiles. There were also more and more goods as we got closer. Similarly, the quality also increased correspondingly, indicating the place we were heading to richer and richer places. The conditions of our resting places at night also gradually improved. Achilles didn’t mind the price tags. We always enjoyed the best taverns and food. In fact, I even bought a very nice looking set of clothes that girls residing in the city wore. It was another connected set of clothing with a small skirt. In addition, it was paired with black socks and high boots.
Everything we experienced was a new experience. The food we ate was magnificent. The service offered continued to improve. The streets were cleaner and cleaner. The facilities were more and more complete. Every city allowed Leah to feast her eyes with pleasant surprises.
Leah enjoyed life in the city more and more. In fact, she enjoyed it so much that she was reluctant to leave. She cherished every day and every chance in the cities, where she was able to enjoy a different lifestyle. She ate different things and bought peculiar toys. Achilles didn’t mind the money spent, allowing Leah to enjoy everything she wanted, especially delicacies. Leah was a food fanatic.
We were treated to another sumptuous meal. We completely devoured the half roast pork. The flavoured meat was delicious; Leah loved it. Leah sat in her chair with satisfaction written all over her face; or rather, went limp in her chair, also known as a food coma. Achilles placed his glass of wine down: “We will reach the exterior of the imperial capital at noon tomorrow. We can see the imperial capital from the hill. The imperial capital is a very large place; you must be mentally prepared.”
I nodded. Truthfully, I was pretty sick of sitting in a horse carriage. I was glad to hear we would soon arrive.
“We’ve seen many exciting things, so I doubt I’ll overeat.”
“The brilliance of the imperial capital is one thing. The other thing is that you will be meeting Her Majesty. A messenger delivered a letter last night. The letter said Her Majesty was ready to see everyone, in particular, you, Sir Lin Dongqing. Her Majesty will have a private meeting with you. There is not much time left; you best prepare yourself. I am not just talking about your questions, but also your attire. Her Majesty is a monarch who emphasises appearances. You cannot see her dressed in that clothing,” said Achilles.
I replied, “All right, then. What sort of formal clothing shall I wear, then? The same stuff you wear?”
“I thought you would object to it.”
“Why would I? If I’m going to be working with the Queen, I have to please her. Changing clothes is easy.”
I didn’t have any plans to resist or be stubborn. I should change when I had to and do whatever else I had to. The most important thing when working together was ensuring everyone was happy.
“I have a black formal set of clothes. We’re similar sizes, so you can borrow it. Come over, and try it on. All that’s left will be to perform well in front of Her Majesty. There’s no need for too many formalities in a private meeting. Her Majesty is actually quite approachable in private meetings.”
“I don’t believe you. I think you’re lying to me.”
“At the very least, everyone who met her in private kept their lives.”
“Do you think you’d be willing to see someone’s blood on her carpet?”
“…” Achilles hopelessly smiled: “In any case, Her Majesty is quite easy to talk to. With that said, I hope you can have a good talk with her. You need to discuss the chapel’s matter with her. It’s already been a few days. I think you have brainstormed some ideas by now, right? Would you happen to have evidence proving the chapel is planning a revolt?”
“As if. I have no proof, and I haven’t begun any investigations. I’d have to be a genius to come up with a way to deal with the chapel with just your words alone.”
I helplessly smiled. I didn’t name all of the problems to Achilles. Achilles and I didn’t trust each other despite cooperating. There was definitely something wrong with what Achilles told me. The chapel definitely wasn’t collecting weapons to prepare to revolt against the Queen. Although it was true the chapel opposed Queen Sisi, they weren’t equipping themselves to revolt; I was certain about that much. They had other plans. The Queen planned to find out what they were collecting weapons for. In other words, she believed they collected weapons to revolt against her but required evidence. Once she had the evidence, she’d be able to justify eradicating the entire chapel.
Queen Sisi and Achilles believed the chapel was planning an insurgence for money. Our goal was to find evidence of their planned mutiny before it occurred. At the very least, we needed to locate the weapons. The problem was the chapel’s goal wasn’t too oppose the Queen. Nevertheless, I was sure we wouldn’t find any evidence of that, for they wouldn’t possibly use those weapons to stage an uprising. They, as a matter of fact, might not even have any weapons prepared.
I didn’t know what I’d find. Perhaps the chapel had prepared weapons, but their goal wasn’t to oppose the Queen. In saying that, privately preparing weapons was a crime. I might just be able to use the evidence to impeach the chapel and have them destroyed. However, I needed to locate the weapons before they could enact their plan. If they already carried out their plan, I already failed, because it’d be pointless even if I did find the weapons.
The chapel was unquestionably prepared. They planned it so that they’d obtain or achieve what they wanted as soon as the plan was set in motion, meaning I had to dismantle their plan before it was enacted.
First and foremost, I needed to locate their weapons. I didn’t know what the chapel’s aim was. I had to find the answer to the following questions before they could carry out their plan: what did they want? Where were the weapons? What did they plan to do with the weapons? What method did they plan to utilise to get money?’ I didn’t have the foggiest idea on where to start.
“That doesn’t matter. You can start once we reach the imperial capital. I don’t know how much time we have, however. We don’t know when the chapel will strike, either. After this recent incident, we may not see the bishop for a long time. The people in the imperial capital are yet to come into conflict with people from the chapel. You need to maintain a low profile in the imperial capital. We don’t want a fight to break out before Her Majesty makes her move. It’ll be extremely difficult for us to explain ourselves if that ensues. Remember, you’re working under Her Majesty’s watch. Maintain a low profile.”
“I’ve always kept a low profile.”
“Judging from the flavouring trade, I beg to differ.”
“That wasn’t my fault!!”
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