Chapter 1408: Chapter 886: The End of an Era (Part 2)

The twilight is dim, the setting sun is like blood, and at the end of the sky, the sun bordered in gold is round.

Its rays radiate, dazzling the eyes, dreamlike and unreal.

The church bells ring in succession, flocks of white doves take flight from the square and circle around the city’s towers.

The sunset spills golden brilliance onto the earth, cloaking the entire Maniya City in a cicada-wing-like golden veil, even casting a mysterious color upon the ground.

Gazing at this magnificent scenery in the afterglow of sunset, the Empress’s gaze is somewhat dazed.

She gently extends her hand towards the sky, seemingly wanting to grasp something, but ultimately, slowly retracting it...

"It’s twilight...,"

Maria II sighed softly.

"Yes, Your Majesty, it is twilight,"

Bishop Wenstar sighed deeply.

Maria II gently nodded, her muddled gaze cast afar, eventually lingering on the Gray Castle near the Noble Council Building next to the Holy Square.

Her eyes suddenly became somewhat dim.

"Has the Great Council... not ended yet?"

She asked.

"Your Majesty, no, it hasn’t ended yet,"

Bishop Wenstar replied.

Upon hearing his words, the elderly Empress seemed to think of something and let out a chuckle, slowly shaking her head:

"Arguing over who shall succeed the throne, I suppose? These parasites have everything on their minds, but lack the Holy Mania Empire..."

Bishop Wenstar remained silent, not continuing on Maria II’s topic.

After a few words, seeing the bishop unmoved, Maria II seemed to lose interest.

She quietly watched the setting sun, no longer speaking.

Gradually, the sunset’s brilliance faded, becoming gentle.

It walked slowly, like a person, gently approaching the distant mountains.

Its light no longer glaring, just a round, crimson orb, like a soft, glowing magic lamp.

"Lord Bishop, may I entrust you with something?"

The Empress suddenly spoke again.

"Your Majesty, please speak,"

Bishop Wenstar replied respectfully.

Maria II slowly turned, looking at him.

In her muddled emerald eyes, a hint of silence was revealed:

"Politics is cruel, but little Theresa is innocent."

"I’ve never raised her as a successor, she should have been a carefree girl..."

Saying this, Maria looked at Bishop Wenstar, a hint of pleading in her eyes:

"Lord Bishop, if someday... Theresa faces difficulties, will you, for the sake of my friendship, help her?"

Listening to Maria II’s words, Bishop Wenstar sighed deeply inwardly.

He knew.

The successor of Maria II was never meant to be Princess Theresa.

Her successor was supposed to be Duke Xilin, her only son, whom she had high hopes for and was already a Legendary Sword Saint. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

An excellent man, a qualified heir to the throne.

Regrettably, a few years ago, during a rebellion, the duke died in a duel with the rebel leader, leaving only his young daughter Theresa...

"Your Majesty, I am the Cardinal Archbishop of the Empire, also one of the Church Electors. Naturally, I will support Princess Theresa when she encounters difficulties,"

Bishop Wenstar replied.

But, hearing his response, Maria II seemed slightly unsatisfied.

She slowly lowered her eyelids, her voice somewhat forlorn:

"Only... a bishop?"

Bishop Wenstar was silent.

A moment later, as he opened his mouth to speak, the Empress stopped him.

"Forget it, it shall be..."

"Mr. Wenstar, you... may leave now, I want to stay here alone to admire the scenery... I wish to be alone for a while..."

Maria II said.

Her voice was no longer fragile but had entirely restored its former solemnity.

Solemn and distant, distant yet lonely.

Bishop Wenstar opened his mouth, gaze fixed upon the Empress’s back, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes.

After hesitating for a long time, he deeply bowed to the Empress’s back:

"As you command, the sun of the Empire, the great Empress..."

And then, he slowly withdrew.

However, as he reached the staircase of the Tower, Bishop Wenstar couldn’t help stopping again.

He glanced back at the increasingly small Empress in the sunset, letting out a long sigh:

"Theresa... is my granddaughter after all. No matter when, I will protect her life..."

"As long as I draw breath, she will be safe."

Upon hearing Bishop Wenstar’s words, Maria II’s silhouette slightly trembled.

Her fingers gripping the railing clenched slightly, and then slowly released.

Bishop Wenstar no longer lingered.

He turned around and resolutely left the Tower.

The Imperial Palace at dusk seemed even lonelier.

Perhaps it was dinner time; even the figures of maids and guards seemed to be lessening.

Bishop Wenstar walked alone on the palace’s avenue, heading outside, his shadow stretching long under the sunset, while behind him, the magnificent palace slowly sank into darkness.

Suddenly, a piercing sound of bells rang from afar, causing Bishop Wenstar to pause slightly.

Those bells were not on the church side but from the Imperial Palace behind him.

The Palace’s bells only ring when great matters occur in the Empire.

The last time they rang, it was when the news of Duke Xilin’s death reached the capital.

The bells were deep and heavy, thunderously loud, twelve tolls reverberating under the empty sunset sky... lingering, not calming.

Upon hearing these bells, Bishop Wenstar couldn’t help but turn back towards the Tower.

A hint of dimness, a trace of sorrow, and a touch of bewilderment crossed his eyes.

Twelve bell tolls only represent one matter in the Empire’s history.

That the Emperor has returned to the realm of the True God...

A glimmer sparkled in the depths of Bishop Wenstar’s gaze.

He lightly wiped the corner of his eye, hesitated no longer, and walked out of the palace.

In this moment, Bishop Wenstar knew, with the long tolling of the palace bells, the era of the past was slowly coming to an end...

...

On June 17, 1073, of the Eternal Era, Empress Maria von Tres II, who had ruled over the Segis Continent’s most powerful empire for seventy years, passed away in the Imperial Palace Tower at the age of 84.

Three days later, the Empire’s great nobles finally overcame the dissent of small and medium nobles, gaining the Council and the succession proposal initiative.

At barely 15 years old, Maria II’s granddaughter, Princess Theresa, won the election with five votes for, one abstention, among the six current Electoral Princes, and was enthroned as the Empire’s new Empress by the nobles and the church.

To distinguish her from another Empress with the same name in the Empire’s history, the new Empress was called Theresa II.

Seven days later, Theresa II was officially crowned Emperor at the Eternal Cathedral.

Due to the holy war, most nobles couldn’t attend, and with years of wars, the treasury was empty, rendering the coronation quite modest, attended only by representatives of the Noble Council and court nobles.

Yet even so, the young girl finally formally accepted the Empire’s scepter, wearing the heavy crown.

A day after Theresa II ascended the throne, the Noble Council issued the new Empress’s first decree, forming a Regent Cabinet involving grand nobles and archbishops.

To achieve victory in the Holy War, to defeat the ambitious heretics, to replenish the empty treasury and depleted army, a new tax and conscription act was proposed by the Cabinet and unanimously passed by the Imperial Council.

In this act, the Empire’s center relinquished various restrictions on nobles, agreeing to levy new taxes across major territories, conscripting more soldiers, and forming a new Noble Alliance Army.

When the news spread, the Empire was in an uproar, public resentment boiling.

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Awkward, too many settings, narrative shifted.

Chapter 611 said the Empress was a Legend, now timely corrected, that Chapter has been revised to Gold.

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