Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?-Chapter 393 - 8 Ominous Premonition

The Saxony Dynasty of the Holy Solomon Empire had produced three emperors by the time of Otto II. All were ambitious and none were content to conform.

Emperor Otto’s grandfather, Henry I, had refused the anointing ceremony of the Solomon Catholic Church at his coronation to demonstrate his refusal to follow the order dictated by the Church Court, earning him the nickname "Sword Without a Handle."

Emperor Otto’s father, Otto I, had encountered a once-in-a-millennium chaos in Italicum. With the help of the Florentine Faction, he crossed the Alps and invaded Italicum, deposing Pope John XII and instead appointing Leo VIII as Pope.

This led to the signing of the "Otto Privilege Agreement," whose most famous stipulation was that "The Pope shall absolutely obey the Emperor."

Yet, when Pope Innocent ascended to the papacy later, he tore up this humiliating agreement, treating it as if it had never existed.

"I tore it up; what are you going to do, bite me?"

Of course, Otto I didn’t bite Innocent. Firstly, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like before no longer existed. Secondly, he had managed to procure (forcibly take) some technical assistance from the Church Court, and tightening his focus on developing national strength was the urgent task at hand.

However, the Divine Luo Empire was, after all, not quite an empire. Its loose feudal system led to duchies acting independently, and the Frankish tax-sharing system exacerbated regional developmental disparities.

The southern regions, Burgundy, Lombardy, and Bavaria, quickly became wealthy through foreign trade with the Church Court, while the northern areas such as Saxony, Lower Lorraine, and Bohemia remained exceptionally poor.

It was said that at one point, to construct industrial parks in Lower Lorraine, Emperor Otto I even had to stoop to borrowing money from the Wolf Family, a loan that ended up lasting three years...

If this continued, it wouldn’t just be about "focusing on big tasks"; it would be a miracle if the empire didn’t split apart on its own.

According to forum researchers, under the current Emperor Otto II, the Divine Luo Empire’s foreign debt had already reached a terrifyingly explosive state due to years of trade deficits, with no ability or signs of reduction.

Meanwhile, signs of division began to appear among the southern duchies. The Bavarian Duchy was still fairly stable, as the Alps stood between it and Italicum.

The Wolf Family and the people of Lombardy Region have had long-term trade relations, gradually "latinizing" even in thoughts and culture. It was even rumored that people in Burgundy started to think of themselves as "superior Franks."

Thus, the mess Emperor Otto II was facing was either to continue to tolerate humiliation, keep a low profile while suffering from huge foreign debts and the southern duchy’s tendency to split, attempting first to reform the feudal tax sharing system (Your Majesty, ancestral laws cannot be changed!), and focus on building national strength.

Or he could just turn hostile, overturn the ancestral betraying Wolf Family (which would mean breaking with the Church Court), and then leveraging a grand victory to campaign south into Italicum again, following his father’s route.

In the end, Emperor Otto chose the latter. How much of this choice was his own political decision, how much was the collective will of the empire’s upper echelons, and how much came from some unknown mental influence, no one knew anymore.

The empire’s war machine was now roaring into action, and there was no turning back before shattering into pieces.

Two giant dragons flew overhead, stirring up intense, overwhelming wind. According to the ancient vows between the Saxon Family and the Sarakli Dragon Clan, these two dragons would follow the emperor on his southern campaign to Italicum, until his battle was either completely successful or disastrous.

Soldiers marched forward, heads held high. Just a few days earlier, they had been grumbling during their rest about "when will His Majesty be punished by God," but now they were passionately declaring "let the empire be great again."

It could only be said that the common folk were too easily deceived; a little provocation was all it took.

A group of Blade Warriors on horseback approached, claiming they were acting on the emperor’s decree to teach everyone a song called "God Bless Our Emperor Otto."

Aske: ..........

Clearly, the emperor had already prepared measures for the dukes’ scheming behind his back and the widespread grievances among the soldiers of various duchies. Speeches, military songs, various methods were endlessly employed.

Thus, the soldiers began to sing along. Initially, it was a bit off-key, but soon their voices rose in unison:

Our great Emperor Otto,

We pray for a long reign,

We wish for fortune to always be with us.

May the laurel crown remain forever unblemished,

Victory garlands return to him...

The tune was quite catchy indeed, and even the girls joined in singing. Aske just moved his mouth in a perfunctory manner, thinking to himself that this quest was excessively long. After so many days, they were merely walking along roads, admiring the scenery, and even collectively singing. Weren’t there supposed to be a few tasks along the way?

As evening approached, the group reached Pomarolo, a small canyon nestled deep within the Alps that housed a small town inhabited by both Latin and Frank people.

(The Latin people can be considered a mix of Ancient Solomon people and other ethnicities)

Emperors and dukes’ entourage naturally took over the best buildings in the town center, while a large number of knights rented out local homes. As for the lower-ranked soldiers, they had no choice but to pitch their tents on the outskirts, with camps spanning from one end of the town to the other, turning it into a sea of flags and tents as seen from the mountain.

Leveraging Eleanor’s influence and Aske’s status as a knight, The Azure Longsword Mercenary Corps also managed to secure a residence in town. The female homeowner, a widow of Latin descent raising two children on her own, was almost scared to death when she saw the mercenaries entering.

Nora and Eleanor hurriedly gave her money and reassured her with warmth. Particularly, Nora’s fluent Latin helped the poor woman finally calm down.

"There are only two rooms upstairs, our esteemed guests can assign them as they see fit, and some can also sleep in the living room on the first floor. My children and I will go down to the cellar, the children are well-behaved and won’t wander about, and they definitely won’t disturb your rest..." the woman said cautiously, while Nora and Eleanor quickly reassured her that it wasn’t necessary, they should stay in their rooms, and the others would occupy another room.

The children, grasping her skirts, turned their jet-black eyes curiously. Though they didn’t dare to speak, their gazes constantly appraised the girls and Aske.

Mommy said, only married couples share a room, right? Are all these sisters that brother’s wives?

Wow, how amazing, to have so many wives?!

Children’s thinking is always simple, they immediately regarded Aske as a "remarkable person".

Nora and Medea read the children’s thoughts and were both amused and baffled.

After the anxious woman took her children upstairs to sleep, the girls decided to retire to another room—to sleep back in Fire Island.

"Eleanor?" Nora called out as she climbed the stairs, her gaze resting on Eleanor who was still standing in the living room.

"I will stand guard in the living room tonight," Eleanor declared.

"Standing guard? There’s no need," Nora was puzzled, "There are knights outside."

Eleanor shook her head, clearly having made up her mind.

The way those children looked at her gave her a bad feeling.

She couldn’t help but recall the girl outside Thessalonica who died after having her food stolen, and the girl in Beg Village who offered her a garland, only to be killed in a rat plague... both had gazed at her with such pure curiosity and friendliness.

In a sense, she felt like she was a jinx for children.

Just to be safe, she would not stand by idly this time.

If any danger came through the door, it would have to get past her first.

Back in Fire Island, Nora related the events to Aske with some worry, asking,

"Aske, could you possibly..."

"I can’t foresee the future," Aske shook his head, but remembered that this main storyline indeed contained many tasks.

"Let’s do this, today I’ll keep the ancient book outside and stay in the room," he said at last, "If anything happens down there, I’ll be there to support Eleanor promptly."

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