Chapter 1935: Chapter 1935

"J-Miss only had thirty minutes to act alone. Half an hour after being summoned by Queen Isabella, her ability expired, and she returned to my side.

She told me what happened. Her Majesty seemed to have figured something out and demanded that she remain inside the residence and not go out. J-Miss objected briefly before confining herself to her room. She drank the water sent by Her Majesty's servants, feigned a deep sleep, and let her soul return to tell me what had transpired."

"So, as far as Queen Isabella is concerned, Jessica is not here to help me today."

Jenkins nodded, and the young women understood his plan.

After telling the driver they could depart, Jenkins held Chocolate in his lap and gazed out the window at his home, sighing wistfully.

"Perhaps by the time we return, I will be the king of this country."

He had meant for the words to lighten the mood, but as soon as they left his lips, he felt like an ill-fated soldier boasting about returning home to get married after the war. He quickly tried to remedy it.

"Even if I don't become king, I'm sure I'll be able to strike some sort of deal with Queen Isabella."

It was still early, but the road in front of City Hall was already choked with carriages of every description. Those with a keen sense for the political winds had realized this speech was no simple matter. A great many people were aware that something momentous was about to happen, and no one wanted to miss it.

For the time being, Jessica would stay with Hathaway and Briny, appearing only at the opportune moment. Jenkins bid them farewell and, accompanied by Julia, met Dolores and Alexia in the corridor.

Alexia was dressed plainly, befitting her role as a private tutor and advisor. Dolores, however, was in magnificent attire. As the heir to the northern kingdom, she had to be mindful of her appearance whenever she went out.

"How are the preparations?"

First Princess Yani Stuart, who was with Dolores, posed the question. Her father had informed her of what was to unfold today.

"Everything is in order."

He nodded at Dolores before asking another question.

"Where is your father? Has His Majesty Salsi II not arrived?"

"Father will be a little late. He's attending another meeting upstairs."

Dolores pointed toward the ceiling. Jenkins then turned his gaze to Alexia, who asked the same question as the first princess.

"How are the preparations?"

Strangely, Jenkins understood at once that she was asking about the King Souls.

"I've already met with our friend in the sky. Everything is ready."

The petite woman nodded once, asking no more. She seemed unconcerned about the events to come, likely having great faith in Jenkins.

Dolores and Alexia had to wait to enter with Salsi II, and Julia stayed behind to attend to Dolores, so Jenkins was left to continue toward the assembly hall alone with his cat.

Further on, he encountered Marquis Mikhail and Earl Hersha, who seemed to be deliberately waiting for him at a corner. Until today, any meeting between them would have been highly sensitive, which was why Briny had been their go-between. But with the showdown imminent, there was less need for such discretion. The most update n0vels are published on N0veI.Fiɾe.net

"How are your preparations?"

Marquis Mikhail asked the now-familiar question. The two naval commanders were accustomed to grand occasions and possessed much stronger nerves than most, but even they needed one final reassurance from Jenkins.

Both the marquis and the earl were in full military dress, their chests adorned with medals Jenkins didn't recognize. They were taking today's speech very seriously, their expressions grave.

"Don't worry, everything has been arranged."

"Why don't we see the young lady from House Windsor?"

Earl Hersha asked, glancing around hesitantly.

"She will appear a little later."

The marquis and the earl did not walk with Jenkins; they turned and headed in the opposite direction.

Jenkins continued on and, at the top of a staircase, came across Bishop Parrold and Duchess Madeline engaged in conversation. The Duchess was one of the few female dukes in the kingdom and was well advanced in years. She had lived in Nolan for a time in her youth and was apparently acquainted with Bishop Parrold.

Upon seeing Jenkins, the old duchess smiled at him before departing with her attendants and servants. The bishop's clergymen discreetly positioned themselves along the surrounding corridors to prevent anyone from eavesdropping on the conversation that was to follow. Bishop Parrold then turned to Jenkins, his expression calm.

"Everything is in order?"

"Yes, Bishop. You can rest assured."

"We've already spoken with the other churches. While they won't all fully support you, at the very least, no one will oppose you. Relax, Jenkins. What you are about to accomplish is something the Church has never even contemplated in the entire eighteenth epoch."

That is, for a Saint of an Orthodox Church to become the king of a secular kingdom.

Jenkins nodded to the bishop, who patted him twice on his cat-free shoulder.

"May the Sage protect you, Saint Williamette."

Without asking anything more, he departed with the young clergymen accompanying him, heading down another corridor to join the rest of the delegation from the Church of Knowledge and Books.

Jenkins hadn't been nervous before, but after speaking with the bishop, a strange flutter of panic stirred within him. It wasn't serious, just a faint unease.

He took a few deep breaths and pressed on. The hall designated for the meeting was in a corner of the second floor, occupying a section of both the main building and the clock tower, which accounted for its immense size.

Not long after leaving the staircase, at the next corner, Jenkins saw Sigrid. She was alone, waiting specifically for him.

"I heard about today's events from the others at the church."

The young woman, who rarely dressed so formally, embraced Jenkins, and he felt a contact that he knew he shouldn't.

"Relax. I'll be praying for you."

She, too, noticed the fervor of her hug but didn't blush.

"What does the Church of All Things and Nature think about my bid for the throne?"

Jenkins returned her embrace naturally before adjusting his necktie. But Sigrid was faster, reaching out to straighten the slightly crooked black tie for him.

"What is there to think? Some believe I have a claim as well, but frankly, I have no interest. I renounced everything when she tried to have me kidnapped by cultists. Besides, your place in the line of succession is indeed higher than mine."

The succession laws in Fidektri were complex. While elders naturally took precedence over the young, male heirs were, by default, given priority over females. Therefore, Sigrid's claim ranked below that of Robert Williams and his three sons.

"Will your parents be here today?"

"I invited them, but Mary and Robert refused to come, and they wouldn't let Newman or John come either. When I visited home yesterday, John was complaining to me about it."

"They just don't want to involve their family in danger. That's a good thing."

"There won't be any danger. Everything will go smoothly," Jenkins promised.

"Then I wish you success."

With that, Sigrid stood on her toes and gave Jenkins a light kiss on the lips. He touched his lips, looking at her with some surprise, but then his expression softened into an understanding smile.

The corridor wasn't empty; others attending the speech bowed respectfully as they saw him. At the entrance to the great hall, Jenkins unexpectedly ran into Queen Isabella and her entourage, which included the young Duke Rochester and the ever-loyal Duke Douglas.

They had come from another corridor, having attended a different meeting before nine o'clock, so their path to the hall was naturally different from Jenkins's.

"Oh, look who it is! Jenkins, you've arrived?"

Queen Isabella greeted him with an exaggerated warmth, extending her right hand toward him.

Following the etiquette Hathaway had taught him for kissing a lady's hand, Jenkins bowed and pressed a phantom kiss to the air just above the golden ring on her white glove, then straightened up.

"Today's speech will be quite spectacular," he said.

"And what, precisely, is the topic of this speech?"

To prevent the bottom from suddenly falling out of the tulip market, only a handful of trusted individuals knew the topic before the speech began. Queen Isabella, of course, was not among them.

"It's about flowers."

"What a lovely topic."

After their brief exchange, the two parties went their separate ways. Jenkins needed to go to an adjacent office to confirm the last-minute details of the speech, including the timing, the water he required, and the order of entry and exit.

Queen Isabella and the two dukes would wait in another office. They would not be the first to enter, making their appearance only after everyone else was seated.

Seeing that Jenkins had already entered the office, Duke Rochester leaned forward cautiously, attempting to speak into Queen Isabella's ear, but she immediately stopped him.

The young duke hesitated, then glanced at Duke Douglas, who had once been Queen Isabella's steward in her youth and was now the right-hand man of Fidektri's reigning monarch.

"He's right. There's no need to say more," the old duke concurred.

"Every word we speak might be heard by him, so what is the point of speaking at all?"

Hearing this explanation, Duke Rochester asked no further, though he still posed one last, worried question.

"If that rather far-fetched news is true, then today..."

Jenkins had never expected his plans to remain a complete secret from Queen Isabella, so it was within his calculations that they would know what was to happen today.

"It doesn't matter. If he truly possesses such an ability, what does it matter if I give him the crown?"

Queen Isabella spoke, then turned and, led by her servants, walked off in another direction.