Chapter 1958: Chapter 1958

So much had happened during the morning's speech at City Hall that the key figures involved were expected to face reporters or at least issue public statements afterward.

But aside from the young heir from Cheslan, neither Queen Isabella nor Salhir II made a public appearance. As a result, after lunch with his family, Jenkins had no idea where to even begin looking for Queen Isabella.

Later, it was Jessica who obtained intelligence: Queen Isabella had no intention of attending the afternoon meetings. After leaving City Hall at noon, she hadn't returned to her residence but had instead gone to the Mattel Horse Farm.

Jenkins had been to places named "Mattel Horse Farm" in both Nolan and Shire City. The one in Nolan was where the circus, which had gained immense power through the Mirror World, had set up camp during the winter.

After the circus fled into the Mirror World, the Mattel Horse Farm briefly became the material world's only stable passage to that realm. Later, Jenkins and three friends embarked on an adventure there, and together with Sigrid, they defeated a nameless terror that had awakened from the depths of the Mirror World, obtaining a black stone of calamity. The original God of Lies had even personally warned him to keep the stone safe, but Jenkins lost it in the past, in Black Town, leading to the reawakening of a Calamity Beast that had been sealed by a Savior.

But none of that was important now. What mattered was that after Jenkins's adventure in the Mirror World, the Church recognized its danger and permanently sealed the passage.

After the incident, peace returned to the Mattel Horse Farm. When the snow and ice melted in spring, the pastures grew just as they did every year. By summer, the usual horse races and riding grounds for the nobility were open, just like every year before.

At her age, it was impossible for Queen Isabella to go riding; even ten years younger, she would have been past the age for it. As for horse racing, Jessica, J-Miss, and Miss Windsor had all been very clear that the Queen had no habit of watching the races.

So, her trip to the horse farm was most likely just to find a place to relax, or perhaps to meet someone important. Regardless of her reasons, Jenkins knew he had to go there to find out.

Additionally, before leaving the city proper, he made a point of finding Marquis Mikhail and Earl Hersha to explain what he intended to do.

The two high-ranking naval officials expressed their full support for his decision. The original goal for the day had been to secure the throne, but what he had actually obtained was the right of succession. That right wasn't immediate, and anything could happen before it took effect.

Therefore, to ensure that today's arrangements weren't wasted, the two naval ministers were actually hoping Jenkins would continue to press forward and not be blinded by an illusory promise.

As for explaining the events at City Hall to the other nobles and officials who supported him, Jessica could handle that; he didn't need to appear in person. The three Jessica Windsors were excellent aides. He couldn't imagine how he would seize power and bear its responsibilities without such helpers.

The only area near Nolan suitable for a horse farm was the plains south of the city. Not only was the terrain flat, but the abundant rainfall from the oceanic monsoons was also extremely favorable for the growth of pastures.

The lingering heat of high summer had not yet faded. It was the 21st day of July, and by August, according to Nolan's usual climate, it would already be considered late summer.

The entire world was now plunged into an era shrouded in thick fog. Even though the mist didn't completely block out the sky, the reduced sunlight was already having subtle, almost imperceptible effects.

Jenkins arrived in a four-wheeled carriage. The horse farm adjoined the estate of its owners, the Mattel family, so the entrance to the farm was also the entrance to the manor.

The attendants at the gate stopped the carriage, but upon seeing Jenkins's face, they immediately let it pass. Jenkins didn't ask them about Queen Isabella's whereabouts. Instead, he had the driver take him directly to the front of the manor's main house, where he saw Earl Mattel waiting for him.

The Mattel family was a local Nolan family with a long history, one that could be traced back almost to the founding of the Fidektri Kingdom. But unlike most of Nolan's nobles and officials, Earl Mattel was an exceptionally loyal member of the Queen's faction.

According to Jenkins's investigation, this seemed to be related to the previous earl's relationship with Queen Isabella. J-Miss, however, had pointed out quite clearly that the current earl was actually the Queen's lover—at least, he was in her world.

Earl Mattel was a very robust, middle-aged man of 49. Of course, by the standards of this world, that was already considered old. A considerable amount of his short hair had turned white, but he had relatively few wrinkles and, overall, looked quite sharp and energetic.

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He enthusiastically grasped Jenkins's hand, but his eyes darted inquisitively toward the carriage behind him.

"I'm the only one in the carriage."

Jenkins said, and the driver prepared to depart. The gravel road in front of the mansion was quite flat and wide, but there was no room to turn around. A servant behind the earl directed the driver to take a side path that looped halfway around the manor to exit.

"Viscount, I just heard about what happened at City Hall this morning. Your speech was quite impressive. And of course, on behalf of the Mattel family, I offer my sincere congratulations on becoming Her Majesty's successor. I believe this is the best possible outcome."

With that, he gestured for Jenkins to follow him into the house.

"That won't be necessary."

He shifted the cat in his arms, and Chocolate nimbly rubbed against his clothes twice before darting up onto his shoulder. Jenkins remained standing in place. The earl took a couple of steps before realizing his guest wasn't moving and turned back to ask:

"Then are you here to see the races? Oh, your luck is excellent, today happens to be..."

"I'm here to see Her Majesty."

"There's no need for that. I wouldn't have come here if I wasn't certain."

"Yes, yes, of course you know."

Earl Mattel pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiped the sweat from his face:

"So, you wish to see Her Majesty now?"

"If you intend to waste my time, then you'll have to forgive me for wandering around on my own."

"Very well, then. Please follow me, this way."

Though he was part of the Queen's faction, he didn't try to block Jenkins forcefully. After all, Earl Mattel had no idea what was truly going on between Jenkins and Queen Isabella.

The earl and his servants led Jenkins down a path to the left of the mansion. Before long, they heard a clamor of voices coming from the racetrack. The key to horse racing wasn't watching, but betting—in other words, gambling.

Queen Isabella was not at the racetrack. After passing it, servants brought over several horses, and the earl gestured for Jenkins to choose one. It seemed they still had some distance to cover.

A corner of Jenkins's mouth twitched. He didn't know how to ride a horse at all. Whether it was the skeletal steed of the past or his own unicorn, they had essentially carried him along, rather than him actually riding them.

Hathaway had said last winter that she would teach him how to ride in the spring. But Jenkins had spent the entire spring in Ruen, which at that time was still covered in heavy snow, offering no suitable place to practice. Thus, a full year after arriving in this world, Jenkins had never received any riding lessons.

Asking for a carriage now would be rather embarrassing, so Jenkins resorted to another method.

He widened his eyes slightly and focused on the nearest horse, a chestnut-colored mare. Under the influence of his empathy ability, the animal docilely walked over to him and even lowered its body slightly to make it easier for him to mount.

"You have a fine eye. That horse is the famous 'Red Rose Cantarella' of our stables. If you like her, you could..."

"No, thank you for the kind offer, but I don't usually ride."

Jenkins said, stroking the chestnut mare to ensure she wouldn't buck and throw him off.

The earl and his two servants were quite skilled riders. Although Jenkins appeared a bit tense, they were moving at a slow pace, not galloping like in a race, so no one noticed that he didn't actually know how to ride.

When he finally saw Queen Isabella, she was in the eastern part of the grounds, in an area reserved for the local nobility's leisure. She was seated under a parasol at a small, low, white table, accompanied by three other ladies, including Duchess Madeline. The combined age of the four women was nearly 300 years, making it look like a perfectly normal gathering of elderly ladies.

Out of courtesy, the four riders dismounted a good distance away and approached on foot. On the field, Jenkins saw Duke Rochester, dressed in a bright red formal suit, galloping on horseback across the grass with three other nobles whose names Jenkins couldn't recall.

The four chatting ladies noticed Jenkins approaching with the earl. Three of them rose to their feet; only Queen Isabella remained seated.

The earl clearly wanted no part in this. After leading Jenkins to them, he instructed the servants to attend to the guests carefully and then turned to leave. After receiving a nod from Queen Isabella, the three ladies also made their excuses and departed for a small villa used for resting nearby.

Jenkins then walked under the parasol and took a seat at the white table. Chocolate, perched on his shoulder, glanced at the pastries on the table but remained indifferent, as if completely uninterested. It wouldn't eat anyone else's leftovers—unless, of course, they were Jenkins's.