Princess Yuffie walked down the quiet corridor.
This leads to the king's chamber.
After entering the house, by a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the royal city, one could see the back of the old king, who had not fallen asleep late at night, sitting on a chair.
The old king seemed to have expected that Yuffie would come.
He was not surprised at all by the footsteps behind him.
The first one to speak was the eldest princess.
"Father, before the envoy arrives tomorrow, I will tell other nobles and ministers that you have a sudden illness and will not be able to attend the dinner."
"Is this your...last mercy?" The old king shook his head.
Afterwards, he turned around and looked at Yuffie, his eldest daughter, with eyes that were slightly cloudy due to age.
"Yuffie, I am your relative, as is your sister Sophia, and your cousins. The royal families of Illinois all have similar blood. Do you...must be like this?"
When the old king said this, it was more like he was mumbling to himself than he was trying to persuade Yuffie.
Because he knows his eldest daughter.
Once Yuffie makes up her mind to make a decision, no one can change it. You can see it from the unwavering and ruthless eyes of Yuffie now.
However, maybe Yuffie still misses her family ties.
Still looks up to her father.
Yuffie walked to the old king's desk and read aloud the suggestions on national policy piled on it from the ministers and the royal family.
"Reducing tariffs on the Empire, increasing the introduction of a large number of excellent Empire products, and improving the quality of life of the Illinois people."
"Join the Kingdom Alliance led by the Empire and sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Advanced Spells. In the future, all academies in the kingdom will no longer be able to offer courses above third-level spells."
"The Five Flowers Alliance is deeply loved by the people and deserves more rewards and awards. Don't let the hard-working nobles feel cold."
"Open the Imperial Exchange College, use more subsidy policies to attract overseas students from the Empire, and strive to retain the most talented students from the Empire in the mainland."
"Abolish the Kingdom's military weave and introduce more advanced Self-Defense Force concepts from the Empire."
"It is recommended that tomorrow be set as a public holiday in the Kingdom of Illinois, and the imperial flag be distributed to the people of the royal city to show the importance of the arrival of the imperial envoy and express the people of Illinois' joy and welcome to the envoy."
"The maverick Illinois is destined not to go far."
Yuffie stopped reading.
There are many more suggestions like this.
Of course, they didn't write it so straightforwardly, Yuffie simplified the core content.
It would be okay if there are only a small number of such “reform” proposals.
But in fact, Yuffie knew very well that among the nobility, even among the royal family, such people accounted for the majority, and they were all those in power.
so...
"Father, as a member of the royal family of Illinois, I have the blood of my ancestors. I don't think these people can be called my relatives. Their existence means to me and the ancestors of the royal family of Illinois. It’s a shame.”
"The shame should be removed, not the thought of bringing them back."
There was no hesitation in Princess Yuffie's voice.
The old king sighed.
As if in final plea, he asked: "Even your sister, Sophia?"
"Yes."
The eldest princess added expressionlessly: "I have given her many opportunities, but every time, she accurately chose another path."
The old king was silent.
It seemed that he had aged many years. After a few seconds, he smiled bitterly and seemed to give up. He said slowly: "I will attend the banquet tomorrow night. The king will not come during the banquet. The envoy and other nobles are more or less still You'll get suspicious, which won't be good for your plan."
"Let me, a failed king, do the last thing for you."
The Wuhua Alliance wants to take advantage of the arrival of the envoy to eliminate the royal family and seize power.
But why not Yuffie, she would also use her tricks? The eldest princess not only wanted to eliminate the Five Flowers Alliance, but also wanted to use the Five Flowers Alliance to eliminate this group of maggot royals from Illinois who had disappointed her so much. clean.
"Yuffie, you must be careful with the messenger. The power of the messenger from the empire is not as simple as you think... Let me finally know what kind of trump card is that gave you such confidence. Can you make such a risky move?"
obviously.
The old king believed that his eldest daughter was definitely not the adventurer she appeared to be. Based on his understanding of Yuffie, she must have some infallible deeper power.
Yuffie hesitated for a moment, but finally said:
"Father, please rest assured, I have mastered...the power from thousands of years ago."
Yuffie didn't tell the whole story.
This was the limit of what she could reveal.
But even this was enough to shock the old king. He even stood up from his chair and stared at his grown-up daughter with disbelief.
"No wonder..."
"No wonder..." the old king repeated twice tremblingly.
He seemed to be completely relieved and sat back on the chair. He could safely serve as a bait for his eldest daughter and Yuffie, to exert the last bit of value of this old thing and bring hope to Illinois.
but.
The purpose of Yuffie's visit this time was not just to have a heart-to-heart talk with her father.
She also wanted to get a truth and a secret from the old king.
About a century-old secret.
"Father, when the empire changed its emperor for the seventh time, a rebellion war broke out in the world. Those anti-imperial forces from the underground made the empire in a state of embarrassment in one fell swoop."
"The subsequent empire united many other kingdoms to wipe out this rebel force, and our Illinois was one of them at that time."
Yuffie gently recounted this history.
She didn't care about this before.
But later, when the "Grey Hooded Man" told her the truth and allowed her to peek into more history, she discovered the strangeness. Because of this, she wanted to ask her about her experience in the rebellion war. old king.
"Father, what exactly was the rebellion war that year? Who were the rebel forces that were fighting against the empire..."
Regarding the eldest daughter's question, the old king shook his head.
"Yuffie, don't you already have the answer in your heart?"
"That is not a level we can touch. I can only tell you that it is a terrifying power that only exists in "ancient history", or as you put it, it is... a power from thousands of years ago."
"But even so, they still couldn't compete with the emperor, and even the outcome of the rebels. Those ancient heroic spirits who were extremely powerful in my eyes ended up being thrown into the dungeon by the emperor. Become a prisoner of imprisonment."
There was a look of memory in the old king's eyes, and it seemed that he could still see the fear and apprehension of the past.
It was precisely because of this that when he saw the scornful Emperor, he completely lost his fighting spirit and became completely decadent. He chose to let Illinois join the ranks of the Imperial Army and join the Empire in the "Rebellion War" that year.
That's why Illinois is what it is today.
but...
It is for this reason that the country of Illinois still exists.
And those countries that had helped the "rebels" now...their royal families, nobles, ministers, and even their people have all become slaves who will never be able to stand up, for other countries in the world to play with.
The old king's original intention was actually to remind Yuffie, to warn Yuffie not to go too far. There is only one outcome for resisting the empire.
But Yuffie's focus is entirely on...
"Father, are you saying that those ancient heroic spirits and leaders of the rebel army did not die? But were imprisoned in the imperial dungeon?"
"Dungeon is just an adjective. I don't know exactly how the emperor dealt with it, but I can be sure that the emperor who was on the battlefield at that time did not kill them, but just captured them. However, he declared that in order to promote the empire's Victory, so it is recorded in history that all the rebel leaders have been beheaded."
"I understand. Thank you, father, for being willing to tell me this."
After the eldest princess got the information she wanted, she was about to turn around and leave. She still had a lot to prepare for tomorrow night.
The old king looked at his daughter's retreating back, moved his lips, and gave his last "father" advice.
"Yuffie, there are some powers that are beyond your control. If you do this, you will only...play with fire and burn yourself."
The eldest princess paused.
His last words after leaving the room echoed in the lonely old king's room.
“In ancient history, there was another name for self-immolation.”
"Nirvana."
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(Reading helper: If you forget about the history of the empire, rebel wars, etc., you can go back to Chapter 39 for reference)
