***Arc 6 One Who Pierced Through, Chapter 115 The Queen and Alberinea***
The Queen's coronation ceremony continued while listening to the civil officials’ long, drawn-out, flowery words.
After finishing the ceremony, there was a short break, and the victory ceremony began.
The reason for doing it on the same day was a financial problem.
Musicians, chefs, the nobles' transportation, for when a single ceremony is held, a huge amount of money will be released.
If they were held together, the amount of money needed would be reduced by half, and even if it was not reduced that much, in a time where the Kingdom was in a in turbulent situation, she wanted to avoid a situation where the leading nobles involved in the defense of the country gathered in one place as much as possible.
The coronation――the sacred ceremony to welcome the new queen.
Although there were many who opposed the inclusion of another event on that day, Kreschenta insisted that her coronation was not due to her own efforts, but due to the efforts of all her subjects, and the ceremony became like this.
Speaking honestly, Kreschenta would have preferred to avoid such a ceremony, but it was necessary for the sake of formality, both domestically and internationally.
And if it had to be done, made it be done in the most meaningful way possible.
Since the spies in the palace were not to be trusted because of their close relationship with Gildanstein, the control of the populace consisted of Eluga's personal spy organization and Dagris of Kielzaran, who pledged his allegiance to Krische.
In the parade, they spread the word Krische as a poor princess who was forced out of the royal palace as a Cursed Child due to trouble within the royal palace.
First impressions mattered more than anything else.
Dressed in her finery, Krische was more than good-looking enough to be a princess. At the very least, she did not look like an evil Cursed Child, so it was easy to make that kind of impression.
And once she made an impression like that and made them think, ‘That’s a Cursed Child?’, even if a groundless rumor that she is a Cursed Child is spread again, the people will not accept it.
Gildanstein had already spread the rumor once. Inevitably, the second time would have less effect.
On top of that, Kreschenta wanted to restore Krische to the rightful royal family and make her a queen (decoration only).
She would be able to enhance her own reputation as a princess who did not desire (political) power and who supported her sister through righteousness, and she also would be able to move around more easily both politically and diplomatically. She would also be able to spend more time with her sister.
Although there were advantages in many ways, becoming a queen would also mean that Krische’s freedom would be restricted, and she would not be able to fully utilize her power.
And there was also the problem of Krische’s personality.
‘Kreschenta should be the one to handle such troublesome matters. That's what Kreschenta said from the beginning, and Krische has her own job to do.’
Even as she had anticipated Kreschenta's offer, it was quickly turned down.
Cooking and doing housework with Bery. And military service.
Krische had no desire for power in her head, and spending time with Bery was her number one priority.
The angry Kreschenta was soothed with three cookies and two pets on the head, and in the end she gave up.
Still, the idea that Krische should have some degree of (political) power was still present in Kreschenta’s mind.
She was young, of course, but she also had an extraordinary record of success that cannot be compared to anyone else.
As far as she had heard, her popularity as a commander may be a problem, but she had the power to overturn even a strategic disadvantage all by herself.
She should be placed in a special position, separate from other generals, and should have the power to eliminate problems that may arise when she tries to create something new based on her own ideas.
The position of the army’s supreme commander is highly problematic considering Krische’s character.
A position without her losing her freedom, without being bound, yet in a position of power——the right-hand man and adviser of Queen Kreschenta.
Kreschenta decided to establish such a standing position.
A great white hall with countless towering pillars.
In the center of it——on the crimson carpet, the commanders who played an active role in this war were lined up, and on the side were the civil official nobles who were in charge of government affairs and the musicians.
In front of the carpet was a small staircase and a throne, and seated on it was the young Queen Kreschenta.
"——Please open your eyes."
She began by speaking about the people and nobles lost in the civil war, followed by a moment of silent prayer.
Breaking the silence, Kreschenta commanded in a sweet——and somewhat cloying voice.
“The dead are mingled with the Kingdom’s blood, and we will carry on their will. Despite many sorrows, we must not just look toward the past and stay still. We must look to the bright future of the Kingdom."
From her appearance, Kreschenta showed an unimaginable calmness.
She received a lot of stares, but she didn't show even the slightest hint of tension.
From the moment she sat down on the throne, she was already a queen.
As if boasting of centuries long reign, she presented herself with dignity.
“From now on, it will be time to honor those who have served with distinction in this war. But first, I have something to tell all of you here. …it's about my sister (aneue)."
She continued without paying attention to the slight buzz in the air.
She had already spoken about this to the influential nobles.
"The original first princess who was chased away from the royal palace as a Cursed Child and erased from the family tree——come this way, Krische Rinea Christand-sama."
With the sound of her voice, Krische stood up wearing her white dress.
She then walked forward and climbed the stairs and stood next to Crescenta.
The place where only royalty is allowed to set foot. One of the civil officials was distraught, but was reprimanded by the other civil servants.
“Not a few of you know what happened to my sister. How my sister was treated and how she ended up being chased out of the royal palace. …I will not say much about the failure of the royal family at this time.”
Royalty does not make mistakes, and is an infallible existence.
But Kreschenta dared to use the word failure.
The previous civil war——whatever the truth is, on the surface it was a civil war triggered by the usurpation of the throne by the royal prince and was the most serious of royal family failure. Since he had already caused a failure that could not be concealed, there would be no problem to put Krische’s problem in this way as well.
“Originally, my sister should be the one to sit on this throne as the first successor to the throne. …However, in order to honor the one who picked her up and raised her, the patriotic Hero and the former Margrave Christand――Bogan Christand-sama, As a noble of the Christand family, she pledged the other day that she would support me as a warrior, and has relinquished the throne to me."
Of course, Krische had never said such a thing, but he kept quiet.
‘I will proceed appropriately so Onee-sama just stays silent and stands when called’, and as Kreschenta wished, she stands there with the figure of a lady.
After the parade, she was allowed to eat a cookie or so, but her face was somewhat sad as she endured her hunger, which fit well with the atmosphere of the occasion.
She also looked like she's mourning the death of Bogan, her predecessor, the appearance is not bad.
"She was caught up in a foolish conspiracy that derailed her destiny. ...My elder sister said that. However, as a member of the royal family, as a queen, I think it is unreasonable to treat such an older sister as a mere noble and vassal.”
Kreschenta looked at those kneeling on the red carpet.
Selene, Nozan, Kolkis, Granmeld, Eluga――all of them were people who knew Krische well and that she will also receive a conferring of decoration today.
Of course, she had already spoken to them.
“Even if not, there is no one here who does not know of her achievements as one of the Christand army corps commanders. With her natural talent and skill with the sword, although she is not much older than me, she wields a sword on the front lines, defeating countless enemy commanders, as well as those of the traitorous generals――Aurugorn Hilkintos, Kuraray Marccelus, and even the usurper, my uncle Gildanstein with her own hand, and led us to victory
The number of heads of corps commanders she took directly in this war was seven, and the number of heads of battalion commanders would reach even twenty.
The number of the heads of the centurions would be too absurd to even count it, and Krische’s prowess in relentlessly hunting down the leaders was extraordinary.
Two of the enemy generals' achievements belonged to battalion commanders Bagil and Nozan, both of which were greatly influenced by her, and one of them was the enemy's supreme commander.
It was not an exaggeration to say that she had led the princess to victory, it was indeed an unquestionable fact.
Even Kreschenta, who believed in her sister's success, was astonished at the results.
No one here would question this.
“Considering only military exploits and abilities, the position of Supreme Commander, Field Marshal would be appropriate… However, due to her age and her loyalty to the current Margrave Christand――Selene-sama, she said that she could not accept it. However, considering all the circumstances, it is not possible to put my older sister just to the position of a commander of an army. …Therefore, along with my coronation, I have decided to establish a suitable peerage.”
Kreschenta smiled. Krische’s lips pouted slightly.
‘Then Onee-sama should be the supreme commander! Definitely!’
‘Krische is not good at that kind of thing, so Selene should be the one to do it. Krische has to go here and there, so Krische should just stay in the Christand army and――’
‘Idiot, if people even have doubt about Krische being the field marshal then they will definitely complain that I’m too young to be a field marshal. At least General Verreich――’
It was the end of a long debate.
“Rinea, a word which represents warrior in the old language——a true knight. A one-generation title that can only be obtained through military exploits on the battlefield. Even if you look at the history books, you can say that her military deeds are unparalleled.”
Kreschenta stood up and picked up the treasured sword leaning beside her.
It was Bezeria, a great sword that only the King was allowed to wield.
And solemnly, Kreschenta held it out to Krische.
Krische accepted it while standing, without kneeling.
She was equal to the Queen, Kreschenta――at least, it was a sign that Kreschenta would treat her as such.
"As mine... as the Queen's sword. As a symbol of that might. As the half of me that possesses the will and power to crush foreign enemies and protect the land. Sister (aneue) will receive the title of Alberinea――’Heavenly Sword’, the highest rank of military officer alongside that of marshal.”
Knight of the Thunder――Vezrinea.
As Bogan had, it is a common practice to add a name to honorary titles to reward those who have achieved military feats beyond that of a regular knight, as a sign of their valor.
Nicknames such as Nirkrinea, which means ‘Guardian’ in Aurugorn case, and Sarcarinea, which means ‘Black Lion’ in Gildanstein case, were often given aliases to indicate their valor.
But this was not the case this time.
“She will serve as the Kingdom's military advisor standing alongside the Supreme Commander――the Marshal. The actual authority will be the same as the Marshal so far, but the highest authority holder will continue to be the Marshal. It would be a position similar to that of an Supreme Commander”
That too――there was a civilian officer trying to argue, but Kreschenta’s purple eyes were soon turned to them.
“Due to Margrave Verreich’s turning down the position, Margrave Christand, who has also made a great contribution to the civil war at a young age, will be appointed Marshal. As an assistant, I will appoint Count Faren, who has a long military career and has performed numerous military exploits.”
Those kneeling on the red carpet took these words as only natural.
If one was to be the marshal, the best candidate would be Nozan. However, he cannot leave the east under the current circumstances where relations with the surrounding areas are in jeopardy.
Since the current civil war broke out shortly after he was posted to the east as a general, the rebuilding of the east has ended halfway, and it is not possible to have someone else take over in this state.
If that’s the case, then it would be Selene, who was the other general. Despite her youthfulness, she has a knack for using people, and if the experienced general Eluga Faren were to assist her, he would be able to compensate for her youth and fulfill the role sufficiently.
In fact, there was no one else who could be said to be suitable.
The old General Felworth Keithriton was the most likely candidate, as he had originally been a general, but he had joined the side of Gildanstein and was under house arrest.
Naturally, at this point in time, he could not be in a position to hold all the real power in the army as the supreme commander.
From the point of view of those who fought together, the personnel affairs were justified――However, this is not the case for the case for civilians and military officers lined up to the left and right, in short, those who did not participate in this civil war and just waited and watched, or even passively cooperated with Gildanstein.
Selene and Nozan, who were named, had just become generals, while Eluga and Krische were originally corps commanders.
Even if one could consider Krische as royalty and accept it, there was dissatisfaction with the other appointments. Those who had originally held the rank of central general naturally viewed the appointments as those of her own people.
Kreschenta looked at the situation and said,
"I know there are people who are dissatisfied, but I have decided this on top of acknowledging that."
When she looks around with her purple colored eyes, she can easily see it.
Hostility, repulsion, suspicion. Kreschenta's eyes have only captured that since she was born.
Facial expressions, gestures. Without spilling such subtle emotions, she identifies the individual and takes it into her head as information.
Eventually, it was to get rid of them.
――Kreschenta does not tolerate those who directed their malice at her.
“......The uprising. I have had many people try to kill me, and in the process, I lost my servant Nora, who had helped and supported me since I was born. .... I didn't know who to trust, nor who to ask help from. I spent my days in a situation where I didn't even know that."
She cast her eyes down. So she looked sad.
If that will make them drop their guard, she will play the weak. And even bow down.
Kreschenta doesn't hesitate or feel guilty about deceiving people like that.
“Everything is the result of my lack of capability――I'm not going to use my age as an excuse. However, I didn't know much about everyone who served me, and I became frightened and terrified, and as a result, I ran away from the royal palace. …And, I was saved by the previous Margrave Christand… With the help of my sister and many people, I was able to return like this, but even now..."
She wiped away the tears that had ‘welled up’ and looked up.
A princess who was frail and young, but had a strong will.
She should look like that.
"--Just for a little bit, I'd like to ask for your patience. Who is this person, what does he excel at, and how should he be treated? Time to find that out. …I am aware that it may be seen as a blatant intentional choice from those who have sided with me in this battle――but please, please forgive my immaturity.”
Kreschenta continues.
"...... I ask you to endure it for now. I will surely respond to your sincerity in time. I will be a king who can reciprocate. Until then please"
With the face of a weak queen, she invited pity from those who saw her.
