Your Highness, there is no need for you to enact punishment upon your own royal personage.
We were impressed by your resolve to demonstrate justice, but the saintess has already dedicated her body to a goddess. We worry that punishing such a figure with lashings might displease the gods.
.
The nobles were met with cold gazes.
The queen, generals, and soldiers had already formed their own perfect triumvirate. The nobles were merely outsiders. Queen Henrietta sternly proceeded with her trial.
The sentencing will now be carried out! Bring forth the whip!
Queen Henrietta stood up abruptly and walked towards the saintess.
The sight was quite a spectacle. With each step the queen took, high-ranking officials like the regiment commander, the cavalry commander, the knight captain, the court mage, and various other dignitaries rushed forward to hold her back. They all cried out in unison.
Eventually, Queen Henrietta reached the saintess.
Jacqueline Longwy, disrobe your top! Surely you will not dare ask for forgiveness now!
Yes, my queen.
The saintess removed her white top, presenting her back to the queen. Her skin was smooth without a blemish. Queen Henrietta received the whip from her attendant and brandished it. The surrounding people screamed in horror.
You mustnt, Your Highness!
Despite their efforts to intervene, the whip cruelly struck the saintess back. Jacqueline Longwy wobbled forward. She had almost fallen over, but she managed to endure the pain without even groaning with her iron will alone.
I-It wasnt an act! This is actually happening!
How could she whip a saintess? Has the female dog of Brittany finally gone mad!?
The nobles were in utter shock.
They werent the only ones taken aback. Some of the soldiers had optimistically believed that their queen wouldnt actually whip the saintess severely. However, when the sound of the whip reverberated throughout the hall, the soldiers panicked.
One lash!
The queen swung the whip mercilessly. There was no time for anyone to catch their breath. The second lash cut diagonally across the saintess back, leaving a long streak of blood. The saintess leaned further towards the ground.
And then came the third lash.
Ahhh!
Up until now, the saintess had suppressed her groans, but she could no longer hold them back. She let out a sky-rending scream as tears streamed down her face. The generals and soldiers all prostrated themselves, echoing her cries with loud wails.
In the end, Queen Henrietta finished delivering twenty lashes.
.
The saintess had collapsed to the floor. Her posture had already fallen apart by the tenth strike, leaving her weak and powerless. She could only flinch with each strike and convulse in agony, her back now a horrible mix of dark red and purple.
Take Deputy Commander Jacqueline Longwy to her quarters and tend to her wounds.
Queen Henrietta ordered, her face now covered in tears.
I am next.
When the queen received her punishment, an even louder wail erupted than before. From the regiment commanders to the rank-and-file soldiers, Brittanys soldiers wept regardless of their background or rank. To them, Henrietta de Brittany was not just a simple monarch but akin to a goddess.
Hgh!
However, a bizarre situation occurred.
The rebel forces began to surrender to the Brittany army one by one.
As soon as Saintess Longwy appeared on the battlefield riding her white horse, the rebel forces immediately changed their stance and raised their white flags high. Even though the Sardinian people were willing to point their swords at the cruel Frankish tyrants, they gladly bowed to the kind and noble saintess.
Of course, this surrender was not without calculated compromise. With no hope of support from the mainland of Sardinia, the rebel forces had no choice but to seek a new sponsor. The Brittany army was a suitable option.
For starters, Brittanys mainland was far from them. Brittany lacked the capacity to directly govern the Piedmont region. There was a high probability of considerable autonomy being guaranteed. Moreover, Brittany was a military powerhouse, so they would also be safe from foreign pressure.
In terms of both emotions and calculated judgment, Brittany passed with flying colors.
When a wave surges once, it cannot be stopped. The rebel forces quickly surrendered to Brittany, and in some cases, cities and towns they had previously captured also surrendered to Brittany voluntarily.
This is outrageous! Brittany is nothing but a mercenary in our employ! Instead of safeguarding their employer, they have turned their spears against us How can such treachery be allowed?!
The nobles were enraged as they voiced their protest to Brittanys queen.
Queen Henrietta accepted the letter of protest and replied succinctly with just one line.
How can we refuse when a thousand voices demand that Brittany care for Piedmont?
It was then that the nobles realized that they had summoned not a mercenary but a wolf. Queen Henrietta had every intention of swallowing up the Piedmont region in one gulp!
The nobles urgently requested reinforcements from their homeland of Frankia. Facing Brittany alone would be far too reckless. However, the response they received was much shorter than Queen Henriettas letter.
Impossible.
Earl Bercy wasnt foolish enough to mobilize troops for the nobles who did not participate in forming their new government. If anything, he was able to watch the Piedmont rebellion with a sense of relief since it was turning out well.
The nobles were quite literally surrounded on all sides.
However, their troubles did not end there. Like adding fuel to the fire, as soon as Brittany seized control of Piedmont, they turned their reins and invaded Frankia. The nobles original territories were now in danger.
This goes against the Le Havre Treaty!
The nobles sent envoys to voice their complaints.
After Brittanys defeat to Frankia during the Puppet War, a vow was made so that the Kingdom of Brittany and the Frankia Empire will not invade one another for the next 14 years. The envoys cried out that by invading their land, the queen had clearly broken this national treaty.
However.
You are no longer under the jurisdiction of the Frankish Empire. Therefore, there is no violation of the treaty, is there?
Whatnonsense.
I have already consulted with the Frankish Empire. I sought confirmation whether this action constitutes a violation of the treaty.
With a flick, Queen Henrietta tossed a scroll to an envoy.
The envoy, with trembling hands, unfolded the scroll. It contained the words of Earl Bercy, stating that the territories of the eight major nobles were formally recognized as independent states with complete autonomy, thus Frankia would not get involved.
Queen Henrietta smiled smugly.
It seems your lords must choose whether to surrender to us or return to allegiance with the Franks. Oh, right. Tell them that if they surrender to us, I will treat them well. After all, were we not once bound together as employer and employee?
The envoys wanted to faint right then and there.
***
TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Its been a while, but I dont have much to say. So much has happened this past few months that Im just sort of taking it easy right now. I hope people dont get too upset at this current pace cause Im currently just trying to collect myself. Work has been annoying and life outside of work has been pretty gloomy after everything thats happened. Nothing finding a good game to get addicted to cant fix.
Side note, I tried the new Wuthering Waves game, and Ill be honest, its pretty much Genshin but with a very thick layer of Chinese paint. Obviously, its combat and movement systems are much better, but that should be a given considering it came out almost 4 years after Genshin did. Other than that, its story tries so hard to sound profound or smart but introduces a new Chinese word like every other sentence that it makes everything annoying to read. This is all just my opinion, so take it as you will. I definitely dont see myself playing more of it. I guess Ill wait for ZZZ in July and Project Mugen waaay in the future.
I said I didnt have much to say but then I ranted, heh. Ill see you guys in the next chapter.
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