Chapter 156

"Ouch, it's so cold, why is it so cold..."

Inside Visas, an ordinary man, bundled in thick clothes, emerged from his room. The firewood that had burned in the fireplace the night before had gone out, and the temperature inside was gradually dropping. His family had been woken by the cold before morning. The man had no choice but to go out and fetch more firewood to relight it...

A small light appeared, and the room was brightened again.

He heard the cold wind howling outside, clanging against the window. He calculated the time; it should be almost dawn, but it was still pitch black outside.

This is not surprising, after all, the dark periods are always longer in winter.

The man blew on the small flame he had finally managed to ignite, trying to make it burn brighter in the fireplace. Just then, his wife got out of bed, wearing a coat. She picked up the iron kettle on the table, shook it—no sound—and opened it to find that the little water left over from the night before had frozen solid.

"Oh dear, it's so cold. I've never been frozen solid before," the woman said, frowning, then wrapped her coat tighter and poured some more water into the kettle.

"Don't you feel like this winter is particularly cold? Last year, I could keep warm indoors with just a coat after winter started, but this year it's still chilly..."

The woman chattered on and on, then hung the iron kettle used for boiling water next to the fireplace so that the water would be hot by daybreak.

The man nodded. "Yes, it feels much colder."

"Moreover, the Volri River is frozen over this year, with a thick layer of ice, making it impossible for boats to navigate..."

As he was speaking, the woman looked up and exclaimed in surprise, "It's snowing outside... so much snow..."

Outside the dark window, snowflakes suddenly began to fall like goose feathers, as if a silent painting had suddenly come to life, the contrast between black and white exceptionally clear and striking.

The snow fell heavily, as if all the snowflakes had been poured out at once...

When Cyrus woke up in the castle, the snow was still falling heavily. In his room, besides Qing Tuan who was standing on the shelf preening her feathers, there were also Egg Yolk and Black Sugar who had crawled in to sleep the night before.

At that moment, Cyrus, standing by the window, waved to Black Sugar: "Come here, come here."

Black Sugar stood up from the cushion, yawned and stretched, then slowly wagged its tail and came to Cyrus's side.

Cyrus hugged Black Sugar tightly.

He hid behind the furry thing and reached out to open the window; instantly, a blast of cold air rushed in...

The temperature inside the room seemed to drop significantly instantly.

Black Sugar twitched its ears, turned its head, and calmly rubbed its big head against Cyrus, as if to say, "Don't be afraid, I'll shield you from the wind."

Cyrus smiled and kissed Black Sugar.

He watched the large snowflakes falling continuously outside the window, in large flakes, seemingly trying to dye the entire castle, and even the entire Par Mountain, a snow-white color.

The ground, the lake, the treetops... the distant, continuous mountain ranges, at this moment, seem to have put on a new coat, beginning to show a different appearance than before.

Cyrus gently rested her chin on the top of Black Sugar's head and silently exhaled. "It's starting..."

He then closed the window, slipped on his slippers, and walked out of the room. A moment later, he arrived outside His Holiness the Pope's room and knocked on the door.

The door opened, Segalot appeared.

"Your Majesty, I have something to discuss with you."

"Come in and speak."

The Saint Airo Empire.

It was snowing heavily here too, and the streets were already covered with a thick layer of snow.

Because of the cold weather, there were very few people moving around in the city, and in some places, you couldn't see a soul at all in such weather.

With travel difficulties and business slowing down, many people are now struggling to make ends meet and even have enough to eat.

This situation is all too common within the Saint Airo Empire.

After all, since the end of the Black Death, the empire had experienced considerable turmoil, with unrest in various regions, a change of royal power, and the ascension of Prince Warner to the throne...

The difficult lives of the people of the empire have not been effectively improved.

Of course, this only refers to commoners and slaves; the lives of the nobles have long since returned to normal, just like before.

The people at the top haven't changed; those at the bottom are only suffering more.

"If the heavy snow keeps falling like this... it looks like a lot of people are going to die this winter," sighed an old man hurrying home on the street.

He saw several figures huddled in a corner by the roadside, covered with tattered blankets or papers they had picked up from somewhere, hoping to use these things and the eaves above them to avoid being covered by the heavy snow.

However, those figures remained motionless in the swirling snow... It was unknown whether they had frozen to death, or... died.

The old man sighed again, then quickly left.

His family wasn't well-off either, and although he felt sorry for them seeing such a scene, there was nothing he could do to help—he still needed to figure out how to get through this winter.

"Alas, God of Creator God, please let this heavy snow stop soon!"

The sighs gradually faded into the swirling snow.

However, the Creator God was probably taking a nap and did not hear his prayer...

The heavy snow fell all day and only gradually stopped at midnight, leaving the entire empire feeling desolate and the air filled with cold.

Even the fireplaces in the palace were urgently replenished with a large amount of coal and firewood.

Warner couldn't sleep, so he changed his clothes, put on a coat, and went out of his room. The temperature inside the room was different from that in the hallway; the hallway was very cold. He carried a lit kerosene lamp, dismissed the servants and attendants, and went to his study alone.

Prior to this, he had already sent a servant to summon the second prince Kien.

When Kien entered the study, Warner was sitting behind his desk with a furrowed brow, flipping through a document.

"Big brother." Kien swallowed the urge to yawn, walked over and sat down opposite Warner, "What did you want to see me about?"

Warner apologized to him first, for bothering him so late.

"But I can't find anyone else to talk to right now, Kien, you're the one I trust the most," Warner sighed.

"I understand, brother."

Kien observed Warner's expression and asked, "Are you worried about this heavy snow in the Empire?"

Many people will die.

Kien hesitated, "But in the past... people died in the empire during winter too. They were poor commoners or slaves who froze or starved to death in every corner of the empire..."

"That's normal, brother."

He didn't understand why his older brother was so worried tonight, something that usually happened during the winter.

Warner said, "You said it yourself, 'in the past'."

"Kien, the empire can no longer withstand further turmoil. Since the Black Death, the empire has never known peace; unrest has occurred in almost every region."

The aristocratic class remained unchanged, while commoners and slaves continued to be exploited and oppressed.

The existence of social classes used to resemble a stable triangle, with the bottom layer serving as the foundation and power increasing as you move up.

But now the empire is beginning to experience turmoil from its very foundations.

As the bottom layer gradually decreases and is removed, the result will only be the collapse of the upper layers.

The Saint Airo Empire and the Desinia Territory were governed by completely different models.

Cyrus abolished the system of granting fiefdoms at the very beginning of the establishment of the Desinia Territory, and he became the sole lord, enjoying the rights of a king.

Although there will be other nobles, mayors, and officials within the territory, they will no longer enjoy supreme rule in their respective cities as before.

Because all the territory within the Desinia Territory belongs to Cyrus.

This allows him to easily and freely make correct adjustments to various matters, unlike Warner, who, even after becoming king, still feels constrained.

Moreover, due to the earlier implementation of the reward system, the number of slaves in the Desinia Territory has decreased significantly, although some slaves still exist.

However, the slaves living in the Desinia Territory were far better off than those elsewhere.

From some perspectives, Warner. cares a lot about Cyrus Desinia.

After the Battle of Kunseci, he had come to a clear understanding that the Lord of Desinia, and indeed the entire Desinia Territory, would eventually become a threat to the Empire.

Warner's early consolidation of the king's power was, undeniably, partly due to this reason.

"Big brother..."

Seeing Warner leaning back in his chair, his icy blue eyes unfathomably deep in the dim light of the kerosene lamp, Kien couldn't help but ask, "What are you thinking about?"

"Those nobles who possess fiefdoms..."

Warner paused for a moment and then said, "If I want the empire to continue expanding its territory, I must first keep those nobles firmly under my control... They cannot become an obstacle to my progress."

"Kien, sometimes giving too much power is a form of indulgence; it's time to take it back."

The day after the heavy snow stopped, the incredibly handsome Gyrfalcon landed in the Saint Church of the Imperial City. The first clergyman to see it immediately ran to find the two cardinals in charge.

Dempus carefully removed the wooden tube tied to the Qing Tuan's claws, opened it, and looked inside at the curled parchment.

After carefully examining the contents of the parchment, Dempus's expression changed, revealing a mixture of surprise, realization, and a strange, somewhat incomprehensible emotion...

[Honestly, I've been using this app to follow my favorite books lately. It has multiple reading sources, various voice options, and works on both Android Apple.]

In short, his complex expression caused Malediz, who was waiting to see the parchment, to glare at him and then snatch the letter away.

After Malediz finished reading the above, his expression became almost identical to Dempus's.

He exclaimed incredulously, "What does Your Majesty mean by this?!"

Dempus snapped out of his reverie, "What do you think it means?"

"Isn't it clearly written above? His Majesty intends to build a second Saint Church within the Desinia Territory... Sigh, I think His Majesty doesn't plan to return in the future."

Malediz: "But how could this be... Why doesn't Your Majesty return? The Saint Airo Empire is where Your Majesty grew up."

"The Holy See's main cathedral has existed in the empire for over a century, so why the sudden urge to build a second one...?"

"No, that's against the rules!"

Dempus knew Malediz's rigidity and severity, and that he would certainly not understand or accept His Holiness the Pope's decision, and would continue to oppose it.

but...

"What you think won't work, will it do His Majesty any good?" Dempus asked a probing question.

Malediz: "..."

How could that possibly work?

Knowing that nothing he said would change the Pope's mind, Malediz's expression grew even more unpleasant.

He said, "But do you think that building a second Saint Church... still within the Desinia Territory, would cause another uproar if the Imperial Royal Family or the King found out?"

Dempus: "That's not something you and I should worry about."

Malediz finally sighed helplessly, "What is Your Majesty thinking...? Does Your Majesty really not intend to return?!"