The court session was over.
The nobles had left with dissatisfied expressions.
The King’s ministers, aide, and guards had left too.
In the court, the King stood before the Crown Princess while the Queen stood behind him.
The King’s eyes were narrowed.
Agnes’s head was lowered.
The Queen had a worried expression.
SLAP—!
"Who asked you to play King?"
"Heavens!"
The Queen gasped in shock and rushed between the two, shielding Agnes in her embrace.
"Dear... why must you..."
SLAP—!
The King’s rough hands met the Queen’s unblemished face.
"Don’t get in the way, Mirelle."
The King separated the mother from his daughter.
He looked down at Agnes again.
"You will never rule the throne. Ingrain it in your mind."
Despite the swollen cheek and blood dripping from the corner of her mouth, Agnes remained expressionless.
"I understand, Father King."
The King turned around and left.
Once he was completely out of sight, Queen Mirielle hugged Agnes and burst into tears.
"My dear... forgive mother..."
She sobbed.
"...forgive mother for being unable to protect you..."
"...it’s all my fault that I’m so powerless."
Blood dripped from Queen Mirielle’s mouth too as she sobbed.
Agnes wiped it with a clean handkerchief and wrapped her arm around her mother.
"You are not at fault, mother. Don’t cry."
Agnes’s expression was stoic while her gaze was calm like a still lake.
Queen Mirielle kept sobbing.
"If only... if only the Countess didn’t appoint you as the Crown Princess..."
Agnes rubbed her mother’s back.
"It’s not her fault, mother. If Father King hadn’t made a move on her that day, he wouldn’t have lost half his lifespan and Soren would’ve still been the Crown Prince."
"Shhhh..." Queen Mirielle put a finger on Agnes’s lips while looking around as she sobbed.
"If... if your Father King hears it..."
Agnes placed her mother’s head on her chest.
She kissed the top of her head.
"It’s okay..."
"One day..."
Agnes wiped the blood from her mouth.
"...everything will be alright."
...
An hour after the court session.
At the Capital’s train station.
The clicking-clacking of telegraph machines stopped.
Clerks read through the urgent telegram sent by House D’Arc and rushed to the station masters.
The station masters read through the telegram.
[Suspend all commercial freight to the following houses...]
[Effective immediately.]
The station masters froze.
"Make haste, sir. The trains are about to leave."
The clerks urged.
Every few minutes in the Capital’s cathedral-like train station, trains would either arrive or depart. It was quite busy.
The station masters put the telegram in their coats and began running while loudly blowing their whistles.
"Stop! Stop! Stop!"
Many trains were suddenly stopped.
Workers rushed to the departure board and removed the plaques of many departing trains.
The merchants watching it frowned.
"Hey, did the train already depart?"
The workers turned to them.
"No. Departure is cancelled for these trains."
"What?"
In a few minutes, the station descended into chaos.
...
In multiple warehouses across the Kingdom...
"What do you mean cancelled?"
The supervisor exclaimed while staring at the telegram in his hand.
A worker before him wearing a uniform with D’Arc’s crest spread out his hands.
"It’s orders from above."
"But we already paid!" The supervisor grit his teeth.
"You’ll be refunded." The worker said calmly.
The supervisor pointed at the goods in the warehouse.
"What about my cargo? How am I supposed to get it to the Capital by midnight?"
"Not our concern."
The worker turned around and left.
The supervisor stared at the departing worker’s back. The telegram slipped from his hand as he fell to his knees.
"I... I am ruined..."
...
In various foundries across the kingdom...
Amidst the blazing furnaces and flickering lamps, workers stood before a wooden notice board.
A man in uniform stood before it.
"Attention!"
"The ore train will not be arriving tonight!"
"Work is cancelled tomorrow!"
The workers knitted their brows.
"What? If there’s no work, what about our wages?"
"No work, no wages."
The uniformed man shook his head.
"That’s unfair! The worker union—"
"It’s not our problem. The ores will not be arriving so the foundries have nothing to work with. If you want to blame someone, blame the people who cancelled the trains."
The uniformed man was stern.
"Go home. Work is cancelled until further notice."
"That’s unfair!"
"Don’t do this to us!"
The workers cried out.
...
At one of the largest banks of Falkner Kingdom.
First Voyage Bank.
"Another refund?" A manager in a prim-proper suit raised his monocle as he read through the telegram.
"Yes, sir."
The manager stared at the employee holding a large leatherbound ledger.
He stared at it for a good few seconds.
"Sir?" The employee called out.
The manager adjusted his monocle and looked at him.
"Kent, I believe we need to recalculate loan repayments."
"Most likely, sir. Many customers are getting their shipments delayed or cancelled. They might not be able to repay the interest on time."
The manager nodded. "Issue a circular throughout the branches regarding this."
"Understood."
...
At the Morvell mansion in the Capital.
"D’Arc blocked all our shipments?"
Marquis Morvell had his hands clasped behind as he stared outside his study’s window.
"Yes, M’lord. We cannot use the rail or access Radson Bay. Our ships are stalled and our freight cannot reach their destination."
A butler looked at the reports in his hand and answered.
The district’s brightly flickering lamps reflected in Marquis Morvell’s sharp eyes.
"If freight can’t move by rail, move it by road. And issue a complaint to the court about D’Arc keeping our cargo hostage at their docks."
"But sir..."
The butler hesitated.
"...it’s three days by road and hundreds of wagons are needed. Even with this, we will barely be able to meet half the demands."
Marquis Morvell’s jaw clenched.
If D’Arc had collapsed as Duke Brunelle mentioned, they would’ve struck rich overnight.
But having lost the gamble, they now had to pay the price.
Marquis Morvell turned around.
"Meet the demands, even if it’s slower."
He grabbed his coat from the back of the chair and flared it on his shoulders.
"Prepare the carriage and inform Duke Brunelle of my arrival."
The butler bowed.
"At once, sir."
...
As the sun set in the Falkner Kingdom, workers returned home.
In one of the many houses.
"Papa...!"
A toddler noticed her father’s arrival and rushed in his embrace, ignoring his dusty clothes and greased-hands.
The man’s serious expression eased into a small smile as he wrapped his arms around his daughter.
"I missed you!" The toddler rubbed her face against his rough, unkempt beard.
The man patted her back.
"I missed you too, dear."
"What about me?" A lady wearing an apron asked with her hands folded.
The man smiled at her and extended his arm out.
"I missed you too, honey."
The lady smiled and went in for a hug.
After a few seconds of this warm bliss, the wife kissed her husband’s cheek.
"Did you bring the peas and bread? The stew is almost done."
The man put his toddler down.
"I did."
He handed her a small bag.
The wife smiled and looked at her daughter.
"Dear, do you want some peas?"
"Peas!"
The lady took her daughter away to finish cooking the stew.
The man took off his hat and let out a sigh.
He stared at his calloused hands.
"No work tomorrow huh..."
.
.
.
...
A/N: Hi guys, I am sorry I accidentally made the last tier of privilege a little expensive. It is 950 coins for 20 Chapters. I didn’t know the pricing and I went by what NovelPhoenix recommended which was 1440 coins and I lowered it to 950. But now I feel 950 is also on the higher side. I’ll make it more affordable at 500 coins for 20 Chapters and also halve the prices of remaining tiers for next month.
Again, my apologies for this error and really thank you to those who paid for the last tier despite it being expensive! :D
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