Duke James, Earl Hysong, and the other Progressive nobles exchanged glances, each seeing the opposition reflected in the other's eyes. Though Natasha had visited the Holm Kingdom before, she had been too young at the time to display any political inclinations. Moreover, the fact that her teacher, Belial the "Glory of God," was a member of the College of Cardinals was an indisputable truth. According to reliable intelligence, she had been under the Church's care and guidance since the age of six or seven, becoming a devout believer — only marginally better than Gordon.
"According to the line of succession by blood, Countess Natasha of Violet is the second in line after His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. She is herself a Sky Knight and a devout believer, making her the most legitimate heir to the throne." Rex's features were sharp and angular, his gaze keen.
Duke Russell rose to his feet, waving his Feather Pen. "Chairman Rex, we are all well aware of this point. But why are we still holding this discussion? It is because Countess Natasha's mother, Her Royal Highness Princess Meredith, became a magic practitioner and thereby automatically renounced her right of succession. That is to say, her children no longer enjoy that right either."
Earl Hysong and Viscount Harrison exchanged bitter smiles. Here they were, people clearly inclined toward the Magic Council, having to use a magic practitioner as their excuse to oppose the candidacy.
Duke Sorenfen said with a grave expression: "If that logic holds, then by the same precedent, David would also lose his right of succession. A noble's right of inheritance derives from the nobility of blood, and unless it is explicitly revoked by the Codex, it remains in effect. Countess Natasha has awakened the purest Sword of Truth bloodline, which grants her the right of succession directly from His Majesty the King and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Rex let out a slight breath of relief. Duke Sorenfen seemed willing to accept this outcome, so he continued: "The reason I convened this meeting to discuss candidates rather than directly installing Princess Natasha as queen is that she is currently the sole heir to the Vorlite Principality. According to Article Five, Clause Three of the Codex's succession chapter, if an heir holds succession rights to another kingdom or family that cannot be merged, their own position in the line of succession is lowered by one tier — placing them in the same sequence as David and Gordon."
The Vorlite Principality was the linchpin of the Church's northwestern defense system; there was no way the Church would agree to its merger with the Holm Kingdom.
"Since the previous two candidates have failed to receive unanimous approval, nominating Princess Natasha is absolutely without issue." He had already shifted to calling Natasha "Princess," acknowledging her status within the Holm royal family.
"Duke James, Duke Russell — do either of you have any further objections? If not, we shall proceed to a vote." Rex looked toward the leaders of the Progressive faction.
Duke James and the others were caught completely off guard. They had assumed that, for various reasons, the Conservatives would ignore Natasha just as they did—after all, everyone knew about the relationship between Meredith and Hathaway, and she was an extraordinarily talented mage in her own right. Who could have known…
Gender? Unacceptable. A woman's right of succession was explicitly written into the Charter.
Strength? Even less of a viable objection. A genius who had become a Sky Knight in her twenties and held prospects of reaching the Legendary rank—she surpassed every person present.
Too close to the Church? Also unacceptable. Apart from being a devout believer herself, Natasha had never given anyone grounds for criticism. She had never once compromised the interests of the Vorlite Principality's nobility to curry favor with the Church.
As for the matter of her suppressing the Arcane Council's overt development—banning the promotion of arcane radios, telephones, and the like—that was something that could never be brought into the open. They could hardly stand up and proclaim that they were cooperating with mages. If they did, Rex would most likely turn on them in an instant and bring in Saer de to purge the nobles who had been seduced into corruption by mages. It was the sort of thing that had always been done but never spoken of.
For a moment, the Progressive nobles could not find any good reason to object.
It was Duke Sorenfen who straightened his black cloak, rose to his feet, and posed a question: "Chairman Rex. I have heard a rumor concerning Her Highness Princess Natasha, and I would like to seek an explanation. The rumor says she is the deeply devoted lover of that 'Fallen Angel,' Lucian Evans. Could she, on that account, abandon her noble stance, indulge the Arcane Council, and thereby provoke the Church?"
After Louise and the others had arrived in the Holm Kingdom, Lucian's identity was no longer a secret—any noble with even a modicum of awareness knew he was that great musician. And once he had entered the top twenty of the Purification Sequence, all manner of hidden truths about the great musician had been unearthed as well.
Hearing Duke Sorenfen's challenge, James and the others suddenly drew a sharp breath. If that were truly the case, then having Natasha become Queen was not so unthinkable after all.
Rex appeared to have been prepared for this all along and answered with composure: "On this matter, I received an explanation from His Eminence Saer de. He was the Cardinal of the Vorlite diocese at the time and had a complete understanding of the entire affair. Her Highness Princess Natasha is attracted to women. Lucian Evans was merely a prop she used as a pretext and a cover. Their relationship is nowhere near as close as the rumors suggest. Moreover, Her Highness is an exceedingly devout believer. When she discovered that her former lover, Sylvia, was a Magic Apprentice, she killed her without the slightest hesitation."
"What?"
"The most beautiful musician died because of this?"
"'Dedicated to Sylvia' — no wonder Her Highness Princess Natasha directly rewarded him with an estate."
The nobles heard this secret for the first time, and it came from Cardinal Saer de, someone who would never lie about such matters. The entire hall erupted in commotion, and all the questions that had lingered in the past were suddenly explained.
Earl Haisong and the others now felt they could not accept Natasha becoming Queen after all. He cleared his throat and said, "Same-sex love goes against the Lord's teachings, and it cannot produce heirs. Such a succession would be meaningless."
"That is merely the preaching of certain missionaries. The Lord only taught us not to indulge in carnal desires. As for the issue of heirs, I believe that when we invited Her Highness Princess Natasha to inherit the throne, we could have stated the requirement in advance — that she must produce an heir as soon as possible. As for her private relationship with the King Consort, her actual lover or paramour, we need not concern ourselves with it. I trust she would be willing to make this small concession. If she is not, then we can discuss other candidates." Rex's bright eyes swept across the members of the Noble Assembly. "If there are no further questions, let us proceed to the vote."
Duke Sorenfen, one of the leaders of the conservative faction, was the first to raise his hand. He was not as extreme as Rex, and he leaned toward a candidate acceptable to the Church, the Parliament, and the nobles alike — to avoid splitting the nobility, triggering a civil war, or causing a major conflict between the Church and the Parliament. That would cause the entire Holm Kingdom to decline, reduce many cities to ruins, and bring little benefit even to the victorious nobles. Natasha was, without doubt, such a candidate.
Duke Sorenfen's father was Winston, the "Nightwalker." His influence among the conservative nobles was no less than Rex's, and his raised hand immediately prompted a wave of arms to follow. Then the nobles who supported Rex raised their hands one by one, quickly reaching two-thirds of the total. Duke James and Duke Russell wore dark expressions, preparing to invoke the ducal veto power — to turn the question into whether the situation constituted a state of emergency, which would involve a chain of issues, and the conservatives were not necessarily a united front inside their own ranks.
Suddenly, Viscount Harrison recalled something. He picked up his Feather Pen, wrote a single line on a piece of paper, crumled it into a ball, and quietly passed it to Duke James.
Knowing that Harrison was worried about being overheard by Duke Rex and the other Gold Knights, Duke James did not blame him for the unnecessary precaution. Instead, he carefully unfolded the paper ball and read what was written: "Her Highness Princess Natasha's relationship with Lady Hathaway is far closer than we imagined."
Duke James's expression grew complicated. After a brief consultation with Duke Russell, he suddenly raised his arm. This startled most of the progressive nobles, but they chose to trust their leaders and raised their hands as well.
A faint smile appeared on Rex's face. "Very well. The Noble Assembly passes by unanimous vote the motion to invite Viscountess Natasha von Vorlite of Holm to inherit the throne."
He brought the gavel down, and amid the crisp sound declared in a loud voice: "This session is concluded."
…………
Watching the conservative nobles file out one by one, Duke James turned to Viscount Harrison with a grave expression. "I hope you're right about this."
"We have no choice but to take the gamble. Rex appears to have come thoroughly prepared. I will report the results to the Council now. The Supreme Council will decide whether to proceed with the assassination." Viscount Harrison took his leave in haste.