In Ark Simulator, why do I always get a tough start?

Chapter 85 Viviana Wants to Escape

Trillintelme.

In this capital city, where traffic flows every day, everyone, from ordinary citizens to ministers and nobles, begins their busy and fulfilling day as soon as the sun rises.

But no matter how hurried people are, they will unconsciously slow down when they pass by that magnificent white statue.

It was as if they were afraid that the sound of their footsteps would disturb the great emperor who was sleeping there.

This magnificent statue, crafted by some of Letania's finest artisans, is exquisitely made and perfectly captures the emperor's imposing, proud, and confident demeanor.

The statue depicts the emperor holding a scepter in one hand and a military flag in the other, forever capturing his fearless charging forward posture.

Even though the emperor has been gone for more than ten years, flowers and offerings continue to stream in front of the statue.

Occasionally, people—whether young people, soldiers, or even high-ranking officials—would come to the statue and bow slightly to this lifelike figure.

On this day, standing quietly in front of the statue and examining it, were three people who, judging from their angles alone, did not seem to be from this country.

Logically speaking, Trinityl attracts a large number of tourists every day, so encountering foreigners here is perfectly normal.

However, the reason why the two young Kim law guards responsible for protecting the statue were uneasy and frequently glancing sideways was—

No matter how you look at it, one of these three people bears an uncanny resemblance to the emperor in the statue.

Coincidentally, one of the boys traveling with them shared the same doubts as the two Golden Lawyers.

"Your Highness, this—"

"They look exactly alike, right?"

Faced with Zuo Le's shock, the composed Chen Qi took the initiative and deliberately raised his voice so that the other two, Jin Lufawei, who were frequently glancing at him, could also hear it.

"What a pity, I am very different from this great Emperor of Letania."

"He is an emperor with immense power, while I am a carefree prince who doesn't even want to inherit his family fortune. We are ultimately not the same kind of people."

"Ah."

However, Chen Qi's remark made Jian, who knew everything, burst out laughing.

Fortunately, Chen Qi achieved the results he expected.

After hearing his words, the two Golden Law Guards indeed dispelled their doubts and stopped glancing at him so frequently.

...Moreover, what Chen Qi said was more or less his true feelings.

If Chen Qi had any thoughts on being the most powerful emperor in all of Terra...

That's when I truly understood what it means to have "greater responsibility with greater power."

But once you're in a high position, many things will no longer be up to your whims. You'll be swept along by countless interests and expectations, and you'll never be in control of your own destiny.

When faced with a crisis that only you can resolve, you will be the sole victim—regardless of whether you are prepared to accept it.

Having already experienced the feeling of dying on an incorruptible throne, Chen Qi now resists the idea of ​​being emperor even more than before.

He didn't want to sit on either the Laetania or the Great Yan's golden toilet.

He just wanted to get as far away from that imperial power as possible.

Live your simple and happy life with peace of mind.

However, we'll have to wait until he finishes what he needs to do before we talk about it.

"Zuo Le, I'm giving you a tough task."

Chen Qi turned his gaze to Zuo Le beside him, adopting the demeanor of a lazy prince who didn't care about politics, and smiled:

"The Queen and I plan to spend some time in Trinitylme. You will go and, as Rhodes Island's representative, make contact with Her Majesty Queen Viviana."

"Just let me know when you get an audience with the Queen. Otherwise, you're free to do as you please."

"Yes, I obey."

Having learned her lesson in Viseheim, the innocent Zole knew very well that her prince and princess's outings... would probably involve that kind of activity.

Therefore, Zuo Le, who is very perceptive, would not be a third wheel and chose to leave without saying a word.

Only after Zuo Le left, leaving only Jian and Chen Qi present, did Jian suddenly turn around and ask:
"So, Your Majesty, how do you intend to find Viviana?"

"If you just walk in like that, I think the whole of Letania will know the next day that their emperor has been resurrected."

"—How could I? I still want to go back to the beer hall with you and live a good life for a while, Jian."

Faced with Jian's teasing, Chen Qi shrugged and turned his gaze to the top of the towering tower that reached into the clouds.

In the past, it would have taken Chen Qiguang a lot of effort to climb this tower.

But now that he possesses the legacy of the Witch King, reaching the top of the tower is merely a matter of using a flying spell.

Viviana.

Hopefully, you'll be focused on something when Dad comes.

Otherwise, no one can change the fact that you'll end up with a bruised and battered backside.

……

"Oh no! Her Majesty the Empress has escaped again!"

However, at this moment, a maid's sharp whistle rang out, and all the palace guards were once again urgently summoned.

After everyone had gathered, Gertrude, dressed in aristocratic attire, arrived at the scene immediately amidst a series of rapid footsteps.

When she saw the office, which was already empty, the ill-tempered duke turned and angrily berated her subordinates:
"What are you all doing?! Fifty men and you still can't keep an eye on Her Majesty the Queen?"

"Listen! I'm only giving you fifteen minutes! I don't care if you turn the palace upside down or flip Triinttelme over, you have to find Her Majesty the Queen!"

"If even a single hair on Her Majesty's head is missing, I will offer your heads as atonement!"

"Yes!"

At Gertrude's command, fifty fully armed Golden Law Guards and Gestapo officers quickly scattered.

This task of "finding the Queen," which has been repeated countless times, has become a regular activity for these guards over the past decade.

Meanwhile, in a small room on the top floor of the tower.

More than a decade has passed, and Viviana, who has grown from a child into a graceful young woman, is now hiding in this little-known secret base, enjoying her rare free time.

She held a chivalric novel intently in her hands, sometimes smiling, sometimes solemn, completely immersed in her own world.

Her elegant and dignified demeanor, clad in a long dress, made her seem like a peerless beauty who had stepped out of an oil painting.

Her stunning beauty and captivating charm were enough to make anyone fall for her and become mesmerized.

—Of course, this does not include the few people who were furious because of her laziness.

"boom."

"Viviana! You're hiding here slacking off again!"

"Oh? Aunt Hildegard?"

Caught red-handed again, Viviana glared at Hildegard, who was dressed in marshal's uniform and had stormed up to her in a furious rage. She immediately closed the book in her hand and casually retorted:
“Aunt Hildegard, this isn’t laziness. How can you call it laziness when it comes to the Queen’s affairs?”

"I'm just a little tired from handling government affairs. As my father would say, this is called balancing work and rest."

"is it?"

However, Hildergard was completely unmoved by Viviana's words. Veins bulged on her forehead as she forcefully questioned him, barely containing her anger:

"Then, Your Majesty, please tell me."

"How much government business did you handle this morning? Of the fifteen memorials submitted, how many did you approve?"

"...I'll approve it this afternoon."

Viviana's eyes darted away, and she cautiously pouted as she tried to explain:

"Besides, if all else fails, Aunt Hildegard can help me—oh no! Don't pull my horns!"

"It's about to break! It's really about to break! Guards! Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!"

However, no matter how loudly Viviana shouted, the guards she had managed to shake off could not reach her side.

Moreover, even if they arrived, what would they dare to do in the face of Hildergard, who possessed immense prestige and power?

Fortunately, as a semi-guardian, Hildegard still loved Her Majesty the Empress very much. After leading Viviana out of the small room, facing the Empress with a resentful expression, Hildegard sighed and said:
“Viviana, I know you are tired of politics, but this is the empire your father left you.”

"You carry the trust of millions of Leitanian people on your shoulders. You cannot let them down, do you understand?"

"...But, Aunt Hildegard, sometimes I really get frustrated."

After a moment of silence, Viviana, unable to conceal her sorrow any longer, whispered:
"After my father passed away, I always wanted to be a good empress and hoped to help everyone in this empire recover from the wounds of war."

"I thought I had done my best, but more and more things made me doubt my abilities."

“I know that the people of the Kazimierz do not support us. On the day East Kazimierz gained independence, I faced a choice between war and mercy.”

“I know that once I have chosen war, it will never stop until all the Kazimierz who oppose Letania are killed.”

"I chose mercy because I didn't want to see war again."

“I wanted to tell the Kazimierz people, who were ravaged by war, that my father and I were different emperors.”

"But I never expected that my kindness would ultimately be seen as weakness in the eyes of the world."

Recalling the first wrong decision she made not long after taking power, Viviana's eyes dimmed further.

"Later on, even Vina's mother left me..."

“Now, several Dukes of Victoria, using Vina’s mother’s status, are becoming increasingly aggressive, trying to extract more benefits and supplies from Letania for themselves.”

"But I am helpless against these people."

"Now, even Texas and Lappland have chosen to leave..."

At this point, Viviana's somber expression could no longer be concealed, and she said softly with a hint of self-mockery:

"...Perhaps I'm really not suited to be empress, Aunt Hildegard."

“Viviana, you understand, Viva might have been coerced by those Dukes of Victoria.”

Looking at the self-pitying Viviana, Hildegard, who also loved her like a mother inside the tower, offered words of comfort:

"As for Texas and Lappland, they also said in their resignation letters that they were tired of officialdom and felt that they were not suitable to be ministers."

"Before they left, they had already found successors for their positions for you. They still care about you."

"—You don't need to comfort me, Aunt Hildegard."

However, after becoming empress, Viviana's thinking also underwent some changes.

She no longer blindly believed, as she had in the past, that people's outward affection for her necessarily represented their inner respect for her.

She would not believe that as an empress, she necessarily held absolute power.

She always unconsciously looks at things from the worst possible perspective.

"I know they will leave me, simply because they lack confidence in me."

"If Father were here, they would never dare to leave... In the end, it's all because I'm not capable enough."

After saying that, Viviana sighed and, standing atop the tower gazing into the distance, she saw the prominent statue of her father.

Gazing at her father's tall figure, still remembered by countless people today, Viviana, her heart heavy with suppressed emotions, murmured involuntarily:

"Father, if you can hear me, please tell me."

"Can I... really be a good empress?"

"I am so far behind you, no matter how hard I try, I can never catch up with you..."

“…Viviana, your father will understand you.”

In just over a decade, we watched helplessly as this carefree little princess was tormented by a series of political and public issues, leaving her with no choice but to escape.

A pang of heartache appeared in Hildegard's eyes.

“Not everyone is a born emperor like your father.”

"After all, compared to me and Liselotte, you have thought about making this country better, instead of simply coveting the throne."

"Just for that reason, I believe you will be a good queen."

"—That is certainly commendable, but in my opinion, whether my dear daughter is a good empress is really questionable."

"After all, I never taught you how to be lazy and negligent in your duties, Viviana?"

However, the voice of a third person that suddenly rang out from the top of the tower left Viviana frozen in place.

"who?!"

Hildergard reacted swiftly, immediately shielding Viviana behind her, and a purple-flamed spear and a golden shield instantly appeared in her hands.

But just as she turned around and instinctively thrust her spear forward, Hildegard's eyes trembled violently upon seeing who it was.

"Crack!"

In the blink of an eye, Hildergard's spear was knocked to the ground.

Even so, she did not put up any resistance, but instead stared blankly at the person approaching her.

"you you……"

"What's wrong, Hildergard?"

Chen Qi, who had opened his arms as if to give the other person a hug, looked at Hildergard who was retreating and couldn't help but tease her:

"Haven't seen me for over a decade, and you've already forgotten me?"

"Or do you want me to make you put that maid outfit back on so you can remember who your former master was?"

"Father, Father?!"

At this moment, Viviana, finally realizing what was happening, uttered the name she would never have the chance to say again, filled with unbelievable joy.

"And Mother Jian? Have you and Father returned?!"

"Am I dreaming? Father isn't dead? He's alive! He's really still alive!"

“You’re not dreaming, Viviana, your beloved father has returned.”

However, looking at Hildegard, who was standing there blankly embracing Chen Qi, tears streaming down her face, Jian also clicked his tongue in a subtle way.

However, she wasn't petty enough to disturb the reunion of these former comrades.

"Viviana, you've grown taller and become a beautiful woman."

However, although Jian's words were words of praise, the smile that appeared on Jian's face was not one of kindness.

Instead, it was Viviana's slightly uneasy smirk.

"Jian, Jian, Mother, what exactly happened to Father?"

"And why did you come back?"

"And why are you looking at me like that? What did I do wrong...?"

"I think it's alright, but your father might not think so."

However, as he spoke, he showed Viviana a knightly novel that was still warm in her hand.

Viviana's eyes widened slightly; how could she not recognize her?

That was a novel she had just put down.

"You'd better hurry up and call your mother Gertrude and your biological mother together to plead with your father."

"Otherwise, you won't be able to explain this alone."

"Moreover, your father is quite dissatisfied with your recent political affairs and decisions."

As soon as Jian finished speaking, Viviana belatedly realized how seriously she had lost her composure, and felt a chill run down her spine to her brain.

Since becoming empress, Viviana had forgotten how long it had been since she had felt this kind of...life-threatening fear.

However, no matter what, after such a long separation, her father shouldn't scold her, right?
It shouldn't be... right?

Viviana was drenched in cold sweat.

For the first time, she genuinely wanted to escape the throne as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)