Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 310 The Emperor in Drama
Oak Street, the town square, the public bathhouse, the arena—the servant's patience was wearing thin. He glared at the young man, then silently headed for the Tuna Theater.

A play about a coup in the Eastern Roman Empire is being performed here. The servants pay for the tickets and lead the young man inside.

The theater is horseshoe-shaped, with the stage surrounding the audience on three sides, and can accommodate up to 1,200 people.

The first-floor viewing area features rows of benches, with prices decreasing towards the back. Tickets for the area closest to the stage are expensive and offer close interaction with the opera singers; these are often in high demand.

The second-floor viewing area is divided into dozens of private boxes of varying sizes, catering to aristocrats or wealthy businessmen who value prestige.

To prevent fires, the theater was designed as a stone structure with a well in the courtyard and a water tank on the roof. If a staff member activated a mechanism, water would flow through pipes and spray throughout the theater. Last month, a bored young man deliberately activated the switch to prank audience members while they were watching a play; as a result, he was thrown into the Canary Islands to grow sugarcane.

The two happened to arrive during intermission, and the servants looked around, searching for Salomon.

Suddenly, the curtain was lifted, and an old man in a toga robe, clutching his chest and abdomen, staggered across the stage, crimson liquid dripping from between his fingers to the ground, eliciting gasps of surprise from the crowd.

At this moment, a young man in a red robe walked out from the edge of the stage and mocked the injured old man, "Do you have any last words, Baldas?"

"Bardas" glared angrily at the young man, trying to grab him, but fell heavily to the ground. "Michael, why?"

The young man exclaimed in an exaggerated tone, "Back then, I used you to bring down the Empress Dowager, the Patriarch, and Diocletus. Now, I'm using Basil to get rid of you. Powerful ministers are like weeds on the prairie, changing from winter to spring, one generation after another. Only imperial power is eternal."

Five more people were standing at the edge of the stage, and the attendants tried to identify them:

One of the men was old, probably Basil, a favorite courtier of the Eastern Roman Empire. The other four were dressed in armor, one of whom was wielding an exaggerated two-handed battle axe and carrying a bow and arrows on his back; he was probably Nils, the commander of the Varangian Guard.

More than ten minutes later, amidst the emperor's exaggerated and shrill laughter, the curtain slowly fell, and soon after it was drawn back up, revealing a group of fair-skinned, beautiful, and scantily clad "palace maids" on stage, which drew loud cheers from the audience and excited whistles from all around.

Finally, the attendants found Salomon and dragged him back to the palace.

"Your Majesty, please forgive my lateness."

Looking at the anxious, slightly overweight old man, Vig smiled kindly from behind his desk. "Lord Salomon, are you homesick?"

The old man replied, "Thank you for your generous hospitality. We are doing very well and rarely reminisce about our refuge in our hometown."

Salomon was telling the truth. Since fleeing to Rendene last October, they had been housed on Oak Street. Rendene's permanent population had exceeded 20,000, and the city was full of novelties. Moreover, its sanitation and security were excellent, and Salomon and his companions quickly grew to love the city.

Initially, intelligence agents would regularly visit them to gather information. After a while, the agents stopped visiting, and the group entered a state of unrestrained freedom.

Because Salomon's registration information included the note "Royal Guest," he and his entourage could enjoy three meals a day for free at the dining hall at 2 Oak Street, and receive a living allowance at 1 Oak Street at the end of the month. During this time, some people noticed something was amiss, but adhering to the principle of "better safe than sorry," Salomon and his companions were thus forgotten by the King and the civil service system, becoming a group of idlers wandering around Rendineum.

Unfortunately, those carefree days have finally come to an end.

Wiegand intends to intervene in the situation in Brittany, and therefore seizes the Channel Islands. Salomon, a local exiled nobleman, is assigned to Jersey to assist the intelligence system in infiltrating Brittany.

"Work hard, and when the time is right, I may send an army to conquer Brittany and drive out the Frankish forces."

As Salomon prepared to leave behind the bustling city of Rendynew, an overwhelming sense of reluctance welled up within him. He collapsed, his steps faltering as he departed.

In his office, Vig rubbed his tired eyes, opened the ledger, and continued to tally the various expenses of the war.

The total expenditure was £15,000. After deducting £4,000 in ransom and various spoils of war, the net expenditure was £10,000, which was within the limits of what the cabinet could afford. The cabinet did not need to seek loans from merchants, nor did it need to impose additional agricultural taxes.

Moreover, during the war, the fleet traveled between Britain and Denmark, and on its return journey from Denmark, it also transported refugees, totaling 20,000 people. As usual, the cabinet settled them in several directly administered counties in the south.

Overall, the economy remains prosperous this year, and the finances are ample. Vig retains two temporary infantry regiments, grants them official designations, and organizes them into the Fifth and Sixth Infantry Regiments. An additional Ranger Battalion is also added to train more light cavalry skilled in reconnaissance.

In addition, he planned to station two infantry battalions in the Channel Islands. Jersey is only a dozen miles from the Normandy coastline, and Gunnar's longboats could reach it soon if the wind was right.

Three days later, Salomon and other exiles followed a large number of soldiers out to sea. After the army took over the defense of Jersey and Guernsey, it immediately carried out a comprehensive expansion, fortifying the stockade walls and installing more catapults.

Surprisingly, the Duke of Normandy did not send troops to retaliate. He was in Paris at the time, preoccupied with a host of troubles.

The sky was overcast, and a baptism ceremony was being held at the Church of Saint Denis. The high dome was brightly lit, and hundreds of whale oil candles burned in the candlesticks on both sides, emitting a faint fragrance.

The church was packed with people. The nobles remained silent, while Gunnar stood expressionless at the front, listening to the bishop's loud and slow Latin prayers, occasionally punctuated by the faint crackling of burning candle wicks.

At the front of the crowd, a wet nurse carefully held the newborn prince, who was wrapped in a thick swaddle, with only his wrinkled, sleeping face showing.

After a long while, the moment the cool water touched the baby's forehead, the little prince's body trembled violently, and his cry echoed throughout the church, sounding exceptionally loud and piercing. The loud cry signified strength, and a barely audible sigh seemed to rise from the crowd.
After some time, the little prince's forehead was smeared with ointment, and the christening ceremony was successfully completed.

As was customary, Charles the Bald donated land, gold and silver utensils, precious textiles, and a large quantity of whale oil candles to the Church of Saint Denis.

After completing the proper procedures, the royal family members left the church, where a large number of poorly dressed commoners gathered. The palace guards gave them bread and silver pennies, demonstrating the royal family's benevolence.

(End of this chapter)