A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 254 We want bread!

"Also for technical reasons, we don't want the church to know. We can detect supernatural activity throughout the city. So this time we rented an entire house across the street from the church, not only for surveillance but also to plan digging tunnels."

Due to the kingdom's funeral customs, every church has a burial ground beneath it, especially ancient ones like St. Miller's, where there are layers upon layers of underground tombs, mostly containing the remains of high-ranking believers.

So the Starcoats and the original cultists came to the same conclusion—to undermine the church, they had to start from underground.

However, these convoys, equipped with their "tools for committing crimes," were stuck in traffic.

"The roads are getting worse and worse! The streets are packed with people and cars!"

No, they might be protesters. Rorschach glanced out the car window and saw a bakery on the side of the road.

Ordinary people had neither the means nor the time to make bread. Bakeries and bakers were essential elements of a city, the foundation upon which a city was sustained.

But today, bakeries are citing a shortage of raw materials, not only raising prices but also limiting production.

"What? Six copper coins for a pound of bread? And there aren't any left?" Rorschach and the other wizards then saw only bread baskets and women with empty stomachs and only anger.

Their husbands are working, their children are growing, and they themselves have a lot of chores to do, yet today they spent the whole morning queuing and waiting in front of the bakery, only to be told that they couldn't buy anything.

"That's all, that's all. Ouch!" The bakery owner was hit on the head by a brick, and he quickly closed the door while clutching his head.

Bang! Bang! Bang! After the women's banging on the doors and windows went unanswered, one of the bolder ones even suggested, "These unscrupulous merchants must have plenty of food; they're all waiting to raise prices again. We can't live like this anymore! Let's go to His Majesty the King and plead our case!"

"To the palace!"

"We're looking for His Majesty!"

The monks inside the vehicle exclaimed incredulously, "Did I hear that right?"

Rorschach shrugged: "The time has come to test your king's benevolence."

The inability to buy bread and rising prices were not isolated phenomena; in fact, families at the bottom of society were generally starting to go hungry! Women carrying bread baskets and brooms marched toward the palace, and more and more people joined them.

"We want bread! We want bread!"

Outside the palace, the guards tried to carry out their duty: "Stop!" However, when the guards saw the huge crowd, they hesitated, even though they were carrying bayoneted spears while the other side was practically unarmed.

"Sir, we just want to speak with His Majesty, to let our Holy One know that his people are starving!" The woman at the head of the group held up a bread basket, showing that it was empty.

"Let us in!"

"Let us in!"

The sound waves grew louder and louder, and some of the guards turned and left, saying, "I'll go report to the chief guard!"

This created an opening, and the women, disregarding everything else, began to squeeze through the gaps in the human wall, eventually filing in one after another.

Should they stop them? The guards looked at the intruders. They were not soldiers from an enemy country, nor were they shawlers, nor were they people with divine or magical powers. They were just women wearing aprons and coarse cloth headscarves.

Some were older, like their mothers, others younger, like their sisters. In any case, none of the guards intended to harm these simple yet audacious intruders. They merely tried to hold their guns in front of them as a barrier, but there were too many of them, and the guns were pushed aside by the bamboo baskets woven from rattan and straw.

"Guards! The King's Guard!"

Amidst the shouts of the palace servants, the intruders reached the main hall. The lavish decor distracted the women. They slowed their pace as they traversed the courtyards and halls, allowing the palace guards to regroup.

The chief guard and the guards of the noblemen had no qualms about it. The chief guard took out his exquisite pistol and fired a shot upwards, an act that was a major taboo in the court, but seeing hundreds and thousands of people made his scalp tingle, and he had to use the smoke and loud noise to bolster his morale.

This shot, however, drew everyone's attention back. The leader was truly a heroine. Just like the saint who led the kingdom's people to fight against Istani a hundred years ago, she walked with her head held high towards the captain of the guard.

"We've come to petition, we just want to say a few words to His Majesty the King. Your Majesty, we're going to starve to death anyway, why would we be afraid of your gun?"

The bread basket became her holy shield, and the broom became her holy sword. Although the shield could not protect anyone and the sword could not harm anyone, the woman's inexplicable courage made her move forward without hesitation.

Followers followed one after another, and for the first time, so many "lower class people" trod the marble steps of the palace.

"Madwoman! Crazy woman!" The captain of the guards exclaimed before quickly retreating into his room, undoubtedly to "protect an important figure on the second floor of the palace."

Oh no! The captain of the guards had entered the Queen's tea room. A maidservant shouted, "Sir Captain, what's wrong with you? You fired shots outside and then trespassed here without permission!"

Queen Mary was not as blindly anxious as the maid: "Sir, what has happened?"

"Intruders! Your Majesty, they're here!"

At this moment, the Queen hurriedly stood up. The women had already rushed in; in fact, they had been led there by the chief of guards.

The woman before me was so beautiful and graceful. Her dress seemed to glow, and her hair was so smooth. The afternoon tea pastries on the side were arranged in several layers like a tower. They were so exquisite that the woman, who had never seen pastries before, did not even realize that they were edible.

"What are you trying to do?!" The questioning and panic distorted the beautiful woman's face, causing white makeup powder to flutter in the sunlight and release its fragrance.

"This is Her Majesty the Queen! You should stop now!" The chief guard stepped forward to protect the Queen, and he had regained his courage.

That beautiful woman was indeed the Queen! Many of the women who came in had this thought and wonder: Why is the Queen afraid of us?

This intrusion, which nearly reached the Queen's bedchamber, finally alerted Charles XVI. After the Queen's tearful account and the Chief of the Guard's embellished and attempt-to-shirk responsibility report, the King decided to "take the risk" and meet with the brave housewives.

"Your Majesty!"

No introduction is needed; the rather short man before you certainly possesses an extraordinary air about him. Look, he's the only one in the entire palace who can still manage a gentle smile, a stark contrast to the tension, fear, and resentment of the others.

"I understand your demands. Yes, everyone needs bread to survive! I cannot blame you; it is I and my ministers who have failed in our responsibilities."

"I assure you, the supply of bread in Valuwana will be restored. I will not let any of these unscrupulous merchants get away with it!"

Charles XVI was indeed a benevolent ruler! At least he was happy to have the support of the people—as long as it didn't come at the cost of his pleasures and status.

By the time Deplesi arrived, the women had already left, full of gratitude. The king, looking at the palace covered in muddy footprints, had long since changed from a friendly smile to a dark expression.

"Chief Guard, order all grain merchants to return their hoarded supplies! Arrest two serious offenders and hang them in public to demonstrate my wrath and quell the people's anger!"

Then the King turned to Duplesci: "Minister Duplesci, convene the Estates-General immediately! And bring Necker back, immediately! Wherever he's hiding, I order him back to clean up this mess!"

The king's hand trembled as he pointed to the muddy footprints.

(End of this chapter)