A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 255 Head-to-Head

With guards leading the way and a band playing, the three-level meeting begins!

Some had already participated in the Council of Nobles and had no hope for the expansion process. In fact, from the beginning, the nobles only regarded the Estates-General as a tool to delay reforms and prevent His Majesty the King from ruling arbitrarily.

It wasn't until representatives of the third class gradually gathered in the royal capital Valuana, entering the venue with hope and anticipation, that the nobles realized their mistake and felt genuine panic.

There are too many people, and too many representatives of the third class!

The privileged class ultimately constituted only a minority of the kingdom's population, less than one-tenth. When the court hastily issued a call to convene a meeting and outlined the selection process for representatives of the third class, these individuals rose up from the provinces and the streets of the capital and poured into the meeting hall.

Whether they were nobles in robes or swords, or bishops, they all began to wonder: when had so many insightful people gathered among the commoners? They were often passionate and eloquent, proposing seemingly reasonable measures and inspiring ideals. Most importantly, they were all young.

Meanwhile, those in the first and second classes often had graying temples and exuded an air of old age. Indeed, even if they were born with silver spoons in their mouths, they had worked hard to inherit their positions, only to now have to share power with the "lower classes" in this chaotic hall.

It wasn't like this before! In the halls of their ancestors, the Sun King Charles XIV, the representatives of the third class were nothing more than diligent old farmers and timid small merchants. They were summoned there merely to listen to the holy teachings, and then go back and tell their people to obediently hand over their money to the lords.

Now? How many restless fellows are in there! They speak loudly and without restraint, as if entering the hall would grant them equal status with the privileged class. Yes, that is their goal: to abolish the kingdom's fine traditions and interfere with the privileges of the nobility and the church.

Resentment and unease intertwined and spread through the hearts of the nobles.

"Gentlemen, I'm back again!" An annoying fellow strutted to the front of the stage, Necker holding his speech, his reform proposal.

It's better that Duplessi isn't here. Necker was somewhat satisfied; he hadn't been overthrown or imprisoned, and it was precisely his departure that made the King and others realize his worth again.

Before the meeting even officially began, the nobles had already started attacking the third class. A count spoke first: "Your Excellency, congratulations on your return to court! Before the meeting began, we, the members of the first class, unanimously agreed that a crucial issue needed to be addressed:"

"None of us expected there to be so many gentlemen in the venue, so much so that some of us couldn't find seats."

"In accordance with our glorious tradition, I hope that the organizers of the conference will control the number of representatives in the third tier, ensuring that it does not exceed twice the number of representatives in the first and second tiers."

"We have never heard of such a claim! Many compatriots have traveled thousands of miles to get here, some of them are riding in an airship for the first time, and the money they have has been raised by their fellow villagers."

"And now, esteemed adults, can't you accommodate us? Can't this vast hall accommodate us? I see an attempt by you and your companions to humiliate the representatives of the Third Class and then drive us out!"

"My agitated sir, I have absolutely no intention of expelling all the representatives of the Third Tier. I merely request a review of your qualifications. Who knows if any of you are sans-culottes or journalists who have infiltrated to cause trouble?"

If the qualification review is initiated, it will be a time-consuming and laborious process, and the nobles will have achieved their goal.

"I refuse! We will all stand together!"

In the conference hall, the delegates buzzed and argued like a swarm of enraged bees. The voices of the first and second classes echoed through the hall, filled with arrogance and disdain. They believed that the third class was too numerous, like a disorderly flock of sheep, and needed to be controlled, otherwise their voices would drown out the wisdom and nobility of the aristocracy.

The third class representatives also realized their numerical advantage and organized themselves into groups, especially the lawyers, who were already skilled debaters. They united their own class while aggressively attacking the privileged class.

However, the main battle was between the first and third tiers, while the second tier fell into a strange silence.

The bishops and lower-ranking priests seemed distracted from the meeting. Their leader, Archbishop Deplesi, was also absent. The mages' representatives were no longer the chief priests of the two towers; many mages from the south had also arrived. Pascal represented Cano.

Pascal saw many familiar faces among the delegates, including Maxim, who had some influence but was not yet a leading figure among the third class.

The debate over the number of people was temporarily put aside by the king's arrival. Some people who had traveled from afar were still excited and reverent upon seeing Charles XVI appear, just as His Majesty the King's prestige had not completely depreciated with the currency.

"The day I have long awaited has finally arrived, and here I meet the outstanding representatives who govern my country. Although the situation is somewhat outdated, I insist on restoring the old traditions so that the kingdom can draw new strength from them and open up new sources of happiness for the nation."

The opening remarks were met with cheers and applause from the attendees, but disappointment soon followed.

"With the treasury empty and surrounded by external enemies, my people, the kingdom has reached its most difficult time."

"I don't want to see us just arguing pointlessly here, but rather to reach a consensus on the next steps to save the kingdom."

The lengthy speech can probably be summarized in one sentence: I am poor, so please give me the last gold coin in your pocket!

Even a fool could see through three equations in a speech:

Kingdom = King;

New power = new money;

New sources of happiness = new tax categories.

But countless indebted merchants and farmers who had to pay their dues after a poor harvest hoped that their representatives could plead with the benevolent Emperor to save the struggling third class.

With the two sides at odds, everyone in the meeting wanted to defend their own little territory and meager reserves.

Necker gave the nobles no further chance to attack the third class and immediately began the agenda.

He believed that the third class would be willing to accept his propositions, both because Necker thought that his writings could influence public opinion and because he believed that the reform plan to abolish aristocratic privileges and cleanse the kingdom's authorities would inevitably be welcomed by the common people.

And indeed, the representatives of the common people became more and more excited as they listened, wanting to applaud and cheer for the minister.

But the nobles once again played dirty tricks. This time, the eccentric Duke Merovingian stepped forward and offered a sinister proposal:

"If the representatives of the third tier refuse to undergo the eligibility check, that's fine; we can skip this step to save time."

Upon hearing this, the nobles initially thought the Duke had betrayed his class and was truly going to side with the bankers. However, they quickly cheered for the Grand Duke's proposal: "However, regarding Lord Necker's new ideas on finance and administration, I hope we can vote on them according to the following rules:

"The three levels voted separately, first deciding internally whether to pass the proposal. The reform plan is considered passed only if at least two levels agree."

Simply separating the votes effectively eliminated the numerical advantage of the third-tier representatives. In the eyes of the first tier, the church should be on the same side as them. The eccentric mages were unpredictable, but their guilds also enjoyed privileges, and their numbers were far fewer than those of the church representatives.

What a brilliant move! Necker also tensed up. If they really followed this procedure, his plan would likely be rejected again.

Maxim was the first to shout, "I disagree!"

(End of this chapter)