A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 256 Breakup

"Who do you think you are!" shouted one of the nobles in the crowd.

Maxim stood up and climbed onto a chair so that everyone could see him clearly: "I am Maxim, just a lawyer from the countryside."

"Litigator, in a discussion and decision about the fate of the kingdom, what right do you have to shout 'I disagree' all by yourself?"

"The gentleman who refused to stand up and speak in the group made a mistake."

"Am I a person? Everyone here, His Majesty is the ruler of the kingdom, and our current identity is that of a representative. Even the old farmers in my hometown know that I am here to fight for his and others' interests, just as you said, to decide the fate of the kingdom."

"Therefore, as citizens of the kingdom, we shall equally enjoy the right to decide on and be informed about the affairs of the kingdom. This is the basis for the legitimate and reasonable convening of this meeting and the source of our confidence as representatives of the third tier."

"Therefore, I disagree with Duke Merovingian's voting method. I disagree that the voice of the kingdom's largest population has been suppressed to the minimum. This is extremely unreasonable and unfair. I and the people I represent will never agree to a vote conducted in this manner!"

The other representatives of the third class also stood up excitedly, and enthusiastic applause and shouts of "disagree!" echoed throughout the hall.

His Majesty the King began to hesitate. He naturally felt offended, overstepped, and potentially threatened, just like the nobles, but he lacked the eloquence, wisdom, and courage to refute the petty "litigation expert."

He stood up, and the hall quickly fell silent as everyone waited for His Majesty the King to speak and decide the current situation.

"I am tired. Lord Neker, the rest is up to you."

He slipped away? Just like that? Charlie surprised everyone, watching helplessly as the short man took small, quick steps and left the venue.

Fortunately, Necker seized the opportunity and, before the delegates in the hall could fall into another uproar, announced that the three classes would discuss the proposals separately.

This tactic was quite clever from the perspective of the meeting; it simply discussed the issues separately without explicitly stating whether or not to vote on them separately, thus successfully gaining the acceptance of everyone in the room.

In the long run, however, this move was foolish. Necker was merely postponing the differences for no reason, giving the first and third classes the opportunity to deal with internal strife first. Once they reached a consensus, returning to the meeting would only result in a more resolute confrontation.

As for the second group, the priests and mages voluntarily separated and left the venue, showing no intention of discussing anything.

That night, His Majesty the King met with clergy from across the country. These junior members of the church outnumbered the attending bishops three to one, and the King hoped they would agree to the church providing more financial support to the kingdom.

Nobles and bishops were invited to a dinner with the king according to court etiquette.

Only at the very end were the representatives of the third class allowed to line up in the king's bedroom to meet him, and the palace gates were immediately closed to the long queue once Charles was tired.

"This is an insult! A mockery!" The anger grew even more intensely because of the king's drastically different attitude.

Following such a night, the Third Class dealt a heavy blow to everyone else, including Necker:

"The representatives of the third class have been subjected to unprecedented insults and contempt. The righteous anger has made us realize that behind us are the vast majority of the kingdom's 25 million people, and that every vote must be counted on a one-person-one-vote basis to ensure the legitimacy of the meeting."

"Dream on!" the nobles retorted firmly.

In the following days, the Estates-General, which the people had been eagerly anticipating, remained mired in a quagmire, with the nobility insisting on voting by class, while the Third Estate insisted on counting votes by the number of people.

News from the halls and newspapers spread widely among the residents of Valuwana, but all they received was disappointing news. While the lords and officials were deadlocked over the right to vote, the people were becoming increasingly poor and hungry. Valuwana's grain wagons needed more and more guards because there were leotardless men and starving people eyeing them along the way.

The Adventurers' Guild's business is booming, and wealthy people and nobles are in dire need of hiring armed men to protect their property. Clearly, the guild's soaring performance is inversely proportional to the stability of the capital.

The venerable king was still hesitant. When his relatives came to him, he immediately promised to support the nobles. When the court's creditors, the bankers, were both flattering and threatening, the king hinted that he endorsed the third class.

As a result, he hesitated to express his opinion, pretended to be deaf and dumb at the meeting, and eventually simply lingered at the hunting grounds.

The guild was busier than ever before. The stripping of telegraph services was suspended, and all lines were running at full capacity to satisfy the curiosity of other regions about the capital and the conference, and to alleviate their anxiety while waiting.

However, the atmosphere in the meeting room grew increasingly heated. "Where's Deplesi? Why is he backing down now! Where is he? Is he ringing the church bells?" Sensing that he was about to become the scapegoat, Necker realized that the meeting could no longer move forward.

On the fifth day of the meeting, the delegates arrived at the venue in their entirety, as if the time for the decisive battle had arrived.

"We, the representatives of the Third Class, issue an ultimatum to everyone: if no one agrees to a vote by the majority, the Third Class will organize its own parliament and grant us the power to enact the Kingdom's laws."

"Arrogance! You're usurping the throne!" The nobles couldn't believe that anyone would rebel against the Heavenly Gang. Necker also believed that a meeting of a single class organization was invalid; any votes it made would not be approved by the king and could not be carried out.

However, an even more shocking scene unfolded: someone stood up from the seats on the second tier.

Just as the nobles thought the person who stood up was about to severely punish the commoners at the schism meeting, the mage who stood up spoke up: "The Tower of Stars supports the resolution of the third class representatives and will join the council they have formed."

The person who stood up to speak was Pascal, and after he finished speaking, he walked straight to the seats of the third class.

As if it had been rehearsed beforehand, all the attending monks left their seats and joined the meeting amidst unprecedented applause from the representatives of the third tier.

Maxim excitedly embraced Pascal, and the other club members cheered. The arrival of the mages gave the representatives unprecedented confidence.

The nobleman shouted, "Don't forget, you mages also enjoy privileges! Since when did you, who are so high and mighty, have to associate with commoners?"

"We are willing to give up our privileges." Pascal wasn't making things up; this was something Cano had already told him.

Compared to the church, which can levy tithes and land taxes, guilds enjoy exemptions from customs duties and transaction taxes. Given the kingdom's collection capabilities, if someone flees, they flee; whether or not taxes are collected in name only has little practical impact.

What happened next was even more unexpected by the nobles: the lower-ranking priests also stood up, and to the astonishment of the bishops, at least half of the church's representatives became part of the Third Council.

Those who were still at the top and second in the hierarchy became a complete minority and were isolated.

"The Estates-General has failed, there's no need for us to waste any more time!" The nobles were filled with impotent rage. They also rose, but these noble carnivores walked out of the hall.

"Ouch!" As they hurried to the door, the nobles slipped and fell, their expensive gowns stained with oil, and their bald heads were revealed under their wool wigs, causing the delegates in the hall to burst into laughter.

Why is there a puddle of oil at the entrance?

Unbelievable

"Men, watch your step when you run!" Pascal shouted.

The nobleman struggled to his feet, uttering a harsh threat: "We'll see who truly rules the kingdom!"

The third class had monopolized the venue! They were overjoyed at their victory, yet also uneasy about the possible counterattack from the nobles. Even when the representatives were speaking and making proposals, they would look at the door to see if any soldiers were surrounding the traitors.

However, the changes in Valuvana accelerated the situation, a disaster destroyed order, and everything took a sharp turn for the worse.

Even Luo Xia, one of the parties involved, doesn't know the full story of what exactly happened.

(End of this chapter)