Eternal Era in early June 1073.

That is, five months after the Eternal Church launched a great jihad against the Church of Life.

As the war continued, the decline of the noble coalition in the human kingdom became increasingly obvious. On all battlefields, the Life Church had launched a counterattack.

From the Death Desert to the Forest of Elf, from the Maple Moon Free to the Southern Path Trailer Alliance, the news of the defeat of the noble coalition was continuous, and it was transported back to the center of the human kingdom like raindrops. More and more, and more exaggerated, making the human nobles even more panic.

At the same time, in the human kingdom, especially the Holy Mannian Empire, which was controlled by the Church of Life, the preaching activities of the Church of Life, which were originally successfully suppressed by the Eternal Church, were once again in full swing with the reversal of the war...

An extremely subtle atmosphere began to spread throughout the human kingdom and in the Holy Manthian Empire.

And when it was mid-June, another major news happened in the Holy Mannian Empire.

Since the "Donnacle and the God of Sunset" incident, the empire Queen Maria II, who was so angry that she was bedridden, finally woke up for a moment again after being unconscious on and off for nearly two years.

However, not long after waking up, the empire, who was nearly 84 years old, learned about the great sacred war and the repeated defeats of the noble coalition, and fainted again on the spot.

And this time, the Empress of the Empire's condition worsened sharply and she never woke up again...

The news that the Queen was critically ill soon spread throughout the center of the empire, and the top leaders of the entire human empire fell into chaos again.

Especially after the Cardinal, who was good at healing magic, was invited by the central nobles to the empress's bedside, and after performing the healing magic, he could only shake his head helplessly, the atmosphere of the entire imperial cabinet and the Imperial Parliament became even more subtle.

Everyone realized that the queen who had ruled the empire for seventy years was finally at the time when she was exhausted and could die at any time.

The Holy Mannian Empire is about to change.

External wars fail and internal political situation is unstable.

This made the noble parliament of the Holy Mannian Empire even more chaotic.

Especially after the news of the Empress of the Imperial Empress spread completely, the nobles with their own thoughts quarreled even more in the parliament.

Regarding the candidate for the next emperor, the situation of the Great Holy War, and their own interests... the nobles were quarreling.

The Queen is like a stabilizing needle.

Even if the Queen was seriously ill in the past two years, the noble parliament and Bishop Winster were regent, the entire Holy Mannian Empire could function normally in the prestige accumulated by Maria II for seventy years.

However, when the queen is critically ill and when anyone can feel the swaying atmosphere of the middle and high-level leaders of the empire, which may change at any time, the nobles unconsciously began to make plans for the future, began to join forces, and began to take sides...

Similarly, there are also ambitious people who are beginning to get ready in the dark.

However, just like a coin always has two sides.

Perhaps it was because of the repeated defeats of the Great Holy War that seriously defeated the imperial nobles, especially those who had the strength to compete for the throne, that the entire imperial council had no objection to the current imperial royal family that the Tres family continued to inherit the imperial throne.

However, whether to support Princess Teresa, the orthodox heir of Maria II, as the new emperor, or to select an adult royal family with more experience from the Teres family to become the emperor, the nobles began to argue fiercely.

Among them, the great nobles tend to support the young little princess as the emperor, while the small and medium-sized nobles hope to choose a royal member who can turn the tide.

The two sides quarreled in the Imperial Parliament and seemed to have long forgotten the fact that although the empire's empire was critically ill, he was still alive and still the master of the empire...

"The throne must be, and can only be inherited by Princess Teresa! According to the edict of His Majesty Carl I, Princess Teresa is the first heir to the empire! She is our future emperor!"

In the Imperial Parliament, after learning that the Queen was seriously ill, Duke Corens, who had withdrawn from the battlefield overnight, said firmly.

"His Highness Theresa is too young. Although according to the edict of the Holy Seal, she is indeed the first heir to the empire, but now the entire empire is worried about domestic and foreign troubles, which is not something that a girl under fifteen years old can bear."

"What we need is a more mature and powerful emperor! According to the "Emperor Selection Law", we have the right to choose a more suitable candidate in the Teres family!"

On the other side of the parliament, the representatives of the large and small nobles, the Marquis of Weimar shook his head and said.

"His Marquis! Princess Teresa's succession was confirmed by the Imperial Council two years ago. Have you forgotten it?!"

The Duke of Corunce refuted.

And the Marquis of Weimar also sneered:

"Hisser Duke, let a confused child inherit the throne. Do you want to control the center of the empire and control the parliament with the major nobles?!"

"presumptuous!"

"Shameless!"

The nobles quarreled in the parliament and even fought, and the entire venue was in chaos.

This made Bishop Winster, the Regent, who was sitting next to the parliamentary venue and watching the farce-like venue, frowned, and his eyes were filled with disappointment.

"Enough! When has it been! I'm still quarreling. Now the jihad is unfavorable and the situation is unstable. It's not the time for internal strife!"

Looking at the increasingly chaotic venue, he couldn't help but use the power of the legend to stop drinking on the spot.

The pressure of the legend spread and the venue gradually became quiet, but when the great nobles led by Duke Corens looked at Bishop Winster, their bad eyes quickly turned into sneer:

"The jihad is not good? If the Eternal Church had not forcibly declared the Great jihad at this time and encouraged the empire to send troops to the Southern Leader and Fengyue freely, how could it be like this today? Moreover, since the war has reached the present situation, why did the church's Judgment Legion and Angel Legion not take action?"

"Beware of your words! Lord Duke of Corons! Are you expressing your dissatisfaction with the church?!"

On the other hand, Archbishop Cahill, who represents the Eternal Church and is one of the three church electors of the seven Electors of the Empire, changed his expression and stood up from the church seat and angrily scolded.

Beside him, Archbishop Doron, the last church electorate, stood up, and his eyes looked at Duke Corens very gloomy.

"Are I wrong? This holy war was initiated by the church."

The Duke of Coronce snorted coldly.

In the aristocratic seat, in addition to the former Fengyueling family, representatives of the Rosen family, the three secular electors, representatives of the Corons family, and representatives of the Berencia family, stood up to express their support for the Duke of Corons.

For a time, the noble parliament, which was originally discussing the heir to the throne, became more chaotic and disorderly.

Bishop Winster sat in the seat of the Regent.

Looking at the nobles and bishops who were quarreling with red faces, even cursing and fighting, his eyes were very disappointed.

He sighed lightly, stopped shouting, but stood up gently and left the chaotic venue.

Stopping the priest and the knight's entourage, Bishop Winster came alone outside the parliament building.

The June sun shines on the neat streets of Mannia, the eternal holy city, and the platinum-colored buildings on both sides are coated with a sacred glory.

The faint sound of bells from the distant church came from afar, mixed with the choir's sing.

Looking at the streets that have become increasingly deserted since the start of the Great Holy War, and the obvious increase in homeless people in the corners of the street, Archbishop Winster paused slightly and sighed.

He took a step forward and slowly walked towards the Eternal Cathedral in Mania.

Like on the street, the door of the Eternal Church is still deserted and completely unbelievable. This was once a religious holy place where people came and went, and there were endless streams of devout believers worshipped every day.

Entering the church and passing through the deserted church, Bishop Winster returned to his prayer room.

Kneeling in front of the sacred eternal statue, he reached out and drew a sun sign in front of his chest, sighed and murmured:

"Great and wise my lord..."

"May you bless your people and survive this disaster, may you bless your people and be reborn from the ashes..."

"Your glory will always shine on the earth, and your true name will always be passed down on earth."

And just as Bishop Winster was praying devoutly, the door of the prayer room was knocked in a hurry.

"Mr. Winster! The Knights of the Palace Guards are here! They said that Your Majesty is awake! Your Majesty asks you to see!"

It is the voice of the church pastor.

Winster's prayer paused slightly.

He sighed a long time, slowly got up, and walked out of the prayer room.

...

When Winster came outside the church, the court's guards were already waiting in front of the gate, and as well as waiting, there was a luxurious carriage painted with royal badges.

"Sir Bishop!"

Seeing Winster, the knights knelt on one knee and saluted respectfully.

Bishop Winster nodded slightly, and with the help of a knight, he stepped onto the carriage.

The church is not far from the palace.

In a carriage, Bishop Winster soon entered the palace representing the highest power of the empire.

Perhaps because today is the day when the noble parliament holds a grand meeting, the palace is also much deserted, and only some maids and court attendants are seen coming and going.

When Winster came to the palace where the queen was, he still didn't see even a nobleman.

"Sir, Your Majesty is waiting for you in there."

The knight saluted and opened the ornate palace door for him.

Bishop Winster nodded and entered the temple room.

The hall was deserted and there was no one else except the empire Empress Maria II on the hospital bed.

Her Majesty, who ruled the Holy Mannian Empire for seventy years, is now like a lonely man.

No feudal political entity can tolerate the inability of the supreme ruler for two years.

Even in the history of the Blue Star Chronicle, those emperors who had not attended court for decades were still firmly controlling the government affairs while wandering outside the court.

Not to mention, the history of the entire Holy Mannian Empire is a history of constant competition between nobles and emperors, and continuous competition between decentralization and centralization.

With two years of intermittent coma and two years of political gap, although the queen's prestige is still there, she has been essentially undermined by the noble parliament.
To be continued...