Chapter 388 The First Round Table Meeting
The day after Queen Sophia died.
At 7:07 a.m., the Candlelight Cathedral in the Red Queen District rang the funeral bell.
It was a dull bell sound that was completely different from the usual bell sounds. Thick leather pads were tied to both sides of the bell tongue to make the sound of the funeral bell low.
The funeral bell rang seventy-nine times in a row, symbolizing the seventy-nine years spent in the queen's life.
When the seventy-nine funeral bells were finished, Isabel had already sat at the head of the Round Table Hall.
The Round Table Hall is also inside the Silver and Tin Hall, and even in the main hall.
A long time ago, the earliest "round table" was a place for knights to enjoy banquets before and after the war. At that time, the Knights of the Round Table would chat and discuss at the table while eating. Later, more and more warriors followed Arthur, and the banquet was definitely not limited to one table.
But there is no doubt that the knights who ate at the same table with Arthur were the most heroic, loyal, powerful, and the most prestigious among them.
They are also the "Knights of the Round Table". Many matters were discussed and decided by them together, and other knights attending the banquet would listen and say something if they had ideas - everyone had a say. But in the end, it was up to the knights at the round table to decide.
This became a tradition for the Knights of the Round Table to discuss political affairs.
By the time the Silver and Tin Palace was built, the earliest batch of Knights of the Round Table had already ascended to the dream world. And the heirs naturally had no need to get together for dinner.
But even so, in order to remember his former comrades, Lancelot still transformed the most central and largest room in the main hall of the Silver and Tin Palace into a round table hall. Place the round table that could accommodate twenty-two people in the past.
In addition to the twenty founders, there were Lancelot himself and the Silver Crown Dragon that was hidden from history. And this is exactly the number of the Major Arcana of the Tarot card.
Later, more and more knights were qualified to enter the Round Table Hall, and the political affairs faced by Avalon after the founding of the country became more and more complicated. It was far beyond the level that those twenty people could handle.
But the round table, as an antique, cannot be made bigger and bigger.
So, except for the family of the founders who can sit at the round table, other knights will surround the two sides and the front of the round table, with three rows of seats of different heights, which looks like a lecture hall.
——In other words, in fact, most of the knights and ministers who come to the round table hall for meetings are not qualified to sit at the round table at all.
In Avalon, which emphasizes "authority", the distance to the round table has become a symbol of the status and influence of the knights. The closer to the round table, the higher the status. It is divided into three levels: "inner ring", "middle ring" and "outer ring".
The frequency of meetings in the round table hall is very high. At the slowest, there are two or three times a month, and at the fastest, there can be more than five times a week. But the family of the founders basically only has less than half of the people at each meeting, and there is always a large shortage of seats in the inner ring. The knights in the outer ring are always full every time.
Today's round table hall is different from usual.
All the knights did not arrive at the round table hall in advance, but lined up at the door.
After the bells have finished ringing, they will enter from the main gate in turn after being summoned.
The order of entering the gate was decided by Isabel - of course, it was actually written by Aiwas.
After entering from the main gate, the first thing to do is to pass the long glass steps.
This is one of the reasons why this place is called "Glass Island", because glass is produced in abundance here. And these glass steps are one of the royal etiquettes of Avalon in the early years. Because glass is easy to slip and break, and the knights are wearing heavy armor, they may break the glass steps if they fall.
This forced these knights to move forward slowly and carefully. This shows their loyalty and respect to the royal family and the Round Table Hall.
After entering the door, they did not sit in their seats, but walked to Isabel's right hand, knelt on one knee, swore allegiance, and kissed the silver dragon ring on Isabel's hand. But because Isabel is still unmarried, according to etiquette, they should kiss their thumbs on the ring.
The first person to enter was Ligeia, the deputy director of the Arbitration Hall and the Grand Arbitrator. The second person was the Grand Guardian, the Knight Commander of the Round Table Hall and the Minister of Military Affairs. The third person was Shafia, the Grand Judge, who was the deputy director of the Inspectorate. The fourth person was the elderly Grand Justice.
The fifth person was the Minister of Camelot, the Minister of the Privy Council.
He was a white-haired old man with green eyes. He looked at least sixty or seventy years old, but he was still wearing a silver full body armor. He even had gauntlets on his hands. He did not carry a sword, even if he had the power to do so - he only carried his shield inherited from his ancestor Galahad, to show his determination to protect Avalon with his life.
But when the Minister of Camelot entered the door, he was even surprised.
He was first surprised that he was the fifth to enter... On the other hand, he was also surprised that he was the fifth to enter.
The Minister of the Privy Council was basically equivalent to the Prime Minister of Star Antimony or the Minister of State of Iris, serving as the chief advisor to the king or queen and handling many of the most important government affairs. He is the most important and highest-ranking minister in Avalon.
When Queen Sofia ascended the throne sixty years ago, the second person she pledged allegiance to was the Privy Councilor. Of course, he was definitely not the Privy Councilor of that generation.
But the Minister of Camelot also believed that he was loyal to Queen Sofia and was Queen Sofia's absolute confidant - that was why Queen Sofia gave him the position of the Privy Council Minister. The Camelot family was considered a branch of the Du Lac family, and their ancestors could also be considered descendants of Lanstro I, and they were related to each other.
Five years ago, Queen Sofia even secretly told him... If all the Du Lac family died or died out due to the curse, then the Camelot family could adopt one of their descendants to the Du Lac family and establish him as the new king.
However, since Queen Sofia died last night and the Silver and Tin Palace did not urgently summon him... the Minister of Camelot actually had a premonition.
When he saw the newspaper this morning, he completely gave up.
There is no doubt that he was not classified as a trustworthy and reliable person by Isabel.
This is actually reasonable.
After all, objectively speaking, the blood relationship of the Camelot family is a threat to Isabel, who does not have the authoritarian path. And even if old Camelot was loyal to Queen Isabel, his descendants might not be able to maintain this loyalty inherited from the family.
...But that's what I said. After all, old Camelot watched Isabel grow up, and he felt a little sad when he felt Isabel's vigilance.
However, what surprised the minister of Camelot was that the young minister who was deeply trusted by Queen Isabel was not the first to enter the round table hall.
Even until the knights had almost entered, there was no sign of Minister Moriarty.
- Is he late?
At first, the knights thought so.
But after all the knights entered, the seat at the round table was still empty.
At the first round table meeting after the new king ascended the throne, only one person was absent.
The knights whispered about this unreasonable scene - some of them felt fortunate, some felt gloating, and some were disturbed by this unreasonable scene.
In Avalon, which follows the rules, "unreasonable" is the most disturbing anomaly.
Finally, in the increasingly noisy discussion, Queen Isabel rang the bell beside her. The knights stood up in a disorderly manner, and the armor rubbed against each other and made noises. The people who were talking were not completely quiet either. The noise in the round table hall was only reduced a little, but it still existed and even became more harsh.
Until the great guardian coughed lightly, the power of authority radiated into the room. At this time, the round table hall finally became quiet.
"Now the meeting."
Following Aiwass's suggestion, Isabel said coldly with a stern face: "All the nobles, please sit down in order."
As Isabel's words fell, the two ceremonial officers guarding the door of the round table hall knocked the dragon-headed scepters in their hands on the closed door of the round table hall one by one.
"Praise the silver-crowned dragon!"
"Praise Queen Isabel!"
They sang loudly in turn.
The first knock revealed a silver-white "X" on the heavy silver-black door, and then it was soaked with brilliance and completely sealed the door. The second strike hit the center of the "X" symbol, which inspired a larger cross like a shield, superimposed on the "X".
The silver barrier expanded immediately, covering the entire round table hall. It dispelled all the power in the round table hall except for authority, purified the spirits and hearts of everyone present, dispelled all spells that might cause charm, suggestion, etc., and completely blocked spells such as teleportation, eavesdropping, and peeping, and could also prevent attacks from outside.
Then, all the knights present said in unison: "Praise the Silver Crown Dragon! Praise Queen Isabel!"
Then all the knights sat down at the same time. The heavy armor fell neatly, making a neat sound like thousands of troops stopping in unison.
Isabel pursed her lips subconsciously, feeling nervous about the spectacular scene in front of her.
But she still remembered Aiwass's instructions.
She even regarded this as a test -
Even if she had Aiwass to rely on, she also had elders like Ligeia to rely on. But she is the queen of Avalon after all, and almost the only heir of the Du Lac family.
Except for her two-year-old brother John, and her biological father Prince Albert who escaped from the royal family and the curse long ago, Isabel has no relatives.
She must be strong.
Maybe Aiwass can help her, but he can't help her forever - Aiwass does not have the characteristics of the authoritarian path, which means that rule and power are of no benefit to him. Aiwass will eventually go to a higher place, and then Avalon will only be a burden to him.
- Even if she can't help, she must not be a burden.
This is Isabel's philosophy from beginning to end.
She faced the weird curse with this philosophy, and she committed suicide repeatedly in nightmares with this philosophy.
"Your Majesty."
The Minister of Camelot stood up first and said respectfully: "Everyone is here, please take a look."
Then, he respectfully handed the bag with documents in his hand to the Grand Justice. The Grand Chancellor opened it, checked it, and confirmed that there was no problem. Then he walked over and handed it to Isabel.
This was the policy outline for this year and the next year written by the Minister of the Privy Council.
They were all written while Queen Sofia was awake and handed over to Queen Sofia for review and signature. Because the new monarch has basically no understanding of various government affairs after he takes the throne, if he acts casually based on his own intuition or the advice of ministers at this time, he may cause irreparable consequences in the next few years or even ten years. Errors and omissions.
Therefore, the policy outline for the first two years was determined by the previous monarch.
Of course Isabel knew this.
But she took the document and said in a cold and serious tone: "That's not all, Lord Camelot.
"There is another knight I trust who has not arrived. His presence is important."
"...Then has he ever been loyal to you?"
the minister of Camelot asked.
Hearing this, the corners of Isabel's mouth raised slightly. But it soon flattened out.
But even though she had a sullen face and lowered her voice, she could not erase the joy in her voice: "Yes, as early as last night. Mr. Moriarty swore allegiance to me. And I also gave him the title of knight. name.
"He did not participate in the first roundtable meeting chaired by me today because he was feeling unwell. But this was with my permission."
Isabel spoke very clearly and slowly. This is to avoid losing your dignity by saying the wrong thing or accidentally stuttering.
She had rehearsed these words in front of the mirror before. I said everything I might want to say several times in advance, and finally found the calmest, coldest, and most serious voice with the help of Aiwass.
She will try her best to keep every word of her voice in line.
Because of this, she stayed up all night last night.
Seeing that the other knights were speechless, Isabel lowered her head and recited the document.
Most of them maintain the status quo, with only a few changes worthy of discussion.
After Isabel finished reciting the policy outline, she handed the document to the Chief Justice for filing.
The first person to speak was the Great Guardian, who was the military and political minister.
"Your Majesty," he asked respectfully, "you said that you will increase military spending by 5% and conduct a round of compulsory recruitment for young people over the age of twenty-six...Does this mean that we have to prepare for war?"
"yes."
Isabel replied calmly.
After saying this, the entire round table hall became noisy.
"quiet!"
The Great Guardian, who was the Knight Commander, suddenly raised his voice, and invisible ripples spread, causing the Round Table Hall to return to silence.
"I don't have a problem anymore."
He nodded respectfully and sat down.
After making this start, the new Minister of Trade stood up uneasily and nervously: "Your Majesty, who is the target we need to be wary of? Star Antimony or Iris? What is the chance of war? How long is it expected to end?"
"——Sir Griffith, this is not a question you should ask."
Isabel replied calmly, with a very tough attitude that could even be said to be hostile.
She always remembers what Aiwass said - for ministers she can trust, she will nod her head first and answer questions directly; but for ministers who are not sure of their position, they will question her, or deliberately give her questions. If you are looking for a problem, it doesn't hurt to push the topic back first and be tougher. You can show some hostility.
Then come back and tell Aiwass how they reacted to the pushback.
It’s true that she doesn’t understand politics, but Isabel understands acting very well.
If she doesn't know how to be a qualified queen yet, then she can "play" a queen for the time being.
The new Trade Minister Griffith noticed Isabel's gaze, and he was suddenly shocked.
What a cold gaze it was - it seemed to be a warning, a light of unquestionable authority. It was as if what he was meeting was not the art student Isabel, but her grandmother Sophia.
No, she's even tougher than Sophia!
Those green emerald eyes were as majestic as a lion.
The Minister of Trade suddenly felt guilty... Although this matter did have something to do with him, when he was looked at by those eyes, he felt as if his heart was being seen through.
Coupled with the fact that the Great Guardian was looking at him with squinted eyes, and that the Minister of the Navy was arrested not long ago, and the Minister of Maritime Affairs was directly executed the day before yesterday... this made him sweat for a moment. I suppressed all the words I just wanted to say and the suggestions I had drafted in my mind.
——Does she really not have the talent for the authoritarian path?
This thought came to the mind of the Minister of Trade, then he reluctantly apologized and sat down.
There was a brief silence in the Round Table Hall.
After that, Palace Minister Mycroft Hermes slowly stood up and said: "Your Majesty, does the Palace of Silver and Tin want to recruit a new group of palace staff?"
"Sir Hermes, this matter is up to you to decide." Isabel replied without hesitation.
Immediately afterwards, other ministers also spoke. He temporarily suppressed his previous thoughts of disdain and revolt, and asked about the important business first.
"Your Majesty, Queen Sofia has previously promised to allocate funds to the Ministry of Agriculture..."
"I will think about it."
"Dear Her Majesty the Queen, the list of study abroad students proposed by the Theocracy needs your final confirmation."
"Put it down first, I'll look at it later."
"Your Majesty, it's like this... The Griffin Department has seriously insufficient griffons. We have been unable to allocate griffons to front-line inspectors on time for a long time... You see..."
"The gryphon should be enough, you can figure it out yourself."
Keeping all of Aiwass's requirements in mind, Isabel handled government affairs in an orderly manner. She acted like a tough queen with dignity and careful thinking.
In the first round of round table meetings attended by the queen, she was mainly responsible for specifying the next main policies, and there were no proposals that required the knights to vote.
As Isabel gradually entered the state and her eyes became sharper, those old knights with ulterior motives also looked at each other with strange expressions.
Finally, in an unusually harmonious and peaceful atmosphere, the first round table meeting ended.
"My Lords, the Silver Crown Dragon is watching Avalon."
The young queen's calm speech sounded like a threat at this moment.
None of the difficulties that Isabel imagined happened - but she did not breathe a sigh of relief here, but calmly closed her eyes, held the scepter and closed her eyes to rest, waiting for the knights to leave.
- But in fact, she was quickly recalling the content of the meeting and the attitudes of all the ministers. Later, she would repeat them to Aiwass, and any memory errors could be fatal.
When the knights looked at each other, as if they wanted to say something but couldn't say it here...
Only the unnoticed, fat Minister Mycroft Hermes in the corner seemed to have seen through something, with his hands in his sleeves and a slight smile on his face.
I'm not feeling well today, so this is a two-in-one chapter.