Chapter 100: Paying Respects to Your Majesty!

Nighttime in Bild City was bustling, but that liveliness didn’t spread everywhere.

There were always places that remained cold and lonely no matter how the outside world changed, and the nights in West City were like that.

There were many factories here. After the workers clocked out at night, the factories sank into darkness. Even the workers, in their precious time off, wanted to go to the bustling districts to relax, and West City wasn’t a place for relaxation.

Clad in cloaks, Amelia and Eileen arrived in West City, moving unhurriedly through the quiet streets. They only occasionally passed a few people, a brief crossing of paths, drawing no one’s attention.

Just like that, they arrived in front of an abandoned factory.

The factory before them was shrouded in the dark night, like an entrance to some mysterious place, carrying an elusive feeling.

This is it!

Seeing the situation, Amelia’s water-blue eyes beneath her hood brightened slightly.

After exchanging a glance with Eileen, they entered the abandoned factory and made their way to a hall deep within.

Click!

The moment they stepped into the hall, the lights inside flickered on.

Immediately afterward, a group of people who had been waiting there walked over and knelt on one knee before Amelia. “Paying respects to Your Majesty!”

Amelia raised a hand and pushed back her hood, letting her light golden, slightly curled long hair cascade down.

Beside her, Eileen also pushed back her hood, her silvery-white long hair dancing in the night breeze.

Amelia’s gaze swept over each person before her.

At the lead was Harold.

To Harold’s left and right were a red-haired girl and a green-haired middle-aged man.

Further back were twenty-nine more people.

Besides Harold, two Mid-Rank Apostles, seven Low-Rank Apostles, and twenty-two Trainee Apostles were all present and accounted for.

At this moment, aside from Harold, the other thirty-one people kneeling there were extremely stirred, for they were meeting Amelia, their Her Majesty the Queen of the Steele Kingdom!

Earlier, when they learned of Amelia’s death through the newspapers of the Luban Duchy, each one had been deeply devastated. Thankfully, Harold had returned to them at the critical moment and told everyone the truth.

The one who died was a fake.

The true Amelia, Her Majesty, was waiting for their allegiance.

Now, the one they saw was the true Her Majesty!

“All of you, rise,” Amelia said. Looking at her first core group, her feelings were somewhat complicated.

From now on, she would lead this group of people in an attempt to reclaim their kingdom? It was destined to be a path fraught with peril, yet it was a path she had to take.

After everyone stood up, Harold immediately said, “Your Majesty, allow me to introduce everyone to you first.”

“Go ahead,” Amelia nodded slightly.

“Ives Edie.” Harold gestured to the green-haired middle-aged man on his left and introduced him: “He was once a Commander in the army. His Faith is the Sword of the God of War. He is currently a Mid-Rank Apostle.”

Ives’s most striking feature was his rare green hair. Now dressed in simple black clothes, he wore a solemn expression and performed a military salute to Amelia, as a subordinate would to a superior.

Amelia nodded slightly to Ives. “Ives, thank you for still being willing to follow me.”

“Following Your Majesty is the faith of my life,” Ives said in a resolute tone.

Harold smiled and then gestured to the red-haired girl on his right. “She is Nicole Wyatt. Her Faith is the Hymn of Ice and Fire. She is currently a Mid-Rank Apostle.”

The girl looked very petite, with long, straight red hair cascading down. Her face was round and fair, and right now, she was staring at Amelia with a pair of sparkling red eyes, brimming with endless curiosity.

“Wyatt?” Amelia mused thoughtfully. “Harold, your surname is Wyatt, isn’t it? Are you two related by blood?”

Harold laughed heartily. “Indeed, Nicole is my granddaughter.”

When speaking of his granddaughter, Harold was also very proud, for his granddaughter was only twenty-two years old yet already a Mid-Rank Apostle, a talent of the highest order.

“I see,” Amelia said, looking at Nicole. “Good evening, Nicole. I’ll be counting on your help in the future.”

“I… I will definitely do my best to help Your Majesty,” Nicole couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous now that Amelia was speaking to her.

After all, this was Her Majesty the Queen.

Next, Harold introduced the seven Low-Rank Apostles and twenty-two Trainee Apostles to Amelia.

Amelia deeply memorized each person’s name and appearance. After all, this was her first core group.

Once the introductions were complete, Amelia addressed everyone: “I now understand everyone’s situation. As for my own situation, I imagine there’s no need for me to elaborate; you all likely know it. Well then, allow me to introduce Eileen to you all.”

Eileen was taken aback.

Amelia continued, “Eileen was originally a member of the Royal Guard. She escorted me all the way to Bild City. It’s no exaggeration to say that without Eileen, I would already be dead…”

She slowly spoke of Eileen, and the gazes of everyone else fell upon Eileen one after another.

Those eyes were filled with gratitude, worship, admiration, and similar sentiments, making Eileen feel rather self-conscious.

She didn’t dislike this attention. It was just that she had grown accustomed to being a minor figure. Being suddenly observed by so many eyes was bound to make her feel uncomfortable.

After introducing Eileen, Amelia looked at everyone and said, “That you all are willing to continue following me to reclaim the kingdom fills me with great joy. I am very gratified to have you by my side. However, you all should also understand that reclaiming a kingdom is no easy task. If we appear openly under the banner of restoration, we will inevitably face a crushing blow. We must keep a low profile until we have gathered sufficient strength.”

“No matter what decision Your Majesty makes, we will follow you to the death. Please instruct us on our future actions,” Harold said gravely.

As for how to proceed in the future, Amelia had naturally thought it over carefully these past few days.

She had come up with many plans and rejected them one by one. She had also spoken to herself in a way that allowed the viewers to hear her words, trying to get answers through the bullet comments.

By today, a rough plan of action for the future had formed in Amelia’s mind.

“I intend to establish an Apostle organization.”

Amelia said this to everyone.

An Apostle organization, as the name suggests, is an organization composed of Apostles. Their purposes vary greatly among different organizations. If such an organization committed too many evil deeds, it would become a criminal organization like the Red Moon Society or Iris.

In Amelia’s view, while they couldn’t yet openly present themselves on the surface, wrapping themselves in a new identity to stand before others was entirely possible.

She explained her thoughts as well, and everyone listened, nodding inwardly.

‘I had worried whether Her Majesty might handle certain matters poorly due to her youth. It seems I was overthinking it. Her Majesty is clearly more forward-thinking than anyone.’

Harold sighed inwardly, filled with gratification.

Who could have imagined that the marginalized princess of the Steele Kingdom was actually someone so capable?

After explaining the reasoning behind establishing the Apostle organization and seeing no objections, Amelia continued, “Then this organization, for now, shall be called the Silent Throne!”

Silent Throne?

Everyone mentally chewed on the name.

“Now we hide behind the scenes, which is ‘Silent’. But we will eventually succeed in restoring our kingdom and return to the Throne. That is the ‘Silent Throne’. An excellent name, as expected of Your Majesty.” Harold spared no praise.

“Uh…”

Amelia opened her mouth, unsure of what to say.

In truth, after deciding to establish the Apostle organization, she had used self-talk to ask the viewers what the organization should be named. At that time, many viewers suggested names they liked. Amelia simply chose ‘Silent Throne’ from among them. She hadn’t thought much about it. Hearing Harold’s interpretation now made her realize the name did indeed carry that connotation.

She didn’t dwell on this issue and continued, “After the Silent Throne is established, I will be the Leader. Eileen and Harold will be Deputy Leaders. The rest, those of lower Rank, will follow the commands of those of higher Rank.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” everyone responded in unison.

“Furthermore, we need codenames,” Amelia added. “After founding the Silent Throne, we will inevitably need to interact with the outside world. We’ll need to conceal our identities to some extent then. Codenames are indispensable.”

“May I ask what Your Majesty’s codename will be?” Harold inquired.

“My codename is Lily,” Amelia replied. “There are many plants in this world. Randomly picking the name of a plant as a codename is perfectly sufficient.”

“I am Dandelion,” Eileen followed suit.

They had already decided on this before coming here.

“I understand,” Harold said with a look of dawning comprehension. “Then, I shall be Palm.”

Upon hearing this, the others immediately began pondering what codenames they should use.

Since Amelia, Eileen, and Harold all chose plant names as codenames, everyone followed suit. Before long, everyone’s codename was decided.

With the codenames settled, the next step was the policy for future actions.

“Harold, have the remaining two thousand-plus people all arrived in Bild City?” Amelia asked again.

Besides the Apostles present, the forces under Amelia’s command also included over seven hundred soldiers capable of fighting, plus over a thousand logistical support personnel, totaling over two thousand people.

Harold shook his head. “The number of over two thousand is too large. If they all entered Bild City together, it would attract attention. So I had them disperse to nearby towns. Only about a hundred disguised as a merchant caravan have slipped in. They’re currently waiting at an inn.”

Amelia nodded in understanding. “Are there any issues with everyone’s livelihood?”

“No issues for now. When we came to Bild City, we brought money and food, but we won’t be able to sustain ourselves for too long,” Harold answered.

How several thousand people could live together was an unavoidable problem, and Amelia needed to address it first.

Perhaps having Verna provide food was an option, but supplying food and clothing for so many people was clearly not easy. Verna might be exposed because of it…

Amelia quickly had an idea and instructed Harold: “Next, have everyone register as Adventurers at the local Adventurer’s Guild first, then take on guild missions to earn living expenses.”

“Become Adventurers?” Harold was taken aback.

“Yes, this is a temporary measure. They can earn some money and also train themselves through adventuring,” Amelia felt this was a good method.

“I understand. I will send word immediately for everyone to become Adventurers. But, Your Majesty, is there anything else to be done?”

“Not for now. You all focus on being Adventurers first. Just don’t accept missions that are far away or take too long. If I need you for anything, I’ll contact you.”

“Is contact still through the newspapers?”

“Correct.”

“I understand.”

Harold also understood that currently, their numbers were too few and their strength too weak. The things they could help Amelia with were very limited. They could only hide in the shadows for now, waiting for a suitable opportunity.

Next came the distribution of everyone’s locations. Once everyone became Adventurers, there would be certain risks during their adventures. Therefore, different Apostles needed to be assigned to look after people in different locations to ensure they suffered no losses.

Harold clearly knew the others better than Amelia did, so he was responsible for arranging this.

Ives, the Mid-Rank Apostle, was assigned to go to other cities to handle matters there. As for Nicole, she would stay in Bild City to look after the people stationed there.

Unknowingly, time had reached the deep of night.

Late autumn nights were even more chilling. Amelia did not take up any more of everyone’s time. After matters were mostly arranged, she dismissed them.

She herself returned with Eileen to where the carriage was.

After completing their disguises inside the carriage, they drove back to White Maple Academy, back to the dormitory.

When the dormitory lights came on, Amelia sat down on the bed in the bedroom, slightly dazed.

Just like that, she had established the Silent Throne.

Just like that, the first step towards reclaiming the kingdom had been taken.

Would the Silent Throne gradually make a name for itself in this world as she wished? Or would it remain unknown until its disappearance?

As the Leader of the Silent Throne, bearing a heavy burden, Amelia felt somewhat apprehensive.

Eileen could see that Amelia was in low spirits, so she pulled a rope out from under the bed.

“Your Majesty, let me share your worries.”

Eileen said as she came onto the bed and slowly began tying herself and Amelia together.

Amelia: “…”

After all this time, had Eileen still not realized there was something wrong with “The Self-Cultivation of a Maid”?

Looking at the rope, then at Eileen, Amelia still couldn’t bring herself to speak the truth about that problematic book. She would just have to continue waiting for Eileen to discover the problem herself.