Volume 3: The Land of Mist Chapter 13: The Fourth Day of the Rainy Moon
During the Bronze Age, priests living in Kosnia ( the ancient name , now the Platinum Province) divided the year into twelve months according to astrology and farming seasons, thus starting the first calendar for mankind.
The Rainy Month is the fourth of the twelve months. In this month, continuous rain covers most of the central and southern parts of the continent. Of course, for the northern White Land and Cold Plains, which are covered in snow all day long, and the western Withered Desert, this month is just a name.
April Fools' Day on the fourth day of the Rainy Month is a legal holiday officially recognized by most places. According to the official statement, it is a family holiday .
But for the lower-class people, especially those in the slums who lack the means to make a living, this is an annual "legal begging festival", or as they say themselves, it is the only festival where they can turn their lives around and become the masters of their own destiny.
But this year's April Fools' Day in Thorn City is a little different from usual in some ways.
In the early morning, the ragged people in the slums, wearing crowns made of cardboard and bamboo, gathered in a procession and marched into the streets. They shook their bells, wore necklaces made of cheap glass beads, and wore wooden swords on their waists, imitating the nobles' sword-bearing costumes.
All the splendid mansions in the upper city had their doors tightly shut, and some even lit up magical protective lights as a warning.
All the taverns, hotels, tailor shops, grocery stores and other stores in the streets and alleys took down their signs and closed. At the same time, they placed a small amount of money and food at the door, and put up a small sign next to it that read - Dedicated to my king.
Everything is normal here, no different from previous years.
But on April Fool's Day in previous years, the relief teams sent by the lord to give out money and food on Rose Street were nowhere to be seen now.
Not only were there no people donating alms, but even the guards who usually go out to maintain order on the streets were nowhere to be seen.
The huge parade of the Beggar King walked along the Rose Avenue several times according to the route of previous years, but still did not see a single person.
It would be impossible to achieve their original expectations by relying solely on the donations from those small shops, so at this point, the team began to become a little agitated.
Perhaps it was because the new lord had completely abandoned the traditional practices of previous years, or perhaps it was because this special day gave them courage. Of course, what was more likely was that there were no armored guards around to intimidate them at all times.
In short, a voice emerged in the parade.
"Encircle the palace."
At first, only a few people were silently chanting, but after someone shouted it out loud, the phrase began to spread among the crowd, and soon it became a fanatical march slogan.
"Surround the palace! Surround the palace! Surround the palace!"
Then, this team composed entirely of "kings" marched towards the Rose Palace in a mighty manner.
…………
Vincent von Bergmann, the lord of Thorn City, the guardian of Blackwater Swamp and Nakuland, and the first citizen who has not yet been crowned, is now in the conference hall of the Rose Palace.
His fingers tapped the table casually, bringing a hint of anxiety to the already dull imperial meeting.
This is no wonder. It seems that it has been hundreds of years since the Rose Palace held a royal meeting on April Fools' Day.
On both sides of the long conference table, the courtiers of the Rose Palace were sitting scattered around.
The Royal Butler, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Law, the Minister of Spies, the Chief of the Mage Hall, the Captain of the Black Guard of Thorns, and Vincent's newly established Minister of Grain.
Vincent hadn't said a word since they sat down. He just listened to the courtiers presenting their reports with an expressionless face, tapping the table with his fingers.
After a long time, the chief steward sitting next to Vincent finally couldn't stand the depressing atmosphere anymore. He stood up and walked to the small light-transmitting window nearby and complained:
"Why is it so noisy outside today?"
"It's April Fool's Day, so it's normal to have some noise in the streets."
The spy minister closest to him turned his head and said to him, with obvious complaints in his voice.
The view from the small window was blocked by the tall tower next to it, so the steward could not see clearly what was happening outside the Rose Palace, but he could hear the noises outside getting louder and louder.
"But I've never heard such a noise in previous years, especially near the palace. Wouldn't the parade usually be stopped by the guards on the Rose Avenue?"
The Imperial Butler listened carefully to the noisy sound outside the window, and after confirming that the sound came from the April Fool's Day parade, he asked in confusion.
Hearing this, Vincent turned his attention to the Minister of Grain whom he had previously promoted.
In previous years, the relief work for the parade crowds on April Fools' Day was the responsibility of the Minister of Finance, but now all matters related to people's livelihood have been transferred to this newly created position.
The Minister of Grain is a young man with thick black hair. He previously worked in the Thorn City Chamber of Commerce and was later discovered and promoted by Vincent for his outstanding performance in dealing with refugees fleeing the Tide of the Undead.
In response to Vincent's inquiring look, he simply replied in confusion:
"The work was arranged a week ago. I went to the site last night to check the preparations. Now everything should be..."
"Surround...surround the palace, surround the palace!"
The increasingly loud slogans outside the Rose Palace stopped the Minister of Grain's explanation. He frowned and walked to the window, trying to see what was happening outside.
Vincent's gaze turned to the captain of the Thorn Black Guard standing aside.
Even if the relief team had not arrived to pacify them, it would have been impossible for the procession to come so close to the Rose Palace court under the control of the guards.
So at this moment, the captain of the guard looked a little unhappy, and he said quickly:
"I have asked the deputy captain of the guard to lead the team to the scene to maintain order. This situation cannot possibly happen now."
"But it has happened now. Lord Vincent, do we need to send the Royal Guards or the Battle Mages from the Mage Hall to drive away the mob?"
The Minister of Finance stood up and asked Vincent.
Vincent shook his head:
"They are not a mob, and they cannot possibly break through the walls of the Rose Palace. Sending people out now will only result in the casualties of innocent people."
"But if word gets out that the mob attacked the Rose Palace, it won't sound good, regardless of whether they succeed or not."
The spy minister at the side reminded.
Vincent said nothing, but looked at him with cold eyes.
This sight gave him goosebumps, as if a bolt of lightning had exploded not far behind him.
Could it be that the other party realized something...
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
But this should be impossible. The entire intelligence system of Thorn City is in his hands. All the intelligence received by the other party every day has to pass through his hands. With Vincent's own pitiful connections, how can he detect any clues?
The captain of the guards stood up and walked to the door of the meeting room and said:
"I'd better take my men to stabilize the situation outside first. I will ask the deputy captain of the guard for clarification later."
After he said that, he pushed the door open and suddenly saw the deputy captain of the Black Thorn Guard standing at the door.
And fully armed.
"The situation outside has been stabilized, and the people are wholeheartedly welcoming the return of the real Duke."
The other party grinned at him.
Behind him stood several robed magic casters holding spell media.
…………
Moon Realm, Lake of Entropy.
"So, our Lord Disaster has returned to Thorn City now?"
Valk asked for who knows how many times.
"No... He is still guarding near the Serpent's Trace... Forget it, I won't wait any longer. Use those believers to seal off the surrounding space."
Camilla said.
"What a pity... After a thousand years, the friend that Disaster just made is going to die. Ahem, Dementia, now let's use those countless crowns to make the space around that magnificent palace become stagnant!"
