The Villainess's Reputation [Kingdom Building]

312. Andrew Solarius’s Decree

“Life is nothing but a full schedule of unfortunate coincidences,” Ravenna muttered, sitting upright as the morning sun began to spill through the high windows.Laila rustled next to her under the silk sheets, her voice thick with sleep as she reached out to hug Ravenna’s waist. “Woah... that’s quite a quote. Who said that?”

“Dorothy Parker, a famous and cynical poet,” Ravenna answered. She reached back, her hands wandering around Laila’s body and fondling her with a practiced, possessive touch. “Not that you would ever know of her.” She offered a small smile as Laila began to make lovely, soft noises of appreciation.

Laila, her curiosity piqued even through her haze of pleasure, shifted her weight to let herself be closer, granting Ravenna easier access to enjoy her. “But why were you reminded of such a bitter quote this early in the morning?”

“Marie’s birthday falls on the very same day that Father’s funeral is being held in the Capital,” Ravenna replied, her voice dropping into a somber tone.

Between the soft noises she was making, Laila managed to whisper, “T... that is rather unfortunate indeed.”

A few hours later. Ravenna’s Study, Lord’s Castle, Kim City.

“Ha!”

Ravenna leaned back in her chair after reading the latest progress report on her new residence. She let out a long, weary sigh. “Everything seems to be going as planned... so easily, in fact, that I’m starting to get worried that something catastrophic might happen soon,” she muttered to the empty room. She quickly signed off on the final administrative tasks for the morning, clearing her desk of the island's domestic affairs.

“I should finally read the report on what is actually happening within the Capital,” she thought, picking up the thick, wax-sealed folder that had arrived via magic from Duke Morgen.

A few hours ago. Imperial Court, Sun Palace, Capital City.

“The decree is absolute absurdity!” a high-ranking noble shouted, his face turning a deep shade of crimson as the official reading of the Emperor’s final will concluded.

The grand hall of the Sun Palace was in an uproar. Usually, the Court was a place of stifled whispers and practiced bows, but today, the air was thick with indignation and shock. The announcement of the post-mortem decree had struck like a lightning bolt, shattering the established order of the Solious Faith’s grip on the throne.

“To frame a war declaration as a reason to dismantle the sacred laws of succession?” another voice cried out from the back of the assembly. “This is not the work of the Andrew Solarius we knew! This smells of a conspiracy!”

Taken from NovelFire, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Standing at the front of the hall, clutching a blood-stained scroll, was Dame Ocelina. Beside her, Duke Kevin Morgen leaned heavily on a cane, his leg wrapped in thick, stained bandages. They stood as the silent, battered witnesses to a tragedy that was currently tearing the political fabric of the Empire apart.

“The decree was written in the Emperor’s own hand while he bled in that cabin!” Duke Morgen’s voice boomed, silencing the room for a fleeting second. “Will you call your dying sovereign a liar while the assassins of Conley still draw breath?”

“Even if we were to do this, the Church won’t—” Count Jeremy began, his refusal a habitual reflex. But a second thought seemed to flash behind his eyes, and he quickly pivoted, his voice taking on a performative gravity. “You are right, Duke Morgen! How can we possibly ignore the Emperor’s final, blood-soaked wishes?”

The Court was visibly fractured. On one side stood the high nobles who had suffered for generations, their lands and lineages bled dry by the perpetual succession wars of the Golden Silkworm. On the other were those whose power was inextricably tied to the Church. While the vast majority secretly hungered for the stability the decree offered, they remained paralyzed by the fear of meeting the same grisly end as previous monarchs who had dared to challenge the Solious Doctrine.

“This goes directly against the holy doctrine of the Solious Faith!” one of the high priests present shouted, his face contorted with rage.

Duke Morgen smirked inwardly. “Finally, the Church steps into the trap.” He took a deliberate, heavy step forward with his cane. “How can that be? The decree is clearly seeking a sure path to deliver justice, something that is within the Goddess’s domain without causing a heretical uproar. To suggest otherwise... well, it almost looks as if the Church is attempting to undermine the Crown itself. It’s very suspicious.”

Duke Roland, ever the opportunist, sensed the shifting winds and moved in for the kill. “The Solious Church was only recently outed for having its own Pope under Cultist control, an infiltration so deep it spawned dungeons at the very gates of our Capital.”

“Indeed. This behavior makes me feel like the Church does not want the Empire to be peaceful,” Duke Morgen added, casting a pointed glance toward the rows of reporters scribbling furiously in the gallery.

For the first time in the centuries-long history of the Ancorna Empire, the nobility could openly insinuate that the Church was being puppeted by the Witch and actually get away with it. It was a masterstroke of public relations. If the Church denied the decree, they would be seen as aiding the Conley Empire, which was already rumored to be a puppet state for the Cult thereby proving they were no longer fit to guide the souls of the people.

Thanks to the independent newspapers of Raven Casino, the Church no longer held a monopoly on the truth.

“We... we believe the matter requires further discussion, but we are not inherently against it!” the high priests stammered, desperately trying to maintain a facade of cooperation while their influence evaporated in real-time.

The debate raged on into the late hours, but the momentum was irreversible. By nightfall, the gavel struck, and the silence that followed was heavy with the weight of a dying era.

“The Emperor’s decree shall be carried out in the coming weeks, exactly as he intended!” the Imperial Court announced.

The Sun Palace had spoken. The vacant throne would not be filled by blood anymore.