Free Web NovelChapter 1190: Chapter 1120: The Parliament Hill Riot Incident (Double-Length Chapter) (Part 3)
The air inside the Parliament Hill chamber froze for a moment.
The councillors began stepping down from their seats more frequently, gathering in twos and threes to whisper among themselves.
Mossley wiped the sweat from his forehead, his eyes constantly darting toward Valeris and Garth.
Even within the Holy Alliance faction there were faint murmurs of concern.
A Workshop Master councillor tugged on Bradak’s sleeve: "If this keeps going and some ambitious schemer slips in, or the Leia people take the chance to attack, won’t all the battles we fought before have been for nothing?
We still have to do business with them (the oligarch councillors) in the future."
Bradak patted his hand and said nothing, just stared at the sky outside the window.
The moon had already climbed high, its silver radiance spilling over the roofs of Parliament Hill, squeezing the anxiety out of the chamber.
Footsteps sent ripples through the mottled moon-shadows; several times the councillors tried to approach Bradak, only to be blocked.
Everyone was waiting, waiting for a turning point.
Either someone would compromise first, or some external force would break the deadlock.
"Look! Outside!" A councillor at the window suddenly shouted, pointing out.
The councillors surged to the windows; in the distant streets they saw a black-and-red banner slowly moving in the direction of Parliament Hill.
Beneath the banner rode a squad of cavalry in silver armor.
The sound of hooves, neat and orderly, stood out sharply amid the chaotic shouting.
"It’s the Saintess! Lady Joan is here!" Someone recognized the banner, their voice full of excitement.
The helpers outside the windows also saw the banner, and the shouting gradually subsided.
As if born with some innate Magic Power, the moment Jeanne arrived on a chestnut warhorse, the helpers immediately fell quiet.
Riding at the very front of the formation, she reined in her horse; her voice was clear and bright, carrying across the whole of Parliament Hill.
"Faithful of Dawn Island, I know your worries, and I know your demands.
I promise you, you will be given a satisfying answer. I can even tell you right now what it is: voting rights and seats in this council!
At the national assembly, you will likewise be able to make decisions and represent your own groups.
This is the promise I make to you—but it will take time.
So, please withdraw beyond the courtyard, restrain your actions, and do not harm the innocent!"
The cavalry immediately fanned out, facing the crowd.
The helpers looked at each other; Farabauer hesitated for a moment, then was the first to step back: "Her Highness the Saintess is here, we’ll do as she says!"
The crowd slowly retreated, and the chaotic street gradually returned to order.
The citizens hiding in the distance let out a breath of relief and collapsed onto the ground.
The councillors in the chamber also sat down one after another, the tension in their shoulders finally easing.
But they all knew this was only temporary, especially now that Her Highness the Saintess had already promised away the voting rights.
Many Falan faction members—especially those deeply bound to the Falan faction—looked decidedly grim.
They knew that the Saintess alone could not persuade the councillors, and a riot alone could not cow them either.
But "Joan" plus "riot," together with the current situation, would leave many Falan councillors with no choice.
The helpers and laborers had blockaded Parliament Hill in the inner city, while the farmers had blockaded the walls and gates of the outer city.
If their demands were not met, never mind the gates of Longbow Castle—no one would even be able to get out of the Parliament Hill gates.
Quite a few diehard Falan councillors were even calculating whether they should first put on a show of compromise.
Once they returned to their own cities, they could then break away from the Dawn Island Federation and directly form a New Dawn Island Federation.
If nothing else, they could always fight another war; it wasn’t as if they would be the ones going to the front.
As for the councillors of the Holy Alliance faction, they were positively cheerful; some even stood at the window cheering the helpers on.
With the Saintess here, there would be fairness.
With the Saintess here, the Holy Alliance and the Holy Sect were here.
Just as the people in the chamber were each wearing a different expression, the Saintess "Joan" finally arrived, unhurried and a little late.
