“The Kingdom of Gallia must fight without the grave sabotage committed by an old, out-of-touch, senile Queen. Her actions have led to countless military disasters for Gallia, leading to great loss of life, great loss of territory, and great loss of our national pride. Under these extreme circumstances, with the invasion of our foes in the east, and the untenable internal situation threatening the collapse of the Kingdom, we in the military will now suspend the rule of the ineffective civilian government. We urge the Queen and her ministers to step down at once for the survival of this nation. We urge all citizens, women, and men, to join the fight in their own ways, both in the homefront and the frontlines. And we urge our allies to come to us in full support, as we try our utmost best to defend Gallia. Long live Gallia.”

- Radio Broadcast from General Clovis Duval.

+++

West Orland

November Palace

“What…are you…”

“I said what I said,” Amelie replied. “You are to vacate the palace at once, and let the Army in. We did our best to negotiate with the mutineers. The entire GAF has now rallied behind them. I’m afraid the best I can do now is to save your life. And the lives of those inside the besieged buildings.”

“You can’t do this. Amelie! If they make me leave the palace, and if they make my government leave their posts, they will take over and Gallia will become a military dictatorship. You cannot allow this to happen. You will doom us all!”

“We’re in negotiations with them.”

“You cannot negotiate with terrorists!”

“Are you calling your nation’s military, the same ones dying for the defense of your Kingdom…terrorists?” Amelie scowled. “Look, I know you’re not stupid. The political situation has changed. Orland will not go against the wishes of our allies on the frontlines.”

“I am your ally!”

“Was. Not anymore,” Amelie paused. “Vacate at once. You do not want to end up dead in an assault. And I am trying my best to talk them down from doing it, but one thing I have to tell you, they’ve already taken control of every city in Gallia. Only a few provinces are holding out in the south, and the GAF is marching to take over. It’s over.”

“You have…”

“No, I already did what I could do. The CFN is marching forward, and the GAF is an integral part of your Kingdom’s defense, and they’re fighting side-by-side with my soldiers. You are not my friend anymore. Your military is my only friend now. But…for the sake of our previous relationship, I am willing to help you out to evacuate from there and abdicate with some grace.”

“Abdication…”

“Your daughter will take the throne. You will abdicate and lay low in whatever estate you have in Gallia, and live the rest of your days under my protection. I simply took the pragmatic approach here. You and I know you’ve screwed up politically, and I will not be dragged into that sinking ship. Cut your losses and vacate. It’s for the best.”

“You’re going to end up the same way one day. You think those soldiers around you won’t do the same?”

“If they do, then I’d probably deserve it. But until then, I am doing my job as the Queen of Orland to please all of my subjects, those in my military included. You failed that, clearly. Both your subjects and your military have lost faith in you. You cannot continue blaming everyone else when you had all the power for years. Take responsibility and leave. If I’m being honest, you’re getting out of this luckily. So take it. Or do you want to eat a bullet instead of dying with some dignity in a peaceful estate?”

“They’re calling me old and senile. They’re attacking my character. My legacy. What grace is in such a fate?!”

“She really sounds like she’s crying,” Walter tried to hold off his chuckle as he watched Amelie talk on the phone. “You know, I applaud our Queen’s endless patience. I don’t think I can talk to someone as insufferable as that calmly.”

“Shh,” Amelie placed down the phone momentarily. “I’m talking.”

“Apologies.”

Amelie sighed, before placing the phone back to her ear.

“I know what they’re doing, but if you have self-respect and know for yourself that it may not be true, then you can just ignore it. It’s better than seeing you dragged bloodily out of your palace. Trust me on this. You don’t want to end up like that. Shot with many holes. Bleeding. Lord knows what more they would do to you. They hate you to the guts. That’s why I have my soldiers already waiting outside. I will protect you. If you even need it, I’ll let you flee to Orland so long as you promise to not cause trouble. I’ll do anything to keep you alive. But not any more than that. And it’s up to you to choose what fate you want.”

Amelie shook her head.

“We’ve talked long enough. What do you choose now? Do you want to die in a pointless last stand? Or do you want to walk away safely and cut your losses? Tell me now.”

There was a brief silence on the other side. Amelie could hear the old woman’s repressed sobs. It seemed that the entire day had completely shattered Clericia’s demeanor. With each phone call that Amelie made with her, she could hear her desperation and grief grow and grow. Now, she was truly sobbing on the other side of the phone.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Come on, just let me get done with this you fossil. Amelie impatiently thought. This entire quagmire had distracted her and the MN enough from more pressing matters. Just step down and end everyone’s agony. You can literally just end up having guns pointed at you by saying yes to my plan. Then it’s over. Over. Why are you so stupid to take this long to realize that you already screwed up hard?

“...I shall vacate then. But mark my words, you’re making a mistake.”

“Sure…whatever makes you feel better, Clericia. Whatever makes you feel better.”

Amelie placed the phone down.

“William, coordinate everyone to make sure that Queen Clericia will be stepping out peacefully. Make sure that the 19th will escort out every civilian and government head to safety. I don’t want any more incidents. That’s all.”

“I’ll be on it, Amelie,” William nodded and turned around.

“Goddess, I need some tea…”

+++

“We did what we could do,” Amelie explained to the Queen of Lorathia. “Yes..it’s an untenable situation. We can’t let the GAF defect to the other side, so we did what we could do. I hope you understand.”

“My government will support the GAF for now,” Eliette said on the other side. “But we must prepare for any eventualities. This is a sour day for us all.”

“I know. Again, thanks for calling.”

“Make sure you're fine over there. Anxiety over these things can hit like a truck.”

“Thanks for those words, Your Majesty,” Amelie replied as she smiled a bit. “Again, apologies that your old friend had to go. I didn’t choose this decision lightly.”

“I know. I long knew that Clericia’s been pushing things too far. Unfortunately, I have never been vocal in opposing her. It’s an inevitable result. I thank you more for making sure she got out safely. That’s ultimately kind of you.”

Amelie wanted to awkwardly laugh at that, considering that she and William had other plans on reserve should Clericia cause trouble, but she just nodded.

“Thanks.”

“Have a good evening. It’s been a long day.”

“To you too.”

Amelie soon placed her phone down and breathed out deeply. Her office was now empty save for Nia, who tended to the last few paperwork of the day. Amelie returned to the slice of cake she was eating to calm herself, considering the number of phone calls that assaulted her office from so many heads of state and government.

“I hope that’s the last…” Amelie complained to Nia. “Nia…can we please switch places for once?”

“Me, turn into a Queen?” Nia laughed a bit.

“Mhm. Like, for one day! Just…I think you should just imitate my voice. Like a body double!”

“I think I can’t exactly copy your slightly childish and squeaky voice…” Nia awkwardly backed a bit. “Yeah, sorry. Plus, you look like you’re doing well over there. Good luck, Your Majesty!”

Nia gave her a thumbs-up and a grin while Amelie crossed her arms and pouted.

This Queen business is unfair. I swear, if I retire, would it feel better?

“Ugh, it’s just such a pain…” Amelie wanted to just lay her head down on the table as she poked her cake with her fork. “I swear, one thing goes boom in another continent, and everyone runs to me like I’m sort of an instant solver machine.”

“Now, now, that’s just what being a leader is,” Nia said. “Well, being the leader of the ‘international community’ that is. Quite frankly, I think it’s nice that our good leader is just as human as the rest of us.”

“Maybe the world would be running better if I didn’t have sleeping issues,” Amelie countered.

“Oh, so you’re up for drug enhancement now? I heard some of the more energetic world leaders are all hooked up in stuff to keep themselves sharp 24/7.”

“Um, ew, I’d rather not.”

“Yeah, exactly,” Nia however looked up at the ceiling, placing her hand on her chin. “So maybe you should get checked more by your doctor. And you should probably start listening to her more.”

“You know my daily schedule. I’d rather get an hour of free time to laze around and wallow in my misery than visit the doc. Besides, she just keeps telling me that I need to rest and stuff. Well, I sleep for a few hours and suddenly all of Gallia is alight while I’m trying to get a shuteye. So unless I completely collapse, her advice is just unfeasible.”

“Quite the mindset you have, Amelie.”

“It is what it is…”

Just as Amelie fully sliced a piece of her cake, however, out of nowhere, the door to her office swung open. Outside, was William, who was breathing deeply. He barged inside and closed the door, before presenting himself in front of Amelie.

“William? What happened? You look like you ran like hell to get here,” Amelie said. William stopped and took a deep breath before he straightened himself.

“I did. Amelie, we got a report from the 19th Mechanized,” William said. “Clericia is now being sent to the hospital. She’s suffering from a sudden cardiac arrest, just minutes after our troops evacuated her from the palace with her personal guards.”

Amelie dropped her fork.

Another damned complication?!

“W-what? William, did you do—”

“I swear, we didn’t,” William defended himself. “We did nothing of the sort. But I did do some emergency digging. Clericia already suffered multiple heart failures over the last few years. She’s old. I think the stress got through her today. She literally just collapsed out of nowhere. We did nothing. Nothing at all. Even the CO of the 19th right now is testifying to the OHC over the phone line that they were doing everything just fine until it happened.”

“What’s her status?” Amelie stood up from her seat.

“She’s now being rushed to the nearest hospital. It only happened sixteen minutes ago.”

“Goddess…monitor her condition please, and give me updates every hour. I think I’m not sleeping tonight. Not until this situation is stabilized.”

“Me neither,” William said. “I don’t think anyone is, really.”

“Yeah…that’s true,” Amelie muttered. “That’s true. No sleep for now. And here I was already finally trying to relax. Goddess it really just doesn’t end, does it?”