“Mandate of Nations investigatory teams have concluded that casualties have reached around forty-thousand Gallian civilians. The Gallian government however has claimed that the casualties have reached at least two hundred thousand, accusing the Larissan Confederation and the Pozneki Republic of attempted genocide. The CFN has refused to accept these numbers, calling them nothing but ‘propaganda’, stating that the settlements and cities attacked had been warned and evacuated ahead of time, and that casualties cannot be more than that of the expected collateral casualties in conventional bombing. These words have rung hollow to the International Community, as images from Orlish, Lorathian, and Gallian soldiers who entered cities contaminated by the horrifying gas are shown to the public. The presence of Sarin, Phosgene, Tabun, and other contaminants that are still being cleared by advancing forces has been confirmed. The allied offensive has also not been stopped, only slowed, with Orlish and Lorathian armored forces continuing their advance fourteen hours after the chemical attacks.”
- Geopol Press
+++
West Orland
Eutstadt State Congress
“Order in the House please!” The Parliament’s elderly speaker, Elizabeth Luft, said out loud. Jacqueline, Walter, and Amelie both arrived at the door together. Jacqueline went first, then Walter, who adjusted his tie, and Amelie. The trio didn’t have much of an entourage with them.
When Amelie looked at the State Congress, it was clear how much the evacuation had taken its toll on the Parliament. Gone was the highly decorated and adorned splendor of the old one in Halia. Instead, what she could see was a packed room. No more was the semi-circle seating arrangement too. Instead, the MPs sat on a bunch of packed benches where they could shout and clobber each other.
On the left side, the Orlish Republican Party sat together. The men in their almost uniform black and gray suits had empty expressions on them. Silent and observant, their jaded stares didn’t give Amelie any comfort. Then there was her preferred daughter party—the UOP. They occupied the majority of the seats in the center. And all of them looked up at Jacqueline and Amelie with proud smiles and cheers.
Then, the absolutely furious Arcanist Party on the far right, their seats the lowest amongst the three. Amelie’s regime had furiously purged the conservatives left and right, all because of their obstructionist nonsense in times of war. If the NRP was the traitors who rose against the Kingdom with bloodthirst and savagery, the AP was the traitors who kept the Kingdom’s hand chained from action.
Fortunately, the trio didn’t care about the piercing stares, frowns, and arrogantly narrowed eyes of these noblewomen.
“Her Majesty, Queen Amelie, is here today to request another great bill from this Assembly,” Elizabeth said, as Amelie nodded. “In accordance with the threat posed by yesterday’s chemical attacks, Lady Heiss has drafted the ‘State Protection Act’, which will entail raised taxes on the nobility, new security provisions, and the revocation of nobility’s right to state administration.”
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the chamber dropped. Well, except for the ORP politicians, Amelie noticed. They suddenly leaned forward with interest, many talking to each other in hushed tones. On the other hand, some of the UOP politicians seemed…pale. Though most of the young reformist women in the party remained supportive. The AP was, as expected, utterly red-faced.
Amelie took herself to the microphones, first before Jacqueline and Walter.
“Members of Parliament, if I may, I shall explain why we have thought of this. As you may know, in accordance with the Federal system that the Kingdom has implemented since its inception, the Principalities of the Kingdom have long given their major lords a great deal of power in deciding how internal matters are run. That has so far greatly limited the coordination of our response to rapidly developing threats due to the great noble houses’ insistence on independent internal policies. I have looked long and hard into this problem, and I believe it is simply foolish. The Great Houses have their place in the traditions of the Orlish State, but the Orlish State need not be shackled by local inadequacies. The frontline Principalities have long been under the direct control of Orlish State and the military, and it has lent itself to great results.
“Direct control by trained and experienced bureaucrats and field commanders have greatly increased security and response quality in these areas, as is necessary in wars. I do not blame the Great Houses and their desire for power in their hereditary lands, but this is not the time for such desires. With Martial Law in effect, the Emergency Policies will be extended to all Orlish Principalities. The elected Governors will now answer not to their lords, but to the Orlish State here in Eutstadt. The military will now have a final say in how the Principalities will be run in matters of security. And the Great Houses will now have their rights and privileges to governance by virtue of hereditary reasons, repealed. This is all necessary for us to fully implement the act’s provisions, which are about enhancing the security of the Orlish people.
“All cities will now be implementing weekly drills and practices. Security will be tightened. Protective gear will be distributed. Construction of shelters and bunkers will be commenced. New protocols to respond to Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical threats will be put in place. This will be directed and coordinated by the Principalities’ elected governments, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Ministry of the Interior, and all other relevant ministries and agencies based in Eutstadt. Please, I ask you to vote for this. Let us protect Orland together, in a unified manner.”
Silence.
The State Protection Act was highly controversial, Amelie knew. Pristina, Anne, and even Jacqueline had some reservations about it. The High Nobility held a lot of power in managing the internal affairs of the Principalities after all, and they had a lot of outdated ideas about running their respective places. It was simply too painful to deal with their obstruction and “divergent ideas”.
And at the same time, it was an outdated system. It was the equivalent of keeping the feudal hierarchies of Orland alive, just masked in a “Federal System”. It was long beyond its expiration date, just like the Matriarchy itself. Just another corpse kept alive by the High Nobility’s delusions about the magical powers it had obsessed over for centuries. Amelie was keen to dismantle it at once, and the chemical attacks were a good pretense.
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No longer was it now just the frontlines liable to full martial law. The entire country was now potentially a target of WMD attacks. No more than would Amelie accept any obstruction to a more efficient, centralized effort to defend the Orlish people from it. The dissolution of the feudalistic tendencies of Orland was just a cherry on top, especially since with this, she’d finally bleed the High Nobility dry with taxes.
Taxes she’d feed to her war economy and the construction of urban shelters and bunkers. All of which would most likely require at least half a trillion blancs to do so.
And then, they would oppose it. Yep, there she is. She’s already about to speak.
Duchess Flandere, aghast at the proposition, tried to speak on her microphone.
“Mrs. Speaker, may I take my stand?”
“You may,” Elizabeth answered.
“Your Majesty, you cannot be serious about this,” the woman said. “That’s plain tyranny. It’s dictatorial. How can you say such things? We cannot support that. We cannot. This Parliament represents the rights of the land and its people. Not yours. You’re just…no, the AP will not vote for this. I know my members would never support this. This is a travesty to the traditions of freedom in Orland. This goes against the Act of Federal Union. An affront to our system!”
“Freedom?” Amelie chuckled. “Don’t insult me. This entire Civil War is precisely because of the lack of freedom we have imposed on half of Orlish society. These policies were also fueled by the autocrats who lorded over their local fiefdoms. No, Lady Flandere, Orland will not tolerate anything of that sort of thinking. I ask every sane person here. Why shall we continue with this inefficient sharing of power between the local lords of our Principalities, and the elected Governors we have there? It’s an internal contradiction. We cannot be democratic while respecting the rights of hereditary lords. This is simply a streamlining to finally remove the bloat of the Orlish State. Something we need to survive.”
Another bout of silence.
“But you yourself are in a hereditary position,” Duchess Flandere challenged, her frown deepening. “Respectfully, you are being hypocritical, Your Majesty.”
“Exactly,” Amelie said. “That’s why I rule only in emergency powers. Have you read the act? Even the crownlands and the Grand Duchy are subject to these changes. Rejoice. Your Monarch will be just as powerless as you will be once this is over. Change, Duchess Flandere, isn’t it sweet?”
+++
“Your approval ratings have risen dramatically,” William congratulated as the four dined in the night. The ORP and the UOP, who had long wanted reforms in the governance of the Principalities, gained a complete majority to pass the act. Amelie relished the tears from the few UOP conservatives and the AP. Most of them were of the High Nobility—and they knew their days were numbered. “Seems like the ‘People’s Queen’ is making great strides.”
Amelie just snorted at William’s teasing.
“Oh shut up, will you,” Amelie said, as she dug through her salad. “Plus, this was your damned idea. Walter’s too.”
“Hey, why not?” Walter said, hungrily devouring his steak. “The more the power is centralized in the hands of the Central Government and the Principalities' governments, the better. Those people are mostly elected. The High Nobility was just born from the right vagina.”
Jacqueline almost vomited then and there.
“Walter!” She shouted, a bit flustered, as she tapped her mouth with her handkerchief. “Can you speak with more tact? You’re in front of Her Majesty.”
Amelie too was quite flustered by that, but she decided not to comment.
Walter however just shrugged.
“What, you two ain’t not too different from that description,” he chuckled. “I mean, you two are slightly better, but make no mistake. You’re just as shafted by these provisions afterward. A triumph for democracy in every way.”
“Yeah, the Principalities constantly deferring to their lords during policy changes have hampered our wartime mobilization too much,” William said. “At this point, the Federalists have mobilized at least sixty to seventy percent of their population and economy to the war effort. We haven’t even reached half of that figure. It’d be disastrous in the long term. The hand of Eutstadt needs more control.”
“They’re about to repeal the 1750 Act of Federal Union,” Jacqueline said. “I’ve already instructed my party to begin drafting the new one. We'll remove the parts of letting the aristocracy exercise administrative powers in the Principalities. And fully give their elected governments power.”
Amelie sighed.
“Good, good. At least it didn’t turn out too disastrous. Goddess, I still don’t understand why anyone before me was sane enough to even keep this entire charade going on for centuries. It’s just stupid. It’s like, the nobility wants to have their cake and eat it. They get to act like lords, but also, pay lip service to ‘democracy’.”
“That offends you?” William asked curiously.
“Obviously. They can only have one or the other. Then again, it’s not like my changes are fully democratic either,” Amelie rested her right cheek on her hand. “I look like a dictator now.”
“We’ve placed enough safeguards in the act to keep the Queen’s powers limited outside of wartime emergencies,” Walter said. “Then after that, we can go a step further once the reforms are finished. A new shiny constitution. Then you can blabber off as a ceremonial Queen post-war.”
Amelie sighed.
“Yeah, that’s the plan. I just work hard to…eventually give up my power. It’s ironic though. I have to increase my power to reform the country. Then give it up. It’s almost dangerous if you think about it.”
“The military will shoot your ass if you try anything stupid,” Walter blurted out without care. “Can’t be an absolutist Queen just because you defanged the already weakened civilian institutions of Orland when the military has achieved near ascendancy. If anything, I bet the nutheads at the OHC are very thankful for your continued cooperation.”
“Thanks for your absolute bluntness as always,” Amelie smiled sweetly at him. “As if I didn’t know that.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Walter said. “You like things served cold and true after all, Your Majesty. I just serve it the way you like it. Besides, I don’t give a shit anymore. If y’all wanna sabotage my career or purge me, have at it. I’m just doing my damned job.”
“Helpful as always, Deputy Prime Minister. And no, none of that will ever happen. I hope next time your ideas can be less unhinged though. It terrifies me to imagine if you’re my actual Prime Minister.”
“As you should.”
“Noted.”