The Governor and Domenico deliberated for a long time before finally deciding not to hold a public trial at the docks.
Instead, they would hand the case directly to the High Court for adjudication.
At the same time, they required that every family recorded in the Book of Gold must send a representative to attend.
This was especially true for the Northern faction.
Currently, the Navy’s reaction was not as volatile as they had imagined.
Emilia had taken full control of naval dispatching, and the greatest hidden threat had been neutralized.
Julia was also set to be transferred as the Deputy Commander of the home fleet.
It was obvious that as long as the Commander-in-Chief himself had no “objections,” it would not be long before the word “Deputy” could be removed from her title.
As for the Commander-in-Chief himself, they were inclined to send him to the Southern Isles colony to serve as the Superintendent.
Ever since the last disease outbreak among the crops in the Southern Isles, their agricultural products had been banned from Landingset for a long time.
Although the situation was now under control, production had plummeted.
This forced the Republic to import more grain from other countries.
In particular, they had to import more wheat from the Frostwave Kingdom.
This was a fatal weakness.
The Commander-in-Chief had a background in agronomy.
He only began serving in the Navy later in life through the dual recommendations of Emilia’s father and Bauer’s father.
It was only fitting to let him return to his original profession.
Moreover, there was so much profit to be skimmed in the colonies that it would be more than enough for him to enjoy his retirement.
Then there was the Shipbuilding Bureau.
It had to be given to Livyat; there was no other choice.
The construction of capital ships was directly related to the relationship between the two nations.
Therefore, Domenico told Julia to hurry and discuss it with Livyat.
At the consulate, Julia explained the events of the past two days to Livyat and Tess, including the seizure of Bauer’s residence, the thoughts of the Governor and her father, and the trial that was about to begin.
Tess was actually surprised for the first time.
“Are you saying that members of the Northern faction have been pledging their loyalty to the Governor, changing their allegiances, or even fleeing Landingset by boat overnight? And none are resisting?”
Julia nodded.
“As it looks now, they are leaderless. They don’t even have a place to hold an emergency meeting. Once the official letter from the Commander-in-Chief of the Sea arrived the following noon, everything was settled.”
Livyat felt this was quite normal; many things happened this way.
“If it were a public challenge, they would be on guard and suspicious. They would have started contacting the Navy to revolt, or even ordered sailors ashore to fight the Republican Guard.”
Livyat continued, “If they had challenged the Governor publicly from the start, the Governor would have immediately declared martial law, moved the Republican Guard into the city, and strengthened the defenses of the Governor’s Mansion. But if they had intended to assassinate the Governor from the beginning, the Elven faction would have been finished. Perhaps the Governor’s body would have been tossed directly into Landingset Harbor without even a funeral.”
“The lines between us and them are blurred—that is where the trouble in the world lies.”
This was why Livyat always said Mrs. Bauer was a “decent” person.
Julia looked at Livyat with a smile, feeling in her heart that this little queen was constantly improving.
“Livyat, my father said he wants you to take over the Shipbuilding Bureau. From now on, you’ll be the General Manager. You must fulfill your duties well.”
Before Livyat could speak, Tess rolled her eyes impatiently.
“Hmph, I thought they were going to give the Republic to Livyat. You’re making it sound like being a General Manager is some prestigious position. Aren’t you a General Manager too, Julia?”
Julia pulled back her smile and retorted.
“Speaking of which, the Elven kingdom hasn’t even dared to announce her title as Queen to the world. Keeping Livyat as a Shadow Queen—is this your way of honoring your monarch? I’d say, if Livyat actually becomes the Governor of the Republic one day, you’ll probably still be too afraid to announce it. Titles have a hierarchy, so Livyat would have to be addressed as the Governor of the Most Serene Republic and Queen of the Elindria Territories.”
Tess was silenced.
It was true; the Elven kingdom still did not dare to announce the Queen’s name.
She had written to her mother many times to question this, but the only answer she received was that Livyat’s surname had not yet been divined.
Seeing that Tess was silent, Julia decided to press her advantage.
“Livyat, I told my father to give you the land for several houses outside the consulate. You can tear them down to make a garden or do whatever else you like.”
“Also, I feel very guilty about the last riot. You’ve never learned to use a sword, so I brought you a weapon that’s easy to use.”
With that, she placed an extremely exquisite box on the table and opened it.
Inside lay a handgun carved from ivory.
“Pick it up and try it. It’s made of ivory and is very light. That’s the magical part of this gun.”
Livyat reached out and picked up the pistol.
It was indeed very light, and she began to examine it closely.
The frame of the gun seemed to be made from a single piece of ivory.
The material felt warm to the touch, yet it shimmered with a cold, bluish-gray bone tint.
The delicate and complex patterns were carved with such roundness that it felt as though they were made by something other than a chisel.
The inlaid metal barrel did not make the gun any heavier.
There was an opening at the rear that could be flipped out, seemingly for pouring gunpowder.
If that were the case, this gun did not require muzzle-loading.
What a magical weapon!
Julia was very pleased to see that Livyat was satisfied.
“Wait, Julia, why do I see a word on the grip?”
“What?”
Julia had handled this pistol many times.
It was smooth and rounded all over, and except for the patterns, there were no letters on it.
Julia looked at the spot where Livyat was pointing.
Pale blue letters had indeed appeared there.
They had drawn the curtains, making the room quite dark, and the word was even faintly glowing.
‘Is this really a magical item?’ This might be the first time in Julia’s life that she had come into contact with a real magical item.
Tess leaned in as well.
With just one look, her expression immediately soured.
“Julia, where did you get this handgun? Tell the truth.”
Julia disliked Tess’s commanding tone, but considering this was a gift for Livyat, she wanted to be sure.
She answered quickly.
“I seized it from Bauer’s house. As for where she got it, I have no idea.”
Tess stared at Julia with a stern face.
Only after confirming that she wasn’t lying did she continue.
“This word is ‘Valenria’ in Ancient Elven. However, it’s been declined; it would be more accurate to translate it as ‘Property of Valenria.'”
Valenria.
All three of them knew that this was the surname of the royal family of the 10,000-year Elven dynasty.
This surname symbolized endless tyranny and suffering.
No matter how indifferent a human might be to history, they could not remain unmoved upon hearing that word.
Shaer’aelan Valenria, the founding monarch of the 10,000-year dynasty, had used his unprecedented authority to forcibly pass the throne to his daughter, Theradia, precisely because he had conquered the “Impenetrable” Dwarven Ironhold.
If that were the case, this gun was at least 2,000 years old.
Julia didn’t know what to do.
She had meant to give Livyat a refined gift for self-defense, which was supposed to be a good thing.
Who would have thought it would be connected to the Valenria family?
While humans might write comedies about the Valenria royal family, depicting those cruel queens as clowns in robes barking orders, for elves, it was a topic best left untouched and unmentioned.
Julia reached out to take the gun back, thinking she would compensate Livyat with a better gift next time.
But Livyat suddenly tucked the pistol into her waist and said to Julia and Tess with a laugh, “Oh, why bring up such heavy matters? Since Julia gave this to me, I’m definitely keeping it. Tess, it’s fine. Just because it’s engraved with the name Valenria doesn’t mean the gun itself is evil, right?”
Tess didn’t actually care that much; she had only wanted to mock Julia.
Seeing Livyat accept the gift, she said nothing more.
But Julia was different—’You’re really going to act like that toward me, Tess? What are you trying to do?’
“Tess, I’ve been busy with government affairs these past few days and haven’t looked after Livyat. Why haven’t you taken better care of her? Look at her hair—the ends are starting to split! It truly breaks my heart.”
Tess was visibly fuming, her face turning a deep shade of red.