As the Queen walked off the gangway with a puzzled look, native soldiers pushed back the onlookers.
The English cheered and stretched out their hands toward her, while others blinked curiously as they looked at her.
The Queen and Raleigh walked along the path made by soldiers through those crowds.
After boarding a carriage and moving, the following crowd gradually diminished. The village of green-roofed houses gradually disappeared behind them, and neatly divided farmlands ca into view.
Elizabeth asked Raleigh, who was sitting beside her.
"Did you say we're going to where the cathedral is?"
"More precisely, we're going to where the cathedral is being built."
"Is it still under construction?"
"Yes. We're building it by importing materials from England and France. Many others are also generously contributing donations and service. Look! Those farmlands over there belong to the English. All that vast land was given freely by him. The wheat and potatoes from there feed the poor in England!"
"It seems exactly as was advertised."
After hearing more explanations about this community, the carriage soon stops in front of the cathedral. Then, Raleigh quietly opens the carriage door to help her alight.
Through the open door, a corridor covered with fur pelts can be seen.
With long benches arranged on both sides, it looked like a chapel.
Though still small in scale and with the roof not properly built, leaving the sky exposed...
Inside, people were gathered densely.
Upon seeing Elizabeth, they all quickly rose and awkwardly bowed to her.
Recalling what she had just heard from Raleigh about the shoddiness of this ceremony, Elizabeth rembered that here, the right to beco a mber of parliant is given regardless of status.
Those gathered here were the 'mbers' and 'parliant' leading this community.
And beyond those mbers, at the end of the corridor, there was a platform. One person was standing on it. Her aged eyes could only show a blurry outline of that person standing in the distance.
Nevertheless, Elizabeth could guess who he was.
As she approached the platform with Raleigh's guidance, the previously blurry image gradually beca clearer.
Slightly curly black hair.
Deep brown eyes.
Clean without a beard...
A boyish face.
Upon seeing that face, Elizabeth montarily paused.
In his gaze, there was a mineral-like calmness. His firmly closed lips and straight nose solidified an impression of composure and firmness. A distinctive resilience of soone who has lived through long years emanated like a body scent.
...And all those elents created a perfect disharmony with his boyish face. Elizabeth was montarily flustered by that strange sensation and looked around.
Looking closely, everyone here was holding bread and wine.
Co to think of it, today was Sunday. The Emperor distributed the bread and wine he was holding to everyone, then offered it to the Queen as well.
Of course, Elizabeth declined.
She is the head of the Church of England. She couldn't receive the Eucharist from soone who hadn't received the sacrant of ordination in the Church of England.
Fortunately, the Emperor didn't seem to feel any displeasure at being refused and after sharing bread and wine with everyone... he approached her.
During this ti, Walter Raleigh stepped forward as the Queen's vassal and spoke.
"Elizabeth, the rightful Queen of England, France, and Ireland, and Defender of the Faith, has visited the territory of Nemo, the sovereign of the Virginia community."
To this, the Emperor smiled and slightly bowed his head. At his gesture, the woman beside him brought a notebook and handed it to him. She was a woman the Queen knew. Eleanor.
The Emperor scribbled sothing in the notebook and handed it to Eleanor. Then Eleanor spoke on behalf of the Emperor.
'Our community welcos Your Majesty, the Queen of England, France, and Ireland.'
Then all the mbers gathered here simultaneously bowed to Elizabeth. Elizabeth looked around and... opened her mouth.
"Emperor, I hear that this is a cathedral still under construction. Is this a temporary chapel?"
At her words, the Emperor nodded and wrote down more sentences.
Reading those words, Eleanor stumblingly continued.
"That's right. The community plans to gradually expand the chapel from here and increase spaces for the choir to settle and so on... but it's still too humble to show you."
He looked around at the narrow space enclosed by brick walls and slightly bowed his head as if embarrassed, concluding his words.
He nodded and quietly gestured. Then the mbers all moved from their seats and bustled out of the chapel.
Suddenly, only four remained: the Emperor, Eleanor, the Queen, and Raleigh.
As the Emperor took a seat at an appropriate place, the Queen also sat down on one of the benches. The Emperor eagerly scribbled sothing and then tore off the page to hand it to the Queen.
'Queen of England, I heard you wanted to et . You must have had a hard ti on Roanoke Island while I was unable to do anything due to illness.'
"...Not at all. I'm just grateful for the invitation, even if belated. It's quite... cozy here."
As Elizabeth looked around and spoke, the Emperor again smiled and wrote sothing down.
'I had no other suitable place to receive you. We don't have many dignified spaces.'
aning there are no larger palaces or mansions here than this.
Perplexed by this fact, Elizabeth asks.
"No, from what I've heard, your empire is vast and your wealth is almost infinite. You're saying you don't have a separate palace?"
At those words, the Emperor shook his head.
He had no separate palace.
"Isn't that dangerous? If there were soone threatening you..."
At those words, the Emperor again just smiled slightly and wrote sothing.
'Our community is safe.'
"..."
Such unconditional faith. Suddenly, the Queen had to suppress a bitter smile that was about to erge.
After all, hadn't soone fled across the Atlantic, chased by rebellion, despite possessing one of the grandest palaces in Europe?
Perhaps, if one trusted one's people sufficiently and if one's authority wasn't low, palaces and guards might not be necessary.
'Of course, this is our story. Rest assured that separate accommodations have been prepared for you in the community. It's been set up right next door.'
"Right, next door?"
"This way."
When the Queen asked, Raleigh stood up and guided her. The Queen, sowhat bewildered, followed him, concluding the early eting with the Emperor.
Following Raleigh, there was indeed a quite large mansion built of brick right near the cathedral.
"As I ntioned, the cathedral is still under construction. For now, since Your Majesty was coming, we completed just a part of it to serve as a mansion."
"Is that so? Truly... the Emperor doesn't have a separate palace or sothing?"
"Yes, that's right. When he stays in Chesapeake, he lives in a house similar to those of other citizens."
"...Like a benevolent king from an old tale."
Elizabeth delivered those words like a jest and laughed... Raleigh also laughed in response and said.
"I... think so too."
Raleigh quietly looked around at the doorway and smiled.
"If there's anything uncomfortable, please ring the bell here. Those waiting nearby will bring whatever Your Majesty needs."
"Thank you, Walter."
Creeeeak.
Thud.
So the door closed.
Elizabeth threw her old and tired body onto the bed and fell into thought.
...It was a strange eting.
eting in the cathedral was probably to emphasize that he is a Christian monarch. Gathering mbers at the seat was to display his influence.
There wasn't anything else particularly noticeable.
And yet... the Queen frowned and kept repeating the sa thought.
'It feels like... I'm missing sothing.'
I don't know. The Queen shook her head and looked around the room.
In contrast to the crude and simple exterior, the interior was filled with all sorts of luxurious furniture and items. The Queen absent-mindedly approached a table made of ebony and picked up the wine on it.
She was thirsty. As she opened the lid and was about to pour it into a glass to drink...
'Wine'.
...She felt sothing chilling crawl up her spine. The Queen quickly put down the glass and rang the bell that Raleigh had ntioned.
Then, just a few minutes later, an attendant appeared, opening the door. The Queen urgently asked the attendant.
"Answer according to what you know."
"What is it that you want to know..."
"Were those people gathered with the Emperor just now in the chapel, the mbers of parliant?"
"Y-yes, but..."
At that, the Queen's face hardened. The Queen sent the attendant outside again, closed the door, and retraced the scene just now.
In the cathedral, the mbers who govern Virginia were gathered.
And among the chatter, there were clearly...
English and Spanish mixed.
English people and Spanish people were mixed as mbers.
To them, Nemo distributed bread and wine to 'all of them.' Even to Raleigh.
So didn't drink the wine, so ate both, but the conclusion was the sa.
Everyone perford the Eucharist with the wine and bread distributed by Nemo.
For a mont, a possibility flashes through the Queen's mind. She opens the door again, grabs the attendant, and asks.
"Is the Emperor here a Church of England adherent? Why does he personally distribute the holy blood and body to Catholics and Puritans? Even though he's not a priest? Is he perhaps a Puritan?"
Then, the attendant who clearly appeared to be English...
"Pardon? If you an the 'Emperor,' Nemo..."
After tilting his head as if wondering what she was saying, he soon seed to realize and said, clapping his hands.
"...Ah, he doesn't belong to any denomination!"
"...What?"
"Sotis he distributes the holy blood and body to community mbers as a priest, and if that's what you're referring to, since it's an event where everyone participates, whether Catholic or Church of England..."
...Nonsense.
Catholics would rather die than choose to receive the Eucharist through soone who is not a Catholic priest.
Puritans would choose to be burned at the stake rather than acknowledge the Emperor as a 'priest' while taking the Eucharist together with Catholics.
How can they...
The boyish face of the Emperor flickers before her eyes.
The mineral-like calmness in that gaze, the composed yet firm impression flowing from those firmly closed lips and straight nose, the distinctive resilience that emanates from those who have lived through long years.
That united the Catholics, Puritans, and Church of England adherents of this community.
English people heeded his voice, and African Catholic adherents followed his gestures.
She had t nurous monarchs. She had t nurous priests and bishops.
But he was neither like a monarch nor like a priest. Though it was a very brief eting, she could be certain.
Like Abraham or Moses, he led his people.
He... like... yes.
He was like a shepherd leading the flock of Virginia.
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