The beginning of the young princess Millicent's journey will not be easy... There is much this young girl simply does not know...

Several luxurious carriages, accompanied by an escort of elite knights-bodyguards, rush along the road in the northwest direction from the capital of the kingdom.

In one of the carriages is the young and charmingly sweet princess Millicent, who is cheerfully chatting with several of her ladies-in-waiting.

However, the last conversation with the queen mother was so impressive that its moments were "imprinted" in the memory of the cheerful and somewhat capricious princess, who grew up in an atmosphere of luxury and universal adoration.

"Remember, my dear, that now you must be extremely attentive and careful! As sad as it is, you must realize that the time for childish pranks has passed! I have to stay in the capital so that... So that the Council of Regents can continue to make the right decisions, for the good of the kingdom... Of course, I will write you letters often - but you still have to cast aside carelessness and fully immerse yourself in the affairs of governing the city of Iseldein! Understand that your future depends on the results of your activities! " - that evening the voice of the stately and beautiful Queen Mother Isolde was strict and demanding.

It seemed that this graceful black-haired woman was even ready to carry out the most shameless psychological pressure on her beloved daughter. Almost invisible under the masterfully applied makeup wrinkles around the eyes, a stern look, the very pose and the very tone of voice - it seemed that the smallest particles of her appearance prove that the burden of power tempers character and presses on the mind, causing torment and forcing one to control emotions.

Millicent looked like the absolute opposite of her majestic mother. The young princess was shorter, talkative, cheerful and funny. She was often prone to pranks and whims. She early became aware of her own beauty and the ability to influence people around her for her own pleasure.

Perhaps an impartial observer would come to the conclusion that Millicent was a spoiled child. However, Isolde tried to personally participate in the education and upbringing of her daughter. Regular lessons and assignments tired the girl and she was often bored. History, politics, economics, philosophy, foreign languages ​​...

The strict mother not only attracted teachers, but also taught her daughter herself ...

Probably, Isolde was the only person who somehow managed to encourage Millicent to do something other than entertainment, balls, pranks, buying expensive dresses ...

Of course, the princess loved her mother. But the young and naive girl could not fully understand the logic of Isolde's thinking. The secrets hidden in the darkness of ignorance were the "foundation" of the life of the royal court. And the Queen Mother reasonably believed that Millicent was not yet ready to fully learn the truth about many... "delicate" and confidential moments of the kingdom's life.

Indeed, many things are still hidden from the mind of the young princess Millicent...

For example, why did the Kingdom of Eborvair manage to survive for 16 years, avoiding destruction by aggressive tribes of orcs, goblins and trolls?

The explanation does not at all correspond to the ideas of knightly ballads popular at the royal court...

Bribery and shameful capitulation.

A strong union of several orcish tribes called the "Spinebreakers" captured most of the western forest region of the kingdom. And the Council of Regents allowed this to happen, abandoning attempts to resist and paying tribute to the orc leader.

Many of the kingdom's subjects were abandoned to their fate. Many humans became refugees, slaves, or... corpses.

All of this was the Queen Mother's idea. At the same time, Isolde bribed some of the southern tribes of orcs-nomads. The goal was to set the forest orcs against the steppe orcs. Let them kill each other.

So far, this venture has been relatively successful. And the Spinebreakers are too busy with the war on the southern borders.

The situation with the goblin and troll tribes has not yet been fully resolved. These disgusting monsters continue their predatory raids in the north and west, ruining villages. However, for now, the defense has been held thanks to the fact that the Queen Mother convinced the Council of Regents to grant special privileges and new lands to representatives of the Fardennian clergy. The Church of Fardenna has strengthened its position in various spheres of life in the kingdom. Many estates and even castles in the northern and eastern regions of the kingdom were given to the clergy of Stern Mistress of Justice. New monasteries have become not only spiritual centers, but also places for collecting taxes and organizing defense. Detachments of knights of the Fardennian military-religious Orders at least somehow support the defense of the kingdom in the north and east.

But where did the queen get the lands and castles she was able to offer to the devotees of Fardenna?

No one except the queen mother knows for sure... But perhaps some of the experienced court intriguers suspect...

All these lands, estates and castles had other owners in the past. Many representatives of the eborvairian feudal aristocracy died suddenly due to accidents or strange diseases.

So convenient...

A lot of real estate suddenly became ownerless property, subject to confiscation in favor of the royal treasury. Well, Isolde's skills in alchemy and herbalism were very useful...

Also in the north, the border of the kingdom was protected by the troops of one (possibly the only sincere) ally of the queen. The northwestern highlands are protected by military units of thane Natemir Glanef. He is the lord of the lands in the northwest of the kingdom and holds the title of thane of "Grim Peaks". Natemir is the younger brother of Queen Isolde, who became the lord of the family feudal domain after the **** of their common father.

However, the policy of the Council of Regents (directed and stimulated by the intrigues of Isolde) had its drawbacks.

In recent years, opposition sentiments have grown among the representatives of the Council of Regents. And Lord Aldric Videlhof was the most prominent of the opposition, but far from the only one. Aldric Videlhof was once a vassal of the king's cousin - Henry the Duke of Glen Yara. However, this homosexual Henry, subjected to royal disgrace, has long since died of syphilis. His lands were divided. Part of the lands and wealth were confiscated in favor of the royal treasury. And the other part of the lands was, with the help of various intrigues and machinations, seized by petty feudal lords. As a result, twelve years ago, a minor baron, Aldric Videlhof, managed to become so rich and influential in the southern region of the kingdom that he was able to acquire the title of count and even become the lord of the castle of a deceased representative of the royal family. Count Aldric Videlhof, feudal lord of Glen Yara Castle and the surrounding lands. The Queen Mother has repeatedly tried... to finally eliminate this person, by secret methods. Alas, it turned out that Aldric also knows a thing or two about intrigue and can protect himself...

Several of Isolde's "most trusted" servants were found with broken necks in muddy roadside ditches. Ironic: the "accident" befell those whose job it was to organize "accidents"...

What about the other disgruntled noble families?

The Kayburn family has become impoverished and has lost much of its land in the western forest region to the orcs. The royal power's indifference to the loss of territory and the Queen Mother's unwillingness to fight - all this makes the Kayburn baronial family embittered. Baroness Leora Kayburn suffers from the loss of wealth and constantly tries to intrigue at the royal court. However, she is unsuccessful. Many things interfere: her capricious and irritable character, lack of connections and resources. However, old Leora does have something: remnants of her former influence among the merchant's guilds and useful contacts among the captains of some mercenary squads.

The Branevar noble family is one of those who lost a lot of land in the northwest of the kingdom. Old Alaric Branevar, thane of "Hoary Crag", died a couple of years ago due to some strange food infection. This was sad for many - Alaric Branevar had been the one who had provided stability to the kingdom for many years and helped "balance" the king's weaknesses.

But this unfortunate event was also... very convenient for the plans of the queen mother. Numerous heirs quickly quarreled with each other. Then many of them died due to accidents or simply disappeared. Therefore, many estates and castles could be confiscated in favor of the royal treasury. Of course, these aristocrats managed to save some. Titus Branevar and his two brothers (Oliver and Eric) own three minor castles in the mountainous northern area. All three of these hate the current politics of the kingdom. But there is also mutual hatred between them, which prevents coordination of actions. Each of the three brothers considers himself the only true and rightful heir to the family domain... Therefore, they are all too angry for elegant and thoughtful intrigues. However, they have quite large detachments of warriors.

However, not only the discontent of some feudal families is the flip side of the policy of Queen Mother Isolde.

There is something else...

The political plans of Isolde require a lot of gold...

A lot of money.

Bribes of aggressive tribal chieftains...

"Appeasement" with gifts of representatives of the influential Fardennian clergy...

All sorts of provocations, intrigues, "accidents...

The luxury of the royal court, which has become defiantly pompous in recent years...

All these factors quite logically lead to a very bad consequence - to the impoverishment of the majority of the kingdom's population. The majority of the population is plebs.

Those who till the land.

Those who graze the cattle.

Those who pay taxes.

The increase in the tax burden that has occurred in recent years and the damage from the robbery raids on the northern and eastern borders - these facts have caused a significant increase in the number of mass unrest among the peasants.

And, oddly enough, one of the manifestations of this is now faced by the young Crown Princess Millicent...

After overcoming one of the turns in the road, three luxurious carriages are **** to stop in the middle of the road...

Horses prance and neigh...

Loud noise and hubbub of the crowd...

Many dirty and poor plebs block the road and shout curses...

Knights of the escort are trying to do something...

Millicent pulls back the silk curtain that covered the carriage window.

The shocked young princess sees a terrifying sight...

The crowd is tight.

Mouths of ugly and dirty persons, which are open in an angry scream.

Instead of normal clothes, these "people" are dressed in some stinking and torn rags.

The screams become more and more aggressive.

The princess listens and manages to distinguish phrases that are shouted by some hunched over gray-bearded old man, dressed in a gray cloak with a hood stained with dirt.

"All our torments, all our sufferings... These are all the consequences of sin! All the good people of the kingdom suffer because of the sinful power of the insidious queen and her wicked offspring! The cursed seed! The wicked and sinful woman gave birth to sin, which has grown a hundredfold! There will be no harvest in our fields until we fight evil! If vice is not torn out, we are all doomed to torment and ****! Only the righteous will be saved! Those who burn out vice from their hearts! Those who burn out wicked evil from the vastness of this land! There is only one truth! The flame of Truth is invincible!" - the hoarse words of the old man are imbued with fanatical conviction and he seems to "infect" the surrounding crowd with his enthusiasm!

The crowd of beggars numbers hundreds of people...

The escort of elite knights-bodyguards numbers only 20 people.

And also - for an effective attack, there needs to be space for the knight's horses to accelerate. And now the crowd is too close...

Experiencing horror and disgust, the princess sees one of the knights fall from his horse under the onslaught of the multi-voiced crowd.

The crowd tramples him almost immediately and his cries of pain are almost inaudible due to the noise of hundreds of indignant and aggressive voices.