The Steam Age: Gears and Bones

Chapter 77

Perfit did not linger long before the altar of the Old Gods.

After the old woman disappeared, she stood there for a moment, turning the gold coin over and over again, examining it several times before putting it into the inside pocket of her coat.

She didn't mention it to anyone—not because she didn't trust Ludwig and Sabel, but because she herself hadn't yet sorted out all the information hidden in those confusing words.

The mad old woman, the gold coins of unknown origin, the knowledge of the Emerald Book and the Philosopher's Stone, and the warnings about the ancient gods being reawakened—all of this takes time to process, and right now, time is what she needs most.

She told Belfast to get back into the carriage, and then went back to the campfire and sat down again.

Ludwig asked her where she had been, and she just shook her head and said, "I couldn't sleep, so I went to look at the stone pillars," and then wrapped herself tightly in the blanket and closed her eyes.

She didn't lie, she just didn't tell the whole truth.

The next morning, the group continued south.

The journey continued smoothly for the next two days. The snow on the post road was compacted by the passing supply trains, and the wheels of the carriages made only a dull creaking sound as they traveled on it.

Ludwig pointed out several remnants of the Old Romulus era to her along the way, perhaps wanting her to have a more intuitive understanding of the history of this ancient empire before arriving in the capital, but Perfitt remained somewhat absent-minded, only nodding occasionally in response.

The effects of the full mobilization order continue—recruitment stations are increasing along the roads, the number of people working in the fields is decreasing, and the size of supply convoys is growing.

Everything was moving in the direction she had initially proposed to the Elector, except that it wasn't her persuasion that propelled it forward, but rather Frans's collapse that completed the process for her.

On the evening of the eighth day after leaving the Wild Boar Ridge Fortress, the walls of Romulus's capital finally appeared on the horizon.

When Perfit lifted the carriage curtain, the first thing he saw was the marble relief on the city wall.

It wasn't a later addition, but an ancient stone carving that has been integrated with the city wall itself and preserved since the time of Old Romulus.

Even after years of weathering and erosion, the figures and patterns on those reliefs are still clearly discernible—armored legionary soldiers, horses pulling chariots, and goddesses holding torches aloft, one after another arranged on the city wall, like a historical scroll carved in stone.

The city wall itself is built of large, square stones. Unlike the red brick factories in Victoria, every stone here retains rough chisel marks and fits together perfectly, showing the powerful engineering technology inherited from Old Romulus.

Inside the city gate is a wide stone-paved avenue, with public buildings with columned porticoes on both sides. Each building has steps and statues in front of it, and even ordinary houses retain the arched window structure left over from the old era.

Occasionally, a broken bronze statue can be seen at a street corner. The inscription on the base is still faintly discernible, but the statue's hands and feet have long been worn out by time. Only the eyes that still gaze ahead stubbornly guard the spirit of the city that no longer exists.

Langdon is a city of steel and steam, where everything is new, noisy, and puffing out coal smoke, while everything here is old, heavy, and silent—but it is not dilapidated. On the contrary, the city proclaims to every newcomer that it has stood here for thousands of years.

Before Perfit could even get a good look, shortly after entering the city, a squad of royal guards in crimson cloaks appeared in front of her carriage.

After confirming Ludwig's identity, the leading officer briefly conveyed the Emperor's order: His Majesty the Emperor and the Electors' Council were already waiting at the palace, and the carriages would not need to detour through the post stations, but would go directly to the palace.

His tone was polite but left no room for refusal, clearly indicating that the emperor was impatient.

The carriage, escorted by the royal guards, passed through several streets and finally stopped in front of the main gate of Romulus's palace.

Unlike the refined and luxurious royal style of Windsor Castle in Langdon, Romulus Palace is more like a military fortress built of stone.

It is a palace-style fortress left over from the time of Old Romulus. The thick outer walls are not decorated much, with only a towering marble column on each side of the main entrance. The column is carved with a double-headed eagle, a symbol of the empire. The eagle's head has been blurred by wind and rain, but its outstretched wings are still full of majestic power.

Perfit left Belfast in the carriage to guard the iron cage, while he, along with Ludwig and Sabel, followed the Imperial Guard officers into the palace gates.

They were led into an extremely spacious council hall.

The dome of the hall is extremely high, and the frescoes on the dome depict everything from the wars of the Age of Gods to the establishment of the empire. The figures in the paintings are layered upon each other, and some have been eroded by time and are incomplete, but the composition of the entire fresco still retains the grand and solemn spirit of the Old Romulus at its height.

Embedded in the floor directly beneath the dome is a massive marble mosaic of the Imperial Eagle emblem, surrounded by seven high-backed chairs—the seats of the Electors.

At this moment, all the electors who were still in the capital were sitting in those chairs. Each of them had a different expression, but a lingering worry was etched between their brows.

On a high platform directly opposite the seven chairs, Emperor Romulus sat on his throne.

He was a young monarch who looked to be no more than thirty years old, tall and broad-shouldered.

He wore a deep red court robe with gold trim and a gold crown inlaid with jewels. His dark hair was neatly combed back from under the crown.

His face should have been handsome, but at this moment, his hands, which were resting on the armrests of the throne, were unconsciously tapping lightly—not out of impatience, but out of a suppressed anxiety.

Perfit's gaze shifted from him to the row of high-backed chairs below the throne.

Only four people sat in the seven electoral seats, three of whom were dressed in military or court uniforms, while the fourth was dressed in a deep red cardinal's robe.

He was an old man with a full head of white hair, clearly much older than the emperor, his face etched with the lines of time, but his posture was as upright as the statues on the stone pillars, his hands folded on his knees, a bishop's ring inlaid with a ruby ​​hanging between his thumbs.

This was the Archbishop of Romulus, who was also an electoral prince, whom Sabel had mentioned to her in the car.

Among the other three electors, one was an elderly general wearing the imperial uniform, his military cap resting on his knees, revealing his short, gray hair shaved very short; the other was a middle-aged civil official wearing a dark green court robe with a gold chain hanging on his chest, his face thin and his nasolabial folds deep.

There was also a young nobleman dressed in a dark blue court robe, who looked to be under thirty years old. He was the only one of the four who had maintained an upright posture and stared at Pficcott with sharp eyes ever since she entered the room.