The meeting with the Emperor made Suria physically and mentally exhausted. After lunch, the Queen immediately arranged for people to bathe. She only recovered her energy after a short nap in the afternoon.
The naughty child, Devenhill, was taken to the equestrian class. After Suria woke up, she asked the head maid, Sylvia, and Olica to arrange for afternoon tea.
Afternoon tea was passed down from the High Elves. In the beginning, when the High Elves were still colonizing the Old World, afternoon tea had begun to appear among the noble elven ladies. The Old World was not like Ossouin, which was warm in the winter and cool in the summer. There would be climate changes, so the elven nobles liked to drink tea under the warm afternoon sun.
This habit had once disappeared during the continuous wars. However, after the High Elves had achieved peace after the Butcher King Tesiris had chased the Dark Elves out of Osurian and defeated the main forces of Malekith, afternoon tea had once again resumed. It had even reached its peak during the reign of the Poet King Isis. Everyone had an unshakeable afternoon tea period.
And after Finnuba opened up the trade route, the trend of afternoon tea naturally spread to the human world.
Suria was a loyal fan of afternoon tea. As long as she had the chance, she would definitely enjoy afternoon tea. And as Suria's fame and influence in the Knight King Kingdom and the Old World continued to reach new heights, the habit of holding afternoon tea had become a new trend in the Old World. From Kislöw in the north to Araby in the south, noble ladies would sit together at around three in the afternoon to drink tea, chat, and enjoy life.
Walking along the corridor of the palace, Suria walked in front and Olica followed behind. The winter sun shone on the Queen and the dark elf maid through the floor-to-ceiling windows in the corridor. There was no lack of jealousy in the dark elf's voice. "Godfather really likes you. You're very lucky, Madam. You have little Devenhill. He's so cute."
"That expression of yours is rare, Olica." Suria did not turn back, but said with certainty. The Queen's voice had a hint of joy. "If you want to bear a child for Laing, I won't object."
"Ha." Olica sneered, her dark elf tone filled with disdain. "Madam, if I could have children with Master so easily, do you believe that I would have given birth to an entire polo team with Master?"
Suria's expression changed slightly, and the Queen stopped. Until now, she and Laing only had one child, and Suria had always been brooding in her heart. "Really? Olica, do you have a secret recipe? Are you so sure? "
"Madam, do you know Marus-Blackblade? The champion of the Shaman King? " Olica stopped at the same time and said casually, "Marus-Blackblade has three brothers, four sisters, two brothers, and three sisters. Eight of them have lived to adulthood. Don't question Duruzi's fertility. In Nagaros, which family doesn't have seven or eight children? It's not uncommon for there to be more than ten of them. Do you really think we're like our weak cousins? Fira can't bear it! "
Dark Elves were really good at giving birth! Suria felt a little uncomfortable when she heard this, but the Queen immediately found a point to counterattack. "It seems, dear Olica, the elven medicine doesn't work on humans."
"Oh? Is that so? " Olica smiled and shook her head, her long black hair swaying behind her back. She looked at Suria unhappily. "Madam, do you think you would have a chance to give birth to Devonshire if I were a human?"
"What do you mean?" Suria's expression changed.
Olica took out a small bottle with a pink mist and liquid swirling in it. The dark elf smiled sweetly. "The venom of the Hydra Hydra. Just a little bit, injected from below, can make a person unable to be a mother forever. Madam, do you want to try? It hurts a little! "
"You …" Suria's face suddenly became very ugly. The Queen took a step back in fear, as if the thing in Olica's hand was very scary.
"Don't worry." Olica's smile became even sweeter. The dark elf put away the small bottle. "The old man has already acknowledged you as his daughter-in-law, so I naturally won't do anything. He knows everything. It wasn't easy for me to leave a good impression on him, so I won't do such a stupid thing. I love Master, and I won't make him sad."
"Old man?" Suria couldn't help but smile. "Why do you call him old man?"
"Is he not old enough?" Olica asked. "Madam, think about what that red-haired one-eyed Oglin said."
"Long live fifty thousand years? He's fifty thousand years old? "
"But to Asuyan, he's just a child. Perhaps this child is already stronger than him, but his arrogance will not change."
After that, the two women looked at each other and smiled. Finally, the atmosphere became relaxed.
"Does Nagaros also have afternoon tea?" Suria asked with interest.
"Why does the madam like afternoon tea?" Olica took the initiative.
"Black tea will warm you when you're cold, black tea will cool you when you're hot, black tea will cheer you up when you're down, and black tea will calm you when you're excited." Suria gave her own answer.
"Forget it, let me tell the madam why the high elves have afternoon tea." Olica finally spoke.
The dark elf told the Knight King why their unbearable cousins in Fira liked afternoon tea so much.
The reason was very simple. Afternoon tea was counted in the working hours of the high elves.
As mentioned before, when the Poet King Isis was on the throne, the vitality of society declined, the upper nobles indulged in pleasure, the society was seriously introverted, and structural unemployment led to an economic crisis.
How did Isis deal with it? Under the suggestion of the Phoenix King (who was actually the Dark Elf's ace spy), Isis officially announced a six-hour working day with a 35-hour working limit per week. The Phoenix King felt that he could create more jobs in this way. You see, with the reduction of working hours, the number of employees would be forced to increase, which would create more jobs.
At the same time, Isis also announced that "afternoon tea is sacred and inviolable." Since then, afternoon tea at three o 'clock in the afternoon was also counted in the working hours. Generally, it was from two-thirty to three-thirty, and the legal working hours continued to be reduced to five hours per day.
When there was a chance to slack off, the people naturally had afternoon tea. This unhealthy trend blew for a long time until the Boor King Moville announced that afternoon tea could not be counted in the working hours. Only then did the golden age of afternoon tea end.
"The Witch King's plan is really evil." Suria sighed. Olica smiled but didn't say anything. Gao Jing had already developed the habit of afternoon tea, and her cousins were continuing to degenerate.
However, Suria was not the kind of woman who indulged in pleasure. The Knight King's preference for afternoon tea was just a means. She really used afternoon tea as a way to realize her strategy of "afternoon tea governance" and "lady politics". The nobles and court ministers of Brittany were often summoned at afternoon tea gatherings to discuss national policies and administrative matters with the Knight King. Suria and her husband, Laing, had always liked to listen to the opinions of all classes. At Suria's tea gatherings, even the lowliest serfs and merchants could get a chance to participate and speak. At the same time, by communicating with the ladies of the nobles, Suria could skillfully grasp the movements and thoughts of the nobles of the whole kingdom.
Now, under the warm winter sun, three shelves were set on the table in the afternoon tea banquet hall.
On the bottom shelf, there were a variety of delicious sandwiches, using cucumbers, grilled salmon, cream cheese, and fried eggs.
On the second shelf, there were scone biscuits, a Brittany specialty spread with cream and strawberry jam. It was a little sweet and needed to be used with tea.
On the top shelf, there were three top-grade desserts: High Elf Mousse, Cherry Fruit Tart, and Macarons.
Olica served the famous Darjeeling black tea.
This kind of black tea was picked from the Far East and was of the best quality. It was known as the "champagne of black tea". The color of the tea was orange and red, and the smell was fragrant and elegant. The top grade tea had the fragrance of grapes, and the taste was delicate and soft. It was Suria's favorite black tea.
After everyone was seated, Suria signaled that it was okay, and the palace attendants outside opened the door.
Berliat, the General Political Commissar of the Northern Front Army, strode in wearing a brand-new military uniform and freshly oiled military boots. "Greetings, Your Majesty."
"No need for formalities. You may rise." The person Suria was going to meet today was Berliat, who had rushed back in a hurry. This guy had specially changed to a fast boat back to Colona in order to report the situation in detail and provide advice.
"You've had a long journey." Suria signaled the maids to serve the same afternoon tea. "Are you hungry?"
Berliat looked at Queen Suria, who was sitting about five meters away, enjoying her afternoon tea under the sun and the maids' service. He couldn't help but feel excited. Wasn't this what he wanted? To stand out and enter the center of the kingdom's power?
Ugor had always been a gloomy and serious person, but this kind of meeting still made Berliat ecstatic.
What did this mean? This meant that he had begun to be recognized and entered the Knight King's circle!
It was inevitable that he would make mistakes when he was agitated. Furthermore, the Wugorians were not proficient in the etiquette of the palace's afternoon tea. When he stirred the black tea with a silver spoon, it made a crisp sound when it touched the bottom of the cup. Furthermore, the order of adding sugar and milk was wrong. The maids and attendants at the side could not help but snicker when they saw this scene. Belial's face was flushed red. The Wugorians swore in his heart that once this matter was settled, he would definitely hire an etiquette teacher to teach him how to drink afternoon tea!
Fortunately, Suria did not care about this. Knight King then began to ask about the defense of Örengrád. Berliat naturally told him everything he knew.
From Berliat, the remnants of Örengrád's army were about ten thousand regular soldiers and twenty thousand conscripts. In addition, more than thirty thousand Mrs. Kiesler (who were mostly women) were willing to come to Brittany to make a living. That was about seventy thousand people. Most of the remaining one hundred thousand people still wanted to live in the Empire. Berliat did not force them, because the elites had been selected, and the rest were mostly old and weak.
"How is Kalad now?" This had been estimated before, so Suria did not say much. She was concerned about Kalad's situation.
"His Excellency Kalad is badly injured, but it is not a big problem. He will need to rest for about four months to half a year to fully recover." Berliat said seriously, "The epic victory of Örengrád and the great achievement of killing the Supreme King of Norsk will become a magnificent epic that will be passed down forever. His Excellency Kalad is the composer, and I am just one of the notes."
"No, Marshal Rokossovsky is the composer, and Kalad is the performer." Suria smiled and corrected Berliat's mistake. Knight King then gently picked up the black tea and asked elegantly, "But I heard that when Marshal Luo composed this soul-stirring symphony, Berliat, you firmly opposed it?"
Ugor immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly left his seat and knelt down without caring about his image. "Everything is my fault. I was stupid and did not understand military affairs. If it was not for His Excellency Kalad's insistence, we would have missed the important military opportunity. Your Majesty, please punish me!"
"If I wanted to punish you, I would have done so a long time ago." Suria shook her head and motioned Berliat to get up. "In fact, your thoughts at that time were not without reason. This military plan was too risky, and there was no room for any mistakes. The requirements for the soldiers were also very strict. I remember that at least 30% of the soldiers who participated in the Bagration operation suffered from frostbite to some extent. Kalad was injured like this … You can imagine how difficult this battle would be. Our Brittany almost lost this Knight of the Holy Grail. "
"Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty!" Belial heaved a sigh of relief. He thought about it carefully and said, "After the successful end of Operation Bagration, more than eighty percent of the soldiers couldn't even stand up. Most of the knights and soldiers wrapped themselves in blankets by the fire and rested for two or three days before they could recover. I can't imagine what would have happened if something had gone wrong. A large number of horses died, and Urlengrad was too cold. As expected of Her Majesty the Queen, the sun, the moon, and the stars are in your hands. Nothing can be hidden from you, Lady Suria."
Sure enough, even if he was a military bureaucrat, Berliat was still a bureaucrat in nature. Suria nodded lightly. She understood everything.
There was a fundamental difference between a military bureaucrat like Berliat and a military officer like Kalad.
What was Kalad's goal? To win the war, to make contributions, for glory and faith, to get promotion and material rewards.
But what about Berliat? Of course, this guy was also eager to make contributions and get rewards. But Berliat's most important goal was to complete the task assigned by Laing and Suria. What he wanted most was not to win, but to "not make any mistakes." That was why he instinctively refused to take risks. But when such a risky plan was proposed, Berliat instinctively opposed it. The first reason was that he did not want to risk his political life. The second reason was that he had made it clear that he would not be responsible if the operation went wrong.
So, no matter whether he agreed or not, he would clearly oppose the Bagration operation. If he won, everyone would be happy, and he would not take the credit. If he lost, he would not take the blame.
Cunning guy, as cunning as Talleyrand, Suria thought. They were very capable and very scheming. In addition to their outstanding personal abilities, these two guys were also top-notch when it came to conversing with the king, flattering him, and figuring out the king's intentions.
Suria's silence made Berliat a little uneasy. Ugor returned to his seat. The sandwich in his mouth did not taste good, and the Darjeeling tea in his cup did not taste good. Berliat carefully recalled the reason why Suria had called him back. Then, he went through the conversation in his mind. After thinking for a long time, he remained silent.
"Berliat, I called you back this time because I need your advice on something." Suria saw that Berliat did not speak. She knew that he was waiting for her to speak. Knight King put down his teacup and said softly in an unpredictable tone, "Guess? What is it? "
"But … Her Majesty Katarín came to ask for someone?" Berliat immediately realized that he had to show his importance. He took the initiative to say, "Does Your Majesty feel troubled?"
"Yes, Laing wrote that Katarín asked Rokossovsky's army to immediately go to the Empire to save the king." Suria nodded slightly. She took out Laing's letter and handed it to Berliat. "Take a look."
Berliat did not refuse this time. He immediately took the letter and carefully read it twice. He immediately gave his opinion. "Your Majesty, I think that no matter what, we cannot let Constance Dante and his army go to the Empire to save the king. Their ending will be very miserable. Constance Dante's execution order has not been revoked yet. This shows Her Majesty Katarín's attitude."
"I know that, but in any case, she sent the letter of credence as the Tsar." Suria nodded. "This matter is not easy to handle. Now the entire Old World is resisting the tide of Chaos with all its strength. How can we stop Mrs. Kiesler from going back to save her own country?"
"Your Majesty, why don't you leave this matter to me? I'll talk to Her Majesty Katarín. How about it?" Berliat thought for a while and planned to take the initiative to take over the matter.
"How do you plan to talk?"
"I plan to …"
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