332 Outside the Inner Wall
When I pried my eyes the next morning, I found myself between the bare bodies of Mom and Mother, embracing me in their sleep. Gabrielle was also sleeping in the same bed, wrapping her arms around Mother from behind.
(It's better for me to get out here immediately.)
I did not want to be caught by anybody having incestuous affairs with my mothers. The guests from the empire were currently staying in this castle, so staying here any longer was risky. It would be a big, big scandal. Even if Mary were to awaken us, there might be a possibility that she would send a word to Sophia. I did not want to disappoint her for banging on my parents without her awareness, so I hurriedly dressed and teleported into my own chamber in the palace. ◆◇◆◇◆◇
Later on, everybody, including our guests, had already gotten up from their beds and had dressed themselves up. The guests rested in the rooms of the Wing of the Princes of the real Palace of Versailles, or the north wing of this palace. We made that wing into apartments for guests. After a hearty breakfast in the same hall as where the banquet was held, my family proceeded to accompany the emperor for his sightseeing around our city. We strolled down the city roads and visited various establishments and locations. Along the way, we discussed our future plans and upcoming constructions, such as the Colosseum, the park, and the Grand Canal. The archbishop had permitted us to build religious structures in the city, so a church would be built in the entertainment and tourism district while a chapel would be developed in the royal palace. Not only did we satisfy our visitors' eyes, but we satisfied their stomachs as well. At lunch, we let them taste various dishes made from a certain crop uncommon to the people of this continent—rice. The emperor and his entourage seemed to have a liking for the taste of rice, so it really warmed my heart when they liked eating my previous life's staple. We did all of those things to increase the chance of the emperor approving the establishment of the queendom. But the city was relatively unpopulated and underdeveloped yet, so we could not expect it would hardly help His Imperial Majesty in his decision. In spite of that, he still had a card hidden under our sleeves. A trump card that we thought would be enough to impress the emperor. After visiting some of our tourist spots, we guided the emperor's convoy to the east gate.
"Are we going outside, Lady Raevender?" "Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. Although the area beyond the inner wall is meant for farmlands, we have been making a large-scale project that needs vast land. The plain is the best location for the project."
Currently, the Raevender and Raeven families and Rick were inside the emperor's personal carriage together with the empire's prime minister, guildmaster, emperor's bodyguard, and His Imperial Majesty himself. Even with our number, the carriage was several times more spacious than magic carriages, large enough to fit us all comfortably. The interior of the carriage had a width and length of eight meters and a height of five meters. It was the product of the empire's greatest minds. "Hm. Looks interesting." The emperor nodded in repetition as he held his chin. "A big project, you say? I guess that is the why Mr. Raeven and Sir Rick Wesley are here with us." By the way, after he was knighted, Rick gained his own last name, which was Wesley. As written in international law, using the last names of the royal family as one's surname was strictly prohibited; therefore, Rick could not call himself Rick Astley, unfortunately. Etymologically, Astley meant "east meadow" in Old English. That was why I came up naming Rick the opposite—Wesley, which meant "west meadow." Relatedly, once we were a country, Michael and the others would be granted knighthood. While Michael would be our country's captain of the Order of the Queendom's Knights, Lucy and Uriel, and probably Dane, would be the mayors of our newly acquired cities. "You hit the mark. My brother-in-law and Sir Rick of Astley are associated with this project. You see, our domain is still new and does not have that many funds; even my son's company just completed our loans two months ago, so we approached the Raeven family to invest on our project again. This would be an international project operating on a continental scale, and the Raeven family is our connection to the empire." "Ho? In that case, Sir Rick, one of Astley's most successful businessmen, is your bridge to the Kingdom of Astley, yes?" "Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. Sir Rick is an acquaintance of the Myriad Wings, our fiancee's former adventurer party, and he has a brilliant mind. Aside from providing funds and technology, Sir Rick has been involved himself personally in the research and development of the project." "I see." As Mother and Emperor Jeffrey were having a conversation, the carriage came to a stop. Upon looking at the windows at the sides, the scene showed croplands and the black wall. The carriage had passed the VIP lane of the east gate, and we were not outside the Inner Wall. "Well then. It seems that we have arrived at the destination, Your Imperial Majesty," the prime minister elegantly noted while fixing his circular glasses. "Very well." Soon after, the doors of the carriage were opened by the imperial knights from outside, and we then exited the carriage one after another. We then found ourselves on one-hundred-meter-wide compacted soil that surrounded the circumstances of the wall. Beyond the Inner Wall, the ten-meter-wide brick road continued its way to the horizon. On the right side of the road, around twenty meters away from the wall, there stood a wide, rectangular-shaped structure with a broad, one-meter-high concrete staircase at the center. "Ho ho, what is this? A sort of building? Is this the project you are making?" "That's right, Your Imperial Majesty," Mother responded to the emperor's inquiry. "We actually developed a new type of transportation, and that building is one of their stopping points. But that's just the outside, though. The true surprise awaits inside, waiting for passengers for their maiden voyage. Let us show you what's inside."
"Now I'm getting excited." His Imperial Majesty wore a broad smile. "Please guide us, Lady Raevender." "It's a pleasure." ◆◇◆◇◆◇
After entering the structure, a wide space greeted us inside. The interior of the building was hollow, and the ceilings were so high that it looked like two floors were merged into one big space. There were several rooms at the sides for accommodations, such as offices and food stalls. Though they were empty as this station had not officially opened yet. There were also ticketing boots right beside the entrance. In the middle of the building, around fifteen meters from the entrance, there was a wide gap that separated the concrete floor into two one-meter-high elevated platforms. Aligned with the entrance, a four-meter-wide metallic footbridge was elevated four meters from the floor to connect the platforms. "Wait. Isn't it only me or is the ground shaking a bit?" "No, Gavar. I can feel it too." Suddenly, Gavar's sharp senses noticed some slight vibrations on the ground, to which Gilbert seconded. "I can also feel something huge is coming here." "Lady Raevender, can you tell me what is happening?" "You don't have to worry, Your Imperial Majesty. The train is on its way toward this station." For the first time, the train was about to be introduced in this world.
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