Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 91 - 70: Leaving Constantinople

Chapter 91: Chapter 70: Leaving Constantinople

Nora let out a light "Oh," suddenly realizing,

"Ah, Aske, so you had anticipated the situation in Constantinople today? Was it that prophet from Dragon Country who told you?"

Well done, Nora! Aske nodded mysteriously and continued,

"Indeed. He also told me that the downfall of the East Solomon Empire is inevitable. Even if Constantinople is not conquered by the Franks, it will be conquered by the Seljuk from the East."

"Your sister Zoe will flee to Sirius Province, where she will re-establish the Apollonia Empire. There, she will marry the most influential banker in Sirius, Michael Paphlagonia, and thereby stabilize her regime in Sirius."

"However, the people of Thrace and the Serbians soon started a rebellion, so the newborn empire could not muster the strength to retake Constantinople. Zoe spent her life dealing with court conspiracies and trying to recover Macedonia, while you were completely marginalized and spent the rest of your life in deep seclusion."

"Is this also what the prophet told you?" Theodora expressed her skepticism.

"As for the prophecies about the future, I’m afraid it might be hard to earn your trust now. Let me tell you something that’s easier to verify instead." Aske recalled the official biography of "Theodora" and said with a smile,

"You were born in the palace, wrapped in purple satin swaddling, and your father even refused to let the Church baptize you, fearing you would catch a cold."

"Your father didn’t want you to marry, fearing that a son-in-law would divide the royal power. But there was one time he relented, secretly taking you to meet the emperor’s judge, Romannus, and asked how you felt about this man."

"Your response was that he looked like a stodgy old man, not handsome, and older than you."

Theodora was suddenly startled, almost unable to maintain her composure. The two incidents Aske mentioned had indeed happened, secret affairs known only within the palace.

The former was known only by a few insiders at the court; the latter was a private conversation between her and Emperor Constantine—with no third person present. How could he possibly know!

Could everything he said be true? Theodora recalled his prophecy about the fall of the empire, feeling her mood darken again.

Is this my destiny from now on? Escaping to Sirius Province with my sister Zoe and spending the rest of my life in a monastery?

Seeing her distressed look, as though all her beliefs had been shattered, Aske, sensing the right moment, quickly pressed on with a smile,

"Of course, there is another path now, lying right before you."

"To become a mercenary?" Theodora coldly said.

Now that he had been frank, she did not intend to beat around the bush, "I don’t think becoming a mercenary is a good choice. Given you know my identity, you should understand that even if I lose my political status, I can still lead a comfortable life in Sirius without worrying about my latter half."

"What’s there in being a mercenary? A salary? Just the tortoiseshell hairpin on my head could employ all the mercenaries in Constantinople for a full month!"

"I understand," Aske replied, "Your Highness, you also know I am from the Achilles family. My parents left me two shops in Constantinople, and just by selling them to the Church I got 1000 pounds. In theory, that money would be enough for me to go West, buy a manor and a title, and live comfortably for the rest of my life."

"But why am I still being a mercenary, pulling together manpower, even recruiting you, Princess Theodora?"

"Why?" Theodora’s tense brow slightly relaxed, and her tone softened.

"Because the Magic Tide is coming, Your Highness," Aske advised gently, "You know what the Magic Tide means."

"This world, it’s about to descend into chaos."

......

In the year 241 of the Sixth Epoch, Constantinople fell under the attack of Frank Knights.

Without the fearless player army from previous lives to defend the city, the Empire quickly fell into disarray during the initial days of the siege.

If they had relied on street fighting and fortress tactics, Constantinople might have held on for a few more days, possibly exhausting the Franks’ logistical supplies.

However, a terrified Zoe, when the Franks reached the walls of the Great Palace, quickly boarded a plane and fled to Sirius Province.

Consequently, the defensive forces of Constantinople lost their will to defend the city and either surrendered or dispersed under the attack of the Franks.

The Orthodox Church, led by Patriarch Alexei, also had to stop sealing off the city districts, abandon the search for Theodora, and follow Zoe to Sirius Province.

Although the Church possessed many demigods, with the current level of the Magic Tide, no demigod was willing to engage in a do-or-die fight against the numerous and barbaric Franks.

Of course, the more crucial point was, the Magic Tide was impending.

The spiritual energy worldwide, rising to a level where demigods could freely move about, was only four or five years away at most.

By then, even just deploying two or three demigods from the Church would suffice to retake the capital.

On the northern coast of the Aegean Sea, in Kavala City,

a young woman stepped out of an SUV parked by the seaside promenade, looking toward the distant seaside gazebo.

Dressed in a white nun’s robe, she seemed like a devout, scholarly nun; however, the metallic glint of chain armor barely visible beneath her white robe marked her not as a frail woman.

Beneath the noon sun, she removed her hood, revealing soft, voluminous chestnut curls and a face both naive and beautiful.

From a distance, some warily prying eyes approached—refugees from war in Thrace Province, redolent of civilians from near the capital, fearing being affected by its capture and thus fleeing to Sirius Province.

Their attention was drawn by the new SUV. If they could seize the vehicle, their journey to Sirius would indeed be much smoother.

However, the nun quickly drew a longsword and twirled it threateningly, the clean and sharp movement causing the refugees to avert their gazes.

It wasn’t just the longsword in her hand that deterred them, but also the handgun hanging at her waist.

Another girl, wearing a mask, also alighted from the vehicle. She appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen, her figure not yet fully developed.

"This is the place." The nun pointed at the pavilion and said, "It was right here that we encountered the Prophet from the Dragon Country."

"Then he summoned a longsword, stepped on it, and flew away across the sea."

"How magical." The masked girl said regrettably, "Too bad I couldn’t have him do a prophecy for me."

Disheartened, the masked girl walked around the pavilion a few times before sulking back onto the highway. The nun had already returned to the driver’s seat.

"Take a good look and then get on, Thira," the nun said. "Remember to fasten your seatbelt."

"Okay." The masked girl nodded, opened the car door, and got in.

The SUV started up and quickly reached speeds over 80 mph. The nun, holding the steering wheel steadily and humming a tune, gazed down the endless road ahead.

On the right were lush forests along the mountain range, and on the left was the boundless blue expanse of the Aegean Sea.

"I’ve never been here before," the masked girl said, looking out the window, mesmerized by the scenery.

"I can tell," the nun said. "You must have never left Constantinople since you were a child."

"The so-called ’Purple Princess’ simply means a princess born deep in the palace," the masked girl responded. "Before being married off by my father, there’s no chance to see the outside world."

She paused, incredulously adding, "I still don’t know why I got a brainwave that day and actually agreed to join your little mercenary group."

"Aske has a way with words, doesn’t he?" the nun said, smiling.

"Your opinion doesn’t count, Nora," the masked girl retorted. "You like him, so of course, you think everything about him is good."

"Thira!" Nora feigned anger. "If you tease me again, I’ll send you back to Fire Island."

"Then I’ll just go and tell him you’re lonely driving by yourself and hope he comes out to talk," Thira, formerly known as Theodora but now using the alias "Thira," said with a laugh.

"Don’t! That would distract me." Nora quickly pleaded for mercy.

"Actually, I don’t understand why you like him either," Thira said curiously. Ever since she learned about Nora’s family background, she had wondered why she would choose to join this little-known mercenary group.

"Though Aske barely passes as a noble, the difference in your status is too great."

"That just proves it’s true love," Nora argued.

"Would your parents agree?" Thira asked.

"They should respect my opinion," Nora said somewhat unsurely.

She was actually not confident.

Just then, a sudden roadblock appeared ahead, blocking the path of the SUV.

Nora made a quick, skilled stop, halting the vehicle right before the roadblock.

Turning around, she saw that Theodora, who had been in the passenger seat, had vanished, apparently having gone to Fire Island to alert everyone.

A few seconds later, many figures appeared rapidly in the back seats of the SUV.

Aske and the girls.

"A roadblock?" Aske exited the vehicle to check. "A random instance?"

"Random instance?" Nora also got out of the vehicle and asked beside him.

"It’s a randomly appearing adventure mission map, usually related to various mutants," Aske answered, checking the roadblock. "From the emblem on it, it seems to belong to the Night Watch."

"Ah, the Night Watch," Medea said slowly as the other ladies looked baffled. "In this world, only three supernatural organizations are openly sanctioned by the Church Court: the Night Watch, Purgatory’s Jailer, and Abyss’s Observer."

"Is it the Night Watch? I have their data! Let me check." Nora quickly flipped through her notes, found the relevant page, and read, "Night gathers, and now my watch begins, until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children..."

"Wrong! That’s the novel version." She scrambled through the pages again and found the correct information.

"The Night Watch originally formed during the final stages of the Third Punic War to counter the Undead Wizards of Carthage, created by a coalition of Italian city-states."

"It has since evolved into an organization specifically dealing with Undead mutants, primarily responding to foes like Corpse Ghosts and Skeletons, including Resentful Spirits, Phantoms, Witch Demons, Black Knights, Abominations, and some evil Undead Transcendents."

"Not bad." A voice came from behind the roadblock, and everyone turned to see a Knight in Power Armor, holding a steel-curved Gatling gun.

Gold paint on the shoulder pads of the Power Armor depicted a longsword plunging into a skull from the top.

This was the emblem of the Night Watch.