I Am Louis XIV

Mary Mancini was awakened by a strange cry.

The first thing that jumped into her mind was the term siren. Siren is a human-faced bird flying on the sea. When she was a child, this kind of magical bird was very common near Fort Mancini on the island of Gajola. It is also her favorite kind of magic bird. Later, because one of her cousins ​​was attacked continuously by this kind of bird for no reason, the wizards of Gajola Island launched a campaign to suppress this kind of bird. However, within a few years, she could only make magic potion ingredients. Traces of this bird can be seen in the storeroom or herbarium, or on the hat of a mad wizard.

Surprised that she was not dead, seriously injured, cursed, or unconscious, she sat up and realized that this was not her room in the Bastille. No, to be precise, this was her room. What she thought she had long forgotten - it belonged to her on the island of Gajola, in Fort Mancini... Wait, she jumped out of bed, walked to the window with her bare feet, and saw a small piece of it made of thin lead bars and colorful little The Merlin statue made of pieces of glass moved when it saw her approaching the window, leaving a large piece of transparent vision so that she could see the scene outside.

Mary stiffened for a moment, and she remembered where this was. This should be the room that belonged to her father, or more accurately, the head of the Mancini family. As a daughter, even though she received the most favor from her father, she had only been here a few times, but this place left a particularly deep impression on her, so deep that she could recall every detail immediately.

There was a warm and furry touch under her feet. Mary didn't even have to lower her head to remember that her father used griffon fur to make a carpet. After applying magic, it would emit soft heat in winter. Her toes curled between the fur. At the same time, the voices that had awakened her were fading away, black shadows flitted across the glass, and Mancini's daughter looked up to see hordes of nightmares descending.

It’s not surprising that a family like Mancini owns Nightmare, but in Mary’s impression, her father and uncles, who are proud of their status, never ride in Nightmare directly, and only choose carriages pulled by Nightmare when traveling - there are also some here Mancini's wizards no longer have the confidence to control the nightmare - the nightmare is a kind of monster with a violent temper, strong magic, and a love for flesh and blood (especially the flesh of wizards). If they just ride in a carriage, the wizards can use puppets or It hires someone else to act as a driver, and the carriage is also a strong barrier, but riding directly... If the nightmares sense that the rider is weak or timid, they will throw him off the horse, trample on his chest, and tear open his body. Throat, feasting happily.

When one of the strongest nightmares decorated with gorgeous harnesses circled and landed on the grassy slope, Mary subconsciously held the bag and wand used to cast spells. She didn't know when they appeared. , but she could clearly feel that the people coming were not her father, uncles and cousins, but for some reason, another slight joy and expectation rose in her heart, prompting her to lean towards the window and lean her face against the cold glass. .

She saw someone coming...

That was her husband, Louis Dieudonné Bourbon on the Avenue Gayola.

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Grand Duke Gaiola jumped off the nightmare. The nightmare was originally taller than an ordinary horse. The shoulder height of this nightmare was almost the same as Louis' height. The wizard skillfully grabbed it from the cloth bag hanging on the saddle. Some fish meat soaked in rum was stuffed into the fang-filled mouth of the mount. The nightmare chewed it with satisfaction and allowed the frightened entourage to lead it away.

Before Louis ruled Gaiola, wizards preferred to feed nightmares with the flesh of mortals - those puppets who died of fatigue, soulless corpses and the like, in order to frighten their enemies and satisfy their own ulterior desires. But Louis doesn't like to play these tricks. In fact, nightmares don't like mortal flesh very much - they only like wizards. If there are no wizards, then those magical beasts or deep-sea fish and fish will do - a long time ago, the island When the world was still full of monsters, they could be self-sufficient, but as the wilderness untouched by humans became less and less, the magic was fading and leaving, and their prey became less and less, and they finally had to rely on wizards. Feed.

Louis also had a headache for their feed for a while, until a huge deep-sea fish was swept up to the island.

Nightmares eat fish, or in other words, they like all magical flesh and blood, but they cannot hunt in the deep sea. Wizards can. In addition, there are more magic residues in the deep sea than on land, and there are more magical creatures. . There were a thousand wizards under Louis who hunted day and night in the lightless deep sea. They gave Gaiola's Bourbon family an air cavalry legion that no other family in the other world could resist.

It is said that this ambitious latecomer is still planning to build a Chimera legion to ride on land. However, Chimera's appetite is three times that of griffins or nightmares, and they are not very interested in fish, so this is still an idea for the time being. ——But as long as Grand Duke Gayola can find a way, he will always find a way, and the other world will usher in another catastrophe.

His enemies were full of hatred and fear of him, but on the island of Gaiola, the Grand Duke Gaiola was as respected and loved as Merlin. He changed this once hierarchical island, where mortals were regarded as livestock, vampires and werewolves were regarded as animals, and ordinary wizards were regarded as the cornerstone. He ignored anything that the big family and the council were afraid of. He had Courage, resourcefulness, and strength.

The head of the Mancini family has probably never made such a crazy guess - it took twenty years for Louis to go from a mortal who knew little about the other world to Gaiola or the uncrowned king of a third of the other world. It's just a matter of time, even if he was once a king. At that time, Mancini's wizards still didn't think he would be such a formidable being-perhaps because he was dying at that time.

The Mancini family colluded with Bishop Mazarin, who really controlled France. For selfish reasons, they did not want to see a strong-tempered king sitting on the throne. They concealed the fact that the king could heal from the fatal curse. , managed to put Louis' younger brother Philip on the throne, now Philip VII.

They regretted it soon after. Although King Philippe became the new king, his brotherly relationship with the original King Louis XIV was not destroyed, and Louis Dieudonné Bourbon did not lose his worldliness. The throne, in a strange and unkind environment and confused, he quickly found his position - in the beginning, people were not much wary of him - of course, it is also because of such an awakening as Louis Wizards who awaken very late and are catalyzed by foreign objects rarely display powerful magic. Blood discrimination among wizards is much stronger than that among mortals.

In the first few years, Louis seemed to be proving this. He lacked a wizard. They meant that wizards born and raised in the other world had an inherent understanding and trust in magic. His clumsy spellcasting made people laugh... ...However, the Mancini family still gave him a seat in parliament and a huge mansion. In any case, he was still the brother of the King of France. Even for his brother, Philip VII had to ensure that the Mancini family was there. He held an unquestionable eminence in his court and court.

No one knows when Louis Dieudonné Bourbon became the object of admiration and submission for the middle and lower-level wizards, those young, keen, and enthusiastic wizards. They are like subjects serving the king. Serving Bourbon, the huge and dangerous magic power that this outsider revealed at the last moment became a weight that completely overturned the situation.

Philip VII, who was in Paris at the time, and his brother launched a war against the outside world at the same time. Members of the Mancini family and their vassals who were in Paris were all sent to the Inquisition, and those who were in Gaiola were not indicted. Swallowed by the flaming dragon that Louis transformed into, he was killed or arrested by his wizard attendants - but even if he was arrested, he would die in the end - the only thing they can be thankful for is that since Louis came to power, the wizards have been used to The building of walls was stopped.

The only surviving members of the Mancini family were Mary Mancini and her and Louis' children. .

But this is not surprising, Mary Mancini thought while sitting on the bed. She is Louis' wife, and also his general and spy. She has never been confused or hesitant - ever since Louis stayed in the world for her. From that moment on, she vowed to dedicate everything to him. If he lost a crown, she would give him one back.

She remembered it all.

Louis has been in power for twenty years. As a just and strict ruler, with the support of Philip VII, he not only successfully replaced the dominant position of the great families and the Magic Council among ordinary wizards, but also extended his support to Gaiola. The outside world has launched a challenge, which makes some old guys who are stuck in the rules feel embarrassed and dissatisfied. Unlike the wizards' usual conservative approach, Louis' character is more open and bold. He strives to let every wizard go out, and Rather than being trapped in Gaiola and fighting against each other, the wizards who went out were welcomed and accommodated by Philip VII. The resources of the world and the magic of the other world blended with each other like water, and they exchanged what they needed. They were once unknown but were The rules and laws that cannot be violated became a piece of paper in front of the two brothers.

Of course, not to mention the big families in the other world, even the Roman Church was furious because of this. They even threatened Philip VII not long ago to excommunicate him - but the Archduke Caiola (although this title It has not yet been recognized in the outside world) Louis' sword immediately pointed at Rome - the Roman Church does control part of the power in the outside world, and also has contacts and transactions with wizards, but it is not known when the Grand Duke Gaiola and The Grand Inquisitors of the three Inquisitions secretly reached a covenant - and several other Inquisitions also maintained a wait-and-see and neutral attitude... The most troublesome thing is that, unlike Philip VII and the Archduke Caiola, the Roman Church They are unwilling to let their followers know and come into contact with the real other world.

This may be related to the fact that their superiors, from the pope to the cardinals, are almost all mortals - they have finally taken away the power from the wizards, so how can they be allowed to take it back easily? Their hesitation eventually struck a delicate balance, and they negotiated with the Archduke Gayola to restore everything to the way it was before, but knew on their knees that this was impossible.

The other world is indeed rich and special, but it is real. In other words, resources cannot always be scarce. After the population of wizards expands to the limit, the other world cannot maintain its original peace and isolation.

The first to be harmed, persecuted and expelled were the monsters who were originally here, then families such as the Inquisition priests (surprising, but they did coexist with their enemies), then werewolves, vampires, and finally ordinary wizards , while the classes are becoming more and more distinct, everyone can get less and less things... At the same time, the big families in the wizard are doing their best to find a way out (when they are the only ones, they are also suppressing and restricting ordinary people. The connection between wizards and the outside world - because the latter is their fuel and bargaining chip, without them, those people who are high in the small land are just dispensable gadgets.

The reason why the Grand Duke of Gaiola is worshiped and supported by ordinary wizards is because he is not so greedy and short-sighted. He has never limited himself to one Gaiola Island - he is like every great king. He is good at making necessary and appropriate sacrifices. He was also a king, so he has no strong vanity, no interest in titles or glory, and values ​​substantial interests above all else. This makes all the tricks played by the Roman Church before It’s hard to succeed…

What kind of concessions the Roman Church made was unknown to Mary for the time being. She remembered that she was pregnant, so she stayed on the island to recuperate instead of going on an expedition to the lowlands with her husband and master.

It took a few minutes for the noise outside the door to become quiet. There must be many people surrounding Louis. They need his wisdom, his guidance, his protection and his last name - not Mancini, But bourbon. But at this time, Louis would send them away gently. He always valued his personal space and would not bring flattery and hypocrisy into his and Mary's room.

"Mary."

The Archduke Gayola walked into the room, and Marie remembered in a daze that she had a husband who loved her very much. They did not separate the two rooms according to tradition and always slept together, even after Louis became the Archduke Gayola.

"Lucy..." Mary asked, "Where's Lucy?" She vaguely remembered that her and Louis' eldest son should have another name, but finally she remembered that their eldest son was Luciano, who was already an adult. Previously on an expedition with Louis.

"He stayed with Philip VII," Louis stroked her hair: "Don't worry, everything is fine. The king is always the safest."