The Prime Minister’s breathing gradually came to a halt.
She was like a statue petrified in an instant, maintaining her reading posture.
Only those gray eyes were contracting violently at this moment, as if she had seen something incredible that overturned her very perception of reality.
Yekaterina initially watched with the intent of seeing a good show, but as Allison’s silence grew longer and longer, the slight contempt and doubt in her heart were gradually replaced by an inexplicable tension and curiosity.
What on earth did this Prime Minister, whose composure would not break even if a mountain collapsed before her, see to make her reveal such a scandalous expression?
“Allison…?” she called out tentatively.
There was no response.
The gaze of the Cardinal rapidly evolved from initial shock into a light that was almost fanatical.
Finally, she moved.
She jerked her head up and stared fixedly at Wendy: “This… did you really write this?”
“Sauron… The One Ring… Middle-earth…”
Allison unconsciously muttered the words on the paper.
She then stood up, and because her movement was too violent, she even knocked over the chair behind her.
With a “clack” sound, it was particularly piercing in the silent Council Hall.
“This has more than just commercial value! This is more than just a story!”
Allison’s roar made Yekaterina tremble all over.
“This is a World! A real, magnificent new World with its own history, races, and mythology! My God! Using a single ring to connect the Destiny of all races, letting the weakest, most inconspicuous ‘Hobbit’ undertake the mission of saving the World… this kind of concept… this kind of spirit! This is simply… an epic that only a genius could write!”
Her frenzied appearance completely terrified the Little Queen.
Yekaterina had never seen her Prime Minister lose her composure like this.
This woman, who was always known for her coolness and rationality, was now like a fanatic, holding those few pieces of high-quality paper aloft as if they were some kind of Holy scripture.
“Let me see!”
Yekaterina could no longer suppress the curiosity in her heart and eagerly reached out her hand.
Allison subconsciously pulled the papers toward her chest in a clearly protective stance, but then she realized the other party was the Queen and reluctantly handed them over.
She even urged: “Look! Your Majesty! Look quickly! You will understand! The value of this thing far exceeds our imagination!”
Yekaterina snatched the three pieces of paper and cast her gaze upon them eagerly.
***
[Chapter One: Whispers in the Dark and the Ancestor of All Rings]
[“Sauron is watching you”]
Just the first sentence made her heart skip a beat.
An invisible chill spread up from the paper.
She continued reading.
When she saw the setting of The One Ring—”One Ring to rule them all, to enslave all living beings,” and saw how it deluded the hearts of people, how it led leaders to Descent, and how it caused a Kingdom to perish, her breathing also grew rapid.
And when she read the third chapter and saw that Hobbit named Frodo—an ordinary person whose height only reached a human’s knee and who was useless except for being kind and loving food—actually had to undertake the mission of going to Mount Doom to destroy this ring…
Yekaterina was completely captivated.
She seemed to see herself.
A Little girl who was also swept up by Destiny, forced to sit on the throne and undertake a heavy burden far beyond her own capabilities.
Could Frodo succeed?
He was so weak, while the enemy was so powerful…
Could he resist the temptation of The Magic Ring?
Would that wizard named Gandalf always help him?
Who would the other members of the Ring Expedition Team be?
Would they be powerful Elves or brave Dwarves?
Countless questions, like wildly growing vines, wrapped around her heart, making her itch with curiosity and desperate to know the subsequent developments.
“And then?”
Yekaterina suddenly raised her head, staring at Wendy with glowing eyes.
“Did Frodo set out? Did they gather the nine people? Did Sauron discover them?!”
The series of questions left Wendy stunned for a moment.
Meanwhile, Allison had already cooled down from her initial shock, but the fanaticism deep in her eyes became even more profound.
She looked at the Queen’s reaction and then at Wendy, as an incredibly clear and insane thought took shape in her mind.
Money?
The Nobles of the entire Continent would spend Gold Coins to buy this book!
No, this was no longer a question of money.
Allison could foresee that once this story called began serialization, the cultural landscape of the entire Valoran—no, the entire Continent of Erathia—would be completely overturned!
Those boring Knight novels and those romantic plays were simply children’s doodles in front of this magnificent epic!
It would become the common spiritual food for all literate people, the hottest topic in Noble salons, and a brand-new chapter sung by bards in taverns!
What it could bring was not just Gold Coins, but unparalleled cultural cohesion and the right to speak!
How was this a money-printing machine?
This was clearly a mountain of gold!
In an instant, the gazes of the Prime Minister and the Little Queen converged simultaneously on the miner of this “gold mountain.”
Those gazes were so hot they seemed capable of melting a person.
Wendy felt a bit unnerved being watched by the two of them, but on the surface, he remained as steady as an old dog.
He deliberately put on a dazed and innocent expression and asked cautiously: “What’s wrong? Is it… did I write it too poorly? Sigh, I knew it. How could someone like me write anything good…”
After speaking, he shrank his head back with a wronged expression, leaning into Astreia’s gentle harbor to seek comfort.
Astreia’s eyes were full of doting.
She lowered her head, pressed a soothing kiss on the Prince’s forehead, and said softly: “They’ve just never seen anything good and are startled out of their wits.”
This intimate posture was like a red-hot branding iron, severely burning the hearts of Yekaterina and Allison.
Envy, anxiety, longing—all sorts of emotions intertwined, making them almost go crazy.
“No! That’s not it!”
“It’s very good! It’s unprecedentedly good!”
The Queen and the Prime Minister shouted almost in unison, their tones so urgent they were even somewhat incoherent.
Allison took a stride forward.
Because she was too excited, she even forgot the etiquette between monarch and subject.
She pressed both hands on the table, leaning her body forward as she stared deathly at Wendy: “Prince! Please! You must finish writing this story! What do you need? Tell me! Whether it is the most learned scholar in the entire Kingdom to be your assistant or the top artist to draw story illustrations, as long as you speak, I will give my all to satisfy your every need!”
“Yes! Yes!”
Yekaterina also nodded repeatedly.
She couldn’t even bother to be Envy of her Elder Sister anymore; her mind was full of Frodo and the Ring Expedition Team.
“Wendy… Prince, I beg of you, please tell me, what happened to them later? That ring… was it finally destroyed?”
Looking at these two powerful women who were almost ready to kneel and beg him to update, Wendy felt a secret surge of joy, but he maintained a difficult expression on his face.
“Well… as you know, creation requires inspiration. Inspiration is something that is linked to one’s mood. If one is in a bad mood, the mind is empty, and not a single word can be written…”
As he spoke, he also deliberately let out a long sigh, wearing an expression that said “I am also quite helpless.”
As soon as these words came out, Allison and Yekaterina froze instantly…