Gloria Regali

Chapter Twenty Three

Anastasiya found herself staring at an empty court. There was no one around other than the empress's entourage themselves. The sounds of silence rang inside the imperial court.

"Kinakalaban nila ang kapangyarihan niyo, mahal na Imperatris," Lukas remarked as Anastasiya remained silent

The double doors opened and several ministers and scholar-officials stepped inside with their mourning clothes. With Governor-General leading them, the court had turned the tables on the empress. The officials were wailing their protests and Anastasiya could have sworn that she saw triumph in the governor-general's eyes.

It made her blood boil.

"Hindi ba iyan ay..." Consuela trailed off,

"A wailing march, iyang din ang ginawa kay De Balmen upang pababain ito sa pwesto sa salang pagtataksil." Lukas finished his sister's sentence.

Anastasiya's delicate hands balled into fists. Her chest rose and fell very quickly as she tried to contain her anger.

"Paano naming magagawang sumunod sa isang babae? Kung siya mismo ay hindi lumaki sa bansang ito?"

"Anong magagawa ng isang babae upang paglingkuran ang bansang ito?" A noble shouted amidst the crowd. It struck the empress as ironic that they were called nobles but acted anything but that.

"Paano mamumuno ng babaeng ito ang isang bansa kung siya ay walang kakayahan? Naglakas-loob siyang makagambala sa mga usapin ng simbahan hindi naman pinakialaman ng mga nakaraang emperador!"

Anastasiya scanned the crowd of ministers and scholar-officials. A certain scholar caught her eye and it caused the empress to be overwhelmed. Her brother was standing amidst the crowd that wanted to take her down. Anastasiya felt like she was being stabbed in the back multiple times. Antonio Andrada caught her eye and looked away.

The empress made the safest decision made and walked out of the court. She did not want to face her subjects when she was about to blow off her steam. The livid empress entered her husband's study where she held formal audiences. Sensing that the Governor-General followed behind her, she stopped in her tracks.

"Masaya ka na?" she asked through gritted teeth.

Governor-General de Espadaña gave her a calculating look. Tension filled the atmosphere of the emperor's study and those who were in the study knew that this was not going to end well. Consuela didn't dare to coax the livid empress.

"Gusto ko lang kung ano ang makakabuti para sa imperyo. Paprangkahin na kita, iha. Ang korte ng hari ay hindi tungkol sa pagkakapantay-pantay, ito ay isang pagpapakita ng kapangyarihan at kung ano ang kinakailangan upang mapanatili ito sa iyo. Naglalakas-loob akong tumugon sa iyong katanungan nang walang kabuluhan: oo, masaya ako."

The empress's entourage was astounded by how the governor-general addressed their empress. Consuela was restrained by her brother who told her not to interfere.

"Ang konseho ng mga tagapayo ay narito upang gabayan ang bawat kilos mo. Hindi namin nais na lumayo ka sa landas na nilalayong lakaran mo." he looks at the empress who did not dare to face him yet. "Oo, ikaw ay isang imperatris namamahala sa kanyang sariling karapatan ngunit may mga limitasyon ang iyong kapangyarihan. Napagtanto ng konseho na ikaw ay walang kakayahan at ano ang gagawin namin sa mga walang kakayahan? Tinatanggal namin ang mahihina at salot sa pamahalaan."

Anastasiya spun around to face the governor-general who dared to speak that she was incompetent. Staring into him with a hollow gaze and letting her anger out, she said:

"Hindi man ako lumaki sa bansang ito. Hindi man ako katulad ng isang dalagang Pilipina na mahinhin at tahimik. Ngunit nanalaytay sa akin ang kagustuhang maitama ang mali at maging bulag muli ang hustisya. Yun ang wala kayo na siyang meron ako," Anastasiya shot as she tried to keep her tears from falling from her eyes.