Chapter 83: When Wrong Is Better Than Right (2)
“It is my humble opinion that we urgently need to build a new bridge on the Magena River that flows over the whole capital.”
The audience room was spacious but not too luxurious, reflecting the queen’s generous and broad-minded character. Lloyd’s voice rang aloud in the space, and Queen Alicia Termina Magentano’s brows twitched.
“A bridge?” she asked.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Do expound more,” she said.
“Yes, Your Majesty. I heard that the bridge built on the Magena River crumbles quite regularly.”
“Quite regularly…?”
This time, her brows furrowed.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Lloyd’s voice remained calm nonetheless.
“Are you not exaggerating?”
“From a civil engineering perspective, it’s considered frequent when something crumbles once every couple decades.”
“Is it…?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” answered Lloyd, who brazenly plastered an emotionless expression on his face.
Nonetheless, what he said was true. When something crumbled once every couple decades, it was considered “very frequent” from a civil engineering point of view. The bridge that was built over the Magena River fit the bill.
This issue is brought up several times in the novel. Even more, three years from now, this bridge will crumble again after a couple of decades.
The passage about the royal capital burst into his thoughts. The Magena River never saw a shortage of water throughout the four seasons, and the abundant water source brought prosperity to the city for eons. However, that very blessing simultaneously was a curse.
Each spring, the river gets flooded because of the rainy spring season in the east. Not only that, as the massive heaps of snow in mountain peaks melt during that time, the water level gets higher with it.
The spring flood chronically plagued the capital, especially the bridge that laid over the river. Ten years if short and fifty or sixty years if long. The bridge got destroyed by the deluge and the royal chamber spent a massive amount of money on construction to build a new bridge.
A similar case exists on earth, I think.
Heidelberg of Germany. The Karl Theodor Bridge in the Neckar River.
The first version of the bridge was built during the mid-eleventh century by Karl Theodor. But it got destroyed by a flood in 1228. I think a similar thing happened afterward.
It indeed did. The second bridge was destroyed in 1308, and the third and fourth bridges collapsed in 1340 and 1400, respectively. The fifth one was crushed in 1470, and the pattern continued to repeat itself even afterward.
The sixth bridge became a pile of rubble in 1565 because of the floating ice that drifted along a flood. The same thing happened to the next one because of the army of Louis XIV during the Nine Years’ War. The eighth bridge was even fortified to become sturdier and more rigid. But it stood no chance when a flood and block of ice hit it in 1784.
As such, some people claimed that the Karl Theodor Bridge of today had ancestors that stretched up to nine generations. A similar event was happening in the novel, particularly in the royal capital of Magenta, just like what Heidelberg went through during the Middle Ages.
“I had heard that the bridge standing atop the Magena River saw the twelfth construction. Therefore, Your Majesty, it is my modest opinion that building up the destroyed bridge, again and again, is truly inefficient,” asserted Lloyd.
“Are you saying that building up what’s broken is inefficient?” asked the queen in disbelief.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Do you suggest that we put up a new bridge?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“If that is the case,” replied Queen Magentano, “are you confident that the bridge of yours will stand strong even in the brunt of the spring flood and floating ice?”
“Truly yes, Your Majesty,” answered Lloyd.
Lloyd’s voice sounded firm, knowing that times like these called for confidence. In turn, the queen’s gaze sharpened.
“What if it falls?”
“Then…” Lloyd said as he bowed his head lower.
I would run away to a foreign country at once.
Deciding to take on the risk, Lloyd announced, “You may take my neck.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. In return, however…”
“In return?”
“I ask that Your Majesty protect the status of my family until the new bridge I humbly build falls down,” demanded Lloyd.
“Protect your status. That is, until the new bridge collapses?”
“Exactly as you said, Your Majesty.”
By now, Lloyd had practically put his head to the ground. The queen’s eyebrows sharpened as she looked at the back of Lloyd’s round head.
Would you look at this boy.
This boy was the eldest son of the barony that sat in a remote province in the east and yet, he dared to negotiate with the queen. He demanded that his family’s noble status would be sustained for eternity. The sustainment of status could only mean one thing. No matter what happened, the fiefdom would never be confiscated. A lifelong pension that would grant them a minimum degree of dignity. These two were the actual requests hidden behind the outspoken demand.
Come to think of it, he talks as if building a new bridge is already a done decision!
A snort escaped the queen as she thought how deplorable and cheeky he was. This young man’s scheming was too plain and transparent. At the same time, she found his act to be cute and wondered how he could be so brazen in her presence. It was as if he was a puppy whimpering for some snacks to a lion. On top of that, what was the loss to the royal palace to build an unbreakable bridge? This made the queen’s voice slightly softer.
“So, does that mean you have a special plan in mind behind constructing the bridge that will never break?”
“Why, yes, Your Majesty.”
She’s falling for it. She’s almost there, Lloyd thought to herself. He deduced that from the way her voice turned gentle. He was glad that his play worked out.
This is it.
Just then, Lloyd was hit with the characteristic of Queen Magentano, which he read from The Knight of Blood and Iron. The ruler of the indomitable spirit, Alicia Termina Magentano. Much like her absolute power and strength, she was broad-minded and unstoppable. Not only that, she was fair and just and opened her ears to the advice of everyone regardless of their status.
Therefore, she despised pathetic, lowly people. Her inclinations are geared toward the type of people who are unabashed and direct in their speech regardless of class, just like how he spoke now. She liked to have that kind of people around her. Eventually, she would lose an arm after getting poisoned by her most trusted person. She would live but lose an arm. The trauma of betrayal would turn her into a completely different person. An atrocious tyrant who never trusted anyone. From a ruler of indomitable spirit, she would descend into a cold-blooded tyrant.
But thankfully, such an unfortunate event hasn’t taken place yet.
That would happen three years later, based on the timeline of the novel. At this period in time, Queen Magentano was still bright and just, much like a red lion. So Lloyd thought his bold suggestion would work, calculating that he would have enough of a chance since the bridge-collapse incident was already enough of a headache for the royal palace. Now, his calculation was proven to be right. There was more conviction in his response.
“If we build a suspension bridge in the Magena River, no flood will ever be able to crumble it,” Lloyd said.
“A suspension bridge?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The queen cocked her head to the side. Lloyd made a declaration toward her, this time with more confidence.
“A suspension bridge refers to the bridge construction method suitable for bridges with a vast span. Generally, two high towers are erected tall on both sides, which are supported by a long cable… Blah Blah… The cables are fixed to the anchor blocks located on both sides of the bridge… Blah… The upside of this one is that there’s a pier in the river… Blah blah… Therefore, I humbly request…”
“Stop. Enough,” interrupted the queen.
“Are you done talking?”
“There is more to explain, but I shall stop if it is Your Majesty’s desire…” murmured Lloyd.
“That is enough. I already understand what you mean.”
The queen let out a sigh of disgust unconsciously, wiping off the sweat in her forehead with a handkerchief. She felt as though the explanation she had heard from Lloyd went into her left ear and slipped out of her right ear in one motion. Lloyd’s question turned sly.
“So, what does Her Majesty intend to do…?” Lloyd’s voice was gentle and uncertain.
“What I intend, you say,” said the queen and chuckled. “I have made myself clear that I shall be testing your capacity. You have given an answer to my question with enough confidence. Why else should I hesitate? Proceed.”
“Does Her Majesty mean that I can proceed with constructing the new bridge?” Lloyd asked.
“Indeed. Build it, and prove yourself. If you succeed, I shall reward you heavily, including the merits of yours back in Cremo. However…”
The chuckle on her mouth vanished, and her gaze grew stern.
“The cost of failing the construction shall be as great as your confidence.”
“I shall keep that in mind, Your Majesty.”
Lloyd bowed in respect. It was game on, and he was beyond the point of return. The time has come for him to show what he got.
“I have never seen anyone so insolent and pertinent in my presence.”
Now, the audience room was empty without Lloyd and Javier. Queen Magentano smiled in a wry manner. Just then, a middle-aged man’s voice was heard as if to second her sentiment.
“He appears clever and calculating, Your Majesty,” said the commander of the royal knights, who was standing ramrod straight behind her all along.
“Sir Kyle, did you notice it as well?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Ha, yes. He is more shrewd than I had thought.”
The wry smile hanging in her mouth deepened. Just then, she was hit with the report she received from Count Cremo. The report made an evaluation of Lloyd Frontera in such way:
“A cunning talent who will surprise everyone by utilizing everything in his power if a clear profit is at stake.”
“He indeed knew what the report said he was, but I never expected him to come up with such a wrong answer,” confessed the queen.
“By the wrong answer…”
“I mean about my question and the answer Lloyd Frontera gave,” the queen expounded.
“Is Your Majesty speaking about the urgent construction of the new bridge over the Magena River?”
“Yes.”
“If you say that is the wrong answer-”
“I already had an answer in mind,” she said, her words as sharp as a knife. In fact, there was an answer at the back of her mind when she tossed the question to Lloyd. It had nothing to do with the bridge construction nor about the deluge or the Magena River.
“I was thinking of the palace repair,” she added.
“Ah…!” Sir Kyle exclaimed as he processed her words.
“Truly, you could not be any more correct. The ten-year regular palatial repair construction is just around the corner…”
“Yes, you are right. It has been constructed way too thick and sturdy to prepare against the dragon. Therefore, it is heavy and requires frequent maintenance. That was the answer I had in my mind. Anyone well-versed in architecture would utter the answer as me.”
However, it wasn’t the case. Lloyd gave an answer that was poles apart from hers. It was absolutely a wrong answer, but it couldn’t simply be considered one.
To be honest, the construction of the bridge over the Magena River was always necessary. But there weren’t really any spot-on measures in plan.
It was true. Her ancestors had mulled over the same issue, which was the flood that regularly occurred in spring when the snow melts after winter. The only method against such a violent natural disaster was a sturdier bridge. So, they constructed a new bridge that was sturdier than the one before each time the bridge collapsed. The same thing took place after some decades. The reason behind it was simple, and it was because of the engineering dilemma.
The builders told me once that the piers that support the bridge must be constructed with more strength and thickness for a sturdier bridge. But the thicker and sturdier the piers become, the greater the water pressure they receive.
Although she was almost ignorant when it came to construction, she was able to grasp the part the builders reported to her because the behind principle was simple. Piers are the pillars that support the bridge legs that stand in the water. So, they are exposed to the constant pressure of the flowing river water. What would happen if the piers thickened and widened? The spaces that receive the pressure of the flowing water would widen.
To overcome that, the builders attempted wedge-shaped piers. They even installed a wooden facility that would protect the piers from drifting ice blocks. However, they were nothing but band-aid measures because they fell short of protecting the flood. Each time the deluge struck the bridge, it helplessly collapsed, and people eventually resigned and gave up.
All they could do was rebuild it as robustly as possible. Once it broke, there was nothing else to do but redo the construction. They regarded it as a tax they pay to the power of nature on a regular basis. That was the policy Queen Magentano upheld for the Magena River. Therefore, Queen Magentano never held an iota of expectation Lloyd would come up with an innovative measure. She never even imagined he could.
But Lloyd Frontera provided the solution in his answer to my question.
The queen had an answer she wanted and Lloyd gave a wrong answer. It was wrong, but it was better than her original one.
I shall stay put and watch first.
Queen Magentano decided to watch the construction of the suspension bridge Lloyd had talked about and observed his ability. If he’s proven to be capable, then she will make great use of him. Filled with the expectation from the queen, Lloyd began to prepare the construction of the bridge.