After disconnecting from the projection of the Council of Elders, Duke Yorock returned to reality.
Thinking back to the Great Elder's meaningful look just now, his expression changed, and he finally couldn't help but curse:
"These old guys... one by one, they are all old foxes!"
After saying that, he paced around the room, finally sighed, and took out a slightly smaller communication crystal.
The crystal's light changed, and an illusory figure appeared in it.
It was a thin figure in a wizard's robe. Various bottles, jars and devices were placed on the magic workbench behind him, and he was busy with something in front of the magic table, apparently conducting magic research.
Feeling the call, the thin figure in the crystal was slightly stunned.
However, he quickly reacted, put down his work, came to the front of the crystal, bowed respectfully to Duke Yorok, and said:
"Your Excellency the Duke, have you...finished the elders' meeting?"
Seeing the bottles and jars projected in the crystal, Duke Yorok's face darkened and he immediately became angry:
"Urst! I should have said that as the person directly responsible for the Return to Star Project, you should pay more attention and stop dealing with these bottles and jars!"
"The failure of the Lilac War is closely related to you guys who are idle and fiddling around all day long! You don't even know why you were betrayed by Red Lilac!"
The figure projected in the communication crystal was none other than Count Ulster.
However, at this moment, the Blood Earl had none of the dignity and momentum he had when presiding over the remote meeting of the Ness clan. He looked like a magician obsessed with magic research.
He slightly blocked the magic workbench behind him, smiled awkwardly, and coughed dryly:
"Ahem... Lord Duke, you know, a long life is too boring. The only way we can kill time is to find some hobbies that suit us, just like you like to play chess with the Elf Queen..."
Seeing Duke Yorok's face getting darker as he explained, Yulster realized that he had made a mistake, and quickly stopped talking and changed the subject:
"Um... Your Excellency the Duke, our people have stopped infiltrating Castel. Did your meeting go well? Is there anything else you need to contact me?"
Duke York took a deep breath and said:
"The Great Elder ordered that all items related to the thorn rose pattern be disposed of immediately, but... Castel is an important part of the Return to Star Project and cannot be abandoned."
Yust's eyes widened:
"Get rid of items related to the thorn rose pattern? So... there really is a god behind Castel?"
"Wait, the Great Elder said that we can't give up on Castel? Does this mean that we should continue to infiltrate Castel? But... isn't there a resurrected god behind Castel? It can't be that he wants us to report to the Holy King that there is a resurrected evil god, right?"
Duke Yorok frowned:
"What's the point of reporting? Let's not talk about whether reporting is useful to a god who has been dormant under the nose of the Holy King's Court for hundreds of years. The idea of attracting the Holy King's Court at this juncture, is it to make the Return to the Star Plan fail completely?"
Yust asked respectfully:
"So... what do you mean?"
Duke York thought for a moment, then said:
"The Great Elder said that Castel is an important part of the Return to Star Plan and cannot be abandoned..."
"For us, we just need Castel to support us and be our backup when we carry out the Return to the Star Plan."
"Gaining support is not the only way to include them in your sphere of influence. Making them your allies through negotiation and trade is also an option!"
Yust's heart moved slightly:
"Your Excellency the Duke, are you saying... to show your good will to Castel?"
Duke Yorok nodded:
"I have this idea, but... everything depends on what happens with Castel."
Yust's expression became serious:
"I understand what you mean. I will pass the message on to further speed up the background investigation of Count Castel..."
"That's not enough..."
Duke York shook his head and said:
"The suspension of infiltration has greatly delayed our plans. Now that we have decided to make a change, we need to act quickly."
"what do you mean… ?"
"I intend to send an envoy to Castel, representing our Ness clan, to have a direct dialogue with the Castel family."
Duke York said quietly.
Lord Ulster's eyes widened:
"Send an envoy? Communicate directly?"
"This... It is said that Count Castel is investigating the descendants of the North, and his target is our Ness clan. If we send an envoy at this time, will it be directly..."
Duke Yorrock interrupted him:
"Of course I know there are risks, but... it also represents sincerity."
Earl of Yust was moved and said:
"I understand what you mean. I will arrange to form an envoy to negotiate with the Castel family."
Duke York shook his head:
"A normal diplomatic mission is not enough. Since we want to express our sincerity, this matter must be led by the Earl."
"Although the earl of humans is different from our earl, using the earl as a representative also represents our respect and sincerity!"
Hearing this, Earl of Yust subconsciously looked at Duke Yorok, and Duke Yorok also looked at him:
"Urst, you are the person directly responsible for the Return to the Star Project. No one knows the specific progress of the Return to the Star Project better than you."
"I think... you know what I mean?"
Lord Ulster: ...
…
The traces of the Blood Demon Cult added a touch of uncertainty to Charlotte's review plan.
However, apart from the attack on Sebastian, there was no trace of the Blood Demon Cultists in Castel during the following period of time.
Even the black dragon seemed to have disappeared.
Viscount Ryan Castell's review operation in the southern part of the Earldom of Castell also went smoothly. Although it was inevitable that it would be opposed by local nobles, with the strong support of the Castell family, the small and medium nobles in the territory had no choice but to refuse.
Charlotte, who stayed in the capital North Port, received progress reports from the old viscount almost every day. What surprised her was that the Ness clan had actually retreated completely.
The old viscount's actions were successful because of this reason. The abandonment of the bloodline left those nobles with their own thoughts completely without any choice, and in the end they had no choice but to obediently accept the scrutiny of the new lord.
At the same time, a Carrick sailing ship from the Fallen Star Kingdom, carrying a delegation from Nice headed by Earl Yust, sailed into the port of North Harbor.