The ruler of Ansu Kingdom and the longest reigning king since the establishment of the Second Dynasty, Francis II stood on the high terrace of Silver Castle, overlooking this ancient city that has been ruled by the Moen royal family for seven hundred years The giant sun's magical radiance shone on the old king's body, casting a layer of hazy radiance on his gorgeous golden-red coat. In one piece, this old king who is known for his wisdom and forbearance seems to be integrated with the entire castle, even the entire city, and the entire kingdom.
After standing and staring for a long time, there was a sound of light footsteps coming from behind. The old king's hearing was still keen. He turned around and looked at the person who was already standing behind him.
It was a middle-aged man wearing a long black coat with gold trim, short light golden curly hair, and an ordinary appearance without outstanding temperament. He stood in front of Francis II with submissive and gentle eyes, and a hint of awe.
"Wales, have you met Aiden?" Francis II looked at the middle-aged man in front of him indifferently. Although he was his eldest son, his tone was indifferent and calm, as if he was talking to the most ordinary of his subordinates. Followers speak.
Wales? Moen, this is the name of the middle-aged man. He is the first son of Francis II. Before the appearance of Prince Edmund, he was also the only legal heir of the kingdom. However, on the entire Ansu top stage , the former heir is even less active than Veronica Moen, who entered the church early and left Ansu's ruling class. This prince with mediocre aptitude and weak personality is like the shadow of the Moen royal family. Hidden from all sight.
The "Aiden" mentioned by Francis II was the king's former prime minister, Aiden Alfred.
"Yes, Father," the middle-aged Prince of Wales lowered his head slightly, and said in a calm tone, "The former Prime Minister and I explained some precautions for living in Silver Castle."
"Very good," Francis II said lightly, "After Edmund and I leave, Silver Castle still needs a Moen heir to sit in the town. Veronica has converted to the Lord of the Holy Light, so this position can only be reserved." Here you are. Do you understand?"
Wales was silent for a moment, then whispered, "I understand."
"Don't worry, you just need to stay in Silver Castle, there is nothing you need to do," Francis II looked at his mediocre son, and shook his head imperceptibly, "The Dukes of the North and West will take care of it. everything."
Wales? Moen bowed his head deeply: "... yes."
The door connecting the terrace and the castle was pushed open, and Edmund Moen, who had already changed into a light knight outfit, stepped onto the terrace. The young heir to the kingdom came before Francis II and bent slightly: "Father ,Already prepared."
The old king took one last look at Wales, then turned his head and walked to the balcony door: "Let's go."
Francis II and Edmund left the terrace. They walked down the stairs and walked through the long corridors in the castle. When they passed the front hall, two people in fine clothes came forward to meet them.
One is Baldwin Franklin, the Duke of the West, who is wearing a dark blue duke cloak, with a refined temperament and a bit of a bookish look, and the other is Victoria, the Duchess of the North, who is wearing a white dress and a silver fox shawl. Wilder.
The two powerful nobles who were second only to the king in name in the kingdom came to Francis II and bowed slightly. Baldwin Franklin spoke first: "I wish you a smooth trip."
"I will work hard for peace," Francis II said solemnly, and then his eyes fell on the cold and distant female archduchess who was as cold as ice and snow. He looked at her quietly for two seconds before continuing to speak meaningfully , "May Ansu live in peace forever."
Victoria Wilde nodded slightly: "Ansu will be at peace for a long time."
Then they passed each other.
When the royal convoy with the emblem of the Morn royal family and escorted by a large number of cavalry and battle mages left Silver Castle, Wales still stood on the terrace blown by the cold wind, quietly looking down at the people who were coming from the castle. The gorgeous convoy passing by the square had a slight sense of desolation on their faces.
A strange cold wind blew from behind, and the former heir trembled slightly, then turned around and looked at Duchess Victoria Wilde standing in front of him without any surprise.
It's really cold, this girl is as cold as the mountains in the north, Wales breathed in the cold breath that suddenly floated in the air, what came to mind was twenty years ago, when he was the sole heir of the kingdom, he saw the girl for the first time The scene of Victoria Wilde during the period, when he was also standing on this high terrace, and Victoria wearing a white princess dress suddenly ran up, pointed at his nose and said: "You are a prince, right? I am the future. Duchess Wilde! I'll watch you!"
A snowflake of condensed magic power floated on Wales Moen's face, and the middle-aged prince woke up immediately. He nodded to the Duchess of the North in front of him: "Duke Victoria, I will trouble you for a while."
Victoria nodded expressionlessly: "You don't have to worry about the affairs of the kingdom, Duke Baldwin and I will take care of everything for you, as long as you live in Silver Castle in peace, don't worry, I will watch over you."
The last sentence suddenly overlapped with the memory, and Wales Moen's face trembled slightly, but he still lowered his head as usual, and said with the same tone, "Okay."
Victoria Wilde frowned slightly and looked at the prince in front of her, and then said nothing. A sudden snowflake enveloped her figure, and with the swirling cold wind and snow, her figure had disappeared on the castle terrace.
In the middle of this month of recovery, a piece of news quickly blew through the entire Ansu at least like a warm wind that suddenly turned in this season. Among those well-informed nobles who had their own intelligence channels, the news was as fast as the wind. spreading.
King Anzu, Francis II and Prince Edmund led the envoys to leave Silver Castle.
Of course, "spread like the wind" is only relative to the spread speed of general news in this era. Without the use of griffin messengers and magic transmissions, the speed of receiving news in remote areas still depends on the speed of the messenger. The Cecil Territory is obviously not yet capable of establishing an intelligence line with Griffin messengers and magic communication towers from the extreme south to San Sunil. In the middle, it needs to cross countless large and small southern borders to separate the nobility, cross the rock fortress, and cross the traditional nobility. The high cost of the powerful Holy Spirit Plain is only one aspect, and the intricate power structure is even more troublesome. So when Gao Wen received the news, it was already ten days later.
This is also the result of the speedy work of the Cecil Merchant Group node and the dispatched officers of the Military Intelligence Bureau along the way, and he has received information faster than most nobles in the southern border, even faster than Viscount Andrew in Tanzania Town.
After getting the information, he immediately summoned Hetty, who was in charge of internal affairs, Amber, who was in charge of intelligence, and Byron, Philip, and Soldering, who were in charge of military affairs, and called them all to the living room of the Lord's Mansion.
"The royal envoys set off by caravan. In order to synchronize with Typhon, they will not be too fast. They should have just left the Holy Spirit Plain and have not yet entered the Eastern Territory," Gao Wenyang read the secret letter in his hand. The letter was sent by the operatives of the Military Intelligence Bureau located in the Holy Spirit Plain, sent all the way through the commercial route, and finally delivered to him by Amber, "If everything goes well, the formal contact and negotiation will be at the end of the month of recovery. , or at the beginning of the fire month, according to intelligence, Ansu and Typhon jointly built a 'Contract Fort' on the border to carry out this negotiation."
Byron looked at the information in Gawain's hands, and muttered in surprise, "Has our intelligence line reached Saint-Sunil?"
"It didn't happen last year, but since the spring of this year, our pharmacy merchants have entered the Holy Spirit Plain. We should thank Mr. Patrick for his efforts and the assistance of Countess Ropeni Grant," Gawain nodded, and then continued, " Edmund Moen, who was traveling with Francis II, is currently staying in Silver Castle and is Welsh Moen."
"The eldest son of the prince?" Heti was stunned for a moment, feeling a little strange, "It is said that he has mediocre qualifications, is not good at politics, and has been away from the affairs of the kingdom for many years. Currently, he is just a prince with little real power... Why did the king let him stay behind? The royal capital, not Prince Edmund?"
"Francis II may not feel at ease letting his overly talented heir out of his sight, especially when he leaves the capital." Gawain shook his head with a smile, "I have seen that Edmund Prince, he is a very insightful young man, but he is too insightful. As for Wales who stayed in Silver Castle... It doesn't matter whether he can manage this country well, because Victoria Wilde, Duke of the North, and Baldwin, Duke of the West ?Franklin has arrived at Silver Castle ahead of schedule, and with the king's former Prime Minister Aiden as the pillar of the royal family, Silver Castle is still stable."
"... Then Wales is really a poor prince," Soldering shrugged. This high-ranking ranger who witnessed Ansu's 700-year-old history didn't seem to be very interested in the current "bastard royal family", let alone Respect can be said, "He is only a symbol in the castle."
"It doesn't matter to Francis II. The entire second dynasty was established with the support of the Duke of the North. Whether the Wilder family is in Silver Castle or not, the surname Moen is just a symbol. In this case, Wales, which is easier to control, can save him a lot of trouble," Gao Wen waved his hand indifferently, "It has nothing to do with us."
Amber was a little strange: "Then why did you call us here?"
Gawain ignored the half-elf lady beside him, but looked at Byron: "How is the progress of the combat corps' spring expansion and new weapons?"
As soon as this question was raised, everyone at the scene was stunned.
They smelled a disturbing message from Gao Wen's attitude.