"This... used."
Colin touched his nose, making an awkward look, and at the same time carefully observed every subtle expression change on Duke St. Grian's face.
"Is it effective?" Duke St. Grian asked eagerly.
Colin nodded.
An astonishing brilliance burst out of Duke St. Grian's eyes, as if years of longing had finally come true, and his tone became a little trembling:
"Really? Anna is really pregnant with your child?"
Colin carefully discerned the expression of the Duke of St. Grian, and found that the other party was not actually happy that Anna was pregnant, but more like surprised that Anna "can" get pregnant.
"No, Your Excellency, you misunderstood. I mean, Vera is pregnant."
Hearing this, the brilliance in Duke St. Grian's eyes quickly faded, and his expression turned cold: "Are you kidding me?"
"How dare I play tricks on you." Colin quickly explained, "Only Vera is my wife, and she has always wanted to conceive my child, so... of course I gave her the mistletoe as a priority.
However, if you really want to see Anna conceive my child so much, I will work harder in the future. "
Duke St. Grian nodded with some interest, indicating that he knew.
Seeing this, Colin became more and more curious as to why the Duke of the West was so concerned about whether Anna was pregnant with his child.
However, he also knew that there was no time to dwell on this kind of gossip. The most urgent task was to persuade Duke St. Grian to give up his crazy idea of supporting Mr. Ji's sacrifice to Storm Fortress.
"My lord duke, if I'm not mistaken, Mister Ji should be preparing to sacrifice Storm Fortress to use [Eye of Judgment] to deal with the orc emperor, right?"
Duke St. Grian glanced at Colin and nodded frankly.
"My lord, how can you agree to such a crazy plan?"
"Insane?" Duke St. Grian sneered, "Compared to Garcia St. Hilde's equally insane behavior, at least Mr. Xi's plan has a chance of success."
Colin was a little embarrassed, but continued to persuade:
"Your Excellency, there is obviously no need for us to sacrifice so many lives. As long as the imperial coalition forces retreat to the Loire Valley and take advantage of the complex terrain there, I am sure to concentrate the superior force..."
"This is Garcia's plan?" Duke St. Grian interrupted with a sneer.
Colin was at a loss for words, hesitated for a moment and nodded.
Denying it at this time would be insulting the IQ of Duke St. Grian.
"Since that's the case, what position do you have to criticize Mr. Zhe's plan? Garcia sacrificed the Western Territory, and Mr. Zhe sacrificed Storm Fortress. Who is more just than the other?"
Colin originally wanted to say that the Marquis of Garcia had no intention of sacrificing the West Territory. If everyone had followed the Marquis Garcia's suggestion from the beginning and arranged for the evacuation of the people in the West Territory in advance, the current tragedy would not have happened at all.
But this is the end of the matter, and it seems extremely pale to say these things.
The plan of Marquis Garcia has already been stained with countless blood.
"Let's go." Duke St. Grian said indifferently, "Don't try to sabotage Mr. Xi's plan, otherwise, don't blame me for being rude to you!"
Colin opened his mouth, finally sighed, turned and left.
—————
"What are you doing here?"
The Great Emperor Reinhard looked at Queen Midella approaching slowly, and asked angrily.
"Come to help you make up your mind." Queen Midella said with a smile.
"I don't need you to point out what decisions I make!"
"Your Majesty, you misunderstood." Facing Emperor Reinhardt's sneer, Queen Midella still maintained a gentle attitude, "I'm just here to give you some advice, and I don't intend to interfere with your decision-making."
Emperor Reinhard's expression eased a little, but he still didn't want to talk to the queen.
"Your Majesty, what are you hesitating about? Could it be that you are reluctant to part with those refugees?" Queen Midella asked proactively.
Emperor Reinhard snorted softly and said:
"Why would I be reluctant to part with those untouchables? It is their glory to be able to sacrifice their lives for the continuation of the empire! I just don't want to ruin the imperial army..."
Queen Midella smiled after hearing this:
"Your Majesty, you don't want to change to another city to offer sacrifices, do you? Mr. Yu said that one million sacrifices are needed to kill the orc emperor. To have a population of this size, the only city in the entire Glorious Empire is Yulong City..."
"Of course you can't sacrifice Yulongcheng!" Emperor Reinhardt interrupted, and then said with flickering eyes, "I was thinking, can we drive the refugees in Storm Fortress to a nearby big city, so maybe..."
"Your Majesty, have you thought about the consequences of doing this?" Queen Midella's face turned serious, and she immediately persuaded, "If the sacrifice is in the Storm Fortress, you can put all the responsibility on Mr. Ji and claim to be ignorant. But If you use coercive means to gather refugees to a nearby big city, and then this big city is sacrificed...do you think the people of the empire will still believe your innocence?"
Emperor Reinhard's face changed, obviously realizing that his thoughts were a bit stupid.
But he pondered for a moment, and still asked unwillingly:
"Then can I transfer the royal family's direct legion away from the Storm Fortress in advance? The number is not large, only about 30,000 people, so it shouldn't affect..."
"No! Your Majesty, you must not do this." Queen Midella once again dissuaded with a serious face, "Think about it, other people's armies will be sacrificed, but only the royal family's army will be spared. Believe in your innocence?"
Emperor Reinhardt was a little discouraged.
Seeing this, Queen Midella spoke again:
"Your Majesty, in fact, sacrificing the imperial army in the Storm Fortress will be beneficial to you. At least the elites of the southern and eastern borders will be wiped out. In a short time, these two borders will no longer be a threat to the central government..."
"But the elite of the royal family is gone!" Emperor Reinhard interrupted angrily.
Then, he seemed to realize something, his eyes immediately became dangerous, and his tone became extremely indifferent:
"No, your army in the northern border is still doing well! So that's the real reason why you persuaded me! Isn't it?"
Queen Midella slowly shook her head and said:
"Your Majesty, think again. If only the northern army is spared, then, in the eyes of the people of the empire, who will be the mastermind behind the evil plan of colluding with Mr. Yu and sacrificing Storm Fortress?"
Emperor Reinhard's eyes lit up, he seemed to finally understand, and blurted out:
"Garcia Saint Hilde!"
"That's right." Queen Midella nodded, and said, "The St. Hilde family will not be the profiteers. On the contrary, they will be the target of public criticism! You can even use this reason to declare the St. Hilde family as traitors." , Deprive them of their territories and titles!
Take back the North!
At that time, the most powerful military force left in the Glory Empire will still be under your control. "
Emperor Reinhard was stunned, and after a while he said in a strange tone:
"Did you forget your last name?"
Queen Midella smiled and said:
"Your Majesty, it doesn't matter what my surname is, what matters is what my son's surname is!"
Emperor Reinhard stared deeply at his queen, as if trying to tell how sincere she was.
After a while, he nodded slowly and said:
"Okay, I'll trust you again."
Queen Midella smiled sweetly, and said again:
"Your Majesty, if you want to control the northern border, there is another person who will become an important obstacle."
"Vera St. Hilde?"
"No, it's Colin Angelet."
(end of this chapter)