In the north of the Loren Continent, mountains, cold winds, and the flag of the Wilde family ruled the northern border of the Empire together. Although it was still autumn, to this cold northern land, the breath of winter had begun to knock on the door between the mountains. Along with the dry and cold airflow that had not stopped since the beginning of autumn, the weather in Winter County was getting colder by the day. Occasionally, the wind whistled through the mountains, blowing some of the loose snow on the mountain to the mountainside. The people who lived in the mountains even suspected that the winter snow had arrived and the cold wind had come first.
Of course, to Winter Fort Academy, which was located at the peak of the mountain, snow was a more common thing. It had nothing to do with the calendar. Even in the middle of summer, Winter Fort Academy would be suddenly shrouded in snow. Even if the sky around the castle was clear, snowflakes would unreasonably fly from the castle's courtyard and balcony. Every time such snowflakes suddenly appeared, the servants in the castle knew that it was a change in mood of the "Ice Duke" who lived in the depths of the castle. But as for whether the Guardian of the North was in a good mood or not … only her personal maids would know.
At the highest point of Winter Fort Academy, the tower that was filled with magical radiance stood quietly on the stone platform. Snowflakes continued to condense from the sky above the tower, dancing up and down around the tower and half of the castle. The flow of light formed by magic in the air mixed with the fluttering snowflakes, bringing about an intoxicating sense of beauty. However, it was also frightening because of the cold. Two maids stood in a corridor on the upper floor of the tower, looking nervously at the snowflakes outside the window. One of them could not help but go to the window to check if the window was closed properly.
Of course, the window was closed, but looking at the snow outside the window, the maids felt as if the cold wind had penetrated the walls and the crystal glass, blowing on their faces.
"Is the mistress angry?" The maid who checked the window retreated and nervously whispered to her companion. "It has been a whole day, the snow outside has not stopped. Now the courtyard is completely covered in snow."
"We don't have to worry about that." The maid who stood still looked very calm. "The mistress will not simply throw a tantrum at us. And she may not be angry, maybe she is just very happy today."
"You seem to know a lot about it."
"Fortunately, I've been working in this castle for ten years. The mistress is actually much gentler than you think. What's more, Miss Maggie has returned to the castle. With her accompanying the mistress, we don't need to worry about her."
"Eh? Has Miss Maggie come back? Why didn't I see it? "
"She came back last night. She didn't enter the castle from the main entrance — she flew in directly from the terrace." Some of the older maids could not help but smile as if she had seen it with her own eyes. "Don't forget, Miss Maggie is a powerful Giant Dragon!"
"… Oh!"
…
The conversation in the corridor was soft enough to escape the ears of ordinary people, but it could not escape the senses of the Legendary-mage and the Giant Dragon. Standing in the magic meditation room, Victoria opened her eyes. Before she could speak, Maggie, who was waiting beside her, had already taken the initiative to speak. "I'll go remind the two in the corridor. Their discussion is getting more and more lively."
"No need." Victoria shook her head with a straight face. "They're just chatting. I don't care."
Maggie nodded slightly and said nothing more. Victoria gently exhaled and waved her hand to extinguish the burning incense in the meditation room. As the magic runes on the floor were extinguished one by one, the Guardian of the North turned her head to look at her follower who was both a servant and a friend. "Are you happy in Cecil City?" she asked casually.
Maggie glanced at Victoria with a half-smile. "If I say that I'm very happy, so happy that I almost forgot to come back, will you be sad?"
Victoria did not say anything and just stared back at her with a straight face.
"Well, your expression of 'you know I'm not joking but I can only make a face reluctantly' is so obvious that I almost didn't see it." Maggie sighed helplessly, shrugged, and said with a smile, "To be honest, I'm quite happy in the Imperial Capital. Rebecca is a good friend, and His Majesty is generous and full of wisdom. The work as a flight consultant and instructor is not too heavy — and there are many dragon descendants there."
"Then why did you come back early?" Victoria asked curiously. "Isn't it good to be with your compatriots?"
"If I want to be with my compatriots, isn't it better to return to the Dukedom of the Holy Dragon?" Maggie laughed and shook her head. "There's no special reason. It's just that the work there has come to an end. The training of the flying troops is on the right track, and there are new dragon descendants signing up for the recruitment of the technical department. Now, compared to the Imperial Capital, you should need more manpower here. And even if something happens in the Imperial Capital, it's not troublesome for me to fly there now. "
Victoria nodded and said nothing more. Maggie looked into her eyes and listened to the whistling of the wind and snow outside the castle. After a few seconds, she suddenly said, "You still can't calm down? I remember that the incense used for meditation is very effective for you. "
"The incense can only help me concentrate, but it can't stop my mind from thinking," Victoria said helplessly. She could not help but recall the information she got from Amber when she communicated with the Imperial Capital. She frowned little by little, and her expressionless face was no longer there. "Now I finally understand how Heti and Rebecca felt when they faced the resurrected ancestor in the mausoleum of Gwen Cecil …"
Maggie looked at her friend quietly. After a long time, she broke the silence. "You feel different from them because the situation you are facing is completely different. At that time, they had nowhere to go. The 'ancestor' who came out of the tomb was all they could rely on and hope. But you have an open space in front of you. You are displaying your ambitions on this open stage. So under this premise, the sudden emergence of an 'ancestor' may not be a good thing for you."
Victoria sighed softly and said in a low voice, "Maggie, you know that's not what I'm worried about."
"Yes, I know you are not a person who is greedy for power and status. Your confidence and ability make it difficult for you to be shaken under any circumstances. Plus, with the style of the great adventurer Modiel Werde, you really don't have to worry about him affecting the order you maintain here … But after all, an ancestor who has been away for 600 years suddenly returned to this world. This matter may bring about too many changes, isn't it?" Maggie said with a faint smile. "Even the gods can't control the future. You are just a mortal, Vicki. But you don't like the feeling of losing control of the future."
At this point, she paused and calmly added, "What's more, the 'great adventurer Modiel' is in a very strange state now. Whether he has come back from the grave or has been wandering in this world for the past 600 years, he doesn't look like a 'normal living person.' As a descendant of the Werde family, you can't leave such a family ancestor alone."
Victoria looked at Maggie for a long time before she sighed helplessly. The corner of her mouth curled up a little. "You know me better. I'm afraid others won't be able to figure out what I'm thinking about even if they were to sit next to me for a whole day."
"What's your decision?" Maggie looked up and asked calmly. "You've been frowning here for a long time. Although it's not easy to see, you should have made a decision by now, right?"
"… I have a duty. I can't be so capricious in many decisions," Victoria said in a low voice after a moment of silence. "Especially now that the situation in the north has just stabilized, I can't put too much energy into my own private affairs …"
"You're too tense, Vicki. And the matter of the old Duke Modiel Werde is not your private affair. Even His Majesty is concerned about it, and it has even affected the major events of the Empire and Tarlonde." Maggie knew that her friend in front of her was a little stubborn. Victoria's overly serious character was often a nuisance at times like this. Fortunately, Maggie was used to it. "Occasionally throw away the rules and constraints and make some bold decisions. Or you can discuss it with His Majesty first … If even His Majesty approves of it, then you don't have to worry about it."
"It seems that you trust His Majesty a lot now." Victoria seemed to have figured something out and smiled. "You have a point. This is an unconventional matter. I should also make some unconventional decisions … Maggie, I've decided to go to Tarlonde personally to confirm the situation of the 'adventurer Modiel'. It's said that he can't be stimulated by the surname 'Werde' now, so he probably can't come to Winter Fort Academy. Since he can't come, I'll go look for him. "
…
In Cecil Palace, in the study room covered with a blue velvet carpet, Amber was standing opposite Gwen's desk. After hearing her report, Gwen nodded slightly.
"So … you think that the Violet Kingdom in the north is a big 'suspect'," Hao Ren looked up at the half-elf who had a serious look on her face. "You suspect that Modiel Werde's last adventure was to go to the Violet Kingdom, and something happened there, causing him to live until today in a strange state of 'amnesia'?"
"He may not have lived until today. Maybe he went through a 'deep sleep' similar to yours, and only recently climbed out of the coffin for some reason — and he doesn't know it himself," Amber said as she sorted out her thoughts. "I have this suspicion now, but I don't have any evidence yet. But think about it, Modiel's disappearance was not a trivial matter for the Ansu. The royal family and the Werde family must have mobilized all their forces to search for him. Even if they couldn't find him, they should have found some clues. But all the clues were cut off after pointing to the north …
"Under such an intense search, only Tarlonde and the mysterious Violet Kingdom could still cut off the clues. We can basically rule out Tarlonde …"
Gwen listened to Amber's serious analysis and nodded gently. "Besides, we have to see the specific situation of the 'adventurer' Modiel. Tarlonde wants us to send someone who knows Modiel well enough to contact him. Enya also suggested so. To be honest … I'm also curious about the 'adventurer'. "
"But you can't leave now." Amber rolled her eyes. "Whether it's Project 115, the progress in the Black Forest, or several important projects with Typhon and the Silver Empire, you have to handle all of them personally."
Gwen thought for a moment and could only sigh. "Sigh … I kind of understand how Heti feels every day."
Hu Po opened his mouth and said, "Then you won't understand. Even if she's under a lot of pressure, she can still put on smoky makeup and come to you to relieve her boredom. You don't have an ancestor who can lift the lid of a coffin above you … Sigh, I'm just saying! I'm not lying. You can't hit me! "
Gawain glared at this' Shame of All Things' who still didn't know how to keep her mouth shut, and casually threw the silver seal he had just picked up back onto the table. He was just kidding, and definitely wouldn't really throw something at her. It wasn't that he was worried about injuring her, but it would be troublesome to get the thing back after throwing it out. Although this Shadow Assault Goose wasn't very skilled, as long as you threw something at her that was worth more than half a pound, even if it was fired from a magic cannon, she would be able to catch it in midair and quickly run away. Even a legendary knight like Gawain couldn't explain this process.
At this moment, a buzzing sound suddenly came from the magical network terminal not far from the desk. With the faint light of the projection crystal, Gwen turned his attention away from Amber.
The terminal was activated and the crystal brightened. The holographic projection quickly became clear and Heti's figure appeared. She said with a serious face, "Ancestor, the Silver Queen Bethea and her delegation have crossed the Gloom Mountains. They are expected to land at Pioneer Square in 30 minutes."
"They've arrived …" Gwen said softly and then nodded. "I see. Inform the reception staff at the square to prepare according to the scheduled procedures. I'll be there soon."
The visit of the Silver Empire's delegation was something that had been agreed upon a long time ago. Gwen had already made arrangements for it, so he was not surprised at the moment. But when he thought of the special nature of this delegation, his expression became slightly serious.
Among the Silver Ambassadors who were about to arrive in the imperial capital, the highlight was not the Silver Queen, but several elves with the titles of "Great Druil" and "Ancient Sage." Each of them was old enough to be regarded as a "living fossil" by the short-lived humans.
The leader of the Silver Elves was an ancient Druil priest named Azmol. Before the fall of White Star 3,000 years ago, he used to be the "God's Servant", second only to the Silver Queen. He had received the baptism of divine grace from the God of Nature. According to the information from Bethea, he was now the "Sage" recognized by more than half of the "old school secret sects" in the Silver Empire. Countless secret sects were operating in his name.
He was the last high-ranking priest in the world who was still a devout believer in Amoun and had received the "divine grace" 3,000 years ago.
Gwen stood up from behind the desk, took a light breath, and walked out of the door.
"We have arrived at the last 'anchor' of Amoun in the mortal world," he said in a deep voice. "Let's go and pick them up."
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