A gust of cold wind blew the flags nearby, causing them to flutter. Luo Peini? Galen raised his head and quietly gazed at the ancient castle in the distance.
The two-hundred-year-old Cracked Stone Castle sat quietly at the top of the hill. The steep cliff on the side of the castle stood on the horizon like a blade. The setting sun shone on the jagged rocks and the high walls of the castle, casting a layer of pale golden light on those lines.
It was a mountain made of stone. One side of the mountain was steep and dangerous. The Cracked Stone Castle sat at the top of the cliff, as if it was crouching on the edge of a blade. The walls of the ancient castle had long been mottled, and there were signs of cracks in many places. When the setting sun shone on the castle at the right angle, a part of the walls would even shine through, showing bright lines of cracks like the veins of leaves on the walls.
People often worried that the ancient castle would collapse in the setting sun. Countless tons of heavy boulders would roll down from the top of the cliff, and in an earth-shattering crash, the most glorious family name on this land would be buried.
But Luo Peini remembered her husband's words and the ancient agreement between the castle and the spirit of the earth elements. It was when the Gilen Family was just a marginal vassal of the Cecil family. The ancestors of the family and the earth elemental allies had reached a contract: as long as the family name "Gilen" still ruled this land, the Cracked Stone Castle would never collapse naturally.
But the cracks in the castle had been increasing over the years.
"Madam." The voice of the steward interrupted Luo Peini's thoughts. The steady and reliable middle-aged man handed a wooden box to the Countess. "This is the soil sample you asked for."
Luo Peini looked at the dark colored soil in the wooden box. She stretched out her finger and gently rubbed it. Then, a little magic radiance appeared between her fingers. The soil then turned into green smoke under the magic radiance and drifted with the wind.
"The potion is working." The gloomy expression on Luo Peini's face seemed to relax a little. She nodded slightly to the steward. "Half of the farms in the territory need this Druil to restore the balance of the land. It must be completed before spring. You go negotiate with those Cecil drug merchants and see what kind of price they will offer. "
"Yes." The butler lowered his head, and then he couldn't help but add, "Mistress, you don't have to leave the castle. You don't have to come to this dirty countryside. There are rude and ignorant peasants here. They might offend you."
"You've said enough." Luo Peini glanced at the butler indifferently. "Just do your own thing."
The butler hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to express any more opinions.
"Gwen? Duke Cecil will visit us in five days. "A few seconds later, Luo Peini broke the silence." Go back and start preparing. "
"The Duke is going to visit?" The butler was startled, but after seeing the calm expression on the mistress's face, he immediately swallowed all the questions and nonsense back into his stomach. "I understand. I will arrange the most appropriate welcome. But I don't know why the Duke is here. Do I need to make any additional arrangements? "
"It's just an ordinary meeting," Luo Peini said lightly. "Kant has finally become the legal fief of the Cecil family."
"Kant … I understand."
A few days later.
A carriage with the emblem of the Cecil family was driving on the road to the east of Kant. In front of the carriage was the land ruled by the Gilen family for generations.
Except for the coachman driving the carriage and the three soldiers at the back of the carriage, there were only two people in the carriage, Gwen and Amber.
"This is really less impressive than the last time we went to Kant." Amber sat opposite Gwen and couldn't help but start muttering. "I say, you're a duke. Even if you're going to visit a noble lower than yourself, you should at least pay attention to your own ostentation. At least have two more carriages and a few more attendants …"
Gawain glanced at the half-elf girl in front of him, amused. He knew what she was thinking. Amber did not care if he looked impressive or not. She just felt that it was unfair for her to be the duke's follower, but she had not enjoyed the privilege of going out with a convoy of eight hundred attendants, with war drums paving the way and trumpeting when entering the city. Her yearning for a better life could be said to be simple and straightforward to the extreme. She just wanted to live a life of glory and wealth — she did not have any spiritual pursuits at all.
If she had to say something, her only spiritual pursuit was probably to organize a cheating tournament in her lifetime, and then she would go up and win the championship …
"You're still laughing!" Amber saw Gwen's half-smile and immediately rolled her eyes at him unhappily. "When I saw an earl go out, he had seven or eight carriages with him."
"Things like carriages … will be obsolete sooner or later." Gwen smiled and shook his head. "When the time comes, I'll let you sit in something more exciting than a carriage."
"Something more interesting than a horse carriage?" Hu Po's face was instantly filled with curiosity. "What new toy did you come up with this time?"
"Not yet. It's just an idea at the moment, but the time and technical conditions are not ripe yet." Gwen waved his hand. "Let's talk about the Gilen Family. Other than a few suspicious points about Viscount Gilen's accidental death a few years ago, what else did you find out? "
"Then, we'll have to start from an earlier time. Before the previous Viscount Glen died in an accident, he had implemented a series of 'new laws' in his territory that were almost unbelievable. At that time, not only his territory, but even the nobles in the neighboring territories were affected to a certain extent …"
"New laws?" Gwen frowned. "Tell me more about that."
"Oh, then I'll have to start from when he liberated all the serfs and slaves in his territory …"
…
When Duke Cecil's carriage drove to the Gilen territory, a messenger wearing a red and blue robe and holding a passage flag was riding a fast horse on the road in the center of Saint Sunil City.
That flag was the king's token, and no one dared to stop the messenger who held the token. The pedestrians on the road all panicked and fearfully avoided the galloping horse. The people of King's City, who had long been accustomed to a peaceful life, had their peace broken on this day. But at this moment, they still did not know what was going to happen next. They just hid by the roadside, looking in the direction where the messenger left the dust behind him, wondering what kind of message this person who was galloping on a horse was carrying.
The messenger ran across the King's Street and the arc-shaped square in front of the Silver Castle. He then dismounted in front of the castle and went straight to where the king was with the flag held high.
Just a few minutes later, a report from the western region of the Holy Spirit Plains was sent to Francis II.
This urgent report made Francis II quite unhappy because today was a rare day for Veronica to leave the cathedral and come to the Silver Castle to reunite with him. For the father of the king and the daughter of the saint, this was a very special and precious time, but this good time was interrupted.
Veronica looked at the report that had just been sent. She showed a reassuring and gentle smile and said softly, "Father, government affairs are more important."
"I know." Francis II sighed and picked up the report on the table. "But at this time, I don't want to receive any 'unexpected situation' at all … Those greedy nobles will never be satisfied. They will not think about the kingdom at all and will only cause trouble for me."
Veronica smiled faintly. "Maybe this is not news about the nobles?"
Francis II forced a smile and tore open the envelope of the intelligence.
In the next half a minute, the smile on his face gradually disappeared.
Veronica noticed the change in her father's expression. "Father, this is …"
"Read it yourself." Francis II handed the secret letter to his daughter. "This is something you can read because I'm afraid it will soon reach the Holy Light Cathedral."
Veronica frowned and took the letter curiously. The content jumped into her eyes.
"… The conflict between the believers of the Holy Light and the believers of the Blood God in the Holy Spirit Plains is getting worse … On the XX day of the month, the believers of the two sides broke out in armed conflict in Boulder City. The radical believers of the Blood God smashed the statue in front of the Church of the Holy Light … The next day, the believers of the Holy Light retaliated and burned the Church of the Blood God.
"God …" Veronica sighed in horror and sorrow. She drew the emblem of the Holy Light on her chest with her hand. "Even if it is to protect the faith, why do they have to go to this extent?"
Francis II glanced at his daughter, shook his head and said, "Read on."
Veronica read the second half of the letter and could not help but gasp.
"… The regional bishop of the Church of the Blood God led the believers in a counterattack. On the way to the Church of the Holy Light, he was severely injured by an arrow. When he was on the verge of death, he mutated into a monster of flesh and blood. There were many witnesses at the scene …
"The Lord of Boulder City and the regional bishop of the Church of the Holy Light killed the monster together … After that, they conducted a search of the Church of the Blood God and found a secret room under the church, and found a large number of traces of bloody sacrifice … In addition, there was the emblem of the All-Ending Society and notes recording various blasphemous knowledge and evil speech …
"… All the Churches of the Blood God in Boulder City have been sealed off … half of the believers have been expelled …"
"A regional bishop is a believer of the All-Ending Society …" Veronica muttered to herself with a look of disbelief. "They have infiltrated to this extent …"
"So you should understand now, my daughter," Francis II said with a pale face. "You should understand why I keep saying that the Ansu is not ready to go to war with Typhon … especially this year."
Veronica was silent for a moment before returning the letter in her hand to the old king. "Father, how are you going to deal with this matter?"
"The royal power does not interfere with the divine power, and the divine power does not interfere with the royal power. This has always been the rule, but now there are people bleeding because of this, the king has to do something," Francis II said in a low voice. "We have been searching for the whereabouts of the cultists, and have even begun to investigate every noble, and have begun to investigate the extraordinary individuals registered in the royal family, but we have neglected the Holy See … The Holy See, which we thought was the least likely to be corrupted by the cultists, has also become a hotbed of evil."
Francis II clenched his fist and could not help but knock on the table. "Veronica, the church must be investigated, but … I cannot let this further affect the stability of the kingdom."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
