After the welcome banquet, Gwen did not immediately contact Victoria or Veronica. Instead, he allowed the guests to rest in the 'Autumn Palace' or follow the reception staff to visit some places. The reason he gave was that he wanted the guests to understand the land as much as possible and to have a good rest in the next few days to relieve the fatigue accumulated from such a long journey. With this reason, he left the guests hanging for three days.
Victoria did not waste the three days. In these three days, she did everything possible to understand everything about Cecil, from the daily life of the people to the sporadic intelligence of Cecil's army, from the market goods to the surrounding products. Although the channels available to her were limited, she did not let go of any opportunity to help her understand the land.
It was not until the fourth day that she finally received news from Gwen.
In the study of the lord's residence, Victoria sat on a sofa on the sofa. Wilde sat on the single sofa provided for guests. She curiously looked at the place where Gawain usually worked. Her eyes swept across the bookshelves and decorative armors, and finally fell on a huge map. The map hung on one side of the wall, between two bookshelves. It depicted the whole of Ansu, and even part of the wasteland of Gondor, Tiphon, the Dukedom of the Holy Dragon, and the tribal kingdom of Ogure. It was the most exquisite and detailed map that Victoria had ever seen in her life. Not only were all the mountains and rivers accurately marked, but there were also a lot of numbers to describe the distance …
It was not unusual for the lord to hang a map in his study, but it was not easy to hang such an accurate map. The Duchess' eyes fell on the center of the map and stopped at a point in the eastern part of the Whitsunday Plain.
She saw a striking red cross near the entrance of the Great Wood Avenue. Next to the red cross was a line of annotation: Ansu 736, 43 of the Month of Harvest.
That was the date of the last large-scale battle between the eastern rebels and the royal army before winter. The time and place were exactly the same.
"You seem to be interested in my map. The girl from the Wilde family? "
Gwen's voice suddenly came from the side, waking Victoria from her brief thoughts. She saw the founding duke enter the room and sit on the sofa next to her.
"Betty, prepare tea and snacks and send them to the study." After sitting down, Gwen waved to the little maid standing by the door, and then turned to Victoria. "I hope I didn't take too long. A new duchy is always busy."
"Of course, I can imagine how busy you are every day." Victoria bowed slightly to Gawain. Although they were both guardian dukes, the huge gap in seniority made it necessary for her to always pay attention to etiquette even in such an informal occasion. Then she raised her head again and looked at the huge map. "… You have a very excellent cartographer, and you seem to be very concerned about the situation outside the Southern Territory?"
"Cecil people hope to live a peaceful life, but the outside world will not be as peaceful as we wish. If you want to live a peaceful life, you have to pay more attention to the situation outside." Gwen smiled. "And aren't you also very concerned about the situation here?"
The members of the diplomatic group were walking around the city. Of course, such a public matter could not be hidden. Victoria did not intend to hide it at all. She just nodded slightly. "This land is very mysterious to us. Since autumn, the whole South has been hidden in a fog for the Captical. Of course, this is very curious."
The little maid Betty brought tea and snacks and began to fill the cups for the guests. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Victoria directly changed the topic to her own concern. "Duke Cecil, what do you think of the civil war in Ansu?"
Gawain maintained his smile as he looked at Victoria and said unhurriedly, "I'm very sorry to see the descendants of my good friend end up in such a situation. But if you want to ask me who I support in this civil war, then I can only say that I support no one."
This could be said to be an expected answer. Victoria's expression did not change. She just continued to say, "We did not start the war. No one in the Silver Fort wants the Ansu to be divided. From the sudden rebellion in the East until now, we have been very passive."
"Ah, 'he started it first.' I heard from Heti that Rebecca often complained like this after she got into a fight when she was a child." Gwen raised his hand. "You know, until winter, Rebecca was often taught a lesson by me for getting into trouble. So you should really be glad that Charlie, Snow, Anthony, and Evans did not come back with me. Otherwise, you would have to worry about more than this civil war. Will you say that Snow, Snow, and Anthony? Loren and Charlie? Did the children of the Moen Family start it first? "
All the explanations and negotiation scripts that Victoria had prepared in advance were useless.
She had not communicated with someone who was old enough to be her elder for nearly 20 years. In this regard, her experience was even less than that of Rebecca, who was beaten twice a month.
But fortunately, she was smarter than Rebecca. After a brief moment of shock, she reorganized her words. "… I understand. You and the founders of the kingdom did not create this country for us to kill each other. This civil war must be painful for you, but the situation has developed to this point. The war can't be stopped just because you want to. We can't give the country to a prince who killed his father and usurped the throne and a grand duke who betrayed the oath. Presumably, the East will not compromise so easily. So the civil war will continue, and the power of the Ansu will be weakened in the process of the war. At the same time, we all know that Typhon is waiting for the Ansu to shed the last drop of blood. "
Gwen looked into Victoria's eyes. "Very good. At least you can realize that Typhon is next to you. So, in order to end this war as soon as possible and in a way that meets your expectations, what have you come up with?"
Victoria pondered for a moment and then said what Gwen had expected. "The position of the king cannot continue to be vacant."
Gwen adjusted his sitting position and leaned back on the sofa. "Wales? Moen? "
"… His Majesty Francis had appointed Edmund as his successor and made an oath in front of the ancestors. But now the oath has to be abandoned. Ansu needs a king and needs to be united again. His Highness Wales is the only candidate at present. "Victoria paused for a moment. She looked at Gwen's every change of expression and continued slowly." We hope to support Wales? Moen as the new king. This is the common wish of the Guardian Dukes of the North and the West. "
She paid close attention to the changes in Gawain's expression, but Gawain's expression did not change at all. The founding duke only maintained his faint smile and listened to her like an outsider. He did not express his opinion even after she had finished speaking.
Gwen let the atmosphere freeze for a full two minutes. Then he suddenly broke the silence. "Victoria, is the mithril oath in Winter Fort Academy okay?"
The duchess' heart skipped a beat. Although she still maintained her usual expression, the nervousness in her eyes did not escape Gwen's eyes.
Gwen's heart did not waver. Just as he had expected a long time ago, he was a hero shrouded in a halo. The nobles of Ansu did not mind hanging him on the wall, writing him in books, engraving him on stones, and even worshipping him on the altar. But they would definitely not mind this founding hero sitting on the throne.
Because the heroes on the wall and stones could be fake, but the one on the throne was real.
But he did not expect the emergency agreement from seven hundred years ago to be of any use. He just mentioned it and then continued. "Do you think Wales will be a qualified king?"
"He will." Victoria was still thinking about the contents of the mithril oath. She answered very cautiously. "Although His Highness Wales is not as sharp as Edmund, he has inherited his father's steadiness and integrity. Only such a king can heal the scars of Ansu after the civil war and restore the country as soon as possible. And after the trauma of war, people will also want to usher in a gentle king. They will support His Highness Wales."
"But this is not enough to change the situation between you and the Eastern Region. I know what you are thinking. You want to support a king, gain the support of more nobles, and give the people courage. It is a good idea, and it will probably work a little. But don't forget, the Eastern Region also has a qualified crown prince, and in the past twenty years, that crown prince has been more popular among the people. Even if you let Wales be crowned in advance, the Eastern Region can immediately appoint a new king and bring the situation back to the previous state."
"But if you can also support His Highness Wales, then the legitimacy of the new king will be greatly strengthened, and more nobles and people will turn to the royal family," Victoria could not help but say. "Your attitude is very important …"
"Let me publicly support Charlie? Let one of Moen's sons kill another one? " Gwen knocked on the small table between the two sofas. "You should understand that it's difficult for me to take a stand in this civil war."
Victoria knew that it was not that Gwen could not take a stand, he just did not want to.
The founding duke was a man who coexisted with caution and radicalism. He was cautious now because he did not trust the royal army at all, but he did not seem to trust the rebels in the Eastern Region either.
This was already the best situation that they had expected.
"So you mean …" The Duchess looked into Gwen's eyes and asked tentatively.
"I don't object to Wales being crowned," Gwen said unhurriedly. "But if he wants me to recognize him as king, he should at least show me his achievements as king."
At this point, he paused for a moment.
"And as for the mithril contract in Winter Fort Academy — Miss Wilde, you can put it away with peace of mind. I don't intend to use it."
Until this sentence came out, Victoria Wilde was relieved. Only then did Wylde truly breathe a sigh of relief.
Gwen? Cecil did not explicitly support the royal family or any side in the Eastern Region, but at least, he did not intend to be king.
In this way, at least Ansu would not have to face another civil war.
After confirming Gwen's attitude, the Duchess' heart calmed down. And according to the plan that she had made before she left, she began to gain more support from Gwen. "Thank you for your understanding — but if you can give more support to the royal army, then this civil war may end sooner. As you said just now, the coronation of Prince Wales will not fundamentally change the current situation in Ansu. The bloody balance between the royal army and the Eastern Region … must be broken. "
"I've just said that I don't 'object to Wales being crowned'," Gwen interrupted Victoria. "I won't publicly support any side in this civil war, and to be honest, the Southern Region has just gone through a war. My army needs rest, my people also need rest. We can't afford to be exhausted."
This was a reasonable reason, and Victoria could not think of anything to refute it.
But after a moment of silence, Gwen suddenly spoke again. "However, as a good friend of Charlie, I can't just sit by and watch his kingdom fall apart."
Victoria's eyes widened slightly. "You mean …"
"I'm willing to provide some help in other areas, other than the army," Gwen said slowly. "For example, weapons and armor …"
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