Early in the morning, the dew that had accumulated overnight rolled down from the olive leaves. Startled birds flew out of the forest, and the sound of horse hooves approached from afar. On the main road near Castle Graypine, Maggie saw a grey Knight galloping towards them.
The castle lowered the drawbridge and pulled up the gate. The knight went straight into the gate and then dismounted from his horse. He didn't care about sweating profusely. He handed his mount to the guard and took off his cloak. He walked up the tower and handed a letter to the clerk sitting there. After the clerk verified that the mark was correct, his expression changed. He reached out to ring the bell, then got up, opened the door behind him, and hurried out.
The urgent document was passed between the towers, and soon it fell into the hands of the servants in the inner court. Under the lead of two female officials, the servants knocked on the heavy wooden door of Castle Graypine's Lothar Palace.
The few people inside the door stopped talking and turned to look at them in unison.
"Is this news from Lantonilan?" Amandina asked with a serious expression when she saw the blue ribbon on the scroll in the servant's hand.
"Yes, Madam Amandina, Your Highness, this is urgent news from Lantonilan."
Freya looked at Princess Gryphine. The half-elf girl had an uneasy look on her face. Only then did she walk down the steps and take the tray.
After Levin Oneson returned to Seifer, the process of the unification of the North and the South had already been put on the table, but the nobles in the South still had doubts about it. Many of them expressed their wish to communicate with the royal family before the peace talks in Ampere Seale.
Although Allium Japonicum had doubts about this matter, because Randner was too close to Grinoires, and now in this southern province, the activities of the pagans were becoming more and more active.
But she also understood that the situation in the South had reached a boiling point, and the royal family's statement was necessary to ease the increasing tension. Fortunately, the White Lion Guards had always been present in Randner, and since the end of the Second War of the Black Roses, Brunhilda and her Valkyries seemed to be satisfied with the situation.
Therefore, after compromising, the Allium Japonicum allowed Freya, who had just returned, to accompany Amandina and Princess Gryphine on the trip to Randner.
Her Royal Highness's entourage set out. The ambassadors of Billantonilan left Frada-Pesce a week later, and did not reach Radner until the latter part of the Month of the Slumber. At this time, it was already around the new year, but after the baptism of war, there was no new year's atmosphere.
The situation in the south seemed to be more serious than expected. Just after the end of the year, there was a pagan riot in the Winomar region. Coupled with the sudden interruption of news from Lantonilan's Shallow Water Town, the White Lion Guards' defense and attention were diverted to the east.
This alerted Amandina. Under her suggestion, Brunhilda and her Valkyrie riders had moved their garrisons three times in a row, and now they were extremely close to the north of Graypine Castle.
However, the tense situation and the lack of news from Lantonilan made Princess Gryphine more and more worried about the safety of her brother, the future King Erouine. These days, she had less and less time to sleep peacefully.
And this urgent letter from Lantonilan seemed to faintly indicate something, causing the entire high arched hall of Lothargar Palace to fall silent.
The air seemed to be filled with an uneasy message.
Amandina's gaze moved back and forth between the letter and Her Royal Highness. She pursed her lips, faintly calculating something in her heart. Freya carried the tray with both hands and walked back to Her Royal Highness. Gryphine nodded to her. Although she tried to appear calm, her slightly furrowed brows showed the fluctuations in her heart.
She picked up the letter, opened the wax seal, and shook out the real secret letter. She had only read two lines when her hand trembled slightly, and she accidentally knocked over the gold-plated cup on the table.
With a crisp bang, the cup rolled to the ground, clinking all the way to Freya's feet. Only then did the Valkyrie bend down and reach out to hold it down, stopping the sudden noise in the empty hall.
Gryphine's face was as white as a sheet, and she almost fell backward with her head raised. Fortunately, Amandina was quick to react and rushed forward to support the former.
"Your Royal Highness?"
Freya picked up the cup and looked up. Only then did she see this scene and could not help but be startled.
"Your Royal Highness!"
The maids and chamberlains also exclaimed.
But Amandina sternly reprimanded these servants, "Leave, inform the priest to come over immediately, and remember to keep your mouths shut!"
Amandina was no longer the destitute noble daughter who Braggs. A few months ago, the heads that rolled on the ground in Randner had forged her reputation here. The chamberlains and maids did not dare to disobey her orders and immediately retreated in fear.
"Go see if the door is closed, Freya." Amandina helped the pale-faced princess sit down and then instructed.
The Valkyrie understood and immediately checked to see if anyone was eavesdropping. Then she turned around and shook her head.
"Go find out the news." Amandina gave her a look.
Freya nodded, then pushed the door open and walked out.
After Freya left, Amandina asked, "Your Royal Highness?"
"Something happened to Haruz …" Princess Gryphine murmured.
"What happened?"
"There was a rebellion in Bernicel, and the thugs took over the city. Old Duke Tonilan's army has now surrounded the city, but they have not attacked the city. Ever since this letter was sent, Haruz has lost contact with Duke Eiko and the others for three days."
"So," Amandina breathed a sigh of relief, at least the worst-case scenario she imagined had not happened, "His Royal Highness may not have really met with misfortune. But how did these thugs come? Isn't there a large number of troops stationed in Lantonilan? Weren't the Highland Knight and the Black Tower Mages also invited to the ceremony?"
"I'm not sure." Gryphine finally recovered some of her composure at this time and seemed a little calmer. She carefully recalled the contents of the letter, then shook her head weakly, "The letter was written by Count Rogadia. According to the Highland Knight, the old duke has not yet figured out the identity of the attackers. It is said that there is a considerable possibility that they are local pagans, but there are a large number of mages among them. That is why the Highland Knight and Lantonilan's allied forces have been defeated repeatedly."
"The Duke of Lantonilan is really confused. How can the local pagans have such strength? There must be an external force behind this," Amandina concluded, "When did this happen, Your Royal Highness?"
"It has been a week since the letter was sent," Princess Gryphine frowned at this time, "Strange, why was this letter delayed on the road for three days? Where is the Knight who delivered the letter?"
"We will know soon."
Amandina looked up, her frown seemed to reflect the same uneasiness in her heart, but even so, her answer was still unusually firm.
As if to prove her words, not a moment later, Freya pushed the door open and walked in with the same worried look on her face. The female Knight carefully closed the heavy wooden door of Lothargar Palace with the back of her hand, until the huge maple door made a soft click, and the lock springs were locked tightly with each other.
Then Freya turned around and said, "Your Royal Highness, Amandina, I have asked clearly. This letter was sent to Magitan after it was sent to Fort Kurkel. "
"Why would a letter from Lantonilan to Magitan be sent to Fort Kurkel?" The princess frowned and questioned with slight dissatisfaction. "Isn't the shortest route between these two places the mountain path that passes through the Dwarven Circle? Who was the one who deliberately delayed the timing?"
The female Knight shook her head.
"Because its first messenger is already dead. An unknown army blocked the road to the north of the Misty Forest, and the Knight who delivered the letter risked his life to break through their blockade to deliver the letter to Kurkel. Then, it was sent to us by Lord Sherman Cohen's men."
"Actually," Freya said with a frown, "we may be in trouble, Your Royal Highness."
Amandina could not help but interrupt, "Freya, you said that an unknown army was inserted to the north of Magitan, are you sure that the messenger is telling the truth?"
"I have confirmed his secret signal, and the magic method used is exactly the method that Lord Sherman taught Cohen."
Amandina sucked in a breath of cold air, "But why did the White Lion Guards not know anything about it?"
"Because the movement of the believers of Manowar's All For One attracted our attention," Freya had clearly sorted out her thoughts, "so this can only be the army of Duke Grinoires and the Southern Legion. Other than that, there is no other army of such strength in the south."
Amandina thought for a moment and said, "This is obviously a premeditated move. The other party may be in cahoots with the rebels of Lantonilan, and they can order the believers of All For One in Erouine. More importantly, they can march in secret under our noses, which means that they at least have the help of the local nobles."
Amandina felt her scalp tingle. The nobles of the south colluding with each other was the last thing she wanted to see: it almost meant a coup d'état and rebellion.
But now, there was no such thing as luck. The other party's large-scale mobilization in the south was definitely not as simple as an armed parade. And the most chilling thing was that Valhalla's military and administrative forces were completely kept in the dark in this incident. This was not something that could be explained by an intelligence failure.
This could only mean that the other party's organization was more efficient and stronger than Valhalla. This may be pardonable, after all, Valhalla's intelligence system was only gradually established after Lord Sherman Cohen joined. Although there was some support from the Bugas, it was still a short time after all.
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