"I don't agree, it's definitely not going to work!"

The whole round table began with Charlotte's sharp rebuttal – without the slightest surprise.

"Are you crazy?!" the countess's eyes widened, staring at the black-haired wizard across the round table: "This is already a naked threat, he just wants you to die!"

The atmosphere of the meeting was prepared for the worst from the start.

"It's not that serious, it's just a trip to the Ancient Wood Forest as an imperial envoy. ”

Facing Charlotte's angry eyes, Loren could only explain stubbornly: "At most, I will go far away, and I will be back in three months or half a year." ”

"Not to mention, I've been there, the elves are a bit stubborn and prejudiced, but most of them are just like kids - most of all, I've fought alongside them, and they'll never hurt me. ”

"That was a few years ago, who cares what has become of this group of savage races living in the forest!" Seeing the black-haired wizard retort, Charlotte was trembling with anger, and her fair face turned pink: "Do you want to pin your safety, Byrne's safety on the promise of a group of barbarians?!"

"The elves aren't barbarians, they're all good people!"

A soft rebuttal came from the corner of the round table.

In an instant, the whole hall fell silent—everyone looked sideways at the same time, turning their heads in the direction from which the sound had come.

"Well, what do you all think I'm doing?" The little wizard who was slightly stunned was a little evasive, but he couldn't help but retort: "In short, in short... Elves don't have bad guys, so they're a little proud, but... It's a very friendly race!"

None of the stunned people at the round table heard his protest, and they were all shocked.

The others were shocked that someone would dare to stand up against the Countess of Crimson Castle, and Loren was shocked that Ain would one day contradict outsiders—or rather, anyone but himself and Isaac.

"I... I apologize for my rude wording, Lord Ain Rand. In a slightly embarrassed atmosphere, Charlotte, who was trying to maintain her composure, bowed to the little wizard with great difficulty, and then pointed the finger at the black-haired wizard again in the next second:

"But even if this is true, Byrne can't accept that his duke will leave for half a year without reason, and the emperor in the Heavenly Dome Palace has no right to kidnap, and is like a servant to our duke!"

A loud voice echoed through the hall like the whistling of a sword.

"Uh... In fact, he has that power. ”

Charles Grenwell, who sat beside Charlotte, the steward of the Red Blood Castle - who had been "promoted" to the rank of Principality in the last two years - raised his hand tremblingly and continued his own words:

"According to the Imperial Code, the Duke was obliged to provide troops and supplies in times of war, and to open the towns and roads of the Principality to the Imperial legions, and to obey all orders of the Emperor himself or his designated Supreme Commander. ”

"In peacetime, the dukes govern the duchy, maintain the obligation of trade and goods, and maintain the authority of the empire in diplomatic situations—as plenipotentiary envoys of the empire, even if it is part of the maintenance of the authority of the empire......"

Under the gaze of the countess who was becoming more and more embarrassed, and even about to eat people, Charles's voice became lower and lower, and finally the whole person curled up in the chair, not daring to move.

With a cold snort, Charlotte turned her gaze to the side.

"I also don't approve of the Duke leaving Byrne for so long, but ......"

Count Eckert of Fort Fury, who had remained silent all along—the Council of the Round Table, the patriarch of the thirteen counts—frowned, and sighed a little tangled: "Refusing an order from the Heavenly Dome Palace is morally detrimental to Byrne. ”

The countess looked at Count Eckert in surprise.

"It's a trap, and it's probably a well-designed trap, yes... But it's hard to explain to the people and knights of Byrne, who don't understand why the Sky Dome would want to murder the Duke. Eckert shook his head, looking at Charlotte with a hint of persuasion in his eyes:

"Without the support of the people and the knights, it will be difficult for us to resist the order from the Heavenly Dome - after all, it is the Emperor's own mandate, and in the eyes of the simple Byrne, it is an honor to represent the Empire, and they will feel that the Empire has finally begun to value Byrne's position and rely on our Duke. ”

Everyone around the round table was stunned, and their expressions were slightly gloomy... Although it was a little more direct, Count Eckert was telling the truth.

As long as there was no blatant rebellion, the Duchy of Byrne would still be part of the empire, and Loren Turin would still be a courtier of the royal family of de Salion—a courtier who obeyed the emperor's orders as a matter of course, and it was even more glorious to go to a foreign country as a representative of the empire.

The most important thing is that since the Centaur War, the Sky Dome Palace has never suppressed Byrne for any reason... Even if there were, it didn't happen on the bright side.

The people and nobles of Byrne can only see the Duchy growing stronger and stronger, gradually returning to its rightful place in the past, and their hatred for the Heavenly Dome Palace, which once divided Byrne, will be diminished day by day - after all, the Old Kingdom era is hundreds of years ago, and the baptism of twelve generations and the subtle transformation of the church have made them begin to accept the concept of "Byrne is part of the empire".

But Charlotte still refused to give up.

Gritting her teeth, she struggled and never wanted to bow her head—or rather, watched some "fool" take the initiative to jump into the fire pit.

"Is this really the only way to go?" she met the pairs of eyes around the round table, and she still asked tenaciously, "Is there any way to stop the ambition of the Heavenly Dome Palace?"

"I really can't even find a decent excuse to reject the emperor in the Heavenly Dome Palace, and let him dispel such a vicious idea?!"

"Tell me, you're really going to watch this bastard... Did this Duke of Byrne jump into the Emperor's trap to die?!"

Inside the hall, there was silence.

The people around the round table either looked at each other, bowed their heads in contemplation, or had already made up their minds and closed their eyes, or they were struggling and had not yet made up their minds......

The black-haired wizard shrugged.

If he really wanted to, of course, he had a "reasonable way" to turn down the emperor's "invitation", but either way it would not be very good - rejecting the "honorary title" of the imperial envoy would be tantamount to responding to the ultimatum of Eckhart II, which was no different in nature from a frontal declaration of war.

At least for now, at least while Eckhart II, the supreme emperor in the "dragon arrogance template", is still alive, it is wise to "cooperate" with the other party as much as possible.

After all, the other party is not their real enemy, the real enemy should be......

"There is a way. ”

Well?

The black-haired wizard raised his head and looked at the very discordant "sound source" opposite-the president of the United Chamber of Commerce, Loren's "treasurer" Little Yod opened his mouth very abruptly, and his wandering eyes kept looking at the black-haired wizard and the countess, revealing a meaningful smile:

"As long as there is a major incident in the Duchy of Byrne, and it involves the Duke himself to make it impossible for him to escape, it is justified in refusing this invitation to the envoy, and it is reasonable that the Emperor and the Heavenly Dome will find no reason to object. ”

"Significant, what?" said Charlotte and the black-haired wizard almost simultaneously, asking in unison.

How "significant" must this be to justifiably refuse the emperor's own assignment?

"Ahem... If it is the most recent thing, there are indeed some things that require the Duke himself to intervene. Coughing lightly, Count Eckert whispered, "The ceremonial ceremony of the new bishop, the alliance of some dwarven city-states in the south, and... Well, the Knight Academy in Fort Fury and the Turin Wizard Academy in Crimson Fort and the Wizard Academy of Turin, the graduation ceremony of the new batch of academies......"

"But to be honest, these are too far-fetched, and compared to the importance of going to a foreign country, it is difficult to convince even our own people - if they are used as a reason, I am afraid that the Heavenly Dome Palace will think that it is intentional. ”

As he spoke, the slightly frowning Earl of Fort Fury turned his gaze to little Yod, but the tax collector remained silent, staring at the Duke of Byrne and the Countess of the Red Blood Castle with a confused expression.

And the curvature of the corners of the mouth is deeper.

Yes, of course, there are reasons, and they are very legitimate, justifiable reasons.

A marriage that stirs up the whole of Byrne, involving both the Duke of Byrne and a powerful earl, will make the Turin family strong and even enter the pinnacle, and will surely cause a lot of shock in half the empire.

No, not half of the empire, but the whole of it—it would be a grand event of Byrne's unification;

Of course, Yode Jr. saw not these, but the influences and "side effects" that came with the event—a grand wedding must be accompanied by a large number of dignitaries, and where the crowd goes, wealth goes.

With proper use, the United Chamber of Commerce and himself can take advantage of the opportunity to make a lot of money, and even extend the trade network and bonds of the United Chamber of Commerce to the rest of the principalities, become the creditors of those earls and dukes, give them low-interest or even interest-free loans, and then hollow out the wealth of their territory step by step.

Poy, Ellemont, Arles, Lothair......

Just as little Yod was gradually immersed in the sweet dream, he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck, as if he was being targeted by some prehistoric beast from behind!

His expression froze, and Xiao Yode, who didn't dare to look back, twitched his throat, raised his gaze tremblingly, and saw the black-haired wizard in front of him, who was also looking at himself "meaningfully".

"Of course, there are justifiable excuses, but ......" Little Yode, who trembled slightly, his swollen face seemed to be out of breath, and barely squeezed out a regretful smile:

"I agree with Count Eckert that we can't go head-on against the Empire - it's so inappropriate!"

As soon as the words fell, little Yod slumped into his chair as if he had escaped from the gallows by luck with a death row prisoner.

It's just a little bit, it's almost a little bit that I'm afraid I'm going to ......

"If you have to send an envoy, the empire shouldn't limit or regulate the number of missions, right?" Lusan stood up silently and looked at everyone:

"Then as long as we are prepared and defended, there is nothing to worry about. ”

"Indeed, the Empire generally accords great privileges to Imperial envoys appointed with full powers, especially in the case of envoys with the dignity of a duke, and rarely interferes. ”

Charles, the governor of the principality, who finally dared to speak, stood up and bowed slightly: "Like the last time the Grand Duke of Ellemont is the best example, he can even ignore the opinions of the rest of the mission and reach an agreement with the duke who has not been crowned at that time. ”

"The Demon Hunters stationed in the Red Blood Castle by the Firmament Wings are almost the size of a hundred-man team. The gray-eyed boy nodded understandingly: "I will relieve them of their tasks now, and all of them will be transferred to the mission as guards." ”

"You don't need so many people, two or three are enough. The black-haired wizard suddenly spoke up, and interrupted Lusen a little helplessly: "The escort of the guards should be left to the knights of the Red Blood Castle, they are professional - if there are really many enemies to that extent, a group of witchers who are only good at fighting on their own are not as good as the knights." ”

"More importantly, we can't change the original layout on a large scale because of the temporary intention of the Heavenly Dome Palace, and mess with ourselves. ”

"That's right, we can't be led around by the nose by the emperor in the Heavenly Dome Palace!" Charlotte rarely agreed with Loren, crossed her hands on her chest, and kept rubbing:

"Since we can't change the outcome, we should make the most of this opportunity - let the Heavenly Dome and the Prince of Sachlan prepare a large enough escort to protect our duke, and then inform the principalities along the way, and conclude an alliance with them along the way; Elems, Lothair, ......"

"No, this trip should avoid Sackland as much as possible, and especially the imperial capital of Golovin. Loren interrupted the countess once more and said in a deep voice:

"Not only that, but you can't get too entangled with any of the principalities along the way - if you can, it's best not to even look at each other except for courtesy. ”

The moment the words fell, everyone around the round table was stunned.

In the silent hall of the round table, the black-haired wizard who was staring at him picked up the wine glass on the table and took a sip lightly.

Well, the nightingale that has been cellared for ten years has a completely different taste and delicacy from red blood... It's so fragrant.

"Hmm... I think the Duke should mean that we can't give the Empire any chance to intervene. After a while, Count Eckert of Fort Fury stepped forward again: "If they are really going to set a trap, deliberately sabotage the peace talks, and then set up the blame, it is also possible." ”

In the end, even Count Eckert himself didn't quite believe it.

"So, this time you're going to take the risk alone and go to the Ancient Wood Forest alone?" Charlotte, who was blushing, said coldly, "Do you know how much risk this will make Byrne take?"

"Who told you to be alone... I love my life. Loren stood up, chuckling and glaring at the countess, "Lusen... Well, and Ain will go with me. ”

"Oh-I?!"

The little wizard was stunned. ()

Please remember that the first domain name of this book is:. Mobile version reading URL: