In the empty hall of the Knights, only Brandon de Salion, who was sitting on the throne and smugly, tilted his head with his legs crossed, and his whole person was sunk into the chair.

And, of course, there's the black-haired wizard sitting across from him, who is just as embarrassed.

"That's... Doesn't His Royal Highness the Prince, who suddenly appeared, think that he should explain?"

The black-haired wizard who seemed to be smiling but not smiling, his expression mixed with a hint of distortion.

"Explain, explain, dear wizard advisor, I'm saving you... Uh, save both of us to be exact. ”

Leaning back comfortably in his chair, His Royal Highness the Prince had a natural expression of "why don't you understand": "Edward just sent the information and I rushed over - we have to find a way to bypass two dozen guards on the way, plus our old and unlovely Lord Metternich Leopold!"

"I have experienced so many hardships and dangers, life and death crises, almost lost my life several times, and lost face again in front of the dukes of the whole empire... And my wizard advisor only wants my 'explanation'... Isn't that ruthless?"

Watching Brandon, curled up in his chair, dancing and rambling around, the black-haired wizard sighed and pressed his temples tiredly.

I haven't seen him for so many years, and I'm about to lose my immunity to deal with Brandon?

"Intelligence from two minutes ago - Nolan Ode, that little thug, took refuge in Conod. With a flirtatious smile on the corner of his mouth, Brandon snapped his fingers: "These two big villains are going to sing a duet at the meeting of the Knights, the purpose of which is to gag the mouths of all the dukes, so that he can be crowned emperor without any hindrance." ”

"In this way, he Conod will no longer owe us the slightest favor, and he can even use righteousness to oppress us in turn - but any small action can be kneaded by this guy in the name of 'destroying the Empire's holy anti-invasion war'. ”

The black-haired wizard raised an eyebrow and stared.

Really... As expected.

Seeing Loren's thoughtful expression, Brandon became even more proud, muttering as if talking to himself, "So... The moment I got the information, I knew something was wrong, and if you were calculating or not, Loren, you were certainly no match for the beloved Brother Conrad. ”

"So I struck a decisive role, and used my disgrace to save our resourceful and confident wizarding advisor and Lord of Byrne—and most importantly, the angry and unspeakable look of Conod when I sabotaged his plans; Absolutely. ”

"......" Loren Turin.

But then again, although Brandon's approach was very excessive, the impact and damage caused were not too great - the name of the disgraced prince had already thundered in the empire, and now he had blown up the ceiling of this hall, and I am afraid that those who heard it would not be too surprised.

I'm out of cards, but if you still want to keep playing your little tricks, I don't mind playing with you without a limit.

You want to use rules and traditions to keep me out of the table, and I have a way to break in, nothing else, because I have what you don't have, because I have what you don't have.

for thou wilt not dare kill me.

His Royal Highness the Prince, whose crimson hair was messy, and still looked indifferent, sat proudly and comfortably on the throne belonging to the emperor, feeling the comfort of the moment:

"I don't care how Conod is, I don't even care how the empire is, anyway, they never cared about my life or death in the past... Only one point, I have to get what I deserve, and other than that... Hey, Aunt Fitronay, why are you here?!"

Following Brandon's gaze with a surprised face, the black-haired wizard looked back, and in front of the door of the Knights' Hall, there was a more chic figure like a knight, holding his sword and looking at the two coldly.

"Wow, what an unexpected surprise! Dear Aunt Fitronay, it's so beautiful to not see you for many years... You don't know, the three years in Boi have made me think day and night, every night is alone in the empty room, empty, lonely and cold......"

"Loren Turin. ”

Fitlonay de Salion opened his mouth coldly, and by the way, he turned to one side, dodging the "volley" of a certain disgraced prince who had no image, and "poof!", making his even more imageless face hit the ground first.

"Conod wants to see you, now. ”

She looked up, staring at the black-haired wizard with a calm and emotionless gaze, motionless.

"It's just Loren? My dear royal brother, it's really too much to get home. Brandon, who was still lying on the ground pretending to be a corpse, made a voice without raising his head: "I took the initiative to expose him in order to see him, but he still pretended not to see me, which is too ......."

"Hurry up and decide, this is the last chance. Fitlonay was as emotionless as ever: "The Empire... There is not so much time to spare. ”

Conod... Finally can't sit still?

"It's just... The Empire is on the verge of death, and we should unite at this time, Loren Turin, my dear friend, tell Sister-in-law Fitronay that you will not ...... unless Conod invites us both at the same time."

"Okay, I'll go over now, alone. ”

The dark-haired wizard with a calm face nodded and readily accepted.

Ignoring a certain embarrassed prince who was still lying on the ground, with a grudge on his face like a zombie, Loren decisively got up and left, and walked out of the main gate without looking back.

The expressionless eldest princess stood in place until the black-haired wizard walked out of the door, then turned and walked away to leave.

"Smack!"

A hand stretched out from the ground and pinched Fitlonai's ankle hard.

"Don't go, please, please don't go. ”

The motionless Fitlonai neither resisted nor agreed.

"I know how I got in... If it hadn't been for Aunt Fetronai to lift the blockade of the night watchmen in the Heavenly Dome Palace, someone would have stopped me as soon as I arrived at the door. Brandon slowly got up from the ground, and a smile in his tone:

"In a while, Emperor Conod will definitely notice it, right-in that case, sister-in-law, why would you take such a risk for me?"

"I'm not risking it for you, I'm just ......"

"No need to explain, just stay, just stay for a while. From ankle to wrist, Brandon's tone became more and more brisk: "To be able to contain Brandon de Salion with Aunt Fetronay - this is the most suitable deal for my dear royal brother." ”

With a low snort, Her Royal Highness the eldest princess did not speak again.

...................................................

"A quarter of an hour, Loren Turin, I only have a quarter of an hour. ”

Next to the hall of the Knights, in the narrow cloakroom, Conrad de Salion, who sat in the dim candlelight, frowned slightly, his elbows propped up on the armrests of his chair, and one of his crossed fingers stretched out, pointing to the door behind the black-haired wizard:

"Outside this door, the Lord Keeper of the Seals and the Imperial nobles behind him have been waiting for a long time, urging me to be crowned as soon as possible from the day I arrived, and promising not to harm their interests;"

"And outside the Heavenly Dome Palace, different voices have begun to appear, and some people have begun to question why the royal family and the Heavenly Dome Palace are still doing nothing so long after the assassination of the former emperor;"

"Outside the borders, the Azorean elves will invade at any moment, and like you said, we don't know when it will start, but it will be soon;"

"Now I don't have any spare time to continue messing around with you and Brandon behind you, and I don't want to see you a second time, you use this rule-breaking way to fight for your so-called interests, in the delusion that you can take advantage of this chaos. ”

"So... I'll give you a quarter of an hour, the last quarter of an hour we have together. Conrad, who looked solemn, said in an irrefutable tone:

"If you have any other requests, let me know now, and I will officially announce them at the meeting of the Edgeworth Knights, and I will not change them. ”

The black-haired wizard looked indifferent, staring at the eyes that seemed to be eager to pierce the heart and dissect his entire person, and his expression changed slightly.

"I... What do you want?"

"Don't play dumb, because I really don't have time, Loren Torino... Come up with your conditions. Conod's voice was cold: "You tried to suppress me with that imperial manifesto, and you planted spies among the night watchmen under my command - don't think I don't know, otherwise why did Brandon 'show up' so quickly?"

"In the past, I might still have the energy to continue playing with you, watching you unscrupulously destroy the traditions and customs of the Empire, but now... I have an empire waiting for me to save, and to save this empire, I need the knights and wealth of Byrne, and I need dragons to boost the morale of the whole empire when necessary!"

Loren was stunned, and the corners of his mouth were quietly hooked under his thoughtful expression.

"So... You need us?"

Conod paused, his face blushing, as if he was holding back the anger in his heart.

"We need each other. Conod said coldly again: "So offer your price and tell me how much I have to pay to make Byrne's knight... Sworn allegiance to their emperor?"

"The knights of Byrne will never betray the Empire and their Emperor, and I thought the 'Black Duke' of the tenth generation had proven it. Loren shrugged, his smiling expression meaningful:

"The problem is... Which emperor are they loyal to?"

Looking at the black-haired wizard who seemed to be smiling, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's expression became more and more fierce.

Just saying that sentence is enough to rebel enough. Conod narrowed his eyes and said in a heavy tone: "So in the eyes of the 'loyal' Byrne knights, loyalty is also graded?"

"No, it's the same in their eyes, but it's not the same in my eyes. The black-haired wizard who was staring at him was still calm: "And I'm sure you want not only their loyalty, but also my... By the way, use the loyalty of Byrne and Arles and Ellemont to blackmail others to be loyal to you. ”

That's right, I have seen through the double play between you and the Duke of Arles, so save it, neither of us has any cards in our hands now, but the problem is that you are not the only one you have to deal with, and I have an unscrupulous and unscrupulous Highness Brandon on my side.

But Conod's face remained unchanged, very calm, not even as iron-faced as before, with a suppressed anger.

Sure enough, Lena, Brandon, Conod... De Salion's family are all real actors.

"So... How much do I have to pay to gain the loyalty of Duke Byrne himself?"

Looking at Conod, who finally stopped acting, the black-haired wizard also restrained his smile.

Since you want to make a price, of course, you have to open your mouth first and test the other party's bottom line.

"Want my loyalty? Give me absolute freedom not to interfere in any of Byrne's military operations, and besides, crown Brandon Prince of East Sakland, and be the First Crown Prince of the Empire until you have no heir, or until the heir is not a minor. ”

It's a harsh request, and it's almost like telling Connad that we're waiting for you to die and take control of the entire empire, so I don't think Loren will accept it......

"Yes, no problem!" Conod said decisively, his face unchanged: "Is there anything else?"

Well?!

He, he, he... He's too happy, isn't he?!

With such harsh conditions, I agreed to it without thinking about it?!

"Judging by your expression, it must be gone, right? Conod squinted, his crimson pupils glowing sharply:

"Then in return, I need Byrne to pay a quarter of the tax revenue, including food and logistical supplies, to support this war, and the Empire will not bear the expenses of Byrne's army. ”

"In addition, I may crown Brandon Prince and first in line to the throne of East Sakland, and guarantee that he will succeed to the throne after my death, provided that Fitronay must be second in line to the throne, and there can be no objection to this;"

"In addition, as the last dragon rider of the Empire, Brandon must once again travel to Torch Peak Mountain to implore the dragons to join the war and follow their promise. With an unquestionable tone, Conod said coldly:

"It's his right, and it's his duty - we need dragons, otherwise the empire won't be able to face two full-scale wars of this magnitude at the same time if the northern monsters take the opportunity to invade. ”

"If you can agree to those conditions for Brandon, then we can reach this agreement that is mutually beneficial. ”

The black-haired wizard thought about it, judging from the terms of the exchange between the two sides, it was not too harsh, and Brandon should be willing, as for the quarter of the taxes and logistics... To cope with the ensuing war, bleeding is a must.

After all, Byrne is in the south, and the probability of encountering war is very small, so it can be said that it is very cost-effective to pay some price in exchange for the stability of the war situation in the north.

"Yes, I'll convince Brandon. Sighing, Loren raised his eyebrows: "So... When are you going to hold your own coronation?"

"Tomorrow. ”

Huh? Loren was stunned.

"Tomorrow?!"

"Yes, tomorrow... I told Metternich that I could convince all of you today that the coronation would take place tomorrow – in five minutes, and in five minutes, Archbishop Innocent would come and discuss with me the process of the ceremony. ”

Conod raised his head, his expression of course resembling that of Eckhart II, and there were a few "scoundrels" of Langdon:

"As I said, I only have a quarter of an hour. ”