"This one of our... Lord Duke Byrne, he is really upright, worried about the country and the people......"

Imperial capital Golovin, Heavenly Dome Palace.

In the side hall next to the Imperial Cabinet, Metternich Leopold, the minister of the Seal, who was holding a wine glass, looked sharply at the letterhead on the table that had just been sent by the messenger from Byrne to the whole empire, and his wrinkled face showed an expression of crying and laughing, and kept shaking his head:

"I really wonder if he knows exactly what kind of turmoil his letter will cause in the Empire, and how much damage it will cause?"

Of course he knew, and maybe even that's why he did it. Victor Theseus, the former Chief Justice, snorted coldly, and his face was as cold as he stared at the letter:

"Break the established situation, disrupt the original balance, and take the chestnut from the fire... Isn't that what he's always doing?"

Looking at Victor Theseus, who was secretly gritting his teeth and forcibly calming down, a vicissitudes of life appeared on the face of the Minister of the Seal.

It is not easy to get Victor, who was once disrupted by the Imperial Trial, and even had to personally overturn the case for his enemies, to forgive this "former wizard advisor".

However, Victor's strength is that he does not put his personal emotions into his work, which is why he can become a royal justice... Or the important reason why I would consult with him.

Loren Turin caught the Empire off guard—and more importantly, the Celestial Dome and the Church had to face the consequences of this event at once, even if they were not prepared in the slightest!

The enemies of the empire were actually the minions of the evil gods, and the empire did not notice it from beginning to end, and such a slow reaction resulted in a powerful principality on the verge of extinction......

What will the Grand Dukes of the principalities think, will they think that the Empire no longer has the strength to protect them?!

The bishop of the Church of Eboden, the most sought-after servant of the Holy Cross, turned out to be a lackey and apostle of the evil gods, with blood on his hands......

What will the followers of the Holy Cross across the Empire think, and will their faith be shaken by this?!

This "Guangweizheng" Duke of Byrne did not consider these things at all, as a vassal of the empire, he did not even consult the emperor himself, so he announced such a major news to the whole territory, so that the Heavenly Dome Palace immediately fell into such a dilemma and passive situation.

"If it had been before, I would have immediately suggested that Your Majesty arrest the vassals who leaked such important information on charges of treason and treason, and directly take the strongest means to supervise their fiefdoms in order to deter other principalities. ”

Victor, whose expression was stiff, was stunned, and his cold eyes narrowed slightly: "But ......"

"But this time, we can't do that. Metternich sighed and took his words with a sip of wine: "Not only that, because the Duchy of Byrne eliminated the enemy as quickly as possible, and minimized the losses caused by this evil god apostle. ”

"The Empire cannot arrest or convict a hero, and we must reward him and reuse him—only then will His Majesty Eckhart II be justified in restoring Byrne to rule and Loren Turin to become duke." ”

"Otherwise, it will become Your Majesty's own slap in the face!"

With a low sigh, Metternich raised his glass and drank it down.

Justice Victor also fell silent, gently picked up the letterhead, and looked at it.

"Your expression looks tangled... Questions?"

Metternich's gaze was incomparably sharp.

"Nothing, just some doubts. Victor shook his head: "There is no doubt that Loren Turin took advantage of his power as Duke of Byrne and the favorable situation in Boi this time to seize the upper hand and catch us off guard; ”

"But ......" filled himself with a glass again, and the Lord Keeper knew that this was not what he was trying to say.

"Doesn't the fact that he was able to seize the opportunity so easily illustrate something?" asked Victor rhetorically, his voice calm: "In the face of such a dangerous enemy and a grave situation, the first thing that the Imperial Cabinet and even the entire parliament think of is to cover up and delay the problem, rather than to solve it. ”

"I admit that the Empire has a lot more problems to solve than a principality, but the Empire is also much stronger than a principality, and this time, if the Empire can act immediately, it will certainly be much faster than Byrne. ”

"We have an army that is unparalleled in the world, and we have an invincible dragon - the results of His Highness Brandon's trip are enough to prove that even if the infantry is the main infantry, the speed of the legion's advance is not inferior, and at the same time, the dragon can quickly enter the battlefield, and a single person can form a powerful combat force!"

"With all this, why did we become more powerful, but so passive that we had to accept a result that we least wanted to see?"

There was a deep helplessness in Victor's voice, even if he didn't deliberately show it.

In the leisurely side hall, the two fell into a kind of silence again.

"Times have changed, and so has the situation. Metternich's low voice sounded again: "What we are about to face is no longer an empire with a balance of power under the emperor at the height of the twelveth generation. ”

"New powers are about to rise, old ones are being challenged, threats from the north, instability in neighboring countries, lurking enemies, and internal dangers have all made the balance no longer exist. The Minister of the Seal said lightly:

"This is a time when the Empire was even more dangerous than it was at the beginning of the Empire, for we have to fight not only against our enemies, but also against our allies who are scheming and mercenary, and there are even times... And also to fight ourselves. ”

After a moment's hesitation, Victor gently put the letterhead down.

"So, in this kind of dispute between the parties......" the justice's voice carried a hint of decadence: "Scheming and strength are the most important things, and the law does not matter, does it matter if it becomes a dead letter?"

"Quite the opposite!"

Metternich interrupted him abruptly, and pressed his glass on the table with a "pop!" ”

"Even if it's just a superficial article, it's pretended, and even relies on unspoken rules... Otherwise, the empire built up in twelve generations will be wiped out overnight!"

"Stabilize the situation and wait and see what happens... That's what we're going to do, and that's what we can do. The Minister of the Seals' expression was extremely solemn, and he looked at Victor with four eyes:

"His Majesty Eckhart, who trusts us so much, wants us to do it!"

Victor Hughes bowed slightly, but his expression was still a little unwilling.

The Minister of the Seal sighed and said lightly: "What's more, the people who should be most anxious about this matter at the moment are not you and me, but the Holy Cross Church......;

"Hmph... When a little wizard proposed the 'topographical naturalism', Archbishop Innocent was furious, and he did not hesitate to confront His Majesty to carry out heresy trials and burnings;

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

"Isn't that... I'm amazed that he's still alive and hasn't been called by the Holy Cross. ”

Ebolden, the Nine-Pointed Star Wizard Tower.

In the council chamber, Corona, the Archon of Ebolden and the First Elder of the Wizarding Tower, glanced at Freswalk, who was sitting across from him, smoking a pipe in his hand.

This letter appeared from Byrne, and the Wizard Tower also got it for the first time, but compared to the fierce enemy of the Heavenly Dome Palace, the Holy Cross Church's anger, the attitude of the Wizard Tower was much more relaxed.

Even the two people sitting opposite each other in the council room, there was even a little bit on their faces... Schadenfreude expression.

"Freswalk, you make me jealous of you. With an emotional sigh, Corona, who still did not hide his smile, raised his gaze:

"Isaac Grantham, Ain Rand, then Loren Turin... How can you, an old immortal, let the hopes of an entire generation of the Wizard Tower be concentrated on you?"

"Before you accuse others, please wipe your ass clean!" Fleiswalker snorted coldly as he took his pipe, and did not give the Archon any face:

"When some people prick disciples from me, I don't say a word!"

"That's because you already have Isaac Grantham, and your Freswalker School's achievements in spells are so few that they can't be compared to our Corona!"

"Yes, I think some people are abusing their power for personal gain, using the centuries-old inheritance of the wizard tower to add bricks and tiles to their own school; in order to make their faces shine, they know that the investment of the Chamber of Commerce is cheated by their own disciples, and they also pretend to take care of the younger generation!"

"But you also have to see the bright side of things - we've stopped the momentum of the Yod Chamber of Commerce and forged a good friendship with Byrne, and how can an ivory tower wizard like you understand the importance of networking?"

"Yes, I, Robert Freiswalker, don't know business, but I know that some people have almost lost their fortunes due to failed investments, and if you don't count ocean trade, your Corona family's assets have shrunk by a third, right?"

"Even if it shrinks to one-tenth, it's a hundred times more than your Freswalker's family. ”

...... Two people, you say a word, I say a word to demean each other, and they quarrel happily;

The unification of Byrne, or the birth of the first "Wizard Duke" in hundreds of years, had a huge impact on the Wizarding Tower and the entire empire, and it was self-evident that it would help the wizarding world.

That's why they were so happy when they received the news of the victory in the Centaur War, which marked Loren Turin's complete stabilization of his position and power, and gave Ebolden a potentially powerful ally.

The most important thing is to be able to quickly expand the influence of the wizarding world throughout the empire... If Byrne, as the largest principality of the empire, can establish a complete wizarding system and completely abandon the traditional concept of wizards, then it will be of great help to improve the status of wizards in the empire.

Of course, these are all things in the future, and it is impossible to see immediate results, and it will take more than ten years or even decades or even hundreds of years... But even if it's just a hope, it's worth holding onto.

"I've heard that Ain Rand was also in Byrne's army and was involved in that war. Corona said softly, "Harlem Van Ashamai, he won't let go of such a good opportunity." ”

"Of course he won't, but I don't care - like you said, I've got Isaac Grantham. Freswalker is very "generous":

"Twenty years later, three of the twelve schools of the Wizarding Tower are from the Fryswalker sect, and even if you don't like it, my portrait will definitely be the one in the middle. ”

Seeing that the smug Freswalker was still spitting clouds, and the entire council hall was filled with smoke, Corona frowned slightly: "If you continue, we don't need to wait until twenty years later, we will be able to see your portrait." ”

"Four months, to be exact. Freswalker said softly.

Corona was slightly startled, and her brows furrowed: "You already have a hunch?"

"In terms of prophecy, only Albert is slightly better than me. Freswalker had a nonchalant expression: "In another half a month, I can only see you on the hospital bed." ”

"There's no way back?"

"Of course there is, but I give up - living too long doesn't increase wisdom, it only makes you feel farther away from the living. Freswalker muttered in a low voice:

"I don't want to become a monster like the evil god, so it's better to stop it sooner... Wait another ten years, and you'll feel the same way I do. ”

Corona looked at him and didn't say a word.

"What's more, everything that should be arranged has already been arranged, there are successors, and there is hope for the future, what else can I regret?" Freswalker shook his head, and suddenly remembered something, and said:

"Dealing with Byrne... How's the preparation going?"

"It was finalized half a month ago, and now it's just ahead of schedule. Corona bowed slightly, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly: "It is expected that when Loren Turin returns to the Red Blood Castle, he will be able to meet the gift we have carefully prepared for him." ”

"After two months of planning, repeated negotiations and compromises with the Church of the Holy Cross, the Heavenly Dome Palace, the Round Table Council of the Red Blood Fortress, and the Imperial Capital Wizarding Academy, just for this moment......" Freswalker muttered in a low voice:

"I hope this Lord of Byrne can understand our good intentions in preparing this 'surprise' for him. ”

"Well, he'll get it... After all, he's smart, and we've put so much effort into it. Corona nodded: "And it must be shocking, this is a surprise that he can't even imagine." ”

"Of course, it's not necessarily whether you can laugh or not. ”

"I don't think I can laugh. ”

"Well, that makes sense. ”

The words fell, and the two who looked at each other nodded thoughtfully.