The Count of Laval was walking briskly through the white courtyard of the Istanians, watching the shirtless gardener toiling among the pink dwarf roses, with a little disapproval.

For this Kashan Palace, which is known as the crown of the desert and the beloved of Andama, he really has no intention of appreciating it at this time. Besides, the courtyard of which the Istanians were so proud was not worth mentioning in the face of the grandeur of the palace of the Goland.

In the past war, the Cowlings defeated the sand thieves at a critical moment, gained the friendship of this ancient kingdom, and everyone in the envoys was treated like heroes in Questak.

But it got him in trouble—

Because in that battle, there were dead people in the regiment.

The young knights in the regiment were all high-ranking and dignitaries, and their participation in this mission was because they had been trained and gilded, and he had to protect them well, rather than sending them to the battlefield in cold blood to die. Of course, the young people are full of enthusiasm, and after receiving the flowers of the local girls, they no longer care about the gains and losses of the stars, but the family behind them is not so easy to bluff.

Maybe he has already been called by titles like 'ruthless butcher' and 'ruthless killer' in China.

The point is that he has not yet been able to explain to His Majesty and the Prime Minister, because he sent troops to capture the traitor's daughter, but no one knows whether the poor girl died in the chaos, or was taken away, missing, or something else.

It was all to blame for the hateful girl of Florence, and he had to, had to let the girl stay in the mansion, and preferably not go anywhere—the streets outside had not yet fully restored order, and he did not want to make any more trouble.

In the distance, the sky was slightly white, and against this background, the towers of the inner city had erected an empty shelf, and the sound of tinkling and knocking could be heard in the distance, and the Istanians were rebuilding their homes, which gave the impression that order was being restored.

He withdrew his gaze and walked briskly through the verandah, and after a few turns in the greenery, he saw the waiter who had been waiting there for a long time.

The waiter behaved respectfully, "Your Majesty has been waiting in Kashan Palace for a long time, Dear Mr. Envoy. ”

"Take me there."

The two walked through the palm grove one after the other, over the winding covered bridge, over a bright lake, and onto the high platform formed by the white rocks—

Not far away is the main hall of the Kashan Palace.

……

Inside the Kashan Palace, there was silence.

Dressed in a silver-gray robe that symbolized the King of Sand, Alepf sat in the same place where his father had once sit, his hand naturally resting on the armrest of the throne, and his eyes looked at his father's courtiers on the left and right, and in his hand was a snow-white letterhead.

The letterhead was stamped with a silver stamp, with Thorin Anvil and the Morning Sword—the hallmark of the Cowlins, a proper, diplomatic letterhead, but the contents of which were a little unpleasant to him.

The right minister, Seschel, stood aside, his eyes downcast, and there was no expression on his face.

Alepf did not speak, and the hall was silent, for after the death of Seeneman and the death of King of the Prophets, it was the first time that the ministers had gathered here. It's just that although the crowd is silent, there is a fluctuation in private.

Alepf naturally understands this, his throne is not stable, and he is far from the prestige of his father, but fortunately, his eldest sister, Her Royal Highness the Eldest Princess, has been supporting him behind his back.

At this moment, the light outside the main hall dimmed, and the attendant walked in with the Count of Laval.

Laval first saluted the new king of the sand: "Honorable King of Istania, master of the desert, I bring greetings from the people of Kaulin and congratulations to His Majesty the King. ”

His voice echoed through the hall.

Alepf thanked him as well, and asked the ambassador to reply his wishes to the young King.

After the two sides exchanged greetings according to diplomatic etiquette, he got straight to the point: "Mr. Envoy, I know that you have a purpose in addition to greetings, right?" ”

Count Laval raised his head, nodded, and spoke directly: "Your Majesty, we have received news that the daughter of a traitor once appeared in your kingdom. ”

He said aloud: "Miss Sylvede-Albert, though she has not committed any crime herself, but as the whereabouts of her father, Sir Marvey, are concerned, we must bring her back to the country. ”

“…… I hope that His Majesty, the Lord of Sands, will provide us with the whereabouts of this young lady. ”

"But we haven't seen such a lady, but if she stays in Custaq, I can have someone help you find her whereabouts." ”

It's just that before the young Sand King could finish speaking, an abrupt voice interjected, "Your Majesty, we have actually met this young lady. ”

Alepf frowned and looked in that direction, he had already known that someone would betray him—if someone hadn't told the news, how could the Cowlings have come so quickly and so simply?

No one stood up from the direction where the voice came from, but continued: "Your Majesty may not know this young lady, but she was indeed in the Kasan Palace that day, with us. ”

Aleph clenched his fists, who saved Questak, these people knew, but he didn't expect - as an Istanian, they could be so shameless.

He was about to stand up, but on the side, Seychelle stopped the young and impulsive King with his gaze, "Please be calm, Your Majesty. The old man said in a low voice.

Alepf had no choice but to sit back down, sullen.

Laval looked in that direction, then at the master on the throne, and asked, "Your Majesty, may I hear this?" ”

Alepf nodded, motioning for him to take his own seat.

"Sir, though I don't know who you are," Laval said, turning in that direction, "can you describe to me in detail the image of this young lady?" ”

The voice did not hesitate, and immediately described Sylvid's appearance, and although she later changed to silver hair, she had not had any disguise before.

When Laval heard this, he knew that he had found the right master.

He turned his head and glanced meaningfully at the Istanian master, "Your Majesty, is what he said true?" ”

"The Kasan Palace was in chaos that day, with a lot of people coming in and out, and people from the Templars and the Alchemy Society, and I didn't notice everyone's appearance," Alepf replied lightly, "Maybe it's true, maybe it's just a mistake, maybe it's just two people who look very similar." ”

"Forgive me, Your Majesty," Laval asked, "that is, those people did not stay in the Kasan Palace in the end?" ”

"That's true."

Laval couldn't help but look in that direction once more. This time, however, no voice answered, and not many people knew where the Seven Seas Brigade had gone after leaving Cuestac.

The Lord Earl looked around the hall, knowing that he could not get any more here, and he glanced deeply at the man on the throne before he spoke:

"Your Majesty, I have received the answer I want, and I ask to leave you-"

Alef had the intention of keeping the other party, but he couldn't find a suitable reason for a while, it was not his courtier after all. What's more, with the strength of the Kaolin Kingdom and Istania, he can't force the other party to stay.

He could only nod silently.

Watching the Lord Count turn and leave, the temperature in the Kashan Palace seemed to drop by several degrees all at once.

The young Sand King's face turned cold, and he looked a little like Babartan, and Alepf looked at the corner of the hall in the direction of the voice that had come from before.

The owner of the voice probably realized that he could no longer hide it, so he simply parted the crowd and walked out. Alepf looked at the leaders, who had already heard the identity of the other party from their voices, the same princes and nobles who had always opposed him and his father.

In fact, in that battle, he should have cleaned up these cowardly people, but at that time, he was kind and didn't want the Istanyians to shed any more blood - but he didn't expect that at this moment, they would turn the sharp blade in their hands to the lifesaver of the Istans.

"I want you to remember that the Istanians hate traitors the most."

Alepf looked at these people and said coldly.

But these nobles were not afraid, and as if they were giving speeches, they spoke to the fellow workers in the hall: "Your Majesty, what we are doing now, you have done before, do you want to deny the merits of your father and your grandfather?" ”

"Your grandfather once said that the Istanians and the Kaulin are one, and that only when the two countries are united can the Istanians have a bright future. And Count Laval helped us in that battle, so should the Istanians be ungrateful? ”

As soon as these words came out, all the ministers in the hall changed color. Naturally, they could hear the subtext of these people - the Penelope royal family relied on the Cowlings to ascend to the throne in the past, and why couldn't the others?

Alepf was furious, but he was about to have a seizure when Seychelle reached out and held him down. The young King of Sand looked at the old minister's calm gaze, and couldn't help but sober up all of a sudden.

These people are so arrogant, there must be Kaolin people behind them to endorse them, if he really does it, it will be tantamount to standing on the opposite side of Kaulin. These people are deliberately provoking themselves so that they will lose the help of Kaulin's side.

But for the sake of this throne, will he betray his brother? Alepf gritted his teeth, and he couldn't help but think to himself, if his father was the king, what should he do in this position?

But while he was silent, there was a 'whooshing' footsteps outside the Kashan Palace.

In a moment, I saw rows of guards, all draped in their bodies, outside the main hall, and the ministers saw that there was no one in front of this scene, and thought that these people were so arrogant that they wanted to seize power by arms.

But in a blink of an eye, the princes and nobles who came out of the throne were also stunned. And the next moment, Princess Rupert, dressed in military uniform, came out from among the guards, pressed her long sword in her hand, looked at those people, and shouted coldly:

"Take down these traitors!"

"Wait, wait—"

Before the princes and nobles could figure out what had happened, the guards rushed forward in unison, cutting off their hands and pressing them to the ground.

Where have these pampered princes experienced this, and for a while they let out a howl like killing pigs, where are they still decent before? It's just that they obviously still don't admit defeat, and they snort and tear there to snort and tears for Her Royal Highness the eldest princess for not following the rules, at least in their hearts, there is still a glimmer of hope - I hope that the Kaolin people can deter this princess.

But Princess Rupert didn't look at them at all.

She only said directly to Alepf: "Leave these people alone, their previous collusion with the blind followers is enough for them to die ten times." ”

"The Cowlings?" Alepf asked.

"The people of Cowlin are too busy to take care of themselves," Princess Rupert said lightly, "I have just received the news that a rebellion has broken out in the southern border of Cowling, and since the White City, thirteen towns have declared their independence. They can't take care of us now, and a big war between the North and the South is on the verge of breaking out—"

There was silence in the hall.

No one thought that such a thing would happen at this moment.

When the princes and nobles heard this, they directly collapsed on the ground, their faces pale and trembling. The courage they had summoned for the people of Kaulin was now gone.

In the silence, Seychelle spoke, "Your Majesty, you must inform Ed of them immediately." ”

Alev turned around, and the old patriarch of the Oath Keeper clan spoke: "The Kaulin people are prepared, although there are not many people who know the whereabouts of Mr. Ed, but if Laval intends to investigate, I believe it won't be long before he knows where the Seven Seas Brigade went that day-"

His voice had just fallen.

Outside the door, a herald hurried in, and as soon as he entered the hall, he couldn't help but be startled when he saw what was going on inside the hall, and stood there a little bewildered.

Alef glanced at the man, motioned for him to come forward, and asked, "What happened?" ”

The herald immediately lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty, you have asked me to monitor the movements of the Kaolins and I have discovered that their airship has been heading south not long ago. ”

The South –

Alepf turned his head and exchanged glances with his eldest sister, which was the direction of Tansnir.

The Cowlings moved so fast.

At this time, Seychelle was suddenly surprised: "Your Royal Highness Princess, Your Majesty, it's not good...... If I'm not mistaken, because of the dust storm not long ago, the Cowlins have a fleet that is resupplying near Tansnir......"

"If they pass us and give orders to the mystics......"

Alepf and Rupert's faces changed in unison.

……

Fang Yu locked up, opened his locker, raised his head, his eyes couldn't help but become a little soft, and looked from left to right, in this small cabinet, a few books, a dagger, a glass jar full of colorful sand stones, a few specimens, a handcuff, and some miscellaneous things.

Underneath each item, there was a small note indicating their origin, the basic book that Hu Di had given him, the basic textbook of alchemy. The multicolored sand, mined on the coast south of Dorifin, is the work of the Paparals.

The specimen comes from beetles and mushrooms on the island of Fenris, and is the work of Miss Naturalist, and the lion handcuff was the first gift given to him by Sylvid. In addition to this, there are α crystals, some souvenirs bought from Golland, a bunch of holly branches, pebbles from the shores of the long lake.

What is recorded in it is the memories of the Seven Seas Brigade from Al Pakhin all the way to today, and every little thing carries the memory of a period of time. His gaze rested on one of the squares, a dusty crystal.

Fang Yu looked at the crystal for a moment, and couldn't help but laugh dumbly, this little girl Tianlan is really tired of teaching, and she can't learn a lesson. He shook his head slightly before placing the recording crystal in his hand and placing it next to it.

Then a label was attached that read: 'Documentary image of the Seven Seas Traveler'

And underneath the dusty crystal, the label was also marked with a line of small letters: 'Mr. Graystone's Documentary Image'

Fang Yu looked at the two crystals for a moment before closing the cabinet again and locking it. He smiled again, although these images could not be released to the public, for everyone in the Seven Seas Brigade, perhaps the future would be a precious image memory.

In some ways, Sky Blue had done something useful, and he had decided to end the other party's two-day lockdown early before tonight's party.

He turned around and looked around at his captain's room—the new one, much more spacious than the old one, with a desk, a thick, delicately patterned hand-woven carpet on the floor, and a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

On one side was a row of long bookcases, with some taxidermy displays—there were no things on them, of course, and behind the desks were rows of long windows with two curtains. And directly opposite is a star orbiter, of course he won't use this thing, it's the 'professional prop' of Miss Shipmaster.

The curtain was drawn on the other side, and behind him was his bed, and there was a private bathroom with a personal closet.

Fang Yu looked at it for a moment, a little satisfied in his heart, and then took off his coat from the side shelf and pushed the door out. Outside was his new alchemy workshop, which was similar to the original, except that the magic furnace had been assembled, and there were some more magic devices that weren't there.

On the other side was Sylvid's room, but he glanced over there and saw that Miss Ship Officer was probably not there.

His gaze involuntarily fell on a workbench not far away, where a gray-white crystal, some parts, and an open letterhead were placed next to it.

The letter was sent by Don De - the crystal was what he and Karatu helped him find, β the last piece of the puzzle of the crystal, with this thing, it was logical to replace the next generation of attributeless crystals.

The rest is just time.

However, as he had predicted, Karatu had left Istania and headed for the Second World. And Tang De didn't say goodbye, only said some things he wanted to pay attention to in the letter, and did not say where he went.

However, Fang Yuan always felt that the other party should go to track down the murderer of his sister back then, the whereabouts of the wanderer.

At this moment, the next time the two sides meet, I don't know when.

His gaze paused for a moment before looking away again. β Crystal hasn't finished yet, but he hasn't had time to deal with this side of the matter these days, and the Tansnir Artisan Guild promised to send a magic cannon, and today should be the time to arrive-

And it just so happened that he had to go to the Craftsmen's Guild to apply for a batch of combat equipment for his own use, which was specially deployed from Questak and opened the back door for them by Her Royal Highness the Princess.

He has been looking forward to this so-called 'gift' for a long time.

Just put the trench coat on his arm, walked out of the alchemy studio, and came to the deck outside, Fang Yu met Alyssa who came in a hurry.

Fang Yu subconsciously took a step back, for fear that the gossipy Miss Nightingale would come to spy on her privacy again, but she didn't expect that Alyssa didn't seem to be in the mood.

She frowned, and looked at him with a wink:

"Ed, there's something not quite quite up there."

……

Wonderful Book House