The Earl of Norton was secretly welcomed into the city of Kyoto by Langton, and before the Imperial Council and the Emperor were notified, the Earl of Norton was placed in the embassy district of Kyoto City, secretly protected by a group of Guardsmen, or guarded.

Ever since the death of Lord Dirk, the Council has been presided over by the new Chief Bailis. During the war, the Imperial Council was also very busy, domestic affairs could not be pulled down, war and diplomacy were also eternal themes, and the lazy Emperor of Benin had to patiently participate in more and more Imperial Councils these days.

Today, it seems, is destined to be another sleepless night. Everyone who was already preparing to get off work suddenly saw Lord Langton hurriedly enter the door of the council chamber, "Where is His Majesty the Emperor?"

"Go back to the back with Master Monin and rest. Baelishi pointed to the door behind him, a mocking expression. Master Merlin sat on the side, not seeming to hear. The Emperor of Benin and Master Monin spent a lot of time alone every day, and the magical "spirit lamp" contributed by Master Merlin accompanied the Emperor of Benin for many times in the past few years, even after the outbreak of war.

However, the ministers did not say much, after all, compared to his predecessors, the Emperor of Benin had also been much more restrained. Even compared to him when he was young, at least, he hasn't heard much about the birth of an illegitimate child in the past few years.

"It's time to go and ask His Majesty the Emperor. Lord Langton instructed the court eunuch on the side, and the eunuch bowed, "Okay, Lord Langton, please wait a moment. ”

This waited, but in the end, he waited for a long time, and the Benin Emperor, who was tired but a little satisfied, walked into the council hall with the support of the palace eunuchs, "What's the matter, it's so late, is something happening on the front line?"

After the Emperor of Benin sat down, the chief minister Berishi looked at everyone, and then looked at Langton, and motioned to you, Langton had to get up, "My Majesty, there is a special person in Kyoto City today, the former Prime Minister of the Desik Empire, Lord Earl Norton. ”

"Norton, he's not dead yet?" Emperor Benin originally took a cup of black tea and just took a sip, but after hearing Langton so much, he couldn't hold back a sip of black tea and squirted out, "Isn't he with that garrison general, General Jin, aren't they, aren't they all the same?" I remember you told me before that their faction has been wiped out by Edward. ”

Langton looked embarrassed, "There was really no news for more than a year before. Still, my majesty, it doesn't matter. Now that people have come to the door, it seems that they have important information to share with us. ”

"Then let him come, what are you hesitating about?" said the Emperor of Benin, looking rather impatient.

"This ......," said Lord Langton, who stood up and continued, "before we have thought of what to do, we must discuss it first, and I have already told the people below to inform the Earl of Norton to rest for two days, and say that His Majesty is ill, and I will see him in a few days." ”

"Oh, well, let's be in a few days. After drinking the black tea in his hand in one go, the Emperor of Benin got up and prepared to leave, and the ministers present hurriedly shouted, "My Majesty!"

"Anything else?" The Emperor of Benin was displeased.

"That, that, my majesty, even though I said that to Earl Norton, we don't really have to wait a few days, we have to discuss it. ”

"Discuss a fart, tomorrow morning, let him come over to meet him, you guys are really too much. Leaving this sentence behind, the Emperor of Benin turned and left.

"Hahaha!" "Archmage Merlin, who had been silent all this time, laughed, "That's it, it's too much!" After saying that, he turned around and left the chamber of the Imperial Council.

The scenery of Kyoto Castle is very different from that of Shiraiwa Castle. Although he was once the prime minister of Desik, the Earl of Norton was the first time he came to the imperial capital of San Jose. The relationship between the two superpowers was not good, but it was not too bad. Whenever an envoy visits, it will be handed over in the town of Momiji next to the Morro River.

In Kyoto City, spring is approaching, the green shoots of cherry tree branches have already appeared, and the bustling market, although a little deserted due to the war, is still a few points more lively than Shiraiwa Castle. At the northeast end of the city, the tall, majestic and majestic Palace of San Jose, the Red Fort, stands there.

The Earl of Norton knew that that was the purpose of his visit. Along the way, after the situation of all parties was summarized, the Earl of Norton locked himself in the carriage for dozens of days and nights, and he thought that he basically saw the purpose of Edward VI's actions, and also, in the massive amount of information, he also found many terrible things.

This time he came to San Jose, the psychological pressure on Count Norton was quite large, and sometimes in the dead of night, he would think, "If General King had survived at that time, how would he choose?" instead of like now, all issues need to be decided by themselves, this pressure is not light.

The Earl of Langton, the foreign minister of San Jose, returned to the embassy in the evening, and the other party was very noble, so Langton appeared very polite. But Norton knew in his heart that this kind of courtesy was probably more for the information on his body.

"Lord Earl Norton, His Majesty the Emperor will receive you tomorrow morning, if there is any information that I need to inform you in advance, please ......" Lord Langton's words were not finished, but the meaning was clear.

Norton shook his head, "Tomorrow, this information is too big." ”

Langton relented, "Lord Norton, you may not know that in San Jose, the Imperial Council is the highest decision-making body. And I, as a member of the Cabinet, have no problem with you providing me with information, and I can help you communicate at the meeting, you see?"

Hearing him say this, Norton also knew that it was a good intention, and he pulled Lord Langton and whispered in his ear, "No, I don't trust anyone. You San Jose inside, like our Desik, have ......," the Earl of Norton said and the word "yes" stopped.

Seeing that he did not continue, Langton looked at the Earl of Norton curiously, only to see the latter wink at him, and Langton suddenly realized, and roared in horror, "What did ......you say!

Langton, who had left the embassy district, was shocked, and although Earl Norton didn't say anything, his meaning was clear. As Desik, Count Norton almost pointed directly at Langton's nose and said, "You San Jose people have spies inside", no wonder he doesn't trust himself, for Earl Norton, whether it is he Langton, or the chief minister Baes, or the archmage Merlin, they can't be trusted.

Only the emperor, the emperor of San Jose, could not have betrayed the interests of the empire.

"These people are funny!" Lord Langton shook his head, the Earl of Norton's accusations were baseless, although the other party was once the prime minister of Desik, but Edward VI had been on the throne for two years, who knows what a cronie of a former emperor like Earl Norton would do.

"Maybe it's a mystery to increase your worth!" thought Lord Langton.

Earl Norton was looking at the materials in his hand, and his mood could not be calmed. The foreign secretary of San Jose showed a certain importance to what he said, but he did not fully trust it, yes, no one dared to believe the information he said.

In the mind of the Earl of Norton, he had always thought that Edward VI himself was a madman, and he tried in vain to achieve his desire to dominate the continent through military force. In order to achieve this, he resolutely chose to cooperate with the Dark Rising organization and achieve his goal through the hands of dark mages.

Seeing the big fingers left behind by the dead Desik soldiers on the shore of the long sea, the Earl of Norton's heart was shattered. More information converged on Gulf of Atherto, and more and more clues began to show that Edward VI's will was one thing, and that the Dark Rising organization took advantage of his will, and that they were even more difficult.

Among the pieces of information that prompted Count Norton to make up his mind to come to San Jose, there was such a report, which showed that members of the Dark Rising were hidden in San Jose and even within the court magicians. This information came quite abruptly, but it seemed very real.

These things are not clear to Earl Norton's subordinates, and Earl Norton does not trust anyone now, in fact, he is an intelligence agent under his command. Therefore, when he announced that he was coming to the San Jose Empire, many of his subordinates did not understand his behavior. In Desrec's country, it's a political disagreement, and if you come directly to San Jose, what is that?

Fortunately, Count Norton's prestige was still there, and even if he didn't understand it, his subordinates still escorted Count Norton south to San Jose.

The long night passed quietly, and the pale blue light rose in the east(Note 1), and the Earl of Norton, who had not slept all night, sorted out the documents in front of him and packed them into the document bag he carried with him. Carefully smoothing out the noble robes on his body, the Earl of Norton combed his gray hair meticulously, and then stepped out of the room in the embassy district.

The subordinates are already ready around, they will escort Earl Norton to the Red Keep today, and his chief of guard, while Earl Norton is in the carriage, whispers on his shoulder, "Lord Earl, I hope you have made the right choice." ”

Earl Norton looked back at the chief of the guard, the latter's eyes were extremely clear and undistracted, Norton nodded slightly, "Don't worry, no matter how we choose, we will remember our identity, we are all Desik!"

The carriage started slowly, and the crunching of the wheels was the only sound of the morning. It's about six blocks from the Red Castle, and the morning sun shines on the inside and outside of Kyoto Castle, and the Red Fort Tower in the distance shines brightly in the sun. Lord Langton and all the cabinet ministers got up early in the morning and came to the Imperial Council early to await the arrival of Lord Earl Norton.

"I don't know what amazing news the Earl of Norton will bring. The cabinet ministers who met greeted each other, and in the most luxurious bedroom of the Red Castle, the Emperor of Benin had just finished his "mission" for the day.

"Let's go, Monin!" said hello to Master Monin, and the Emperor of Benin left.

Note 1: In the early morning of this continent, the red and blue days rise one after the other, with the blue sun in front and the red sun in the back. Therefore, for a short period of time in the early morning, the sky will be filled with blue light, which is quite eerie. However, the scenery is also extremely beautiful, and many people like to get up early to enjoy the sight.

And this time is also one of the most prosperous periods for the magic element.