Instead of making follow-up contact with Victoria or Veronica immediately after the welcome feast, Gawain allowed the guests to rest in the "Autumn Palace" or to visit places with the reception staff he had arranged, giving the reason that he wanted them to get to know the land as much as they could, and to rest well during the few days in order to relieve the fatigue of such a long journey—and for this valid reason, he left them dry for three days.

Victoria wasted no three days, during which she did everything she could to learn everything about Cecil, from the daily lifestyle of the people to the bits and pieces of information about Cecil's army, from the market goods to the surrounding goods - despite the limited access to them, she did not miss any opportunity to help her learn about the land.

It wasn't until the fourth day that she finally got news from Gawain.

In the study of the Lord's House, Victoria? Wild, sitting on a single couch for guests, looked with a little curiosity at the place where Gawain usually worked, and her eyes swept over the shelves full of bookshelves and decorative armor, and finally landed on a huge map: the map hung on one wall, between the two bookshelves, and it depicted the whole of Ansul, and even a part of the Gondor wasteland and the lands of Typhon, the Duchy of the Holy Dragon, and the Agouray Tribal States, which was the most beautiful and detailed map that Victoria had ever seen, Not only are all the mountains and rivers accurately marked, but there are even a lot of numbers that are used to describe the distance......

It was not unusual for the lord to hang a map in his study, but it was not easy to hang such an accurate map, and the duchess's gaze fell near the center of the map and stopped at a point in the eastern region of the plains of the Whitsundays.

She saw a striking red cross marked near the giant wooden crossing, and there was a line of annotation next to the red crossing: Ansu 736, the 43rd day of the harvest month.

It was the date of the last large-scale battle between the rebels and the kingdom army in the east before winter, and the time and place were exactly the same.

"Seems interested in my map? The girl from the Wilder family? ”

Gawain's voice suddenly came from the side, awakening Victoria from her momentary thoughts, and she saw the Founding Duke enter the room and sit down on another couch next to her.

"Betty, prepare refreshments and bring them to the study," Gawain beckoned to the little maid standing by the door, then turned to Victoria, "I hope I didn't delay too long—the nascent principality is always busy." ”

"Of course, I can imagine how busy you are every day," Victoria bowed slightly to Gawain, and despite being the same Guardian Duke, the huge difference in rank made her have to pay attention to etiquette even in such an informal setting, and then she looked up again and looked at the huge map, "...... You have very good cartographers, and you seem to be interested in the situation beyond the southern borders as well? ”

"The Cecil people want to live a peaceful life, but the outside world is not as peaceful as we would like it to be—if you want to live a solid life, you need to pay more attention to the situation outside," Gawain smiled, "and don't you care about the situation here?" ”

The members of the envoy group walked around the city, of course, such a public matter could not be hidden, and Victoria did not intend to hide it at all, she just nodded slightly: "This land is mysterious to us, since autumn, the entire southern territory is equivalent to hiding in the fog for the royal capital, which is of course curious." ”

Betty, the little maid, brought refreshments and began to pour them for the guests, and taking advantage of this opportunity, Victoria bluntly turned the topic to her own attention: "Duke Cecil, what do you think of the civil war in Ansu?" ”

Gawain kept smiling, looked at Victoria and said unhurriedly, "I'm sorry to see the descendants of my former friends get to this point, but if you want to ask me who I'm supporting in this civil war - then I can only say that I don't support anyone." ”

This can be said to be an expected answer, Victoria's expression remained unchanged, but continued: "The war was not provoked by us, no one in the Silver Fort wants Ansu to split, and we have been very passive since the sudden rebellion in the east. ”

"Ah, 'it was his hand that struck first'—I heard Herty say that Rebecca often complained about this after fighting with people as a child," Gawain raised his hand, "You know, until the onset of winter, Rebecca was often taught by me for getting into trouble, so you should be glad that Charlie, Snow, Anthony, and Evans didn't come back with me, otherwise you wouldn't just be worried about this civil war - Wild girl, you're going to be with Snow then?" Wild explains that it's Anthony? Loren and Charlie? Did the Moen children do it first? ”

All the explanations and negotiation scripts that Victoria had prepared in advance were null and void.

She hadn't spoken to anyone who was old enough for her for nearly two decades, and her experience in that area was no better than that of Rebecca, who was beaten twice a month.

Luckily, her head was smarter than Rebecca's, and after a brief moment of stunnedness, she reorganized her language: "...... I understand that you and the founders of the kingdom did not build this kingdom to allow us to kill each other, and this civil war will surely be painful for you, but the situation has developed to such an extent that the war cannot be stopped if you want to—we cannot give up the country to a prince who killed his father and usurped the throne and the grand duke of the kingdom who broke his oath, and I think the East will not compromise so easily. So the civil war will continue, and the power of Ansu will weaken over the course of the war, and we all know that Typhon is waiting for the Ansu to shed their last drop of blood. ”

Gawain looked Victoria in the eye, "Well, you can at least realize that there is a Typhon next to you, so what do you think of to end this war as soon as possible - and in a way that meets your expectations?" ”

Victoria pondered for a moment, then said what Gawain expected: "The king's position cannot remain vacant. ”

Gawain adjusted his sitting posture and leaned back on the back of the sofa: "Wales? Moen? ”

“…… His Majesty Francis had appointed Edmund as his heir and had taken an oath before the ancestors, but now this oath had apparently had to be scrapped. Ansu needs a king, needs to be re-united, and His Royal Highness Wales is the only candidate at the moment," Victoria paused, she watched every change in Gawain's expression, and continued slowly, "We want to support Wales?" Morn is the new king, a common desire of the guardian dukes of the North and West. ”

She watched Gawain's expression change, but Gawain's expression didn't change, and the Founding Duke just maintained that faint smile, listened like an outsider, and didn't say anything until she finished speaking.

Gawain froze the atmosphere for a full two minutes before suddenly breaking the silence: "Victoria, is that Mithril Oath in Wintercastle okay?" ”

The Duchess's heart stopped beating in an instant, and although her face still maintained her usual expression, the tension in her eyes did not escape Gawain's eyes.

Gawain's heart did not fluctuate: as he had expected a long time ago, as a founding hero shrouded in aura, the nobles of Ansu would not mind hanging him on the wall, writing on a book, carving it in stone, or even offering him on an altar, but they would definitely mind this founding hero sitting on the throne—

Because the hero on the stone in the book on the wall can be fake, but the one on the throne is real.

But he didn't expect the 700-year-old emergency agreement to be of any use, he just mentioned it for a moment, and then went on to say: "Do you think Wales would be a worthy king?" ”

"He will," Victoria replied cautiously, still hovering over the Mithril Oath in her mind, "His Royal Highness Wales may not be as sharp as Edmund, but he has inherited his father's steadfastness and integrity, and only such a king can heal the wounds of the Welsh after the end of the civil war and restore the country as soon as possible - and after the trauma of war, people will be more likely to have a moderate king, and they will support His Royal Highness Wales." ”

"But that's not enough for you to change the situation with the East - I know what you think, to have a king, to get legitimacy, to win the support of more nobles, to give the people courage, it's a good idea, and it probably has a little effect, but don't forget, there is also a qualified crown prince in the East, and that crown prince has been a much more popular one for the past two decades, and even if you crown Wales in advance, the east can immediately have a new king and pull the situation back to the way it was before."

"But if you can also support His Royal Highness Wales, then the legitimacy of the new king will be greatly strengthened, and there will be more nobles and people who will turn to the royal family," Victoria couldn't help but say, "Your attitude is crucial......

"Let me publicly support Charlie? Did one of Moen's sons kill another? Gawain knocked on the small table between the two sofas, "You should understand that it is difficult for me to express my position easily in this civil war. ”

Victoria knew that Gawain was not unable to express his position, he just didn't want to.

The Founding Duke was a cautious and radical man, and his current caution stems from the fact that he doesn't trust the Kingdom Army at all—but he doesn't seem to trust the Eastern Rebels either.

This was the best that had been expected.

"Then what do you mean......" The Duchess asked tentatively, looking into Gawain's eyes.

"I have no objection to the coronation of Wales," said Gawain unhurriedly, "but if he wants me to admit that he is king, he must at least show his merits as king." ”

At this point, he paused slightly.

"As for the Mithril contract in Wintercastle, the girl of the Wilder family, you can put it away with peace of mind, I don't plan to use it."

Until this sentence comes out, Victoria? Wild was genuinely relieved.

Gawain? Cecil did not explicitly support either the crown or the East, but at least, he had no intention of becoming king.

In this way, at least Ansu does not have to face another civil war.

After confirming Gawain's attitude, the duchess's heart also settled, and according to the plan she had made before departure, she began to seek greater support from Gawain: "Thank you for your understanding - but if you can give greater support to the Kingdom Army, this civil war may end sooner." As you said, simply crowning His Royal Highness Wales will not fundamentally change the current situation in Ansu, the Kingdom Army and the bloody balance in the East...... It has to be broken. ”

"I've already said that I'm just 'not against the coronation of Wales,'" Gawain interrupted Victoria, "I'm not going to openly support either side of this civil war, and to be honest, the South has just been through a war, my army needs to rest, my people need to recuperate, we can't afford attrition." ”

This is a well-founded reason, and Victoria can't think of anything to refute.

But after a moment of silence, Gawain suddenly spoke again: "However, as Charlie's friend, I can't sit back and watch his kingdom fall apart like this. ”

Victoria's eyes widened slightly: "What do you mean ......"

"I'm willing to help in some other areas, besides the military," Gawain said unhurriedly, "like weapons and armor......"