Aldenan, Obsidian Palace.

It was a rare sunny day, with sunlight dispelling the mist that had shrouded the entire Aldernan region, and brilliant light shone from the sky, piercing through the thin and pale clouds, and slanting diagonally over the courtyard of the Obsidian Palace.

In the small flower hall on the first floor of the palace, the attendant opened the window facing the courtyard, and the fresh morning breeze blew through the bushes outside the window into the small hall without hurrying, and Rosetta Augustus sat on the bench by the window, half of her face was illuminated by the sun, as if gilded with a layer of light.

"Hardiron has sent a message that he has pounced at Orlandelle's throat," Rosetta looked up at Matilda, who was sitting across from him, "He happened to be inspecting the factory near Orlandelle, but he still couldn't tell when the Eternal Sleepers had evacuated. ”

"If a secret organization has been operating in our empire for seven hundred years, then when they are determined to secretly evacuate, it is normal for us to be undetectable and intercept it in the first place," Matilda sat across from her father, thin golden chains hanging from between her hair, swaying a fine golden light on her cheeks, "I just didn't expect Gawain Cecil to stand behind it all......"

Rosetta glanced at Matilda, "Judging from the time, when the Order of the Eternal Sleeper encountered an accident and launched an evacuation plan, it was also the few days you stayed in Cecil City. ”

Matilda couldn't help frowning, with a look of regret and shame on her face: "Yes...... I was near Gawain Cecil those days, and I didn't notice anything......"

Rosetta's expression was very indifferent: "If even a young man like you can casually discover his secrets, then he is not the emperor of Cecil, and Typhon can rest easy." ”

"Gawain Cecil's secret ......" Matilda muttered subconsciously, then raised her eyes, "Father, the secret of the 'Wanderer' can be used to shake his ruling authority, if he is no longer 'Gawain Cecil', then the support he has received from his prestige as a pioneer hero will be greatly shaken, and his connection to the Eternal Sleeper can also be ......"

Rosetta raised her eyebrows and looked into Matilda's eyes, seeming to smile slightly: "I remember that you said not long ago that he was a kind and generous elder, and you learned a lot from talking to him. ”

“…… I don't deny that I have a certain respect for him, whether he is really 'Gawain Cecil' or not," Matilda replied with a serious face, "but he's also our opponent, isn't he?" ”

“…… Matilda, you've grown up a little bit again," Rosetta said slowly with a smile on her daughter as she looked at her daughter for a moment, "It's just that you haven't grown up enough, and you're wrong about some things."

"Our 'opponent', when he rose to prominence in the south, he did rely on the identity of 'Gawain Cecil' to get support, but he did not rely on the identity of 'Gawain Cecil' to sit in the position of emperor, and he did not rely on this name to maintain his rule over the empire."

Matilda didn't react for a while, and subconsciously asked: "Then he relies on ......"

"Of course his army, and the bureaucrats he's cultivated so vigorously, my boy," Rosetta laughed suddenly, "you're not usually so slow to react—you didn't expect that?" ”

Matilda's face was slightly embarrassed: "I ......"

"It's okay, you're still young," Rosetta smiled and shook her head, "Like I said, it's not a 'good reputation' to have an emperor sit in that position, of course a good reputation is important, it can make your crown look more beautiful, and it can also make you more comfortable in that position, but military power and political power are the key factors that determine whether you can continue to stay in that position." Unfortunately, Gawain Cecil had both, and he held it very firmly.

"If he loses control of the army and the social order, then without us doing anything, countless remnants of the old Ansu era will jump out and give him the name of a large number of usurpers, and his 'resurrection' will undoubtedly turn into a devil's conspiracy.

"If he had a firm grip on the army and the social order, his 'resurrection' would still be a miracle and, in times of need, even miracles, even if many people revealed his secrets, would be 'a malicious slander by restorationists and vicious conspirators'.

"And if you consider his effective, controlling, and appealing methods, do you think that a mere rumor of the 'resurrection of evil spirits' can shake the reign of Gawain Cecil? As far as I know, since the day of his resurrection, there has been no stop to rumors like this, and what has happened to these rumors? ”

Matilda put on an open mind to be taught, listened carefully to Rosetta's words, and waited for the other party to finish before asking, "But...... It's still a very important handle, isn't it? For us, this 'secret' was a big bonus. ”

"That's right, a very important handle...... But it is also a handle that does not have much effect, and as you said, this gain is just an 'accident'," Rosetta Augustus nodded slightly, "So if we really want to do something with it, then we must not do it 'personally', it is not worth it, Gawain Cecil and his department dedicated to controlling intelligence must be ready for public opinion countermeasures, and if we are not careful, our losses will be greater than his; Secondly, don't expect too good results, just like the swordsmanship you have learned, there will be no trick to winning in the face of strong enemies, advantages need to be accumulated slowly, and many times what we accumulate is not even an advantage, just to buy a little time to accumulate advantages. ”

Matilda listened quietly, a thoughtful look on her face, and she heard her father say to herself in a meaningful tone: "Matilda, it takes more than an iron fist and a vigorous hand to govern an empire, but more often than not, you need patience and caution. ”

Matilda nodded subconsciously, but suddenly reacted to something, and looked at Rosetta with wide eyes: "Father, you ......"

"I don't mean anything else," Rosetta said quietly, and abruptly changed the subject, "Actually, if our intelligence is correct, we may even owe Gawain Cecil a favor." ”

"Owe him a favor?" Matilda couldn't help but ask in surprise, "What do you mean by that?" ”

“…… How many nightmares have you had since the end of the cold months? Rosetta asked.

“…… Only twice," Matilda replied earnestly, though she didn't know why, "The power of the curse had increased before, but after the end of the cold month, the effect of the curse returned to its original state...... Maybe even a little more nerfed, my nightmares lasted for a shorter time. ”

"The curse that haunts our family comes from the Throat of Orlandelle, from the crumbling old imperial capital, and now we know that those fallen dream priests have not gone anywhere else for the past two centuries, they have been studying the forbidden things in the depths of that ruin, and the information provided by Lord Beaumel indicates that it was the Eternal Sleeper's own research that led to a catastrophe of the magnitude of a catastrophe, so they had to pay attention to the ' The Wanderer's plea for help, and the timeline of all of this coincides with the fluctuations of the curse's power in recent times. ”

Matilda's eyes grew serious.

"According to the analysis of the royal advisors, if the disaster caused by those dark priests broke out, the entire Augustus family would suffer a huge loss, and all this did not break out in the end......" Rosetta said slowly, watching Matilda's reaction with scrutinizing eyes, "Gawain Cecil has his own purpose, he is not providing us with 'gratuitous help', but in fact, we owe him a favor. ”

Matilda's expression was a little strange, as if she didn't know how to respond to her father's words, but after a few seconds of silence and thought, she still shook her head: "Favors can be repaid with favors, and the interests of the empire are different." ”

"This is the best answer you've ever given today," Rosetta's serious expression softened, "go about your own business—you're tired from talking to my chattering father for so long." ”

"I've always learned a lot from talking to you," Matilda stood up and bowed deeply to Rosetta, "then I'll step back first, Father." ”

Rosetta waved her hand slightly, and Matilda left the small hall shrouded in sunlight and the scent of flowers.

The room fell silent, except for the bright morning sun accompanying Rosetta Augustus, who was no longer young, and the ruler of Typhon sat quietly in the silence for a moment before slowly turning his gaze to the round table in front of him.

A large, delicately printed, gilded book lay quietly, bathed in bright sunshine not often seen in Aldenan.

It was a gift that Matilda had brought back from Cecil, and it had been given to her by the "Gawain Cecil".

"You're so lucky," Rosetta chuckled suddenly, and as she reached for the book, she muttered to herself, "All of Aldenan is coming to meet you." ”

His gaze swept between the pages, and the neat lines of words met his eyes—

“…… The state is an orderly collective, a collection of people and land, linked by a consistent cultural identity and interest appeal......

"Maintaining social stability and development is one of the basic missions of the country's ruling class......"

In the quiet little hall, slowly only the sound of turning the pages remained.

After a long time, a sigh full of inexplicable complex emotions sounded in the small hall: "I can understand what you want to say......"

……

"Sir Golosh, Lady Azarena, I hope you are used to staying in the Autumn Palace," Gawain said with a smile in the reception room of Cecil Palace, looking at the Dragonborn ambassador in front of him, "We have limited knowledge of the customs and customs of the Holy Dragon Principality, so if there is any inadequacy, please feel free to ask." ”

"No, your hospitality has pleased us very well," Sir Gorosh said with a light-hearted smile, "and we could feel Cecil's sincerity and friendliness—a very good start as a first contact. ”

"That's good," Gawain nodded, yesterday's greetings and politeness have ended, and today is the time to talk about business, so he quickly got to the point, "Then let's get straight to the point - the Cecil Empire hopes to establish a closer relationship with the Holy Dragon Principality, not just a single business, not just a few more envoys, we hope to establish a relatively stable commercial channel between the two countries, which is good for the living standards of the people of the two countries and the national economy." ”

Sir Gorosh clearly appreciated Gawain's straightforward way of speaking, and after realizing that the nascent "Cecil Empire" was not full of red tape and clichés as described in the sources, his attitude became relaxed and straightforward: "Frankly, this is exactly what Grand Duke Balogel wants—although the Duchy of the Holy Dragon does not communicate with the outside world very often, this does not mean that we are closed and stubborn, we are also curious about the outside world, and we are also interested in your country's magic technology. But I wonder what kind of 'commercial corridor' you have in mind between the two countries? Or to put it more bluntly, what are you going to sell us for? ”

The corners of Gawain's mouth curled slightly, revealing a sincere and pleasant smile.

When facing business partners, he always smiles sincerely.

"Sir, you were on our magic train when you came—were you interested in it?"

Sir Gorosh and Azalena glanced at each other.

"Ah......h ”

Gao Wen smiled and motioned to the attendant on the side to send a few documents: "Then we have a complete set of investment plans for your interest." ”

(Recommend a book, "The Legend of the Heroes of the Border Song Dynasty" written by the giant panda who planted flowers, the author is a book friend of Liming, a story of farming in the late Northern Song Dynasty with a martial arts system, you can support it with friendship.) ）

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