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After investigating all the servants at the Emperor's side, Hollow began to investigate the Imperial Chancellors who had met with Electrochem IV. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 According to the current investigation results, these servants were personally selected by His Majesty the Emperor, but after careful investigation, these people are all from the Oguna Empire, and more than eighty percent of them are born and raised in Glynko, unless they are bought, otherwise they cannot have anything to do with the change in the body of Electrium IV.

The financial status of these servants, as well as the situation of their families, were also examined, and there was no evidence that these people had ever been bought. So before setting out to sign the peace treaty, Hollow decided to look suspiciously at the ministers who had approached Electrem IV.

Since Hollow didn't know what kind of changes had taken place in the emperor's body, he was sure that this body was no longer the body that had grown up in front of Hollow year after year. It was different, but wasn't it true, as Goliath had said, that Electrom IV was no longer alive?

What Horlow fears most is that the Emperor of the Oguna Empire has now become a puppet of some ambitious people, whether the body is magically turned or someone else's, Horlow fears about this possibility. However, since the illness of Electrean IV, the most powerful man in the continent has never issued a single order, and from the perspective of the general public, the prime minister Hollow, who is in charge of the affairs of the Oguna Empire, is the most powerful man in the continent.

In Hollow's investigation notebook, there was a large blank space, which was originally used to record the unusual performance of Electrium IV, but after nearly half a month of investigation, there was nothing unusual except for the strange pupils I saw last time, and the rotten maggots I had seen. If there is one thing that is most unusual, it is when Horlow sees the rotten Electrosomem IV for the first time, and the other party does not explain it at all. By the time Hollow went to meet Electrochem IV for the second time, he had already reverted to his original state, which made Hollow think in his heart that it was just his hallucination, a hallucination of panic caused by Duke Popo's poisoning.

"It's definitely not a hallucination, what I saw that time and the second time was real," Hollow was almost deceived by his psychological suggestion again, he immediately shook his head and whispered to himself, "I must investigate the truth, why did His Majesty become like this, and what is the purpose of the mastermind behind the scenes." ”

With this question in mind, Hollow began to write down all the people who had entered the palace to meet Electrem IV during these two years. These people were identified by the palace guards and servants, and their entry into the Emperor's chambers was recorded, and the most frequent audience with Electrium IV was none other than Hollow himself, who had been in five times.

Saresa twice, Bloomer once, Camp once, Giovanni once, Daron once, Bernardo once... Hollow couldn't find anyone who had entered the palace twice. Most of these people were important officials of the Empire, and only a few of the nobles of the Empire had come to Grimmko and met with Electrium IV, as if the nobles of other fiefdoms were unwilling to come here.

Hollow knew that there could be no problem with Bloomer and Kemp, as they had come with him to meet the Emperor. Giovanni, as the interim presiding judge, now has more seniority, and he has even more seniority to succumb to Daron and become the second presiding judge, and there are not many doubts about him. Dalon, who had officially ended Giovanni's transition a few months earlier, and became the chief inquisitor of the Oguna Empire, could also be excluded, as he had only come to meet Electrem IV at the time of his official inauguration.

His Majesty the Emperor, whom Saresa and her father, Duke Bernardo, met with, and with Horlo's knowledge of the Wasteland Python, no one was more loyal to the Empire than her, and she could never be behind it.

In the end, Hollow did not find a very suspicious object, and the emperor, who has been living in seclusion and rarely leaves the palace, is like a bird in a cage, "protected" by an iron cage. If there is one object of suspicion to be found from these people, it is a group meeting a year and a half ago.

The meeting was arranged by one of the presiding judges, who was also present at the time, including Giovanni, now the second presiding judge. The participants were all privileged mercenaries loyal to the Oguna Empire, a total of eight regimental commanders. There are three mercenary groups that belong to the first-class privileged mercenaries, and the other five mercenary groups belong to the second-level privileged mercenaries, and they all have very much power within the empire's territory, so they are also becoming more and more lazy, enjoying back and forth between the lord's banquets, and gradually forgetting their duties.

The reason why Hollow would have regarded this group meeting as a suspicious object was because several of the servants at the time clearly remembered that one of the mercenary leaders had been emitting a foul stench all the time. Hollow remembered the stench he had smelled when he saw Electroxholm IV rotting and maggots crawling. Goliath also mentioned the foul smell when she appeared in the cemetery, and I wonder if there is any connection between these coincidences.

Hollow began to re-examine the inquisitors who controlled the Imperial Gendarmes, the harshest of officials, though far inferior to the regular army. But they are growing, especially Talon, nicknamed "God's Judge," who is growing in power and seems to really think of himself as a god like the Father.

However, even if the Imperial Chancellor were to investigate these men who were in charge of the civilian population, he would have to return safely from the West before he could do so.

After twenty-two days of travel, Hollo bypassed the snow-capped Split Mountains and finally arrived at the Golden Hoof City. There, the Marquis Baldwin gave a grand welcome and prepared a lot of flattery.

The renewed peace agreement was to be signed in the city of Yiwang, and the East Oguna Empire sent the prime minister Hollo, who rarely left the capital of Grinko, and the East Oguna Empire sent the regent Shumo. The two sides can be said to be full of sincerity, especially the West Oguna Empire, after all, the Righteous King City is within the territory of the East Oguna Empire, and Xiu Mo is taking a risk this time.

Hollow himself did not prepare any traps, because domestic affairs were enough headaches, and he did not want to cause any more trouble for the Empire. Marquis Baldwin, who acted as a matchmaker, also said that the meeting was full of sincerity and no one had other intentions. He assured that the signing of the peace treaty was definitely a win-win option, and his statement made Hollow 100% sure that the Marquis of Golden Hoof City was not trustworthy, and that he was just a self-preservationist who saw the wind and steered the rudder.

"Master Xiumo has arrived. Wearing a heavy cloak and tall and tall figure, Xiumo stepped into the council chamber, and behind him there were some famous generals of the Oguna Empire, but now these people have become enemies.

Hollow stood up with his arm on the arm of his chair, "Lord Xiumo, fortunately." ”

Xiumo stretched out his leather-gloved hand, "Lord Hollo, we haven't seen each other for a long time, but your appearance hasn't changed at all. ”

"You too. ”

Horlo, who was not much older than Xiumo, looked particularly old, both in shape and appearance, he looked like a sick old man of seventy years old, not a politician in his fifties. But appearance is not the decisive factor in political negotiations, strength is.

Hollow and Xiumo didn't talk much about anything else, and as soon as they sat down, they spread out the matter of extending the peace treaty, which also embarrassed the Marquis Baldwin, who had wanted to lighten the mood.

Dialogue was what Hollow was best at, and whether it was to his subordinates or envoys to other countries, the important minister of the empire, who often worked late into the night, made it clear that it was necessary to continue the peace treaty, but it was also necessary for the Theoguna Empire to pay more sincerity. Hollow demanded that the Theoguna Empire send hostages to Glynco, and that the Minor Emperor Manfret admit that his father, Electrosomem IV, was still alive.

Such a request is not too much, after all, Electro Somme IV is indeed alive and well in the eyes of the people of the empire, and the emperor who appeared in the public eye for the last time is still speaking loudly to the people. However, the regent of the Theoguna Empire did not hesitate and rejected Hollow's request outright.

"The matter of hostages can be considered, but it must be premised on the fact that both sides send hostages," when Xiu Mo spoke, Leland, the captain of the guard behind him, would keep staring at Hollow's neck, so that Hollow did not dare to swallow his saliva easily, "But Your Majesty Manfret, he is already the king of a country, and what he said will never be taken back." ”

"Do you want to blind your own eyes, Your Majesty, he is still healthy..."

"Is that your majesty, and is Electrium IV standing before us, has he been inspected and confirmed by us?"

Xiu Mo's deputy, Stanley, immediately answered: "In the past two years, the emperor who lives in Glyncoe has not even dealt with a single government affairs and has not issued a single order, so such an emperor can also be called the king of a country?"

The repeated humiliations of Electrium IV by Shumo and Stanley were too much for Hollow to bear, and he wanted to leave the table, but he was accustomed to patience and forced his anger down and continued to negotiate other details.

Eventually, those in power agreed to sign a two-year peace agreement, which would be automatically extended for a total of three years, provided that there was no military friction between the two sides for a year. The two countries also allowed free trade and established basic diplomatic ties, and to some extent, the Eastern Oguna Empire was tantamount to acquiescing in the existence of another Oguna Empire, which was Horlow's final bottom line.

Peace comes at a price, and Hollow knows this, he knows what the empire needs most now, and who the biggest enemy is.

"Lord Hollow. As Hollow left the table, Golia's voice suddenly came from the side of the aisle.

"Goliath... What are you doing here? You're not the one you should be here today. ”

Golia, dressed in a robe with her hood over her head, ignored the other party's question.

"You should find out the truth soon, right?"

“...”

"When you find out who is behind it, remember to share this important information with me, as a reward for my reminder to you. ”

"Goliath, what else do you know?!"

"I also know that we have a common enemy. ”