"Do you have a crush?" Arnold asked abruptly.

Seemingly startled by Arnold's question, Michelia's face turned red for a moment, and then pulled her face down. "Cousin Arnold, I don't think this is something to joke about. ”

"Do you mean no? Arnold bowed his head slightly, but his expression did not change, "I thought that your reluctance to marry Mr. Alfred would be due to the fact that you already have a sweetheart." ”

The topic seemed to upset Michelia, who frowned and stared coldly at Arnold.

"May I think so—you would say that it was because your sister had a sweetheart that she didn't want to marry Louie, and you put that reason on me. ”

"If this topic has upset you, allow me to apologize to you. Seeing that Michelia was really angry, Arnold apologized to the other party very decisively, "However, please don't speculate about my sister at will, that would be rude too." ”

"Indeed, I'm very sorry. Michelia casually apologized, "But when you think about it, it seems that our positions are very similar, at least we are not willing to accept such a marriage arrangement, do we?"

"Yes, if you have any comments in this regard, I can convey them to Louis on your behalf, and of course I will not mention your name if you wish. ”

"Uh-huh......" Michelia fell silent, her eyes swept over Arnold from time to time, although she was calm on the surface, she should be very excited inside.

"I have also spoken with the Duke of Æthelwolf today, and that Duke is quite open-minded, and he must be able to accept your request, so please don't worry too much. Seeing that Michelia was moved, Arnold continued.

"Actually, there's not much to say. Michelia smiled bitterly, "Even if I push back this time, will I be able to hide forever in the future?" ”

"It's up to you, I'm more than willing to help you, but I can't give you an idea. If there's anything you would like me to help with, please feel free to come to me. ”

"That's a great gratitude, cousin Arnold. Michelia sighed.

"You're welcome. Arnold humbly said, and then prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute!" Michelia suddenly stopped Arnold, "and one more thing...... Probably I need to tell you. ”

Arnold stopped, looking at his cousin in some surprise.

"Speak, please. ”

"This is ......," Michelia took a breath and tried her best to hide her hesitation, "I shouldn't have told you, but I must repay you for your kindness, so ...... After you have heard me say this, please don't tell anyone that I told you. ”

Arnold was stunned, seeing that the other party was so serious, he also quietly looked around, and after making sure that no one could hear their conversation, Arnold nodded to Michelia and signaled that the other party could speak.

Louis ...... My brother has a bad personality, as you know. He doesn't seem to get along with you, and while I don't know why, I can feel it. I have heard that he is very unhappy that you have rejected the marriage proposal this time, and that in order to deal with your obstruction, he is ready to let Uncle Tigerman interfere in the marriage decision of your two sisters in the name of his father. ”

Arnold clenched his fists.

"Really...... Sure enough, it's the method that Louis will use. ”

Arnold's expression made Michelia a little incomprehensible, she didn't know whether it was an angry expression or a smug expression, the position of her facial features made Michelia feel very awkward, but to describe it specifically, she couldn't say.

Michelia couldn't help but feel a little scared of Arnold, and the emotions emanating from this cousin made Michelia feel a deep fear.

"Thank you for telling me this information, rest assured, I won't tell anyone that you told me that. Arnold turned, and the staggering back was like a limp monster in the night, and with each slow footstep approached the victim with fear.

Michelia didn't know for a moment if she was right to tell Arnold about it.

————————————————————

"So, what are you going to discuss today?"

When the meeting reconvened the next day, Louis still looked like a wist, and did not seem to have rested well, his eyes were only half-open, and he did not pay any attention to the other two dukes.

"I think there should be no problem with the three families guarding Vodahara, although there are still specific details to be discussed, but those can be handed over to our officers. The Duke of Æthelwolf, unconcerned about Louis's rude state, kept his seriousness and said, "I think that now we need to solve another problem. ”

"A question about the Imperial Council?" Arnold quickly thought of what the Duke of Æthelwolf was referring to.

"That's right. Duke Æthelwolf nodded vigorously, "Although the royal family does not have much reason to obstruct it in this case, they will definitely not be happy to see such a critical moment, and the decisive battle related to the safety of the empire will be missed by our three dukes." So, just in case, it's better to deal with it. ”

"How to deal with it? From the Imperial Capital to White Horse City, it will take a month at the earliest, and the time it takes to get to Lionheart and Vodahara, not to mention the time it takes to get to Lionheart and Vodahara, we will inform the Imperial Capital now, I am afraid that we will not be able to wait for them to send a reply, and the decisive battle with the White Land people has already begun." ”

"Yes, so we should send people directly to the imperial capital. Not a single messenger, but someone who can really represent our tripartite position. ”

"Well, such a man......" Arnold glanced at Louis, "where are we going to find it?"

The Duke of Æthelwolf also followed Arnold's eyes and glanced at Louis, since the beginning of the meeting, the Duke of Snowen has been in a lack of interest, and his eyes are half-closed as if he has not woken up, so that from the beginning of the meeting to the present, almost Arnold and Duke Æthelwolf are talking.

"One of the three of us must go to the Imperial Capital, so that we can be qualified enough to represent Northway, Fegraf and Tamska, and the other two families can send enough people to go together, so that as long as we maintain our common advance and retreat and take the same position, then there will be nothing to say on the Imperial Capital's side. ”

Arnold thought for a moment and nodded in agreement with Duke Æthelwolf's proposal.

"So the last question, who's going to go?"

There was a brief silence in the church, and the answer to this question was already obvious.

"I'm not going. ”

Louis yawned, his present posture was completely different from his usual attitude, and he completely ignored the elegance and reserve of the nobility, and the reason for his behavior, Arnold and the Duke of Æthelwolf, also easily came out, obviously, Louis did not want to be involved in the matter.

After all, Tamska is a branch of the royal family of Stor, and even if they later have a disagreement with the royal family, they will not be willing to make the relationship too stiff.

Arnold glanced at Duke Æthelwolf, and he now had some doubts about whether the two had already discussed the content of today's meeting last night, after all, Louis's performance was a little too prescient.

"His Excellency the Duke of Æthelwolff wants to sit in the city of Vodahara, so naturally he can't leave easily. Thinking of Northway's eight-sided exquisiteness, Arnold also knew that he couldn't escape, "Since Louis doesn't want to go, then I'll go to the imperial capital." ”

The Duke of Æthelwolf nodded expressionlessly, and did not say anything, but Louis glanced at Arnold strangely, as if he was sneering proudly.

"So, who will Tamska and Northway send with me?" Arnold then asked, "If I'm not enough to represent Tamska and Northway, you'll need to pick the right one." ”

"Well, indeed, the candidate should be carefully considered. Juan is my own brother, and he has enough weight to represent Northway's position, and besides, you know him, and it would be better for you to go with him. ”

Arnold could roughly guess that Northway had only been crowned the Eastern Territory for only two generations, unlike Fegraf and Tamska who had a large number of unrelated side branches. They had more direct family members than Tamska and Figraf, but their families were limited, so the only person who had enough standing to represent Northvi and was not so necessary in the coming war was Juan, Bishop of Voldahara.

"And what about Tamska?" Arnold looked at Louis, who Arnold would send out compared to the guessing Northway. Similar to the situation of the Arnold family, since the turmoil in Whitehorse two years ago, the number of people in Tamskyka's immediate family has withered a lot, except for Louis himself, only his own sister Michelia. And, of course, their mother, Lady Villanica, but that lady was over fifty years old, and Arnold didn't think Louis would let his mother endure the long and bumpy journey.

The Duke of Æthelwolf also looked at Louis with some curiosity, and like Arnold, he could not guess who Tamska would send to the imperial capital.

"How's Michelia?" Louis stretched and sat up a little straighter, "Didn't you have a good conversation with her last night? ”

Arnold frowned, although he was not too worried, but the news revealed by Louis still made Arnold a little uncomfortable.

"I have no problem with your choice, but I hope you don't misunderstand anything. Arnold stared at Louie, as if trying to detect something in the other man's lazy expression, "I have no intention of explaining anything to you, so please don't think too much about it." ”

"Really?" Louis replied in a smug voice, not even looking at Arnold.

"Ahem—" Duke Æthelwolf coughed, interrupting the delicate standoff between Louis and Arnold, "I have to mention another thing about this, Your Excellency Duke Arnold. ”

"Speak, please. Arnold frowned, and he roughly guessed what the other party was going to say.

"The people we are considering now who can represent the position of the family, in fact, there is a way to solve it very well, if the three of us form marriages with each other as proposed before, then each other, as relatives, will more or less have a representative position, and the advance and retreat will naturally be the same. In this way, it is impossible for the imperial capital to accuse anything, so ......" Duke Æthelwolf paused, his expression became extremely serious, "Can you please think about it again?"

"I refuse. Arnold didn't think for a second more and flatly refused.

Even the Duke of Æthelwolf, whose face was not very good at this moment.