The return of the "Frost Queen" to the Duchy of Dlaman was scheduled for the beginning of March, and although there was still a full month to go, preparations were already in full swing. One of the most important things to prepare was the gift to the Duchy of Dramain on behalf of the Kingdom of Sarins.

Everyone knew that Queen Christine became queen in the name of Prince Walter's wife, but they never had a wedding, and even Prince Walter did not sit on the throne of the kingdom at any moment, so what should have been a political marriage slowly became an uncertain matter.

According to information from Wintertown, there are many people in the Duchy of Deramain who believe that Queen Christine is in name only, and they want the Regent of Bradley to marry the queen so that they can truly accept the kingdom of Sarins. Otherwise, in the eyes of these people, Queen Christine and the Duchy of Dramain will always be just a vassal and puppet of the Kingdom of Salins, and it will be difficult to achieve a true union.

When the new Minister of Intelligence, Reeves, said this, some of the kingdom's nobles immediately burst out laughing. They believe that the Duchy of Deramain is indeed a country with no sense of existence and no dignity, and that the people there are just pigs and dogs waiting to be slaughtered, and that it is the best way for the Regent of Bradley to take the Duchy away. As these nobles had said, Bradley's previous plan was indeed to complete the annexation of the Duchy of Deramain. In the plan, more than half of the territory of the Duchy of Dramain will become a buffer zone for the Kingdom of Sallins to the north of the continent, and the other part will be crowded with principalities, becoming a pawn to maintain the region of the Three Duchyes in the future.

"Don't underestimate the Duchy of Deramain," Bradley was used to sitting at the top of his seat, the throne that had belonged to the king had been removed, because Koth never attended the internal councils of the Kingdom of Salins, "Nobles like Roberto still have a certain amount of strength, and they are not completely at the mercy of the Duke of Wintercity. ”

"But Lord Regent, your plan is aimed at those nobles who have real power!" The other noble ministers had already made a detailed analysis of Bradley's strategy, and most of them slapped themselves on the head fiercely, why didn't they come up with such a brilliant plan in the first place. However, they were more surprised by Bradley's ambition and ruthlessness, after all, the Duchy of Dramain had always been so obedient to the Kingdom of Salins, even subservient. However, in the conquest of the continent by the Kingdom of Salins, the first thing to do is to take away this principality that has always been dependent on the kingdom, and those principalities who regard the Kingdom of Salins as their backers will definitely feel extremely desperate.

Avi only silently listened to the regent's arrangement for Koth to return to the Duchy of Deraman, and he saw that the former ministers of the other princes' factions such as Feremon had already shown a piece of loyalty, and it had not been a long time since there had been such a scene of unity and joining hands with the outside world, at least during the reign of King Byron, the role of the Kingdom of Sallins on the continent was like a sheep hiding in the depths of the mountain col, and even the cry seemed weak.

Bradley folded a note with handwriting all over it, sealed it with wax himself, and asked Eggsy to give it to Avi. Avi took it carefully, it was something he needed to do when he got to Wintertown, and it must have been clearly written, for Bradley had already reworked the detailed steps of the plan a few days before.

"Remember, everybody, you can't let the Queen know about this, and if someone leaks the contents of the plan," Bradley's blue eyes swept over Avi's face, "it would be tantamount to treason." ”

"Yes!"

Avi and Big-Nosed Fan walked side by side towards "Hot and Sour Blackberry", and Fan quickly sensed that Avi was preoccupied, but he still held back his curiosity and waited until he sat in the box before asking in a low voice.

"Lord Knight, you have both prestige and endless gold coins now, why are you still sad?" Fan wiped his nose with his fingers, and the smell of fragrant flesh came into his nose more clearly.

"I'm under a lot of pressure, too..."Avi didn't dare to let his hand get close to the place where the note was placed, and he made eye contact with the other customers in the hotel from time to time, as if they were all staring at him, paying attention to his every move.

"What's the pressure? Escorting our 'Frost Queen' back to her mother's house! That's a great honor, and besides, you... Koth isn't very close, and the Lord Regent of Bradley must know this to let you go as the Queen's personal knight. ”

Avi's eyes widened, "You all know?"

"Good news is like a kite, the string is broken all of a sudden!" Fan crossed his hands behind his head with a smug expression, "Don't forget that I usually take on private work to collect information... But then again, the 'cat nest' has recently been resurrected, and there are fewer 'cats' there and more 'masters'. ”

"Then you're too busy. ”

"Not really, because the rest of the 'line' has become very cautious, and now the 'cat nest' only holds one rally a week at most. ”

Avi had already revealed to Fan that the three "threads" in charge of everything in the "Cat's Nest" were the late Queen Rosemander, the previous Minister of Intelligence Hecker and the new Minister of Intelligence Reeves, and now the masked man has taken over everything logically, and he has become an important figure in the Kingdom of Sallins, both black and white, and things on and off the table may not escape his eyes. But because of this, Avi is particularly concerned about the members of the Capital Overseer, aren't those guys afraid of Reeves's power, or will the members of the Kestrel Academy who have united become the new force of the Kingdom of Sarins and affect the fate of the country in the future?

Van was talking to himself about some inconsequential information, mostly related to Bradley's covert handling of the diehards. Avi had long known that Bradley was not as lenient as he appeared, especially when it came to other regional nobles who were ostensibly loyal to the Queen and the Regent - just as he did with the way he managed his army, with clear and unambiguous rewards and punishments.

"But that's all a small thing, and in the future, the kingdom of Sallins will become more united, united in... Our Queen's subordinates, Avi, you really chose the most correct choice in the first place..."The big-nosed Fan poured a few sips of Creep wine after saying that, he is usually not easy to get drunk, but today he was obviously affected by some emotions, and his face was already flushed.

It didn't take long for Fan to fall completely drunk, and Avi was thinking about how to "carry" him home when a burly man walked into the box with a chair without a backrest.

"Can I sit here?"

Avi was about to respond that this was a box, but the somewhat familiar voice stopped his open mouth. The man who sat down casually was wearing a brownish-gray cloak, wearing the coat common to long-distance travelers, and his leather boots were stained with sand, and if he hadn't pulled down the hood of the cloak, Avi would have guessed that the other party was a traveler who wanted to eat.

"You... You are..."

"It's not the first time we've met, Avi. His long, jet-black hair, like Field, was slightly tied up and slanted over his broad shoulders, and his brow bones, cheekbones, nose, and chin were exactly the same as Field's, as if they were printed out of a mold.

"You're... The former head of the Knights of the Iron Wall..."

"Ruthless and ruthless bloody soldiers," Faulkner casually placed his cloak at his feet, "those who once hated me call me that, and maybe one day you'll change your name to me." ”