◈ Episode 435 Knights Call (1)
Mandelina’s expression hardened.
Considering her usual behavior, it meant that this incident was serious.
It was clear that the kingdom Bellaluna was talking about was Renard-Tirone, the kingdom of the elves.
That means the elves are preparing for war.
‘It’s not just impossible.’
Mandelina has seen a lot of the darker side of the world while wandering around.
The world seems peaceful now, but there were quite a few time bombs that didn’t know when to explode.
One of them was the elven kingdom.
‘It’s been over 100 years since the tribal war broke out. It was a long time ago. But that’s from the human point of view, not the elves.’
Elves have a much longer average lifespan than humans.
100 years is a distant past that will be recorded in history for humans, but for most elves, it was a short time that they actually experienced.
Mandelina was well aware of how much the elves hated humans, having gone through a war at the time.
That’s why the Empire’s intelligence department especially kept an eye on the elves’ forest.
Recently, pursuers from the elven kingdom have shown suspicious movements in the capital.
However, it could not be seen as the starting point of the war.
Obviously it was
‘I haven’t seen anything like that until now, so suddenly?’
Mandelina asked Bellaluna again.
“Are you not mistaken about something?”
“uh… … I wish I did too. Looking at the information stored on the network, it doesn’t seem like it.”
“Please explain.”
“There is a family that currently has the greatest influence in the kingdom. It is said that it is a family of seven roots, and among them, Leafre is the family closest to the World Tree.”
“Refre. I heard and saw.”
“The Riffre family is gathering troops.”
“So you’re saying that a war is about to happen?”
“no. It’s not quite there yet. The rest of the family’s forces don’t move. No matter how refre is, you can’t exert all your influence on other families.”
The only thing the Leafre family can handle is the Shade Warden.
The rest of the families had the same will, but could not agree enough to start a war together.
On the contrary, there was also a family that argued for peace and stood on the opposite side of the Leafre family.
One of them was also the Dentis family.
“That’s why the Leafre family has remained calm until now. But suddenly moving like this means that there is something.”
“What is that?”
“I don’t know the details because the information is still completely locked down, but I have some guesses. Perhaps he’s got the hang of full authority over the World Tree.”
“Total authority. Was there anything like that?”
“Currently, me and the elven family accessing the World Tree, reading and storing information is only using a small part of the World Tree’s abilities. Even I am secretly taking a detour.”
Mandelina suddenly felt uneasy.
“What if you get that full right?”
“I don’t know too much about that. However, there is a story passed down like a legend among elves.”
“Legend?”
“I don’t know if it’s real or fake, but if you use the true power of the World Tree, you can turn the entire continent into a forest.”
Bellaluna’s words were certainly hard to believe.
But I couldn’t just ignore it.
Considering the mysterious power of the forest where elves live, there was a possibility.
At the time of the Tribal War, the forest of the elves boasted an iron fortress.
Even with all kinds of high-explosive gunpowder and fire, the forest did not burn.
Mandelina was not unaware of the power of the World Tree.
What if the extent of such forests increases?
What if the world was covered with forests where trees that cannot be cut by axes or burned by fire grow thickly?
It would truly be a paradise for elves.
Horses are the elves’ paradise.
It was hell for the other species.
“Then what is that full authority?”
“I don’t know the details so far. However, the trackers got their heads around and captured the circumstances in sending the information back to their home country. But the timing is a bit strange.”
“What is the time zone?”
“The Church of Lumensis came here. After they and the elves met, the Church of Lumensis left the capital, and the very next day, the home country received calls.”
“That means.”
“yes. The church has something to do with this.”
Mandelina lifted the communicator with a serious face.
* * *
“hmm. is it. i get it.”
Eileen, who was contacted by Mandelina, apologized politely to the guest after ending the communication.
“I apologize for contacting you on the way because it was urgent.”
“no. I was the one who asked for a meeting that wasn’t originally planned, so you don’t have to worry so much.”
It was Ekaterina who returned the noble answer.
An imperial reception room reserved for valuable guests.
There, Eileen, the current princess, and Ekaterina, the queen of Utah, sat facing each other.
“You invited me like this even on a sudden visit, which is something I should be thankful for.”
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“When you say that, I feel relieved too. Since you came all the way here, I want you to rest enough.”
The offer was polite and appreciated, but Ekaterina gently declined.
“Thank you for the offer, but I don’t think I will be staying long in the capital. Because there are places I need to go to.”
“Anywhere you need to go.”
“This is the Seorn Magic Academy adjacent to the large city of Ledervelk.”
Ceorn.
With those words, a figure of a person passed through Eileen’s mind.
However, Eileen did not show it and asked cautiously.
“Looks like you have some business with Seorn.”
“yes. There is someone I must meet. He received help from the Mystic Night, and also wants to have a good relationship with Se Orn.”
Eileen nodded slightly.
indeed. I wondered why the queen of the kingdom of Utah had come all the way here, and she understood that reason.
‘Because he’s someone I should meet.’
Eileen knew what had happened on the mysterious night.
Eileen’s eyes narrowed naturally as she looked at Ekaterina.
‘Do you really know the man’s identity?’
Considering where Ludger was last active before coming over to the Empire, he had no choice but to doubt it.
Machiavelli, a mercenary who led the civil war to victory.
That was Rudger’s identity when he was active in the Kingdom of Utah.
At that time, as a mercenary, Ludgar joined Catherine’s faction in front of him and led the civil war to victory.
Since he did not fight as a single soldier, but was called a war hero, the relationship between the two must have been quite close.
‘A little, I feel bad.’
Eileen doesn’t know what happened between Ludger and Ekaterina.
I just came across the fact as information, but I didn’t hear the detailed story contained in it.
At first, I had no idea.
However, meeting Ekaterina in person changed my mind slightly.
‘Isn’t it really beautiful?’
Eileen was confident that she was not inferior to her beauty.
However, the standards of beauty in the world were not perfect.
It was undeniable that Ekaterina was also very attractive as a woman.
I couldn’t help but feel a bit of a sense of defeat.
Of course, Ekaterina, who was sitting across from him, had the same thoughts.
‘oh my god. I’ve heard rumors, but she’s such a perfect princess. That’s amazing.’
Ekaterina was now desperately concentrating on wearing a mask to keep her true nature from spilling out.
Her original purpose was to visit Seorn, but she had no intention of coming all the way to Devalk Castle.
However, the position of head of a country was not so light.
Many people were paying attention to her steps.
If you arrive in the Empire and visit Seorn, who is not the first member of the Imperial Family, the Empire will think you have been ignored.
If that happens, the diplomatic problem becomes serious.
That’s why it was to show his face once, even nominally.
‘Of course, there was also personal curiosity beyond the sense of duty.’
The first princess Eileen sitting in front of me is the most powerful woman who will become the next emperor of the empire.
Above all, he was also a person close to Rudger, who could be called a benefactor.
‘The man didn’t reveal exactly where he came from, but unless you’re an idiot, you can’t know.’
Rudgar is the Imperial Intelligence Service.
No, he was clearly a special agent for a much more secretive organization than that.
Even the identity and skills that are not properly known to the world.
Above all, the biggest proof was that he was now a teacher in Seorn.
It’s not even a place where the Empire can come and go at will, so there’s no way you can disguise your identity.
Having the status of a teacher of Seorn, of course, means that the Empire has a strong backing.
It was Eileen von Exilion who was sitting right in front of her.
‘The benefactor’s boss at work. Besides, she’s even a great beauty. For me, who is lacking, I have no choice but to be intimidated in many ways.’
So I had no choice but to wear a mask desperately to not show any gaps right away.
Looking at Aileen, he felt a sense of defeat, but it must be proof that he was still lacking.
“I think you’ve heard something more important than that, but I can’t take up any more of your time.”
“Is it obvious?”
Eileen let out a bitter laugh.
His actions were obviously disrespectful to Catherine, but Catherine understood her with a generous heart, befitting a person in charge of a country.
‘what. I just poked it as an excuse, did it work well?’
Indeed, Ekaterina thought to herself that she was fortunate and rose slowly from her seat.
“Next time, let’s take a little more serious time. The tea I drank today was really delicious.”
“You can come by any time. Our empire is willing to have friendly relations with the Kingdom of Utah.”
She is the woman whom Ludger pushed during the civil war.
It must mean that at least in terms of personality, he was never angular.
So Ekaterina left the drawing room.
I will leave for Leather Velcro with the escorts waiting outside.
Left alone, Eileen had no time to be distracted by other things.
The important thing now was the report from Mandelina.
‘Elf kingdom. I thought it was showing suspicious movements from before, but is it gradually trying to reveal its true color?’
Eileen shook her head and ordered the knight waiting outside.
“Call Sir Pasius.”
“Me, Princess. Currently, Knight Pasius has been called and is away.”
“calling? Who the hell called you?”
“They said that Captain Lutus Wardot called him personally.”
In response, Eileen recalled the encounter with Lutus at Ledervelk the other day.
Shortly after meeting him, rumors had spread from Ledervelk that starlight had passed over the city.
It was clear what had happened.
However, the aftermath wasn’t that great for Lutus’ step forward.
‘That means I didn’t have a big fight with that man and ended it amicably.’
Was there a change of heart there?
Lutus, who had been quiet until now, came out to the imperial castle and called Pasius.
Are you going to ask me something?
“And again… … .”
The article who was reporting at that time added an afterword.
“What else?”
“It is said that Captain Lutus called all the other captains of the 3 knights.”
“All three great knights?”
“yes. So, the current situation is that all the knight commanders are gathered in one place.”
Eileen frowned at those words.
What are you thinking?
* * *
Pasius, who came out to the arena, greeted the passengers who came first and exchanged greetings lightly.
“I thought I was the only one coming, but the Guardian Guard also came.”
“You can call me Terry as normal. It is a title that is too much for me.”
Terrina Ryan Howl.
As the leader of Nightcrawler, one of the three major knights of the Empire, she answered Pasius that way.
Terrina was not naturally this kind of person to others, but if the opponent was a master-class knight like herself, she tended to treat them appropriately.
Especially if it’s a comrade who fought together in the basement of the capital this time.
Next to Terina was Enya, her lieutenant.
Enya recognized Pasius and immediately bowed politely.
“Hmm. Rather, the fact that Lord Terry is here means there was a call from Captain Lutus, right?”
“yes. So, after all, Sir Pasius… … .”
“I’ve been calling and coming out all the time. But judging from the flow, it doesn’t seem like only the two of us sang.”
“I just had the same thought. Considering the personality of Captain Lutus, the person who will be here is probably… … .”
Both of them suddenly felt anxious at the same time.
In fact, the minimum standard for a summoned person is a master-level knight.
Of course, there were more master-class knights in the empire than the two gathered here.
A typical example is the knight commander of the three major knights of the empire.
Terrina’s expression hardened terribly, and Pasius was also afraid to make a puzzled expression.
Someone entered the arena.
“Yeah. How much is this? Lately, I’ve been enjoying the sea breeze, but now that I come inland, I see all the familiar faces.”
The two master-class knights did not respond to that greeting.
Only Enman opened his eyes wide at the newcomer.
“Director Johan Okeas… … .”
John Okeas.
He was the leader of the Stella Siren Knights, who protect the seas of the Empire.
