"Bring them to my study," Timothy ordered. After a brief hesitation, he decided to receive them in the palace anyway. No matter what, it would be rude to receive messengers in the bas.e.m.e.nt.

He was clueless as to why the Kingdom of Dawn would send messengers to the Kingdom of Graycastle at this time, especially with no prior notification. Had it been one of the other two kingdoms instead, it would most certainly be a request for aid—either for food or materials to resist the winter cold. There was a saying among the n.o.bility that people who made contact in summer were friends, while those who did in winter were enemies. It held true among all of the kingdoms, except for the Kingdom of Dawn. Although its territory was small, it did not lack in materials, and, in fact, it sold a large amount of food and cloth to the Kingdom of Graycastle every year in exchange for perfumes and crystals.

Timothy shook his head discreetly. He had many things to attend to and therefore intended to dismiss the messengers as early as possible.

When he returned to his study, he saw that the two members of the emissary delegation had been waiting for a long time under the companion of Sir Bullet. Upon seeing His Majesty enter the room, they stood up and bowed. "To the honorable king of the Kingdom of Graycastle, Wimbledon IV, the king of the Kingdom of Dawn sends his regards."

"Bring him my regards too." Timothy nodded inattentively. "Have a seat."

He noticed that the pair of messengers, which comprised of a man and a woman, was very young and looked rather alike. The family insignia on their chests was an antler scepter, and if he did not remember wrongly, this meant that they came from the ill.u.s.trious Luoxi Family of the Kingdom of Dawn.

"What exactly is Mia IV thinking? Why did he send these young 'uns?" Timothy felt rather curious. n.o.bles of this age were typically haughty and arrogant, and were vastly different from older n.o.bles who would fight for every little bit of benefit on the negotiating table.

"Are you both members of the Zulu Family?" Timothy pointed to their chests. "I once briefly met Duke Luoxi."

"Indeed, Your Highness." The young man smiled. "I'm Otto Luoxi. This is my younger sister, Belinda Luoxi."

"They're even siblings." Timothy raised his eyebrows. "If that's the case, I don't have to beat around the bush with them."

"It's currently the ma.s.sacre period of the Months of Demons. Why did the king of the Kingdom of Dawn send you here?" Timothy took the lead and asked. "I guess you are neither short of cotton and cloth, nor of wheat and bread. And of course, even if you met with a disaster, the aid that I can provide is very limited—you should know that the Royal Decree on the Selection of Crown Prince has left my kingdom in a mess. Many places have come to a standstill, and just helping the refugees has stretched the City Hall thin. It's very difficult for me to pull out more supplies."

"With regard to this, I express my deepest regrets," Otto felt his chest and said. "However, Mia IV did not send us here to request aid, but to respond to an even more dangerous threat."

His words startled Timothy. "What threat?"

"The church, Your Highness," Belinda replied. "Currently, the Church's army has seized the Kingdom of Everwinter and the Kingdom of Wolfheart, and large numbers of refugees have swamped into the Kingdom of Dawn. According to the information the refugees brought, the church's methods are abominable and in serious violation of the rules of engagement agreed among the n.o.bility. Those who resist are either hanged or exiled, while only the n.o.bles who agree to switch allegiance are allowed to live."

"This method intends to completely eliminate the n.o.ble cla.s.s and bring the territories under the full control of the church," Otto spoke in a rather heavy tone. "Mia IV believes that the Kingdom of Wolfheart won't be their last target. Given the critical situation that both our kingdoms are in, the church is likely to bring the flames of war to our lands in the coming year. Our king hopes that we can work together and fight back against the church."

"Are you sure that Wolfheart City has already been captured?" After hearing from the other party, Timothy began to frown.

"A thousand times sure, Your Highness." The two messengers nodded in unison.

Timothy had caught wind of the church's aggressive war, but he did not expect that it would be able to seize two large kingdoms in such a short period of time. If the messengers were not lying, the strength displayed by the church was a little too frightening.

Certainly, it was best to verify this matter with the Minister of Intelligence first. The early arrival of snow during the Months of the Demons had impeded his caravan's route, and thus he had not received messages from the Kingdom of Wolfheart for a very long time.

After a long silence, Timothy asked, "What's the specific plan?"

Otto moistened his lips and pulled out a map underneath his arm. Spreading the map in front of Timothy, he said, "If the church sets off from Holy City and attacks the Kingdom of Dawn or the Kingdom of Graycastle, then the other kingdom should lead an army towards the north and invade the Holy City of Hermes. Doing so will suppress the church's offensive and divide its troops."

"Is this an offensive-defensive agreement?"

"Indeed, Your Highness," Otto replied. "No matter the starting point is Coldwind Ridge of the Kingdom of Graycastle, or Norths.h.i.+re of the Kingdom of Dawn, it'll be possible to reach the Holy City of Hermes in a week's time. As long as our main forces are stationed in these two places, the church may decide to retreat wisely—it'll be a blessing to both kingdoms if we can prevent this war from happening."

"If that's the case, I might as well forget about buying pills from the church." Timothy thought silently. "But without them, how am I supposed to drive Roland Wimbledon out of the Western Region?"

Timothy understood that precautions had to be taken against the church. But he felt that it was best to first purchase the pills he needed and unify the entire Kingdom of Graycastle before he reached an agreement with the Kingdom of Dawn.

"This is a matter of great importance. I'll need to consult with my ministers before I decide. The two of you can stay in the palace while you wait for my decision."

"Sure, Your Highness."

"There's another thing I would like to ask. How much do you know about the situation in the Kingdom of Everwinter and the Kingdom of Wolfheart? Did all of the information come from refugees by word-of-mouth?"

"There are a few reports from spies, but not many... When the church sieged Broken Tooth Castle and Wolfheart City, it also sealed off the surrounding roads. That's why we don't know much about the progress of the battle," Otto replied. "According to the refugees, the church used a terrifying siege weapon which demolished the walls of Wolfheart City in only one day."

"It was probably a snow powder weapon, which was possibly revealed from Garcia's side." Timothy gestured with his hands and asked, "I'm not interested in this. Have you heard of any news about the Blacksail Fleet or Garcia Wimbledon?"

"This..." The two messengers exchanged glances before Belinda said cautiously, "We heard that when Garcia was fleeing from King's City together with the King of Wolfheart, she was struck by the church's arrows and perished."

"Garcia was with the King of Wolfheart?" Timothy's heart skipped a beat. "Was her body found?"

"Not that we're aware of. Judging from the church's publicity after the siege, as well as the lack of news from the Kingdom of Wolfheart, it's highly unlikely that they managed to escape."

"Really..." Timothy exhaled and felt a little relieved. Although there was a bit of regret, this was one of the few pieces of good news he had heard since winter arrived, and he hoped that the messengers were right. "Okay then, you two can go and have a rest."

As the messengers took their leave, a smile began to form on his face. "Hear that, Roland Wimbledon? This is the kind of demise which, as a fellow insurgent, you'll end up in as well."