Chapter 527 - 526: A Deal
After the welcome banquet ended, Gawain did not immediately engage with Victoria or Veronica for further discussions. Instead, he let these guests rest at the "Autumn Palace" or follow the reception staff he arranged to tour some places. He provided the reason that he hoped the guests could thoroughly understand this land and have a good rest during these days to alleviate the fatigue accumulated from such a long journey â using this justifiable reason, he left the guests unattended for three days.
Victoria did not waste this three-day period; within these three days, she did everything possible to understand everything about the Cecil Clan, from peopleâs daily lifestyle to fragmentary intelligence on the Cecilâs Army, from market goods to surrounding natural productions â despite having limited channels she could access, she didnât miss any opportunity that could help her understand this land.
Until the fourth day, she finally received news from Gawain.
In the study room of the feudal lordâs mansion, Victoria Wilder sat on an individual sofa provided for guests. She curiously examined this place where Gawain usually worked, her gaze scanning over the full bookshelves and decorative armor before settling on a giant map. The map hung on one side of the wall, between two bookshelves, depicting the entire lands of Anzu, even including parts of the Gondor wasteland and Typhon, the Sacred Dragon Kingdom, and the tribal country of Augariâs territory. It was the most exquisite and detailed map Victoria had ever seen in her life. Not only were all the mountains, rivers, and streams meticulously marked, but it also included numerous numbers describing distances...
It is not uncommon for a leader to hang a map in the study, but hanging such an accurate map was not easy. The duchessâs gaze fell near the center of the map and paused at a point in the eastern region of the Spirit Plain.
She saw a conspicuous red cross marked near the Gigantic Tree Path Entrance, with a line of notes next to it: Anzu 736, Day 43 of Harvest Month.
That was the date of the last large-scale battle before winter between the Eastern Territory Rebels and Anzu Kingdomâs military, precisely noting the time and location.
"Seem to be quite interested in my map? Young lady of the Wilder Clan?"
Gawainâs voice suddenly sounded from the side, jolting Victoria from her brief contemplation as she saw the founding king enter the room and sit on the other sofa beside her.
"Betty, prepare some snacks and send them to the study," after sitting down, Gawain waved to the little maid standing by the door and then turned to Victoria, "I hope I havenât kept you waiting too long â a newly-born duchy is always busy with affairs."
"Of course, I can imagine how busy you must be every day," Victoria slightly bowed to Gawain in salute, although both were Guardian Dukes, the vast difference in seniority made her have to constantly heed etiquette even in such informal occasions. Then she lifted her head again, looking at that giant map, "... You have a very talented cartographer, and you seem to also pay quite a lot of attention to the situation outside the southern borders?"
"The Cecil Clan hopes for peaceful days, but the outside world wonât be as peaceful as we wish â to live steadfastly, one must pay attention to the external situation," Gawain chuckled, "And arenât you very concerned about the situation here as well?"
The movements of the envoy group in the city were naturally impossible to hide, and Victoria did not intend to conceal them at all. She merely nodded slightly, "This land is quite mysterious to us, and since autumn began, the entire southern borders have been akin to being hidden in mist to the royal capital, which, of course, arouses curiosity."
The little maid Betty brought in snacks and began pouring tea for the guests, and taking advantage of this opportunity, Victoria straightforwardly steered the topic towards her area of concern: "Duke Cecil, what is your view on Anzuâs internal conflict?"
Gawain maintained a smile, looking at Victoria, spoke unhurriedly: "I am very saddened to see the descendants of former comrades ending up in such a situation, but if you wish to ask whom I support in this internal conflict â then I can only say, I support no one."
This could be said to be the expected answer; Victoriaâs expression remained unchanged, she continued to say: "The war wasnât initiated by us, no one in the Silver Castle wishes for Anzu to be divided. We have always been passive since the Eastern Territory suddenly rebelled."
"Ah, âhe struck firstâ â I hear Aunt Heidi say Rebecca often complained like this after getting into fights when she was younger," Gawain raised his hand, "You know, until before winter, Rebecca still often got reprimanded for causing trouble, so you should indeed be thankful, thankful Charlie, Snow, Anthony, and Evans didnât come back with me, otherwise your concerns wouldnât be just this internal conflict â young lady of the Wilder Clan, are you then going to explain to Snow Wielder that Anthony Loren and Charlie Moenâs children struck first?"
All explanations and negotiation scripts Victoria had prepared in advance failed.
She hadnât communicated with someone who could be considered an elder for nearly twenty years; in this respect, her experience was even less than Rebecca, who got into trouble twice a month.
But fortunately, she was more intelligent than Rebecca, and after a brief moment of surprise, she quickly reorganized her words: "I understand, you and the kingdomâs founders built this country not for us to slaughter each other. This internal conflict must be distressing for you, but the situation has already developed to this point; wars canât be stopped just because one desires it â we canât hand over the country to a prince who murdered his father and usurped the throne and a Grand Duke who broke the oath, nor would the Eastern Territory easily compromise. So the internal conflict will continue, and Anzuâs strength will weaken throughout the war, while we all know â Typhon is right next to us, watching Anzu till its last drop of blood flows out."
Gawain looked into Victoriaâs eyes: "Good, you can at least realize thereâs a Typhon next door, so to quickly end this conflict â and end it in a way that meets your expectations, what plan have you devised?"
Victoria contemplated momentarily, then spoke the words Gawain anticipated: "The position of King cannot remain vacant."
Gawain adjusted his sitting position, leaned back against the couch: "Wales Moen?"
"... His Majesty Francis had once appointed Edmund as successor and swore before ancestors, but now this oath evidently has to be abandoned. Anzu needs a King, needs to reunify as a whole, His Highness Wales is the only candidate now," Victoria paused, she observed every subtle expression change on Gawain, continued slowly, "We hope to support Wales Moen as the new King, this is the joint wish of the Guardian Dukes of the northern parts of the Dark Mountain Range and West."
She watched Gawainâs expression intently, but Gawainâs expression showed no change, the founding king simply maintained that faint smile, listening like an outsider, and did not express any opinion until long after she finished speaking.
Gawain allowed the atmosphere to remain tense for a full two minutes before breaking the silence, "Victoria, is the Mithril Oath in Bitter Winter Castle still intact?"
The Duchessâs heart skipped a beat, although her expression remained as usual, the tension in her eyes did not escape Gawainâs notice.
Gawain felt no emotional ripples: As he had long predicted, as a founding hero surrounded by a halo, the Anzu aristocrats did not mind hanging him on the wall, writing him into the history books, carving him in stone, or even enshrining him on altars, but they absolutely minded this founding hero ascending the throneâ
Because the hero on the wall, in the books, and on the stone could be fictional, but the one on the throne was real.
But he never expected that the urgent agreement from seven hundred years ago could be of any use, he just mentioned it, and then continued, "Do you think Wales would make a competent King?"
"He will," Victoria remained cautious, her mind still lingering on the contents of the Mithril Oath, "His Highness Wales may not be as prominent as Edmund, but he has inherited his fatherâs prudence and integrity. Only such a King can heal Anzuâs wounds after the civil war and swiftly restore the kingdomâs vitalityâand after the trauma of war, the people will yearn for a gentle King, and they will support His Highness Wales."
"But thatâs not enough to change the situation with the EastâIâm aware of your thoughts, crowning a King to gain legitimacy, garner more aristocratic support, and encourage the people, itâs a good idea and probably somewhat effective, but donât forget, the East also has a qualified crown prince, who for nearly twenty years has been the more deeply ingrained choice, even if you crown Wales in advance, the East can immediately establish a new monarch and revert the situation to its previous state."
"But if you also support His Highness Wales, then the new Kingâs legitimacy will greatly strengthen, more nobles and civilians will lean towards the royal family," Victoria couldnât help but say, "Your stance is crucial..."
"You want me to openly support one of Charlie Moenâs heirs to kill another?" Gawain tapped the small table between the two sofas, "You should understand, itâs difficult for me to take a stand in this civil war lightly."
Victoria knew that Gawain was not unable to take a stand, he simply didnât want to.
This founding Duke was a person where caution coexisted with radicalism, his current caution was because he fundamentally distrusted the Anzu Kingdomâs militaryâbut he seemed to also distrust the Eastern Territory Rebels.
This was already the best scenario anticipated in the beginning.
"Then your meaning is..." The Duchess looked into Gawainâs eyes, probing.
"I do not oppose Walesâ coronation," Gawain said with calm composure, "but if you want me to acknowledge him as King, he must at least demonstrate his merits as a King."
At this point, he paused slightly.
"As for the Mithril oath in Bitter Winter Castleâyoung lady of the Wilder Clan, you can put it away without worry, I have no intention of using it."
It was not until this statement was made that Victoria Wilder truly breathed a sigh of relief.
Gawain Cecil did not explicitly support either the royal family or the East, but at least, he did not intend to be king.
This way, at least Anzu wouldnât face another civil war.
After confirming Gawainâs stance, the Duchessâ heart settled, and according to the plan made before departure, she began to seek greater support from Gawain, "I appreciate your understandingâbut if you could give greater support to the Anzu Kingdomâs military, then perhaps this civil war could end sooner. As you just said, simply crowning His Highness Wales wonât fundamentally change Anzuâs current situation, the bloody balance between the Anzu Kingdomâs military and the Eastern Territory Rebels... must be broken."
"Iâve already said, I merely âdo not oppose Walesâ coronation,â" Gawain interrupted Victoria, "I will not openly support any side in this civil war, and to be honest, the southern borders have just undergone a war, my army needs rest, my people need recuperation, we cannot afford more depletion."
This was a logical and well-founded reasoning, Victoria couldnât think of a place to counter.
But after a moment of silence, Gawain suddenly spoke again, "Yet as Charlieâs friend, I canât just watch his kingdom crumble like this."
Victoriaâs eyes widened slightly, "You mean..."
"I am willing to provide assistance in other fields, aside from the military," Gawain said unhurriedly, "such as weapons and armor..."
If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.