Chapter 849: The King’s Orders
When Edith returned to her rooms, she took off her coat and dropped it onto the hanger by the door without looking.
The smell hit her immediately — rich, savory, rising from the living room in a wave that made her dry mouth flood with saliva. She had not noticed any hunger during the meeting at the Ministry of Defense. Her stomach informed her now that it had been waiting very patiently.
“This late?” Cole’s head appeared around the doorframe. He was holding a spoon.
“The war is approaching. More work, naturally, and the Kingdom of Dawn is adding complications.” She pulled off her leather boots and exchanged them for soft house socks before stepping into the room. “If I’m late again next time, don’t wait — start without me.”
“I don’t mind.” He waved the spoon. “But — hasn’t His Majesty still not decided what to do about the King of Dawn? If he goes with Barov’s approach, won’t everything you’ve been planning turn out to be a waste?”
“Do you genuinely believe he has no ideas of his own?” She patted her younger brother on the head as she walked past him toward the table. “Roland Wimbledon is not the kind of king who simply adopts his subordinates’ positions.”
“What have you found out this time?”
“I could tell you,” she said, taking her seat, “but then I might have to kill you.”
A single glance was enough. He subsided and did not press further.
The table held two dishes and a soup, all built around the same base: Bird Beak Mushrooms, Neverwinter’s local specialty. Recently — whether because more hunters were foraging them or because a new source had opened up — the market had been flooded with unusually fresh, firm specimens at a lower price than usual. They were beginning to outsell meat products. Their one limitation was perishability: the plumpness that made them so flavorful was impossible to preserve for transport, or they could have commanded strong prices across the whole kingdom.
Edith set a grilled mushroom cap between her teeth. The char on the outside, the butter melting into the gills, the burst of juice when it gave way — she let out an involuntary sound of satisfaction.
She had been underestimating her brother all along.
He was not useful with a sword, and his character had a certain indecisiveness that she had catalogued and taken into account. But his capacity for learning consistently exceeded her expectations. He had tasted these mushrooms once or twice at the Lord’s castle banquets and reproduced the result at home; the texture and flavor were nearly identical to what had been served there. That was not the kind of thing an ordinary mind did. It applied to his clerical work as well. Several months in and he was already serving as official scribe at important meetings held in the castle — a speed of advancement that would have impressed the self-proclaimed prodigies among the young Northern Region nobles.
Most importantly, he did what she said.
That counted for a great deal. The greater the competence of the people in her charge, the more easily certain things got done.
“Sis.” Cole waited until she was halfway through the mushroom soup before he tried again. “Why have you been quiet for the past three meetings?”
She set down her spoon and raised her eyebrows.
“The questions His Majesty was working through were all in your area,” he pressed. “You could read what he intended. Why let Barov run the room?”
“This is also a secret.” Her voice had an edge.
“Right.” Cole lowered his head. He strained visibly against his own curiosity for a moment, then gave it up, shaking his head with the expression of a man pushing something unpleasant into a drawer.
“However — in light of this excellent dinner, I’ll consider it paid for.” She allowed herself a small smile. “How much do you know about Andrea of the Witch Union?”
He thought. “Her name doesn’t appear on any of the scheduled plans. Her ability is… middling.”
“Her ability is irrelevant.” She cut him off. “It’s not unusual that you know little about her — she’s a combat witch, rarely in public, and her background isn’t widely circulated. What I’ve gathered: she’s a noble from the Kingdom of Dawn, from a family of considerable standing. An old friend of Otto Luoxi’s.” She let that sit for a moment. “You can infer the rest.”
She offered a brief sketch of her own analysis, then watched the understanding settle across his face.
“Do you see now why I said nothing in those meetings? Had I made the favoritism visible, certain outcomes that were possible would have become impossible. His Majesty might even have held me responsible for the interference.” She picked up her soup bowl. “I simply waited.”
Cole’s eyes had gone wide. “How did you know all of this?”
“Did you truly believe I went to the Great Snow Mountain purely to back up the principle that ‘only those with frontline service should hold key positions’?” She shrugged. “That was one reason among several. Had I not made that trip, I would not have been close enough to the witches to learn anything worth knowing.”
He knotted his brows and worked through it. “Even so — even if your information was accurate, how could you be certain His Majesty would choose Andrea as the solution to the Dawn problem? There’s no necessary connection. He might have decided to conquer the kingdom outright and organize an enthronement ceremony.”
“No necessary connection, true. But His Majesty’s behavior during those three days makes it very difficult to believe otherwise.” She answered without hesitation. “Over three days of meetings, he glanced toward Andrea exactly seventeen times. She is not a City Hall official. She is not a decision-maker. Unless they are conducting an affair, the only other explanation is that she is the key variable in whatever plan he has not yet announced.”
“You… counted.”
She demonstrated: she lifted her soup bowl and assumed her meeting posture. “From this angle, I can observe His Majesty with the corners of my eyes. He certainly did not expect that while he was watching Andrea, someone else was watching him.”
Cole’s expression became peculiar. He muttered something.
“What was that?”
“Nothing — nothing at all.” He shook his hands in rapid denial. “But — when you spoke to Andrea after one of the meetings, briefly, was that part of the same plan? What if you were wrong?”
“Ah.” She arched an eyebrow. “You noticed that.”
“I came to ask when you’d be home. You were only with her for a moment.”
“I didn’t need to lay out my entire calculation. It was a matter of favoritism, so all I needed to do was give her a gentle push.” Edith’s tone was cool, perfectly even. “I told her: ‘His Majesty is a very benevolent king, and he has met Sir Otto briefly before. If you speak up, he will almost certainly agree to save him.’ If my guess was correct, I had helped His Majesty along and served his intentions. If I was wrong—” She paused, and finished the sentence without any particular feeling: “Who actually cares whether the nobles of the Kingdom of Dawn live or die?”
The next morning, the routine meeting lasted half its usual duration.
Roland Wimbledon, who had sat in silence for three days, announced his decision at the outset — he had heard enough. The First Army would divide into two columns: the first would enter the Hermes Plateau through Coldwind Ridge; the second would cut directly through the Eastern Region toward the Kingdom of Dawn’s border. The objective was for both columns to link up at the City of Glow by early autumn.
After he spoke, the arguments stopped. Even Barov, who had been leading the conservative camp without pause for three days, bowed in acceptance as though he had never held any other position.
The entire Western Region stirred into motion like a city waking to a bell.
Chapter 849: The King’s Orders
Translator: TransN Editor: Meh
When Edith returned to her abode, she took off her coat and casually tossed it on the hanger at the door.
She could not help taking in a deep breath of the rich fragrance which pervaded from the living room, and her dry mouth welled up with saliva at once.
She had not felt any hungry during the meeting at the Ministry of Defense, but she now realized that her stomach was growling terribly.
“Why so late today?’ Cole’s voice was heard before he stuck his head out from behind a doorframe, visibly holding a spoon in his hand.
“The war will start anytime now, and naturally, the Ministry of Defense has more work to do. In particular, the circumstances of the Kingdom of Dawn are making things more complicated.” She took off her leather boots and replaced them with a soft pair of socks before she entered the living room. “If I return late next time, you should go ahead with dinner.”
“Nah, I’m fine with this.” Cole twitched his lips. “But, isn’t it that His Majesty has yet to decide what to do regarding the King of Dawn? If he employs the strategy offered by Barov’s side, won’t the plans you’re making now be a complete waste?’
“Do you really think he doesn’t have his own ideas?” Edith patted her younger brother on the head as she walked past him. “Roland Wimbledon isn’t the sort of king who blindly goes by his subordinates’ ideas.”
“What’ve you found out this time?” Cole put on a curious look.
“I can tell you, but then I may have to kill you.” She swept a glance at him which caused him to quiver and not speak another word.
On the dining table were placed two dishes and a soup, all of which the main ingredient was Neverwinter’s specialty – Bird Beak Mushrooms. Recently, either because there was a growing number of hunters who gathered these mushrooms, or because a new source had been discovered, a large supply of mushrooms which were exceptionally fresh, delicious and juicy was being sold in the Convenience Market, and at a lower price than before. As such, the sale of these mushrooms was on the verge of surpassing that of meat products.
It was a pity that the plump feature of the mushrooms was difficult to preserve for long, or otherwise they would sell excellently outside of the Western Region as well.
Edith placed a grilled mushroom in her mouth. The slightly burnt flavor of the mushroom cap blended together perfectly with the melted butter, and after a satisfying crisp sound, she felt her entire mouth filled with mushroom juice, causing her to croon in delight.
She realized she had belittled her dear younger brother all this time.
Although he was not good with the sword and possessed an indecisive character, his talent for learning was far greater than what she had expected. Take cooking for instance – he had learned how to prepare these mushrooms simply by eating them once or twice at banquets organized by His Majesty, yet the taste was almost identical. This would not be possible without an ingenious mind. It also applied to his clerical work at the City Hall. He had been on the job for merely a few months, but had already served as the official scribe at important meetings held at the Lord’s castle. This speed of promotion far exceeded that of people of the same age group as him. Even the bunch of young nobles from the Northern Region, who considered themselves to be peerless in their excellence, might not have been able to do better than him.
Of course, what Edith appreciated most was that he always listened to and obeyed what she said.
As she thought about this, she felt the dinner taste more delicious than ever.
After all, the greater the ability of the people under her charge, the easier it would be for her to get certain things done.
“Sis…” Halfway through the meal, Cole could not resist speaking up once again. “Why have you stayed silent for the past few meetings?”
“Uh?” She placed her spoon down and visibly raised her eyebrows.
“The questions which His Majesty asked were all within the realm of your expertise, no? Since you were able to read his intentions, why didn’t you speak up for him?” Cole grouched. “Did you not see the way Barov was looking at you… he was nearly bursting with delight.”
“This is also a secret. According to conventional practice…”
“Ugh…” He lowered his head and revealed a distressed look. After much hesitation, he shook his head abjectly as if to suppress his inner curiosity.
“But, on account of this delicious dinner, I’ll take it that you’ve paid up.” Edith began to smile slightly. “How much do you know about Andrea of the Witch Union?”
“Andrea?” Cole thought for a short while. “Her name has never appeared on any scheduled plan, and her ability is meh…”
“Her ability is irrelevant.” The Pearl of the Northern Region snapped. “It’s normal that you don’t know much about her. She’s a combat witch, and rarely shows up in public. Only a few people know of her background. From what I’ve gathered, she’s a noble from the Kingdom of Dawn, and her family’s a highly honorable one. She’s also an old friend of Otto Luoxi. You can more or less infer the rest of the secret from these details.” Subsequently, she provided a simple outline of her own speculation. “Do you now understand why I didn’t speak up during the meetings? Had I revealed the favoritism involved, some things that could be achieved would no longer be possible. His Majesty might even have held me responsible!”
Cole’s eyes widened. “How did you know all this?”
“Did you really believe I offered to go to the Great Snow Mountain simply to back up what I’d said, that ‘only people who’ve served on the front line should be eligible to become key officials?’ That’s only one of several reasons.” She shrugged her shoulders and continued, “Had I not made this trip, it would be difficult to make close contact with the witches.”
Cole strained his brows and contemplated for a long while. “No, that’s not right… granted that the news you’d heard was accurate, how could you be so certain that His Majesty would choose Andrea as a quick fix for the problems in the Kingdom of Dawn? There’s absolutely no relation between these points! Couldn’t he have made it a priority to recapture the kingdom and organize an ascension ceremony?”
“There’s certainly no necessary relation. However, His Majesty’s behavior during the meetings makes it hard for me to believe otherwise…” Edith responded assertively. “During three days of meetings, he’d glanced at Andrea a total of 17 times. She’s neither a City Hall official, nor a key decision-maker, and as such, unless they’re having an affair, this should be the secret plot.”
“You… even noted this?”
She raised her bowl of soup and reenacted her posture during the meetings. “By sitting like this, I can observe His Majesty with the corners of my eyes. He certainly wouldn’t expect that while he was watching Andrea, someone else was constantly observing him.”
“…”The younger brother puckered his lips into a peculiar expression and muttered something inaudible.
“What did you say?” Edith questioned icily.
“No, erm… nothing much.” Cole hastily waved his hands in denial. “But I would like to ask – when you spoke to Andrea after one of the meetings, was it also because of this? What if your guess was wrong?”
“Oh?” She arched an eyebrow in amusement. “You saw that?’
“I wanted to ask you what time you would return home that day. But… you seemed to remain in front of her for only a very short while…”
“I didn’t need to divulge all of the conjectures in my head. Because it’s a matter of favoritism, all I had to do was to give her a gentle nudge on the back,” Edith calmly replied. “I simply said to her, ‘His Majesty is a very benevolent king, and besides, he has met Sir Otto briefly before. As long as you speak up, he’ll almost certainly agree to save the latter.’ This way, if my guess was correct, I would have served to help His Majesty, while if I was wrong…,” she paused briefly before finishing her sentence, “Who actually cares if the Kingdom of Dawn’s nobles are dead or alive?”
…
The next day, the routine meeting lasted for only half its usual duration.
Roland Wimbledon, who had been quiet for the past three days, figured that he had heard enough of the ministers’ discussion, and therefore announced his decision at the start of the meeting – in Neverwinter, the First Army would split up into two routes; the first route would be to enter Hermes Plateau through Coldwind Ridge, while the second would be to cut through the Eastern Region directly towards the border of the Kingdom of Dawn. The aim was for these two offensives to link up in the City of Glow by early autumn.
After Roland had issued his decree, everyone at the meeting discontinued their arguments and acknowledged his orders in unison. Even Barov, who was the leader of a group which held a more conservative opinion, bowed in agreement as though he had not said what he did previously.
The entire Western Region became busy in the blink of an eye.