Amber Sword

Maid Edsa looked worriedly out on the terrace, the sky as clear as a wash, but the gauzy clouds beneath seemed to hide some ominous shadow in the increasingly heavy port. In her gaze, a series of red-tiled roofs stretched into the distance, with majestic buildings depicting a unique landscape of Passa Road District.

That is the nobles’ opulence, delicacy, exuding comfort everywhere. Yet traces of the storm remain, with broken branches in the courtyard still uncleaned, seemingly representing some bad omen.

"I’ll have someone clean them up; the people below are too out of line," Edsa sighed lightly. Her words sounded more like a gentle inquiry than speaking to herself.

She stared at the back of the man on the terrace, his deep brown near-black long hair flowing like a waterfall over the red cloak, with the cloak’s edge lined with snow-white fur, cascading to the ground.

"Edsa, there’s no need. I won’t notice it anyway, as you know, you don’t have to be so cautious," the man spoke, his voice as gentle as babbling water. He raised his head, seemingly taking a deep breath: "Hmm... do you feel it? This is the scent after the storm; only now the air is the cleanest, as if the world is renewed."

"But actually, this season outside is very messy, with wind-blown broken branches and tiles stripped off roofs," Edsa replied: "For ordinary people, going out at this time would be a dangerous thing."

"Ah, Edsa, if you don’t speak up, how would I know? You’re always like this, does this world seem utterly worthless in your eyes?" The man couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly. Edsa noticed his sigh, feeling uneasy, but still replied: "My task is to tell what I see, Your Highness."

The man smiled slightly and said nothing.

She suddenly saw a flock of white pigeons fly from a direction, likely the plaza of Newsock Street. The maid stared blankly at those birds soaring high, but it wasn’t a sudden longing for freedom; she turned back, looked at her master, and asked worriedly: "Your Highness, it has been many days."

"Don’t worry," the man replied. Edsa sensed his tone wasn’t so certain, but she understood her master’s temperament well, so she no longer spoke, burying her unease deep within.

She was already accustomed to this.

Silence fell inside the room for a while, Edsa quietly watched that flock of pigeons fly away. She suddenly recalled the stories heard in childhood from the elders, legends of northern bird flocks migrating southward through storms, battling their fates amid the descending storms and lightning day after day—but can they really? She couldn’t help but look toward that silhouette.

...

Outside the carriage, bustling shops formed a distinctive scene of the port city. Though the atmosphere of war seemed to have just slightly faded, merchants promptly infused Ampezel with vibrant prosperity.

Brand opened the carriage door and then carefully helped Antitina down from the carriage. This made the Staff Lady feel a bit embarrassed, as it should have been her task as a servant.

Instead of having the Lord do it.

Next was Miss Merchant, Roman suddenly leaped from the carriage into Brand’s embrace. Then the Merchant Lady giggled, causing Brand to somewhat cheekily tug at her tender cheek.

"Ah!" Roman’s eyebrows immediately shot up.

Brand looked up at the carriage across the plaza. The curtains of that carriage were slightly lifted, with the Half-Elf Girl gazing at them from behind, and she subtly nodded at him.

Although Princess was eager to quickly seek methods to quell the northern turmoil, the time to meet Wood Chief Priest ended up postponed to the next day—

Presently, Ampezel is filled with various forces. But ultimately, the Princess’s side holds the upper hand, followed by the Holy Temple and northern nobles. The Holy Temple’s naturally dominant stance, after this world-renowned blunder, had to temporarily retreat from the forefront.

And being responsible for this event’s ultimate resolution, Wood currently doesn’t quite count as the Flame Temple’s foremost figure in Ampezel Port—after leaving the position of Great Priest, the temple has confirmed a new candidate. The new Great Priest, Gladys, is not well-known within the temple, but Brand is quite familiar with this staunch neutralist; an old good man, who later served as Chief Priest in the Andobruo Duchy, consistently advocating for the temple to maintain a fair, neutral stance. The assignment of this person to Ampezel also indicates the Cruz people’s shift in attitude toward southern and northern forces—the new Great Priest won’t arrive at this port until mid-year, so Wood currently still handles some routine duties of the Great Priest.