Amber Sword

The Princess furrowed her brow even deeper: "How did this happen, what do you think will occur at Yan Castle, and what should we do?"

"It’s certainly nothing good, and for now, there’s nothing we can do, but we must keep it a secret from Miss Delphire, at least until we resolve the mess in the North. Princess, you also understand the distance from Yan Castle to Ambeser; we can’t and don’t have the ability to interfere in everything happening at Yan Castle," Brand chose not to reveal all his insecurities, as some things were mere speculation to him, and he couldn’t explain his foresight of the future.

He paused and merely reminded: "Furthermore, Princess, you wouldn’t want anything unexpected to happen to Delphire, would you?"

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Princess Griffine sighed faintly: "When I was young, Delphire was my best friend, she treated me without any ulterior motives, and I always considered her as my own sister. Yet at this moment, I can’t help her at all. If anything happens to the Count, she will be heartbroken. When I was a child, I saw the Earl of Yan Castle once; he was a competent father, and Delphire must love him dearly."

The Half-Elf Girl’s tone was somewhat weak, and Brand knew she was reminded of her own father. Historically, Oberg the Seventh was extremely doting on his daughter; one could say Princess Griffine had a happy family once. But before he could find words to comfort this Princess, she had already steeled herself; she took a breath and spoke resolutely:

"We need to resolve the Northern chaos quickly, Mr. Brand."

Brand was slightly taken aback, perhaps not expecting the Princess to recover so swiftly; although he was not particularly proficient in politics, fortunately, this was a ’historical issue.’ He thought for a moment before stating: "Princess, the key to resolving the Northern chaos doesn’t lie with us but with the Flame Temple. The Flame Temple hopes to exert pressure on us via the Northern nobles, but it seems that the Cruz people aren’t eager to see a war right now; this is merely another game between both sides."

Princess Griffine slightly squinted her eyes, appearing all the more enchanting; however, within her narrowed gaze, a cold glint showed some understanding within her heart. She understood this point, of course, but what infuriated her was that the Flame Temple was clearly playing with fire; the Northern Nobles weren’t mere dogs raised by the Cruz people; on the contrary, they were a pack of wolves. These short-sighted beasts could disrupt the balance for a mere bit of profit at any time, while the Cruz people arrogantly believed they could control everything; in reality, they controlled nothing.

Yet she had to consider this point.

Unending compromise was out of the question. Brand assured her that this time there would be no concessions to the Northern Nobles, which was indeed the Princess’s own thought. First, consolidate the forces near the Kerkova Royal Family in the South; then, with thunderous force, make the entire North bow.

But what price must be paid for the Temple to support her? Those detestable Cruz people, clearly the stability of Erune is what they need, yet they still want greater benefits.

Since the aftermath of the Ambeser war, she had been trying to limit the Temple’s influence in Erune, which was also part of Brand’s plan. However, the Flame Temple clearly noticed this.

She did not wish to concede on this point.

But suddenly, Princess Griffine remembered something and lifted her head, speaking to Brand: "Mr. Brand, can you wait here for me for a moment?"

"What’s the matter?" Brand replied in surprise.

"Handle things here for me," the Princess responded, "I wish to have Count Yanilasu investigate this matter; Yan Castle is next to his territory, surely he can think of a way."

This was indeed a solution. However, Brand felt the Princess was hiding something. Yet before he could question her, the Princess had already walked downstairs. Brand looked at the corpse at his feet, unwillingly checked the belongings of the man in the gray robe, including some scattered items, but found nothing to identify him.

He straightened up, hearing a familiar sound behind him—the sound must have been that of Delphire’s wheelchair. He turned around and, indeed, saw the maid pushing the Countess into the doorway.