It was already the next day when Lucia heard from Bisham of what happened. The royal guards fought against the two Wismarine. They killed one and captured the other. But they failed to save the messenger. The captured Wismarine spilled everything. The Wismarine Prince failed to hire professional a.s.sa.s.sins so he used some of his guards to act as one. All the two messengers headed for Castle Munico were already dead. Timothy can"t expect reinforcements from Munico. As for Thespelae, luckily Lucia"s royal guards were able to recover the second letter. The Wismarine also confirmed that they King was behind all of this. The King and the Wismarine Prince wanted Timothy to die on the battlefield. The King was a careful man so he came up with this complicated and elaborate plan. Apparently, he doesn"t want to be suspected of killing his own son. Two of the royal guards took the letter and the captured Wismarine to Thespelae.To be honest, Lucia felt sick. She felt conscious of the fact that her orders ended up killing someone. Just a word from her and people"s lives would change. She felt slightly guilty that her order killed the Wismarine. But in the end, she decided that it was all for the best. If she didn"t give the order, then Timothy wouldn"t have reinforcements. If given the choice, she would save Timothy even if it means dirtying her hands with blood.
But Lucia knew that she only slightly succeeded in protecting Timothy. Although the garrison of Thespelae will come to his aid, those at Munico won"t. Lucia cannot send a warning to him either. It"s too late now. It has been a day since Timothy left Nirvana. To reach Mercus Plains faster, Timothy didn"t take the main road of the Kingdom and instead traversed the gra.s.slands of Kisma. The gra.s.slands of Kisma was huge, stretching for nearly a hundred miles. Even if Lucia sent all her guards, it would be impossible to find Timothy.
All Lucia can do now is to increase Timothy"s chances of survival. She decided to meet with two people, Freya and Escanor.
Lucia first met with Freya.
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Freya"s body was shaking. She didn"t know how to react. She knew that something fishy was going on, but she didn"t expect that the conspiracy would be like this.
" Thank you for telling me" Freya lowered her head. "But I never thought the King would go this far." She said in a low voice. The King really was a despicable father. To kill his own son! What kind of monster is he? What did Timothy do to deserve this? Of course Lucia could be lying. She could be plotting something. But somehow her instincts were telling her that Lucia"s words were the truth. The sudden change in the King"s decision, the way the King treated Timothy all these years, it connects. Furthermore, she knew that Lucia wouldn"t do anything to harm Timothy. Vanadis would lose so much if Timothy died.
"Timothy needs both of us Freya" Lucia"s voice was stern.
"Then tell me what to do"
"I need you to stay at Solon" said Lucia.
"Solon?" Freya was surprised. Why would Lucia want her to go to Solon?
"Your father"s fief is in Solon right?" asked Lucia. "And your father is well-connected with the n.o.bles."
"Yes, how did you know?"
"Timothy told me"
"Oh" So Timothy told her. Their closeness irked her again. How can they be so close after only a few days? But this was not the time to wallow in jealously. Timothy"s life is in danger. "So why am I going back to Solon?" she asked
"Because I need you to stay there and make some connections" Lucia looked at her "It should be easy for you because of your father."
"How would that bring Timothy more soldiers?" Freya asked. She couldn"t see the sense in Lucia"s plan.
"It won"t. Regarding that, you can"t do anything. Like what I said, you need to go to Solon to make connections. Your connections might be useful in the future. I also need you to tell me of every piece of news you have of Timothy because Solon is closer to the battlefield. Listen to me Freya.." Lucia"s eyes were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with anger. Freya was a little afraid even though she knew that she was not the one that anger was directed to. "They schemed against Timothy. They want him dead. I will make them pay. And even if I couldn"t, I would make sure that Timothy is safe. For that I need you." Her voice was shaking.
" Are you sure that I can"t do anything regarding Timothy"s current situation? What if I write a letter to my father asking him to join Timothy or a letter to Solon telling them of Timothy"s predicament?"
"At most, your father could muster 50 soldiers. And even if you write to Solon, they won"t listen to you. Only the King has the right to order them. " Lucia explained
Freya might not want to admit it, but Lucia was right. She can"t do anything for the time being. But if Timothy survives the battle, then Freya"s connections in Solon might help him in the future. So she agreed.
" Okay I"ll go" Freya nodded her head
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Lucia then went to her room. She took out the seal Timothy gave her. The seal had the image of a lion inside a teardrop. The seal"s design was so intricate that it would be hard to forge it. Timothy didn"t tell Lucia much about the Leo"s Tear so she didn"t know their purpose and history. But Timothy said that she could trust them, so she will.
Lucia took out a note. It was a list of members of Leo"s Tear and their positions in the Kingdom. There were less than ten names in the note. Most of the members of Leo"s Tear were stationed far away from the Western region so Lucia ignored their names. In the end, Lucia was left with two useful contacts: Earl Mathias Beyron of Solon and Baron Marvin Blunt.
Baron Marvin Blunt, General Marvin as what Timothy liked to call him, was the garrison commander of Knightsend. Since the Castle is under siege right now, then Lucia can"t expect him to provide a.s.sistance. The garrison of Knightsend still needs to break the besieging army to send help to Timothy. That would be nearly impossible. Half of the besieging forces were cavalry. To sally forth and attack the besieging army would be suicidal. Nevertheless Lucia sent the Baron a letter informing him of Timothy"s situation.
Lucia was more hopeful with Earl Mathias Beyron. He was the governor of Solon so he could rally its militia to provide Timothy with additional people. Of course by doing so, the Earl would be acting without the orders the King. But Lucia hoped that the Earl would save Timothy anyway.
Lucia then went to Escanor and asked him to send the two letters to his brother in Solon by carrier pigeon. One of the letters was addressed to Earl Beyron. The other will be delivered to Knightsend. Lucia knew that the chances of her letter reaching Earl Beyron were slim, but Escanor a.s.sured her that his brother will find a way.
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" I bring bad news Your Majesty" Skall Wismar bowed his head
"What happened?" King Leopold frowned
Skall was reluctant at first, the problem was caused by his incompetence after all. "The people I sent to kill the messenger bound for Castle Thespelae haven"t returned yet. "
The King"s face contorted. "You mean they failed!?" the King roared. He"s so angry that Skall took a few steps back.
"Seems that way" Skall admitted. He didn"t tell the King that he failed to hire professional a.s.sa.s.sins so he sent some of his guards instead. If the King knew, he would be really angry.
"Alliance my a.s.s!" The King shouted. He pointed at Skall "I shouldn"t have trusted your abilities"
"But it"s only Castle Thespelae. Castle Munico wouldn"t receive your orders. At most, Timothy would have 7,000 against 10,000." Skall quickly explained. The he needs to calm him down.
" You don"t understand!" This time the King stood up from his seat and approached him. Skall wanted to run but he knew that the King wouldn"t hurt him. So he stood his ground and lowered his head. The King stopped a few inches away. "For you it"s okay. Yes Timothy will die, but he will take 5000 of Castonia"s heavy infantry with him! Do you have any idea how hard it is to train and equip 5000 men? I shouldn"t have trusted you with this! I overestimated Wismar."
"It"s alright Your Majesty. The loss of 5,000 soldiers is nothing compared to Wismar"s help. The moment we sign an agreement, Wismarine troops will cross the border and a.s.sist you with this war. Compare us with the Vanadians. What can they do? Can they a.s.sist you militarily? No they can"t. They can"t even defend their borders with actual soldiers so they use mercenaries instead. Wismar is different Your Majesty. We will a.s.sist you." Skall a.s.sured him. What he said was true. Wismar was really serious with the alliance. Wismar had been losing the trading compet.i.tion with Vanadis so they need to invade them next year. But with Castonia protecting Vanadis, they can"t risk it. Castonians should never be underestimated when it comes to war. It would be better to tame the lion than to fight it.
His promises must have calmed the King Leopold. The King was silent. Skall felt relieved seeing that the King"s anger was subsiding.
"So who do you think ruined our plan?" The King asked in a calmer tone.
" I don"t know your Majesty" Skall admitted "Maybe your a.s.sistant?" He really doesn"t have any idea who found out about their plans.
"Braun is loyal to me. He also sees the importance of the alliance between Castonia and Wismar"
"Well whoever it was, we must be careful. He"s good"