The Sun King's Evidence

The great swordsmen of the empire are quite fancy in their clothing. They often wear tight-fitting uniforms and trousers, paired with beautiful dwarven plate armor. All great swordsmen like to wear hats instead of helmets, and they also wear huge helmets. Even on a single person, the colors of the Great Swordsman's uniform can be said to be rich. The colors of the left and right trouser legs are always different. The colorful colors represent the identity of the Great Swordsman from different families and different regions.

Someone immediately arranged for the gryphon knights and the great swordsmen to rest elsewhere. Ryan had already prepared a place for them. The count himself and the future countess took Anton towards the reception room on the second floor: "Come, Anton, my sworn brother, let’s sit down first, I have arranged an exquisite dinner in the evening, and you can enjoy many different delicacies.”

"Oh~ I'm looking forward to it." Anton Ferdinand looked at the luxurious decoration in Lane Castle with great interest: "Your castle will not be very big, but it will make you feel very comfortable."

Opening the door of the living room, the comfortable heating made several people feel refreshed. Before Ryan could speak, Marquis Sulia smiled and said: "Sir Anton, you are Ryan's sworn brother, and you will be mine in the future. Brother-in-law, although there have been occasional frictions between the Empire and Britannia over the course of more than a thousand years, we will always support each other in the most difficult times. Please don’t be outsiders. This place is just like your own home. I and Ryan are your family.”

After a few etiquettes, the gentleness and virtuousness of a standard noble lady was displayed in front of Anton. Earl Griffin, who came from afar, felt like a breath of fresh air: "Please be sure not to be so polite, Mrs. Sulia, you will just call me sworn brother from now on." That’s it, the gryphon will always be your friend. My father and your father, Mr. Francois, once forged a deep friendship. I believe that the friendship between our families will definitely continue.”

"Thank you, righteous brother Anton, I will." Sulia showed a standard smile. From sitting down to the third minute of the conversation, she successfully made the Earl of Griffin feel close enough.

Ryan saw everything in his eyes and continued: "How is Godfather doing recently? I haven't heard anything from him recently."

"Everything is fine with my father. The Griffin Knights have been resting after annihilating several bandit groups in Rickward Forest." Anton nodded, he relaxed a little, and Sulia poured the wine for him. With a glass of high-end Winford red wine, Ryan served delicious pastries. Earl Griffin was also relatively relaxed. He used a silver knife and fork to fork the cake and said with some mockery: "By the way, I also eliminated a group of rogue knights."

"..." Ryan frowned slightly after hearing this, rogue knight?

Sulia was more sensitive. She immediately realized something. The female knight first looked at Ryan worriedly.

There was no change in the expression on Ryan's face;

The female knight then tried to start a topic with Anton: "I heard that the northern part of the empire is very chaotic recently?"

"Well, it is true as you said, Chaos invasions have become more frequent than before. The coalition forces of Hawk Territory and Oster Territory were recently defeated by the Chaos Army of the Brass Fortress. Wolf Castle on the front line was once again completely annihilated by the Chaos Army. It was not until Ludwig and I arrived with a large group of knights and imperial troops that we repelled the Chaos army and forced them to retreat to the Brass Fortress." Anton looked very tired: "Hoke and the The Oster Territory was severely damaged in this battle, especially the Hawk Territory, where the army has been reduced to the lowest point in history."

Hawkland is the smallest province in the empire: a small piece of land between the Central Mountains and the Talabek River. The forest and the hordes of wild beastmen that roam in it cover most of Hawke. Only the small settlements in the south and the farmland extending along the river bank have survived.

Before the Red Flame Crusade, the Hawk Territory was once very prosperous, but after most of the knights in the entire empire participated in the Red Flame Crusade, in the central mountains in the north of the Hawk Territory, one of the greatest beastmen, the Beast King, declared own rise.

It is Gotwal the Cruel, the greatest Beastmaster the Beastmen have ever seen.

Let’s not talk about it for the time being. What Ryan knows is that this beast king almost slaughtered the Oster Territory and the Hawk Territory and almost completely destroyed the capital of the Hawk Territory, Hezig. If it weren’t for the knights who completed the Red Flame Expedition They came back in time to defeat and kill Gotwal, and perhaps the northern part of the empire would be overwhelmed by the tide of beastmen.

"The threat of Chaos is getting closer. The Sky Mage predicts that it won't be long before a larger group of barbarian armies try to attack the north of the empire." Anton said in a low voice: "We don't want to be inside Too much damage to take in the fight, Ryan.”

"Britannia has just repelled the vampire army. We suffered heavy losses in the Chivalry War three years ago. The Dukes need to rest and reorganize the army, and we need to accumulate strength." Ryan also whispered: "The human nations They are all weak now.”

The heavy snow continued to blow outside, and the living room was as warm as spring.

Anton stood up, with some unnatural caution on his face. He walked to the glazed window and looked at the snowy scene outside. In the distance, the prosperous town of Jean was filled with heating smoke, and the lush Chalon Forest Covered in white snow as always, the mountain road leading to Helenschild has been blocked by heavy snow. Every winter, this mountain road will be covered with waist-deep snow.

"He seems to have something to say." Sulia patted Ryan's hand: "Lian, come over quickly."

"I understand." Ryan stood up and walked to Anton's side: "So...the empire is ready?"

"The cause of the matter was a month ago." Anton looked at the heavy snow outside: "The long-term friction made the border residents miserable, so we proposed negotiations, and Duke Palavon also agreed. He brought his wife to the front When I came to Brunswick to negotiate, His Majesty the Emperor was busy dealing with internal affairs, so His Excellency Umberto Corleone, the Elector of Tuscany and the Lion of the Sun, came forward to negotiate with His Excellency Casfan."

When they heard that Casfan was bringing his wife, Ryan and Sulia's faces turned green.

Things are about to get worse!

"During the negotiation process, we were never able to reach an agreement, and the negotiation process was repeatedly interrupted because His Excellency Kasfan's wife broke into the meeting." Anton's tone was indescribably strange: "The Duchess is really It was too rude and arrogant, and His Excellency Umberto couldn't stand it anymore, so he reprimanded His Excellency Casfan and his wife..."

"So, the negotiation broke down?" the female knight took over.

"Yes, the negotiations broke down." Anton's words contained an ambiguous tone: "Therefore, His Majesty sent me to you."

Ryan's face became serious.

That was why he had to withdraw from this winter offensive.

"You are a respectable opponent and comrade-in-arms, Ryan. The feats you have accomplished over the years are well-known even in the empire. His Majesty the Emperor has never restricted the spread of rumors, and even sent out Rick Guards to fuel the flames. Maybe... I It means that maybe, the Empire has to have a war with Casfan that allows both sides to calm down, and your attitude is very crucial." Anton continued.

"What's the key to me? I'm just a count, not a duke. You should go to Mr. Francois or Mr. Berhemond." There was a slight mockery in Ryan's voice: "It's useless to look for me. .”

"No, finding you is the most critical step." Anton smiled: "The prestige and status you have in this country are not even matched by my father. You are also the divinely chosen champion of the Lady of the Lake. Your statement is very important. , if I am not wrong, the young knights in Brittany are imitating your every move, and your words are the weather vane of the knight class, am I right?"

Lidya Su understood immediately and completely understood.

With Ryan's huge reputation in Britannia, as long as he shows a little bit of unwillingness to be an enemy of the empire, then all the dukes will think that this is what the fairy in the lake means, and then the dukes will start a war. There are many concerns, and the young knights errant are even more so. As long as Ryan expresses his stance, most knights errant will refuse to fight the empire.

The empire took a fancy to the special relationship between Ryan and the empire, so it sent envoys to get to the heart of the problem!

"I need some time to think." Ryan gave his own answer: "It's been hard coming all the way, Anton, you should rest first."

"Okay." Anton nodded.

Twenty minutes later, in Ryan's master bedroom, Ryan and Lidya Su sat together to discuss what happened.

"I don't want to see a civil war in a human country, Sulia." Ryan held the female knight's warm nephrite in his arms, and he said distressedly: "But at present, it seems that this war is unavoidable."

"Lian, the empire also has this purpose. They want to use your influence." The female knight caressed Ryan's handsome face: "You are the lady's divine champion. If you declare that you are an enemy of the empire, Then the entire country may have 10,000 knights errant to join Casfan. If you declare that you do not want to be an enemy of the empire, then the dukes will also be very cautious about whether to stand with Casfan. manner."

"Do I have so much energy?" Ryan smiled a little unconfidently: "I always feel a little unreal."

"You do, Ryan." Sulia's smile bloomed like a flower, and she kissed Ryan on the face: "Otherwise, my father wouldn't have let me get engaged to you so simply."

"So... my fiancée, what do you think about this matter?" Ryan smiled bitterly: "I don't want to be an enemy of the empire, but I also don't want to fall into my sworn brother's trap. I want to remain neutral, but... "

"You should tell Lord Anton directly that you will not be an enemy of the empire, but for the sake of the lady, you cannot express your position publicly. All you can do is silence, Ryan, believe me, father and Berhemond Your Excellency will make the same choice as you." Sulia then analyzed: "You have enough strength not to take sides. You are now the Holy Grail Knight Commander at the peak of the legend. Whether it is us or the empire, there is no one left. A champion who can rival you.”

"My silence means that there is really going to be a war between His Excellency Duke Casfan of Palavon and the Empire, Surya." Ryan frowned: "I said, I don't want to see a civil war in the human kingdom."

"You are wrong, Ryan." Sulia shook her head violently, her long golden waist-deep curls flying in the air, exuding the fragrance of iris flowers: "We cannot allow all-out war between humans, but small-scale The war is still necessary, win or lose, this war will calm people down, not only the Empire across the hill, but also us in Britannia.”

"Without a war, how can we understand the strength gap between the two countries? Without a war, how can we usher in true peace?" The female knight raised a smile on her lips: "Let Casfan Your Excellency, let’s go to war with the Empire. No matter we win or lose, we will enjoy the results. Kasfann will not be Karl Franz’s opponent, no matter how you look at it.”

Ryan's eyes gradually lit up,

Yes, he doesn't need to express his position. He only needs to use the Fairy of the Lake as a shield. He only needs to remain silent and he will have both sides. The empire will accept his favor, otherwise he will face the attack of tens of thousands of knights errant. Brittany The Asian side will not blame him, because this is what the lady meant, and many dukes have good relations with the empire. They will take the opportunity to choose silence with Ryan, and they also have to accept Ryan's favor.

Internal fighting between humans is not advisable, but blindly trying to make peace and forcibly maintaining peace are actually very difficult. On the contrary, as Sulia said, a small-scale war can allow both sides to calm down and return to normal. Coming to the negotiating table is true peace.

If peace is sought through struggle, peace will survive; if peace is sought through compromise, peace will perish.

Lidya Su actually planned such a clear best choice for Ryan in a short period of time!

Ryan couldn't help but hugged Lidya Su and turned her around several times, and kissed her several times on the lips: "Thank you so much, Lidya Su, you are really my lucky goddess! It's mine to have a fiancée like you." Lucky!"

"Ah! Don't be like this~ Ryan, Olika is still here!" The little bear slippers fell to the ground. Sulia blushed and hugged Ryan's neck. The dark elf maid Olika stood in the room and looked at them. Woolen cloth!

The female knight is always shy about the intimate actions between two people. If it is really just them in private, that's all. But Olika has been serving Ryan for a long time. In front of the dark elves, Sulia always I'm not used to it.

In the void, a beautiful figure looked at the happy female knight and snorted coldly.

…………

"Your Excellency Anton, please stay here during this period." In the guest room of the castle's outer castle, several maids were arranging rooms for Count Griffon.

At this time, a little maid in a white maid dress pushed a cart and delivered many daily necessities to Earl Griffin. Her steps were very hasty: "Your Excellency Anton, please have a good rest. Dinner is at seven o'clock in the evening." When the clock starts, I have something to do, so I’ll leave first.”

After saying that, the little maid hurriedly wanted to leave, but Anton still saw the ordinary appearance of the little maid, and there was some doubt and curiosity in his eyes.

"The voice... sounds like Emmanuel... but she doesn't look like her."

The weird thoughts disappeared in Anton's mind. He shook his head mockingly: "I'm really hallucinating. Emmanuel disappeared more than ten years ago, how could she appear in Brittany?" Ya, she’s still working as Ryan’s maid.”

"Huh~ I'm so tired, let me rest for a while..."

PS: Some book friends say that the protagonist has never visited his adoptive father, which is a bit cold. What I want to say is that the correspondence between the protagonist and his adoptive father has never been interrupted, but it would be very troublesome if it was a visit. Ancient times are no better than modern times. , a trip takes a lot of effort and two to three months, and the protagonist has too many things to do.