Fairy Tale: Little Red Riding Hood's Wolf Mentor

Chapter 195: Doubts about the Covenant
"You mean, there's a perfectly intact city made of shadows, shrouding this ruined city?"

Crossing the ruins, not far away, the details of the tall tower gradually appeared before Poro's eyes, just like what King Shadi saw in the shadows at night. However, Poro's brows gradually furrowed.

But it’s not that there is anything special about it. The tower is really no different from ordinary buildings except that it has no doors or windows.

"If there really is a secret, it must be in this tower?"

Poro thought about it and walked towards the bottom of the tower, closer to it.

But at this moment, he smelled some human scent.

"Stop, where are you from?!"

A shout came from the front, and two soldiers wearing gauze armor walked out from the ruins under the tower. The shadows of their feet were stretched out in the morning sun.

"Uh, you are—"

"This is the forbidden area of ​​the Shadi Kingdom. Outsiders are forbidden to approach."

One of the two soldiers snapped.

"Are you from the New Shadi Kingdom?"

Lake quickly made a judgment, "Do you know what's inside this tower?"

"We are from the New Shadi Kingdom, carrying out the orders of His Majesty the Regent and waiting here - but we have no idea what is in the tower."

The soldier from the New Shadi Kingdom said.

Is that so?
Poro was a little confused. He looked at the soldier's armor. On the breastplate, there was a complex pattern made of special materials.

But Poro saw that those patterns were also a special magic circle. They were not activated actively, but were more like a protection against certain things from happening.

"Have you ever had any strange dreams while you're here?"

Reike listened to what Poro said in her heart and asked the two guards a question.

"Dream?"

The two guards were stunned for a moment, "No?"

……

In the royal palace of the New Shadi Kingdom, many officials and ministers of the New Shadi Kingdom were sitting on both sides. At the top was the current "King Nie Zheng" of the New Shadi Kingdom, not Prince Peter of the Shadi people.

"You are... the envoy sent by the Kingdom of Goethe? Are you the only one?"

Prince Peter looked at Lake, then at the Poro beside her, frowning. "Why did you bring an animal to the palace? Didn't your king teach you the rules?"

When Lake heard this, she frowned. In fact, in most of the kingdoms she passed through, there was no king who proposed such "rules".

Moreover, for some reason, she felt a very uncomfortable feeling towards this "prince".

It's like some kind of clear arrogance.

"My apologies, Your Highness, but I am not one of King Goethe's men. Due to time and manpower constraints, I am here as a messenger to discuss an alliance."

But Lake still said, "After that, the official delegation from the Kingdom of Goethe will arrive later."

"What do you have with you? Or..."

"I have brought a letter from King Goethe."

As Lake spoke, she handed over a letter written by the Happy Prince with the emblem of the Goethe Kingdom on it.

Prince Peter took the letter, glanced at its contents casually, and frowned:
"You're telling me that without giving us any benefits, I should send our already limited number of soldiers to defend against the Sri Kingdom? We should ally with a small country like you who has survived by chance, and treat the powerful Sri Kingdom as an imaginary enemy?"

"The Goethe Kingdom, like yours, has always cherished peace. However, the Sri Kingdom is different. It has used the so-called 'God' as an excuse to proactively start several wars, and many countries have fallen under their attack.

Now, it has annexed the once powerful Bru Kingdom. I have reason to believe that their next target may very well be us.

The Shadi Kingdom had just been freed from being invaded and dominated.

You definitely don't want to be bound again, right?"

But Prince Peter hesitated for a moment, then suddenly asked again:

"Your Goethe Kingdom...really defeated the Weiser Kingdom's skyship?"

"Yes, we won that war."

Lake nodded, confirming this question.

Upon hearing this, Prince Peter's expression changed for the first time. He thought for a moment, and then asked the opinions of several ministers of the Shadi Kingdom.

Every minister agreed to accept the Goethe Kingdom's proposal for an alliance.

Then, Prince Peter nodded:
"Your Goethe Kingdom is indeed a powerful country. It would be great for us to be able to sign an alliance with you, so..."

At this moment, a secret guard came up to Prince Peter, whispered a few words in the prince's ear, and handed him a letter.

After hearing this, Prince Peter's expression changed rapidly, as if he was thinking deeply.

Then, he looked at Lake and said in a slightly apologetic tone:

"My apologies, Miss. We have some urgent matters to attend to. Regarding the alliance, it concerns both countries and cannot be decided overnight. We would appreciate it if we could wait a while, or wait until your country's official delegation arrives before proceeding."

As he spoke, Prince Peter waved his hand, and several attendants came forward, ready to lead Lake to her living quarters in the palace.

Lake frowned. She wanted to say something, but there was really nothing wrong with Prince Peter's reason.

So, Lake had no choice but to give up.

After all, this is a decision that concerns the entire country. Even for the current Shadi Kingdom, it is reasonable to reach a conclusion after a long period of discussion.

As he watched Lake walk out of the palace, Prince Peter was silent for a moment, then stood up and left.

He walked into the palace and into a room in another direction. He opened the door and saw another small hall.

In the hall, there were already three people sitting there, dressed in gold and white clothes, who looked more like priests.

Among them, the one in front handed a letter to Prince Peter. The envelope was also stamped with an emblem, the main body of which was three twisted lines - the emblem of the Sri Kingdom.

"Prince Peter, you are a smart man, and God has always favored you."

The leading Sri priest said, with a barely perceptible glint in his eyes, "The position you are sitting in now is also given to you by us, because you know how to follow God's will better than those members of the Shadi royal family."

"But those Goths did defeat what you called the invincible flying fleet!"

Prince Peter looked a little gloomy.

"That's easy. Our Sri Kingdom can do the same. Moreover, soon, the Sri Empire and the Holy Protestant Church will completely rule this place."

But the priest Nasri didn't care. "Prince Peter, take the long-term view. We have agreed to your terms and will not go back on our word. Whether it's status or wealth... you won't lose anything, right?"

In front of these Sri priests, Prince Peter lost all his previous arrogance. His body was trembling, as if he was carrying some kind of fear that was difficult to conceal.

Perhaps he knows more about the Sri Kingdom than the Goethe Kingdom that suddenly appeared.

"But those Shadi people all want to agree to an alliance with the Goethes..."

Prince Peter showed a trace of embarrassment on his face, but then a hint of viciousness flashed in his eyes, "I understand, then I will send someone to--"

He raised his arms across his neck, making a beheading motion. "I'll send my assassins to assassinate the envoy from the Goethe Kingdom."

"You have a good idea."

Hearing Prince Peter's words, several Sri priests smiled in agreement, "God will be pleased with your decision."

"Okay, let's do it. After all, she's just a girl." Prince Peter nodded and began to plan in a low voice, "As long as the messenger is dead, Shadi will completely break with Goethe, and then..."

"Wait a minute, what does the envoy from the Goethe Kingdom look like?"

Unexpectedly, after listening to Prince Peter's words, the Sri priests suddenly frowned and asked.

"It's a girl, wearing a strange red cloak. She knows court etiquette and is young, but nothing special. I guess she's one of Goethe's nobles or something... Any questions?"

"Red cloak?"

After hearing this, the Sri priests looked at each other with complicated expressions. Then, they looked back at Prince Peter and shook their heads.

"After some consideration, we believe your assassination plan may be inappropriate."

"Isn't that right? My assassins are very strong and won't..."

Prince Peter frowned.

"We in the Sri Kingdom don't need too many shaky plans, understand?"

The Sri priests said, their cold gazes making Prince Peter look a little uneasy, "First, delay that messenger and don't give her a definite answer or the truth. Wait for the arrival of our Sri Kingdom people - do you understand?
Even if the Goethe Kingdom's delegation visits later, we will handle it the same way. Do you understand?"

Prince Peter was a little confused, but he knew that he had no right to refuse:
"understood."

……

"We want to meet Prince Peter. Regarding the alliance, the Goethe Kingdom has no intention of taking control of sovereignty. This is just a proposal to prevent aggression and is beneficial and harmless.

Even if His Royal Highness disagrees, we should still send troops to guard against the Sri Kingdom, so..."

In the embassy, ​​Lake asked a Shadi guard anxiously.

"I'm sorry, Miss, this is His Majesty's order, and I can't make the decision."

But the guard, the silk flute, still mechanically shook his head as he had done the previous times. "I have already reported your request to His Majesty Prince Nie Zheng. You just need to wait a moment. His Majesty has been busy with many matters recently. I hope you will wait patiently..."

wait?

If we wait any longer, the army of the Sri Kingdom will probably be at the gates of the city.

Lake frowned and watched the guard leave, but there was nothing she could do.

The envoys from the Kingdom of Goethe also arrived, but this time, Prince Peter even refused to meet them on the grounds that he was busy with official duties.

"Is there a problem with this?"

Poro was also a little confused.

No matter how much official business there is, what could be more important than this matter that affects the safety of the Shadi Kingdom?
"Go ask the other Sir Shadi?"

However, the situation in the New Shadi Kingdom is completely different from what Princess Marlene had guessed in the Shadow Capital. The force field of Prince Peter, the King of Shadi Nie Zheng, has become somewhat ambiguous and difficult to discern.

"I'm sorry, I do agree with your Goethe Kingdom's proposal. As a Shadi person, I really hate those invaders."

A minister looked at Lake and said, but his face showed a hint of embarrassment. "However, in the end, His Majesty Prince Nie Zheng has to make the decision on this matter... I promise to speak for you."

After leaving the minister's residence, both Lake and Poro felt a little heavy-hearted.

The minister I just met is the most powerful person in the current New Shadi Royal City, except for Prince Peter, King Nie Zheng.

Judging from what he said, he does agree with the alliance.

But... he doesn't seem to be a man with political talent, or in other words, his position is completely on the side of Prince Peter, King Nie Zheng.

"Why is this happening?"

Lake and Poro walked on the road somewhat depressed.

But at this moment, a man in a satin costume came down the street ahead. He had curly hair, a mustache, and a friendly smile on his face.

"Excuse me, young lady, are you the envoy from the Kingdom of Goethe?"

Lake was stunned for a moment and nodded:

"Yes."

"On behalf of all the Shadi people, thank you for defeating the Kingdom of Weiser and avenging our compatriots who died in the war!"

The curly-haired man said, bowing respectfully to Lake.

"Uh, that's not necessary..."

"All the Shadi people yearn to form an alliance with you to protect the hard-earned peace."

The man said again, "Miss, I saw that you looked very worried just now. Is there something wrong?"

"I came here this time to form an alliance, but..."

Lake thought for a moment, then spoke and told the curly-haired gauze flute player in front of her about the difficulties she had encountered.

"Is it Prince Nie Zheng who won't deal with it?"

The curly-haired man frowned, thought for a moment, and said to Lake, "In fact, many people in Shadi are somewhat dissatisfied with the rule of Prince Peter, but for some reason, he was able to sit in that position simply by virtue of his status as the 'last princess's fiancé'."

"Ok?"

Lake paused, then asked in surprise, "So, he wasn't actually elected by the people?"

"Yes, and after he came to power, he squeezed several of Shadi's old ministers out of his core circle, and then promoted some... ministers who obeyed him."

The curly-haired man said, "He also married many wives, but each of them fell seriously ill and died within a short period of time.

The rest of us Shadi people have spread rumors that he is cursed."

"curse?"

“Yes, most of the Shadi people want a member of the Shadi royal family to become king, not an outsider.

What a pity, our king, the royal family, they were all killed by the damned Wethers!"

The curly-haired man said indignantly, "Otherwise, even if that person, Prince Nie Zheng's fiancée, the last princess Malin, was in power, it would be much better than it is now!"

"Wait, you said the last princess? Her name is... Marlene?"

Lake's eyes widened as she listened to the man's words.

"Yeah, haven't you heard of it? Oh, sorry, I forgot, you are not people from Shadi."

The curly-haired man explained apologetically, “Princess Marin is the only descendant of our last King Shadi, but she disappeared seven years ago.

If she were still alive... no one would allow the current prince to become the ruler, not even King Nie Zheng.

Moreover, if it were the Shadi royal family, all the lords would definitely obey.”

As they watched the curly-haired man's back disappear, Lake and Poro looked at each other.

Princess Marlene.

Prince Peter's fiancée?

They remembered the girl who was sitting on the bed in the Shadow Capital.

If it were her...

"Perhaps we could ask the last princess of the Shadi Kingdom? Whether it's getting Prince Peter to agree to the alliance or some other method, perhaps it would be better than asking around in the capital."

(End of this chapter)