Lord: I can see loyalty.

Enjoy reading "Lord: I Can See Loyalty" and savor your reading time.

The Emerald Palace, the capital of the Northern Kingdom, is located in the council hall.

Cedric sat on the throne, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest, producing a monotonous and dull sound.

The gray sky outside the window hung low, as if it might collapse at any moment. Sunlight could not penetrate the thick clouds, and the entire hall was shrouded in gloom.

Before him knelt a trembling messenger, his forehead pressed against the cold floor tiles, not daring to raise his head.

"Say it again." Cedric's voice was very soft, as if he were asking about the weather, but everyone could hear the suppressed anger beneath the calm.

The messenger swallowed hard, his voice trembling: "Your Majesty... Lord Aldrick, he... he's dead. His body was found in the courtyard on the east side of the Emerald Palace; he'd been stabbed in the throat."

The hall was deathly silent.

The nobles and knights standing on both sides bowed their heads, not daring to breathe.

The great mage Leonard stood in the corner, his black robes covering him completely, his staff held in his hand, the magic crystal at the tip of the staff shimmering eerily in the dim light.

His face was expressionless, but a barely perceptible tremor flickered in his eyes.

"Dead?" Cedric repeated, his fingers stopping tapping. "He went to kill, not to die. The Earl of the Southern Border only had two men. He, a mage specializing in assassination, couldn't even kill two people?"

The messenger lowered his head even further.

"Your Majesty, according to the on-site investigation, Lord Aldrick was approached while casting a spell. The opponent's speed was too fast; it must have been so fast that Lord Aldrick didn't even finish chanting the incantation before being slit in the throat with a single sword strike."

Cedric remained silent for a moment.

He recalled Vio's demeanor at the banquet—his composed and dignified expression.

He thought it was just youthful arrogance, that as long as he sent Aldrick, he could get rid of this major threat without anyone noticing.

But now, the men he sent are dead, while Vio is still alive.

"What about Black Forest?" he asked.

Another messenger stepped out from the crowd and knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, the mission to Blackwood has also failed. Our men were discovered by the Gray Hyena Mercenary Group and the Knights of the Southern Territory. Most of them were captured, and a few... died."

"Dead?" Cedric's voice finally rose a few decibels. "A group of elites who drank potions and had illusion magic items to aid them, couldn't even defeat a few mercenaries and knights?"

"Your Majesty, it is said that a one-eyed mercenary named Zane..." The messenger's voice trailed off, "He saw through the illusion, fought four against one, and even killed one of them. By the time the reinforcements from the Southern Territory arrived, the rest were surrounded."

Cedric closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled.

He leaned back in his chair, his fingers starting to tap the armrests again, faster and more erratic than before.

"Leonard," he began.

Leonard emerged from the shadows and bowed slightly. "Your Majesty."

"Audrey is dead, and his potion recipes and illusion tools have likely fallen into the hands of the Earl of the South. What do you think the Earl of the South will do with these things?"

Leonard paused for a moment. "Your Majesty, while the potion recipe is precious, it requires specific materials and magical techniques to create."

"Although there are mages like Valentine in the Southern Territory, it would be impossible to replicate the same effect on a large scale in just a few years."

"A few years?" Cedric sneered. "I can't wait a few years."

"So, Your Majesty means..."

"It's time to put some pressure on them." Cedric stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the gray sky outside.

"If the Earl of the South is not eliminated, my throne will be insecure. He controls the South and the West, has four Grand Knights, and countless knights and militia. Once he has digested the resources of the West, if he joins forces with the East, the North will be in danger."

"But Your Majesty, sending troops now..."

“I know,” Cedric interrupted him. “It’s too hasty to send troops now. We haven’t prepared our supplies, manpower, or morale... but I have no intention of sending our Golden Mane Griffin family out immediately.”

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the hall.

"Pass down the order: have all families immediately assemble their forces. No matter how large or small the family is, anyone who doesn't come will be an enemy of the Northern Border."

Cedric's actions were not intended to completely sever ties with the Southern Territory; he merely needed to issue this order as a warning to the other families—

War is about to begin. This is simply to get them to choose sides.

"Yes, sir!" the crowd responded in unison.

Cedric walked back to his throne, sat down slowly, and looked out the window.

"Vio Ross," he said softly, "you are no match for me."

…………

Southern border, Earl's Castle in Portor.

Vio stood by the window of his study, gazing at the shimmering waters of the Sea of ​​Gaza in the distance.

He held in his hand a piece of intelligence that had just been sent from the North. The handwriting on the letter was messy, but the contents were shocking—

Cedric is having other families gather their forces, though he hasn't said it outright, but the target is likely the southern border.

Cohen stood behind him, while Vance held a thick stack of parchment in his hands, his face etched with exhaustion.

"We only have one month left at most." Vio put down the letter. "We only have one month."

"My Lord, what can we do?" Cohen asked.

Vio didn't answer immediately, but walked to the table and picked up a crumpled piece of parchment.

It was a potion recipe that had been taken from Aldrick. The writing on it was dense, and it was covered with complex magical symbols and herbal patterns.

Valentine had been studying it for several days, and the wrinkles on his old face were getting deeper, but he still hadn't come to a definitive conclusion.

"Uncle Valentine," Vio called toward the door.

The door was pushed open, and Valentine walked in, leaning on his staff. His old eyes were bloodshot, clearly from staying up for several nights in a row, but they were still bright.

"The recipe is fine." He sat down at the table and spread out the parchment. "The Golden Griffin family certainly has a knack for this."

"This potion uses several herbs native to the North, along with something called 'Dragon's Blood Grass,' which can greatly enhance a person's strength and stamina for a short period of time. However, it also has significant side effects; after the effects wear off, the person will be weak for several days, and it may even cause permanent damage to the body."

"Can it be copied?" Vio asked.

Valentine remained silent for a moment.

"Yes, but it will take time and materials. We can't find the herbs from the North in the South, so we have to smuggle them from the North. Dragon Blood Grass is even rarer; it's said to only grow deep in the Dragon Mouth Mountains."

Vio's brow furrowed slightly. The Dragon Mouth Mountains—it was that place again.

"And this too." Valentine took out a small ball from his pocket. It was a magical item that could create illusions, which he had seized from a spy.

The ball was only the size of a thumb, its surface covered with intricate runes, and it glowed with a faint blue light under the candlelight.

"The crafting process for this is more complex than that for potions. It requires magic ore and advanced magical runes. Our craftsmen can imitate it, but the effect will definitely not be as good as the original."

"It just needs to be able to imitate it." Vio took the ball, twirled it in his hand, and said, "It doesn't need to be perfect, just functional."

He turned around, walked to the huge map of the Southern Border by the wall, and pointed to the border between the Southern and Northern Borders—Blackwood.

"In a month, Cedric will have to assemble a large army of knights, but we also have the Sky Peak Knights, the Whale Knights, the militia, and the Grey Hyena Mercenary Group."

Vio's voice was calm. "We also have the advantage of terrain, city walls, weapons and armor forged from magic ore, and... these new things."

He waved the potion recipe and illusion orb in his hand.

Everyone nodded, understanding that a war with the North was inevitable.

Vio, however, turned his head and looked towards the direction of the Dragon Mouth Mountains in the north.

He remembered the red dragon, the dragon scale magic stones there, and the dragon blood grass he would soon need...

Having either one would be immensely beneficial to the Southern Territory.

"It seems," he turned around and muttered to himself, "that I'll have to go to the Dragon Mouth Mountains again."