People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

The response I received was somewhat unexpected.

"Alledie Cumberland has made no unusual moves. She's been very quiet lately."

Seemingly genuinely aroused Sarkaz's suspicion, Allardy has been behaving unusually discreetly lately. In the past, she would occasionally attend banquets hosted by the city's minor nobles, a way to deceive herself and, in turn, help Curst consolidate her remaining power within the city. But lately, she has kept a low profile, almost to the point of being socially invisible.

Moreover, there were indeed more Sarkaz around her mansion.

In the past, the Duke of Custer would have been satisfied with this answer.

The Breath of Kings was now in Allard's hands. Once this wave of surveillance was over, she could send Grey Hat to bring the sword out of Londinium at any time. Kester had that much patience.

But now she only felt more suspicious!

After a moment's thought, she decisively drew her conclusion:

"It seems our eternally noble Cumberland is planning to avoid me?"

"Since that's the case, let's teach her a lesson."

Kester nodded slightly to the man in the grey hat and tossed the intelligence report into the fireplace. With a sizzling sound, the man in the grey hat lowered his head knowingly.

Kess had many ways to control Cumberland: her family, her dreams, her friends, and even her life.

Grey Hats are Caster's loyal dogs; they certainly wouldn't let their master say anything impolite, they understand everything.

As soon as Castor opened his mouth, they knew what to do. A warning? Send a Grey-hatted man to lure Allard out, and then use that opportunity to have the others set fire to her house.

A small punishment is enough to make her understand her place.

As for why Allardy, who seemed to have done nothing wrong, was punished, the answer is that Curst gave the order, it's that simple.

Whether there was a defection or not is not important.

"Has the identity of that Draco who appeared been found out?"

Having determined Cumberland's punishment, Castle then steered the conversation back on track.

"I remember there was a Draco with Ernst. Is it her?"

"What are you talking about?" The man in the grey top hat didn't deny it immediately, but instead asked, contrary to his usual behavior.

Kester frowned in surprise:

"Who else could it be? The one who always stays in the corner of his office. The poet has reported this to me many times."

"Oh, that's not it."

The man in the grey top hat rubbed his hands together.

"It has nothing to do with Ernst?" Kester asked again.

"No, it does matter."

The man in the grey top hat shook his head.

"But it's someone else."

“Your Grace, the one you’re referring to is Raphsini—Abrahna’s sister, and she’s on the Duke of Wellington’s side.”

"This is Talulah. Well, her identity is rather complicated, and we can't determine who she represents for the time being."

It wasn't that Grey Hat was incompetent; it's just that Talulah's background was a complete mess. Even an agent of Grey Hat's caliber would feel uneasy seeing it!

Talulah Atrias is the daughter of Edward Atrias. Based on this lineage, she should represent the legitimate Red Dragon royal family, which is considered extinct.

But she's not.

Edward renounced his inheritance from Victoria and fled to Lungmen. When he fled to Lungmen, he had no wife with him!

Regarding who he eventually married and who had Talulah, the Grey Hats encountered a huge obstacle as soon as they began their investigation, and the investigation came to a standstill.

The reason is simple: they directly accessed the royal secrets of the Yan Kingdom.

Edward Atrias's wife, Talulah's mother, is Wei Yanwu's sister. She may not seem like a particularly powerful figure, but you should know that Wei Yanwu is not just the Governor of Lungmen! His younger brother is the current True Dragon of Yan Kingdom!

Edward is now dead, and Wei Yanwu's sister is also dead. Regardless of whether his relationship with this "princess" from Yan Kingdom was a free love affair or whether Wei Yanwu was the matchmaker, the matter is now unclear.

For the people of Yan, the most taboo thing is to air their dirty laundry in public!

If the Grey Hats were to investigate this matter thoroughly, it wouldn't just be about Talulah's identity, but would also involve Lungmen Governor Wei Yanwu, the True Dragon of Great Yan, a deceased princess of Yan Kingdom, the Chen family of Baizhao, and could even touch upon the most sensitive issue in Yan Kingdom: the "True Dragon Emperor's succession problem"!

Go ahead and investigate, investigate all you want, you won't find a single clue!

The man in the grey hat didn't dare to ask any further questions. The Duke of Caesar's expression changed repeatedly after hearing this, and he didn't dare to inquire any further.

She probably wouldn't have the guts to investigate further.

If we follow this relationship, then Talulah should be backed by the Yan Kingdom.

Yan is quite remarkable. Kester still remembers the display of power and arrogance by Yan's Grand Commandant when he won a seat on the UN Security Council at the World Summit.

Sea creatures, demons, behemoths.

While Kester wouldn't claim to know everything about these things, she had at least heard of and done some research on demons and behemoths.

The fact that Yan Kingdom could produce items for studying demons and also the skeleton of a giant beast is enough to prove their strength, which is at least far above that of Duke Kester!

However, Talulah cannot be considered a citizen of Yan Kingdom.

Why? Because she was kidnapped when she was very young! She had virtually no deep connection with the Yan Kingdom, Wei Yanwu, or those important figures in the Yan Kingdom.

Does that mean that Talulah might not have anyone standing behind her?

That's not right either, because the person who kidnapped her was no ordinary person either.

Ursus Empire – Duke Kosichear.

Ursus differs from Victoria. The Grand Dukes of Ursus are less powerful, and their vast territory boasts dozens of dukes, far exceeding the number in Victoria. However, these dukes are far less powerful and influential than the wealthy, well-armed, and powerful Grand Dukes of Victoria!

After all, Ursus was at least once a centralized empire, while Victoria, thanks to the power of the imperial dukes, never truly achieved centralization.

Even so, no one would think that a grand duke kidnapping such a "special" child was just a whim.

"Duke Koschei devoted a great deal of effort to training Talulah. He frequently took Talulah to noble gatherings and introduced her to the internal affairs of the duchy at a young age. It can be said that, except for not having any military power, Talulah's image to the outside world was that of Koschei's successor."

"The one in the grey top hat reported."

The Duke of Caesar nodded:

"The Ursus people value military power very much; nothing but death can make them relinquish their command."

"Are the Ursus people standing behind Talulah?"

Ursus isn't easy to deal with either. Although its economy is weak, Ursus's military strength is still considerable. Everyone still remembers its undefeated dominance over a decade ago.

Everyone knows that Ursus is in a sorry state now, but everyone also knows that even if this house is shaky, if you really kick it, it will definitely fall down and crush you!

If Talulah is backed by the Ursus, then this might be a trap.

An extremist faction within Ursus is using external war as bait to alleviate internal conflicts.

This is not impossible. It's not uncommon for officers to leave alone in Ursus. When their great rebellion broke out, there were also calls to bombard St. Martial Castle.

"But Your Grace, it's still highly unlikely that Talulah is backed by Ursus."

"Because Duke Koschei died several years ago, his political legacy has long been divided up by others, and Talulah disappeared at that time. According to our eyes in Ursus, at the time of the incident, there were many rumors that Duke Koschei was assassinated by Talulah. The credibility of this claim is about 80%."

"She only recently appeared."

"This time, she went to Iberia with Ernst."

Kester took a deep breath.

One more.

The Duke of Caesars had a love-hate relationship with this "poor relative."

He was intelligent, but unfortunately, he couldn't be used by her. She also missed the best opportunity to help him win him over when he was down on his luck.

But you can't really blame her, can you? Who knew that such a talent could emerge from that remote mountain village of Sherag? Grey hats are everywhere on this land, but Sherag is the only one she can't be bothered to even send out!

Looking back now, all I can say is regret.

Talulah is hanging out with Ernst again, so is it possible that she is one of Ernst's people?

Also a possibility.

Just like all the possibilities that were ruled out before, although they were ruled out, no one could guarantee that Talulah would not still have lingering ties with them.

All I can say is that anything is possible.

The Duke of Caesar was unusually perplexed.

Even in the bizarre world of Terra, there is no other person like Talulah who has traveled from west to east and from south to north and has some connection to all of them.

I've learned something new! I never imagined that at her age, she would still have such knowledge!

Indeed, one is never too old to learn.

After rubbing his temples for almost a minute, the Duke of Caesar finally let out a long sigh:

"Suppress this matter for now and don't reveal it to the rest of the Duke's coalition forces. Minimize the impact."

"In any case, the sudden appearance of a Drak is troublesome enough. This situation can't be allowed to become any more muddy!"

"Also, go contact Sherag and tell him to invite Ernst over."

Kester paused, thought for a moment, and realized that using "visit" as an excuse seemed inappropriate, but other reasons didn't seem likely to persuade Ernst to come.

After considering for a moment, she changed her words:

"Tell him to come and see what real war is like!"

The man in the grey top hat lowered his head and bowed in greeting.

"Yes, my lord!"

P.S.: My thesis proposal is due on December 8th, and oh my god, I haven't written a single word yet! I'm doomed!

Although I haven't written a single word, I feel a mysterious calm. And it seems like no one else has written a single word either; looks like I'll be busy these next few days. Family, I might be heading to the underworld at any moment!

Chapter 828 I can negotiate, I can also protect the emperor

Victoria, Londinium, high-speed warship Galawa Iron Shield.

This warship was the Duke of Windermere's flagship, and it is said that when it was built, the Duke of Windermere wanted to create a behemoth that was no less than the Wellington Gastrill.

But later, Kent came to her with the Duchy's financial statements and persuaded her to give up the idea.

"Lingon in Gaul was once the largest mobile city on this land. Although its grandeur is insignificant compared to Londinium today, it was still a large mobile city."

"That's why Gastrill was built using a section of its keel. If we wanted to replicate that kind of high-speed warship, we might as well use the keel to build a new mobile city."

The cost of building a new mobile city would definitely be far greater than building a new high-speed warship. The Duchy of Windermere was not a particularly wealthy territory to begin with. It's not that they were completely without money; they could certainly scrape together the funds by exploiting the people and making them suffer a bit. But there was absolutely no need for that.

Therefore, in the end, the Galawa Iron Shield was forced to only be compared to the Duke of Caesar's "Glory".

This was the Duke of Windermere's last act of defiance.

This was Ernst's first time boarding such a heavily armed, high-speed warship, but to be honest, his surprise wasn't as intense as he had expected.

Perhaps because he had already been on the exaggerated "space carrier" of a certain pigeon-like president, Ernst even felt that the Galawa Iron Shield looked somewhat outdated.

High-speed warships like the X-2, which cannot fly and lack anti-air capabilities, will inevitably be phased out in the future of Terra. Just as the era of large battleships and giant cannons came to an end after the advent of aircraft carriers.

Attacks beyond visual range, which cannot be countered, pose too great a threat to these behemoths.

However, Ernst certainly wouldn't spoil the Duke of Windermere's mood at this time.

The Duke, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, suddenly invited Ernst to his flagship, clearly intending to show off his power. Ernst understood this little scheme and, at the opportune moment, revealed a sense of envy, like a country bumpkin visiting a grand garden.

It wasn't until he followed the adjutant into Duke Windermere's command post and saw the dignified duchess in full military uniform with long blue hair that he finally composed himself.

Duke Windermere stood before the sand table, looking at Ernst with a satisfied expression:

"How does it feel?"

She asked abruptly.

Ernst was slightly taken aback.

It wasn't that I was stumped by her straightforward request for praise, but rather that I was surprised to find that she was the only one in the room.

What about Caesar? What about Godottin? What about the other dukes?

Talulah has already caused a huge disturbance in the city, and they haven't reacted at all?

This was clearly a bit unexpected for Ernst. After a moment of surprise, he could only take it one step at a time: