Just as Alexia had predicted, the headlines of most newspapers in Ruen on Wednesday morning announced the arrival of envoys from the two kingdoms. While the articles didn't explicitly state the delegations' purpose, even the city's carriage drivers knew what they were here for.
Beyond teasing the southern kingdoms' war with a rather superior tone, the papers also covered their eting with the king. The front page featured a photograph of Salsi II eting both delegations in one of the palace's high-level reception rooms—one of his few appearances in print since the recent riots.
Dolores managed to get so inside information, though it was rumored to have been deliberately leaked. Both kingdoms had expressed their desire for an alliance to Salsi II, but the weakened king, citing recent dostic political problems, declared that he would need to give the matter careful consideration.
The envoys were now prepared for a prolonged stay in Ruen. The war in the south was not going to be over in a matter of months; Fidektri and Cheslan had already begun mobilizing production of winter food and clothing for their troops. Thus, the diplomats had no choice but to remain and await a decision.
"The foreign ministry is hosting a special reception to welco Count Bidden of the Fidektri Kingdom and Viscount Wilson of the Kingdom of Cheslan. All the princes and princesses have been invited. Jenkins, will you accompany ?"
Alexia asked. Jenkins considered it for a mont, then nodded his assent, though he still had a question.
"Why would Cheslan send only a viscount as their special envoy? Isn't that rank a bit low for such an important task?"
"Viscount Wilson is related to the Stuart royal family by marriage," Julia explained from the side. "Furthermore, this Viscount Madison Wilson lived in Ruen until he was eighteen, so he's quite familiar with the city's social circles. He earned his title on his own rit, and his father, the elder Wilson, is an influential duke in Cheslan with only two sons. So, Cheslan has sent a very capable man indeed."
Jenkins finally understood. He also realized what Alexia had ant the night before when she said Ruen was about to get a lot more "chaotic."
After back-to-back adventures in Nolan, Jenkins was utterly exhausted. He decided to take a break, avoiding any excursions besides his daily strolls near Ruen's public square.
So, from Wednesday onward, he spent most of his ti at the estate in Ruen. Besides completing the daily lessons sent remotely by Papa Oliver, he also helped Dolores with so of her paperwork.
The treasury departnt she led was now running smoothly. When her confidants ca to visit, they often saw Jenkins wandering around Dolores's house with a cat in his arms. Consequently, a rumor that "the foreign author and the princess are living together" began to spread like wildfire through the aristocratic circles of Ruen.
Jenkins himself was oblivious to all this. Alexia brought it up one evening during a casual conversation while they were lying on the roof, gazing at the stars. The northern sky was truly breathtaking. With no dense fog to veil it, the view from the countryside estate revealed a canopy of countless stars and the shimring ribbon of the Milky Way.
"So you suspect Dolores leaked the rumor on purpose?"
Jenkins asked, feeling his cat nuzzle against his cheek.
"Is there even a need to ask?"
Alexia countered. Jenkins wanted to nod, but it was an awkward motion to make while lying on his back.
And so the week drew to a close. It had been remarkably peaceful in both Ruen and Nolan. Aside from the daily newspaper reports from the front lines, it felt as though life might just continue on in this tranquil manner forever.
During that week, Jenkins completed eight of his trades with the old man in the clock tower of the Doomsday Illusion, leaving just two more to dispel the realm. Back in Nolan, the investigation into the recent string of strange events continued. There were still no leads on the Titan, but the matter of the otherworldly incursion had taken a decisive turn. After Jenkins, Mr. Hood, and Mr. White Cat dumped the ambassador's corpse in the street, a certain small principality found itself in a world of trouble.
Since it was warti, the kingdom needed to make an example of soone to warn any restless factions at ho. The Ancient Ao Principality barely had ti to react before Fidektri cavalry stord its lands. The soldiers left the common folk unhard, but it was said that the duke's palace was razed to the ground.
Information from Miss Bevanna confird that the Ancient Ao Principality was connected to the Tree House. The organization had infiltrated nearly every level of the small nation, and they were the ones behind the otherworldly invasion. Their motive, it seed, was simply to sow chaos.
"I know exactly what they're after,"
Jenkins thought to himself upon hearing the news.
During these quiet days, he also found the ti to visit Miss Audrey on the outskirts of Nolan. When those terrifying otherworldly creatures had arrived in the city, she had been the one to suggest that he "divine" their origin. It surely hadn't been a spur-of-the-mont decision.
"Of course it wasn't a whim. Fate guided my hand."
the woman told him with a smile from her sofa. While he knew she could genuinely perceive fate, Jenkins suspected she was being playful this ti.
"So, what was the real reason?"
he pressed.
"Because this matter needed to be resolved by you, I was simply providing a path for you to beco involved."
"You know sothing, don't you?"
Jenkins's mind went to the third white gemstone that had appeared on the Misfortune Poem after the incident was over.
"People always assu we diviners know so much more than everyone else, but in truth, we are rely peering at the future through a dense fog. I never claim to see anything more; it is all simply the fruit of divination and prophecy."
She spoke cryptically, but she seed quite pleased that Jenkins had raised the question.
"Fate may be fickle, but it is not without its portents. Your ability to sense that sothing was amiss proves my last six months of instruction have not been wasted."
"That's only because your involvent in this was so obvious..."
Jenkins muttered under his breath, strongly suspecting that she had glimpsed the future foretold by the next emblem through the Millstone of Fate. But it didn't really matter. Miss Audrey was clearly on his side, and he didn't need to understand everything.
Jenkins kept busy, shuttling between Ruen and Nolan for various odds and ends, while Dolores was swamped with her official duties. Alexia was hardly idle, either. She spent the entire week studying the body of the Corpse Gentleman that Jenkins had brought back, and she had made a significant breakthrough.
"Wait, Alexia... you actually dissected the corpse?"
Upon hearing the news, Jenkins was still in utter disbelief.
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