"Tell more about this," asked King Hugo to his advisor.
"The area is the eting place of the three kingdoms and the only territory that has canal access for Thebis and Wolgast. The King of Northendell at that ti agreed to the deal," explained the advisor.
He continued his words. "The king wanted to match their crown prince with a princess from Wolgast in the West. And the West provided conditions for opening up the territory so that they could easily access Thebis without paying multiple taxes to the North."
"Ah, about the arranged marriage that didn’t happen," said King Hugo.
King Hugo rubbed his hands at this golden opportunity.
"Duke Pellington’s family used to be part of Northendell. It’s just that when the deal was made, they chose to join us. That’s why they still own the mine there."
King Hugo smiled sinisterly. He rose from his chair.
"Well, sotis we have to sacrifice sothing to get a bigger prey, right?"
"Your Majesty, do you intend to cancel the agreent with Duke Pellington?"
King Hugo chuckled. "If so, what can that man do? We only accepted his proposal because the man offered us a diamond mine. And look what lies before our eyes right now. The entire territory of the land will be ours! And when Duke Pellington tries to threaten us, we would already have more power!"
The advisor looked worried by the happiness his king felt.
"But Your Majesty—"
King Hugo didn’t listen to what his advisor had to say. If later Duke Pellington still wanted to marry one of his daughters, he could just give him another one.
King Hugo had many daughters who were no less beautiful than Arielle! Wasn’t this actually better? He no longer needed to be haunted by the white-haired woman every ti he crossed paths with the child!
"Hahaha! This is the benefit of having many children!" said the king happily. He grabbed a pen and paper. Imdiately discussed with his advisors what they should ask for.
After confirming that all the demands on the list already matched what they wanted, King Hugo invited his advisor to return to his study. William and his two advisors were still in the sa place he had left.
"Well, I have so conditions before King Ronan could marry my daughter."
William’s brows rose slightly in surprise as King Hugo had beco more open now.
"Does this an you accepted the proposal from King Ronan?" the man asked.
"Depends on whether you can accept the conditions from us."
William glanced at the two advisors beside him. He gestured for both of them to carefully note what King Hugo would ask as a condition.
"We will listen carefully, but allow us to record this properly so that there are no misunderstandings in the future."
King Hugo shrugged his shoulders and then gave the two advisors permission to write down what he was going to say.
"First of all, I request that King Ronan forgive Alexis, assuming the substitute wolf’s debt is paid off."
William nodded, listening intently.
"Secondly. Since there is no need for a wolf to be replaced, Arielle must return to the South until you can fulfill my next requests. Arielle should return to the South within ten days," King Hugo said.
He added, "Then... I want King Ronan to hand over the ownership rights of the neutral territory to the South. You know, King Ronan is going to marry a princess from a great kingdom. My precious Arielle should be honored by giving a gift that only a king of the North can afford."
William refrained from laughing out loud when King Hugo referred to Princess Arielle as ’my precious Arielle’. If Princess Arielle was that precious to King Hugo, then that man wouldn’t let Princess Arielle go to the North in place of Prince Alexis, who had made a mistake.
"And lastly, we want this...."
King Hugo’s advisor gave him a paper with a few additional requirents. William read it bitterly. They wanted a ship filled with warm furs of the best quality. They also asked for hundreds of silk scrolls and various jewels.
All that the North could possibly provide. However, it would be hard to give them one last wish. The South asked for two priests who could control heat and light respectively.
"If I may ask, why does the South need two priests?"
King Hugo just shrugged his shoulders.
"It’s none of your business. I don’t accept any gifts from you if one is missing from the list," King Hugo said overly confidently.
William let out a long sigh and then re-rolled the list given by the king. "We will pass it on to King Ronan."
"I await your answer as soon as possible."
William refrained from hitting the king’s face. He smiled crookedly to cover the burning turmoil in his heart. "The journey from South to North takes so ti. I hope you can understand these conditions."
"Up to you." King Hugo rose, followed by William and his two advisors. William gave King Hugo a copy of their conversation written by one of his advisors.
"Then we will hurry back to the North," said William, then bowed respectfully to the king.
William left the room. The two advisors followed soon after. Likewise with the three knights who had been waiting.
When he was preparing to return to his horse, suddenly a prince stopped right in front of him. He was Prince Archie.
"Give my regards to Arielle. I hope she is not hurt before her wedding day," said Prince Archie. He handed a piece of paper secretly to William.
William frowned, looking confused by the prince’s departure as if nothing had happened. He opened the paper. His eyes widened when he read the ssage.
[If you guys are late, Arielle will be married off to Duke Pellington.]
William tried to find Archie, but he couldn’t find the man. He cursed under his breath.
"We must et His Majesty the King soon," he whispered to a knight beside him.
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