"That's the current situation." Josephine ended her explanation with a nod as though she confirmed that the situation was under control.
"So, you're planning to let them fight and destroy each other?" The king looked down, falling into deep thought.
"That's right, Your Majesty. By letting them destroy each other, we will be able to see their secret weapon. I'm pretty sure that there is another reason for their growth, and because of their conflict, they should have two different paths. This way, the Muivell Kingdom will be able to see both of their secrets."
The king could agree with this statement. Even though he had acknowledged Anna as an Arbiter, her strength was still unknown. He wanted her to give that secret to him, but she had yet to show any weakness to exploit.
So, if he agreed with this arrangement, Noel would push Anna so far that she would reveal her own secret. Noel would certainly be the same.
Even if Anna would be the one losing in the future, he could simply intervene. Anna would fall into the hands of the royal family, and Noel would die, completely erasing the Ardagan Family.
"That's not a bad suggestion." The king stroked his chin while contemplating the pros and cons. After a few minutes, he said, "We'll let them be for a moment. Since the nobles have given us a bit of pressure because of that Rune Academy, we'll stay quiet for a bit. The crown prince…"
"I don't think that's a good idea, Your Majesty." Josephine looked like she understood why the king mentioned the crown prince. He must want to send the crown prince to Noel's territory not only to grow closer to Anna but also to learn the runes.
Unfortunately for him, Josephine disagreed right away, baffling the king.
"What do you mean, Josephine?"
"Right now, Anna has no weakness. If you send the crown prince there, she will end up protecting the crown prince. If Noel targets the crown prince instead of her…"
"Are you saying the crown prince is incompetent?" The king narrowed his eyes.
"I have overstepped my bounds." Josephine lowered her head, but her tone remained serious as though she deemed the crown prince to be Anna's weakness.
The king couldn't deny her words completely. Josephine had been working for him for a long time, so he knew what she had been doing this whole time.
He ultimately agreed with the arrangement. "Alright. We'll let them be for now. I want you to monitor their situation. Since it will look bad if the royal family sends an expedition mission to him, we'll wait for him to settle down. This should be enough."
"Understood." Josephine nodded.
"Go." The king waved his hand, dismissing Josephine.
Unbeknownst to them, this decision was something they would regret for their entire life.
…
Atracaeca Kingdom.
"Hahahaha. I've finally received the secret of the runes!" The second prince laughed while holding a few pages of papers. It contained all the secrets Noel used to teach Tristan, making the runes a bit easier for him.
"Congratulations, Your Highness." The Great Protector next to him humbly bowed to him. "You're one step closer to becoming the Grand Protector."
"I should thank you too. If not for you, we would have lost the bargaining power." The second prince smirked.
"I don't deserve such praise." The Great Protector shook his head.
"By the way, what is the situation with the frozen statues?"
"All the ice has melted. However, the situation doesn't look that good. Most of the frozen statues can't be resurrected. Even with the healers and all the methods we possess, it's basically impossible for us to stop them from dying. It's like they have 'died' inside the ice for a long time, so there's nothing we can do."
"Is that so?" The second prince frowned. The situation didn't seem to look that good.
The Great Protector added, "However, there are a few strong men among them. They managed to survive the ordeal of time, but there is one big problem. Because the previous civilization didn't have Spiritual Energy… their lives were extremely fragile. They are in a coma right now, and we don't know when they will wake up."
"For now, make sure they don't die." The second prince saw a ray of hope and had to make sure that it wasn't extinguished. He asked, "I'm still wondering… Since the previous civilization didn't have Spiritual Energy, how come we, the latter generation, have the ability to use one?"
"I'm afraid I don't know the answer. But if I have to guess, it's probably through the evolution process. Or there is a chance that the experiment has changed humans and its latter generation to be able to absorb the Spiritual Energy."
"Well…" The second prince sighed. "We won't know the answer for the time being. In any case, we'll continue monitoring those people. My father should have known that I have the secret of runes. With these two, I should be at the top among my brothers."
"Yes, Your Highness."
…
In another corner of the Atracaeca Kingdom.
An old man was sitting behind a pile of papers while sighing, "Why do I have to handle all this paperwork when I became a Grand Protector due to my strength? What's the use of my strength, then?"
"Please don't complain, Grand Protector. We'll be here to help you." A middle-aged man stood next to him with another batch of paper.
The Grand Protector was surprisingly smaller than everyone could imagine. He was elderly in his late fifties.
His body looked small and fragile. His muscles were still brimming with energy, but the tired face made one pity this old man if they didn't know his true identity.
"What is the current situation with the princes?"
"The first prince is still training his body. The second prince seems to have gotten the secret of the rune system directly from Noel Ardagan himself. As for the third prince… he is still playing around with women."
"Kh." The Grand Protector facepalmed, frustrated with the first prince and the third prince. However, he noticed the second prince's achievement and asked, "What do you mean by Noel Ardagan? Have you investigated it properly?"
"Yes, Sir. According to the report, Noel Ardagan was supposed to be dead, but it seemed that he had hidden his identity and just appeared in our territory not long ago. Through that encounter, the second prince managed to gain the secret of the runes."
"Is that so? Good, good, good. If we can produce people capable of using runes, we'll be extremely strong." The Grand Protector nodded, satisfied.
"It's just that… we have received a letter from Noel Ardagan."
"Huh? The letter of the creator? What does it say? Does he want to cooperate with the kingdom?"
"This…" The guy looked away while scratching the back of his head. He didn't know how to word it, but it was clear that there was a problem.
"What's wrong? Give me the letter."
"This is the letter, Sir…" He handed him a white envelope, but when the Grand Protector received it, he realized that there were a total of three envelopes.
"Huh? Why are there three letters…" The Grand Protector stopped when he saw the sender of the letters. "Wait a second… Who is this Ezenholm Family?"
"The Ezenholm Family is a famous family from the Greenwood Kingdom. The former head of this family was the current king's tutor."
"Then… Why is the Royal Family sending one too? Even with their relationship, there is no need to do it, right?" The Grand Protector's heart skipped a beat as he pointed at the third letter.
"I believe you should read the content, Sir. You'll understand their connections… And these letters are brought by the Greenwood Kingdom's envoy."
"Greenwood Kingdom? Don't tell me… the Greenwood Kingdom has gotten the cooperation of the creator of the rune system before us?" The Grand Protector panicked and hurriedly opened the letter.
He first opened the Royal Family's letter, considering they were the most important. However, the content was pretty simple and straightforward.
"Noel Ardagan is the descendant of the Royal Family of the Greenwood Kingdom. We're frowning upon your action in extorting him. We've decided to decline the cooperation regarding the Arnus Mine. And shall the Atracaeca Kingdom continue their aggression, the Greenwood Kingdom will be taking action as he is the teacher of our second princess."
"Huh?" The Grand Protector dropped his jaw, not believing what he saw in the letter. The Descendant of the Royal Family? The teacher of the second princess? He looked at his assistant and asked, "This princess… isn't she…"
"Yeah. The one who is most likely to become the next ruler if not for her desire to step away from the throne. "But I'm not aware of the relationship between the royal family and him."
"No, that's not important right now. The teacher of the second princess… there is only one thing that he can teach the second princess, right?"
"I'm afraid so." The guy paused for a moment before confirming, "The rune system."
"Then, what kind of action did we take against him? I haven't heard anything about this. I only knew about him entering the country from you."
The guy could only look away while saying with a troubled tone. "I think you can find the answer in the other two letters."
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om