Carroll shook his head frantically and shouted, "No!"
Aldenan quickly gestured for him to be quiet.
Carroll leaned back against the tree and said listlessly, "We can't hand those two over to Wayne."
Aldenan nudged Carol with his elbow, his tone full of sarcasm: "Is it because of Miss Barbara? She's the star of the Golden Lark Theatre Company, the dream girl of the entire Twilight City... You can't be serious, can you?"
Carol glanced at the werewolf and whispered, "I once owed Miss Barbara a favor."
"Oh? Tell me about it."
“When I was a dockworker, I once accidentally broke a glass screen that the Golden Lark Theatre Company was shipping. According to the dock area’s rules, I had to fully compensate the customer for the loss, but at the time I simply couldn’t afford that much money.”
"I don't know who it was, but they told Miss Barbara about my family situation. She took the troupe leader to the dock area manager and told him that it was just a cheap stage prop."
Aldenan stroked his chin with his furry wolf paws and said with a malicious smile, "So, you fell in love with her."
Carol glared at the werewolf: "No, I owe her a favor!"
Aldenan raised his hands, feigning surrender: "Alright, alright, it was a slip of the tongue. You owe her a favor..."
Carroll snorted, and when he turned his gaze back to the couple, he noticed that Barbara had her head resting on Randall's shoulder.
The orc closed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "It's time to go."
——————————————
At the same time, in Lone Rock, in the study of Regent Jennings.
Looking at the military intelligence reports submitted by the army recently, Regent Jennings frowned, his eyes filled with anxiety and unease.
Military mobilization, material transportation, ship resupply... Ayyubid's imperial army has been increasingly active on the border recently.
"Could it be that these southerners want to launch a war against the parish soon?" Jennings put down the report in his hand, stood up from his chair, paced around the room a few times, and muttered to himself, "There's no reason for it. The Ayyubid Empire was first at war with the Abbasid Empire, then it invaded the Eastern Holy City, and recently I heard that there has been internal strife within the empire. It's impossible for them to launch an offensive against the northern parish in the near future."
"There is an old Tarot proverb that says that travelers who are about to embark on a long journey will prepare a wooden plaque with their name engraved on it before they set off, so that even if they die, they will not become an unnamed corpse."
The sudden sound startled Jennings.
"Who is it?! Show yourself!"
The door was slowly pushed open, and a tall, handsome man entered the room. He smiled at Jennings and said, "Regent of Lone Rock City, please don't be too nervous. I have no intention of harming you."
Observing the visitor's words and actions, Jennings frowned and said, "Your appearance is clearly that of a parishioner, but your accent sounds like that of a southerner."
“That’s right, my parents are of noble Talo descent, but I was forced to grow up in the South… Lord Jennings, could you please stop pulling that alarm cord under the table?”
"What...what did you say?!"
The man selected a relatively comfortable chair in the room, sat down, and said to Jennings, "I didn't harm the guards outside; I'm just letting them enjoy a rare moment of sleep."
"Who are you?!"
The man touched his forehead, stood up again, and bowed to Jennings: "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Garcia Kilooria. I'm here to warn you about something... Just a week ago, the Ayyubid Empire launched a full-scale war against the diocese, and Lone Rock City was the first target of the Empire's Eastern Route Army."
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