This was Lane's fourth time meeting Foltestai.

The first time was when they asked for help before the Northern Territory Conference. At that time, the two of them had nothing to say to each other.

The second time was during the Northern Conference. Foltestai opposed his proposals at the conference, and finally reached a consensus after mediation by Queen Miwei and Vizimir II.

The third time was when they repelled the Nilfgaard Central Army outside the capital of Lyria. Foltestai unexpectedly brought troops to support them. He didn't speak to him and left after the battle. It was very quick and decisive.

On these three occasions, Foltestai appeared noble and elegant in front of Lan. Even when he was occasionally angry, he was majestic, as if he was waiting for an artist to print his profile at any time.

But this time, it's different.

Foltestai stared at him, his upper and lower molars clenched tightly together as if they had a grudge against each other, and his cheeks bulged high.

That look could be described as sad and angry.

After hearing what Foltestai said, Lan laughed: "Your Majesty, you are joking... There is no hatred between us, so how can we talk about revenge?"

[Because I once proposed that my illegitimate son marry Cirilla, you are taking revenge on me!] Foltestai roared in his heart.

However, even though he was roaring in his heart, after initially raising doubts out of control, the king, who had been in a high position for many years, quickly adjusted his mood.

He sneered, "So that's a conspiracy? You heard the rumor that Radovid of Redania wanted to marry Adda, right? You don't want to see Temeria and Redania unite, so you use this despicable trick behind the scenes to destroy our alliance!"

Lan En couldn't help but shook his head after hearing this: "If I really am such a wicked person, Your Majesty should not discuss matters with me alone in the room."

"Your Majesty, just say what you want to say. Beating around the bush like this is insulting both of us at once."

This impolite tone made Foltestai's cheeks twitch again, but the blond young man didn't seem to feel guilty at all.

The king took a deep breath and then let it out slowly.

He revealed the first purpose of meeting Lan today: "Adda's child will inherit Cintra."

"Impossible." Lann said without hesitation.

Foltestai slammed the armrest: "That's your child!"

Lann looked at the king, whose chest was bulging with anger, pursed his lips, and said in a matter-of-fact tone: "So I want him - or her - to inherit Temeria."

As expected, the next second King Fertestai's chest swelled like a balloon and was about to burst.

A deafening roar rang out in the conference room. The guards and servants outside the door tried to come in in panic, but were then driven out by Foltestai in an even more furious manner.

The heavy breathing sound was repeated a dozen times.

After Foltestai finally calmed down a little, Lane took the initiative to stand up, straighten the overturned wine glass and fill it up.

It's really not right to be so stubborn in front of a father after doing something like that.

"Your Majesty." Lann thought for a moment and tried to comfort the other party. "Now that things have come to this, we should look forward."

Foltestai almost thought that the other party wanted to make him die of anger on the spot and then support Yada to succeed to the throne.

Lann continued, "I know you have other ideas, but I hope we can skip those early temptations if you really love Yada."

Foltestai's face turned redder. This man's blood vessels are really flexible.

But he did not say anything about letting Adda's child inherit Cintra.

He drank the glass fiercely, his eyes fixed on Lan, who calmly refilled his glass.

"What makes you think she can inherit Temeria? Adda is a daughter, and I have other sons."

Lann said calmly, "But Yada is the daughter of your legitimate queen, and your son is a bastard."

"Illegitimate children can be made legitimate."

"But Temeria under his leadership was definitely not as prosperous as under Queen Adda's rule."

Foltestai drank another glass of wine angrily, but this time he felt a little relieved.

Although Lann's words were not soft, he had already given a promise between the lines: if Adda succeeded to the throne, then the Lannisters would be willing to support Adda and support the "prosperity" of Temeria under Adda's rule.

This was the only promise Foltestai wanted for his daughter.

Does Foltestai love his daughter? There is no doubt that, as Lann said, Adda is the daughter of the queen he loves deeply, and even the name "Adda" is the queen's name.

But as a king, Foltestai had to consider more. As a princess, Adda was not originally an option for heir, and Foltestai's original plan was indeed to make his illegitimate son the heir to the throne.

However, the combination of Yada and Lan and the resulting product have helped Yada to consolidate its hard power.

After all, that was Cintra. After the Civil War, the voices of the "Five Great Powers" had already emerged in the North.

The other three kingdoms have not fought each other, but it is certain that Cintra is stronger than Aedirn. Cintra itself is a neighboring country, and such a country will become an ally of Temeria because of Adda, which is good news for Temeria.

Regardless of whether the current situation is caused by Yada's little tricks or Lann's conspiracy, to some extent, Foltste would rather see this result.

The fire was burning in the fireplace, Foltestai kept drinking, and Lann kept pouring wine.

The anger was finally extinguished bit by bit by the wine.

After a long while, Foltestai asked slowly, "Do you love Yada?"

"You're joking." Lann used euphemisms, but still without any hesitation.

Before Foltestai could roar again, Lann interrupted him and said, "Do you think Yada loves me?"

Foltestai's body froze.

"We all know what happened. This is a coincidence that caught everyone off guard, but it can solve many of our problems. At least from the results, this is a good thing."

"If I want to soothe our mutual feelings, then I can only say: I will love Yada's children, that's all. And I believe Yada does the same."

This is a conversation that would undoubtedly be hammered to death in modern society, but it is perfect in this situation.

To be honest, with Yada's background, knowledge, and strong character, she was destined not to fall in love with anyone emotionally. That night was just a situation that everyone understood.

Things like love are so complicated, and the relationship between Ran and Yada is very pure.

Of course, given the child's current value, Yada will undoubtedly love the child in the future, and may even develop some feelings for Lan.

But that’s all, and this “love” doesn’t exist now.

Even Foltestai agreed with this view. So after staring at Lan for a while, his breathing gradually calmed down.

"I heard from Kayla that Cirilla announced her engagement with you at the National Restoration Celebration?"

Lan nodded in acknowledgment.

"You are so bold!" Foltste snorted coldly, "We all helped Cintra resist Nilfgaard and restore your country, but you tricked us. Lan, you broke the promise we made at the Northern Conference!"

Lann covered his lips with his wine glass: "You have two mistakes. First, fighting Nilfgaard is not only to help Cintra, but also to help the North. This is now a consensus."

"Second, I promised at the meeting that 'the future monarch of Cintra and your heir will be one family.' From Temeria's perspective, I have kept this promise."

Foltestai slammed the armrest hard and was about to say something, but suddenly he felt a shudder like an electric shock at the back of his head, and the anger aroused by family affairs disappeared in an instant.

He looked at Lann's half-smile and narrowed his eyes: "Lannister...what are you planning?"

“Perhaps you have already guessed part of it.”

Foltestai looked at Lann for a while, and felt that the pair of dark golden lion eyes suddenly became majestic.

Finally he looked away: "Do you know what caused this meeting on Thanedd Island?"

Lan nodded.

"Given your status, you don't have to go in person. You can let your druid or Triss represent you. So what are you planning?"

Lann smiled and said, "I have always been curious about the Warlock Brotherhood. I just want to take this opportunity to learn more about it."

Although he and Foltestai are now in contact, they are still far from being "real insiders", so many things should be kept vague.

Foltestai shook his head noncommittally. "Temeria will send two representatives this time. You have met the consultant Kayla, and the other is my special forces commander Vernon Roche. If you want to do anything, you can find them."

"I won't be polite." Lan raised his glass towards the king.

Foltestai waved his hand in a disinterested manner: "That's it, my order has been given, you just need to go and connect with them."

This is driving people away.

They had finished talking about everything, and Lan En didn't want to embarrass himself in front of the sour face.

But before leaving, he suddenly thought of something.

"His Majesty?"

"What's up."

"Now that our relationship has become more...close." Lann chose his words carefully, "You also know that Cintra now attaches great importance to mysticism, so you can understand many things that ordinary people don't know."

Foltestai had already closed his eyes to rest, not wanting to see Lan any longer. Hearing this, he opened his eyes again.

"Do you know [Wyren]?"

"Are you asking me if I know the territory of Temeria?" Foltste sneered, "Thannid Island is within Velen's territory. But if you want to get any help from Velen, forget it. There..."

"The area is vast and sparsely populated, and the environment is harsh—even more exaggerated than Kaedwen." Lann took the lead in avoiding the topic, "But what if I were to tell you that there are other reasons besides natural factors for all this?"

Foltestai sat up straight: "What do you know?"

"I don't know what you think of faith, but nowadays there are always some creatures that have survived from ancient times and like to call themselves 'gods'." Lann shrugged, "There are three such creatures in Velen. They call themselves 'Ladies of the Forest' and use bloody means to hinder the development of Velen."

"In any case, Velen is located on an important trade route. If it can be built, it will definitely have the potential to become a port city that is not inferior to Mapori. And by destroying those three monsters, Velen can be liberated to a large extent." Lann said sincerely, "You can understand this as a gift from me to... Temeria."

Foltstead looked at Lann for a moment and asked, "How does the Lady of the Woods compare to your ice giant or dragon?"

"A well-trained army is enough to deal with them."

The Temeria king nodded noncommittally and waved his hand.

This time Lan En really went out, and under the vigilant eyes of the guards, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked at his palms carefully, but he didn't even know what he was looking at.

At this moment, there was only one thought in Lan's mind - I actually have a child.

…

The city of Brokilon.

Levin, Lane's former attendant and current mayor, put down his pen and let out a sigh of relief.

The content of the document in front of me is a bit strange. It is about a special day in Blochilon - Arbor Day.

The festival originated from the agreement reached between the Duke of Lannister and the dryads of Brokilon: it required the dryads to open the resources of the forest to Cintra and prohibited the use of dryad magic to transform human children; and in return, the Brokilon people would help the dryads solve the problem of reproduction.

For the Brokilons, there was little to no effort, only reward.

Later, both parties selected a day for the collective organization to enter the forest, and the Duke of Lannister even wrote down the day in a bold stroke - Arbor Day!

Levin always felt that the Duke's smile at that time was very meaningful.

Levin attaches great importance to this festival, because the Duke attaches great importance to the relationship with the dryads. The key lies in the [Water of Brokilon] that the dryads possess. Even now that druids and warlocks have magic potions, the dryads' healing methods are unique.

As far as Levin knew, the Duke valued the other mysterious effects of the Water of Brokilon more and had always wanted to take it for himself, but he never took action because he felt that the time was not right.

Levin wants to help the Duke get this "opportunity"; if it doesn't work, he must maintain good relations with the tree spirits before the opportunity comes, so as to facilitate the Duke's future actions.

There was a knock on the door and the mayor's secretary pushed it open.

"Has anything happened around the forest lately? Any poachers or wood stealers?"

The mayor asked about the situation as usual. Around Arbor Day, there were always people taking advantage of the situation around the forest.

The secretary shook his head. "The patrols of the patrol team have been strengthened more than once, and those people from the Lion Cult have also helped spontaneously. The outsiders did not even need the ladies in the forest to take action. We caught them and put them in jail first. We still need you to be present to judge them together."

The secretary handed over a stack of papers with a list of criminals and their interrogation details.

Levin looked down and watched silently.

"It's just..." The secretary suddenly hesitated.

"Tell me, I want to know everything about Brokilon Forest, no matter how big or small it is!"

The secretary immediately lowered his head and said, "I can't judge whether this matter is important or not. I didn't want to bother you, the mayor, with it."

"Normally our people don't see the green ladies outside of Arbor Day. After all, they still reject us... But recently, those herbalists who go into the forest have spread the news that they often see the three little ladies outside the forest."

"They don't avoid our citizens. On several occasions, people who were picking herbs saw the three young ladies followed by a well-trained team. It was said that the Silver-Eyed Queen's sister, Ellie, was also among them."

"The herbalists think this is very unusual. What kind of little tree spirit needs the protection of the queen's sister? The queen's child? But wasn't it said that the queen had lost her fertility a long time ago?"

Levin listened to the secretary's report and fell into deep thought.