Power Field (3)

"Rudolf didn't come?" Queen Lucia gently lifted her soft hair to her chest, and the pearls dotted in her hair were shining.

"He lost contact on the southwest border and we suspect he went to the delta."

The knight who was whispering beside the Queen was the female knight Picher whom Inger had seen last time in the Hughes territory. She was still openly accompanying the Queen.

The Queen picked up a glass of 1986 Cupito and looked in one direction through the light golden transparent wine.

His deep red hair made him stand out among the other lords.

Duke Leon and Princess Aura were talking solemnly.

She turned her gaze to the other side thoughtfully. At this time, the Ninth Prince, who had just returned from the countryside, was happily chatting with a fashionably dressed lady.

Diagonally opposite the two of them, the Tenth Princess, the Second Son of the Neka Family, and the Second Son of the Count Stella Family walked out from the terrace one after another.

The Neka family's child didn't look too well, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness.

I'm afraid most of the people here don't know that these two people would actually act together?

Lucia took a sip of wine and hid the smile in her eyes.

She turned her head and whispered in Piher's ear, "Send a message to Ariana that the Ninth Prince's actual combat test will be conducted at the southwest border."

"Ariana's last letter said that she couldn't answer the phone during this period, and there was a high chance that she would be discovered."

"Add a picture of little Coco to her letter. She'll love it."

"……yes."

After giving the order, she put on a diplomatic smile and walked over to the Zarambra diplomat.

"Mr. Ambassador, are you satisfied with today's dinner?"

The diplomat from Zalambra had a big belly and half of his face was red from alcohol. He spoke in unfluent Chuonese: "Oh... Your Majesty, except for the wine, which is slightly inferior to that of our motherland, everything else is just as good."

The Queen raised her eyebrows and smiled. "How are the Spring Festival arrangements? I miss the taste of golden bean cakes and crispy flowers."

Golden bean cakes are rough cakes made by frying leftover tofu residues, while crispy flowers are snacks made by frying the petals of flowers left over from the nobles' dinner plates. They are popular delicacies in the rural countryside of Sarambula. Of course, the dogs raised by the nobles in the Spring Palace would not touch them.

"Hahahaha... you're joking. His Majesty the Emperor misses you too. If you wish, he will send a cart of Safini."

Safrentine is a world-renowned wine from the Zarambra Empire.

The ancient bard's words are popular in Zalambra, "Winter is here, spring is near." Therefore, the Spring Festival is usually arranged in the coldest season of winter, and in order to prepare for this festival, people usually start working in the fall to prepare a week-long luxurious banquet.

The only reward for the hard work of the farmers and workers who had been preparing for winter throughout the year was the leftovers from the buffet they had prepared.

The queen shook the deprecated Cupito wine and said, "Well, I received quite a lot in the first half of the year, but the taste has not been as good as before recently."

The diplomat from Zalambra was half sober and changed the subject: "Oh, you don't know that most of the wine produced by those poor farmers is defective, and they also have a lot of excuses, saying that the harvest is not good..."

Queen Lucia agreed with a smile in her eyes: "Well, that won't do. This is a must-have wine for the Spring Festival. If we don't have this, how will people from other countries view the Zalambra Empire?"

The diplomat wiped his sweat and whispered in Zalambula: "I'm only telling you this. Actually... the situation in the country is not particularly good... those poor farmers and workers often get together to strike, and there are too many of them to be arrested. The nobles have repeatedly compromised, but they are getting more and more demanding, and your majesty doesn't care about these... Oh, and there are also the knights. The most troublesome thing is that a large number of them have defected... What's going on?"

Lucia pursed her lips, showing a sympathetic look, and also switched to Zalambra: *"Goddess, this is not good...Your situation doesn't look good either. Do you need my help? I still have some personal savings over the years."

The diplomat's expression perked up, his eyes bulging out from his fat: "This! I am so sorry... Her Majesty the Queen is really kind and benevolent! I will take responsibility to send the donations back to the country to solve the urgent problem!"

Lucia lowered her eyes slightly: "After all, this is my motherland and Chun Palace is my home. This is what an assistant should do. Please tell me more about the situation in Zarambula so that I can estimate the specific materials that need to be transported." She raised her glass and said softly: "Sarah!"

*"Sarah! Sarah! Hahahahaha!"

[There is no magic sound barrier... but I can't understand it either, and I can't use translation magic... what a pity, I'm too far away to hear it. ]

Inger paid special attention to the Queen, who was talking to the ambassador. Her expression changed a lot and it was obvious that she was cooperating with the other party.

Alex was very far away, and even if his hearing was very good, he couldn't hear her soft voice in such a noisy environment.

[Zalambula and Levi's... I still need to learn them well...]

Inger looked around and asked Uri, "Are these all the people here?"

Uri shook his head. "No, the fourth prince Rudolf didn't come. Her Majesty the Queen couldn't have not invited him, so he probably won't be able to come back. I heard that he and his mercenary team have been wandering around the southwest border all year round. And the Duke of Hughes, he died not long ago, and the two sisters of the Hughes family came to the capital one after another. I heard that they are fighting for the right of inheritance. The son of the Duke of Southwest didn't come. It is said that he had some conflicts with the Duke and was locked up by him at home."

Inger had some impression of the last one, Melian Amiel. He had met her once during the final exam, and she seemed to be the second student in that project.

[The nobles stationed in the border areas and the nobles in the political center are basically all here. ]

Amid the clinking of glasses, there is a battlefield hidden everywhere with smoke of gunpowder.

The change of power unfolds in such social gatherings.

[We invited several members of the House of Representatives, but this number is too small...]

Inger saw Alex go over and talk to Claro Monbinet, the chief administrative officer of the House of Representatives. The two of them had peaceful and relaxed smiles on their faces and were having a pleasant conversation.

[As expected of the protagonist, you don't have to worry about this. 】

On the other side, Lanmore also walked over, and the three of them smiling together reminded Inger of a scene in a famous TV series.

If you look carefully, you will find that the hall is clearly divided into several camps.

There was a group of people around the Second Prince Murat, there was a group sitting next to the Third Prince Fons, there was a group of nobles waiting to kiss the back of the Queen's hand, the neutral nobles were happily eating their meal and dancing, the parliamentarians gathered together, and some stood in the corner with gloomy expressions.

Inger pointed to a tall, thin, and well-dressed man and asked, "Who is that?"

That kind of dress code is obviously for the earl level and above.

"Oh, it's Duke Amiel. He has been coming to the capital two or three times a year in recent years."

[Is that the duke who is suspected of being involved in the slave trade? ]

She had short black curly hair, a hooked nose, deep blue eyes set in sunken eye sockets, a tall and thin figure, and the bones of her shoulders seemed to be sticking out of her dress.

"Two or three times? What for?"

"Is he here to buy medicine? His wife is not in good health, but she would come to the palace to visit him every time. The emperor, empress, and powerful princes would visit him one by one. My impression is that he is a very rigid person and would not overdo gifts. The second and third princes once wanted to recruit him to join their group but were politely rejected."

"Does he always come with a fleet of cars whenever he comes to the capital?"

"Yes, most of the border lords are like this, but this year the East-West Line opened, and the situation has changed."

【It’s a bit much. 】

Inger kept his guess in mind.

Wu Rui continued, "By the way, you know about the incident in Harunga Territory, right?"

[The evil one is standing right in front of you. ]

Inger nodded without changing his expression: "What?"

"Because of what his son did, Her Highness the Crown Princess seems determined to depose Duke Mihe and has sent an investigation team to the Harenga Territory. The parliament is also filing a case. Am I going to be a witness to history?"

The six existing ducal families have never been deposed since the founding of the empire.

Perhaps the relatives had committed some crimes, but not enough to overthrow a ducal family.

But keeping the current Duke of Harenga will not be beneficial to the two future wars. Even if Princess Aura cannot do it, Alex will definitely have to do it.

Inger was thinking about all this in a messy way when several people came towards him.

"Your Excellency the Duke...His Royal Highness the Ninth Prince." Inger bowed slightly, but was slightly stunned when he looked at Alex.

Alex was looking at him with a smile, his expression perfectly normal, just like a classmate he hadn't seen for a long time and wasn't very familiar with.

However, a strange feeling passed through Inger's heart.

This was completely different from the feeling he had when he called him "His Royal Highness the Ninth Prince" a few months ago.

Alex... after working together for several months, it's impossible for us not to be familiar with each other.

What's more, they have met many times in private in the capital.

Inger was lost in thought for a moment as he looked at him. He couldn't even describe his feelings at the moment.

Let it be? Angry? Fear?

"What's wrong? Second Master Neka? Could it be that I haven't shaved my beard cleanly yet?" Alex smiled, touching his chin.

Wu Rui smiled: "How could that be? I just saw a row of noble ladies inviting you to dance. Alex, you didn't even enter the dance floor."

"You, too? Oh, what happened to Cheryl? You won't dance if she doesn't come?"

"She's sleeping at home. You know she hates social occasions like this. I came here reluctantly because my brother and my dad kept nagging me to come. After all, since neither of them could come to our house, one of them had to come."

They seemed to get along like good classmates. After all, they mostly practiced together in the riding class.

[My goal will not change. People are selfish. I don’t want to die. Once I’m done with this busy period, I’ll let go of everything.]

Alex is a capable, trustworthy person who is also strong enough.

What's more, he is the protagonist.

The help I provide during this period of time is just self-comfort and compensation for my guilty conscience, and that’s all it is.

He doesn't want to get into the game of power, nor does he want to go to the battlefield of hell.

【But why……】

What is this uneasiness?

It seemed as if something was quietly changing, but he couldn't tell what the change was.

"Be careful during the fall practical test."

"But I am relieved because the result is always good. I don't know why, but the predictions about you are always good news. I may have done something unnecessary."

Christine's words flashed through his mind.

[The result is good...]

Usually, prophecies in novels and comics will come true, not to mention that Christine's abilities are real.

[…I don’t think I should worry about it, right? Should I just pretend to be sick and stay home?]

And the law that the protagonist is a trouble maker is bound to come true.

Inger looked at Duke Leon again.

The other party smiled and said, "If you came to my territory to play, I could still entertain you. What a pity."

It was the first time that Wu Rui heard the Duke speak so kindly, and he was flattered and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Duke."

Alex asked Uri, "Has our team leader changed?"

"Yes, Professor Obed is leading the team himself. Well, I guess it's because Inger is on the team."

Inger now remembered the first copy in the comic.

At this time in the original work, Alex also participated in the actual combat test as scheduled and went to the southwest territory. He originally wanted to go home to visit his godmother and younger brother, but he encountered a Warcraft riot. He and his partners worked together to stop the riot.

Is this the danger Christine was talking about?

However, compared to last time, Alex is more experienced this time and is less likely to make mistakes, and Professor Obide is also here.

As far as he knew, Christine's predictions in the comics were correct, and even she herself could not change the prophecy.

[Christine only told me this... If I don't go... will my fate change? ]

The opposite of good results…bad results.

[This is a must-go…]

But he still cared about the look in Christine's eyes before she left.

"Who is in our group?" Inger asked casually.

Uri pointed at himself and said, "Me, you, Sheri, Norihua, Alex... five to six people in a group. A group should have at least two knights, one wizard, and one ordinary student. Generally, we should look for people we know, right?"

[The main knight of the protagonist group...wait, why am I mixed in with them? ]

It seems that there was also a stranger in his previous team, but he survived in the end. The early dungeons were not that scary.

Alex smiled and said, "You are a wizard, right? Thank you for your care."

[They are so happy pretending. Do the royal family members have a natural talent for acting? ]

Inger replied perfunctorily, "Yes."