At the foot of White Dew City, Beatrice once again approached the Blood Knight Army single-handedly.
This time, Colin greeted her quite gentlemanly.
The two met in the middle of the military formation and the city.
âKnight Beatrice, we meet again.â
âCount Angler, by coming to White Dew City with so much fanfare, do you mean to break our agreement?â
Colin shrugged, somewhat helplessly, âYou canât blame me for that, the royal envoy was too fast.â
âSo weâre just going to give up?â Beatrice asked reluctantly.
âGive up?â Colin chuckled, âThose two words donât exist in my dictionary.â
Beatriceâs eyes lit up, immediately she queried, âCount Angler, do you have a good idea?â
Colin looked at the towering city walls of White Dew City and said slowly, âSince the War Order has already arrived in White Dew City, of course, I canât provoke any further.â
Listening to Colin emphasize the word âproactivelyâ, Beatrice somewhat understood, and continued, âYou mean to let the Easterners take the first move?â
âYes.â
Beatrice, however, slowly shook her head and said, âYou may be disappointed. The Easterners are more than willing to cease fire with the North Territory, why would they initiate?â
Colin gave Beatrice a meaningful look and said, âAre you not an Easterner?â
âYou mean, let me initiate?â Beatrice looked at Colin in disbelief.
âYes. I know you donât have many troops in the city, but you can choose a time to assassinate me!â
Hearing this, Beatriceâs heart missed a beat, her eyes started to involuntarily avoid Colinâs.
She quickly realized that Colinâs expression remained unchanged and began to calm down.
Unaware of Beatriceâs change, Colin continued, âSince youâve decided to assassinate the Archbishop of the East, you must have prepared for escape. It shouldnât matter if you take on another crime of ignoring the War Order and assassinating a count of the Empire.
As long as you hurt me, the Blood Knight Army will have reason to enter the city to protect their master.â
Then, you can arrange for a trusted person to open the city gate for the Blood Knight Army, who will then help you eliminate the protective forces around Mrs. Kate. You know what to do next, right?â
Beatrice looked deeply at Colin, then nodded decisively.
âGood, letâs do as you say!â
Subsequently, Colin returned to the military formation, ordered Knight Logh to lead the army to camp outside the city, and then entered White Dew City with Prince Harrison, Princess Judy, and one hundred guards, following Beatrice.
Walking on the streets of White Dew City, Colin casually looked around, admiring the scenery of this Eastern capital.
Compared to the grandeur of Winterfell City, White Dew City lacked some majesty, but had more refinement and architecture influenced by Elves from the nearby Bright Moon Forest, emphasizing harmony with nature and use of bas relief and pillars.
Compared to regular enclosed buildings, these Eastern buildings with colonnades lack a sense of restraint and create a rich play of light and shadow as well as alterations in visual perception under the sun. They also blend the interior and exterior by including the outside scenery as part of the architectural decoration.
This was Colinâs first visit to White Dew City, and he immediately fell in love with it.
Regrettably, the citizens here obviously did not like this Count from the North Territory.
Walking down the street, numerous Easterners showed their hostile gaze towards Colin, if it werenât for the soldiers standing on both sides of the road, these angry Easterners would have already rushed forward.
Under these hostile gazes, Prince Harrison and Princess Judy seemed somewhat nervous, but Colin acted as if nothing had happened, still looking at the buildings lining the streets with interest.
And because of that, Colin did not notice two familiar faces hidden among the angry Easterners.
âLetâs go, sister. In this situation, your assassination attempt will not succeed.â
Count Evan lowered the brim of his hat, trying his best to hide behind the crowd, and urged Anna next to him.
Anna stared at the tall figure of Colin, who was riding on the back of a horse, her right hand gripping the hilt of her sword, her veins bulging as if she ready to draw her sword at any moment.
Seeing this, Count Evan quickly held his sisterâs hand, leaned into her ear, and whispered, âAnna, trust me, attempting an assassination now would only alert the enemy.â
Anna turned to look at her brother, her eyes red as she defiantly said, âSo we should just not avenge our fatherâs death?â
âOf course we should!â Count Evan said firmly, âBut not like this. Trust me, I have a better way!â
Anna stared into her brotherâs eyes for a long while, finally sighed, and let go of the sword hilt.
Count Evan quickly pulled his sister along, squeezed out of the crowded people, and walked briskly toward the city gate along the alley.
As they walked, Anna became more and more confused, finally she couldnât help but speak up, âBrother, are we going in the wrong direction? White Dew Fortress is that way.â
âNo, we canât go to White Dew Fortress.â
âWhy not?â
âBecause once I go to White Dew Fortress, I will be put under house arrest.â
Seeing Annaâs confused face, Count Evan sighed and said, âStop asking sister, just follow me if you trust me.â
Anna bit her lip and remained silent, allowing her brother to lead her through the city.
âStop right there, this is a military area, unrelated people cannot get close!â
In front of the city tower, two siblings were stopped by a patrol of soldiers.
âI have urgent military information to report, could you let me see your superior?â
The soldier looked at Count Evan, seeing that even though his clothing was ordinary, the sword hanging from his waist did not seem ordinary, he said,
âThen you can wait here.â
Not long after, a knight came to Count Evan under the guidance of the soldier.
âWhat urgent military information do you need to report?â
Count Evan looked at the badge on the knightâs armor, he lifted the brim of his hat, revealing half of his face, and said, âI want to see Count Nicoll, can you take me to him?â
âThe Count is not someone you can see as you pleaseâ¦â As the knight began speaking, he stopped abruptly, having finally recognized the person in front of him, âYou⦠are you Count Evan?â
âSsh!â Count Evan put his finger to his lips, âDonât reveal me, take me to Count Nicoll.â
The knight nodded dully, and then led Count Evan and Anna onto the city tower.
At the top of the city, Count Nicoll stood, transfixed by the Blood Knight Army setting up camp outside the city, presumably lost in thought.
âCount, this gentleman⦠wants to see you!â
Count Nicoll frowned, not even bothering to turn around, he asked, âWho wants to see me?â
âItâs me.â
Hearing this slightly familiar voice, Count Nicoll finally turned around, then he saw the face of Count Evan with a slight smile.
âCount Evanâ¦â Count Nicoll exclaimed in surprise, but then immediately lowered his voice, âWhen did you enter the city?â
âIâve been in the city for a while now,â Count Evan said vaguely, âCan we go somewhere else? I donât want anyone else to know Iâm here.â
âAlright, please follow me.â