Chapter 1667: Chapter 1667

The ailing king gave Jenkins no opportunity to speak, laying out his terms directly.

"I can tell you with the utmost seriousness that in tomorrow's Tri-King Summit, I will propose a formal armistice between our two nations. If this succeeds, it will deal a powerful blow to the 'traitors' within Cheslan. Even if the price of peace is that Cheslan must pay reparations, I will be able to return home with immense political capital. If I'm still alive by then, no voice will dare to oppose the king in Cheslan again. And in return, I will give you my full support in becoming the king of Fidektri. This is the promise I give you as the king of Cheslan, the last descendant of the Alecio family."

Delivering the letter was a simple favor for Jenkins, and seeing the king lay his cards on the table , he saw no reason to refuse. He offered a few words of comfort and then promised to get the letter delivered as soon as possible. At this, the young king smiled in relief, and the pallor of his face even seemed to improve.

"I will keep my promise," he declared.

The carriage eventually stopped in front of Pops Antique Shop. The driver and his master likely assumed Jenkins was heading to work so early. Since he was there, Jenkins naturally went inside to greet Papa Oliver. The old man jumped, startled to see him at such an hour.

"Did something happen again?" Papa Oliver asked with alarm, already reaching for something under the counter.

"Nothing's happened. It's a peaceful morning," Jenkins said, giving the old man a puzzled look. "Why such a strong reaction?"

"Just yesterday, you and Bevanna agreed at the church that you wouldn't need to come to the shop every day until the negotiations with the Believers of Lies were finished. You could open up whenever you felt like it. But the day after we agree you can take leave whenever you want, you show up first thing in the morning, even earlier than your usual hours. Of course I'd think something's wrong... Either that, or the ladies at your house finally joined forces to throw you out?"

Papa Oliver cracked a joke, sighing in relief. He picked up the newspaper from the counter again, but didn't forget to ask, "So, you being here this early... it can't just be to wish me a good morning, can it?"

"So that's how it is. I never thought things in Cheslan had gotten so dire. And I certainly never expected that 'Proud One' came to Nolan genuinely seeking peace." He handed the letter back to Jenkins. "Then you should get going and deliver it. I hope you don't go wandering off. It would be best if you spent the whole day at the church helping Bevanna. Nolan is getting more and more chaotic these days."

It was hard to say whether the king of Cheslan was truly skilled at moving about unseen or if the city itself was watching over Jenkins. By the time he handed the plea to Bevanna, not a single person had leaped out to ambush him.

Miss Bevanna opened the letter and understood the gist of the situation at a glance. Although the High Tower Accord stipulated that royal families could not use supernatural powers to extend their lives, there was nothing stopping the Church from helping a "common citizen" who sought to have a curse removed. Especially now, at the end of the Epoch, a little flexibility was something everyone could understand.

The Sage Church had its own methods for countering curses, but in his letter, Tackwen had specifically requested a healer from the Church of All Things and Nature. Therefore, Miss Bevanna didn't take on this troublesome matter herself but had Captain Bincy forward the letter directly to them.

She then brought up another matter with Jenkins. "Do you remember the shooting at the docks the other day?"

"I didn't kill Victum!" Jenkins blurted out, assuming the Church suspected him, just like the police.

"Victum? Who's that?" Miss Bevanna asked, puzzled, as she didn't know the name of the man who had been injured. Seeing Jenkins clutching his cat and stammering, she decided to skip over it. "The Church used divination to find the culprit and has already administered his punishment. This matter doesn't just involve people within Fidektri; there are also figures from Cheslan plotting. Papa Oliver should have mentioned this to you. However, we've investigated further and found that this incident is connected to the Quake family."

"The Quake family? Aren't they gone?"

The younger Quake had been the mastermind behind the string of murders during Jenkins's winter trip with the girls. As the sole heir to his family, his death on the mountain had driven the elder Quake mad with grief. In his quest for revenge against Jenkins, he had borrowed the power of a Cursed Item, summoning the coachman to bring A-04-1-6671, "The Night's Uninvited Guest," right to Jenkins's doorstep. Chapters fırst released on noᴠelfire.net

"They are gone, but we never found the source of the knowledge they and the Antak family used to summon the coachman. And upon deeper investigation of this latest incident, we've unexpectedly found that all these events seem to have the same mastermind behind them—"

"Let me guess, is it the Treehouse? They've infiltrated the nobility and high-ranking officials of both kingdoms, luring them in with supernatural powers and promises of the future?" Jenkins asked. Miss Bevanna smiled.

"You really do know."

In fact, even the incident involving the descent of the "Night Manor" had the shadow of the Treehouse behind it. They had intended to use its arrival to conduct a dangerous experiment. The nature of that experiment, and the connection Miss Lawrence's aunt and uncle had with the organization, remained unknown for now.

"We know the Treehouse is connected to the Gear Artisans' Association and the Perfume Appreciation Committee. We might as well assume they've already brought those two organizations together. But the question now is, what exactly are they doing? Before you returned to Nolan, we were already tracking these three groups, but it's as if they've vanished into thin air."

"They must be underground," Jenkins suggested. "Didn't you say the Gear Artisans' Association was digging for something extremely dangerous beneath Nolan?"

"That's right. We've even located two of the entrances the Association used to get underground. But they've dug far too deep, and the network of tunnels is too complex. Our investigation teams haven't been able to get deep enough to find them yet."

This was the current status of the Church's investigation into these illegal organizations. While it seemed they hadn't found anything conclusive, at least they were making new discoveries every day.

Jenkins suspected that the Beast of Calamity and the final disaster were linked to the Gear Artisans' Association or the Perfume Appreciation Committee, or perhaps even both. The theme of the Millstone of Fate's final page was steam. Now, it seemed that neither the Difference Engine underground nor the strange fog on the surface was entirely unrelated to that theme.

Although he'd had an unexpected encounter with the southern king that morning, Jenkins hadn't forgotten his true purpose for leaving the house. After chatting with Miss Bevanna, he planned to find Salsi II. But before he could even leave the cathedral, he was intercepted by Bishop Parrold.

"Ah, Jenkins, you're here bright and early. Have you come to look at the documents? I've already had them prepared for you. It's a good thing, too. It's been so hot lately that there aren't many people in the library. You can go there to read."

Without waiting for Jenkins to object, he started leading him away to retrieve the files. Jenkins thought for a moment. He had to read those documents today anyway. Since he was already at the church, he might as well finish them before looking for Salsi II. It wasn't as if the king was going to sprout wings and fly away.

And so, Jenkins and his cat spent the entire morning in the church's public library. It was even hotter inside than it was outside. Seeing his cat suffering from the heat, Jenkins requested permission from Miss Bevanna. Once he got her approval, he created several large blocks of ice and stacked them against a wall.

While it didn't do much to lower the overall temperature, seeing Chocolate perched atop a bookshelf next to the ice, looking utterly content, put Jenkins's mind at ease.

The documents the bishop had provided covered nearly all the major and minor political secrets of the entire world from the past decade, with a heavy focus on the recent conflicts between the three great kingdoms. These matters involved the entire material world. If they could be compiled into a book, the tales of love, hatred, conspiracy, and lies would surely be more thrilling than the two novels Jenkins had plagiarized.

The power plays between kingdoms, the secrets of duchies, the sowing of discord at court banquets, the clandestine plots under grapevines, the deadly struggles in deserted wildernesses—even though they were written in plain, straightforward language, their excitement rivaled any novel Jenkins had ever read.

"Is this the charm of history and reality?" he wondered, then noticed it was time for lunch.

There wasn't much left to read; he could finish it in an hour at most that afternoon. He decided to have lunch at the church. On his way, he ran into Captain Bincy, who had already delivered the letter to the Church of All Things and Nature.

"Jenkins, I ran into that cousin of yours. She said she's ready and asked me to find out when you'll be inviting her to your home. She needs to make some preparations."

Captain Bincy passed along the message.

Jenkins calculated the time. Tomorrow was the Tri-King Summit, so he definitely wouldn't have time. Besides, bringing Sigrid home was a momentous occasion, and Mary would need to prepare as well.

"I'll give her an answer," he said vaguely, thinking about next week. But next week might be busy too. He decided to set the date for after his birthday. After his birthday, he would be bringing four ladies home... no, five, counting Julia. His mother, Mary, would certainly not be pleased.

"But if I bring a long-lost relative for her first visit at the same time," he mused, "even if only out of respect for Sigrid, Mary won't be too harsh on me."

A smile crept onto his face as he thought of this. He was quite pleased with his perfectly arranged plan.

At the lunch table, he saw Fini again. The little girl wasn't sitting with her friends but was by herself in a corner. So, Jenkins carried his cat over and sat down beside her.