Chapter 1773: Chapter 1773

Though surprised, Jenkins had already considered the possibility before Alexia even spoke. In truth, it wasn't a particularly bad idea. If Queen Isabella were to die, it would mean that both Tackwen, the "Proud One" of Cheslan, and the monarch of the Fidektri Kingdom had died on nearly the same day. This would, at the very least, prove to the public that the Fidektri Kingdom had nothing to do with the southern king's death. They could even use it as a pretext to accuse Cheslan of being the murderer and launch an attack.

Moreover, Tackwen had died at a critical juncture. Without him, it was uncertain whether the Tri-King Summit could even continue. Consequently, Queen Isabella's death would no longer inflict the same level of damage on the nation as it would have before that morning. Her death could even serve to place the Fidektri Kingdom on the moral high ground in a war against Cheslan.

More importantly, with war once again on the brink of erupting, the Fidektri Kingdom would need to select a new monarch immediately upon the queen's death to maintain domestic order and ensure the soldiers and officers at the front remained focused. In such a hasty succession, there would be little doubt that Jenkins would be the one to wear the crown.

These were just the benefits Jenkins could think of; he was certain Salsi II could see even more advantages.

He had to admit that, rationally, he completely agreed it was a decent idea. For a fleeting moment, he even vaguely considered a plan for the assassination.

"But would I murder someone for my own gain?"

Of course not. Even knowing Queen Isabella was a villain and understanding the benefits he would gain from her murder, Jenkins wouldn't do it.

"That's the difference between her and me."

After Alexia finished speaking, the living room fell silent for a few seconds before Jenkins finally, and somewhat belatedly, gave his answer.

"Of course he'd say that,"

Briny chimed in, offering Miss Windsor a sympathetic smile. Anyone could see how tense Miss Windsor had been in the preceding seconds. Though Queen Isabella had wronged her deeply in the matter of the succession, leaving her heartbroken, it didn't mean she wished for the old woman's death.

She had a profound affection for Queen Isabella—the kind of affection one has for family, which couldn't be erased by a single incident.

It was like if Robert were to kill someone; Jenkins would absolutely help him clean up the scene, destroy the evidence, and then pin the whole thing on the Believers of Lies.

So Jenkins could well understand Miss Windsor's complex feelings toward Queen Isabella.

"There's no need. Killing her would only accelerate things slightly. I don't see any real benefit, and it would leave the risk of being discovered. It's unnecessary. Salsi II is overthinking things."

He said again, sinking back into the sofa and looking at Miss Windsor.

"You don't have to worry."

"I'm not worried, because I know what kind of person you are."

Hearing this response, the other ladies in the room had varied expressions, but Miss Windsor didn't seem to care. She wanted to say more, but just then, another carriage pulled up at the courtyard gate. Hathaway was back.

Hathaway had left home before Jenkins and Miss Windsor arrived on St. George Street. Based on her vague note, which specifically emphasized an important matter, Jenkins immediately guessed she had probably gone to meet with Miss Stevel.

The followers of the God of Music had been quite active lately. Miss Stevel likely wanted to show her eagerness to cooperate with the Believers of Lies to gain their further trust.

The somewhat irritable red-haired young woman entered the living room, glanced at the people present, and seemed to understand why Miss Windsor was there. She politely greeted her, hugged Jenkins as he stood up, then picked up his teacup from the table and took a sip, just as Jenkins asked:

"Did you run into some kind of trouble?"

"I took part in a large-scale ritual, but it failed for some inexplicable reason. And those materials weren't cheap."

The red-haired girl replied angrily, clearly furious about it.

"We'd been planning it for some time. The materials and participants were all carefully selected. Even Lydia and Brylee showed up. To think it would still fail for no reason. A whole week's work wasted."

Jenkins was curious about what Miss Stevel was leading this group to do, and also wondered if the two names she mentioned belonged to the people he'd seen when he infiltrated their gathering as Mr. Candle. But he couldn't ask directly.

"Perhaps you could explain the situation. Alexia might be able to help."

Hathaway hesitated noticeably, then leaned down and whispered a few words in the shorter woman's ear. The exchange lasted only about half a minute, after which Alexia nodded slowly.

"It wasn't a problem with the ritual itself. While this ritual is rare, there's no precedent for this kind of error... Next time you perform it, just don't act as the officiant. I suspect your birthday clashes with the ritual's foundational array."

Alexia was the only demigod in the house, and Hathaway trusted her, so she didn't doubt the conclusion. But Jenkins knew it was a lie. He gave Alexia a curious look and tried to communicate with her using Spiritual Communion.

Alexia caught Jenkins's thought, raised an eyebrow at him, and sent the answer directly to his mind:

"The ritual failed because another of Hathaway Hersha's symbolic identities completely overrode her role as 'Priestess of the God of Music.' This caused a severe deviation in a rite intended to seek an oracle from the God of Music. After all, she is now, in the truest sense of the word, the 'Maiden Who Serves a Heretical God.'~"

Alexia had to leave soon. Julia was supposed to go back with her, as she hadn't seen Dolores all day. However, Dolores had also sent a message with Alexia: Julia could stay on St. George Street for the next few days.

For safety reasons, Salsi II would certainly not allow Dolores to go out for the next few days. Inside the residence, Julia's services weren't needed, as there were plenty of other servants. Staying with Jenkins would not only save her the travel time but also give Alexia a reason to visit whenever she pleased.

Julia could only agree.

Tackwen's death should have brought the Tri-King Summit to a complete halt, but the meeting still proceeded as scheduled on Wednesday morning. Although only representatives from the Fidektri and Hamparvo Kingdoms were present, the joint speech delivered by the two monarchs somewhat eased the gloom brought on by the renewed threat of war.

Cheslan's delegation in Nolan did not disband and return home despite their king's death. For reasons unknown, the second prince, Brier Alecio, who had been brought along by Tackwen, actually appeared at Wednesday's meeting. However, he made no comment during the other two monarchs' speeches, nor did he offer any opinion to the reporters about his father's death.

Wednesday's newspaper dedicated two full pages—the second and third—to news from the eastern front. Previously, Turin had unilaterally declared its intent for revenge, to which the Fidektri Kingdom had not responded. But the previous evening, the Cheslan army launched a surprise attack on the Qiqiala Forest, a sector defended by the Fidektri Third Army Corps. They penetrated deep into the western part of the forest, striking the strategic military town of Watland, which belonged to the Fidektri Kingdom.

And so, the war had begun again.

Besides the war, a report on the great southern forest fire that Mr. Black Cat had mentioned also appeared in the paper. This had nothing to do with Nolan, but on Wednesday afternoon, Jenkins heard some astonishing news from the church:

"A second Child of the Mist has appeared? In the great southern forest fire?"

The news came from the Church of All Things and Nature, which maintained numerous churches throughout the primeval rainforests of the southern continent. As the rainforest was sparsely populated, the believers of Nature were the ones most familiar with it, aside from a few followers of pseudo-gods. They had already discovered some strange supernatural phenomena before being forced back by the blaze. After further risky investigation, a hand-drawn pencil sketch, rendered in a realistic yet distorted style, was sent to Nolan.

Behind the flames flickering over the forest, a blurry, colossal figure was stretching its body. The shadow was even more indistinct than the giant behind Nolan's fog, but it looked far more terrifying.

"We had only considered that the dense fog surrounding the city could breed a Child of the Mist. We never expected that the smoke from a forest fire, linking with the mist that permeates the entire world, could also spawn those dreadful things." Read complete versıon only at novᴇlfire.net

Miss Bevanna slid the sketch back into her file folder, her face etched with worry.

"The Child of the Mist in the sea of fire isn't the terrifying part. Even if the southern diocese lacks Nolan's resources, now that we know how to deal with that kind of monster, it's not as fearsome as when it first appeared. The truly frightening thing is the fire itself. We can't find any way to extinguish it. The cause of the fire was strange to begin with, and after linking with that pervasive gray mist, it seems to have drawn power from it. By the time we realized something was wrong, it was already too late."

"Is this fire going to burn down the whole world?"

Jenkins made a very bold conjecture, though he himself knew it was impossible. After all, the theme of the final page for this epoch in the Millstone of Fate was "Steam," not "Fire."