"Oh? So, she has agreed to secretly participate in the Ancestor’s Sword recognition ceremony of Romany?"
In the different space summoned by the Communication Crystal, a phantom black shadow before the round table asked.
On the other side, Count Yulster of the Bloodline used his blurred consciousness avatar to bow to the shadow:
"Yes, Lord Yoroc, Count Castel has agreed to participate in our plan one month from now, assisting us in dispossessing Prince Henry of his inheritance rights."
"Besides the territory of the Romany Duchy, did she make any other demands?"
The phantom black shadow—or more precisely, Duke Yoroc of the Nais Clan—asked again.
"No, the Bold-Castel War has just ended, and she hopes to recuperate for some time."
Yulster shook his head and said.
"I’ve heard from the merchants of Falling Star that recently there has been much activity in the New Moon North Land, many villages and towns are vigorously building infrastructure. Is this related as well?"
Yulster respectfully answered:
"Yes, recently in the Count Castel Territory as well, there’s been a flurry of construction, with many Baron Domains building roads and bridges, especially after Count Castel formally became a direct vassal of New Moon."
"It is said that even the trade routes of Baron Betel Territory, ceded to Castel after the Bold-Castel War, have been opened up. Now one can travel directly from the Northern Land through the Baron Betel Territory to enter the Romany Duchy and the inner parts of New Moon, without needing to take the long route through the Violet Forest. This happened all before even half a year had passed since the war’s end."
"Baron Betel Territory? The ancestral land of the Willert Family?"
Duke Yoroc asked, somewhat surprised.
"That’s correct, it is indeed the ancestral land of the Willert Family that once governed the Violet Duchy."
Duke Yoroc thought for a moment, then asked:
"If I remember correctly, that territory should be rife with Undead, right? Even some descendants of our clan stationed in Romany often go there to refine their dead spirit magic... The Pollution there is not simple; without a Legendary presence, it would be nearly impossible to completely eradicate the Undead. Did the one behind Castel take action?"
Yulster shook his head:
"It doesn’t seem so. Count Castel found a descendant of the Willert Family. When I went to North Port, I specifically visited there; everything was managed by the descendants of the Willert Family and the lord of Baron Betel Territory."
"Descendants of the Willert Family? They possess the ability to purify Undead?"
Duke Yoroc was slightly surprised.
"Yes, I attended a dinner hosted by the descendants of the Willert Family, getting to know them. They are of the Bloodline as well, with a very potent bloodline, suspected to be fourth-generation Bloodline. Likely they have received the First Embrace from a third-generation member of the Shedite Clan and wield considerable mastery over dead spirit magic..."
"Recruited by the one backing Castel, then..."
Upon hearing Yulster’s report, Duke Yoroc murmured to himself.
As he spoke, he looked again at the consciousness projection of Yulster across the round table:
"Is there any other news from the Northern Land?"
Yulster thought for a bit and said:
"If it concerns the one behind Castel... There’s nothing for now, but rumors have it that a new Church has emerged recently in the northern part of Castel’s lands, with believers mainly being miners from the mining area, though I’m not sure if this is related to the one behind Castel."
"As for North Port, the Count Mansion has introduced several policies in the past few months to encourage commerce and Alchemy. Clearly, Count Castel does not wish to be involved in war again anytime soon, and our plan aligns somewhat with her hopes."
"Additionally, a new Magic School called Castel College has been founded in Castel Territory. It’s said that Count Castel d her entire family’s library, and North Port has offered very attractive conditions to recruit mages for the college. Many powerful mercenaries from Eastern Yonette are said to be interested."
"North Port is also preparing for the construction of a Regular Transcendent force. Count Castel, having returned from Lutecia, must have opened up the Transcendent channels in the New Moon Kingdom in the North Land, and recruitment for the Transcendent Army began soon after her return."
"In terms of the size of the army, it is said to be comparable to that of a regular Duke Domain of the New Moon Kingdom, numbering around three thousand."
Duke Yoroc gave a slight nod:
"Three thousand... That’s a considerable number. With the backing of a God, they could potentially become a quite formidable force."
"Although in recent years an array of peculiar Churches have risen across Mireya, a resurgence God will definitely not stand by while strange Churches emerge within their sphere of influence. Since the Northern Land has a mysterious Church spreading their word in secret, it’s highly likely related to Your Majesty."
"Gathering other Bloodline members, covertly developing a Church, building roads and bridges, and organizing a Transcendent Army... It seems the ruler of the North Land is also preparing for Holy Presence Day."
After concluding, he looked towards Yulster’s consciousness projection:
"Yulster, you’ve done well. Continue to stay on the continent and maintain good communication with Castel. Also... if you have time, probe into that Church’s foundations, see which God they worship, and whether the Holy Emblem is the thorny rose."