Joshua • Edward raised an eyebrow, but his expression quickly returned to calm. He gestured for the steward to leave, then smiled as he rose with his wine glass. Looking at the dozen or so young mages seated below, he said with a smile, "My fellow disciples are the cream of the crop among the younger generation of our Mage Tower. In a few years, you will be the backbone of the Empire, the future masters of the Mage Tower, and the future of the Empire. We need your protection. Cheers to the Empire!"
"For the Empire!" The mages also rose and raised their glasses, their faces beaming with confident and energetic smiles. Their eyes, fixed on Joshua, held a hint of fanaticism as they drank their glasses down in one gulp.
"It's getting late, so I've booked a few rooms for you all at the Wen Xiang Ge. With such beautiful women around you, I'm sure you'll all have a good night's sleep." Joshua said with a smile.
"Your Highness is too kind."
"Your Highness's kindness is appreciated, we are in for a treat."
"Your Highness is a man of great talent and ambition, skilled in both literature and martial arts. If Your Highness was to ascend the throne in the future, it would be a great honor for our Los Empire."
Upon hearing this, all the mages' eyes lit up, and they all bowed and began to praise him, sparing no words of praise.
"I'm just a Second Prince, I wouldn't dare to talk about ascending the throne." Joshua waved his hand with a smile, and then said, "Go on, don't keep the ladies waiting, a moment of spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold."
Watching all the mages leave together, Joshua's smile vanished, replaced by a look of disdain and disgust.
"Your Highness, the elven guest is waiting in the reception room." the same steward said respectfully as he entered again.
"Tell him to go to the study room, and don't let anyone near it." Joshua said in a slightly cold voice, casually tossing his wine glass onto the table, spilling half a glass of wine all over the table, before walking out.
"Ok." The steward lowered his head even further. Everyone in the neighborhood praises the Second Prince as a gentleman, gentle and refined. Perhaps no one knows better than him what kind of person he truly is.
In the study room with its doors and windows tightly shut, all was silent. A tall, middle-aged elf looked at the Second Prince, who was dressed in a purple robe and staring at a painting on the wall with his back to him. A bead of cold sweat slowly slid down his forehead. The dim yellow light shone through the white gauze lampshade onto his face, making his expression somewhat tense.
This Second Prince, who was only in his early thirties, already gave him the feeling that his imposing presence and aura were no less than Lady Helena's. He had been standing there for more than ten minutes, but he hadn't turned around to look at him once, as if he was invisible.
"Speak, what message did Helena ask you to bring me this time?" Joshua didn't turn his head, his gaze shifting to the next picture, and asked in a cool voice, without any deliberate attempt to be authoritative.
"Lady Helena asked me to bring you a letter." the elf said hurriedly, taking out a dark green letter from his bosom. A slender vine stretched out from the letter, climbing all over the envelope as if sealing it off. There was not a single word on the envelope, making it look quite mysterious.
"Put it on the table and get out." Joshua said without turning around.
"Ok." The elf nodded hurriedly, gently placed the envelope on the desk with both hands, took two steps back, then turned around, pushed open the door and went out. After gently closing the door, he let out a long sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and realized that his back was already soaked with sweat.
Hearing the door close, Joshua slowly turned around, walked to the table, and picked up the letter on the table. The vines on the surface of the envelope lit up with a green light, and then quickly receded like a tide, all shrinking back into the envelope.
Joshua casually tore open the envelope, poured it onto the table, and a small black seed and a light green letter fell out with a thud.
Ignoring the tiny seed, Joshua picked up the letter and began to read it, his brows furrowing slightly. The room was silent, the light flickering faintly.
After a while, Joshua looked away from the letter. The light green letter burned in his hand and turned to ashes. A green flame also rose on the envelope and the seed on the table, and they were completely reduced to ashes.
"Snar, I underestimated him. Time Reversal, such an ancient spell, I never thought anyone would know it… Alex, you really are not dead." Joshua slowly clenched his fist, his voice as cold as ice, his expression somewhat ferocious.
A sudden gust of wind swept through the room, scattering a stack of white paper on the table and making it dance wildly. The light was fragmented, casting shadows on Joshua's gloomy face.
Suddenly, Joshua reached out and grabbed a piece of paper. The turbulent wind stopped abruptly, and the papers that had been flying all over the air seemed to be suddenly pressed down by a stone, all falling to the ground at once.
"It seems the plan needs to be moved up a bit." Joshua's expression had returned to calm, his handsome face revealing no emotion. He sat down at his desk, picked up the quill pen, and began to write on a piece of paper: "Dear Irina, it's been so long since I wrote to you..."
After finishing the letter, he took a blue envelope from the bookshelf next to him, put it inside, and wrote on the envelope: To Irina.
After a moment's thought, he took out another piece of paper and wrote: "Lady Helena, I am willing to help you complete your plan, but I also hope you remember your promise: the light of the Mage Tower shines upon the entire continent."
...
In the southwestern border of the Los Empire, a large military tent was brightly lit. A burly young man, clad in golden armor and possessing a dignified appearance, sat at the head of the table, picked up a large bowl in front of him, and laughed, "Cheers!"
"Cheers!" The generals in armor who sat down also raised their bowls, laughed, and drank a large bowl of liquor in one gulp.
"His Highness the First Prince is indeed generous!" an old general below laughed, looking at the golden-armored youth with admiration.
"Your Highness, Quinn has returned and says he has important matters to report." Just then, a guard hurried in and whispered in the golden-armored youth's ear.
Sean • Edward's eyes lit up, but quickly returned to normal. He nodded to signal the guard to leave, then smiled and stood up, saying, "Please continue drinking, everyone. I'm going to the outhouse. I'll be right back." He then got up and walked out of the tent.
"Have him come to my tent." As soon as he stepped out of the tent, Sean's smile vanished, and he calmly gave the order, walking towards a nearby tent.
"Your Highness, after more than half a year of undercover investigation, among the generals you asked me to investigate, General Simon, who has already retired and returned to Luo Du, is the most suspicious. When that incident happened, he mysteriously disappeared for a period of time. Although there was an explanation later, but what I heard was different from what he said." Soon, a young man wearing a black bodysuit and a half-silver mask appeared in the tent. He looked around and said softly, his voice slightly hoarse.
"Simon? Alex's right-hand man back then. It seems he might indeed be related to Alex's disappearance..." Sean smiled slightly and muttered to himself.