Prime Originator

"The Geyser Kingdom's envoys?"

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow before frowning in the next moment.

"I did recall that the Geyser Kingdom would send envoys to re-establish communications between our countries and rebuild old ties before I left to look for Lynne. Have these envoys been causing troubles during their visits?"

"The envoys did cause some trouble, but none of them had any need for concerns. These envoys were just nobles with terrible characters. They like to throw their weight around and boast the glory of their Geyser Kingdom," Heinrich replied with a sigh.

Elizabeth's frown deepened after hearing that.

"For a country that wants to stay on amicable terms with us, they sure aren't putting in the effort to maintain it. They should have chosen better envoys… or perhaps, this was intentional."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes with a pondering look, yet her eyes also contained a fierce glint.

"If I don't know better, I would think that the Geyser Kingdom's ruler is looking down on us by sending these bad envoys. We could interpret his message like this: The Geyser Kingdom is stronger; it is your Crawford Empire that needs to put in the effort to maintain the amicable relationship."

"Anyway, that is just my thought. Since you said that the envoys' atrocious behaviors aren't the problems, what is the problem?" Elizabeth asked shortly after.

"The problem comes after the envoys left. None of them returned to the Geyser Kingdom after their visits. And now the Geyser Kingdom is accusing us of murdering their envoys," Heinrich said a heavy sigh.

"What?" Elizabeth uttered with a deep frown.

"See for yourself, dear," Heinrich passed the letter to Elizabeth and said, "It's all in this letter. The Geyser Kingdom isn't happy with the deaths of their envoys. Or rather, they are quite furious about it."

After Elizabeth received the letter, her eyes immediately narrowed on the royal seal in the corner.

Nevertheless, she proceeded to read the letter to understand the contents. However, her blood started boiling with fury after reading every line in the second half of the letter.

They were demands made by the Geyser Kingdom after they accused the Crawford Empire of murdering nobles of the Geyser Kingdom.

"The Geyser Kingdom is going too far!" Elizabeth exploded with rage as she scrunched up the letter with one hand. "A load of horse sh*t! They have the audacity to make such outrageous demands!"

"This is no longer about the death of the envoys! I would understand if they demand high monetary compensation or precious resources. However, they didn't make a demand for either of them. Instead, they wanted our land! Moreover, they were very specific with what land they wanted!"

"The lands they want us to hand over as compensation aren't even regions connected to the Geyser Kingdom's borders! They are regions neighboring the heart of our empire! It is clear what the Geyser Kingdom wants!" Elizabeth thundered furiously.

"Right," Heinrich nodded with a sigh and said, "The Geyser Kingdom is setting their eyes on our World Tree and its boundless supply of spirit energy."

"However, something doesn't quite make sense," Elizabeth stated with a frown before asking, "Do you think this letter from the Geyser Kingdom's ruler is authentic, dear?"

"Given the royal sea stamped on the letter, it would seem that way. However, the sheer absurdity of these demands do make me doubt its legitimacy," Heinrich inserted his opinion.

"I heard King Lutheran Geyser was a wise ruler. Considering the prosperous state of the Geyser Kingdom boasted by the envoys, there must be some truth to it. However, this letter contradicts that impression."

"Assuming the letter was forged by someone else, it would mean that this person is close to King Lutheran. Close enough that this person could steal the royal seal for his personal use. It must be quite the bigshot in the Geyser Kingdom," Elizabeth said thoughtfully.

She was able to think clearly after calming down.

"Right," Heinrich nodded and said, "If we follow that train of thought, we can assume there's a hostile faction from the Geyser Kingdom that wants the kingdom to go to war with our empire."

"And why is that causing you headaches? Just send the letter back to King Lutheran. If it was indeed forged, I reckon the situation will become pretty interesting on their end afterward, dear."

Elizabeth cracked a cold smile, thinking it would be great if King Lutheran started a purge after learning the contents of the forged letter.

However, Heinrich could only smile wryly in response to her words.

"Hm? Is there something wrong with my solution?" Elizabeth asked with a frown after reading Heinrich's expression.

"I did think about sending the letter back to King Lutheran. However, some other variables concern me. For example, the perpetrators responsible for the envoys' deaths are unknown. We don't know if they belong to the Geyser Kingdom or another force. The letter might not make it to King Lutheran," Heinrich mentioned.

"That's true… It slipped my mind when I read the letter," Elizabeth said before asking, "Have we found out where the envoys' bodies are?"

"I've given the task to the shadow guards. I believe there'll be a lead soon enough—if everything goes according to plan. However, I fear the interference of this unknown force, making things more difficult on my end," Heinrich stated.

"It seems we will be relying on the Winter Cats' help sooner than expected," Elizabeth thought.

"Although Winter Cats can't compare to dogs, they still have an excellent sense of smell. They should be able to help us track down any rat hiding in our empire as long as we have a lead on them."

"Oh?" Heinrich showed greater interest in the Winter Cat Tribe.

"Now that you mentioned that, dear, I feel like the Winter Cats will be a great addition to improving our national security," Heinrich expressed his thought.

"Anyway, what exactly happened in the north? How did you end up granting peerage to a Paragon-level Winter Cat? And more importantly, how did you get it to agree?"

"Easy on the questions, dear. I'll tell you all about it," Elizabeth smiled.