Count Laval was walking briskly through the white courtyard of the Istania people, watching the bare-armed gardeners diligently work among the pink dwarf rose bushes, feeling a bit dismissive in his heart.
As for the Kashan Palace, hailed as the Crown of the Desert and the beloved of Androma, he was truly in no mood for appreciation at the moment. Moreover, the courtyard that the Istania people took pride in was insignificant compared to the magnificence of the Golande Palace.
In the recent war, the Colin People had gained the friendship of this ancient kingdom by dispatching troops at a critical moment to defeat the Sand Thieves, leading every member of the envoy group to receive a hero's welcome in Quistack.
But this brought trouble for him—
Because someone died in that combat.
The young knights in the group were all descendants of high officials and nobility, participating in this diplomatic mission for experience and prestige, under his obligation to protect them well, rather than being coldly sent to die on the battlefield. Though the young ones, full of zeal, no longer minded the slight loss of Starlight after receiving flowers from local maidens, their families were not as easily appeased.
Perhaps the homeland already branded him with titles like 'ruthless butcher' or 'heartless killer.'
The key issue was, he could not explain to His Majesty or the Prime Minister, as he had deployed troops to capture the traitor's daughter, but none of the captured Sand Thieves knew anything, leaving her fate unknown—whether she perished in the chaos, was taken away, disappeared, or something else.
This was all because of that dreadful girl Florence, and all he could do was have that girl stay at the embassy, and preferably nowhere—outside, the streets had not fully restored order, and he didn't want any more trouble.
The distant sky was slightly whitening, setting the backdrop for the skeletal structures of the Inner City's towers, with distant ringing sounds of construction echoing inside, as the Istania people were rebuilding their homeland, giving a sense of order being reshaped.
He retracted his gaze, hurried through the corridors, after turning a few times through lush greenery, he saw the servant waiting there.
The servant behaved deferentially, "Honored Emissary, His Majesty has been waiting at Kashan Palace for quite some time."
"Take me there."
They walked one after the other through the palm grove, across the winding bridges, over a bright lake surface, and ascended a platform made of white rock—
Not far ahead was the main hall of Kashan Palace.
...
Inside Kashan Palace, it was utterly silent.
Aleph, donned in the silver-gray robe symbolizing the King of Sand, sat in the position where his father once sat, his hand naturally rested on the armrest of the throne, gazing at his father's ministers on both sides, by his hand lay a snow-white letter.
The letter bore a silver stamp, depicting Soling Anvil and Morning Light Holy Sword—the mark of the Colin People, a proper letter with diplomatic phrasing, though he found the content somewhat displeasing.
The Right Minister Saisheer stood beside, eyes lowered, expression unreadable on his face.
Aleph did not speak, maintaining silence in the hall, the first assembly after Seniman's death and the late King of Sand's passing. Though the crowd was still, unrest stirred beneath.
Aleph naturally understood his current throne was precarious, lacking his father's prestige, fortunately, his elder sister, the Princess, had always been supporting him from behind.
Just then, the light outside the main hall dimmed as the servant led Count Laval inside.
Laval first paid his respects to the newly crowned King of Sand, "Honored King of Istania, master of the desert, I bring you greetings from the Colin People and the congratulations of our King."
His voice echoed above the hall.
Aleph expressed his gratitude, requesting the ambassador to convey his intentions back to their young King.
After they exchanged greetings per diplomatic decorum, he directly got to the point: "Emissary, I understand you have more than greetings to convey, correct?"
Count Laval raised his head, nodded, and spoke directly: "Your Majesty, we have obtained information that the daughter of a traitor once appeared within your kingdom."
He proclaimed loudly: "Miss Hilveld Albert, although she has not committed any crime herself, due to connections to her father Sir Mawei's whereabouts, it is imperative that we bring her back to our country."
"...I hope, Honored King of Sand, that you can provide us with the whereabouts of this lady."
Aleph maintained his composure, flatly denying: "But we have not seen such a lady, however, if she remains in Quistack, I could have someone assist in finding her whereabouts for you."
Yet, even before the young King of Sand could finish his words, an abrupt voice interjected, "Your Majesty, we, in fact, have seen this lady."
Aleph furrowed his brows, directing his gaze towards that direction, for he had anticipated betrayal—without someone tipping them off, how could the Colin people arrive so quickly, so decisively?
The direction from which the voice came had no one stand out, it continued, "Your Majesty may not recognize the lady, but indeed, she was with us in Kashan Palace that day."
Aleph clenched his fists, knowing well who saved Quistack; these people knew too, but he hadn't anticipated— being Istania people, they could stoop to such disgrace.