Before meeting the king, Luo’er had anticipated thousands of possible scenarios in his mind. However, he had never expected that Melia would have bravely stepped forward to fight for what they wanted. This left Luo’er utterly perplexed.
Melia, a cool-headed and thoughtful person from what little Luo’er understood about her, wouldn’t speak up for their sake due to some so-called face issue. Her behavior indicated that she had her own agenda, but he had no idea what she was up to.
Having met with the king, Luo’er confirmed one of his suspicions. It was evident that Masya really intended to arrange a political marriage by sending Princess Melia as an envoy to Odelanqi. However, it was clear that Melia disapproved of this betrothal. She shared Luo’er’s opinion, suspecting King Valen was trying to eliminate the competitors for his son, Oliver, to ascend the throne.
Despite being only seventeen or eighteen and a woman, Melia’s ambition and political awareness were no less than that of her brother who was ten years older. On the contrary, her existence severely hindered her brother’s career path. King Valen had no choice but to entrust Oliver with a count’s territory in order for him to hone his political prowess.
While unclear of Melia’s strategies, Luo’er was aware that this matter would likely succeed under her influence. Looking at Melia, he found that she was also staring at him, her eyes filled with profound meaning, causing his heart to beat unusually.
Upon leaving the Consultation Hall, Luo’er and his entourage returned to their quarters. He kept pondering about Melia’s intentions even after reaching their rooms.
"Still thinking about Melia?" Cheng Ziang asked.
"Yes," Luo’er replied, "what do you think she is planning?"
"I have a hunch." Pausing for a moment, Cheng Ziang spoke seriously.
"What kind of hunch?" Luo’er questioned.
"I think Melia seems to have found something out," Cheng Ziang responded.
"Found out what do you mean by that?" Luo’er became somewhat anxious and hastily ordered Hu Daoke to inspect their weapons.
"I am not sure, but at least there’s one thing I can confirm," Cheng Ziang shook his head as he commented.
"What?", Luo’er demanded.
"Melia is not our enemy!" He looked at Luo’er and asserted crisply.
On their third day in Galan, the snow finally stopped falling. Galan City had been covered in a thick layer of white. Tongmo and Baiyue being excited at seeing the heavily snow-covered city was understandable as they had never seen such substantial snowfall growing up in the tropics, making them particularly thrilled now.
After negotiating with the palace staff, the guards finally allowed them to go down the mountain into the city. Thus, they left the palace and headed to the city at the foot of the mountain.
Being decked out in fur coats provided by the palace, they felt quite warm after walking around.
Tangmo and Baiyue, with their gloves on, played snowball merrily. Bainyue was initially reserved but eventually let loose influenced by Tangmo. On the contrary, Hu Daoke, who was usually lively, was now shivering and watching the girls run back and forth.
Luo’er, as the de-facto team leader, was more composed. Even outside of the palace, he kept thinking about Melia’s attitude the previous day.
"It seems King Valen is indeed clearing the obstacles for his son’s succession, and believes that Princess Melia poses a significant threat," Cheng Ziang who was walking side by side with him suddenly commented.
"Yes indeed. King Valen wants to marry Melia off to Odelanqi, so she can no longer interfere in Masya’s internal affairs. In this way, his son Prince Oliver can smoothly succeed him," Luo’er nodded.
"How much do you know about Crown Prince Oliver?" Cheng Ziang inquired.
"Given their attitude yesterday, Oliver’s capabilities are probably inferior to Melia, or else Valen wouldn’t be in such haste to marry his daughter off," Luo’er speculated.
"Would rather have an incompetent person rule the kingdom than leave the power in his daughter’s hand?" Cheng Ziang remarked with a cold sneer.
"It is said that Crown Prince Oliver is the son of King Valen and the queen, making him the lawful eldest son. Melia on the other hand, is just the daughter of a concubine. Although there is no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children in Masya, King Varen clearly trusts his own son more," Luo’er analyzed.
According to Earth, especially East Asian traditions, as long as the lawful eldest son is present, illegitimate children cannot have any power. But Masya is not an Earth nation, and they don’t follow these traditions, which gives Melia the opportunity to vie for power with her brother.
"What did you mean yesterday when you said Melia knows something?" Luo’er suddenly recalled, and thus probed.
"Melia has been observing us from the moment we met. Even though we’ve been extra cautious not to give anything away, I have reason to believe that she’s already noticed something isn’t right," Cheng Ziang said with a furrowed brow.
"You mean Melia seems to know our identities already?" As soon as Luo’er heard Cheng Ziang’s words, he became nervous.
"Calm down, don’t forget what I said yesterday - Melia is not our enemy." Cheng Ziang waved his hand, interrupting his emotions.
"Explain?" Luo’er asked.
"Think about it. If Melia had indeed detected something, why wouldn’t she just arrest us directly? This is the capital of Masya, after all, and she’s a princess. It would be as simple for her to eliminate us as to crush an ant. Considering her personality, why wouldn’t she just arrest us, but instead speak up for us in front of the king?" Cheng Ziang asked, puzzled.
"So, Melia also has some demands for us and that’s why she’s pretending to be ignorant?" Luo’er asked.
"Yes," Cheng Ziang nodded, then continued, "Despite her age, she is already a competent politician. I believe there’s reasoning behind her actions and it’s not pure negligence."
Hu Daoke, who was shrinking his neck and following behind the two, had been listening to their discussion for a while. Finally, he couldn’t help but say, "The rebels are about to take half of the country, and these high aristocrats are still fighting over power. How tedious."
Upon hearing Hu Daoke’s words, the two looked at each other and shared a smile, with no further discussion.
The group slowly ascended the stairs onto the streets of Galan. The accumulated snow on the streets had been piled up on both sides of the road. Looking at the snowbanks stained with mud, the two girls lost interest in playing in the snow and looked around, holding hands.
Due to the snowfall, there were not many people on the street. Although Galan and Holy Heart City are at the same latitude, the temperatures are vastly different. The warm current of the west coast of Odelanqi flows from south to north, bringing a gentle and humid air flow to the territory. Plus, the Northern Domain Mountain Range blocks the cold air from the north, so by the Winter Solstice month, only a light snow falls in Holy Heart City.
Galan is located on the inner side of the continent where the warm and humid airflow is blocked by mountain ranges on the east coast. Moreover, Galan faces the North Lead Corridor. Once winter arrives, the cold air from the Arctic passes through the corridor and strikes Galan directly, making it exceedingly cold here.
Hence, in winter, all except locals choose to flee. Even adventurers who are comfortable anywhere prefer to avoid Galan and wander off to the warmer southern plains.
Due to the harsh climate, buildings here are predominantly made of stone. The thick stone walls effectively block the cold air outside.
The ground is very damp, and the shining stones on the path become very slippery once they are soaked by the snowmelt, which is why even their group stumbled several times, almost falling over.
As they were sauntering along the street, a woman wearing a cloak and a hood emerged from a narrow alley. She was thin, and the large hood covering almost all of her upper face made it a mystery as to how she could see the path ahead.
Once she stepped out of the alley, she just stood there, blocking their path. Luo’er and Cheng Ziang shared a glance, sensing something was off.
Just as they were about to reach into their pockets for their weapons, the woman suddenly spoke up, "Sir Luo’er, my mistress wishes to meet you."
"How do you know my name, and who is your mistress?" Guarded, Luo’er squinted his eyes and put his hand on the handle of his gun.’
"You’ll know when you get there!" The woman said and without hesitation, turned around and walked back into the alley.
Faced with the sudden situation, Luo’er was extremely cautious. He looked at Cheng Ziang, who, silently mouthing, gave him a three-word message. Luo’er hesitated momentarily and then nodded, signalling everyone to follow the woman.
They followed the woman into the alley and after several twists and turns, they arrived at the entrance of a dilapidated inn. The woman without hesitation walked straight in. Before following her in, Luo’er noticed two soldiers in full armor nervously shaking their legs at the corner and occasionally stole glances in their direction, murmuring to each other.
After weighing his options, Luo’er secretly signaled Tangmo and the sniper team to stay outside while only Cheng Ziang would go in with him, so as not to risk everyone.
Although worried, Tangmo sensed the seriousness of the situation and obediently held Baiyue’s hand, staying outside with her.
Inside the inn, it was dark. Luo’er was extremely cautious, afraid of an ambush. The woman stopped at the foot of the stairs and crossed her arms, and said to Luo’er, "The Mistress is waiting for you upstairs."
After hesitating, Luo’er decided to go up the stairs. As Cheng Ziang was about to follow him, he was stopped by the woman. With an expressionless face and a cold tone, she stated, "The Mistress has only requested to see Sir Luo’er."
Cheng Ziang noticed that her hands were covered with calluses. This woman was definitely not ordinary. He nodded towards Luo’er, choosing to stay downstairs and letting Luo’er go up alone.
Luo’er also nodded, then continued his way upstairs. Although he had speculated on the identity of the person he was meeting, he still felt exceedingly tense.