Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1901 -:

"What about the Chocobo?"

Miss Aphrola blinked, seeing that Miss Galina and Megan had no intention of explaining, she assumed they were talking about something private:

"It’s really wonderful, as if we’ve returned to the Fifth Era recorded in the books. Witches delight in salons and banquets, discussing pleasant and interesting topics, or competing over who has raised a Chocobo of the most unusual color, or who has found the most beautiful, intelligent, and talented apprentice."

She leaned back comfortably against the sofa, watching Shard dance with Ciris. Audrey and Miss Galina also looked over, each of the three Grand Witches had different thoughts. After a moment, Megan blinked and transformed into Audrey, placed her wine glass on the tea table, and said seriously:

"Galina, you seemed to have different plans before?"

Since she wasn’t familiar with Galina Cavendish before, she hadn’t discussed this topic. The Red-Haired Duchess nodded:

"Yes, with the goal of making the County of Saradiel independent, I wanted to establish a new Witch Kingdom in the current Sixth Era. Or at least, find a piece of land for the Council to serve as a headquarters."

"So have the goals changed now?"

Audrey asked again, Miss Aphrola turned the ring on her right index finger with her left hand, and looked at her with a smile:

"I think, you must have other thoughts by now?"

The duchess looked towards Lecia, Angelina, and Margaret, who couldn’t dance with Shard on such an occasion. They were standing at the window with a group of noble ladies, discussing the rumors that Dorothy Louisa, author of the "Hamilton Detective Stories", was also in town.

Her gaze then turned to Shard:

"Yes, other thoughts. Perhaps the past me was too conservative. Now it seems, what we can achieve is much more than I previously thought."

She flexed each of her fingers, Audrey and Miss Aphrola exchanged glances and both smiled.

The banquet that night lasted until very late. Although the plans discussed by the Church and the Kingdom were known only to a few, the attitude of pausing negotiations was apparent to almost everyone. Even adversaries at the negotiation table could still enjoy wine and cheer as friends at the banquet. Everyone had a great time at what was almost certain to be the last gathering.

As for Shard, he danced from the first song almost to the last, as if the ladies had arranged a queue for dancing; as soon as one stepped down, another would seamlessly take his hand.

In the end, even Luviya couldn’t resist dancing a song with Shard. But Iluna couldn’t do the same because Luviya wasn’t particularly famous as a Diviner, while she was well known as The Chosen One.

"Iluna’s birthday is next week."

Shard, holding the purple-eyed girl, danced the last dance at the banquet. She looked at Iluna, who was speaking with Margaret, and asked:

"Is the gift ready?"

"Of course, it’s absolutely something Iluna will love. That reminds me, if I’m not mistaken, her birthday is next week..."

"Thursday, the 22nd of Sowing Moon. The day after the Edwards Family’s night banquet."

Luviya softly added:

"Remember, no matter what happens, to wish Iluna a happy birthday."

"Yes, and don’t you forget either."

The two of them slowly embraced and spun together, their high heels and leather shoes pressing lightly on the ground without making much noise. As the night deepened, they realized there were still many things lying ahead after this relaxing evening.

(Mia running...)

At 9 a.m. on Sunday, after several loud trumpet calls, the gates of Rose Manor opened, and Royal Guards in red uniforms and black high hats, with guns in hand, walked out slowly, in two lines. Following them, amidst the cheers of the citizens by the roadside, was a carriage adorned with the Cavendish Family crest, intricate metal engravings, silver-edged windows, silk curtains, and pure gold decorations, carrying Miss Galina and Princess Margaret, and it gently drove out of the manor.

Today was a special day, Grand Duchess Galina of Draleon and Princess Margaret of Carsonrick were to depart from Rose Manor and proceed to City Hall to sign the greatest achievement of the ongoing negotiations, the "1854 Peace Treaty", witnessed by the citizens.

The agreement included that both parties would not take the initiative to use large-caliber steam cannons, would not export special alloy steel to surrounding duchies and the Archipelago Kingdom, and agreed on a vision for jointly developing the New World. Although the specific terms are still unclear, it is the most significant achievement since the negotiations began.

For the convenience of citizens participating in activities, the Royal Family even chose Sunday. As for placing the agreement location on the Draleon side in Green Lake City, the apparent reason is that Archduke Galina made the main contribution to the agreement’s conclusion. But in reality, while Draleon gained fame, it also secretly bore the responsibility for not protecting Princess Margaret.

In short, the bustling procession departed from Rose Manor, demonstrating the closeness between the royalty of the two nations and the people. The carriage moved slowly, allowing Miss Galina and Princess Margaret to frequently wave greetings to the crowds on both sides of the street.

Such an important occasion attracted nearly everyone who had gathered in Green Lake City for this negotiation. The lively atmosphere quickly dissipated the oppressive mood looming over the city due to unsuccessful negotiations. If not knowing the true situation, some might think Draleon had completely overpowered Carsonrick at the negotiation table.

"Ha~"

Yawning, Shard was also among the crowd. He wore a slightly baggy black thin coat, sniffing the collar near his nose, ensuring it wasn’t tainted with the scent of the witch’s perfume from the morning farewell, then continued watching the approaching carriage. After confirming the safety of this section, he retreated into an alley, transformed into a cat, and leaped onto the rooftop to continue to a farther location.

To ensure the safety of this event and prevent any trouble in the upcoming Green Lake battle, the Church exceptionally dispatched a sufficient number of people along the route to monitor the citizens, ensuring no Circle Sorcerers intervened. Therefore, Shard also had to be cautiously unnoticed.

Fortunately, his transformation spell was quite skilled.

Early morning actions can indeed easily tire people, especially for Shard, who didn’t sleep well last night. This has little connection with Galina but rather with him having another strange dream. Although the dream’s content, according to Luviya’s dream interpretation theory, could all be attributed to his daily thoughts, its scenes of shattered rivers and the extinction of all things flying from the shattered world’s exterior couldn’t be matched with reality no matter how hard he thought.

"Now is not the time to think about this."

The assassin, arranged by Director Anlos, had a silver fountain pen tucked in his jacket pocket. Shard soon spotted him among the crowd, a man seemingly in his thirties with a haggard face and scruffy beard, obviously living an unsuccessful life.

He mingled in the crowd, his left hand naturally hanging down, and his right hand tucked in his jacket pocket. His eyes focused on the approaching Royal Guards, forcibly expressing the same excitement and involvement in an important event as others.

"Hmm, that’s the person, his acting isn’t bad."

Above the man’s head, the silver cat crouched on a second-floor terrace railing, watching down, then left the spot. Later, Shard emerged again in the crowd, carefully observing his surroundings.

Today’s weather was quite good, the sunny day even made the citizens feel a bit hot. However, looking closely, it seemed that dark clouds were pressing in from the north. But under the bright sunlight, people didn’t notice this, greeting the Duke and Foreign Princess in the carriages, or chatting about how the city hadn’t been this lively in ages.

Shard could even distinguish his colleagues scattered among the crowd, keeping an eye on the situation. Slightly raising his head, he could also observe the Church’s Circle Sorcerers vigilantly watching for element traces.

So far, everything was fine, but when Shard approached the guy with the silver fountain pen and "accidentally" touched his sleeve, he couldn’t help but sigh:

"I knew it."

Without contact, even Shard couldn’t sense anything unusual. But after contact, Whisper Element traces were unmistakably revealed. Clearly, this man, from who knows where, was under a relic’s control.

"Is there any way to undo it?"

[Wait a moment, maintain contact... He himself does not carry a relic, nor is he controlled through specific items. However, your Arcane Technique - Puppetry can override this control. The relic’s control isn’t strong.]

However, based on the cautiousness of the likely culprits, "Tyranny Club" and their supporters, the relic’s effect will surely disappear without a trace after the incident, leaving no evidence that Circle Sorcerers participated.

Therefore, although the upcoming attack will be unforeseen, the impact won’t be too significant. Moreover, since the Church’s team is present, they definitely won’t watch Princess Margaret or Miss Galina perish here. Even though the Church hasn’t arranged for healing personnel, Galina has her own arrangements.

"Come to think of it, ’Tyranny Club’ really enjoys participating in such matters. Is plunging the Old Continent into turmoil that important to them?"

The Outlander sighed inwardly and then pondered, "Tyranny Club" couldn’t be unaware of the Church’s serious attention to this matter. With no direct use of Circle Sorcerer power, they have no chance of successfully assassinating, thus perhaps their motive lies elsewhere.

[What could it be?]

"She" asked with a smile.

"Let me guess... maybe during the assassination, they’ll shout something against unity, like Miss Galina wanting to split Draleon, or Margaret actually hopes to rely on Draleon to overthrow her brothers and take the throne, citing the Randall Valley incident as proof."

Shard sighed inwardly again, deciding that he should indeed intervene.