Chapter 308 — On Negotiation

So these were the two elven physicians the emperor had summoned?

A flicker of interest stirred in Pei Yi, and he quietly studied the two elves before him.

They were a pair of silver elves of nearly identical appearance, bearing their race's signature golden hair and pointed ears. Both were tall, their features all but flawless. They wore white court gowns (or, in plainer terms, the dresses of noble ladies), with a badge patterned after leaves and branches pinned to their breasts—which seemed to indicate that they also held the status of superhuman adepts of the druidic faction…

What struck him most was not their beauty or their bearing, but the sense of "synchronicity" between them—a rapport even tighter than that of twin sisters. They spoke in unison, bowed in unison, their movements almost perfectly matched, giving Duke Pei Yi the illusion that he was watching a single person and her shadow.

"I have never met you before," Duke Pei Yi Wendell said, his tone detached and reserved.

There was no need for him to say much to two physicians—especially elven superhuman adepts in the employ of the crown—but even if he asked a few more questions, no one would think to question it.

"Indeed you have not, for we are not court physicians," the two elves said in unison for the first half, and then the slightly taller of the two continued, "We merely answered His Majesty's summons."

"I see." Pei Yi gave a slight nod, then turned his attention from the two elves and continued on his way to Luo Yan Augustus's reception room.

The emperor's summoning of physicians on short notice was uncommon, but it was a private matter of the emperor's, and as first duke he had no reason to pay it undue attention.

That emperor of great ambition and ability sat in the broad chair at the head of the reception room, awaiting his first duke.

This middle-aged emperor had the keen eyes of a hawk. Though his temperament was gloomy and his frame gaunt, those sharp eyes still made him as fearsome as a wolf in full vigor. He sat in the wide-backed chair, lamplight spilling from behind it, so that he was swallowed in the shadow of the backlight—but once Pei Yi entered the room, this middle-aged man who so loved to shroud himself in shadow rose of his own accord.

"My lord Pei Yi, how glad I am that you would come to see me in such foggy weather."

Pei Yi froze for a moment, scarcely daring to believe what he was seeing in Luo Yan Augustus.

The emperor's frame was still gaunt, his air still somewhat gloomy, but the eyes beneath that short gray curly hair shone with a clear and lucid intelligence. He stood straight, and though the smile on his face was much muted by his naturally somber temperament, there was no doubt that His Majesty's spirits were in better condition than ever before.

Pei Yi could no longer remember how long it had been since he last saw a smile on Luo Yan Augustus's face, since he last saw that fully lucid look in the other's eyes, since he last heard the other call his name in that easy, familiar way. That mad curse which had shrouded the Augustus family for over two hundred years had actually, for the moment, lifted from His Majesty!?

The Great Emperor Luo Yan seemed not to notice Pei Yi's brief astonishment. Smiling, he walked over to another chair beside him and sat down, gesturing for Pei Yi to sit across from him as relaxed as ever, and spoke: "Coming out in such fog—is there something important you wish to tell me?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Pei Yi drew a breath and sat down before the Great Emperor. "I have received intelligence from the border…"

As he recounted what he had learned, he carefully watched the Great Emperor Luo Yan's expression for any change.

Unlike Ansusi, that backward and chaotic nation, the Tifeng Empire had long since achieved centralized state power and a reorganized noble system through a series of successful reforms. Enfeoffed landed nobles still existed, but their power had been greatly compressed and controlled; the authority of the entire noble system was gathered into the hands of the crown—and this变革, one might almost call it great, had been brought about single-handedly by the emperor before him over the first half of his life.

This centralizing reform had raised the empire's administrative efficiency to unprecedented heights, and Duke Pei Yi had accordingly come to wholeheartedly submit to this sovereign more than a decade his junior, willingly becoming an active promoter and assistant of the new policy. But the duke also knew that a vast shadow had always hung over the new policy—namely, the emperor's own mental affliction, or rather the affliction that every member of the Augustus family had to face.

The crown's absolute power could make the empire prosper, but it could also multiply the disastrous consequences of the emperor's own missteps in governance. As first duke of the empire, Pei Yi Wendell's mission was to remain ever a "safety mechanism" for the Augustus family. He had never forgotten this mission—all the more so after the new policy was put into effect.

Luo Yan Augustus did not notice Pei Yi's gaze. He simply listened to the intelligence with a calm expression, then nodded slightly. "So Ansusi, like Tifeng, has been attacked by those monsters."

"Your Majesty, those are no ordinary monsters. They may be the blasphemous things that wander out of the Gondo Wasteland, which historians call aberrations," Pei Yi stressed, and Master Delin's earnest warning echoed in his mind. "If they truly are aberrations, then the attack on Winterwolf Keep will be only the beginning—worse things could happen at any moment."

"We should reconsider the state of war between ourselves and Ansusi," Luo Yan Augustus said mildly.

"We face a common threat, so…" Pei Yi went on almost by habit, and only when half the sentence was out did he realize what he had heard. He stared at the emperor before him in astonishment. "Your Majesty, you mean…"

"We face a common threat—all mankind, indeed all races, are indistinguishable before this threat, are they not?" A somber smile touched Luo Yan's lips. "Every human kingdom has a long border abutting the Gondo Wasteland, and those monsters do not pause when they strike the border to consider whether they are invading Tifeng or Ansusi."

"So we…" Duke Pei Yi ventured, "are to postpone next year's plans?"

"Not merely postpone—we must make our preparations more thorough, must we not?" Luo Yan looked into Pei Yi's eyes. "Perhaps it is time to reestablish dialogue with Ansusi… if that king still possesses sound judgment."

Pei Yi said nothing, only studied the Tifeng ruler before him a moment longer, and the latter responded calmly: "My lord Pei Yi, I know you are surprised.

"My mind has indeed been stretched too taut of late, but you need not be alarmed—I have remained quite clear on what I am doing.

"The Augustus curse may yet fall upon me in the end, but not now.

"Perhaps I should find a time to express some condolence to the Count of Winterfell…"

"That you are recovering is all that matters. I will share this good news with Count Palin," Pei Yi Wendell said, then hesitated a moment. "Is it because of those two elves?"

"They have a personal friendship with the Augustus family," the Great Emperor Luo Yan said offhandedly.

At that very moment, two pieces of intelligence were also laid upon the desk of Francis II, King of Ansusi.

The aged king read the contents over carefully, as though he wished to engrave every word of it in his mind, and at last he sighed softly and cast both sheets of magic-treated light parchment into the brazier beside him.

In the deep winter of Saintfrost Rest, cold winds bearing frost and snow from the northern mountains howled among the ancient palace walls and bell towers. Faint bell tones seemed to come drifting on the wind, yet they could only strike a hazy echo against the broad, ornate crystal windows.