Season 1 Episode 49: Deep Discussion

After accompanying his junior brother to his courtyard, Senior Wilfred Beldon spoke first. "Well then junior brother Claude, if you'll excuse me, I have matters to attend to. I'll be taking my leave first."

"Alright. Thank you for sharing this information with me, Senior.." Claude lightly nodded, then he watched from afar as Senior Beldon left.

After Senior Beldon disappeared from his view, Claude shook his head and sighed. He wasn't sure whether or not Senior Beldon's words could be completely trustworthy. And it certainly did seem like he knew much more than he let on. However, he could be sure about one thing: the situation concerning the Royals and the Academies seems to be worsening with every passing day.

"Hmm!" Claude let out a breath of air, and entered his spacious inner disciple residence.

"Welcome home young master… We have already prepared your bath. Do you wish to take one right now?"

Claude had only just passed through the front gate when he noticed Randall Garton, his servant, coming to greet him with a happy expression. The gazes of the other servants who were behind him descended onto Claude as well.

"I'll be taking a bath now. Good job," Claude smiled lightly.

"Thank you for your compliment, young master." Randall lightly smiled as he bowed his head in respect.

********

The Royal Palace, in the Prince's courtyard.

"You know," A black-clothed old man said as he leaned back on his chair, "It was not supposed to be so complicated. It was supposed to be a lot simpler than this."

"I'm sure you and the council had everything planned, Prime Minister Antonni. But you made the mistake of letting loose. You relinquish your control for even a second, and the world takes over for you," Prince Blake Bancroft pointed out. "And now, we're in this mess."

Perhaps they were just plain unlucky, Prime Minister Antonni thought, looking out the window and onto the red leaves of the beautiful Drazik trees outside.

"Good Morning, Prince!"

Prince Bancroft tilted his head to see the Royal Army Admiral Bjorn Garrison, walking towards him.

"Well hello there, Admiral Bjorn," Prince Bancroft said with a smile as he shook hands with him. "I believe you already know Prime Minister Antonni?"

"We've met before," the Admiral said as he turned towards the Prime Minister and nodded his head. The Prime Minister noded back. The Admiral scurried over and sat down next to the Prime Minister.

"How's the situation with Gottfried, Admiral Bjorn?" Prince Blake leaned forward as he finished speaking, and the Prime Minister glanced at the Admiral, waiting for his response.

"Do you really want to know the truth, Prince? Right now?" Admiral Bjorn asked, meaning, 'Is it okay to speak in front of the Prime Minister'?

"It's alright Admiral. The Prime Minister can handle it," replied the Prince, and Admiral Bjorn nodded. "Gottfried and his army seems to be moving west, across the Belugar mountains, after the annihilation of Rhodesweld. Assuming his next target is the country of Capenea, it gives us roughly around two months time to prepare. Thank God we didn't get on Gottfried's bad side, because there just isn't any good to come from offending him. The Council hadn't been handling the King and the Queen very well which lead to this—"

"Let's keep our discontent out of the report,shall we? What's the situation with the Capenean Army? How long do you think they can hold out?" Prince Bancroft asked.

"The whole country of Capenea is a dog's breakfast, Prince. The total number of cultivators in the Capenean army is around 17,500. That's nothing compared to the five hundred thousand under Gottfried." Admiral Bjorn replied.

"What's the situation with Barugh, Prince?" This question came from Prime Minister Antonni.

Prince Bancroft took a second or two before replying. "The First Consul decided to lend us a few combat units, constituting under ten thousand cultivators for aiding us."

"Is that it? What good is ten thousand people against five hundred thousand?" The Prime Minister's mood was slightly agitated.

The Prince sighed as he slowly said, "The combat units are for helping us control the state of turmoil that our nation is in, Prime Minister. Not to defend against Gottfried's army."

"But what if we fail to control the situation? How on earth are you planning on defending against an army of five hundred thousand men?" the Prime Minister asked.

"No country is going to lend us a hand in defeating Gottfried, Prime Minister," Prince Bancroft said after a moment's reflection. "Because taking on Gottfried isn't worth the risk. Therefore the objective, Prime Minister Antonni, is to make sure that the country doesn't fall into the hands of the people. That is what we are trying to prevent. And we have two months to do so. For an uprising amongst the masses will doom not only us, but also Argria as well."

"I wish you'd cleared it through the council first, Prince," Prime Minister Antonni grumped.

"It's not my fault that we're in this situation, Prime Minister. But nevertheless, we are in this situation now, and I, as the Prince, have a responsibility to save my country from being ruined. I apologise for not consulting you or the council, Prime Minister. But I just couldn't waste any time," the Prince replied with a calm expression on his face.

It was clear from the way he leaned back that the Prime Minister didn't like the situation. But he had no choice.

"What's the situation with the Academies?" Admiral Bjorn cut in. "How're you planning on dealing with that?"

"I'm leaving that to General Ivan and his unit. He's adept at handling such situations," The Prince announced.

"Wouldn't that simply result in an increase of aggressive force from the elders and the students?" the Prime Minister asked.

"That's why we have General Ivan. I'm not planning on forcing the reformers to hide. I'm forcing them to come out of hiding, so that we can crush them completely," the Prince observed confidently.