Thinking until here, he called the Knight from before, “Westeros, take three short-tailed horses with you, interchange them during the ride, so that you can reach Border Town as early as possible. When you’re there tell His Highness that Timothy’s men have come.”
“As you bid,” Westeros nodded.
As the Knight turned around and left, Petrov sighed. “Let’s go and meet the new King’s envoy.”
…
When Petrov appeared at the city gate, with the exception of the ten people riding at the front, whose spirits seemed to be trembling with excitement, the rest of the Cavaliers all seemed a little sluggish, they were sitting with a crooked body on their horses, as if they could fall off any time.
“Welcome, Sir Lehman,” Petrov welcomed him with a nod. “I’m the stronghold manager belonging to the Honeysuckle Family, Petrov Hull.”
The word ‘stronghold manager’ left a bad aftertaste in his mouth. If he had really been in charge of the Western Border, being the Duke of the stronghold, he would never have had to salute towards an envoy. He wouldn’t even need to greet him at the gate. Instead, he could just stay inside the Lord’s castle, waiting for the other party to come to him.
“I have heard of your name at the Cold Wind Range, ‘Acting Duke’.” Lehman dismounted and walked over with a smile. “The Western Border is indeed a strange territory, even after assembling a vast army, Duke Ryan actually couldn’t conquer such a small town. Moreover, he even lost his own life, which is a rare circumstance for the Kingdom of Graycastle. Of course, for the Honeysuckle Family, this must have been good news.”
Petrov automatically ignored the irony coming from his words, “Are your men alright? They look to be a little… unwell.”
“Don’t mind them,” Lehman glanced backward, “They probably haven’t acclimatized themselves after rushing through the whole journey, they will be better after some rest. To be honest, this region is just too hot.”
“It’s only because the North is too cold,” Since the other person seemed to not to care about the matter, Petrov was too lazy to pay attention further to the subject. “I’m wondering why sir envoy has come from the Cold Wind Range, rather than from King’s City.”
“That is because His Majesty Timothy Wimbledon is currently in the Northern Territory,” Lehman answered bluntly. “Duke Essie thought had thought he could take advantage of the weakened state of the Northern Border Guards to instigate a rebellion. After being suspected of starting a revolution, King Timothy had no other choice than to put down the revolt.”
“That being the case, what is the King’s current decision?”
“He has issued a recall order,” Lehman stated, “His Majesty sent me to see if the Western Territory has also sunken into a state of chaos, caused by war. If I remember correctly, prior to the Months of Demons, the King had sent a recall order to Roland Wimbledon, but until today he still hasn’t returned to King’s City.”
“The instruments should have been forwarded to the stronghold five months ago, but unlike the previous Lords, Lord Roland didn’t choose to return to the stronghold and take refuge here during the Months of Demons,” Petrov paused. “He decided to instead stay inside Border Town and lead his people against the demonic beasts. So, for that reason he couldn’t immediately set out to King’s City and follow the King’s orders.
“By now the end of the Months of Demons had been almost three months ago,” Lehman didn’t waver in his duty. “The King has sent me to escort the Prince back to King’s City.”
“When will you leave for Border Town?”
“We will set out tomorrow morning.”
