171 Silver Moon

There were already people inside the dining hall when Timothy arrived with Abraham. The royal guard was still acting anxious when Timothy left him outside the hall. He had repeatedly told Abraham that it was alright. But Abraham actions remained. He must be guilt-stricken after what happened to Arthur and the Bear.

Timothy seated himself beside Lucia. Arthur, Erik, Captain Bisham, Father Edmund, Shadow and Escanor were on the other side. Sea bass was served for lunch.

"You took your time" Lucia said

"Yeah. But I have good news. I'll reveal it later"

The door then opened and Sylvie went inside. She was carrying a jar of wine. Sylvie put it on the table and sat beside Erik.

"I brought heated wine" She smiled and gestured for the wine to be distributed.

Erik was the first one to grab it. He poured until his cup was filled to the brim. He drank, chugging it like it was water and grunted loudly.

"Nothing beats heated wine in winter. Such a taste. Where did you get this? Tastes like authentic Hadean"

Sylvie's face showed a complicated expression. She just lowered her head.

The others also filled their cups and drank. When the jar arrived on their side, Lucia poured for both of them. She put the jar aside and drank.

"This sea bass is a little salty and I'm a thirsty" Lucia reasoned with a sweet smile after drinking.

Sylvie then put something on the table. It was a beautiful vial adorned with an exquisite shape. The content was a clear liquid that looked like water. But a vial that exquisite shouldn't contain only water so the liquid must be something else.

And everybody knew what it was. Every person with a noble blood knew the danger of beautiful vials filled with water-like liquid. The Wismarines call it Silver Moon. Just like Hellfire, the process of making Silver Moon was a state secret of Wismar. Many had fallen to this vile poison.

Erik dropped his cup. His eyes quivered as he looked at Sylvie. The others also looked surprised with fear on their eyes. Erik then embraced Sylvie. The embrace was sincere. He whispered something to her.

There was silence. It was eerie. Everybody just stared at the table with thoughts unknown. Three drops of Silver Moon was enough to kill. There were no antidotes- just death.

"Don't worry she did not poison the wine" The calming voice was Lucia's

The six people turned their heads towards the Queen- begging for an explanation with hope that they were not going to die.

"Two nights ago, Sylvie went to us" It was Timothy who continued. "She told us that her father wanted her to poison the Queen. Her father gave her a vial of Silver Moon to finish the deed. But she didn't. Instead, she told me and Lucia"

"At first we were horrified" Lucia said "She could have succeeded because nobody expected this. Not even me. So the only reason why Timothy and I are still alive is because Sylvie chose us over her father. For that we should give her our gratitude. We decided to only tell you about this now because we want you to learn a lesson like how we learned our lesson two nights ago. All of you have important roles to play in the coming spring. You will meet people. You will trust these people. But you shouldn't trust them completely. Leave space for imagination. We have probably the strongest army and navy but like what you witnessed, Sylvie could have decimated us that easily. An enemy from within is more terrifying than a conventional one. Be careful who you trust"

The silence was maintained. Everyone just stared at the table until a laugh was heard. It was Captain Bisham. The others followed and the hall was filled with laughter.

"That was a cruel way to teach us lesson. My old heart almost gave up" Captain Bisham cleared his throat. He drank the remaining wine in his cup

"Mine too" Father Edmund confirmed with a grin. He made a small bow towards Lucia and him "But thank you for the reminder. I agree that we must be vigilant at all times. Honestly my heart almost gave up after seeing the vial. I knew it was over" He gave Sylvie a look "Thank you for choosing us over your father"

"It is the right choice" Sylvie's small voice said.

"But I'm a little upset that you told them and not me" Erik severed his embrace and pouted.

Timothy was amused by Erik's actions. He never knew that his friend had this side of him. But that could wait. They need to discuss the upcoming spring offensive now.

"So now that the lesson is learned, we will now start talking about future plans. As what you've heard, we will launch an all-out assault against our enemies this coming spring" said Timothy.

"A bold plan" Erik said "I like seeing Vanadis' and Castonia's flag crossing the borders. Our reputation alone will make most their cities surrender without a fight"

"Everything is prepared" Timothy added "General Marvin, Bourgis and Hoover have been recruiting, training and organizing our legions in both Solon and Nirvana. The number of Castonian legions has risen to ten. Fifty thousand heads. Many of them are raw but they will soon bleed into veterans. Vanadis currently has two legions but since the recruitment is doing better than expected, we will increase this to five"

"We could also hire mercenaries to bolster our numbers" Added father Edmund

"Yes but we will keep it to a minimum. And as for the navy I don't have the numbers"

"Two hundred sixty eight ships" Lucia said "The ones we hired from the merchants almost doubled the navy"

"Biggest in the world huh?" Timothy couldn't help but smile in admiration. "And what about you Erik? How is the Castonian navy?"

"Twelve" Erik proudly said

"Well better than nothing" Timothy cleared the table and spread the map. "You will return to Greenwater tomorrow. Organize the city's defenses so we wouldn't have to worry about it getting attacked again. Come spring, you will go with Henry to Tulosa with four legions and make peace"

"Four legions and peace. Those things do not mix" Erik repeated with a smirk

"They do. We are yet to receive a formal peace treaty with them. I'm tired of dealing with knights. They don't have an army"

"They have knights. Twenty thousand knights with full armor and years of training"

"Henry should be able to help you with diplomacy. Just be resourceful and you'll be fine"

"Alright" Erik sighed "The Marquis of Greenwater will do as you command"

"Thank you. Now let's talk about Calgari. Captain Bisham?"

"The ones we destroyed were just transport galleys. Calgari has a real navy" Captain Bisham said

"But they are no match compared to the Vanadian navy" The veteran added.

"I'll send two Castonian legions to assist you. Ravage their shores and capture coastal cities. No pillaging or any unruly act. We need to maintain the moral high ground in this war"

"Calgari will bow under the might of the lion and the pelican" Captain Bisham said with a salute.

"They will. But it is better to get help from others. Lucia and I think Borondi will soon agree to an alliance with us"

"The last time we forged an alliance, Inkit, Canton and Hadea betrayed us. I'm not questioning your decision but do you think we can trust them Tim?" Erik asked.

Timothy looked at Sylvie "Have you forgotten what Sylvie taught us earlier? We cannot trust anyone. Borondi might betray us. Nothing is for certain. But we need them and they need us. We will just watch our back."

"We need an ambassador" Father Edmund said "A member of the royal family to show our sincerity. I shall go"

"No, we need you here. Vanadis still has matters that need to be addressed" Lucia eyed Arthur "Arthur should go"

"Me?" Arthur looked around while pointing at himself "I lack experience"

"Nothing will make you learn faster than doing it yourself" Said Lucia

"But I might mess this up. I don't have the qualification"

"Your blood is qualification enough. You will have advisers anyway. All you need to do is to smile and be friendly" Lucia said

"And no leacherous remarks" Timothy added "No gambling, don't get drunk lest you blabber things that would insult them, and please stop going to brothels"

The last one made Arthur flinch "So I'll be living a pure life then. It will be difficult"

"It will be"

"Fine I'll go. But I better have those advisers"

Timothy nodded. He pointed at Wismar in the map "As for myself, I will face the coalition with the Queen"

His words drew frowns from them.

"There are ten Castonians legions. Two will go with Captain Bisham. Four will go with me. That leaves you four legions. You have twenty thousand against the armies of the four nations. That is beyond being outnumbered" Erik said.

"We will have reinforcements from both Vanadis and Castonia. Plus we have hostages to bargain"

"And should you really lead yourself? If you and the Queen fall, all is lost. It doesn't matter whether we win in Calgari or Tulosa. We should at least postpone the assault against Calgari or even better- leave the Queen here in Holm"

Timothy understood the danger of his plan. He also fears for Lucia. But Lucia really wanted to go with him. He cannot stop her. She said that she cannot bear waiting for letters just to confirm that he's safe.

He also needed her. Wars are more than just about armies and sieges and battles. He needed her guidance.

As for the lack of soldiers, he was confident that the four legions will be enough. He would bring Steelsword, Dawn and Rooster- his three most senior legions. They could also hire mercenaries and a steady supply of fresh troops will arrive from both Castonia and Vanadis. Also, bringing inexperienced soldiers will just bog him down. Raw recruits would just ruin his plans. His strategy was to move and strike fast like lightning. He cannot do this with a large army.

"We cannot. My husband and our reputation are enough. Have trust in us" It was Lucia who reasoned.

Their expressions grew lighter but there were still worries on their faces.

"All of these are not final though" Timothy said. All eyes were on him "Our general plan for the spring offensive could change"

"Why?" asked Erik

Timothy looked towards the two people who were silent since the beginning.

"I believe it is time for you two to finally reveal what you know. Tell us everything" he told Escanor and Shadow.

"Where should I begin?" Shadow sighed "The world is... not what you think it is"