Parting

Dragunov, Parliament Hall

"Your Excellency Ambassador, please wait a moment, Her Majesty the Queen will be here shortly."

Sordil accepted the teacup from the waiter with a smile, then said gently, "Please convey the message, sir!"

The waiter bowed to Sordil, then left the hall with the tray in his hand.

After carefully sipping his tea and confirming that no chili peppers had been added, Sordil dared to drink it with peace of mind. Before Sordil could finish his tea, a voice that was all too familiar drifted into his ears.

"Your Excellency, isn't our country's black tea quite good?"

Sordil knew without turning around that it must be Irene. He quickly put down his teacup, turned around, and replied, "Your country's black tea is excellent. If..."

"If what?"

"If Her Majesty the Queen were to brew it herself, the taste would surely be even more wonderful."

After being thoroughly harassed, Irene glared at Sordil and said angrily, "You..."

After successfully making a fool of himself, Sordil immediately knew when to stop, took out Belmod's approval, and said, "Your Her Majesty Irene, this is His Majesty's opinion on the alliance. Please take a look."

Seeing the document in Sordil's hand, Irene lost all interest in arguing with Sordil about the trivial matter. Irene quickly ordered a servant to bring the document and began to carefully study its contents. After a moment, having finished reading, Irene said to Sordil, "Your Excellency, His Majesty's opinion coincides with my own."

"Then, Your Her Majesty Irene, when do you think our two countries should formally sign an alliance treaty?"

Irene closed her eyes and pondered for a quarter of an hour, then said, "Your Excellency, I have just calculated that I can gather enough people and nobles to attend the ceremony by tomorrow afternoon. Therefore, I have decided that we will formally sign the alliance treaty with your country tomorrow afternoon. What do you think, Your Excellency?"

"Now that Her Majesty Irene has made her decision, this general will naturally cooperate fully!"

"Very well! Tomorrow afternoon, I will await Your Excellency in the Council Hall!"

The following afternoon, Sordil and his entourage changed into specially made ceremonial uniforms for the mission and rode in a carriage bearing the royal insignia of the Kingdom of Cuiyiorxiu, slowly making their way towards the palace along the main street of the capital. The streets were lined with citizens of the Kingdom of Donagunov and dragons, with soldiers standing between the crowds and the mission to maintain order. Countless cheers and falling flowers surrounded the mission's convoy.

Upon the arrival of the delegation at the palace, Sordil's old acquaintance, the Red Dragon Xizhalansa, immediately came to greet them.

"Your Excellency Ambassador, please follow me to the Council Hall!"

Sordil nodded politely, then led Diphiya and the others, following behind Xizhalansa, up the steps toward their destination.

As they walked through the long corridor and arrived at the entrance to the council hall, the blue-robed attendant standing before the palace gate immediately announced loudly, "The Peace Negotiation Delegation from the Kingdom of Tsuyioru Xiu has arrived!"

As the chanting subsided, the palace gates slowly opened from the inside. The usually deserted council hall was now filled with nobles in magnificent robes. Queen Irene, having changed out of her usual casual attire, wore a golden crown and a long, crimson dress, and sat regally on her throne. Xizhalansa led the entire delegation along the laid-out red carpet. Upon reaching the center of the hall, Xizhalansa suddenly stopped, knelt on one knee, and respectfully said, "Your Her Majesty the Queen, I have led the Peace Negotiation Delegation here as ordered by Your Majesty."

"Very good! My dear minister, you have worked hard. Please step aside."

Xizhalansa bowed with his hand on his chest, then stepped back to one side of the hall. After Xizhalansa left, the delegation members, led by Sordil, stood in a specific order and then collectively knelt on one knee to pay their respects to Irene.

"The Kingdom of Cuiyiorxiu, the Peace Negotiation Delegation, led by Ambassador Oddek, and all members of the Peace Negotiation Delegation, pay their respects to Her Majesty Irene!"

"Your Excellency Ambassador and members of the Peace Negotiation Delegation, please rise!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Sordil and the others stood up, frozen in place. Once everyone was in position, Sordil stepped forward, holding the peace order originally issued by Belmod in both hands, and said loudly, "Your Her Majesty the Queen, after learning of the impending invasion by the dragons of the Western Continent, our King immediately ordered us, the members of the Peace Negotiation Delegation, to travel to your country to discuss the crucial matter of resisting the foreign enemy. We hope that your country will accept our goodwill and form a friendly alliance with us to jointly resist the foreign enemy."

A servant standing before Irene slowly approached Sordil, took the letter of credence from Sordil, and then handed it to Irene. Irene opened the letter in front of everyone, glanced at its contents, and then announced to those below, "I, Irene, representing the Kingdom of Donagunov, accept the conditions proposed by your country and hereby become your allies!"

As Irene finished speaking, another waiter standing in front of her shouted, "Please make the covenant!"

After the waiter finished calling, four soldiers dressed in moon-white robes carried a square table, about two meters square and one meter high, slowly into the hall. The covenant was placed on top of the table.

"Read the covenant!"

After the order was given, Xizhalansa, who was standing to one side, stepped forward, opened the covenant on the table, and began to read it aloud.

"The Agreement on Friendly Consultation and Alliance between the Kingdom of Donagunov and the Kingdom of Cuiyiorxiu is as follows: Article 1: After the signing of this agreement, the two sides shall form an alliance to jointly resist the invasion of the Western Continent."

"Finally, to ensure the stability of relations between the two countries and to consolidate the alliance between the two sides, the Kingdom of Donagunov, King Irene, the Kingdom of Cuiyiorxiu, the Guardian of the Western Territory, and Lieutenant General Oddek will hold a wedding ceremony in March."

After Xizhalansa finished reading the covenant, the attendant loudly announced, "Please sign!"

Irene and Sordil walked to the altar and wrote their names on the covenant. Then, each of them held a corner of the covenant and showed it to the crowd. At that moment, a giant hand lifted them up and soared into the sky, displaying the two holding the covenant to the entire city.

"Oh!"

Thunderous cheers and deafening dragon roars echoed through the city.

The next morning, at the east gate of the capital

After a night of revelry, the citizens spontaneously gathered at the city gate to bid farewell to the departing Peace Negotiation Delegation. At that very moment, in the middle of the delegation's motorcade, a witty and sarcastic farewell was taking place.

"Sister-in-law, my brother has a terrible sense of direction, so please don't let him go out alone, or he'll get lost!"

Feeling a little uncomfortable being called "sister-in-law" all of a sudden, Irene blushed instantly. After a moment, she stammered, "It can't be that bad, can it?"

"Teacher's wife, Sister Diphiya didn't lie to you. Last time, Teacher went out to eat alone and then got lost."

Hearing Anna's words, Sordil retorted in his mind, "I didn't get lost, I was held captive by my creditors!"

However, Irene, unable to hear his inner monologue, believed Anna's words and looked at him with pity. In that instant, Sordil felt a sweet, metallic liquid uncontrollably rising in his throat.

"Sister-in-law, there's something else I need to tell you: never let my brother go to the water alone!"

"Why is that?"

"Master's wife, this is what happened. When Master was in the Western Continent, he was swallowed by Zi Ni and almost digested. So ever since then, we have never dared to let Master go to the water alone!"

Upon hearing this, Irene screamed in surprise again.

"Huh? No way!"

Diphiya and the other woman remained silent, only nodding heavily. Irene instantly lost confidence in protecting Sordil's safety and felt uncertain about her ability to uphold the alliance between the two nations.