April 6, Avalon.
Isabel sat peacefully in her study, flipping through the letters that had been sent back.
"How interesting."
She tapped the letter with her finger and chuckled. "What do you think, Lord Hermes?"
A week earlier, Isabel had sent a letter to Astyn, expressing her intention to make a "formal state visit."
Astyn had not responded to the news immediately.
Although Avalon and Astyn were separated by the sea, that did not easily hinder the delivery of information.
International correspondence of this level was entrusted to the Church for delivery. The Candle Holder's apostle, Winged Flame, was fond of delivering items for people, and letters carried by apostles and transported by the Church could maintain information security to the greatest extent. Thus, there was no possibility that "the letter had been lost" or "the letter had been sent but had not arrived yet."
Astyn had remained silent for so long... yet it had replied immediately after the Theocracy began conscripting troops yesterday.
Isabel, however, was neither angry nor annoyed. There was only a smile in the corners of her eyes, and her bearing remained serene.
Her eyes grew brighter, and she already possessed the steady air of a monarch.
"They're afraid, Your Majesty."
Mycroft Hermes answered without raising his head.
He wore a thin sweater and a white shirt, sitting across from Isabel while slowly sorting through documents.
Compared with last year, the seal-like obese man had clearly lost a considerable amount of weight.
Partly, it was from overwork... but on the other hand, this was also why his adaptability to the Path of Twilight had weakened. That unusually "steady and solid obesity" had largely been caused by his body becoming sluggish due to an excess of adaptability to the Path of Twilight.
After all, neither Sherlock's father