Marquis Greiman

Marquis Greiman

When Earl Morrin finished reading the king's decree, everyone's fury erupted almost instantly.

"How could such a treaty be signed?"

"Such a vast stretch of land in the north has just been given away to the orcs and the traitors for nothing?"

"What about Watchman Fortress?"

Amid the uproar, Catherine's face turned pale. Her bloodless lips moved soundlessly as she tried to speak, but no words came out.

Just moments ago, everyone had still been arguing heatedly over what they should do next.

Some had proposed advancing swiftly eastward to recover the kingdom's lost territories as soon as possible.

Others had advocated a steady approach, gradually wearing down the orcs' effective fighting strength, just as they had during the previous campaign.

But after Earl Morrin, the king's envoy, arrived, he delivered news that struck everyone like a thunderbolt.

Faced with everyone's questioning, Earl Morrin looked grim as well.

"Everyone, even now, I'm just as shocked as you are."

"At the Royal Council Meeting, the king suddenly announced this decision. His reason was that if the war with the orcs continued, Giles and Veblen would join forces to attack Crystal Radiance."

In truth, the earl himself did not quite believe this reason. As the kingdom's Chief Intelligence Officer, he had received no information about anything of the sort. Could His Majesty have other channels for obtaining intelligence abroad?

As expected, this explanation failed to convince anyone.

"Even if there's such a risk, we can't simply give up such a vast stretch of land for nothing!"

"If we let the orcs occupy the kingdom's north, our generation will become sinners!"

"Everyone, please calm down." As tempers flared, Earl Morrin pulled out a second parchment scroll. The gold trim on it indicated that this was another royal decree.

The earl looked