Chapter 415: Edge
"Have they not offended the Tachibana Clan? Will it be surprising if they want to defend themselves? In a way, for them, this might be bait to know the Tachibana Clan against them! After all, Vale is looking to use the Lord's Council as a way to officially make his claims strong. Anyone with strong opinions should voice them before or during the meeting!"
Vice Admiral Talia nodded to herself. "If the Tachibana Clan did not do anything, then that means they tacitly accept what's going on."
Clan Leader Daey took a deep breath, and he frowned as his eyes went unfocused. "I see. But in all of this, how do we intend to take advantage? Should I recall Vice Admiral Zarek from Ryujin and push for an all-out war?"
No one in the room answered him. They all knew that it was their Clan Leader's way of organizing his thoughts, speaking aloud while he slowly thought. "No. We still don't know if the Tachibana will support them. In that way, the problem we'll face will be doubled.
"But we can't let this advantage pass us by either, no matter if it's a trap. Besides, we can't find any trap that can be concealed. Explosive? No, Vale won't sacrifice his own population for that from what we have glimpsed."
He went silent for a while, and then his face cleared as he made his decision. "Vice Admiral Talia, you will redouble your efforts in searching for any traps, and at the same time, Vice Admiral Raelor, you will take your fleet and, with some Water Lords, you will completely cause massive destruction to Coastal Fortward.
"You must destroy all the defenses of this city and pave the way for our advantage in the future when we finally decide to go all out."
Both Vice Admirals saluted.
"What about...our backer?"
Clan Leader Daey's face turned a little blank. "We've not received any news even till now. I think they're watching to see what we'll do and how the chessboard will shake after Vale's meeting."
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The air in this place carried no hint of salt water. It was pleasant to the nose, as scented wood was always burned to keep the air sharp and fresh.
It was a palace. The palace was a very big one, as if three of the one in Matsumoto were shoved together. All around were smaller structures. The ground was covered in smooth white and black stones that did nothing to hide the massive formation that was drawn on them.
All around, people walked and talked in hushed whispers as if they were afraid of disturbing the peaceful air. Here and there, Knights marched in neat formations as they kept to their patrols, their eyes scanning everything.
And at the very top of the palace hung a massive flag that bore the crest of the Tachibana. A sword concealed behind a brown translucent curtain. But the flag was not flying at full erect; it was at half-mast. This meant the Master of the palace wasn't in residence!
The Clan Leader wasn't in attendance!
Inside the palace, in a room concealed beside the throne room, four people who shared a close resemblance to each other were staring at each other around a table. The silence between them wasn't tense, but it wasn't comfortable either, even though they shared polite smiles.
It was as if they were all hiding daggers behind silks!
Eventually, one of them spoke.
Seraphine Tachibana looked at one of her stepbrothers and smiled. "Hartmu, how are your children? I've been meaning to visit them, but I've been just too busy with my Knights!"
Hartmu Tachibana forced a smile that actually appeared to have a little warmth, and for someone as unsmiling as him, it was a great effort. "They are well."
Seraphine nodded, but before she could say anything, another brother snorted and glared. "Why don't we start with the reason this meeting was called in the first place and stop all the playing around? I have ladies waiting for me later."
The one who spoke was Cassian Tachibana. His eyes held a low, angry light. He turned and looked at their youngest sibling. "You!"
Vossberg Tachibana appeared unbothered as he smiled gently. He held a foldable fan inscribed with enchanted words in his hand, and he fanned himself slowly. "Brother Cassian, you appear to be in an even worse mood today. One of your women cheated on you again?"
Vossberg's words appeared truthful, as if he was truly curious about his brother's well-being. This fact only made the spark in Cassian's eyes burn even more, and he opened his mouth to spew curses but was stopped by another person cutting in.
"Why don't we stop this? Petty words are useless. You might as well go out and fight yourselves. It'll be a great show, and I'll be happy to watch," Seraphine cut in with a flat voice.
Neither of the two replied to this as they turned to their sister.
Seraphine smiled at them, but there was no warmth on her face. "See? You're just playing around to probe each other. It's fine any other day, but today is rather important."
Cassian snorted and looked away. But Vossberg snapped his fan shut and smiled at his sister. "Ever the blunt one, eh?"
Seraphine did not reply to this, as she had achieved her objective. Instead, she turned to their eldest. "Well?"
Hartmu finally moved. He raised his head to look at the three, looking totally unconcerned whether they fought or not. He liked to carry himself with a certain kind of dignity that always reminded them of their father, and not in a good way. "This is the second meeting we will be having after Vossberg's failure with the Matsumoto mission and the aftermath."
The smile on Vossberg remained, but it seemed to have lost its edge. In fact, he began to have a bad feeling about the meeting. Had the three of them finally decided to have him for food?