It was the ninth day of the first month, a Sunday. The priests who were close with His Imperial Highness the Prince had told him that this was a great day to go outdoors. Even though Oscar was a little reluctant, the Sukhoi mistress and his son had gone off. In fact, Oscar also knew that this could not be helped as his Alanis had been harassing the mother and son like a mental patient.
From Vij's perspective, Alanis' passion toward her was never a good thing and she wished to leave Dulin as soon as possible. In Dulin, the nobles and high-ranking officers sized her up with their wolf-like gazes. Even if Vijdeline Van Sukhoi was the mistress of the family and had seen much of society, she still shivered and felt fear under the scrutiny of a huge bunch of carnivorous animals.
Thus, it would be better for her to leave as soon as possible! Oscar had thought so as well. It did not seem that he had treasured much of this time which he had spent with the mistress, he only had many questions which he had no answers! For instance, Vij's tone when the great Titania family was mentioned was just too weird. Moreover, although she had said so much, there seemed to be nothing worthy of attention. Regarding this matter, Oscar had flipped through the files of those times when the Royal system of Morisette had just been established as well as anything worth his attention. However, it was natural that he failed to get his answers as not a single document was able to point to the direction of the peculiar relationship between the Morisette Royalties and the Titania family.
The stranger the matter was, the more interested Oscar would be. He had invited several historians and had made a few trips to the family library of the Royalties' Chief Historical Records Officer. In the end, those few historians were only second-rate figures. On the other hand, Rolanda, Getha and Baroness Ogeiro had told him that all the information had been shown. There was no secret agreement between the two Royal families or at the very least, such was the interpretation according to the documents.
At last, Oscar had gone to see Marshal Robin. He had asked the Chief of Staff as to why Marshal Alan would pick the Titania family's direct army as the experimental unit of the modernized army.
To this, Marshal Robin had answered that his thoughts were simple. Great Titania Province was the center of the empire and no opposing forces could harass the location. In other words, by departing from Great Titania Province, one could defend against Deiss at the North, assist the capital at the West, and reach Bragg at the South. As a result, it would be a true strategic backup base of the Guards.
Oscar was also quite familiar with the subject of geography and he was knowledgeable of the history of war. It might be due to the fact that Great Titania Province had not once been involved in the past wars that Oscar was not really clear of the definitions of the mainland's central lands. If the explanation provided by Marshal Robin was reasonable, it meant that the establishment of a modernized army was due to the considerations regarding strategic reserves. However, what connection did this have with the Morisette Royalties? Was his Vij merely explaining a certain issue? Or was she worried about a certain abnormal matter?
Before they had left, His Imperial Highness the Prince hugged his son and sent the Sukhoi mistress off to the traveling carriage. Before their departure, the man himself had even inspected the comfort of the carriage. Maybe it was because the spacious seat decorated with goose wool blanket was just too alluring, Oscar changed his mind at the last minute. He wanted to follow the troop of carriages and escort his lover and son all the way to Brondy, a small town to the Northwest of the capital.
In this season, winter had arrived late whereas spring had come early. The troop of cavalries bearing the insignia of the Royalties and Andrews trudged slowly on the green, shaded route. The lazy sun shone onto the woods from the sky through the sparse branches, enveloping the knights' armor and the grand carriages with a layer of a dazzling yet tranquil cloak.
There were numerous beautiful and touching myths regarding Brondy Town. It had been said that when the first ruler of the Titan Empire had received the emperor's crown from the hands of God, the almighty creator of the universe had bestowed every majesty and wealth to Dulin. On the other hand, the people of Brondy at the Northwest of Dulin had been reluctant and ranted to God in the churches. They had claimed that they had defeated the Yaran invaders in the recent battle of Brondy. Thus, they had reasoned that the God of Light should have left the loveliest things in the world to Brondy, where children of heroes would be born.
Therefore, the God of Light had made a just decision. One fine day, a stream of spring water had suddenly appeared in the valley near the little town. The spring water had gathered into a lake, shaping into numerous waterfalls at the hills and rocky terrains below. Lastly, it flowed past the small town, embellished with crystal stones of primary colors which were as smooth as pearls.
The crystal had become the unique product of Brondy and the citizens of the little town had been managing lighting businesses for a long time. In Dulin or any other long-running residences of the Titan nobles, Brondy crystal lamps were the symbols of taste and art and craft skills. The first thing Oscar had done once he had arrived at the small town was to visit the crystal workshop with his family. Although the jewelry here was not as popular as the lightings, the sight of the room amidst countless beautiful stones itself was simply pleasing to one's eyes.
His Imperial Highness the Prince had given his little son a purple crystal pendant as a gift and had given Vijdeline an intricate set of handmade jewelry. No matter what, the Sukhoi mistress had been really satisfied with the man's gift and was extremely touched as well. This was due to the fact that it was common knowledge among the people of Dulin that O'Neil Andrew Morisette was a stingy person. Other than his trusted men, no one had heard if the Prince had sent gifts to anyone.
Vij had believed that she was left with no other options! It had felt as if the vows between her and Oscar had taken place in the prehistoric century. As time had passed, the scenes back then became rare. She had once doubted the man's feelings for her and had doubted all her efforts at some point in time too! Thus, when the man had inquired about the implications of what she had said about Titania family, she laughed internally in a mocking manner and said to the man in a relaxed tone, "Once Titania has activated its functions, you'll naturally be aware of the hidden meanings."
Oscar could only rest the case. He enjoyed his lunch together with the mother and son at the best hotel in Brondy Town.
Right here, cooked duck with turnip, fried bamboo shoots and fish paste which had been fried to a bright yellow were served. However, little Micath had no interest for these things and his taste was just as weird as the fact that he was still incapable of speaking as a four-year-old. With bulging eyes, Oscar had almost been staring at his little son eating several roasted lamb eyes, "Is long-term food poisoning the reason that he still can't speak?" Oscar whispered secretly in Vij's ear.
"Don't spit nonsense!" displeased, the woman pushed the man away. "My son is a genius – he had assembled the firearm which had been dismantled into individual parts!"
"Is that so?" Oscar's eyes widened even more, "But he's only four years old?"
"Well then, have you ever seen a four-year-old child eating lamb eyes?"
"Never!"
"Which is why our son is a genius!"
Genius Micath had already finished his scrumptious yet odd lunch and put down his cutleries.
Then, he wiped the corners of his mouth just like how his mother had taught him to. In the end, this little fellow spread his arms toward the sky, which meant "Thank you! I've finished my meal!"
Oscar then placed his son on his knees. When he stared into the eyes of his little son, his paternal instincts suddenly kicked in. However, he had no idea what he should be doing at this moment.
Thus, he began to revisit his memories. It seemed that his father, Dortmund had treated him like this…
The young father turned his head, put his big nose onto his son's tiny nose and pressed hard! Little Micath laughed in joy and kept on dodging! Apparently, his father did not shave his beard clean.
"Itchy…"
Oscar chuckled aloud and his son was saying that he was itchy! However, hold on…
"My baby! You…you…you…you…you…what did you just say?"
Vijdeline put down the cutleries in her hands, leaped over the table, ran forward, and snatched her genius baby who knew that it was time to sleep when night time came from the hands of the man.
"Oh my God of Light! Can you say it again?"
Staring into his mother's eyes, little Micath pondered for a moment. Finally, he opened his mouth slowly, "Now…not itchy…"
Oscar looked to his left and right and redirected his gaze to the plate of his son. "Why don't…we get him another serving of lamb eye?"
Thus, His Imperial Highness the Prince's schedule had been delayed one whole evening because of his genius son until his Head of the Intelligence Analysis Division, Baron Messier, had come all the way from Dulin. To be honest, Oscar was very sure this time. He did not want to bid his farewell with Vij, especially with his beloved son. Although he had failed to get his son to call him words like "daddy" or even "father" after his evening-long efforts, he still had the patience. He speculated that his wish might be fulfilled in their next meeting. Right now, he was already a true father. Although there had been some conflicts during this duration, it was true that a father could only become a real father after interaction with his children.
The farewell with Lady Vijdeline had been rushed as His Imperial Highness the Prince had forgotten an extremely important date. He had to rush back to Dulin to deal with this unstable world. When his line of thoughts had wandered here, Oscar even wished that he had never left Narcissus County. He could hide a bunch of women within the towering walls of Andrew like the Eastern emperor and live his days in a casual manner and produce a few more children.
Upon thinking of the scene, the Imperial Prince could not help but stifle a silly laugh. However, after looking to his left and right, he noticed the Head of Intelligence Analysis Division who was nagging here and there with a stern expression as well as the quiet Devil Sandy who occasionally smirked coldly. O'Neil Andrew Morisette strongly believed that the Eastern emperor's life was only a desire in his imaginations.
"Alright, your Highness..." it seemed that Messier would be finishing what he had to say soon, "What happened to you? Even your eyes are smiling. Can I ask you to share your joyful matters with me?""Of course, Messier!" Oscar grabbed onto his old friend's shoulders in delight, "My son, you know? He's now able to speak!"
Messier wanted to roll his eyes but had restrained this emotion of his with great efforts, "Your Highness, this is definitely worth celebrating! But you must fix a flow of agendas for the next meeting, we can't just simply head over like this, it'll be a joke to our peers!"
Oscar shrugged nonchalantly. He had no choice but to remove the memories of his son speaking from his brain, "Alright! Now speak! Who are we meeting?"
"Oh my God of Light…" the Division Head of the Military Intelligence Bureau covered his face with both his palms. It seemed that his master had not been listening to his one-hour-long explanation on the matter.
"Do you know how much I've spent just to get my informants to arrange this meeting? The party on the other side of the table is Ollier's Kegiber person-in-charge of the Titan territories. He's bearing the risks of being charged with betraying his country by agreeing to take part in this unofficial meeting!"
Oscar smirked coldly. His political wisdom had returned to his brain. As for Kegiber's cooperation, he could only give one type of explanation.
"Messier! We don't have to lay too low, it's best that we make it known to the entire world that Titan's Military Intelligence Bureau has exchanged information with Ollier's Intelligence Analysis Division. I believe that Ollier's court is also full of concerns regarding their cooperation with the Deiss, so this can definitely be used to our advantage."
Messier was speechless and just smiled at His Imperial Highness the Prince. It seemed that he was still fond of O'Neil Andrew Morisette as his current state was capable of injecting power and hope into his followers.
To the East of Dulin City, turning at the entrance of Seventh Street from the Route of Kings, the embassy of the Federation of Ollier in Dulin was situated right behind the low pine forest. Turning past the main entrance built with red bricks and green tiles and crossing the crenel-like walls, the rented carriages carrying the Titan's Chief of the Military Intelligence Bureau and his team had finally stopped in front of the embassy's back entrance.
Under normal circumstances, there would be two guards stationed at the back door. Such soldier would be clad in Ollier's military uniforms with two rows of military items attached, wearing fur scarf and a funny-looking military cap with snowflake patterns. However, there was an entire team of soldiers like these tonight.
The rented carriages had driven into the courtyard of Ollier style. Oscar did not know what to comment regarding the buildings entering his scope of vision and the neat structure of the house. He had only directed a friendly smile toward the few bearded gentlemen at the carriage door and had accepted the traditional courtesies of being helped down the carriage by the people.
"Your respected Imperial Highness Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette! Your arrival has brought energy and glory to the embassy my country has dispatched in Titan!"
"It's my honor as well!" Oscar gave a slight bow at the Ollier ambassador. He still remembered the speech this envoy had presented during Alanis' crowning ceremony. It had seemed that the Ollier King had harbored a very personal interest toward the Titan empress.
"Please follow me! Lieutenant General Jimtroff has been waiting for you!"
Along with the ambassador's footsteps, Oscar and his two close bodyguards had turned past the hallway of a towering building with pointed roof and gone past the row of mirrors which were twenty-meters-long. At the spiral staircase behind the hall of mirrors, the marble steps were being reflected in the illumination of the candle lights. Numerous plaster statues had been carved onto the armrest of the stairs in a lively manner. Everything had seemed to the most beautiful folklores of Ollier.
Ascending the stairs, Oscar had come to the tower. At the door of the highest room, the Ollier ambassador knocked softly on the door and bowed deeply at the Titan prince before retreating down the stairs. The door opened, leading to a huge, plump guy clad in a huge red military uniform of the Ollier Imperial Guards saluting at the young man at the door in an insane manner.
Oscar laughed. Instead of saluting back, he had just extended his arm toward the person. The Ollier General with a sharp nose, deep eyes and faint golden curly hair gripped the hands of the Titan prince hard. Simultaneously, the two shook their hands with great force and had only retracted their hands after they had sufficiently sized up each other. What a pity! Baron Ogeiro had not managed to witness the scene. If he had happened to see the plain handshake, he would definitely write on the historical readings – O'Neil Andrew Morisette's foreign policy of befriending the faraway nations while attacking the close ones had commenced from the first unofficial meeting between the empire's Military Intelligence Bureau and Ollier's Kegiber.
"Your respected Highness, I can only greet you with a military salute as I've not been able to welcome you at the door front. Although this isn't the proper courtesy to treat a hero, my actions can't be known by the public after all."
"I'd say the same for me as well!" Oscar said while entering the door. Then, he threw his long coat to Paul. The King of Assassins scurried out the door quick-wittedly and had guarded the room on tight security for the two greatest masterminds in the field of secret services.
"Oh right! I still don't know how I should address you?" Oscar sized up the decorations in the room and then turned toward the middle-aged handsome man whose face was grown with a golden beard. Oscar was not really clear of the definitions of his addressing of the handsome man but the facial features and grace of this general right before him definitely deserved such address, especially those pair of faint grey eyes of his – it seemed to have bred countless touching stories.
"Jimtroff Peterhoffrey Jevic! Lieutenant General of the federation of Ollier's Imperial Guards, you can call me directly by my name, and it's even better if you can drop the surname with troublesome pronunciation!"
Oscar chuckled but had linked his thoughts to another matter soon enough, "Peterhoffrey Jevic! You're…you're the federation of Ollier's Her Majesty the Queen's…"
"Her Majesty Queen Anna Jimtroff Kurezov I is my stepsister who has the same father and different mother as me!"
"Oh…" Oscar exclaimed in wonder while nodding his head, "To be honest, I feel sorry for Her Majesty Queen Anna Jimtroff Kurezov I. If I recall correctly, your sister used to be Moseco's proudest beauty before she had resided in Kristaline Palace! As for your country's ruler, he should be around sixty years old, right?"
Jimtroff looked away all of a sudden. It seemed that he was reluctant to mention the matter. Alternatively, there was a greater possibility that his identity simply did not allow him to comment on his country's ruler, but he had no rights to stop the Titan prince from including the old husband and young wife of the federation of Ollier into his topics of conversation.
However, from Oscar's perspective, he had been able to at least testify a rumor. Lieutenant General Jimtroff Peterhoffrey Jevic had been dispatched to Titan only because that his improper relationship with his stepsister had been discovered. Looking further at his unnatural facial expressions now, Oscar's laughter had become weirder. It seemed that this Intelligence Officer sitting opposite him was also an emotional and humane individual.
Although there were only two people from the two parties of Ollier and Titan, Oscar and Jimtroff had proceeded according to the rules and gotten themselves seated at the long meeting table. After retracting all words of courtesy and gossips, the Marshal of Titan's Guards and the Lieutenant General of Ollier's Imperial Guards had finally begun their friendly talk which just masked their intentions to "figure out the actual relationship between Ollier and Titan through the exchanges of constructive information". Speaking of the theme of this talk without the need of summarizing, both parties of Ollier and Titan only had one agenda in mind – Anti-Deiss! This was the primary reason as to why the two intelligence masterminds belonging to two different countries had been able to sit down face-to-face.
On behalf of Titan Empire, Oscar had voiced that the whole empire did not wish to see Ollier warriors who been defending against the Deiss opponents for centuries to be persuaded and blinded by the sudden foreign relations. For Ollier, General Jimtroff's conversation points had never diverted from the Plantagenet Knights deep in the Persian borders and the actual threats to Ollier posed by the Kingdom of Weden as well as Deiss.
Everyone should be having an extremely clear picture by now. Oscar's aim was nothing more than to confirm Ollier's reaction of the North during Deiss' attack against Titan while what the Ollier court had prioritized were the directions of Titan's external relations with the Kingdom of Weden as well as the potential political affairs when the war would be exploding.
"In other words, this is still not something that we can decide right now!" Oscar raised his wine glass at the Ollier General opposite him.
General Jimtroff nodded slightly and his golden beard shook along with the movements of his jaw, looking great. Oscar squeezed his eyes and sipped a mouthful of the authentic Vodka. He simply could not comprehend why the Olliers were so interested in this thing which could only be considered as high-concentration alcohol!
"Do you mind if I divert from the topic?"
Jimtroff was alerted slightly as the Titan prince smiled awkwardly. Nevertheless, he still nodded at him.
With an exclamation, Oscar had also spread his arms wide, "I believe that the name of O'Neil Andrew Morisette is quite famous even in the Moseco Kristaline Palace a thousand miles away!"
"You're right!" Lieutenant General Jimtroff nodded immediately and invoked ripples in his stormy grey eyes, "Your Imperial Highness' accomplishments of dealing a fatal blow to the Deiss Teutonic Cavalry Group and two elite infantry troops at Sajio Mountain had caused a sensation when news had reached Moseco. Until this day, the military troops and military academy students of my country are still studying your battle tactics."
"I wasn't talking about this!" Oscar waved his arms, "What I'm saying is that you must know that I've married my uncle's daughter and my father's niece!"
Jimtroff furrowed his eyebrows, "What exactly are you referring to?"
Oscar shrugged, "I'm saying that I've married my own elder and younger sisters, close relatives connected by blood! If this matter is to be judged by those traditional perspectives of your country, will it be strange?"
The handsome man with golden hair and grey eyes seemed to not have wavered under the provocative words of the Titan prince. He just responded coldly, "The holy Titan has preserved its long-running marriage traditions, there's nothing to comment about."
Oscar sized up his opponent's eyes in concentration, "Could it be that other than what we've discussed earlier, Her Majesty Queen Anna Jimtroff Kurezov didn't assign you anything else?"
Lieutenant General Jimtroff moved his body uneasily. Even if it was hard for him to believe it, too much surprise had been displayed on his facial features.
"My guess is that, if it's not for the direct orders of your country's Her Majesty the Queen, Kegiber Intelligence Bureau which is known for its strict disciplines and it
It was the ninth day of the first month, a Sunday. The priests who were close with His Imperial Highness the Prince had told him that this was a great day to go outdoors. Even though Oscar was a little reluctant, the Sukhoi mistress and his son had gone off. In fact, Oscar also knew that this could not be helped as his Alanis had been harassing the mother and son like a mental patient.
From Vij's perspective, Alanis' passion toward her was never a good thing and she wished to leave Dulin as soon as possible. In Dulin, the nobles and high-ranking officers sized her up with their wolf-like gazes. Even if Vijdeline Van Sukhoi was the mistress of the family and had seen much of society, she still shivered and felt fear under the scrutiny of a huge bunch of carnivorous animals.
Thus, it would be better for her to leave as soon as possible! Oscar had thought so as well. It did not seem that he had treasured much of this time which he had spent with the mistress, he only had many questions which he had no answers! For instance, Vij's tone when the great Titania family was mentioned was just too weird. Moreover, although she had said so much, there seemed to be nothing worthy of attention. Regarding this matter, Oscar had flipped through the files of those times when the Royal system of Morisette had just been established as well as anything worth his attention. However, it was natural that he failed to get his answers as not a single document was able to point to the direction of the peculiar relationship between the Morisette Royalties and the Titania family.
The stranger the matter was, the more interested Oscar would be. He had invited several historians and had made a few trips to the family library of the Royalties' Chief Historical Records Officer. In the end, those few historians were only second-rate figures. On the other hand, Rolanda, Getha and Baroness Ogeiro had told him that all the information had been shown. There was no secret agreement between the two Royal families or at the very least, such was the interpretation according to the documents.
At last, Oscar had gone to see Marshal Robin. He had asked the Chief of Staff as to why Marshal Alan would pick the Titania family's direct army as the experimental unit of the modernized army.
To this, Marshal Robin had answered that his thoughts were simple. Great Titania Province was the center of the empire and no opposing forces could harass the location. In other words, by departing from Great Titania Province, one could defend against Deiss at the North, assist the capital at the West, and reach Bragg at the South. As a result, it would be a true strategic backup base of the Guards.
Oscar was also quite familiar with the subject of geography and he was knowledgeable of the history of war. It might be due to the fact that Great Titania Province had not once been involved in the past wars that Oscar was not really clear of the definitions of the mainland's central lands. If the explanation provided by Marshal Robin was reasonable, it meant that the establishment of a modernized army was due to the considerations regarding strategic reserves. However, what connection did this have with the Morisette Royalties? Was his Vij merely explaining a certain issue? Or was she worried about a certain abnormal matter?
Before they had left, His Imperial Highness the Prince hugged his son and sent the Sukhoi mistress off to the traveling carriage. Before their departure, the man himself had even inspected the comfort of the carriage. Maybe it was because the spacious seat decorated with goose wool blanket was just too alluring, Oscar changed his mind at the last minute. He wanted to follow the troop of carriages and escort his lover and son all the way to Brondy, a small town to the Northwest of the capital.
In this season, winter had arrived late whereas spring had come early. The troop of cavalries bearing the insignia of the Royalties and Andrews trudged slowly on the green, shaded route. The lazy sun shone onto the woods from the sky through the sparse branches, enveloping the knights' armor and the grand carriages with a layer of a dazzling yet tranquil cloak.
There were numerous beautiful and touching myths regarding Brondy Town. It had been said that when the first ruler of the Titan Empire had received the emperor's crown from the hands of God, the almighty creator of the universe had bestowed every majesty and wealth to Dulin. On the other hand, the people of Brondy at the Northwest of Dulin had been reluctant and ranted to God in the churches. They had claimed that they had defeated the Yaran invaders in the recent battle of Brondy. Thus, they had reasoned that the God of Light should have left the loveliest things in the world to Brondy, where children of heroes would be born.
Therefore, the God of Light had made a just decision. One fine day, a stream of spring water had suddenly appeared in the valley near the little town. The spring water had gathered into a lake, shaping into numerous waterfalls at the hills and rocky terrains below. Lastly, it flowed past the small town, embellished with crystal stones of primary colors which were as smooth as pearls.
The crystal had become the unique product of Brondy and the citizens of the little town had been managing lighting businesses for a long time. In Dulin or any other long-running residences of the Titan nobles, Brondy crystal lamps were the symbols of taste and art and craft skills. The first thing Oscar had done once he had arrived at the small town was to visit the crystal workshop with his family. Although the jewelry here was not as popular as the lightings, the sight of the room amidst countless beautiful stones itself was simply pleasing to one's eyes.
His Imperial Highness the Prince had given his little son a purple crystal pendant as a gift and had given Vijdeline an intricate set of handmade jewelry. No matter what, the Sukhoi mistress had been really satisfied with the man's gift and was extremely touched as well. This was due to the fact that it was common knowledge among the people of Dulin that O'Neil Andrew Morisette was a stingy person. Other than his trusted men, no one had heard if the Prince had sent gifts to anyone.
Vij had believed that she was left with no other options! It had felt as if the vows between her and Oscar had taken place in the prehistoric century. As time had passed, the scenes back then became rare. She had once doubted the man's feelings for her and had doubted all her efforts at some point in time too! Thus, when the man had inquired about the implications of what she had said about Titania family, she laughed internally in a mocking manner and said to the man in a relaxed tone, "Once Titania has activated its functions, you'll naturally be aware of the hidden meanings."
Oscar could only rest the case. He enjoyed his lunch together with the mother and son at the best hotel in Brondy Town.
Right here, cooked duck with turnip, fried bamboo shoots and fish paste which had been fried to a bright yellow were served. However, little Micath had no interest for these things and his taste was just as weird as the fact that he was still incapable of speaking as a four-year-old. With bulging eyes, Oscar had almost been staring at his little son eating several roasted lamb eyes, "Is long-term food poisoning the reason that he still can't speak?" Oscar whispered secretly in Vij's ear.
"Don't spit nonsense!" displeased, the woman pushed the man away. "My son is a genius – he had assembled the firearm which had been dismantled into individual parts!"
"Is that so?" Oscar's eyes widened even more, "But he's only four years old?"
"Well then, have you ever seen a four-year-old child eating lamb eyes?"
"Never!"
"Which is why our son is a genius!"
Genius Micath had already finished his scrumptious yet odd lunch and put down his cutleries.
Then, he wiped the corners of his mouth just like how his mother had taught him to. In the end, this little fellow spread his arms toward the sky, which meant "Thank you! I've finished my meal!"
Oscar then placed his son on his knees. When he stared into the eyes of his little son, his paternal instincts suddenly kicked in. However, he had no idea what he should be doing at this moment.
Thus, he began to revisit his memories. It seemed that his father, Dortmund had treated him like this…
The young father turned his head, put his big nose onto his son's tiny nose and pressed hard! Little Micath laughed in joy and kept on dodging! Apparently, his father did not shave his beard clean.
"Itchy…"
Oscar chuckled aloud and his son was saying that he was itchy! However, hold on…
"My baby! You…you…you…you…you…what did you just say?"
Vijdeline put down the cutleries in her hands, leaped over the table, ran forward, and snatched her genius baby who knew that it was time to sleep when night time came from the hands of the man.
"Oh my God of Light! Can you say it again?"
Staring into his mother's eyes, little Micath pondered for a moment. Finally, he opened his mouth slowly, "Now…not itchy…"
Oscar looked to his left and right and redirected his gaze to the plate of his son. "Why don't…we get him another serving of lamb eye?"
Thus, His Imperial Highness the Prince's schedule had been delayed one whole evening because of his genius son until his Head of the Intelligence Analysis Division, Baron Messier, had come all the way from Dulin. To be honest, Oscar was very sure this time. He did not want to bid his farewell with Vij, especially with his beloved son. Although he had failed to get his son to call him words like "daddy" or even "father" after his evening-long efforts, he still had the patience. He speculated that his wish might be fulfilled in their next meeting. Right now, he was already a true father. Although there had been some conflicts during this duration, it was true that a father could only become a real father after interaction with his children.
The farewell with Lady Vijdeline had been rushed as His Imperial Highness the Prince had forgotten an extremely important date. He had to rush back to Dulin to deal with this unstable world. When his line of thoughts had wandered here, Oscar even wished that he had never left Narcissus County. He could hide a bunch of women within the towering walls of Andrew like the Eastern emperor and live his days in a casual manner and produce a few more children.
Upon thinking of the scene, the Imperial Prince could not help but stifle a silly laugh. However, after looking to his left and right, he noticed the Head of Intelligence Analysis Division who was nagging here and there with a stern expression as well as the quiet Devil Sandy who occasionally smirked coldly. O'Neil Andrew Morisette strongly believed that the Eastern emperor's life was only a desire in his imaginations.
"Alright, your Highness..." it seemed that Messier would be finishing what he had to say soon, "What happened to you? Even your eyes are smiling. Can I ask you to share your joyful matters with me?""Of course, Messier!" Oscar grabbed onto his old friend's shoulders in delight, "My son, you know? He's now able to speak!"
Messier wanted to roll his eyes but had restrained this emotion of his with great efforts, "Your Highness, this is definitely worth celebrating! But you must fix a flow of agendas for the next meeting, we can't just simply head over like this, it'll be a joke to our peers!"
Oscar shrugged nonchalantly. He had no choice but to remove the memories of his son speaking from his brain, "Alright! Now speak! Who are we meeting?"
"Oh my God of Light…" the Division Head of the Military Intelligence Bureau covered his face with both his palms. It seemed that his master had not been listening to his one-hour-long explanation on the matter.
"Do you know how much I've spent just to get my informants to arrange this meeting? The party on the other side of the table is Ollier's Kegiber person-in-charge of the Titan territories. He's bearing the risks of being charged with betraying his country by agreeing to take part in this unofficial meeting!"
Oscar smirked coldly. His political wisdom had returned to his brain. As for Kegiber's cooperation, he could only give one type of explanation.
"Messier! We don't have to lay too low, it's best that we make it known to the entire world that Titan's Military Intelligence Bureau has exchanged information with Ollier's Intelligence Analysis Division. I believe that Ollier's court is also full of concerns regarding their cooperation with the Deiss, so this can definitely be used to our advantage."
Messier was speechless and just smiled at His Imperial Highness the Prince. It seemed that he was still fond of O'Neil Andrew Morisette as his current state was capable of injecting power and hope into his followers.
To the East of Dulin City, turning at the entrance of Seventh Street from the Route of Kings, the embassy of the Federation of Ollier in Dulin was situated right behind the low pine forest. Turning past the main entrance built with red bricks and green tiles and crossing the crenel-like walls, the rented carriages carrying the Titan's Chief of the Military Intelligence Bureau and his team had finally stopped in front of the embassy's back entrance.
Under normal circumstances, there would be two guards stationed at the back door. Such soldier would be clad in Ollier's military uniforms with two rows of military items attached, wearing fur scarf and a funny-looking military cap with snowflake patterns. However, there was an entire team of soldiers like these tonight.
The rented carriages had driven into the courtyard of Ollier style. Oscar did not know what to comment regarding the buildings entering his scope of vision and the neat structure of the house. He had only directed a friendly smile toward the few bearded gentlemen at the carriage door and had accepted the traditional courtesies of being helped down the carriage by the people.
"Your respected Imperial Highness Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette! Your arrival has brought energy and glory to the embassy my country has dispatched in Titan!"
"It's my honor as well!" Oscar gave a slight bow at the Ollier ambassador. He still remembered the speech this envoy had presented during Alanis' crowning ceremony. It had seemed that the Ollier King had harbored a very personal interest toward the Titan empress.
"Please follow me! Lieutenant General Jimtroff has been waiting for you!"
Along with the ambassador's footsteps, Oscar and his two close bodyguards had turned past the hallway of a towering building with pointed roof and gone past the row of mirrors which were twenty-meters-long. At the spiral staircase behind the hall of mirrors, the marble steps were being reflected in the illumination of the candle lights. Numerous plaster statues had been carved onto the armrest of the stairs in a lively manner. Everything had seemed to the most beautiful folklores of Ollier.
Ascending the stairs, Oscar had come to the tower. At the door of the highest room, the Ollier ambassador knocked softly on the door and bowed deeply at the Titan prince before retreating down the stairs. The door opened, leading to a huge, plump guy clad in a huge red military uniform of the Ollier Imperial Guards saluting at the young man at the door in an insane manner.
Oscar laughed. Instead of saluting back, he had just extended his arm toward the person. The Ollier General with a sharp nose, deep eyes and faint golden curly hair gripped the hands of the Titan prince hard. Simultaneously, the two shook their hands with great force and had only retracted their hands after they had sufficiently sized up each other. What a pity! Baron Ogeiro had not managed to witness the scene. If he had happened to see the plain handshake, he would definitely write on the historical readings – O'Neil Andrew Morisette's foreign policy of befriending the faraway nations while attacking the close ones had commenced from the first unofficial meeting between the empire's Military Intelligence Bureau and Ollier's Kegiber.
"Your respected Highness, I can only greet you with a military salute as I've not been able to welcome you at the door front. Although this isn't the proper courtesy to treat a hero, my actions can't be known by the public after all."
"I'd say the same for me as well!" Oscar said while entering the door. Then, he threw his long coat to Paul. The King of Assassins scurried out the door quick-wittedly and had guarded the room on tight security for the two greatest masterminds in the field of secret services.
"Oh right! I still don't know how I should address you?" Oscar sized up the decorations in the room and then turned toward the middle-aged handsome man whose face was grown with a golden beard. Oscar was not really clear of the definitions of his addressing of the handsome man but the facial features and grace of this general right before him definitely deserved such address, especially those pair of faint grey eyes of his – it seemed to have bred countless touching stories.
"Jimtroff Peterhoffrey Jevic! Lieutenant General of the federation of Ollier's Imperial Guards, you can call me directly by my name, and it's even better if you can drop the surname with troublesome pronunciation!"
Oscar chuckled but had linked his thoughts to another matter soon enough, "Peterhoffrey Jevic! You're…you're the federation of Ollier's Her Majesty the Queen's…"
"Her Majesty Queen Anna Jimtroff Kurezov I is my stepsister who has the same father and different mother as me!"
"Oh…" Oscar exclaimed in wonder while nodding his head, "To be honest, I feel sorry for Her Majesty Queen Anna Jimtroff Kurezov I. If I recall correctly, your sister used to be Moseco's proudest beauty before she had resided in Kristaline Palace! As for your country's ruler, he should be around sixty years old, right?"
Jimtroff looked away all of a sudden. It seemed that he was reluctant to mention the matter. Alternatively, there was a greater possibility that his identity simply did not allow him to comment on his country's ruler, but he had no rights to stop the Titan prince from including the old husband and young wife of the federation of Ollier into his topics of conversation.
However, from Oscar's perspective, he had been able to at least testify a rumor. Lieutenant General Jimtroff Peterhoffrey Jevic had been dispatched to Titan only because that his improper relationship with his stepsister had been discovered. Looking further at his unnatural facial expressions now, Oscar's laughter had become weirder. It seemed that this Intelligence Officer sitting opposite him was also an emotional and humane individual.
Although there were only two people from the two parties of Ollier and Titan, Oscar and Jimtroff had proceeded according to the rules and gotten themselves seated at the long meeting table. After retracting all words of courtesy and gossips, the Marshal of Titan's Guards and the Lieutenant General of Ollier's Imperial Guards had finally begun their friendly talk which just masked their intentions to "figure out the actual relationship between Ollier and Titan through the exchanges of constructive information". Speaking of the theme of this talk without the need of summarizing, both parties of Ollier and Titan only had one agenda in mind – Anti-Deiss! This was the primary reason as to why the two intelligence masterminds belonging to two different countries had been able to sit down face-to-face.
On behalf of Titan Empire, Oscar had voiced that the whole empire did not wish to see Ollier warriors who been defending against the Deiss opponents for centuries to be persuaded and blinded by the sudden foreign relations. For Ollier, General Jimtroff's conversation points had never diverted from the Plantagenet Knights deep in the Persian borders and the actual threats to Ollier posed by the Kingdom of Weden as well as Deiss.
Everyone should be having an extremely clear picture by now. Oscar's aim was nothing more than to confirm Ollier's reaction of the North during Deiss' attack against Titan while what the Ollier court had prioritized were the directions of Titan's external relations with the Kingdom of Weden as well as the potential political affairs when the war would be exploding.
"In other words, this is still not something that we can decide right now!" Oscar raised his wine glass at the Ollier General opposite him.
General Jimtroff nodded slightly and his golden beard shook along with the movements of his jaw, looking great. Oscar squeezed his eyes and sipped a mouthful of the authentic Vodka. He simply could not comprehend why the Olliers were so interested in this thing which could only be considered as high-concentration alcohol!
"Do you mind if I divert from the topic?"
Jimtroff was alerted slightly as the Titan prince smiled awkwardly. Nevertheless, he still nodded at him.
With an exclamation, Oscar had also spread his arms wide, "I believe that the name of O'Neil Andrew Morisette is quite famous even in the Moseco Kristaline Palace a thousand miles away!"
"You're right!" Lieutenant General Jimtroff nodded immediately and invoked ripples in his stormy grey eyes, "Your Imperial Highness' accomplishments of dealing a fatal blow to the Deiss Teutonic Cavalry Group and two elite infantry troops at Sajio Mountain had caused a sensation when news had reached Moseco. Until this day, the military troops and military academy students of my country are still studying your battle tactics."
"I wasn't talking about this!" Oscar waved his arms, "What I'm saying is that you must know that I've married my uncle's daughter and my father's niece!"
Jimtroff furrowed his eyebrows, "What exactly are you referring to?"
Oscar shrugged, "I'm saying that I've married my own elder and younger sisters, close relatives connected by blood! If this matter is to be judged by those traditional perspectives of your country, will it be strange?"
The handsome man with golden hair and grey eyes seemed to not have wavered under the provocative words of the Titan prince. He just responded coldly, "The holy Titan has preserved its long-running marriage traditions, there's nothing to comment about."
Oscar sized up his opponent's eyes in concentration, "Could it be that other than what we've discussed earlier, Her Majesty Queen Anna Jimtroff Kurezov didn't assign you anything else?"
Lieutenant General Jimtroff moved his body uneasily. Even if it was hard for him to believe it, too much surprise had been displayed on his facial features.
"My guess is that, if it's not for the direct orders of your country's Her Majesty the Queen, Kegiber Intelligence Bureau which is known for its strict disciplines and it
