The World Dragon's Heir - Chapter 567: News Not Suppressed

Chapter 567: News Not Suppressed

The fact that the Merchants were suppressing all the bad news, in order to not have the chaos mess with their members’ profits, was a huge blessing to Dominic.

If they hadn’t, then the Duskblade Sect wouldn’t have managed to get the details in time to tell Dominic, who would have been caught unaware when the accusations started.

“Thank you for the warning, Elder. I should return to the Manor and gather everyone for an emergency meeting before things get out of hand.” Dominic decided.

“I will come with you. If everything goes sideways, the Duskblade Sect will see that you at least make it out safely. The Sect has already set protocols for this sort of event, though we didn’t expect things to go in quite this direction.

The original thought was that either Dagos or Axbridge might want to take this region into their fold.

In those cases, we would send you back to Cygnia.

However, we also planned for the eventuality where Cygnia lost the war, and we were all put on the run again, against multiple hostile nations.” Elder Manif explained.

“Alright. This is about to get very interesting. It will be good to have you on my side while we find out what everyone else has to say.”

The Elder opened a portal to the edge of the Manor and smiled. “We heard that you wanted a portal restriction, and we’ve set one for you. It’s being maintained from within the Manor compound by the trolls.

We just told them it was to keep people from sneaking up on them.”

“And you locked yourself out?”

“It wouldn’t be a good barrier if we built in loopholes to be exploited.

The closest you can get is just outside of where the doors will be if the compound is locked down.”

Dominic sighed. “We need to have someone go get my horse.”

Elder Manif laughed and opened another portal, back to the yard outside the tower. The mechanical warhorse was standing on the other side, and Dominic quickly called it through, so the portals could be closed, and the staff could come grab the construct to bring it for cleaning and service.

As they walked up the drive, Advisor Trionne appeared on the steps with an eager smile.

“Oh, just in time. There’s been news from the intelligence agencies, and Prince Alex wants everyone together for a meeting.” She explained.

“Great, we weren’t fast enough. Advisor, good morning. I’m sure that you know we’ve got some questions for you as well.”

The aging Techno Witch winked at him and extended her arm for Elder Manif to escort her inside.

“Of course, young Wavemates. Today’s meetings are going to be all sorts of fun.”

“The way you phrase that makes me think this will be anything but fun.”

Trionne giggled as she walked, and the maids escorted them all into the larger sitting room at the back of the Manor, near the garden entrance.

The Royals, the Advisors, the Envoys, and their assistants were already all seated, waiting on the final arrivals. Princess Alexis was sitting next to her brother, and Dominic noticed that it wasn’t just Alex today. Prince Russell was back, and he had at least one of his Royal Guards in the room.

“Your Grace, please take a seat, so we can get this meeting started.” Prince Alex began in a stern tone.

Trionne stopped at the close side of the table, next to the other Shersdonian representatives, which left Dominic a seat in a large armchair at the far side, separated from everyone else.

Normally, that would feel like the head of the table. A position of honour for the host. Today, it felt more like a witness stand, where he was on trial with a room full of judgmental eyes turned his way.

Prince Alex cleared his throat as Dominic took a seat.

“As the ranking Royal, I will lead the meeting this morning if there are no objections. The first matter we need to address is the recent military action undertaken by Shersdonia within Dagos.

Advisor, tell us this: Is your nation responsible for the siege of Albroles by the Undead?”

Trionne shook her head. “The undead around Albroles are not created nor controlled by us. They are a result of the disasters that have befallen Dagos as a nation.

Our soldiers have been working to control the number of undead within Dagos to prevent the corruption from infecting the sea and land in a permanent way.”

Prince Fahad made a note, then began to speak. “And what is your nation’s motivation in eliminating the remaining Dagos Nobles?”

Advisor Trionne was silent for a moment, then spoke carefully. “I have no knowledge of the matter you are addressing. Our soldiers are only within Dagos on a humanitarian mission. Any casualties are the result of natural disasters or criminal activity.

Without proper guidance from local law enforcement, the relief forces have chosen to enforce the Shersdonian Criminal Code in the regions receiving their assistance.”

Prince Alex rolled his eyes at the blatant lie, but didn’t argue.

Instead, he asked more questions. “Are you aware that numerous foreign mage Sects have been agitating against Cygnian rule of Stansia Province?”

Trionne nodded. “Indeed. Some of them are even from our nation, though none have been sent at the behest of the Necromancer King.

I would also like to point out that the majority of them are either from Dagos controlled territories, or from Axbridge, while there are some from Cygnia itself that have expressed dissatisfaction with the current situation.”

That turned the Second Prince’s attention away from her.

“Duke Dominic, are you aware of this situation?”

Dominic shook his head. “I do not keep up with the political situation in the cities. I am aware that many Mage Sects have begun to travel as refugees in recent days, but not of any form of organization behind their movements.”

Prince Fahad smiled at him. “So, you were not aware that they are calling for Stansia Province to be returned to the Wavemates Noble bloodlines from before the Dagos Occupation?”

That was a trick question, for sure. Obviously, he was aware. They had discussed it many times before.

But he wasn’t provoking them.