<h4 data-testid=”heading” class=”font-set-b18 flex items-start !font-sans sm:font-set-b26″>Chapter 197: A Tacit Understanding

The three-party meeting had been arranged by Ambrose in a rather bizarre fashion.

Brandir, hopelessly lovestruck, had not suspected Ambrose of harboring ulterior motives in the slightest. From his perspective, what problem could possibly arise from letting someone from the Ragetide Kingdom meet Catherine? It wasn’t as if the Court of the Silver Moon and the Ragetide Kingdom would suddenly join forces and invade the Emerald Dreamwood just because of this encounter. The very idea was absurd.

So everything proceeded smoothly.

Brandir had met with Ambrose at noon. By the time dinner came around, he had already informed them that they were invited to a banquet specially prepared for foreign guests.

It wasn’t anything particularly formal, but it would suffice for Ambrose to have a chance to meet Catherine.

A wide clearing had been carefully laid out deep within the lush forest.

Soft moss blanketed the ground, as plush as the finest velvet carpet. Moonlight filtered through the canopy, casting dappled shadows that gave the entire venue a tranquil, gentle beauty.

The tables and chairs had been grown directly from the earth itself, and were covered with soft, smooth animal pelts that looked incredibly comfortable.

Druids might seem like extreme environmentalists to outsiders, but they were nothing like the activists Ambrose had seen in his previous life.

These druids truly lived in harmony with nature. They could reasonably utilize everything the natural world provided in coexistence, not one-sided exploitation and plunder.

The Emerald Dreamwood was governed by a council. Their doctrine held that all life was equal, that each being was merely part of nature’s cycle. As a result, the seating at the banquet carried no hierarchy. Tables and chairs were scattered throughout the clearing in an elegant, seemingly random arrangement. Squirrels carried trays of food and delivered them to tables. Who knew how many were actually druids in disguise?

By the time Ambrose and Ariel arrived, the banquet was already in full swing. Few empty seats remained.

Ambrose swept his gaze across the crowd. Counting Brandir, there were thirteen druids present. His instincts told him that every one of them was a legend.

And this was not even the Emerald Dreamwood’s full strength. The council alone contained thirty elder druids.

A kingdom with such ancient roots truly lived up to its reputation. It was hardly something a poor upstart like the Ragetide Kingdom could compare with.

Ariel followed closely behind Ambrose and asked, “Where should we sit?”

The princess had grown wiser. She left everything to Ambrose—after all, he could solve any problem.

Ambrose pointed straight ahead. “We came here to meet the elven queen. Naturally, we should sit with her.”

Following the direction of his finger, Ariel saw an elegant back. Glowing golden hair cascaded over an exquisite robe. Ariel felt that the hair itself was even more beautiful than the intricate patterns embroidered on the garment.

Catherine seemed to radiate light. The banquet contained no shortage of women, and Ariel herself was considered a rare beauty, but compared to Catherine… even her back alone made the difference painfully obvious.

Ariel gaped in amazement. “So that’s the Elven Queen. She’s incredibly beautiful.”

“Come on,” Ambrose said. “Let’s go greet Her Majesty.”

He led Ariel forward. It had only been a few days since he last saw Catherine, but he was surprised to realize that he missed her.

Ariel, however, felt reluctant to approach. Catherine’s graceful silhouette seemed to exert an immense pressure. In truth, everyone at the banquet instinctively kept their distance from Catherine. Standing beside her made anyone else look graceless and painfully out of place.

Brandir himself wanted to head over, but several elder druids were glaring at him. They were terrified he might give up the kingdom’s secrets out of love, so they absolutely refused to let him get near her.

Thus, when Ambrose walked straight toward Catherine, everyone’s gaze homed in on him.

How dare this old, dark, and stout Stormborn approach the elven queen?

Ambrose ignored the gazes. He simply walked up to Catherine, sat down calmly before her, and met her gaze.

“Your Majesty Queen Catherine, I am Monge Greywater of the Ragetide Kingdom. It is an honor to meet you here.”

It was a simple greeting, perfectly proper in terms of etiquette. Yet such a plain introduction seemed almost disrespectfully casual when addressed to the elven queen herself.

Had this man truly felt no awe after seeing Catherine’s beauty?

That was certainly what Brandir thought. When he had first met Catherine, he had stood stunned for a full two minutes.

Ariel didn’t fare much better. The moment she saw Catherine’s face, her eyes widened in shock at her flawless beauty.

Even as a fellow woman, she took a long time to recover from the mental impact of Catherine’s charm.

Catherine’s charm went beyond mere appearance and temperament. It stemmed from her pure and benevolent soul, and the blessings of the elven pantheon.

At first, Catherine had not recognized Ambrose. His Shapeshifting spell was truly flawless; perhaps only a paladin might have sensed something amiss. But the moment he spoke, she knew who he was. His tone, his cadence—that was exactly how the lich Ambrose spoke. The fact that he remained completely unaffected by her charm was another giveaway. Only the undead, who had lost most of their capacity for sensation, could manage that.

Catherine glanced at Ariel, who sat demurely beside him. So he’d actually abducted a princess… and somehow become an envoy of the Ragetide Kingdom? That was utterly ridiculous.

Struggling to keep her expression composed, Catherine began a polite conversation with Ambrose.

Their dialogue was perfectly ordinary. Ariel listened the whole time but detected nothing unusual. Ambrose merely followed his plan to discuss a potential cooperation between their kingdoms. As always, such matters could never be settled in a few sentences—they were only talking about the possibility of cooperation.

Although the Court of the Silver Moon had closed its borders, Catherine had come to the Emerald Dreamwood precisely to seek allies. The Ragetide Kingdom might be far away, but an alliance might yet be possible with the help of teleportation arrays.

Ariel listened intently. She was certain Ambrose was plotting something again, just as he had been with Brandir. Surely the elven queen would soon show the same shocked expression Brandir had before being completely manipulated by Ambrose.

Ariel waited eagerly. Yet by the time their conversation ended, Catherine remained as graceful and composed as ever, without the slightest change in her bearing.

“Well, let’s leave it at that for today. Speaking with Your Majesty has been a great honor. Please accept this small gift as a token of my respect.”

Ambrose handed her a small box, which Catherine accepted without hesitation. “Thank you.”

She then produced an exquisitely crafted box of her own and offered it to Ambrose. “A gift for a gift. These are spices from the Court of the Silver Moon, which I hope you’ll appreciate.”

Ambrose accepted the gift with a smile, then rose to take his leave.

Ariel had no idea what was happening, but could only follow behind him.

They walked quite a distance away. Only when Ambrose casually picked up a piece of fruit and began eating did Ariel finally ask, “Did you make a blunder somewhere?”

Ambrose looked at her strangely. “What are you talking about? Didn’t I have a pleasant conversation with Queen Catherine? We even agreed to discuss a potential cooperation in the future.”

Ariel said excitedly, “No, I mean, you should have used that mouth of yours to charm her into a daze so she’d obey you completely, like you did with that druid earlier!”

Ambrose: “…”

What exactly had Ariel been imagining? How had his image in her mind become so absurd?

“Don’t talk nonsense,” he said. “This was a normal diplomatic discussion. Don’t spread ridiculous rumors.”

Ariel nodded but continued, “But you promised that druid you’d find out the elven queen’s preferences. You didn’t ask her anything! Were you just lying?”

Before Ambrose could reply, Brandir suddenly appeared in front of them.

“What did you talk about with Catherine just now?” he asked eagerly.

His eyes held both anticipation and jealousy. Brandir could barely even speak to Catherine these days, yet Ambrose had chatted with her for such a long time. Brandir gnashed his teeth, wishing he could have taken his place.

“Relax,” Ambrose said soothingly. “I’ve already found out what you want to know.”

Ariel glanced at him and thought, “There it is again! He’s about to start his manipulation!”

Brandir, oblivious to her thoughts, stared at Ambrose expectantly.

Ambrose said calmly, “From our conversation just now, I’ve roughly figured out her preferences.”

Brandir urged him impatiently, “Well? What does Catherine like?”

Ambrose replied, “She likes elves.”

“Isn’t that obvious? She’s the elven queen!”

Brandir scowled. Had this Stormborn been planning to deceive him from the start? Of course a queen loved her own people—that wasn’t what he meant at all.

Ambrose explained, “What I mean is that her heart belongs entirely to the elven race. Her people are what matter most to her—more than love, more than herself.”

“What? You mean that Catherine would sacrifice herself for the elves? Impossible!” Brandir refused to believe it.

“Believe it or not, I’m absolutely certain of it. The elven queen would give up everything for the elves, even her very life. If you want to win her favor, don’t think about what you can do for Catherine. Think about what you can do for the elven race.”

Having said that, Ambrose ignored Brandir and left the banquet with Ariel.

Brandir desperately wanted to teach him a lesson, but Ambrose was an envoy of the Ragetide Kingdom. He could only grit his teeth. Once Ambrose had left, however, Brandir calmed down slightly. Ambrose didn’t seem to have been lying to him.

“Could he be telling the truth?” Brandir muttered. “Should I do something for the entire elven race? But what could the elves possibly need help with from a druid like me?”

Brandir sank into deep thought. Meanwhile, Ambrose and Ariel returned to their temporary quarters in the tribe.

Ariel wanted to ask about just what Ambrose had learned from his discussion with the elven queen, but Ambrose dismissed her with the excuse that he was tired.

Once the room was empty, Ambrose opened the small box Catherine had given him. He dug his fingers into the fragrant powder inside and pulled out a finely crafted oak ring, identical to the one Naomi wore.

Ambrose whistled. “Catherine really has gotten a bit smarter.”

The last time Naomi had visited Ambrose, she had noticed the druids’ discriminatory treatment. Ambrose had only been given a bracelet that prevented him from casting spells. Naomi had reported this to Catherine, and Catherine had prepared this gift for him.

They had never discussed how to pass items to each other. Catherine had independently come up with the idea of hiding the oak ring inside a box of spices as part of a gift exchange.

From this alone, it was clear that Catherine and Ambrose had developed a small degree of tacit understanding. They could cooperate instinctively without advance planning.

Having obtained the oak ring, Ambrose immediately slipped it onto his finger and removed the bracelet.

He cast a simple Mage Hand. The magic flowed smoothly, without the slightest obstruction. As expected, the oak ring allowed him to cast spells freely even within the Dreamveil Barrier.

With the ring in hand, Ambrose no longer had to worry about his safety. If danger arose, he could escape at any moment.

More importantly, now that he could cast spells again, he could finally begin his dream-infiltration plan.

But there was no need to rush. Ambrose still had to wait for the right moment.

“Catherine,” he murmured softly, “you should have returned to your quarters by now, too. Go on, open the ‘gift’ I prepared for you.”

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