"Delay taming the Third Priest? What guarantee is there that the people of his faction won’t support him or try to protect him?" Isaac asked.
His words were reasonable. If he kept the Third Priest alive, then he would be carrying a dangerous political problem with him.
"You are correct, but killing him is dangerous. He is a traitor for working with the Purification Cult, and this news will kick up a storm. People will try to divert attention from that fact, and they might use you as an excuse. They could claim that a Lord dared to attack Florathi and use that as justification to start a war against you, so please wait until we can return to the Florathi Kingdom," Althea replied.
Isaac frowned slightly. He understood her reasoning, but that did not mean he trusted the outcome. Politics was often less concerned with truth and more concerned with who benefited from spreading a certain narrative.
Fortunately, he and his wives had already planned to travel to the Florathi Kingdom to meet the Seventh Queen. Delaying the Third Priest’s taming until then was not impossible. As for his city, he already had measures in place to ensure its safety during his absence.
Several clones would remain behind, along with the Soulbind Pendant. If a powerful enemy attacked while he was gone, he could use one of his clones to transfer the city into the pendant and retreat. It was not a perfect solution, but it was enough to make him comfortable leaving for a short period.
"They might use that excuse even if I bring the Third Priest to the Florathi Kingdom. Once people decide on a target, they rarely care about the details," Isaac said.
"They won’t. I promise. The Seventh Queen will protect you," Althea said firmly.
"Do you have the authority to make such decisions?" he asked. The question was simple, but it immediately caused Althea’s confidence to falter.
Silence filled the room for a few seconds. Isaac already knew the answer before she spoke. Althea was not speaking on behalf of the Seventh Queen. She was speaking based on what she believed the Seventh Queen would do.
"I have a method to contact the Seventh Queen. Although it isn’t reliable, I can speak with her, get permission from her, and then tell you her decision," Althea said eventually. She tried to maintain a dignified tone, but Isaac could sense the uneasiness beneath her words.
The situation was simply too important to rely on assumptions. The Third Priest was one of Florathi’s highest-ranking figures, and Isaac could not afford to gamble his city’s future on a guess. He needed a clear answer from the Seventh Queen herself.
"I’ll talk to her myself. What’s her Lord Alias?" Isaac said.
Althea’s eyes widened. "Wait, no. Private chats cost a lot. I can’t ask you to spend that much money."
"It’s fine. This matter involves my city. If a few Gold Coins can solve the problem, then it’s worth paying for," Isaac replied.
Althea hesitated before lowering her gaze slightly.
"...Thank you," she said quietly. The more she interacted with Isaac, the more difficult it became to reconcile him with the image some people painted of powerful Lords.
His city had just been invaded. A high-ranking member of Florathi had secretly collaborated with the Purification Cult. Yet instead of making demands or venting his anger, Isaac was calmly searching for a solution that benefited everyone involved.
Althea could not help comparing him to many nobles and officials she had met throughout her life. Most of them would have already begun looking for compensation or political advantages. Isaac, meanwhile, seemed more interested in preventing unnecessary conflict.
He could also likely tell he was putting Althea in a hard place if he pushed here, so perhaps he was being nice for her too.
’He is such a good person. If only half of our people were like him,’ she thought with a silent sigh.
Gathering herself, she looked back at him. "Her Lord Alias is Seer."
Isaac nodded, though inwardly he was surprised. Seer was not an unfamiliar name to him. In fact, that particular Lord had helped him more than once in the Lord Chat.
The first time was when veteran Lords tried to take advantage of him shortly after he became a Lord. The second time was after his city defeated the Catastrophe, the Crimson Sky Wyrm. He had guessed Seer was the Seventh Queen, but confirming the fact still surprised him.
Without wasting any more time, Isaac opened the Lord Chat interface. Since he had already exchanged messages with Seer before, her contact was still available in his private chat list. He selected her name and began writing.
He started with a simple greeting before explaining the invasion by the Purification Cult. After that, he detailed the Third Priest’s betrayal and attached the recorded evidence, showing everything that had happened.
Several minutes later, Isaac finished sending the message. He immediately regretted looking at the cost.
He almost hissed when he finished sending everything.
The messages took 35 Gold Coins, and the video took 20 Gold Coins.
This System was really greedy.
Isaac closed the interface and shook his head.
"I’ve sent the explanation to the Seventh Queen. Now we just need to wait for her reply—"
[Ding! You have received a message!]
Isaac froze. The notification appeared so quickly that he did not react immediately. A second later, Isaac stared at the screen in disbelief.
"That fast?" he muttered.
"She already replied?" Althea asked.
Isaac nodded and reopened the chat. A new message from Seer was already waiting for him. He began reading, and as his eyes moved through the text, his expression gradually relaxed.
[Seer: I understand the situation. First of all, thank you for defeating the members of the Purification Cult. They have always been a thorn on our side. I am also happy to hear that there were no casualties on your side. You do not need to worry about the Third Priest’s faction blaming you. I have verified that the video you sent is not tampered with, which means he was truly colluding with the Purification Cult. I, the Seventh Queen of Florathi, the Lady of Thousand Strings, vow on my name to fully support you once you come to the Florathi Kingdom. I will do my best to help you against the Third Priest’s faction. However, you must bring the Third Priest alive for that. Also, I advise you to get stronger as quickly as possible. The Third Priest’s faction will not be able to pin the blame on you while I support you, but they will definitely take action against you. That is why you must become stronger.]
Isaac almost hissed when he saw the single message from the Seventh Queen.
The System’s pricing structure was simple.
If someone sent two separate messages containing one sentence each, they would pay two Gold Coins. However, if those same two sentences were placed into a single message, the cost would rise to three Gold Coins.
The longer the message became, the more expensive it was. Yet the Seventh Queen had sent an enormous wall of text without hesitation. Isaac stared at the message for a second longer before shaking his head inwardly. Clearly, she was a tycoon.
"What did she say?" Althea asked after noticing the strange look on his face. She had been waiting anxiously ever since he received the message. Seeing Isaac focus on the screen without saying anything only made her more nervous.