The Rise of the Black Plain

"So Your Majesty is already aware of Minos..." Joseph smiled as he put some salad on his plate.

"Hard not to be after that Church expert's visit..." Harold commented. "On the other hand, he is the grandson of an old acquaintance, so I had heard of him at one time or another..."

Joseph then spoke. "Well, I can't say exactly how much Minos wants, but it looks like he will try to become the king of Vogel."

That was not confidential information, so Gloria's father saw no problem speaking the obvious with Harold.

"He what?" Isabella found this incredible and could not help but ask. "Isn't this Minos Stuart just a Spiritual Emperor? How is he going to become the King of Vogel? Besides, what about his grandfather's relationship with our state?"

Isabella was the local heiress, but besides not being interested in taking the place of her father, someone who was still going to live a long time, this woman was not involved in the external affairs of the Empire.

For now, she had only been training and dealing with internal affairs, preparing herself for the future in which she would probably have to lead this state.

Margot knew that and was not surprised by the Crown Princess' questions. "He is ambitious and not the type to bow down in the face of danger... The first time I met him, I wanted to teach that brat a lesson, but even though he saw me furious, he showed no fear."

"Oh?" The Empress found this information interesting.

"So he dares to covet Vogel on his level?" Isabella's mother asked. "How will he do that?"

"With the help of the other kingdoms, right?" The Emperor asked the two members of the Spiritual Church, something his spies had already informed him of.

Joseph bitterly smiled, feeling that he did not need to hide anything from Harold. "That must be the case... Even though he is only at level 61, he is probably the best chance for the survival of the alliance of these states. So, he's probably using that to his advantage."

"That's problematic..." The Empress looked at her husband as he looked back at her.

"What is he going to do when he succeeds?" Harold asked Joseph and Margot.

Gloria's mother then said. "That we do not know. But I believe Your Majesty will be able to ask him that personally."

"What do you mean?" Madeline's eyes narrowed.

That white-haired woman said. "He wants to meet with His Majesty..."

"He wants to meet me?" Harold's eyebrows rose while a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Hmm, he wants to use his position to talk with Your Majesty and at least temporarily resolve the tension between the empire and these states," Joseph confirmed what Harold wanted to hear.

'That little boy is bold!' Harold was silent after Joseph's words, imagining that it would take a lot of audacity for the future leader of an enemy force of the Empire to want to visit him. 'But I wonder what he has in mind? Does he want to help me defeat these four states for some benefit?'

But since Minos already wanted to meet him, this man no longer needed to use his influence to get these two to put such a person in contact with him.

Then, he just agreed to such a thing. "Well, if he wants to meet this old man, I have no problem welcoming him to my house. Then, when he returns from Vogel, send me a message, and we'll set up a meeting for me to encounter Oswald's grandson."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The two nodded in agreement as they pondered how long this would take.

As for any problems it could be with this meeting of Minos and Harald, the two were not worried, at least not for the moment.

The Flaming Empire was Vogel's enemy, but that did not mean the parties were passionate in their interactions, unable to peacefully dialogue.

Moreover, Minos was the grandson of the Gray Clouds Sect master, as well as having no deep relations with Vogel. So, there would be no reason for Harold to see him as an enemy and become a danger to the father of the little girl growing up in their daughter's belly.

Isabella then commented. "I want to meet this Minos. Even though he is from the northern region, he seems pretty impressive."

"Well, he has the Coleman family genes, so to say he is from the northern region is a bit of an exaggeration." The Empress commented to her stepdaughter.

Meanwhile, Margot strangely looked at the princess, thinking this was not a good idea. 'I hope that scoundrel doesn't covet the emperor's daughter...'

But the Emperor, although very well-informed, was ignorant about Minos' womanizing character. "It's good that you want to meet him. He seems very capable in combat, so it will be good if you challenge him to a match, Bella."

"Do you think so, Father? Wouldn't it be a shame for the whole family if I challenged someone so much weaker than me? They'll think I'm oppressing the weaker ones!" She did not like that suggestion.

She was just curious about the King of the Black Plain, this figure that had become famous for his actions in the northern region, having even gotten pregnant and married Gloria, a little girl she had held in her arms decades ago.

Her mother then suggested. "Just tease him a little when you two meet. I'm sure someone like him has a big ego and will challenge you."

"Great idea, honey!" Harold laughed as he sipped his wine with Joseph.

'That's a terrible idea...' Margot closed her eyes and swallowed her saliva, but now that the Emperor had said such a thing, she could not say the words in her mind.

She could only pray that those three women were taking good care of Minos so that he would not be interested in the beautiful Isabella and consequently anger the Emperor.

"Sigh..."

"Fine, but I don't like it." Isabella pouted at her parents, wondering if Minos were everything these people were talking about or a wimp she would have to entertain.

'I hope he's not like most of these young men who get the chance to train with me...' She sighed, thinking of how many people were in love with her in the Empire.

And with that, the Emperor felt a slight chill on his back, but without understanding why, he tried to ignore it while talking to Margot and Joseph.

Although they lived in the same city, separated only by Payton's central square, they usually did not see each other often.

Hence, besides talking about Minos and Gloria, they did not miss the opportunity to update each other on relevant facts about the state, but also old things, family, and friends.

All of them were already ancient, so news of one colleague or friend from the old days dying was not uncommon.

Therefore, they spent some time talking in that residence before Gloria's parents left with the promise to bring Minos to this place as soon as possible.

And so two weeks passed in the blink of an eye!