The witch thought I am a Demon God
Chapter 1032 - 527 Declaration of War by the Ross Empire

Chapter 1032: Chapter 527 Declaration of War by the Ross Empire

The Frankish envoy was not prepared to give Ivita a chance to contemplate; his actions seemingly coercing Ivita to make a decision, he took a half step forward, bowed to Ivita, and said, "Your Majesty, please make a decision here. Only then can I bring your response back to my homeland."

Ivita replied, "Then there’s no need for you to rush back."

The Frankish envoy was stunned for a moment, then asked, "What do you mean, Your Majesty?"

Ivita said, "The matter you speak of is too significant; I cannot make a decision in such a short time. For now, you shall stay within the Royal Capital of Alsace. You can leave once I have made a decision."

Before the envoy could speak, the Hearthstone Witch suddenly disappeared from beside Ivita’s throne and appeared next to the envoy, resting her palm on the envoy’s shoulder. Under the effect of Plant Magic, the envoy’s skin turned green like that of a plant, and conspicuous flowers started to grow.

In an incredibly short span of time, he had turned into a Magic Plant.

A rose as tall as a man, covered with thorny spikes!

Even more astonishing, the rose had eyes and a mouth, and could vocally express, sounding terrified, "Despicable wizards, what have you done to me! What have you done to me!"

"Despicable wizards, you will pay for this!"

"Quickly remove the Magic from my body!"

Ivita instructed the Hearthstone Witch, "Take it away."

At the same time, Ivita flipped open a book and continued writing with a quill, while the minor nobles in the council hall, having observed the transformation of the Frankish man into a peculiar rose, also noticed that Ivita seemed recently fond of writing.

One of the minor nobles mustered the courage to ask Ivita, "Your Majesty, it appears you have recently been writing some sort of knowledge."

Ivita glanced at him with a smile, "Yes."

...

The news that Ivita had temporarily detained the Frankish envoy quickly reached the ears of French Emperor Louis XI. In the territory of Count Frankestein, Louis XI seemed not at all worried about the detained envoy, not even displaying basic anger.

Tsardom Island Chief Justice cautiously suggested, "Should we use diplomacy to have the Alsasians return our envoy?"

Louis XI grinned, "No need. This is part of my chain strategy. I first gave Ivita a reason to act against the Imperial Emperor and provided him a potent public opinion tool effective only against the Emperor."

"If he fails to see through it, so be it, but if he does, that will mark the beginning of the second part of my plan. I intend to tempt him with benefits."

"The third part is to show him that I bear no hostility towards him, nor any conflict of interest. I’ll numb him, make him temporarily our ally, letting him focus his primary conflicts on the Imperial Emperor."

Louis XI said to Archbishop Lance and the Chief Justice, "See, even if we defeat the Emperor, we’ll still be engaged in battles with dukes within the Empire and other nations for a long time."

"We need allies. The Alsace Kingdom can temporarily be our ally."

"I only plan to weaken it, and try to kill Ivita or at least injure him, reducing his lifespan. When Alsace’s decline comes, that will be our time to act, making the Alsasians pay."

Archbishop Lance took out the tip of a dagger from his robe pocket. "What about this?"

This dagger was highly unusual; the tip of the blade did not reflect the cold metallic hue but shimmered like water.

Tsardom Island Chief Justice, surprised, exclaimed, "The God Slaying Dagger? That was once in the possession of a mad assassin over two hundred years ago, rumored to truly kill a Spirit. You’ve actually gotten your hands on something like this."

Louis XI answered, "I arranged it. This can be saved; after all, who knows what the future holds—it will definitely come in handy."

Louis XI handed Archbishop Lance four maps. "Since that’s the case, make a trip to Alsace yourself with your power; they at least won’t be able to detain you and prevent your departure."

"These four maps are of the territories of County Frankestein, County Romani Conti, and County Patus, as well as the Obion Marsh."

The Chief Justice’s expression changed. "Your Majesty, these territories have all been... these have been ceded from the Alsace Kingdom to our kingdom over the last twenty years."

"Though the three counties are small and relatively barren, and the Obion Marsh is a wasteland full of lethal toxins, these are lands we have painstakingly severed from Alsace."

"Returning them to Alsace means all our efforts over the past twenty years would be in vain."

The Chief Justice painstakingly explained, "If our soldiers learn of this, they will be disheartened; our countrymen will be enraged. So many Frankish soldiers have died, so much precious Frankish blood has been shed, to snatch these territories, to tear open the defenses of the Alsasians, revealing their rich lands to us."

Louis XI’s gaze was cold, seemingly indifferent to the past hardships endured by the Frankish people.

"Hmm, I am aware. I know of the soldiers’ sacrifices, so for a better future of the Empire, they surely won’t mind that I return these lands to the Alsace Kingdom."