READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 69
Episode 69: The Worst and the Worst (6)
“Now, I have a question I’d like to ask His Majesty King Jilvol.”
“What is it?”
Upon Jilvol’s response, Lord Giorg was the first to act.
“Why did you send Demitul to Galvate?”
Lord Giorg’s words caused not only the Zabeiru side but also the Galvate side to react with surprise.
“It’s simple. I wanted to see how Galvate would react to the fall of Gildoruk. That’s all.”
Jilvol’s response once again stirred surprise among those present. His answer implied that he had been conducting operations within Galvate.
(As expected, he admitted it… but that’s a bad move.)
Unlike the surrounding officials, Lord Giorg showed no surprise. He understood that Jilvol, at this stage, was aware that Azein was being held by Lord Giorg, making denial pointless.
“If you were testing us, I assume you’ve reached a conclusion on whether we’re worth allying with. What’s your verdict?”
“It’s on hold.”
“On hold?”
“Yes. The quality of information from Galvate has plummeted over the past year. The more critical the information, the harder it is to make a decision.”
Lord Giorg’s expression remained unchanged, while those around him were confused by Jilvol’s statement.
(Just as I was aware of Jilvol-Zabeiru’s existence… he must have noticed what I’ve been up to as well.)
But Lord Giorg couldn’t help but feel a chill. It was common knowledge that spies from various nations were active in Galvate. Lord Giorg had chosen to exploit this rather than eliminate them, deliberately feeding manipulated information through certain channels to confuse the recipients.
“It’s curious how this coincides perfectly with the time you became the Zafing Marquess.”
At Jilvol’s words, the Zabeiru side’s attention focused on Lord Giorg.
“Are you suggesting I’ve been manipulating information?”
“Yes. Isn’t that the case? Well, I expected you to deny it. But it doesn’t matter how much you deny it.”
“Is that your judgment?”
“Exactly. So? Will you still deny it at this point?”
In response to Jilvol’s question, Lord Giorg shook his head. Denying it now would be pointless, and he instinctively sensed that lying further would only give Jilvol more leverage.
“I won’t deny it. There’s no point in hiding it anymore.”
Lord Giorg replied without losing his composure. Jilvol smirked inwardly at his response.
(Damn… this is going to make things harder from now on.)
However, Lord Giorg was filled with the urge to click his tongue in frustration. The House of Zafing had always maintained the facade of being a family of civil officials, uninvolved in covert activities. But this incident had exposed their true nature to the light of day, meaning their future actions would be under scrutiny.
“Special Envoy, you truly are a dangerous man. An ordinary person wouldn’t have answered so honestly to my earlier question.”
“I’d be troubled if you were impressed by something so trivial.”
“Oh?”
Jilvol narrowed his eyes at this. Sensing Lord Giorg’s resolve, the surrounding officials shivered.
(It’s a risky gamble, but I must show King Jilvol that there’s no benefit in provoking Galvate.)
Lord Giorg steeled his resolve. This also showed that he held Jilvol’s abilities in the highest regard.
To other nations and adversaries, Lord Giorg himself was an infinitely dangerous man. Yet even he found Jilvol’s terror to be unfathomable.
“Yes. In fact, Demitul wrote several letters in Galvate.”
“Oh?”
“Of course, I haven’t seen the contents, but I believe King Jilvol will understand their significance.”
The officials tilted their heads in confusion, unable to grasp the intent behind Lord Giorg’s revelation. But Jilvol immediately understood.
(This guy… he’s making his move so casually, and even bringing it to the negotiation table. Tch… this was a bad move. No, I was forced into a bad move.)
Jilvol inwardly admired Lord Giorg’s boldness while also wanting to click his tongue at his own misstep.
Jilvol’s mistake was assuming that the letters Sosua received from Demitul had been forged by Lord Giorg. However, there was no proof. No matter how much Demitul claimed he “didn’t write them,” Galvate could simply argue that Demitul was a spy sent by Zabeiru. Whether the letters were forged or not, it would still imply they were under Zabeiru’s orders.
Moreover, Jilvol had just admitted to sending Demitul himself. His attempt to draw out Lord Giorg had backfired.
“As you know, we’re unaware of what Demitul wrote in those letters. But we do have several of them here.”
“Are you… bringing them here now?”
“Of course.”
As Lord Giorg responded immediately, Aisha brought a bag to him and handed it over.
Lord Giorg took out four letters from the bag and placed them on the table.
“Let me be blunt. Would you like to buy these letters?”
Lord Giorg looked straight into Jilvol’s eyes as he spoke.
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