Kazimir, Antoine, and Mishael conversed to ask for the details about Leon's operations before everyone dispersed, leaving only the Blades to look after Leon at the moment.
The trio on the other hand quickly contacted the headquarters and reported the situation.
Kazimir and Antoine were still worried about what happened on the North Region's side when their family was attacked by Nikolai's men.
With haste, they took the communication tool and immediately contacted Emperor Valentin.
At the headquarters, Emperor Valentin had just also been informed about the situation. His entire back was drenched in cold sweat the moment he heard that they were attacked.
That was because while he was announcing to the whole world that he would be warning the Spectre, the Temple, and the Vanderford, he had no idea that his very own family was subject to great danger.
What if… just what if… the assassins heard his bold statement and chose to do more drastic methods to kill his family?
He could not imagine the thought of it, and so it gave him cold shivers.
When he heard about the attack, he had the urge to transport to the north and see the situation, however, as one of the leaders of the war, he could not leave his post behind.
"Valentin, be still… your family is not weak. I am sure they have handled it very well." Merking Havelok saw how uneasy Emperor Valentin was and tried to comfort him.
"That's right. Besides, your Brother is there, you can rest assured." The other leaders were also equally worried.
They very much wanted to allow Valentin to go and check the situation. However, now that they have just started the war, they cannot break this easily.
This is their duty and responsibility. One wrong decision would lead to many lives of their subjects perishing.
"I know…" Emperor Valentin could only sigh and go back to his position and continued monitoring the proceedings of war after he instructed his aide to do his best to know the situation in the Northern region.
In the Northern region, the battle was now coming to an end.
Governor Fidel's men were able to quickly respond to their distress call and were surprised to see Princess Evelyn, Princess Arielle, Queen Lucia, and Queen Tehila engage in a bloodied fight.
When he arrived, he even caught a glimpse of their ferocious expressions as they tried their best to defend themselves against Nikolai's men.
While the women were not able to kill their respective assassins, they were able to stall time greatly and gave his men a chance to rescue them on time.
As soon as the assassins were apprehended, the women were sent immediately to treatment while the two children stayed in Governor Fidel's bed chamber which was the most secure bedroom apart from theirs.
"Second Grandpa!" The two boys who were just obediently hiding behind their mothers ran to Governor Fidel and hugged him.
Finally, they showed their scared and worried expressions as they recollected how their respective mothers fought for their lives against the assassin.
"You poor children… everything is fine now… the soldiers have killed all the men who wanted to kill you."
Governor could not help but be gentle in comforting the children, especially Monti, Antoine's child who was tightly clenching his fist in clinging to his clothes.
Governor Fidel let the children calm down for a while until they slept. After ensuring that they were comfortable, he got off the bed and instructed the servants to carefully look after them.
He also called his strongest knight to station inside the bed chamber and guard the children as he did not know if there would be more of them coming and sneaking.
Based on the initial reports, the assassin's movements were not as aggressive as they should be, it was like they were waiting for someone to instruct them on the next step before deciding to attack their targets.
Governor Fidel had his men search the rooms and check if there were any clues, only to find out that the assassins held a recording stone and were probably filming the entire situation outside.
At that moment he concluded that the Imperial women were just used as a hostage to pave the way for someone's scheme. He did not need to think further to conclude the rest, the matter was obvious.
Even so, he checked the conditions of the women before he reported the entire farce to his brother. He is sure that his Elder Brother was now on tenterhooks as he was only able to inform him that they were under attack.
He knew that his Elder Brother could not go directly to their place because he had just commenced the war and so he could only perform his duty on his behalf of him to protect the members of the Imperial Family.
"Your Excellence!" The knights and the medics saw him enter the treatment area and immediately greeted him.
"How are the Imperial Highnesses?" Acknowledging their greetings, Governor Fidel asked about the condition of the Queens and Princess Consorts to the Head Doctor.
"Your Excellency, we have already treated the Imperial Highnesses. Fortunately, most of the injuries they suffered were superficial wounds and with proper treatment, their injuries won't leave any scars.
The only thing that concerns me is Her Highness Second Queen, although her wounds were not fatal it was quite deeper and more troublesome to treat.
Although this too can be treated without a hitch, I would just like to bring this up as it seems that the attacker was really determined to hurt her the most out of them all."
The Head Doctor dutifully reported all of his team's findings to Governor Fidel, not even missing the odd observation they noticed on Queen Tehila's injuries.
"The culprit is the missing offsprings of the Vesala who worked with the Spectre to make it difficult for the Princes… it seems like their deep resentment towards the Second Queen still prevailed. Nevertheless, continue to take care of her and the rest… I will report this to His Majesty right away." Governor Fidel nodded and reminded the Head Doctor.
"Yes, we will, Your Excellency."
After taking a look at the Queens and the Princesses, assuring them that everything was fine, Governor Fidel proceeded to his office to immediately report everything to Emperor Valentin.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Emperor Valentin remained worried about Queen Tehila's condition.
"She was still unconscious at the moment. I'll have my aid send you an update should she wake up. As for me, we need to do a sweep out of the entire place and even the borders, I'll leave my best guards to guard the rest." Governor Fidel said.
"Alright, do as you see fit. I thank you for taking the role of protecting them in my stead." Emperor Valentin expressed his sincere gratitude towards his younger brother.
"It's fine… you need every help available. It is I who have to apologize that I have no intentions to go to war even at this moment." Governor Fidel replied.
In truth, he declined the request of Emperor Valentin to lead his troops to defend the borders of an allied Kingdom. But even as he did so, Emperor Valentin did not question him, for his older brother understood that he was still unable to get past his failure to protect the little Asani Village.
He vowed to no longer leave his territory and live in self-exile in the north, as a way to atone for his failure. Though Emperor Valentin was quite sad about what happened to his brother, he respected his decision helplessly.
"No… it is I who should thank you rather. I never thought that you would still agree to protect another person other than your territory. That is more than enough…" Emperor Valentin understood Governor Fidel's past trauma and comforted him greatly.
"Hmmm…" Receiving the warmth and understanding of his older brother, Governor Fidel looked outside the window and could only hum in response to his brother's words.
–
It's been more than a week since Little Han was left in the Dragon Village with Baobao coming back to accompany him.
That day, he was feeling uneasy even after Elifas and Calderon accompanied him to explore the serene bathing spring of the dragons.
When he went back to his room, he immediately woke up after Rosea and his other dragon nannies put him on a nap.
"Uwuuwuuu… Johann miss mommi and daddi…" Little Han puffed his cheeks and scrunched his brows to force his tears not to fall.
He balled his fist and rubbed it in his reddish eyes so that he could hold his threatening cries.
"Young Master, don't worry… Master is safe and is doing well in the temple… As for Prince Master… Baobao is clueless…" Baobao sat at Little Han's bedside and stretched his furry head to help Little Han from his tears with his fur.
The two close to each other was such a warm yet heartbreaking scene as behind Little Han's cheerful facade outside the room, he and Baobao were always like this, comforting each other.