The Shadow of the Crown of Snow [Western Fantasy]

"I told you before, Frost City is very cold."

This place is actually not the coldest place in the entire Nord Kingdom, but for Hecate, it is already very unbearable.She was wrapped in the fur cloak that Selene took off and gave her. Her entire upper body was curled up on the horse's back and shivering. She held onto the edge of the cloak tightly, fearing that if she let go, the cold wind would blow in.

Seeing Hecate's distressed appearance, Selene thought it would be better to guide him in a more positive direction. Through the cloak, she patted Hecate's back vigorously: "Don't be so afraid, you are from the Northland, you are born Come down and be immune to this kind of weather.”

Hecate's muffled voice came from under the cloak: "I hate blood theory."

As a result of her unreasonable tantrums, Selene tore the cloak off her body without hesitation, and threw it into the snow behind her without hesitation.

"What are you doing?!" Suddenly exposed to the whistling wind and snow, Hecate coughed several times, "Can't the capital be built in a place more suitable for normal human life?"

"It is precisely because it is difficult for people other than the Northlanders to survive here, so the capital was built here." Selene couldn't help laughing, "Imagine if the soldiers from Nagrand came suddenly When you get here, you will probably have the same reaction as you, and you will be huddled in the fur cloak without daring to move."

It was rare for Hecate not to get angry at Selene's teasing. She raised her head and stared blankly at the Frost-Covered Castle, which she had been away for 15 years. The place where she once lived briefly and played happily with her father and sister.

Her mother died shortly after she was born, her father and sister were her only relatives, and the royal castle in Frost City was her home.

No matter how many years she lived in Yorda, this was an unalterable fact.

From a distance, the castle seems to be inlaid in the mountain wall. The bold and unrestrained posture standing against the mountain is full of the style of the Northlanders, forming two extremes with the gorgeous and exquisite Yoda.

"It's beautiful." To Hecate's disappointment, the moment she saw the castle, she didn't feel any nostalgia or deja vu in her heart. She was like a traveler who came to the Frost City for the first time in her life. Unfamiliar places can't generate much emotion, "It's really beautiful."

"The snowy mountains, snow, and pine trees on the mountains are very beautiful, but the castle itself is really ugly." Selene snorted, "I really don't understand why they couldn't clean up the outer walls when they built the castle. It looks a little better."

After a pause, she turned her head and rubbed Hecate's cheek: "Don't feel cold anymore?"

Hecate moved his hands a little, and felt that they were no longer as stiff and tingling as before, and other parts of his body were gradually able to resist the cold - I don't know if it was because of what Selene said "Northern people Bloodline", but she did adapt to the environment here quickly, faster than she imagined.

"You were born to belong here."

Selene seemed to say so, but also didn't seem to.

The Queen, who returned safely, received a warm welcome. Naturally, no one dared to hold any banquets at this juncture, but Selene was not a person who could not distinguish between priorities. She didn't even have time to arrange Hecate's residence, so Let Raymond summon the ministers to the chamber.

The journey alone and with Hecate these days is full of dangers. For Selene, it is more like a relaxation that relaxes her spirit. She stopped by the corridor to clear up her messy thoughts, and rubbed her temples vigorously. , was about to step forward to the conference hall, and remembered Hecate who was still following behind him.

Hecate was standing on one side of the hallway, pretending to be seriously admiring the murals hanging on the wall. He looked like a kitten thrown into a stranger's house - really, this metaphor doesn't make much sense. Big mistake.

"Come with me." Selene waved at her, "It just so happens that I want you to meet them too."

The first topic of the pre-war meeting became Hecate.

Everyone in the conference hall felt that she was the genuine Highness Hecate, the daughter of the late Emperor Roy, and the younger sister of His Majesty Selene. The similarity in appearance was the most convincing.

But not everyone thinks that the two identities of "Roy's daughter" and "Selene's sister" can simply help her gain the trust of the Nord Kingdom.

They even trusted Joshua more than Hecate.And Joshua's closeness to the Kingdom of Nord made them more suspicious of Hecate - even Joshua, who came to Nord at the age of ten, had feelings for this country, so he lived in Nag since the age of three. What about Hecate, who lives in Lanzhou?

From the perspective of Selene's way of thinking, such doubts are well-founded and not too much. After a few days, they found out that Hecate's treatment in Nagrand and Joshua's treatment in Nord How big is the gap between them? After eliminating prejudice and observing Hecate's words and deeds, doubts will begin to dissipate quickly. After realizing Hecate's ability, the Northlanders who advocate force in their bones will like her very much.

Selene can understand, but the person Hecate cannot understand.She was full of grievances and indignation, she didn't know why she was subjected to such groundless accusations, and she couldn't directly prove her innocence.Sensing that her mood was not right, Selene signaled everyone to wait a moment, turned her head and whispered a few words in Hecate's ear, trying to stabilize her mood as much as possible.

Facts have proved that Selene underestimated Hecate's stubbornness in this regard. No matter how simple and popular Selene explained to her, she refused to understand this matter. She only cared about one fact—these people here actually Doubt the loyalty she has just managed to collect, and wish she would bring the information of the Nord Kingdom to join the enemy tomorrow.

After a few minutes of stalemate, Selene held her forehead weakly: "Okay, let's put this issue aside for now, and don't worry too much about Hecate, Raymond and I will take care of it. Don't bother everyone."

Before anyone could object, she deftly changed the subject: "How's the border deployment going?"

"As you ordered when you left, using Yusuf and Marcus's plan, the armaments of several major legions were inspected and replaced first, and the most sophisticated weapons and armor in the warehouse were assigned to several first-level armies first. Legion..." Raymond rummaged through the paper in front of him, "This is the distribution of equipment, please have a look."

Raymond has always been serious in his work, and he will not lie about military information to fool Selene. The paper clearly lists various information about armaments, including the amount of storage in the warehouse, and which active troops have equipment in large quantities during inspections. problems, the attrition caused by the replacement process, and, Selene's main concern, the distribution of armaments among the various legions.

"These." She grabbed a quill and hurriedly dipped some ink, and crossed out all the numbers behind the Guards Corps. Distribute directly to the frontier and equip the third-tier regiments there-as far as I know their equipment was signed and distributed when my father was alive, and the armor and weapons we bought from the Fek Republic were not used by them at all .”

"But... isn't this a bit unfair to the Guards?"

Hearing someone ask a question, Selene answered the questioner without raising her head: "I know the fighting style of the Guards Corps best. They are not the kind of team that needs to rely on sophisticated armaments to win. What these equipments can do to them The effect is very limited, or even has no effect. It is better to use it to strengthen the border defense, which is our real purpose."

The atmosphere in the entire conference hall became a little awkward. It wasn't until Selene raised her eyes from the paper in front of her that she realized that the person who asked the question just now was Hecate who was sitting beside her.

She looked at Selene innocently, not feeling that there was anything wrong with her behavior.

"By the way, since Hecate asked this question, I will explain it to you in more depth. Hecate, if you put on two-finger-thick steel plate armor, and let you hold that kind of armor that can penetrate Will the enemy's heavy sword with armor as the main purpose seriously affect your performance?"

Hecate still looked angry, but what Selene said was true, and she nodded while looking away uncomfortably.

"That's why." Selene put the quill back next to the ink bottle, "The Guards Corps has a strong individual combat capability, let alone the Corps as a whole, even if it is divided into teams and individuals, their respective battles The styles are also very different. Therefore, in this special period, I don’t want to see you make judgments based on your own standards, let go of your prejudices and face the facts, this is the style of Northlanders.”

He talked about the Guards Corps, but his eyes stayed on Hecate. Presumably everyone in the conference hall had already heard the pun in Selene's last sentence.

Raymond broke the silence with a smile: "Follow Your Majesty's order. We have also initially implemented Marcus's plan for border deployment, specifically..."

Hecate sat on the chair to the left of Selene, looked blankly at the conference hall that was suddenly full of discussions, and lay down on the table bored, turning a deaf ear to the voices of people around him.

Selene blinked at her, and she thought for a moment before deciding to pretend she didn't see it.

This should be the easiest way to respond.