When the news reached their ears, the quiet puzzle in their minds swelled into massive confusion. It felt almost beyond belief.
"They're inside Victoria? What on earth are they doing here?"
A throbbing headache flared behind Jeanne's eyes at the thought of the Regent hiding in these borders. What was that man—the one who had mysteriously vanished right on the eve of their victory—plotting under cover of silence inside Victoria?
Though she had personally defeated the Regent once before, Jeanne harbored zero illusions about underestimating him. He was a deeply dangerous and unpredictable opponent.
"We don't have full visibility yet," Kal'tsit's solemn voice synthesized through the console. "However, intelligence suggests he has established contact with certain Victorian nobles, and potentially even remnants of Gaul. We can't verify their end goal yet, but one thing is clear: whatever they're planning bodes ill for both Victoria and Kazdel."
Kal'tsit sounded exceptionally stern. She understood better than anyone how lethal her old acquaintance could be—especially in a powder keg like this, where a single nudge could spark absolute chaos.
"What about Theresa?" Jeanne asked, her thoughts drifting to the Lord of Fiends back in Kazdel. "Is she really sitting idle while her brother risks dragging the Sarkaz name through the dirt all over again?"
Jeanne trusted that even a soul as gentle as Theresa wouldn't hesitate to apprehend her brother and lock him away in the deepest dungeon—or, if pushed to the absolute brink, put an end to him entirely.
"Theresa's hands are completely tied at the moment," Kal'tsit explained smoothly. "Do you recall your journey to Laterano with Logos, when you encountered those Sarkaz and vampire thralls?"
"I remember," Jeanne nodded. "They were dragged off by that Nachzehrer King, wasn't it? What about them?"
"Because of that incident, the court has turned into an open brawl," Kal'tsit replied with a heavy, exasperated sigh. "The former Banshee Queen is currently demanding blood from the Vampire Court, while the Nachzehrer King is unsurprisingly tearing into the Vampires right alongside her. As for the rest—well, Theresa is working overtime just to keep the peace and forge a unified front..."
The situation in Kazdel was balanced on a razor's edge; without Theresa holding the center, the royal court would tear itself apart overnight. A duel between the Banshees and the Vampires—fought with total lethality—would be nothing short of a catastrophe.
"Wait, isn't the former Banshee Queen... Logos' mother?" Jeanne blinked, piecing the puzzle together.
The Banshee Queen was seeking blood-retribution for her son, the Nachzehrer King was backing her up for personal interest while Theresa tried to act as mediator, and a whole swarm of Damazti was prepping for war...
The entire nation of Kazdel was practically turning into a boiling cauldron!
"Precisely why keeping the peace is near impossible," Kal'tsit noted dryly.
Both women nodded in quiet understanding. When those Vampires tried to kill her son, did they conveniently forget his mother was still alive and well? Knowing how notoriously unstable Vampires generally were, Jeanne couldn't help but offer a quiet nod of sympathetic pity.
"I'll keep my eyes peeled for any sign of them," Jeanne said, trying to lift the mood. "Though who knows if I'll even run into Theresis? It's not like my luck is that atrocious. I mean, what are the odds I step foot into Londinium only to run straight into the Regent himself, and then— mph—mmph—mmmmph?!"
Before she could finish her sentence, a hand slammed firmly over her mouth.
Talulah, sweating cold bullets, glared at the girl with utter exasperation. Could this Saintess please stop invoking disaster out loud?!
"Keep your mouth shut!" Talulah snapped, her eyes narrowing as she wiped a bead of cold sweat from her brow. "It's always after you spout nonsense like this that everything goes wrong! If you speak it into existence and it actually happens, what are we supposed to do?!"
Jeanne squirmed frantically in her grip, trying to break free. In her desperate struggling, her tongue accidentally brushed against Talulah's palm, making the Draco flinch from the sudden tickle and instantly yank her hand back.
"Was that really necessary?!" Jeanne gasped, taking a few ragged breaths of fresh air. "What do you mean 'spout it into existence'? I'm just predicting a reasonable worst-case scenario! You almost suffocated me—"
"You keeping your mouth shut is better for everyone," Talulah cut in coldly, casting a stern look at her friend.
The blunt words plunged Jeanne straight into a silent corner to sulk.
"I... I don't know what lies ahead on your journey," Amiya's soft, gentle voice filtered through the console, breaking the awkward silence, "but I truly hope everything goes smoothly for you... and that you achieve what you set out to do."
Hearing the young leader's warm encouragement made Jeanne's heart melt. Look at that child—so considerate and sweet! Then look at the short-tempered dragon sitting next to me... getting harder to handle by the day.
In her mind, Jeanne placed herself alongside Kal'tsit, then compared their respective younger leaders. She couldn't help but conclude that other people's kids were simply better behaved.
Thankfully, Talulah wasn't telepathic, or Jeanne would have been in for a painful evening.
"Let's hope so," Talulah rubbed her temples. "I've had my fill of disasters like County Hillock. A few more of these, and my nerves won't survive."
"By the way, Jeanne," Kal'tsit's voice returned through the speaker, accompanied by the faint sound of a door closing. Evidently, the doctor had stepped out briefly during their squabble and just returned. "Theresa asked me to pass along a message."
Kal'tsit paused for a fraction of a second—a tiny hesitation that betrayed how much resolve it had taken Theresa to utter those words.
"She said... if you happen to encounter Theresis, and if it comes to blows... do not hold back on her account. Do whatever needs to be done."
Jeanne gave a firm nod. "Understood. But if I do run into him, I'll try to bring him in alive and hand him over to you guys."
She deliberately avoided any mention of killing him. Even if Theresa had given her blessing, Jeanne knew deep down that execution was the absolute last thing the Lord of Fiends truly wanted.
"I will thank you on her behalf," Kal'tsit said softly, a subtle trace of relief in her measured tone. "In that case, I'll leave you to your preparations. When you return, you can tell us all about your journey. I'm rather curious to hear your impressions of Victoria."
With that, the comms link went dead.
Jeanne and Talulah collapsed into their chairs like deflated balloons, letting out a long, synchronized sigh after a heavy silence.
"Sigh... nothing's ever simple, is it?"
Stepping out of the back room, they found the Rhodes Island operators gathered around a table playing cards. Janie was nowhere to be seen.
"She headed back," Outcast answered before they even had to ask, casually laying down a card. "She's still an active soldier in the Victorian army, after all. With an incident this big breaking out, she couldn't stay away indefinitely."
Outcast cast a quiet glance at the two, sensing their private discussion was complete. Respecting their privacy, she didn't pry into the details of the conversation.
Jeanne and Talulah offered a brief, warm farewell to the operators. Once they confirmed the situation in County Hillock had temporarily stabilized, it would be time to set off for their original destination in Victoria—Londinium!