Gawain finally understood the truth behind the Augustus Clan’s curse.

This truth was even more complex and bizarre than he had expected.

As a informant of the related events, Megal III believed that the "Eye of God" that once escaped had degraded in status after entering the Augustus Clan’s bloodline, diluted and deteriorated over generations of mortal bloodlines, it essentially became a mental pollution devoid of divinity—but Gawain dared not be so optimistic.

After all, he knows about the ancient Godslayer wars, knows that gods have returned to the world time and again under different guises, and knows that divine power is essentially a projection of the collective will of mortals. With such knowledge at hand, he doesn’t believe that the "Eye of God" integrated into the Augustus Clan would just simply vanish.

But for now, he lacks the means to verify anything—even though a member of the Augustus Clan stands right there. With the current technological conditions, Gawain doesn’t know how to ascertain the status of the "Eye of God," so all he can do is ponder.

Megal III did not hear Gawain’s whispered self-talk at the end. Recalling the Orlandeau incident two hundred years ago, this Dream Realms Pope, no longer human, couldn’t help but fall into contemplation as well. After half a minute of silence, the voice came again from the fluctuating starlight polymer: "Your Majesty, that’s all I know about the curse of the Augustus Clan."

Gawain awoke from his thoughts, looked at the former pope before him, and nodded gently: "It’s all very important intelligence, very valuable."

He paused, then continued: "It’s truly a miracle that you survived from the Orlandeau incident back then."

"Everyone underestimated the sturdiness of those ancient ruins; some inexplicable ancient technology made its core and lower layers nearly indestructible, while the collapse of the upper district completely obscured the intact nature of its interior," Megal III’s voice carried a hint of emotion. "At that time, Typhon fell into chaos due to the collapse of the imperial capital and the massive casualties among the aristocrats. They could only devote the majority of their efforts to restoring order and relocating the capital... Moreover, given the technological state at the time, they were unable to determine the conditions at the bottom of Orlandeau.

"As for us, we had backup routes for evacuation through exits outside of Orlandeau City, but we knew that going out in the situation back then would be a dead end—so we laid low in the underground ruins, relying on the material reserves and the sparse supplies we could gather from the upper city ruins to survive the initial months. It was only then that we slowly began sending people out to investigate the situation. Many years later, within the sturdy framework of the ancient facilities, we repaired the middle and lower levels of the underground ruins and built a new dome beneath the collapsed area... It was indeed quite difficult."

"I can imagine," Gawain nodded, then asked, "I’m contemplating something. Back then, you used the term ’Evil God’ to negotiate with the Typhon Emperor, convincing him that the entity beneath Orlandeau wasn’t a god but an evil spirit, and he believed it. But subsequently, the Augustus Clan certainly wouldn’t let this matter slide—if only to investigate the curse they suddenly faced, they’d strive to uncover the truth about the Orlandeau incident. Do you think they ultimately understood what lay beneath Orlandeau?"

Megal remained silent for a few seconds before slowly replying: "I believe they managed to uncover part of the truth; they probably knew that their curse originated from a god.

"The reason is simple: not all the Eternal Sleepers priests stayed hidden in the underground ruins during the Orlandeau incident—some were outside, and inevitably, some of them ended up in the hands of the Augustus Clan later on. When the core and higher-ups of the evil cult were buried beneath Orlandeau, these priests didn’t know we were still alive; lacking psychological support, many would disclose everything to survive."

Gawain furrowed his brows, speaking in a deep voice: "So, the Augustus Clan knew that a god inflicted the curse upon them, and even to a certain extent—they, like you, understood that the god was slowly descending into madness, essentially counting down to apocalypse."

"Those captured priests probably revealed that part of the truth, but how much the Augustus Clan chose to believe is another matter," Megal III responded, "They might dismiss it as the rambling of evil cult followers, but given the reality of the curse and the various evidence from the Orlandeau incident, they might choose to partially believe those priests’ words."

"Typhon Empire’s primary religion is the War God Faith, alongside small-scale activities of the god of trade, Blood God, and Reaper’s churches," Amber suddenly interjected, "The Typhon Royal Family neither conspicuously restricts nor supports these churches in any form."

Gawain couldn’t help but look at Amber—he hadn’t asked anything yet, but she provided the exact information he needed.

After a moment of contemplation, he asked, "Are any Augustus Clan members publicly followers or have undergone any form of baptism?"

"None," Amber shook her head, "At least there’s no information on that—though secret baptism cannot be ruled out, the likelihood is low."

Gawain pondered again before asking: "Were there religious believers within the Augustus Clan before the Orlandeau incident?"

"I’m not sure," Amber shook her head, "The Intelligence Agency hasn’t specifically investigated this. However, this isn’t classified information and the answers should be traceable in Typhon’s publicly available records..."

"I can answer," Megal III suddenly intervened, "Yes, and more than one—in fact, before the Orlandeau incident, some Augustus Clan members underwent the War God’s baptism, albeit not many. Often it represented the exchange of benefits between the royal family and the church, but baptized members did exist."

Gawain exhaled lightly.

"Then we can assume that the Augustus Clan didn’t allow family members to become believers anymore after the Orlandeau incident," he said softly, "As for them not suppressing domestic churches... this is not surprising, probably considering societal needs and national interests.

"After all, even the present-day Cecil Empire still has the Holy Light Church as its main faith and several other small-scale churches."

Gawain’s final words were spoken casually, yet Megal III thought of those fully armed "War Priests" loyal to the Cecil Empire’s emperor, and the stars and mists swirling around him contracted subconsciously.

Gawain couldn’t discern Megal III’s mood from the starlit formation; he absent-mindedly tapped the chair’s armrest while pondering, murmuring as if to himself: "Things are starting to get interesting..."

...

After continuing the conversation on a few scattered issues, Megal III departed.

In the spacious study, only Gawain sitting at the desk, and Amber standing before him, remained.

"Tonight I’ve heard quite a secret," Amber immediately stretched with a long yawn the moment there were no others present, muttering as she stretched, "It seems like the Augustus Clan and the Eternal Sleepers are really... entangled beyond comprehension."

"Reality is always so bizarre; it surpasses the stories of bards beyond imagination," Gawain said calmly. "Thus, at this moment, Emperor Rosetta Augustus’s large-scale acceptance of the Eternal Sleepers within the Empire... appears even more dramatic."

"After all, the Orlandeau incident is already two hundred years ago," Amber blinked, "For most ordinary humans, that’s already ’ancient’—a story buried deep within records, and to the modern Typhon Emperor and Eternal Sleepers Priest, just a tale."

"You are starting to speak more and more like me now." Gawain couldn’t help but smile as he glanced at Amber.

Amber immediately showed her teeth but didn’t spout her usual barrage of nonsense. Instead, after a brief contemplation, she thoughtfully said, "Speaking of which... Based on the intelligence brought by Megal III, the relationship between the Inverted Tide Empire and the Gods in the Ancient Era might be more complex than we initially imagined."

"Capable of constructing advanced devices to contain and control divine power, yet using this technology to build altars to welcome the Gods..." Gawain’s expression was somewhat solemn. "Merita Ponia once said that, without breaking the shackles of the Gods but gaining ultra-advanced technology prematurely, only disaster awaits. I’ve always been pondering the deeper meaning of her words. The underground ruins of Orlandeau... seem to have answered some of my questions."

"It’s a pity that those ruins are truly gone this time," Amber murmured regretfully, "The Eternal Sleepers blew it up from the inside before retreating, and those secrets can never be known again."

"Perhaps one day we might find another way to unearth those secrets," Gawain shook his head, "For now, at least, the Eternal Sleepers brought a wealth of information, and there will surely be some valuable elements among them."

...

After a night’s rest and an entire morning of final deliberation, Sir Golosh and his advisory team once again stood before Gawain Cecil.

Gawain sat in his favored high-backed chair, watching as the Dragonborn took their seats opposite him, with clerks and aides ready at the side, his expression calm and serene.

The intelligence shared by Megal III last night had provoked much thought and future considerations in him, yet he had more to consider than just Typhon and the "Eye" of the God of Dream Realms. Now, he calmed his mind, readying himself to continue the unfinished negotiations with these powerful Dragonborn from the Arctic Mountains.

Sir Golosh first bowed to Gawain, then cleared his throat and spoke in an honest yet respectful tone: "Your Majesty, first, thank you for receiving us once again.

"We have carefully considered the numerous projects and future visions you proposed yesterday. As for the conclusions... Please pardon my rudeness, but I prefer straightforward and candid communication—

"The Sacred Dragon Kingdom is not yet ready to fully engage in commercial exchanges with the Cecil Empire, particularly in areas concerning mining development, joint academies, and basic infrastructure projects. The Dragonborn have no intention to proceed."

Gawain’s eyebrows raised ever so slightly, imperceptible to others.

Sir Golosh claimed to be straightforward and candid, but what he said was already quite euphemistic—yet no matter how euphemistic the language, it could not change the meaning of his words.

Everyone present understood clearly: the Dragonborn rejected over seventy percent of the projects proposed by Gawain yesterday.

And it seemed that their attitude was firm, a result of thorough consideration, possibly even a decision made after some form of communication with the Grand Duke of Dragonblood, not something that could be easily altered with a few words.

Yet driven by curiosity, Gawain couldn’t help but ask, "I’d like to hear the specific reasons."

Sir Golosh exchanged a glance with Asharena beside him, then turned his head, meeting Gawain’s gaze seriously and frankly: "Your Majesty, the Dragonborn approach this exchange with sincerity and candor, and I believe you do as well.

"We are all in search of new friends in this vast world, for a shared and bright future for both sides.

"There is a saying in the Sacred Dragon Kingdom: A solitary climber possesses courage, but climbers in companionship have both courage and wisdom. The Dragonborn are not as isolated and exclusionary as the outside world imagines. In fact, we are happy to make friends, but with those who can climb peaks together, advancing and retreating in unison.

"Your Majesty, for the past hundreds and thousands of years, the Dragonborn rarely ventured beyond the northern parts of the Dark Mountain Range because nothing happening on this continent piqued our interest. Yet now we have opened our doors, and we did so proactively—we did so to seek an ally. The Dragonborn hope everything is built on equality, respect, mutual benefit, and openness."

Gawain quietly looked into Sir Golosh’s eyes, and after two seconds, he suddenly smiled.

"Of course," he said pleasantly and lightly, "Let’s discuss another plan then."

His attitude was composed, as if he had anticipated everything.