Her Graceful War Song novel Chapter 1268

In Lunvale stood the grand Eternalis Atrium, towering by the expansive banks of the Lunvale River. To dine at Eternalis Atrium was a privilege reserved only for the wealthy and the elite.

However, on the left side of Eternalis Atrium and facing the dock was a spacious and messy area where vendors set up their stalls every day. Some sold grain, others sold flatbreads or ravioli. The food was good and cheap, and most of the people coming here were common folks or dock workers.

Outside each stall, there were a few crude, low tables surrounded by small stools. The diners gathered here, eating heartily in the noisy crowd. Conversations buzzed around them, discussing everything under the sun—except for matters of the state. Politics were too far removed from the daily lives of these people.

At one of the ravioli stalls, two men sat. They were dressed simply, blending in with the rest of the crowd. One wore a gray cotton jacket and a faded cap, looking to be in his thirties. The other man, perhaps in his forties, wore a coarse green tunic. Despite the chill of the spring air, his attire seemed thin. After finishing his bowl of ravioli, he wiped his brow, small beads of sweat dotting his forehead.

The man in the gray jacket placed his cutlery down and spoke first. "So, we just let it go like this?"

The man in the green tunic wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his voice low and measured. "They came prepared. Let it be for now."

"What a pity," the man in gray remarked.

The man in green gazed at the remaining sauce on his plate, which shimmered with a thin layer of oil. "It's time to make Yuvan uneasy. If we leave him to his own devices, he'll grow more entrenched. The longer we wait, the less chance we have of overcoming him."

"I've never understood why the king decided to release Yuvan from the capital," the gray-clad man said.

He shook his head, troubled by the decision. He felt that those in the capital couldn't possibly be unaware of Yuvan's rebellious intentions. Letting him go was like releasing a tiger back into the wild.

The green-clad man's lips curled into a cold smile. "They let him go because they know there's someone else lurking in the shadows and waiting to strike."

The gray-clad man froze, his eyes widening. "Do you mean we've been exposed?"

The man in green gave a low chuckle. "Not yet. If we were exposed, Rafael wouldn't be coming to Lunvale. He'd be on our doorstep instead."