The people of Blue Skull had enslaved so many towns in the southern part of the Kingdom, burning, killing, looting, and committing countless atrocities, yet they were never eradicated.
Previously, everyone thought it was because Blue Skull was too strong.
But later, facts proved that Geoffrey and his Wizards were not invincible enemies; with just the six of them, they could wipe out Blue Skull.
With such strength, how did Blue Skull manage to occupy Magnolia and its surrounding towns for ten years?
Now they finally understood!
It turned out that there was a expert from the royal family backing them!
"Damn it!"
"What do they even consider the citizens of Fiore Kingdom to be?!"
After learning the truth, everyone present was furious.
"Actually... this isn't entirely unexpected."
After a long silence, Mavis was the first to regain her composure.
"We were all negligent before."
"Thinking about it carefully, Blue Skull controlled several towns for ten years all by itself. It's impossible to think they didn't have some power behind them."
"As for the reason why the royal family's expert cultivated them, it's not hard to guess. Many things are more convenient for Dark Guilds to do than for legitimate guilds."
Weston nodded in satisfaction: "That's exactly it!"
"Actually, I didn't know about this at first."
"It was after the demise of Blue Skull, when I checked their guild's financial accounts, that I found clues from the subtle traces, and then followed those clues all the way to uncover this matter."
Yuri pressed, "Then why didn't you make this public at the time?"
"What good would it do to say it?"
"Could it deal with the expert in the royal family?"
"Besides affecting public morale, it would be useless!"
Yuri was speechless.
Weston continued, "Pretending not to know is the best way to handle it."
"Blue Skull is a notorious Dark Guild after all, and the old King was a ruthless man who wouldn't tolerate any sand in his eyes. As long as that royal noble wanted to keep his status, reputation, and life, he wouldn't blow things out of proportion."
Of course, that was a year ago.
But now, the old King is dead, and that noble has no one above him, so he naturally acts recklessly.
"After all that, who exactly is that noble?"
"He's a Duke in the southern region. Magnolia and several surrounding towns are within his jurisdiction."
"And this person has a very special identity: he is the Second Prince's uncle."
Well, well, so he's a royal relative!
Then everything makes sense.
Mavis continued to ask, "Then, will our previous actions of eliminating Blue Skull and liberating the nearby towns offend this Duke, or even the Second Prince behind him?"
This time, Weston's gaze at her was not just satisfied, but approving.
"It's excellent that you thought of that!"
"But you don't need to worry about this for now."
Under Mavis's puzzled gaze, Weston patiently explained the reason to her: "Currently, the Second Prince is competing with his First Prince and younger sister for the throne."
"Fiore Kingdom has a system of succession based on birth order. The Second Prince doesn't hold the moral high ground himself, and besides military strength, he also needs the support of the populace. Therefore, it's impossible for him to expose such damaging information as 'the Duke uncle cultivating a Dark Guild to extort money' at this critical juncture, which would damage his reputation."
"Ultimately, for this Second Prince, the most important thing is to gain the support of the major towns. It doesn't matter whether these towns are controlled by Blue Skull or by others."
"Since they could cultivate Blue Skull back then, they can naturally try to win us over now!"
Among them, the one with the highest political acumen was probably Weston, who had received nine years of compulsory education and taken high school political science classes in his previous life.
Although he was a science student in his previous life and hadn't studied politics since his second year of high school, coupled with university, entering society, and transmigrating, it had been over twenty years, and he had long forgotten all of his high school political knowledge.
But he could still discern a thing or two about such matters.
Precht said doubtfully, "Aren't you being too certain?"
"Of course I am!"
"Because just a month ago, that Duke uncle of the Second Prince already sent me an invitation, wanting me to lead Fairy Tail, along with Magnolia and the surrounding towns, to 'take sides'!"
The news Weston suddenly dropped startled everyone present.
"What did you say?!"
"Those guys sent you an invitation?!"
"Why didn't you mention this before?"
"Ahem... I'm telling you now, aren't I?"
Why didn't he say anything?
Suddenly receiving a letter asking him to lead his guild and the nearby towns to 'take sides' and become a subordinate—how was that any different from receiving a text message on his phone saying, 'I am a Nigerian Prince, Venmo me 50'?
Weston naturally ignored it directly.
It wasn't until several days later, when he suddenly remembered the Blue Skull incident and connected the dots, that he deduced the whole story.
"You didn't agree, did you?"
"Of course I didn't agree!"
Weston glared with wide eyes: "How could I be involved with the people behind Blue Skull?!"
Hearing this answer, everyone finally relaxed.
"Alright, alright, back to the main topic!"
"Because of the throne competition among the three princes and princesses, the Fiore Kingdom has inevitably been drawn into this war..."
As soon as he said this, everyone once again showed worry and fell silent.
Weston could only comfort them, "But you don't need to worry too much."
"This trade war that has broken out is an internal war within Ishgar, not a war between Ishgar and Alakitasia or Guiltina."
"If it were the latter, Fiore Kingdom would bear the brunt; but since it's the former, the problem isn't that big."
"After all, Fiore Kingdom itself has ample heritage and a special geographical location, so it won't be easily invaded. At the same time, it has no intention of invading others."
"For other countries on the continent, they are fighting national wars; for Fiore Kingdom, it's a military conflict."
"As long as this war of succession ends, Fiore Kingdom's economy will quickly recover!"
So that's how it is!
With Weston's analysis, everyone suddenly saw the light, their minds clearing as if a fog had lifted, feeling refreshed and enlightened.
Zera raised her small hand and asked, "Then... should our guild now support the First Prince or the Third Princess to end this struggle for royal power as soon as possible?"
So you just deleted the Second Prince option, huh? As expected of Fairy Tail's righteous and evil-hating nature!