"Your Majesty, the Gryphon Riders have been delivered to the Helion Duchy," Leopold reported. "However, they didn't come with Gryphons. I asked one of the riders where their partners had gone, but he said they had been lost in battle."
"Lost them in battle?" King Helios scoffed. "How can that be possible? I'm sure King Augustus kept the Gryphons and deliberately sent only the riders. After all, those mounts were too expensive to nurture for him to trade away so easily."
Leopold thought the same. He even doubted whether these men who surrendered were truly the famed Gryphon Riders of the Kingdom of Britannia.
"Conduct an investigation and get to the bottom of this, Leopold," King Helios ordered. "Then, report back to me."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Leopold bowed respectfully.
A moment later, the light from the communication crystal dimmed, ending the connection.
King Helios heaved a sigh before walking to the meeting room, where the high-ranking nobles of his empire waited for him.
