'What are you talking about?'
Erdene's eyebrows twitched.
Judging from Plat's expression, it didn't seem like an empty promise. Weren't Kensilom and Etonhorn the closest allies to Vetor among the Inland Allies?
"What do you mean? Tell me in detail."
Plat's pupils shook for a moment. He looked around for a moment like a frightened person and said.
"It is as I said. Regarding the fact that Her Majesty the Queen is from the Empire..."
"Are they complaining about my marriage to His Majesty? As far as I know, my marriage with His Majesty was conditional and agreed upon by both parties."
"That is what His Majesty said. However... Kensilom and Etonhorn were not very positive about the conditions for providing food."
Erdene burst out laughing and lowered her gaze slightly with a thoughtful expression.
The two countries that Plat had mentioned, the Kingdom of Kensilom and the Kingdom of Etonhorn, both had abundant farmland and were countries that had amassed considerable wealth through diverse agriculture.
I had heard rumors that when the season was good, there were times when there was enough grain to consume in the domestic market, and even after exporting it to other countries, there were still surpluses.
It was a story that Erdene had heard when she was still the Princess of the Empire.
'I coveted those lands.'
Erdene said.
"What was the reason that Kensilom and Etonhorn were against it?"
Plat's embarrassed expression gave a faint twitch at the corner of his mouth.
"Tell me quickly."
Erdene urged Plat, and he reluctantly opened his mouth.
"It's hard for me to say this, but in their words, what's the difference between paying tribute to the empire and being subject to it...?"
"Ha."
Erdene let out a hollow laugh and pressed her fist between her eyebrows.
"Then? Kensilom and Etonhorn were willing to go to war?"
“I, I don’t think so.”
“Then what do you want?”
“Your Majesty...”
According to Plat, Kensilom and Etonhorn were extremely opposed to providing food aid to the Empire from the inland from the very beginning of the negotiations.
There were some on the Etonhorn side who thought that the Allies should unite and fight the Empire, but they were a minority.
Kensilom said that they had not even considered war.
“Your Majesty’s decision to marry the Imperial Princess, who is now the Queen, was the cause of the trouble. They said that the marriage alliance was the end of the story.”
“So?”
“Your Majesty had to persuade Kensilom and Etonhorn for a long time.”
Erdene laughed again as she watched Plat’s wrinkled lips twitch.
Everyone in Vetor was like that, but Plat was particularly bad at harassing Arkan.
After the disappearance of Marchioness Fiddler, who had been more ardently protective of Arkan than anyone else, he ended up taking on the role of Marchioness.
Erdene rolled her tongue and sighed, then nodded and said,
“But? What is your complaint about me?”
“Why won't Your Majesty convince the Emperor of the Empire... how long we should continue to provide food aid, even though this was not the place to discuss the Empire.”
Erdene's eyebrows twitched.
Judging from Plat's expression, it didn't seem like an empty promise. Weren't Kensilom and Etonhorn the closest allies to Vetor among the Inland Allies?
"What do you mean? Tell me in detail."
Plat's pupils shook for a moment. He looked around for a moment like a frightened person and said.
"It is as I said. Regarding the fact that Her Majesty the Queen is from the Empire..."
"Are they complaining about my marriage to His Majesty? As far as I know, my marriage with His Majesty was conditional and agreed upon by both parties."
"That is what His Majesty said. However... Kensilom and Etonhorn were not very positive about the conditions for providing food."
Erdene burst out laughing and lowered her gaze slightly with a thoughtful expression.
The two countries that Plat had mentioned, the Kingdom of Kensilom and the Kingdom of Etonhorn, both had abundant farmland and were countries that had amassed considerable wealth through diverse agriculture.
I had heard rumors that when the season was good, there were times when there was enough grain to consume in the domestic market, and even after exporting it to other countries, there were still surpluses.
It was a story that Erdene had heard when she was still the Princess of the Empire.
'I coveted those lands.'
Erdene said.
"What was the reason that Kensilom and Etonhorn were against it?"
Plat's embarrassed expression gave a faint twitch at the corner of his mouth.
"Tell me quickly."
Erdene urged Plat, and he reluctantly opened his mouth.
"It's hard for me to say this, but in their words, what's the difference between paying tribute to the empire and being subject to it...?"
"Ha."
Erdene let out a hollow laugh and pressed her fist between her eyebrows.
"Then? Kensilom and Etonhorn were willing to go to war?"
“I, I don’t think so.”
“Then what do you want?”
“Your Majesty...”
According to Plat, Kensilom and Etonhorn were extremely opposed to providing food aid to the Empire from the inland from the very beginning of the negotiations.
There were some on the Etonhorn side who thought that the Allies should unite and fight the Empire, but they were a minority.
Kensilom said that they had not even considered war.
“Your Majesty’s decision to marry the Imperial Princess, who is now the Queen, was the cause of the trouble. They said that the marriage alliance was the end of the story.”
“So?”
“Your Majesty had to persuade Kensilom and Etonhorn for a long time.”
Erdene laughed again as she watched Plat’s wrinkled lips twitch.
Everyone in Vetor was like that, but Plat was particularly bad at harassing Arkan.
After the disappearance of Marchioness Fiddler, who had been more ardently protective of Arkan than anyone else, he ended up taking on the role of Marchioness.
Erdene rolled her tongue and sighed, then nodded and said,
“But? What is your complaint about me?”
“Why won't Your Majesty convince the Emperor of the Empire... how long we should continue to provide food aid, even though this was not the place to discuss the Empire.”
He must have come up with a plan, Erdene thought. At the same time, she felt her irritation rising.
“It’s only been two months since I became the Queen of Vetor, and you’re whining like that?”
“And in Etonhorn, they’ve argued that the allies should unite and wage an all-out war against the Empire.”
"These guys are helpless. What did His Majesty say?”
“Of course, His Majesty was absolutely against that.”
Of course. Erdene thought.
The reason Arkan married her in the first place was to peacefully end the ongoing war, so there was no way he would agree to attack the empire now.
'But what Etonhorn claims is not completely unreasonable.'
With Tenek taking the throne of Hirschsten, the foundation that the empire had built over a long time was overturned.
The existing bureaucracy collapsed, and the people's lifestyles changed. In other words, it was going through a period of chaos.
Just as Hirschsten had dispatched spies to each country inland, there was no way they could remain ignorant of the situation in the empire and just sit by.
Etonhorn must have sent spies to the empire as well, so they must have decided that now was the time to strike at the empire.
‘The original knights have scattered, and now I am in Vetor. If I had known this information, I would have thought to push back... The problem is the troops of all the allies. Even if I push forward with numbers, it will be precarious, and the tactics themselves cannot be compared to the Empire. So the King of Etonhorn must draw all the allies into this war no matter what. To do that, it would be more important to get Vetor’s consent than anywhere else.’
Plat continued grumbling.
“Etonhorn originally was like that, and Kensilom too... I know that they didn’t really like Vetor being the center of the allies. After His Majesty Arkan ascended to the throne, they showed such intentions even more often. There were many times when Etonhorn tried to form new alliances with other kingdoms while secretly pushing Vetor away, but it didn’t work out. That’s because...”
“It must be because the conditions are not equal. It’s not horizontal like the current alliance.”
“That’s right.”
Erdene snorted and sat down on the chair.
“There are those in the world who think they’re the weakest and smartest... In fact, they’re the most stupid.”
“That’s why.”
Plat, who had unconsciously nodded in agreement with her words, turned his gaze away.
His expression was a mixture of embarrassment and nervousness.
Plat, sensing Erdene’s gaze, mumbled an excuse.
“Anyway, so...His Majesty is in a bad mood. At times like this, Your Majesty...”
“Are you telling me to act coquettish?”
Plat’s face turned red. Coquettish! He almost forgot that she was the Queen and raised his voice.
“Your Majesty is not a lecher!”
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“I want you to comfort him.”
Erdene, who had lived her whole life thinking that there was no use in comforting people with words when there was no way to solve the problem, did not listen to Plat’s words.
She soon fell into thought. Yes, the problem needed to be solved. Was it just to complain that they were tripping her up? Was it to upset Arkan?
‘No.’
Erdene, who was staring into the empty space, said.
“The diplomats of Kensilom and Etonhorn... How long will the envoys stay in Vetor?”
“I understand that they will return in two days.”
“How many diplomats and how many escorts?”
Plat counted in his mind for a moment and answered.
“Three each, and about ten escorts in total. Excluding the attendants. Among them, the escort brought by Kensilom’s chief diplomat is the leader of all the soldiers. It was hard to watch them brag.”
Eventually, her emotions burst out. Erdene frowned and looked at Plat as if she was sorry.
“You, you should realize your position and act more wisely. I will overlook your dissatisfaction and rudeness, but should King Vetor’s close secretary be grumbling like an old man who got rained on?”
Plat shut his mouth tightly. His ears felt red.
Erdene said.
“Okay, you can go.”
Plat couldn’t stand to wonder what on earth she knew and why she had asked about diplomats and escorts. Was she planning to go and smash the table herself?
‘Please, just endure that.’
If that happened, even Arkan would surely cause a commotion that would be difficult to control.
“I'll be going then. Rest well, Your Majesty.”
Plat bowed and carefully stepped back with an anxious expression. Erdene sat motionless for a while as if waiting for something or lost in thought.
“Your Majesty, I’m back.”
It was Sophia. A smile finally appeared on Erdene’s lips.
“Your Majesty?”
“It’s not too late. What’s the matter?”
Sophia nodded and answered.
“I found out where Mr. Maple lives and met him. He didn’t seem to be in bad health. I told him about Sabnake and he was happy to see me... He told me where the mansion was. Master Wiziard said that he would personally visit Your Majesty when he was ready.”
“Yes, I understand. But since you just got back, I have one more errand for you.”
“Just say the word, Your Majesty.”
Erdene crossed her arms with a serious expression.
“Did you know that envoys from Kensilom and the Kingdom of Etonhorn came today?”
“Oh, yes. I heard.”
“They will be attending the banquet with His Majesty, and I am afraid that they will have conversations that will upset His Majesty. From what Chief Chamberlain Plat said earlier, it seems that they were quite rude even when discussing with the officials...”
‘And you came running all the way here in such a situation? To see Glücker? How absurd...’
Erdene let out a laugh and cleared her throat.
“We can’t let them upset His Majesty, can we? So what should we do... Should I step forward? What do you think?”
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