CH 108

" Thank you, Your Majesty Elias, for agreeing to this sudden proposal".

"I would like to say 'thank you for coming, Count Rainer,' but our country is currently in a difficult situation. I trust that our meeting in private will be better for both of us."

Elias and Rainer are sitting across from each other at a desk in a room in the guest house.

Reiner has asked to get rid of a person, and the room is now theirs alone.

In the room, Reiner begins to speak.

"Now, ...... I would like to present you with a letter from His Majesty the Emperor of the Magnolia Empire. Please read it here."

After he finished, Reiner took out the letter and put it on the desk. Elias quickly picked it up, opened the seal, and read through the letter.

Elias looked at the contents of the letter and, with a grim expression on his face, looked at Rainer and said,

'...... is this for real?'

"I can only imagine what Your Majesty Elias is going through."

The letter from Irwin Magnolia, the emperor of the Magnolia Empire, read: 'First of all, I would like to thank you for your kindness to Balst and Renal.

First of all, the Magnolia Empire is not involved in the tensions between the two countries of Barsto and Renalute, and we are keeping a close eye on the situation between the two countries.

As for your offer of an "alliance," we have discussed the matter at home and are prepared to conclude an alliance with conditions.

Conditional terms

First, after the alliance is signed, the final decision-making authority on major issues within Renalute, such as military preparations, politics (foreign and domestic), and the right to name the next king, will be given to the Magnolia Empire. After the alliance, all decisions shall be made by the Empire.

Second, if a princess is born to the Renalute royal family after the alliance, she must be married to a member of the Magnolia Empire's royal family or an official of the Imperial nobility equivalent to the second rank.

Third, any child born to a member of the Renarte royal family who marries in accordance with the second step shall have the right of succession to the throne of Renarte.

Fourth, the first three matters shall be kept secret and shall not be made public at home or abroad.

"If you agree to the above, the Empire will become your ally and will be ready to protest against Barsto."

Furthermore, a secret letter was received from the nation of Barsto before yours, and its content is a request for a halt to salt to your nation.

We are aware that some nobles belonging to the empire have gone ahead and made a decision to stop sending salt to your country, but this matter is not the judgment of the empire as a whole. I hope your country will make a wise decision.

Elias hung his head.

Magnolia was not aligned with Barsto.

However, by a perfect fishing expedition, they are forcing Renalute to make a choice between belonging to a country or going in exile.

Elias muttered bitterly to Rainer.

'This means that our country will be treated no differently from a subject nation in the name of an alliance ....... And to take the yet-to-be-born princess hostage, we will let her marry a member of your royal family or a noble. You even ask us to give the child born eventually the right to inherit the throne in our country. ......"

"But you will still survive as a nation."

Hearing Reiner's words, Elias glared at him with sharp eyes as if to pierce him.

But he ignored him and continued.

"The offer from your country and the secret letter from Barsto reached the Reich at about the same time. In the Empire, there are two factions: the Barsto faction, which insists that we should join forces with Barsto and confront Renalute, and the Alliance faction, which intends to form an alliance with your country."

"......The alliance faction and the Barsto faction, both of them are really bitter groups. For your information, may I ask which you are?"

...... You may consider me the leader of the Alliance faction. As you know, my territory borders three countries: your country, Barsto, and the Beast Kingdom. As soon as I heard about the messenger from your country, I approached my emperor for support. I don't know if you will believe me. ......"

He looked Elias straight in the eye as he answered his question.

Perhaps he was telling the truth. I asked him the next question.

"If that is the case, I would like you to make a normal alliance with our country. No king would accept the offer to turn his country into a vassal state."

Reiner shook his head at Elias's answer.

"I am sure that His Majesty Elias is aware of the situation. The Renalute now has no choice but to go to death knowing that the salt will be stopped and in the future it will be defeated. If your forces are depleted, Barsto will be happy to attack Renalute. A people who cannot fight will be treated as slaves in Barsto. ...... The Empire will not be so naive as to miss this opportunity."

Elias pondered Reiner's words for a moment before replying.

Give me one day to think about it.

"Yes, please. ......"

After the day's meeting, Reiner moved to his guest room in the guest house.

Elias returned to his room in the main palace and called Zack, Eltia, and Liesel.

When the three arrived, he dispensed with the people and talked about the alliance with the empire.

The three listened to Elias' words with a somber look on their faces.

Zack asked, "How is His Majesty Elias doing?"

"What do you intend to do, Your Majesty Elias?"

" If it is exile, the people will be the family. If we are in exile, we cannot protect our people or our families."

."..... So you are going to give up Ertia's longed-for child to the empire?""

It was Liesel who snapped at Elias's words.

She knew how much Eltia had been looking forward to the birth of the child.

She knows how much Eltia had looked forward to the birth of her child and how much she had suffered because of her inability to have a child.

Liesel knows this painfully from her side.

She could not allow the empire to take that child away from Eltia.

Eltia admonished Liesel, who was getting passionate.

'Thank you for saying so, Liesel-sama. But the king and his concubines have children in case something like this happens. If the child is a princess, then let it be raised so that it may fulfill its role."

"...... , Eltia, is that what you want⁉"

Eltia gently scolded Liesel, shaking her head.

'We are on the brink of the destruction of Renalute. Liesel, the queen, should not be so distraught. Besides, I still don't know if my child is a princess. It could be a prince. So I will be fine."

Liesel was saddened with tears.

Eltia was calm her down with a resolute look.

Elias muttered apologetically to Eltia.

"I hope you will forgive me for having only this kind of talk with you. As a king and as a father, I have been nothing but unworthy. ......"

"Your Majesty, we don't know which one this child is yet, so don't worry about it."

Zack, who had been watching the three of them, asked Elias with a grim look on his face.

'Then, would it be correct to say that we accept the Empire's terms and form an alliance?

"Is that correct? If a skirmish should break out, it will only lead to more casualties. As long as he accepts, let's talk about getting the situation under control as quickly as possible. ......"

The next day, Elias met with Rainer again at the guest house, just the two of them.

Elias told him that he would accept the terms and form an alliance, and prepared a secret letter to the Empire.

He told him that he wanted Barst to stop his movements as soon as possible.

Reiner promised that he would return to the empire immediately and address the emperor.

"...... I will be sure to let our emperor know how His Majesty Elias feels about this."

"Reiner, I am counting on you. Just ......"

"Just ...... what is it?"

Elias stopped mid-sentence and looked down.

When Rainer asked if he was concerned, he muttered quietly and tremblingly,

"Just ...... sorry ......."

Reiner then quickly returned to the Reich.

Elias then gathered only the leading nobles of the country.

He explained to them about the alliance with the Reich and the secret agreement at the same time.

The nobles were stunned and shouted angrily at Elias.

However, Elias heard their angry shouts and said,

"Who will be happy if the country is destroyed? But if it perishes, there is no future. This is the only way for the country to survive. ......"

The nobles silently obeyed Elias' words.

Even they understand the current situation.

The dark elves have a long history of success in the dark elven kingdom.

However, Renalute, which boasts a long history of dark elves, became a vassal state of the empire at this time.

When Renalute formed an alliance with the empire, Barsto withdrew its troops from the border area in a panic.

The Empire pressured Barsto to protect and return the abducted and kidnapped dark elves.

It is said that it was the frontier count Rainer who went directly to Barsto and conveyed the empire's intentions to him.

In the country, victims of abductions and kidnappings were happy to be reunited with their families.

In addition, the people of the country became very friendly toward the empire with which they had become allied.

As a result, they began to adopt the culture of the Empire into Renalute.

The alliance with the empire and the problems with Barsto.

In the midst of the hectic daily life where various problems were going on at the same time, Eltia safely gave birth to a child.

The child was named " Fara Renaloute".

She was a lovely girl who looked very much like Eltia.