Chapter 14: Machine Gun Negotiation

Chapter 14: Machine Gun Negotiation

The feast, hosted by Princess Rosa, proceeds smoothly and with delectability. As standard for an Ustian Royal Feast, the first course is hors d’oeuvres such as pheasant, shellfish, soup, and Pâté. Fruits are served in the shape of large pyramids. Other dishes include roasts and pies of chicken, turkey, duck, boar, venison, and beef. There are also options for oysters, salmon, and sardines, as is pottage—meat boiled with vegetables. Served in dishes and bowls with golden engravings, the experience is luxurious, to say the least.

With my hand holding an empty golden chalice, I hold it out for a maid and say. "Be a dear and pour me some of the famous champagne served here, will you?". Much to the annoyance of Bryn sitting to my right. Her twitching face is cute.

As I watch the dutiful maid pouring the golden liquid into my chalice, I slowly dart my eyes around the table we are dining at. There are only seven persons here, namely myself, Bryn, Alexa, and Rommel on the Belka side, there are Rosa, Francis, and his wife Alia on the Ustio side. We are being served by more than fifty staff, vetted by Belka of course, with more out of sight working to bring more food to the table. I let a small smile etches on my lips, thinking that it's possible for peace to achieve, albeit with a touch of manipulation.

Seeing that the chalice is filled and the participants are done with their meals, I elect to stand up and announce. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have a few words please."

With their attention on me, I say. "Today, I'm pleasantly surprised by the hospitality of the people of Ustio. A welcome party with cheers and flowers and then a sumptuous feast of their most renowned delicacies, truly, they're much more than I have anticipated. This is why I hold great expectations for our upcoming discussion and I hope we will achieve a win-win solution for both sides. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" Everyone at the table stands up with their chalices held high before partaking in either the delicious wine or champagne.

After that, we sit back down, and the atmosphere changes. It's time to put on our diplomat's faces and move on to the topic of the day.

I start first. "With our bellies filled and our thirst quenched, the negotiation between me, Reich Princess of Belka and her representative, and Princess Rosa Bonaparte, leader of the Reformist Faction of Ustio, is now in progress. Our talk will center around the lands of Ustio that are now or soon to be controlled by Belka, the treatment of her people under Belkan occupation, the matter surrounding Prisoners of War, and finally, Ustio's policies around non-human races and cooperation between the two factions from now on. Is there any question?"

I scan the table with an inquisitive gaze, my left hand supporting my head as I lean back on the chair. So far, only the maid whose name is Mary raises her hand while standing behind her liege. I nod to her. "Go on."

"Your Highness, can you clarify more on the part, and I quote, 'the lands of Ustio that are now or soon to be controlled by Belka'?"

"A valid question and I will explain. This war is not gonna stop even if the negotiation here ends in a peace treaty between our factions. No, it will continue until the current Prime Minister of Ustio is deposed from his position and Princess Rosa here rises in power. From then, the second round of negotiation will be held about the distribution of landmass should the Belkan army encroach further into Ustian soil. As of now, we will only discuss the portion of lands from Arash to the current battlefield frontline."

Rosa frowns at the explanation. "Correct me if I'm wrong but won't that mean that the entire of Ustio will be under your control if you reach our capital."

I smile with squinted eyes. "Who knows? That all depend on how much of an investment we've made to put you into power. In case you have got a mistaken impression of us, I will further clarify." Unknowingly, I put on a cruel smile that makes everybody shudder. "We don't need you. But you, on the other hand, need us. Should you and your allies be of use to me, I can assure you the terms more favorable for you in the future. If not, I can just take my sweet time and slowly disassemble Ustio, limbs by limbs. Regardless of whether you exist to block my way or not. By that time, Ustio will be forever integrated into the greater whole of Belka, wiped from the map."

Rosa and Mary take on a pale countenance. Yet, only Francis is calmly eating his pudding while Alia glances around in concern. The rest of the Belkan party remains unperturbed as they trust in my words.

After a moment of silence, Rosa bits her lower lip and then says. "Fine, beggars can't be choosers. I assure and will prove to you that I and my people aren't useless rags. Speak your terms."

"Good! It's nice to speak with an Ustian that has some backbones left in them." I clap my hand, a bit excited.

With that, the table turns into a hotpot of words. The nearby scribe will later describe the event as the first civilized discussion between the two nations. Yet, while no weapons are drawn, the words they said are no different than using a machine gun to suppress the other party.

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"No, no, no. You still don't get it." Alexa interjects amidst the talk about occupied land. "We will not give up on Arash nor White Rock, they're too valuable to be wasted away in your hands."

Rosa replies with zeal. "Arash is the lifeline of many citizens and is currently one of the only pillars that support our country's economy. You can't just assimilate the city outright! The economy of our country will collapse if you do so! That will result in the death of thousands once the Months of Demons arrive!"

Alexa snickers. "So what? That's none of our issues if the people that are not under our occupation lose their job. The entire battle plan up till now is to take this city and we'll be stupid to let go of this literal goldmine. Princess, my dear, this is war and you're the losing side so believe it or not, you don't have anything to offer us with."

Rosa is about to blow a fuse when I intervene. "Alright, that's enough. Princess Rosa, you've made your point but Alexa is correct. We cannot and will not return Arash and its treasury. We paid a price to get here and it will make everything moot if we are to renege on it. Yet, we can not leave innocent civilians to die out there when the Months of Demons come. So, we will offer material support and relinquish a few cities and towns for your faction, let you take in refugees, and gain their support. Colonel Francis here has experiences in managing a sanctuary for non-humans, I don't see why he cannot do the same for humans when the time comes."

"That's the gist of it, yeah."

"Fine then, you got me hooked. Last question before we move on to the military talk. Are we a puppet to you or something else?"

I smile at her straightforwardness. "Then let's answer the question of what is this alliance in particular, shall we?" I take a drink from my chalice before saying. "I envision this alliance to be of something much grander in the future. Something along the line of world unification at the end of everything. Interest?" I end it with a charming smile.

It seems my sudden revelation comes out of the blue, shocking even Bryn into silence. Rosa, the one who put up the question in the first place, reboots and says. "While you do have a grand ambition, grander than me to be honest, it still doesn't answer my question."

"Are you seriously not understanding why I say that? Or do you want me to spell it out, fellow Princess of mine?"

"...You want me as a staunch ally in this endeavor of yours."

"Yes, while it is better to have full control over your country. The fact still stands that Belka lacks the means to do so. It's better to have you fully cooperate with me rather than manipulating everything, history has proven that stuff like that usually didn't end well." I pause to lean back on my chair before continuing. "By supporting me, you are entitled to much better benefits in the future. Europe is too small for both of us so why not expand beyond?"

Ending my sell speech like that, I have caught Rosa hook, line, and sinker. Though I can see a few are still on the fence. Bryn, Francis, and Alia in particular but I only need to explain myself to Bryn later. So, I gently hold my hand in between her's under the table, giving it a squeeze. We will have all the time in the world later to talk about this. Bryn agrees by squeezing it back with a look in her eyes saying. "Later then."

As for Rosa, she finally chooses to join this fun train fully. "Ugh, you know what. Screw this, what do I have to lose anyway? It's either I do not join you so that you will soon replace me with a figurehead, or I stick with you so that I can reap more benefits for the country. The answer should be obvious, right?"

I smirk at her words. "Welcome aboard then, future Queen of Ustio."

With that out of the way, it's high time we discuss our military cooperation.

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"As I said before, it will take time to gather up troops that are loyal to me. Those that are trying to get here so far are few in number and lacking in equipment. I highly doubt they will be capable of anything further than performing internal security jobs." Rosa adds with a hand on her chin. "For the foreseeable future, the task of tanking the brunt of the Prime Minister's army can only be left for you to deal with."

I nod at her words. "We understand. What we need is for you to help us relocate the civilians elsewhere from the speculated danger zones. Bryn here has the marked locations that need to be evacuated." Bryn hands over the map to Rosa and Francis. They peruse the map with detailed markings that also include where they will put the civilians at.

"If the people can be provided with enough necessity, I don't see why we cannot stash them away at a few abandoned towns. They will understand our needs in war, I'll make sure of that."

"I'm grateful for your cooperation."

The talk then goes on for a while until dinner. Even though we have a few small breaks during the day, you can see that everyone is exhausted. Thankfully, a hearty dinner is all it takes to rejuvenate our spirits. In the middle of our meal, Rosa poses a question. "Yuki, can I call you that?"

I look to Bryn and she just shrugs. I smile and use a handkerchief to wipe a bit of grease on her face, earning me blush and a muffled thank in the process. I then respond to Rosa. "Sure, I don't see why not."

Rosa stays silent for a bit after witnessing the display of our affection, the others are used to it by now and Francis and his wife are in their own world. She frowns before shaking her head. "Well, you left the topic on how you will stave off the upcoming army during the talk. I'm a bit curious how you will proceed to handle it, that's all."

"Our intel suggests that they will take a week time to gather the required army of Reservists. During that time, we will be focusing on improving the fortifications here and will make some changes to the city layout. We expect there will be skirmished here and there but it shouldn't be an issue. As it stands, we will need to do a lot of work to make this place more defensible. Thankfully, the upcoming airdrop will give us much-needed supplies. No doubt that I will make this place a living hell for the enemy. That's all you need to know."

"I see."

With that out of the way, the meal resumes with a pleasant atmosphere. Everyone, including the aides and secretaries from before, tries to enjoy dinner as much as they can before the tiring days ahead. This marks the peaceful end of the meeting between two Princesses of two warring nations.

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