Chapter 162 – Peace Talks (1)

Chapter 162 – Peace Talks (1)

"It is always shocking when you see it." Emperor Kadosa IV said with a smile hanging on his face, standing right beside Ahnud Sar V, the current emperor of Sar and someone who he could call a friend.

"It is." He answered simply, watching without a flinch in his eyes, unafraid as the flying, golden ship of Ishillia arrived at Palanel, slowly circling above it before beginning to land directly at the other side of the city's gates.

The two emperors were staying atop the main walls, waiting for this moment for a long time. They arrived early, right after the sun was up, coming in with only their elite guards and a handful of mages. Even though the two of them wore different names, representing their countries, standing next to each other, the similarities in their features were unmistakable. Both of them stood at the same height, having dark-brown hair and eyes, and the most significant difference was only in the color of their skin; while Kadosa was fair and light, Ahnud had a healthy, bronze color to it. If not for that, they could easily be mistaken as brothers.

From their position, they watched as the frightening wonder of magic flew over them, sounding its horns twice before finally landing at an empty spot before the city. They could hear the magic surrounding it hum, invisible yet powerful, only subside when the ship's belly opened up, lowering a luxurious ramp from which a dozen soldiers surged forward, standing guard, letting their Empress walk down. She was followed by her entourage, consisting of a handful of servants and the nobles she invited along on this historic trip.

"The Ishillians still have a gorgeous body." Kadosa mumbled, making Ahnud scoff after hearing him.

"Beautiful on the outside, rotten on the inside. Don't let the Empress's look deceive you; they are already murderers before they become adults. No Emperor or Empress of that rotten country has sat on their throne of bones without killing their own kin."

"I wasn't about to court her." Kadosa chuckled, patting his friend's shoulders, "I am just making a logical observation. I am curious as to what type of girl she is. I never met her predecessor!"

"We didn't meet an Ishillian ruler for centuries. Not that it matters! Our goal is to see their limits and determine how dangerous they are currently. They have been dormant for a surprisingly long time... If we look at another Ishillia that is planning to expand further, we are going to have another century of nothing but bloodshed."

"This is no longer the old times." Kadosa exhaled, leaning on the walls, watching the Ishillians near the entrance, flanked by their soldiers, "We are more than prepared to deal with them if they got the taste of blood after annexing Scorc."

...

....

......

"What an ugly city!" Mirian shrugged, walking along the cobblestone streets, looking at the empty brick buildings surrounding them before heading to the castle, where the Queen of Roblesia awaited them.

"At least it has been cleaned out of dregs." Duke Juntaro, an already aging man added, walking behind his Empress, along with Milan and two other dukes. Still, they were not in a position to talk, and while they were all dukes, they were not equals. Unlike them, the Juntaro family had been holding onto the rank for 900 years, while they were only recently being elevated to the position, thanks to Kathrien's massacre.

"We can't look at civilians as dregs, Duke Juntaro. If we do, then we will alienate those who make our country work. Without them, who are we going to rule over? Each other?" Milan spoke up after a monetary hesitation, needing to remind himself that he had the biggest supporter amongst them all and shouldn't be afraid of speaking his mind. Especially because Mirian loved it.

"Sit." She finally spoke, but it was directly towards Milan, forcing him to pull his chair close to her and do something that made the two emperors drop their forks. With a calm look, she picked up a piece of shrimp, bringing it over Milan's mouth, hand-feeding him before everybody, watching as he chewed and gulped.

"It's... interesting. Not bad." He answered reflexively, knowing that his Empress loved doing this, but it was the first time they did it before anybody else. Hearing him, she smiled happily, picking another up and tasting it herself.

Of course, the others at the table had a different idea in mind. Even Nuen had to twitch her lips because they all thought of the same thing... She brought him here to taste-test everything! Was she really this paranoid?! Did she think her... Queen Nuen would stoop so low and try to poison her?! At least, that is what everyone believed, missing the sparkling love spilling out for Mirian's eyes every time she picked up something new from the table and first gave it to Milan, watching him eat it.

Initially, Nuen wanted to use the opportunity to try and set a casual tone, using her charms to make the others relaxed and soften the atmosphere before they began discussing the fate of the three kingdoms... but now she was feeling that her pride was trampled on. Her chest felt stifled, finding it difficult to find any words to utter, working hard to push down her anger.

On the other hand, Mirian was enjoying their lunch, happy to let Milan shine, at least in her head. Milan was already too used to her antics, and although he felt embarrassed doing it openly, he knew that if Mirian thought to do something, she would do it. No questions asked.

"Ishillian customs are something we will never get used to." Kadosa spoke, breaking the silence after a few minutes.

"My Empire is the size of your two." Mirian answered, looking at him, and although her words were true, the way she said them was as domineering as one could expect from her bloodline. "We do have a lot of customs of the myriad of cultures living under my rule."

"Land and history, all taken from others." Ahnud added, working in tandem with Kadosa to begin exploring Mirian's personality while Nuen sat back, letting them do as they pleased.

"If I remember right..." Mirian murmured, looking around, chewing on a piece of lamb meat. "We did take land from each of you present at this table. They managed to be integrated nicely into Ishillia, so much so you don't even miss it. Or do you? What? You want them back?" She asked amicably, smiling, but it was an open provocation to her opposition.

"Maybe." Ahnud blurted out, making Kadosa chime in to be the balance of the scale.

"It happened centuries ago. What has been done is done; it is pointless to worry about it. We are no longer living in the times of the Empress of Death!"

"That is true." Mirian agreed, "I have yet to earn my title."

"Is it what you are aiming for?" Ahnud pushed on, and this time, Kadosa remained silent.

"You don't choose your titles; that defeats their purpose." Mirian stated calmly, taking a sip from Milan's wine, using the exact spot where his lips touched it a moment before. Of course, it was to taste his saliva, but for the others, it showed that she was so careful and alert that she only touched the things that her little 'tester' already proved to be poison-free.

"..."

"As for what mine will be," she continued after putting the cup down, "history will tell it for us. Maybe it will be Empress of Jelousy. Empress of Conquest. Empress of Bedsheets." She giggled at her little joke, but the rest felt she was just mocking them, missing that she had reached over under the table and squeezed Milan's thighs once. "But for that, time must pass, and decisions must be made on important things! One being... for what we came here to do. Let's hear it then... shall we?" She finished, turning towards Nuen, who was watching her eyes, and slowly nodding her head in the end.