Greysia Empire.
Emperor Pelm Greysia found himself in deep thought as he received the sudden visit from the delegation of the Scarlet Union Kingdom.
“Your Majesty, what will you do?” Crown Prince Pavel cautiously asked, as he had been sitting in silence for two hours, not moving at all.
Normally, Pelm would have reprimanded Pavel for interrupting his contemplation without permission. However, today, the emperor gazed at his son for a moment, sighed, and countered, “What would you do, Crown Prince?”
“Um… if it were me…”
Seemingly caught off-guard by his own question, Pavel opened his mouth a bit late.
This was unusual. Emperor Pelm Greysia was an unforgiving human when it came to public matters, even towards his own blood.
While it was common for him to delegate tasks to the Crown Prince, expressing an opinion on matters he hadn’t been assigned was likely to lead to harsh criticism.
Pavel, aware of this, had asked the question knowing he might face rebuke, but he thought it wise not to keep the delegation from the Union Kingdom waiting any longer.
“It’s not a scolding, so feel free to speak your mind.”
“Uh, then, if I may…”
Pavel slowly began to outline the situation, as if to persuade both the emperor and himself.
“The Luminous Kingdom has fallen. The true culprit is not a vampire, but the very Light Spirit, Luminous, of whom we were unaware. Though, accurate terminology would be ‘Light Elemental’ rather than ‘Light God.’”
“Continue.”
“From the empire’s perspective, both the Union Kingdom and Luminous pose similar threats. One feeds on human blood, while the other feeds on human faith. At first glance, one might think the latter is better, but upon seeing Luminous turn the followers of Lusher into weapons, it becomes clear that simply serving as a deity doesn’t mean you’re not a hostage to their whims.”
The emperor sighed once more.
Indeed, this was the very reason for his deep contemplation.
The power dynamics of the Terra continent had changed so drastically in just a few months that it was beyond imagination.
Once a bitter rival yet the empire’s greatest ally, the Luminous Kingdom had perished, and with the revelation that Luminous had manipulated the entire human race through the church for centuries, it emerged as the continent’s greatest power as a single entity.
Second was the Scarlet Union Kingdom. With the Fourth Progenitor of Vampires reigning as queen, if Luminous had not appeared, it would have surely ruled the continent as the primary force.
Had to admit it.
The era of empires was over. The era of humans was over.
No matter what choice they made, they would have to relinquish their status as a hegemonic power, and the only remaining right was to choose which force to align with.
Yet regardless of the choice, the future of humanity remained uncertain.
Both Luminous and the Vampire Queen were predators that fed on humans, and humans could easily fall to a status worse than that of mere insects at any moment, always at the mercy of their whims.
“If we cannot choose the best, we must at least avoid the worst,” asserted Pavel.
Among these two fierce foes, it was the Scarlet Union Kingdom that harbored greater enmity towards the Greysia Empire. They had nearly caused the death of the queen when she escaped the Luminous Kingdom and led the human coalition aimed at conquering the Sahelrn Duchy, creating a clear grudge.
Conversely, all that was revealed about Luminous was their overwhelming strength and hostility towards vampires. It was optimistic but uncertain whether they still had interest in invasion and conquest.
“Does that mean the Crown Prince prefers the unknown to certain destruction?”
“Actually, before I came to you, I received this from the delegation.”
Pavel pulled out a letter. Pelm’s gaze shifted to the letters inscribed on the envelope.
“From Aria Scarlet to Pelm Greysia, it seems.”
The emperor let out a short laugh.
It wasn’t because of the rudeness of a letter addressing the emperor by name.
The queen hadn’t elevated her name nor had the envelope bore the insignia of the Union Kingdom; just a plain color.
She had sent such a letter held in the hands of the delegation’s representative without delivering it officially, through the Crown Prince personally.
This suggested the queen wanted to convey a message as an individual, not as heads of the two nations.
“Does the Crown Prince know the contents of the letter?”
“I haven’t opened it, but I did hear about it when it was delivered.”
In other words, it meant the contents must have been significant enough to disturb his contemplation. The emperor opened the envelope and pulled out the letter.
There wasn’t much written in the letter.
Only two sentences. The entirety of the letter’s content comprised of those two brief lines.
-I will forget the past. Remember Armes.
“Indeed.”
The emperor nodded as if he understood.
“Does the Crown Prince think it’s better to side with the Scarlet Union Kingdom?”
“There are precedents with the Bertica Kingdom and Armes Kingdom. Compared to a Light Elemental that may or may not even see us as living beings, isn’t it wiser to surrender to someone with established precedents?”
Though it was merely two short sentences, the intent was clear.
Queen Aria Scarlet was stating she would forget the past, all old grudges with the empire.
All the times she had nearly been killed, all the efforts to rally humans to strike against Sahelrn were all included.
The reminder of “Remember Armes” supported this. King Baron Armes of the Armes Kingdom had survived intact, unlike Glom Bertica of the Bertica Kingdom, and continued to lead his territory, now named the Armes Grand Duchy.
“If you follow now, I will guarantee your lives. Trust that there are precedents,” the queen seemed to be saying.
“Upon examining the examples of Bertica and Armes, the support from the people isn’t bad as expected. At least based on past actions, humans are not treated like mere expendables. From the perspective of citizens… and the royal house, shouldn’t we at least avoid the worst?”
The emperor sank back into thought for a moment.
The option of guaranteeing their lives was frankly quite attractive. And it could be considered a significant concession from the queen’s standpoint as well.
He knew all too well that despite his efforts to fulfill the obligations of his royal duty, he wasn’t a tyrant, but he was also not a just ruler who would sacrifice himself for his subjects’ welfare.
“Crown Prince, let me ask you one last thing. If the queen is willing to make such a concession, don’t you think she fears the odds are against her?”
“As a royal, and as a human…”
Pavel Greysia answered, without hesitation this time.
“May I say, if it’s my last bit of pride, I don’t want to bow down to the Light Elemental who once toyed with humans, including the empire, as if we were mere playthings. Would Your Majesty scold me for being sentimental?”
“No.”
Pelm Greysia chuckled. Beneath that bitter smile lay many meanings, but it also seemed to contain a sense of relief.
“If it hadn’t been for the situation turning out this way, I would have thought you might have made a better emperor than me.”
Pelm stood up.
And finally made the decision to close the chapter of the empire’s long history. Not with someone else’s hands, but with his own.
“Inform the delegation. Greysia will support the Scarlet Union Kingdom against the Light Elemental that has toyed with humanity.”
*
“Do not move, foreigner.”
Upon sensing the presence of intruders, the Dragonkin rushed over and immediately encircled us as soon as they spotted Lavina’s long ears.
‘Eight of them.’
Just as I was about to follow orders and signal cautiously to observe the situation, something black suddenly sprang out from behind, carried on a gust of wind.
“Move and I swear… wait, wait! Stop!!”
Eleonora, donning a black cape, dashed out, brandishing a dagger as she growled intimidatingly.
The Dragonkin, proving the long-standing animosity between them and Elves, created a rough and hostile atmosphere, but upon seeing Eleonora, they showed sudden shock and took quick steps back.
Doubt, caution, confusion.
An unexpected situation had created a gap, surfacing from the sudden appearance of an outsider in the sole village of Dragonkin on the continent.
It was not difficult to understand that the timing to attempt a conversation, to reverse the hostile atmosphere, was now.
“I do not intend to be hostile.”
“…Then answer my question first. Is that girl not a Dragonkin? Why is she with an outsider?”
A slightly hesitant reply returned.
It seemed they were more concerned about Eleonora than the identity of the outsider. However, I had no culpability in this matter.
“I saved her just before she was about to be sold into slavery by humans. It’s been over three years.”
“…Three years. Slave. And black hair with golden eyes.”
One of the Dragonkin murmured, as if piecing something together.
Well, it wouldn’t make sense if they couldn’t recognize someone they’d chased away—
“Is that girl, Eleonora Drake?”
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
