Ch.329Chapter 329. Underwater (2)

* * *

The capital of the Brans Kingdom, Anel Castle’s royal palace.

“An envoy has arrived?”

“Yes. They just arrived.”

“Where from?”

Lynn asked, and Farfalle bowed his head as he replied.

“Orange flags… It seems they’re from the Hesna Kingdom.”

“Hesna? Why is that woman looking for me?”

“I’m not entirely sure about that, but shall I have them come in?”

“Yes.”

Shortly after, the messenger from Hesna strode across the red carpet of Anel Castle and knelt down.

“I am honored to meet Lynn, ruler of the Brans Kingdom. Today, I have come to convey a proposal from our ruler, Lady Hesna.”

“Go ahead.”

The envoy raised his head and met Lynn’s blue eyes.

“Would you consider forming a permanent alliance with our Hesna Kingdom?”

“…What?”

“Would you consider forming a permanent alliance with our-“

“No, no. I’m sorry for interrupting, but I wasn’t asking you to repeat yourself. So… um, a permanent alliance, meaning an alliance without a set time limit?”

“That would be the conclusion, yes.”

Upon hearing this, Lynn placed her hand on her forehead, pondered for a moment, and then said:

“…I feel like there’s more I should know.”

“What is there to hide, Lady Lynn? I will tell you everything. In short, please help our Hesna Kingdom occupy the southern continent.”

“And if I do?”

“We promise to greatly assist you in achieving your grand ambition by helping you in your war against the Serpina Kingdom.”

Only after hearing those words did Lynn let out an amused laugh and begin twirling her side hair.

“Helping me achieve my grand ambition… that’s quite meaningful. But that’s not all, is it?”

“We will…”

The envoy’s eyes gleamed as he met Lynn’s downward gaze without flinching.

“Relinquish our autonomy over the central continent.”

“…!”

“Even if our nation reclaims the territories of the Serpina Kingdom, we will transfer that authority to you, Lady Lynn.”

Lynn was so surprised that she stopped her hand movements and maintained silence for a while before asking:

“And the southern continent?”

“Think of it as the opposite. You would transfer the governing authority of the territories you acquire in the southern continent to our Hesna Kingdom.”

“This seems like… a difficult proposal to understand. It almost sounds like you’re saying you’ll become a vassal state of our country.”

“You’ve put it very well.”

“…What?”

“Once our Hesna Kingdom conquers the southern continent and your Brans Kingdom conquers the rest of the continent, we will gladly become a vassal state of the Brans Kingdom. That is the ultimate goal of this ‘permanent alliance.'”

As if someone had frozen the entire royal palace—

After the envoy’s bombshell declaration, no one dared to speak carelessly.

The envoy didn’t rush Lynn and quietly waited for her answer.

How much time had passed?

Finally, Lynn parted her heavy lips.

“…You’re saying you’ll become a vassal state?”

“Yes. If you recognize our autonomy over the southern continent, we promise to pledge our loyalty to the ruler of the Brans Kingdom—no, to the new emperor of the continent who ended the era of Einhart.”

Despite the flattering reference to her as emperor, Lynn’s expression remained quite cold.

What mattered now was figuring out “what Hesna wanted to gain from them” hidden behind the various rhetorical expressions.

“Alright. Well, let’s say I understand how you might have reached that conclusion.”

“But why us specifically? If I were in your position, I would have chosen the Serpina Kingdom, not the Brans Kingdom. If I were determined to become a vassal state, that is. I don’t think a country that has already decided to become a vassal would say something like ‘because we can’t accept Serpina von Einhart as a person.'”

“Your words are correct, Lady Lynn.”

“What?”

The envoy’s eyes gleamed as he boldly faced Lynn.

“Why do you think we didn’t approach the Serpina Kingdom?”

“…So, you’re saying they rejected you, and now you’re coming to us as a second choice?”

“Please don’t think that way, Lady Lynn. Even if there were a second choice, our best option is the Brans Kingdom, not the Serpina Kingdom.”

“I don’t quite understand.”

“If you consider how beneficial it would be for our Hesna Kingdom to become your vassal state, I believe you can easily understand our lord’s intentions.”

Upon hearing those words, Lynn barely managed to suppress what would have been a grimace.

Unlike the Serpina Kingdom, which might not find the proposal attractive, our kingdom would find it appealing—essentially telling her to know her place.

The Lynn of the past would have been offended at this point and refused to deal with such a disrespectful envoy—

But thinking coolly, she had to admit that what the envoy was saying made logical sense.

It wouldn’t be of much help to Serpina.

But we’re different.

The guarantee of autonomy over the southern continent is quite an attractive proposal. We wouldn’t have to worry about the southern continent, and it could serve as a hidden card to reverse the balance of power that had already tilted toward Serpina.

Before that, in the current state, we ultimately cannot defeat the Serpina Kingdom. From Lynn’s perspective, it meant she had to do something.

However, there was one concerning issue—

“For the time being, even if we want to help, we can’t. You’ll likely have to conquer the southern continent with your own strength.”

“That’s fine. However, we would find it difficult to deal with the Lunarian Kingdom on our own. If you could just help us subjugate the Lunarian Kingdom, that would be sufficient.”

‘….’

Lynn was aware that Lunarian had recently earned the title “Red-Eyed Dragon of the South” after defeating Seta Rolland in a single battle.

And only then did she understand why Hesna had approached her.

“So that’s your true intention. You can’t possibly face Lunarian alone. So if we help you capture her, in return, you’ll help us capture Serpina. You also know that our kingdom and the Serpina Kingdom currently have an agreement, meaning there won’t be any battles in the central continent for the time being. In the end, you gain more, but it’s a proposal that’s awkward for me to refuse, isn’t it?”

Instead of answering, the envoy bowed his head and spoke with the utmost courtesy.

“Lady Lynn, I am confident that this relationship will benefit both you and our lord, Lady Hesna. Please make a wise decision.”

“…”

Only then did Lynn turn to Farfalle, who had been silently watching beside her.

Recognizing what this meant, Farfalle slowly nodded and approached her.

“I will follow my lord’s decision whatever it may be, but after much consideration, it doesn’t seem to be a disadvantageous decision for our kingdom.”

“What’s your reasoning?”

“I could explain it directly. However, I don’t think my lord is unaware of it.”

Hearing Farfalle’s words, Lynn lowered her head and began calculating.

The most important thing to consider now was—could our kingdom defeat the Lunarian Kingdom?

Even if we didn’t collapse helplessly at an absurd speed like the Rolland Kingdom or the Karelia Kingdom… what if we faced the Lunarian Kingdom that had conquered the southern continent?

Could we really subdue the Lunarian Kingdom that had taken over the entire south?

‘…No.’

We can’t win.

We can’t win.

Pride and all that nonsense don’t matter. She had abandoned all of that long ago after sending off her brothers.

Now, she could only survive by thinking realistically.

Lynn, who was more self-aware than ever, could sense it. She could never defeat Lunarian who had organized the southern continent.

After all, a ruler who had never even possessed Swen couldn’t possibly defeat a ruler who had once perfectly owned him.

If the Hesna Kingdom is willing to become our vassal state, perhaps this is the last chance for our kingdom?

To resist Serpina with the southern continent as our ally.

The biggest problem here was the possibility that Aski Hesna might be planning to betray her.

“You there, what’s your name?”

“Derion, my lady.”

“Right, Derion. I’ll admit it’s a good proposal. However, I can’t give you an answer right away. I think I should meet your ruler—Aski Hesna—at least once.”

“If that’s what you wish, I will convey it.”

The decision should only be made after confirming Hesna’s true intentions.

Even as she thought this… Lynn’s heart was pounding relentlessly with the feeling that an opportunity had finally come to her.

* * *

“Strategist, the intelligence results are in.”

“What does it look like?”

In response to my question, the officer in charge of intelligence answered respectfully.

“As you said, we were able to detect several circumstances suggesting that the Hesna Kingdom has made contact with the Brans Kingdom.”

‘So they’ve thrown bait to that side as well.’

Lynn probably won’t refuse. In fact, considering the current state of the Brans Kingdom, this proposal would feel like almost the last remaining opportunity for Lynn.

What I can understand from this is that the collusion between the Brans Kingdom and the Hesna Kingdom will ultimately bring losses to our country and benefits to our lord, Serpina.

‘I still can’t tell what results this will bring… but surely, a very important issue will be decided here.’

Considering Lady Luna’s current momentum, confronting her is now just a matter of time.

Before that, my goal was to protect Lady Serpina’s safety.

I was about to start contemplating what I should do for that—

But the dice of fate were cast regardless of my thoughts.