Chapter 180
When Linosart found out that three of his Twelve Winged Generals, the trump cards of his faction, were defeated, and that Amria had fallen into the Arkrest Kingdom’s hands, his biggest political opponent, Princess Asteria, who is also Amria’s long lost twin sister, also received the same information.
Asteria was in her room in the Elteriano Palace, the place where single females of the royal family live, and at her side was her lover and her trusted confidant, Kyles, when she received the report from a member of Zanad’s clan.
The only one who could detect that the maidservant, who looks like a pure Romal Empire citizen, was actually a member of the Zanad clan, and part of a foreigner race that was once conquered by the empire, was likely only someone with clairvoyant eyes, like Aiza.
After waiting for the maidservant, who had altered her face, physique, and skin for the purpose of contacting Asteria, to leave the room, Astera began to voice several of her inferences.
In the room surrounded by portraits of Asteria and her parents, as well as pictures of the landscapes from various regions of the empire, created with the utmost effort by craftsmen of the highest skill, the two lovers, although they were the only ones present, began to exchange a few tasteless words.
Although the words were tasteless, when Asteria speaks them, they are words that carry the enormous weight of the fate of all the inhabitants of the empire and the neighboring countries.
「With Amria now in the hands of the Arkrest Kingdom, the current three-way deadlock will most likely continue for some time. My uncle and I will take as much time as we can in order to see how Prince Sperion and his people will make use of Amria」
Asteria’s expression and words showed no trace of emotion for her long lost sister, whose face she didn’t even know, and she felt no impatience or fear towards losing Amria to her biggest potential enemy.
She would just accept the facts, and speculate as much as she possibly could of the possibilities that might arise from them, while thinking about how to deal with them. That was the impression her coldness gave off.
Kyles spoke to his beloved Asteria, the one who was both his lover and his lord, in a casual tone of voice that he reserved for only when the two of them were alone, putting aside his position as an Imperial knight.
「Could they use Amria as an excuse to turn their blades against the empire? It’s a possibility that everyone is thinking of, but it’s not something we should take lightly. They could be waiting until we’re all exhausted from our own internal struggle」
His lover, who was much more quick-witted than he was, to the point of seeming inhuman, responded to Kyles’s question in the same indifferent voice as before.
Her tone of voice was enough to make anyone doubt if Asteria really thinks of Kyles as her lover.
「Uncle and I will stop and wait. The people in the south will see this as an opportunity, and will become brave enough to make their move. Only a third of them have made a pact not to interfere with us.
The remaining two thirds will attack, all the while screaming of their hatred for the empire. But they are not monolithic or united」
As Asteria pictured in her mind the rebels that she had come into contact with, as well as those she hadn’t met, she could clearly see through which choice they would make. They would definitely choose the irrational and inefficient bad move.
「Although they all share the common point of having been overrun by the empire, they are all of different races and species, so they naturally have different values.
But even so, they all are thinking that they want to be the first to loudly claim that they’ve defeated the rule of the empire, and have regained their freedom and independence.
If we stop moving, they will too. This is because if there is no interference from the empire, then they will have more time to look at themselves. This battle is not one that will be settled quickly, Kyles」
Because Kyles was a general of brilliant wisdom from a great nation, he knew what Asteria was talking about, and since he had always been at her side, listening to her form her schemes, he understood what she was saying.
He had simply asked the question because he was thinking it would help her organize the information in her head by speaking it out loud to someone else.
But the next words that Kyles said showed he was somewhat more aware of the risk than his previous words did.
Kyles knew all too well that there were some things in this world that couldn’t be controlled with just numbers and strategies.
And that was pure power, strength separate and above all the rest. Unparalleled power that will unfairly shatter the expectations and strategies of a nation as large and powerful as the empire. Merle, the “Arc Witch” of Arkrest Kingdom, was one with such power.
Merle by herself is a threat that can limit the movements of the Twelve Winged Generals, and now that an equivalent power was confirmed to exist during the fight for Amria, it was natural for Kyles to feel a sense of danger.
「Your sister is one thing, but Zanad, Galliol, and the others getting defeated by Dran and his familiars is the bigger problem for us. From what I could tell from the video footage of the Magic Tournament, he was indeed strong, but I didn’t think he was that skilled.
I don’t know if he just wasn’t fighting seriously during the Magic Festival, or if he’s improved a lot during this short period of time, but it might be best to prepare countermeasures against Arkrest Kingdom」
As the symbol of the empire’s military power, Kyle’s statement sounded so weak, that if anyone else had heard it, they might have criticized him loudly, but Asteria was indifferent to such unnecessary and useless sentiments.
Asteria briefly stated the information on Dran that she had her subordinates gather for her ever since his activities during the Magic Tournament.
「Dran, the Rainbow Haze. A native of Bern Village, a settlement in the northernmost part of Arkrest Kingdom. He entered the Galois Magic Academy in the spring of last year, and is scheduled to graduate this spring with extremely excellent grades.
He solved the case involving the Magic Association in the kingdom known as Abyss Dawn, and as a result of his merit, he was awarded knighthood. He possesses familiars named Selina, a lamia, and Dramina, a vampire, and also a Living Golem named Lynette that is made from human flesh」
「Even with such a record, it still shouldn’t be enough for him to be able to repel the Twelve Winged Generals. All I can say is that he must be hiding something that can’t be understood from that information alone.
Aslam and Zanad fought with the golem, but I heard that it had fighting ability that made even the kingdom’s most state-of-the-art magic armor look like just toys. It’s a second monster that was born in the kingdom, one that is both an engineer and a warrior」
「Including you, the empire is blessed with the Twelve Winged Generals, as well as many others who are also talented, even if they are not among those twelve. Besides, the world isn’t occupied by just the empire」
As Asteria said that in a voice devoid of any emotion, she looked down at the map spread out on the desk beside her, which was made of the finest mahogany wood in the Romal Empire.
The map showed the Kutar Kingdom, the Kultaren Kingdom, the Kulmorta Kingdom, and the one considered to be the leader of those three kingdoms, the Kutarnia Kingdom, spread out on the map to the west of the Romal Empire.
The first three kingdoms had split off from the Kutarnia Kingdom and had become independent. But despite the division and the independence, the relationship between them was not so bad, partly because of the threat from the Romal Empire.
But why is Asteria turning her eyes away from her home country, and looking toward other countries, even though it is on the verge of splitting up right now?
If the four countries, which originated from Kutarnia, were planning to interfere with the empire, it was only natural that Asteria would be keeping her eye on them, but it was hard to believe, with this princess, that that was the only thing she was thinking about.
At any rate, while Linosart and Sperion were busy looking at the empire, there was no doubt that Asteria was already expanding her outlook to beyond that of the Romal Empire.
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