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Chapter 282 Part 3

The meeting commenced with representatives from both sides sitting down at a long table with chairs at the camp. After brief introductions from both sides, the Mundus Carnus delegation proceeded with the purpose of their visit. For some reason, the entire process had been unsettlingly smooth sailing. 

They had not yet reached the negotiation, merely starting out with laying the grounds for the negotiations to come. This included an advance notice, schedule adjustments, and selection of negotiation parties. Naturally, there was still a possibility of sparking dispute in this preliminary stage depending on the circumstances and objectives of each side. That being said, the winds were blowing in a different direction at present. 

Perri, who attended the meeting as the delegation’s representative in name, sat in his chair in a semi-daze. He had already introduced himself and explained the purpose of the delegation’s visit. He was also sure that he had listened to the introduction of the Bernese leaders, individuals who would be their first opponents in the event of an invasion. 

But what was going on? Throughout the entire meeting up until its end, Perri was bewildered by what was presented right before him. He was not the only one with such a reaction, but almost all the members of the delegation were in the same state as he was. This outcome was precisely what Christina wanted. 

Perri and his men were faced with what was supposed to be a human face, with all the human features of eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Despite such recognition, they still could not comprehend what was before them. If what they were seeing were to be eyes, a nose, and lips, then whatever they had on their faces could no longer be named. It was impossible to consider their own to be the same. If they shared the same features, then why was there such a gaping difference in beauty? 

Perri, as well as the demonic descendants of the war god Sacurabus, bore great reverence for the god. However, this existence in front of them, with her silvery-white and red glow, was something beyond the ability of god to create. 

What king of gods would have the power to craft eyes of that red radiance? How would any god be able to forge those silvery-white hairs, those lips with a rosy hint, and that face which no artist could replicate and no mathematician could gauge?

From the moment the members of the delegation caught sight of Christina, they instantly forgot about the heat. The summer sun must have balked at the sight of Christina and fled with its own scorching flames. The shadows cast by Christina were not because she stood in the way of the sun’s rays. Rather, light must have dissipated in ecstasy and lost its luster once it fell upon her body. In the same manner, even if they were in winter instead of summer, the winter cold would vanish for Christina. The world would morph itself for her in any number of ways. 

Naturally, aesthetic sense varied from species to species. Even members of the same species viewed beauty differently based on a vast number of factors such as racial differences, morality, chastity, religious precepts, and history. This difference in perceptions widened especially when it came to members of different species, with aesthetic sense deeply engrained in each respective individual’s mind. 

Moreover, perceptions of beauty was not limited to the appearance of living things. Some may find a large tree that has withstood storms and snow for years, with roots deep in the earth, to be more beautiful than a flower that bloomed with the radiance of life in the sunlight. Some may find a harsh, dry world of dusty sand and peaks of rocks more beautiful than a silver world of snow-covered earth and mountain ranges. 

There were those who found the twinkling stars in the sky beautiful; those who found lightning flashing in a sea of black couds beautiful; those who found the bubbles that rose and vanished between the waves beautiful; those who found beauty only in corpses that have lost all signs of life. 

But she was different. Baroness Christina Almadia Bern was different.

All the differences in aesthetic sense born from differences in birth mattered not. Those were inadequate to interfere with the perception of her.

As proof of this, not only the demons and Perri, but even Vengitta, a living doll, and Quince, secretly hiding in Perri’s clothes, had lost their sense of selves in the meeting with Bern. The meeting was barely proceeding due to Quince clinging onto his last strands of sanity and rationality. He had secretly slipped a thread into the bodies of Perri and the others, temporarily depriving them of physical control. Instead, he was responding on their behalf. This was an emergency measure that had been brought up earlier as a contingency plan for the possible brainwashing or paralysis of Perri and the others. 

Vengitta could do the same with the threads the extended through the bodies of her creations, but she had already been utterly stunned by Christina’s beauty. Quince was also well aware that if he was careless before Christina’s otherworldly beauty—more so than any being, scenery, or phenomenon known to him—he would lose his grip on his sanity instantly. 

Too beautiful to even dream about. 

Too beautiful to etch into one’s memories.

Too beautiful for poets, linguists, or any sentient lifeform to accurately describe her beauty beyond the word “beautiful”.

Quince was convinced that the thorough counterintelligence efforts they suffered was the miracle of the beauty they were witnessing at the moment. 

Just a single glace was sufficient to enamour the soul of any human in the chains of such transcendent beauty. There would be no escape, only oblivion that would consume one. Quince knew of no other trap so vicious, so blissful, so nightmarish. 

An eye with magical powers was called a devil’s eye, but if so, should such a face with magical beauty be termed a devil’s face?

They had made a mistake in identifying their first enemy. Quince’s body covered by a blue exoskelton shuddered as though indicating that they could not have been more wrong. Quince was caught between fear of the harsh future this mistake would lead to and the ecstasy at the presence before him that made him tremble. Reality was unbearably terrifying. 

The delegation from Mundus Carnus had been reduced to unmoving blocks by now, uttering only simple responses. Surprisingly, when the meeting was concluded, the decision they had reached was not entirely unexpected. 

The delegation was to invite the governor-general of Galois to this place and hand over the official letter from Demon Lord Yaheim. Until then, the delegation was to stay here and wait, negotiating with Bern for any food or daily necessities through purchase or provisions.

When Perri and his comrades come to their senses, relief washed over them to the point of collapse to know that they had not established unequal treaties or problematic promises while they had lost their wits. 

Perri and his men might bear great doubts on the matter, but the truth was hardly important. Christina was still lacking experience as a lord and a noblewoman. Her greatest concern was deciding such a major matter on her own, and she had made her choice to settle with this safe outcome. 

After the meeting, Christina hung her head and groaned. With Perri and his men in that state, she wondered if she should have been greedier with her demands rather than end with such a pathetic conclusion. While she was in this state, Dran and the others could only watch over her. After all, Dran, Selina, and Diadora were even more lacking in political experience than Christina. 

When the party returned to Fort Nerodim and gathered for a discussion in the bedroom prepared for them, Christina’s first words revealed some of her worries. 

「Is that really fine?」　

Christina muttered once more with a troubled expression from where she was seated on the bed. Dran, Selina, and Dioadora exchanged looks that pushed each other to answer.

「In the case of acceptability, that would not be deemed as unacceptable. Even if that was just their public stance, a sole lord should not decide the matters of diplomatic relations concerning an entire nation.」　

「That’s true, and I can understand the rationale, but I can’t find the confidence to reassure myself that I did the right thing. This is pathetic.」

Selina did her best to put on a bright smile as she tried to comfort the dejected Christina. 　

「You have no prior experiences of success or failure, so it’s understandable that you lack the confidence in this matter. That being said, I reckon that it’s pointless to worry about it until a conclusion is drawn. So, it’s best to put our heart into the showdown that will occur once a decision has been made!」　

In short, there was no point mulling over this matter. Selina’s suggestion was to just leave it be for now, and Diadora agreed with her. In fact, the meeting was already over. Any further contemplation would not serve to resolve any of Christina’s worries. 

「Christina, I urge you to heed Selina’s advice. The governor-general of Galois reports directly to the royal family. He is much more likely to understand the royal family’s intentions, and it would have been difficult for you to make all the decisions yourself. I’m sure you’ll receive some words of praise or criticism from the governor-general when he arrives, but how about telling yourself that you’ve cleared one task for now?」　

The persuasions of Selina and Diodora reached Christina, leading her to reply to them. 

「Ugh, ngh, hm… Will it really be all right…? I guess I’ll just have to assume it’ll be fine. But there’s still a possibility of the delegation’s dissension. If I harp on this matter, I will run the risk of being too late in dealing with such a situation. All right, I’ll roll with this!」　

Christina reached a conclusion that somehow seemed rather slipshod.