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Volume 4 Chapter 2 Part 7

He sings his songs with a beautiful voice and paints his paintings with his beautiful brush. And most importantly, because his mind is so clear and pure, it can filter anything as beautiful, even if it does not deserve to be called as such.

(I would like him to try to draw the scene depicting today’s carnage…)

Marine thought to herself bitterly. Even now, Marine could still clearly feel the feeling that ran through them when she killed Pavel.

(These hands are now stained with blood… I am stained with blood.)

But today’s battle was just a beginning. The path that Marine decided to embark on was going to be the one drowned in much more blood than that, and it is possible that at the end of that road, her hands might get stained with Alexis’s blood.

Marine continued to stare at her right hand, and as she was doing that, her vision gradually began to blur… but at that time, she heard Layla’s voice coming from the outside of the tent.

「I have returned, My Lady. 」

「Y-Yes, welcome back. 」

Marine wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and stood up, telling Layla that she could now enter the tent. Layla and Cammy then appeared, swiftly slipping into the tent and standing in front of Marine.

「And? How did it go? 」
「We managed to infiltrate the enemy fortress and obtain the information you were interested in, Lady Marine. Just like you expected, it would seem that Milza Kuches, the Prince of Dartania was providing support to the King of Stark behind the scenes. We also listened in on the conversations along the way and discovered that unbeknownst to the soldiers, the Lords of Stark were furious that the Earl of Artuk refused to help Pavel Murat deal with the threat that Waldrind possessed. Apparently, Milza Kuches was dissatisfied about that outcome as well. 」

Layla reported.

「So it was just like I thought. 」

There were rumors that were saying that the relationship between the Earl of Artuk and the Prince of Dartania was a friendly one similar to the rivalry between two brothers. However, the latest set of rumors also stated that apparently Milza was growing increasingly more dissatisfied with Vilar’s lack of ambition when it came to conquering the entire continent under his name.

During the Fantasia Union’s Lord’s Conference, Alexis recommended Vilar to become the new leader of the Union, but Vilar promptly denied the offer. He had no other choice but to do it, because he has the blood of the Kraische family coursing through his veins. After that, it has been decided that Alexis was going to remain as the leader of the Fantasia Union, after which the decision to pursue the peace negotiations with the factory Alliance has also been made, since that was what Alexis himself wished for, and the other Lords supported his will.

Of course, Vilar could have responded to Pavel Murat’s request for help, but that would turn not only the Factory Alliance, but also the rest of the Fantasia Union into his enemies. On the other hand, however, that would strengthen Vilar’s position as the leader of all the nations around Artuk, and if the rulers of Artuk’s neighboring countries recognized him as a prominent leader, their newfound unity around him would be unmatched by anything else. Even if Vilar would try to leave the Fantasia Union, it is very likely that his neighbors would end up following after him.

If Artuk ended up cooperating with Dartania in supporting Stark, then Waldrind and its army would have been forced into quite a difficult fight. If they witnessed that, Ozer and Veltava would surely switched sides and defected into Artuk’s camp, thinking that it would be more beneficial for them to go with Artuk rather than Waldrind, and in the worst-case scenario, they might even try to take the Lords from other countries who were on the fence about whom they should be loyal to with them as well. That would be a catastrophic outcome, since in its current situation, the factory Alliance cannot allow even a single Lord and country who are the Alliance’s members to leave it, or else the power balance would irrevocably crumble.

But ultimately, none of these things have happened, because Vilar did not make any sort of move, and simply respected the will of the majority of the Fantasia Union and what was established during its Lord’s Conference.

(At the very least, it means that the Earl of Artuk has enough honor left in him to respect the decisions made by those above him…)

Marine sneered when she thought how different the two of them were from one another.

「So, what about Prince Milza? 」

「When we told him that your intentions are to unify the continent under your rule, he said that he wants to meet with you right now so that he could talk with you. However, he also specified that you should come alone without anyone else escorting you… 」

Layla frowned and turned her gaze towards Cammy.

「Personally, I think his offer is too dangerous to even consider it. From what I have seen, it looks like Prince Milza is every bit as formidable of a warrior as the rumors about him were saying. If anything were to happen to you, then the two of us would definitely not be enough to protect you. However, if you do bring more bodyguards with you, then it is more than likely that Prince Milza is not going to agree to any discussion with you. 」

Cammy took over from where Layla left off and shared her opinion with Marine as well.

「It is definitely going to be dangerous. The question is whether that risk is going to be worth it or not. 」

Marine pondered the matter for a while, but could not come to a satisfying conclusion, so she reluctantly decided to consult with her Head Mage.

「Bring Aubest here at once! 」

There was a sign that someone started running outside the tent, and after a while, Aubest Meletes, Marine’s contracted Mage and the Head of Waldrind’s Magic Division appeared, supported by Terius.

「What is it that you require of me, My Lady? 」

Aubest’s voice had returned to him properly. It seems that the treatment with Life Magic was successful. Marine put Aubest on a chair and ordered Terius to leave. She then relayed the report from the two maids to the Head Mage and asked what he was thinking about it and what she should do, according to him.
「You want me to guess? 」

「I do not mind it. Right now, that is the only thing I can rely on. 」

「Well then… 」

Aubest seemed to have gathered his thoughts in an instant and continued immediately.

「I think that what Prince Milza is doing here is trying to test how determined you really are, Lady Marine. If he sees that you are willing to risk your life for the cause that you want to achieve, then I think he will be willing to cooperate with you. 」

「What makes you think that? 」

「There are some bases for it, but they are all weak. You can call it my intuition instead. 」

When it comes to Aubest, he would not have said anything if he did not have any basis for the arguments that he was presenting, and he would never give Marine an argument that was based on nothing more but an unnecessary prejudice

「I see… 」

Marine nodded her head.

「Then what would you do if I went to Prince Milza like you advised me and was killed because of it? 」

「I would not be enough to make amends for such a grave mistake, but if something like that happened, I would not have any other choice but to go and take my own life as punishment for my own shortsightedness. 」

Aubest answered while remaining as calm as usual, but what he meant by that is essentially that he was betting his own life on that particular speculation. Whenever Marine was asking him about anything, he was always sure to say exactly what he was thinking while ruling out his own gains and dislikes. That is exactly why Aubest’s words are always worth believing in them.

(And once again, I am to be the judge of whether his words are trustworthy enough for me to believe in them or not.)

If Marine died, then Layla and Cammy would probably take their own lives to make amends, just like Aubest said he would. The Heavy Knights of Waldrind and the entire Factory Alliance would be thrown into chaos, and many more lives would be lost as a result, just like that. Is that all really a matter of something as simple as a decision that Marine was going to make?