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Volume 4 Chapter 2 Part 8

(That is a heavy burden…)

But that is also her responsibility. Ever since she became the head of the Kraische family and the leader of the Factory Alliance, she has been prepared to carry that kind of responsibility on her shoulders.

(So he wishes to measure the degree of my determination by testing me in such a way.)

Marine thought so.

(That being said… we will not be able to win against Artuk if the Factory Alliance does not join forces with Dartania.)

No, even if Dartania were to become an ally of the Alliance, it might still not be enough. After all, the Earl of Artuk is a formidable enemy who cannot be taken lightly.

Count Artuk was such a formidable enemy.

(Then it would seem that I really have no choice.)

That is how Marine already made a decision in her heart.

「I am going to meet Prince Milza. Layla, Cammy, lead me to the appointed meeting place, please. 」

Marine ordered her two maids.

「Understood. 」

Layla answers with a tense expression on her face, and Cammy simply nodded.

Soon after that, Marine slipped out of the camp where the atmosphere of the victory feast was livening up by the minute, unnoticed by anyone else. The sky that night was cloudy and starless. The night breeze blowing from the west carried a faint scent of the tide from the sea inland, but it was not the stench of The Rotten Sea.

Wearing his black robe, Milza was truly assimilated into the darkness around him. If one were to not have their senses sharpened at all times, it is very probable they could lose all sight of him.

(If she comes in large numbers, I will have no choice but to flee. If she come with a small number of guards, then I will simply cut them all to pieces. But if she comes alone…)

If Marine will really come to see him alone, then he is will be open for discussion, and the rest is going to be up to her.

「… Sorry to keep you waiting, Lord Milza. 」

Then he suddenly sensed someone’s presence and heard a voice coming from the darkness. It belonged to one of Marine’s maids. And he could also see the light of the torch shining in the distance.

「Has the Margrave of Waldrind decided to meet up with me after all? 」
「Yes. 」

The maid answered shortly.

He could hear only one faint sound of armor. There was another sound footsteps near it, but it was much lighter than the first one, so it probably belonged to Marine Kraische’s other maid.

Milza slowly stood up.

Before long, a woman clad in jet-black armor appeared in the light of the flames of the torch. Two maids knelt on her left and right sides.

「Marine Kraische, Margrave of Waldrind, and the leader of the Factory Alliance. 」

One of the maids said politely.

「My name is Milza Kuches, the Prince of Dartania. I believe this is our first time meeting each other, but it is nonetheless a pleasure. 」

Milza also stated his name in response. And as the torch was raised, Milza looked wordlessly at the other leader who was now standing before him.

Her silver hair and white skin were lit by the flames and dyed a shade of red. It was a face of someone who possessed beauty, strength, and intelligence.

「The battle earlier was magnificently fought. 」

Milza spoke up.

「I am afraid that not many people would describe it as such. 」

Marine said in a clear voice.

「To be completely honest with you, I did not think you would really come here. 」

「Believe me, I was conflicted about whether I should do it or not. 」

「Did you not think that I may try to harm you? 」

「Of course I thought about it. But if I allowed a little fear like that stop me, then I could never hope to make you my ally. 」

「Me, becoming your ally? Now that is a sudden request if I have ever seen one. 」

「It has been only recently that I thought that I could really have someone like you on my side. I heard that you were disappointed with Vilar Constance, the Earl of Artuk’s unwillingness to take action and unify the continent under him as the new leader of the Fantasia Union, correct? 」

「It is not that I was trying to keep my thoughts on the matter hidden or anything, but if you heard about it, then you must have a pretty good pair of ears on your head. 」

Milza chuckled.
When he was in Artuk, he never felt the presence of any Shadows anywhere near him, which must mean that it was actually the rumor-loving servants who must have leaked the information without even realizing it.

「The reason why the Kraische family was able to expand the Factory Alliance is not only because the Knight Order of the Heavy Knights of Waldrind is the strongest Knight Order on the continent. It is because Jurgen Kraische reigned in the Mages and Artists, made them fight on the frontlines and made as much use of them as we possibly could. 」

「Iron-Blooded Earl Jürgen Kraische was truly a genius. Some people even think he was a projection from another world, that is how much the Factory Alliance managed to develop under his guidance by using ideas that were so different from what ordinary people could think of. 」

「My father, Mathias Kraische and I have inherited the dream that my grandfather envisioned. We want to unify the entire continent under the banner of the Factory Alliance, and we want to do the same with all of the Crests on the continent. If the legends are true, then once we do that, the Era of Chaos should end… 」

Marine’s words made Milza feel that she was definitely filled with determination to see her dream be turned into reality. The same desire was also reflected in the previous battle.

「I heard that you have largely the same intentions as I do, right, Lord Milza? 」

「Well, I wonder if that is really the case. 」

Milza said vaguely. Even if he does want to achieve the same thing that Marine Kraische does, then the conditions required for him to really fulfill his dream are still incomplete. His is a situation that is entirely different from that of Vilar Constance, who can have all of the conditions needed for him to unify the continent met, but he willingly refuses to have them fulfilled.

「It is useless for the Lords to continue to fight each other. Such an era must be ended as soon as possible, and the wealth, knowledge, and technology that Elam has monopolized for itself needs to be shared with everyone equally. 」

「Hou? 」

Milza was astonished when he heard that. He never thought those words would come out of this woman’s lips of all people.

「Does that mean that you are hostile to the Mages Association of Elam? 」

「Even if I do not want antagonize them if I absolutely do not need to, then as long as I want to keep on walking down the path that is going to take me towards the fulfillment of my dream, then I am sure that there will eventually come a day when I they will stand in my way as obstacles… 」

Marine’s eyes narrowed sharply.

「… because I believe that the Mages Association was the real culprit who orchestrated the death of my father, Matthias, and the leader of the Fantasia Union, Archduke Silvestre Ducet, back then at the Grand Cathedral. 」
Milza had no objection to that statement. Anyone smart enough to know that 2 plus 2 equals 4 could figure that out if they put their minds to it long enough.

The Mages Association’s members were most likely the ones who drew the entire plan of the assassination of the Archdukes, and then they had the mysterious Dark Mages organization Pandora execute the plan that they came up with. They were probably the ones who invited the Black Witch to Elam, raised the Chaos density in the Grand Cathedral to the maximum and then converged the Chaos to make the summoning of the Demon Lord possible.

「In that case, you may be the next one to be assassinated like your father. 」

「Yes. If the Mages Association will start seeing me as a threat, then they will surely try to eliminate me. 」

Marlene nodded her head slowly.

(This woman seems to know who her true enemy is.)

However, even if she knows who it is that she must face, it does not change the fact that her opponent is simply too big for her to beat on her own.