Chapter 116: Ursula’s Capture part 3
I slipped past him into the tent. If Achim met with her, she must have fixed her appearance already.
Ursula wore one of Ria’s spare outfits. Not flashy, but the refined indoor wear of a high noblewoman—she looked comfortable.
「All right, Countess Ursula Dopner. Have you settled yourself?」
「I am. Thank you.」
I studied her again. Cleaned up, she was beautiful—and those eyes were her signature. Her expression was soft now, but those powerful eyes would freeze a subordinate when she glared. As a partner, a commander with firm control of her troops was welcome.
「Good.」
I sat across from her at the table.
「Then tell me why troops of the Cecilio Kingdom were attacking the royal garrison guarding King Amado’s gold mine on Belta soil.」
「My domain touches Belta. Travelers only know the highway line, but if you draw the land properly, my fief abuts your kingdom.」
「Interesting.」
「Maps are the rulers’ lore—nobles and officers. The locals know the ground their way. Combine those views and you see the Belta-Cecilio border is broad steppe. Unbroken by settlement thanks to monsters. Follow the game trails there and you can slip into Belta quickly and quietly.」
That explains the border crossing. The Virtual Window put up a likely trace. Iris has already dispatched drones to verify—probably all the way to Ursula’s lands.
「Because of that position, Crown Prince Rouge tasked me with operations against Belta.」
Ursula honestly told me their plans.
「How did you learn of the gold mine?」
「From Prince Rouge. He lacks the army’s baton, but he runs the state and his eyes and ears are excellent. He already had intelligence on the Artifact.」
How would that stack against Erwin, who prides himself as Belta’s top spy? Iris would outclass them both, but people and an AI have different strengths. I need to mind our blindspots even as I use Erwin.
「I decided on the mine after hearing of the Gantz disturbance. We also learned Count Gantz had mobilized the border guard. That drove me to wager on seizing the Artifact.」
I kept my face still, but it hit me—Count Gantz mobilized even the border forces. So that’s part of why his numbers were absurd.
「Iris, your take?」
「Plausible. One of the splintered elements from Count Gantz’s forces could very well have been such a corps.」
I’d lumped all ‘Gantz troops’ together. Better to trace the volunteers’ origins—Selena and Sharon can handle it. If possible, I want them under my flag. Where did they go?
「How did you learn about Gantz so fast?」
「The Commercial Guild’s network doesn’t cover just Belta—it blankets the continent. It’s common for staff to bring notable news to nearby lords. You grease those palms in advance.」
Right. Another blindspot. We’d been using the Guild as a domestic megaphone—but the neighbors were hearing everything too.
That sense of ‘being known’ matters. The Alois Kingdom is nearby too. On paper, we have no frictions—any caution they hold is toward Belta’s Lord Protector. But if our tie to the Starveek Kingdom comes to light and the Guild spreads it, Alois will turn openly hostile.
We’d been vaguely shielding Ria’s identity; now I can see the concrete risk. Comms secrecy also needs work. If staff can read it, the spy nets can too.
I must have gone quiet thinking it through, because Ursula took it as assent and continued to talk about the mine raid.
She’d sent an advance party, then led the main body herself to guarantee results. The mine was empty by then, but she decided to seize the GuineaAlchemin anyway—as a path to break with Prince Rouge.
「Hold on. What’s your relationship with Prince Rouge? You sounded awfully familiar at first.」
「By blood we’re cousins. Close kin. My claim of royal blood isn’t a lie. My father was a royal brother ennobled as the border earl; I’m his daughter and sole heir. But Rouge is a man who assumes everything bends to his will. He is next in line; I cannot ignore his orders. Since my parents’ deaths, I’ve been used as a convenient piece. Every time he speaks to me, my stomach turns.」
「Complicated. Understood. But how does stealing the Guinea Alchemin free you from him?」
「The Guinea Alchemin is the very proof of a state. Joined to royal blood it legitimizes rule. In other words: if I, of royal blood, hold the Guinea Alchemin, any powerful man who marries me gains the right to call himself king. Upheaval at my choosing. It means I choose my partner freely.」
Well now. On the matter of taking a country, her aims line up with ours—and her methods aren’t far off. That overlap could be a problem. I need clarification.
「So you want Cecilio Kingdom’s throne? Or are you eyeing Belta too?」
「Even with royal blood and the Guinea Alchemin, my position is worse than Rouge’s within Cecilio. It would be hard to gather enough support there. Thus I judged it best to ally with a suitable power within Belta. The threat of Cecilio’s invasion is real—I am a living witness. If I lend my hand to a Belta lord who opposes Cecilio, we can field a force to stand against Rouge.」
Good. That leaves room to align.
「Understood. You’re looking for a partner in Belta.」
「No. I’m looking for a husband who will make me a queen. Take me, use the Guinea Alchemin, and you can have both Belta and Cecilio.」
Huh. So becoming queen is really her goal. I wondered how serious she was—answer: very.
On our side, the leading candidate for Belta’s crown is Ria, who’s also of Belta’s royal line. Realistically, there’s no one else. But we aren’t telling a maybe-ally Ria’s secret.
How do I convince Ursula to join us without giving her Belta’s throne?
I fell into deep thought, thinking about the future. At that moment, a voice woke me out of contemplation.
「Sorry for the wait.」
Selena and Sharon slipped in—done fixing Erwin’s logistics. Best to bring them into this.
「I—I can accept you having multiple wives, Lord Corinth…」
That didn’t help me parse her angle. Time to ask plainly.
「Ursula, which do you want—freedom from Prince Rouge, or to be queen? If it’s the former, we can work together. If the latter, we have a problem.」
「My wish is the former. Becoming queen is only a means to break from Rouge. But to confront Rouge, I must become a ruler; and to become a ruler, the latter becomes necessary—my blood’s legitimacy, that is.」
「Understood. I more or less understand your situation. If you join me, I can grant you and your people protection.」
「I recognize your ability, Lord Corinth. I don’t understand, though, why you won’t take the short road if it’s right there. Is there some obstacle to our marriage?」
There is—a big one. Making Ursula queen goes against our plan to crown Ria.
「We have a plan. I won’t lay all of it out to someone who isn’t yet an ally.」
「Fair.」
「Alan, do we need her?」
Ria cut in, impatient. Fair—if we don’t recruit Ursula, we wouldn’t need this cagey dance. But we do need allies, badly. I have to explain this to Ria.
We’ve disguised it well with deployments, but our actual ‘ready to move’ numbers are dangerously low. Holding two cities—Ares and Gantz—made outsiders assume we were swimming in troops. Cold math says otherwise. Excluding Kael’s corps, our total is less than the men Ursula brought today. We need soldiers we can use now.
「Ria, we’re still short on people, desperately so. We know we can’t coexist with Crown Prince Rouge. And it doesn’t seem she’s lying. A high-born who knows Rouge from the inside and wants out? That’s useful. Her soldiers are disciplined and loyal. I like partnering with people like that.」
「…I admit she doesn’t seem to be lying.」
Ria fell quiet. Not fully convinced, but willing to let it play out.
「Then what about this? We join hands. Lord Corinth protects me from Rouge and other threats. I become your comrade—no, I take shelter under you and swear loyalty. Marriage can wait until it’s necessary. If you require it, I will comply. Let’s keep the option open so when we need that move, we can make it.」
Not forcing the ‘queen’ endgame made it a workable goal. As allies, we’d have time to deepen trust—and there would be a time to share our plan.
「All right. Our aim isn’t merely the unification of Belta. We intend to subdue Cecilio as well. If you’ll lend us your strength without stint, I’ll grant you protection. One condition: you and your people relocate to Ares—the city we’ve built in the Great Demon Forest. So long as you remain in Cecilio, even I can’t promise to shield you.」
Truthfully, I want to grow Ares. People are power. The city is designed to house over a million; we don’t have everything yet, but the growth loop starts with people.
「The Great Demon Forest… troublesome, but better than living under Rouge’s nose. My people must not starve. When you conquer Cecilio, you’ll help rebuild my lands. On those terms, I’ll obey.」
「Done.」
I offered my hand.
「What is that?」
「A custom from my homeland. When you swear an oath, you clasp hands.」
「I see.」
We shook.
「On my honor, I grant protection to my loyal ally, Countess Ursula Dopner, and to her people.」
「And I swear to Goddess Luminas that I shall not betray Lord Corinth, but serve faithfully beneath his protection.」
Light ran over Ursula’s body at the goddess’s name—the same sight as when I’d saved Ria. Ria, Elna, Selena, and Sharon watched with complicated expressions.
I, for my part, barely noticed. We had work to do.
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