WeTried Translations

Translator: Nemui

Editor: Nemui

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◈ Friedrich's Battlefield

Chapter 133: Imperial Visit (3)

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For several heartbeats, the room was silent.

Claudia had expected a heavy political demand. Even so, hearing it stated so plainly forced her to measure its weight anew.

The marriage of an imperial prince into the royal house of Edelstein.

It would bind the two houses by blood. It would also place imperial blood in the direct royal line of Edelstein. Until now, Edelstein had avoided that as much as possible. There had once been a marriage between a collateral princess of Edelstein and an imperial noble, but the direct royal house had never accepted imperial blood into its center.

The reason was simple.

The Rigald Empire was too large.

A friendship between unequals could become pressure. A blood tie with an overwhelming neighbor could become a chain. The Empire might call it friendship, but the smaller country would have to ask, again and again, how much of its independence remained.

Claudia looked at Dustin.

The young prince seemed more anxious than ambitious. He did not look like a man sent to conquer a kingdom from within. But politics did not depend on his character alone.

Still, the choice before Claudia was not between freedom and pressure.

It was between the Empire and Arelia.

An arrogant friend was better than a brutal invader.

Claudia gave Dustin a small smile.

"Prince Dustin."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"If this marriage is decided, I will do what I can to ensure that you can live comfortably in Edelstein. As husband and wife, let us support the kingdom together."

Dustin's tense expression eased just a little.

"I will do my utmost not to shame the imperial house or trouble Your Majesty."

Claudia turned back to Edwin.

"I accept."

Edwin nodded, as if he had known she would.

"Then the two demands are iron exports and marriage. There is one more thing I would like."

"A third condition?"

"A request, or perhaps a shared objective."

His eyes became sharp.

"Crush the Arelian army. If possible, kill Childebert. For the Empire, peace and stability in the west are also profit."

That was not a condition Claudia disliked.

"I promise you a victory that will be recorded in western history."

"Then the Empire will provide the aid we discussed."

Edwin stood. Claudia rose as well.

"I swear by the one absolute God that the imperial house of Rigald will keep its promise to its precious friend, now bound to us by blood."

"Friend," Claudia repeated with a faintly ironic smile. "That word has become quite convenient today."

"Convenient words are often the most useful."

The negotiations were settled.

That evening, before the banquet, Edwin reported the result to Emperor William in the emperor's private office.

"Everything proceeded as you wished," William said.

"Thank you for permitting the dispatch of troops, the Black Bows, and the Black Crossbows."

"I told you I entrusted western diplomacy to you."

The old emperor looked at his son with a mixture of exasperation and amusement.

"Do you like that country so much?"

"Yes. I think it is worth liking."

"You chose a gamble."

"I did."

"Then I will neither stop you nor help you further. If your western policy fails and you lose influence at court, that means you were only worth that much. If the heir to the Empire has so little power that this breaks him, then the Empire itself is only worth that much."

It was a cold statement, but also trust.

Edwin bowed deeply.

"I will not disappoint you."

When he raised his head, he saw age in his father's face more clearly than before. William Rigald II was still emperor, but time had begun to claim him. Edwin thought that he, who would bear the Empire for the next decades, could already make better judgments for the age to come.

Edelstein was a valuable friend. Risking three thousand men for it was not too much.

After leaving the emperor's office, Edwin returned to his own. His secretary, Ulysses, prepared tea as usual.

"The oath documents can be completed by tomorrow," Ulysses said. "The banquet tonight will announce both the aid and Prince Dustin's engagement to Queen Claudia. Once announced, neither side will be able to retreat easily."

"That is the point."

"The nobles will rejoice. Marquis Langford's story moved more people than expected."

"You were moved too, were you not?"

Ulysses smiled faintly.

"A little."

Edwin took the cup and looked into the dark tea.

"I have been waiting for something like this."

"For Edelstein?"

"For a contest. For a gamble worth taking. Merely inheriting the throne by blood is dull."

"That sounds like something a crown prince should not say."

"Then keep it between us."

"As always."

Edwin watched Ulysses for a moment, then spoke in a softer voice.

"Come here."

"Your Highness, we should prepare for the banquet."

"Just a little."

Ulysses sighed, but he stepped closer.

Edwin reached out, drew him in, and kissed him.

The crown prince's affection did not distinguish much between age, gender, or status. It went toward those he wanted, and Ulysses had long since learned that resisting only wasted time.

Outside the office, preparations for the banquet continued. By nightfall, the imperial court would know that Rigald had chosen to stand with Edelstein.

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