Chapter 28: 29

The first three days of the ‘Thawing Celebratory Ceremony’ were the best part of the schedule.

After the customary three-day celebration, Kayediv’s envoys and the imperial administration would begin a long and tedious negotiation process. The thawing celebratory ceremony was a space to resume trade between countries while reconnecting the diplomatic relations that had been cut off throughout the winter. 

Kayedif was a barren land of frozen soil. Though their land had numerous resources, it was difficult to manage the supply and demand of food provisions due to the extremely cold climate. They bought food on an international scale every year. And in return, they provided tremendous amounts of resources to other countries.

For the past five years, the Estina Empire has been a satisfactory trading partner for Kayediv. War consumed resources sequentially. They demanded more and more resources with each passing year, and prices were determined at the intersection of their desperation and payment limits. Thanks to this, Kayediv’s envoys were able to return with gratifying results every year.

However, when the night ends, the dream ends. Kayediv were bound to lose the dominance they had as soon as the war was over. It was not them, but the Estina Empire, who had the upper hand in this negotiation.

They won the last war and occupied the Landrienne Plains, the continent’s largest granary, and Shaak, where most of the land was desert, suffered a huge blow to its food supply. They could no longer be Kayediv’s trading partners, who were also struggling with the food situation in their own country. Of course, the empire was clearly aware of that too. 

While I was expecting it to some extent, it is truly not easy. Seems like we have gotten on his bad side due to what happened in the past. 

The person representing the empire in this negotiation was the Duke of Chirac, who was the premier of the empire. Although he was a typical pro-Kayediv dignitary, negotiations had, nevertheless, been stormy. It seemed that he lacked the discretion to actually lead this negotiation, given that the countless goods and jewels he had been bribed with each year were of no use.

Behind him was another being coordinating the negotiations. The problem was that Cyrill didn’t have a card to play against him.

The Premier of the empire had only one opponent to look out for. The Emperor, Ebroin V. But, he was an adversary that neither money nor power could buy. What on earth could appease him, the Emperor of the empire and the most powerful monarch on the continent? He tried to bribe him with Ensha’s tear, which was nothing less than a national treasure, to see if he could soften his heart, but all he received in return was a slight smirk.

Cyrill was genuinely troubled. Kayediv was a country of ten princes, and the envoys are replaced each year with personages of a different duchy. What that means is that if the men from other duchies have messed up, the next group must clean it up. That is why you should have considered what would happen in the future and given it your all! You caused all this and want me to fix it?!

He gritted his teeth, thinking about how he would’ve liked to kick the asses of the pig-like guys if they were in front of him. What was even more upsetting was that they probably wouldn’t have done anything unaware of these consequences. Since it’s not their responsibility anyway, they skipped as much as they could on their turn.

To be fair, the political hold between the ten princes and the duchies of the country was fiercer than one could have imagined from the outside. Cyrill rubbed his throbbing temples with his fingertips, staring at the negotiation proposal which was being rewritten for the third time this week.

“Why did you provoke the Emperor when you knew this would happen?” 

Sir Oleg, who always followed and nagged him, got on Cyrill’s nerves again this time. Cyrill responded petulantly to the man who spoke as if it was all his fault.

“Though I do not know what I did, that is definitely not why the Emperor stepped forward like this.”

“Of course, not all of them were committed by you. But is it not clearly true that you have done something that could add to the existing problem?”

Sir Oleg said bluntly as he set the teacup down on Cyrill’s desk. The reason Cyrill hated him so much was that he always said the right things. His cousin, who was two years older than him, was nicknamed ‘Honest Oleg’. But, through Oleg, Cyrill learned the uncomfortable truth that honesty was not always welcomed. 

The smell of freshly heated chocolate rose from the teacup that had been put down and irritated the tip of his nose. Cyrill, on edge, waved the pen he was holding to prevent the smell from coming up near him.

“Get that out the way. Disgusting.”

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

“Have you not eaten anything since morning? Have a cup of this.”

“Ktfgf kjr cb alwf ab atlcx jybea atja. Tbe mifjgis xcbk atja P mjccba fja jcsatlcu ktfc P tjnf atlcur bc ws wlcv. Vb, ktja jgf sbe vblcu?” 

“Valii, sbe tjnf ab fja rbwfatlcu ab ujlc fcfgus. Tbe klii mbiijqrf lo sbe vb cba.”

Cyrill turned his head and fiercely glared at Oleg, who was more stubborn than a reindeer. His head was already killing him, and he had yet to figure out why this guy who had a knack for upsetting people had followed him as an aide. Oh goodness gracious, Ensha! What sin have I committed against the Goddess? He shook his head, pondering why the merciful goddess had turned away from him.

Knock, knock. 

Aera atfc, j xcbmx mjwf ogbw bearlvf atflg gbbw. Vlcmf Jsglii tjv rfca jii tlr rfgnjcar bea bo atf gbbw ogbw atf alwf tf yfujc ab jma oerrs, Yifu tlwrfio wbnfv ab ugffa atf uefrar. 

“Prince!”

At the time Oleg disappeared, Cyrill, who had put the chocolate cup away and was about to devote himself to drafting the negotiation proposal, turned around in annoyance at Oleg’s voice calling him again. Cyrill, about to burst into rage and say ‘What now?’, realized that the guest Oleg had greeted was dressed as a primary court attendant, and barely managed to keep his mouth shut.

“His Majesty is asking for the Prince right now. Please get ready.”

*** 

Bang! Bang!

It was in the middle of the deepest forest among the Emperor’s gardens, where the primary court attendant, who came under the Emperor’s order, guided him to.

The Emperor was aiming at the target with a pistol in one hand. Unknown as to how long he had been shooting, there were pieces of glass all around the stand supporting the target. This proved that his shots never once missed the target. Each time he reloaded and fired, the glass bottles on the stand a hundred steps away, shattered one by one.

Cyrill knew how hard it was to achieve such a result with a pistol that was difficult to aim accurately. However, what was even more surprising was the existence of the pistol itself, which was fuming without a fuse. The pistol was firing with a mode Cyrill had never seen before. However, no matter how much he looked into it, he couldn’t understand how this miracle came to be. 

“A month ago, the professors of the Imperial Academy improved it and brought it back. We handled it on a trial basis, and the results are quite impressive. The dud ammunition rate was also significantly lowered, and the penetration was improved. Would you like to try shooting too?”

The Emperor was preoccupied with shooting practice for quite a while and suddenly looked back at Cyrill and asked. Opportunities to come across new inventions like this didn’t come very often, so Cyrill gladly accepted his invitation.

“The professor who succeeded in the improvement said that the percussion was a rotary type. You simply turn the wheel.”

After hearing the Emperor’s explanation, Cyrill turned the axis of rotation and aimed at the target. The recoil was stronger than expected, so it didn’t hit the target, but the bullet pierced the tree right behind it. Cyrill tried a couple more times to get the hang of it, and by the fifth try, he was able to hit the target. 

“Well done. Is hunting a hobby of yours?”

“In my home country, hunting is not a hobby but a daily routine. It is a place where a man who cannot hunt would also be unable to do anything else properly.”

Cyrill politely returned the pistol to the Emperor after a few more test shots and getting a feel for it. Frankly speaking, it was something he coveted enough to want to carry as it is, but since he didn’t have the ability to play out the extremely dangerous trick of stealing a new weapon from under the Emperor’s nose, he bravely abandoned his greed.

The Emperor took the pistol naturally and reloaded the bullets. After reloading, he waved his gun at an empty target, and the attendants who had been hiding in the bushes quickly jumped out, lined up the new targets, and disappeared again. Cyrill silently watched the Emperor’s back, who had summoned a person for who knows what reason but was only engaged in shooting. 

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“Do you know why We called you all the way here?”

The Emperor once again raised his gun, aimed at the target, and asked indifferently. Of course, Cyrill had no way of knowing why.

“Because no one can listen in to the conversation here. Even if they want to eavesdrop, they cannot.”

Bang! 

As soon as he finished speaking, the thunderous sound of a gunshot ripped through the air. The glass bottle he aimed at shattered into powder.

“There is something We want to ask. Prince Cyrill.”

“Do ask.”

“What do you think of Baron Amieux?” 

Cyrill quietly looked up at the Emperor. The Emperor leisurely loaded the bullet into the gun, as if he had expected in advance that he would not answer immediately. Then, he slowly expressed his thoughts.

“You are a clever one. You must have known what you were doing. And yet, you made the irrational decision to support Baron Amieux. Ignoring the fact that you are at a disadvantage in this negotiation, you tacitly revealed the secret that there is an informant who is in touch with you in the court. We are curious to know why you did such a thing. Do you think Baron Amieux is truly worth all that?”

“… May I know why you asked such a question?”

“Because there are things We may need to think about differently depending on your answer.” 

“Could my answer harm him?”

“That will depend on what you answer.”

Ebroin V shot again with words that held profound significance and could be interpreted either way. Both ears were dazed by deafening gunshots heard in the middle of the conversation. The Emperor didn’t even particularly threaten or intimidate him, but the overwhelming presence of his existence itself was suffocating.

Cyrill had seen the Emperor several times before but had never had a private audience with him. He could now truly understand why the Grand Dukes of Kayediv called him the ‘Young Lion of Estina’ and quivered. 

“He is worth it, Your Majesty.”

After contemplating for a long time, Cyrill finally answered the truth. Though he didn’t know what the Emperor’s intentions were, it didn’t seem like there would be any good results for answering falsely. The Emperor was silent for a long time after hearing his answer. He was lost in thought, tapping the tip of the percussion cap with his fingernail, then glanced at Cyrill.

“Baron Amieux did not give me any excuses in order to keep your secret. He remained silent until the end even though he knew that his life was at stake.”

Sadly, Eugène’s noble sacrifice was overshadowed by the work of the Prince of Cyrill himself, but the Emperor did not bother to mention it. To press Cyrill with ‘that secret’ would be an excessively shameful, dirty, and underhanded act. Moreover, as the Emperor, he was merely guessing by putting together the state of affairs before and after, and there was no evidence to prove his suspicion. In such a situation, even speaking of it would be nothing but an act of defamation. 

“And now you say he is worth risking the national interest over. We want to ask. Do you not know that it is not the right thing as a sovereign to spoil affairs between countries by putting personal feelings first?”

“I know. And unlike me, I also know that Your Majesty would not do such a thing.”

“Quite bold of you.”

“Actually, I do not believe that the negotiations are being put off over that matter. Frankly speaking, I do not know why Your Majesty is so inquisitive about the relationship between Baron Amieux and me. Your Majesty must know that he is not the type of man to sell out the information of the country. And I, too, have not even the slightest intention of dragging him into such a dangerous thing. I believe that the reason why a matter that could be passed off as a short incident is being contemplated in such a manner is that there seems to be a thought for a different purpose. I simply want to know the reason behind Your Majesty’s contemplation, that is all.” 

The Emperor was not a person with nothing to do, so he would not have wasted this much time just to hear the story of the extraordinary feelings between two individuals of the same sex. Prince Cyrill wondered what the real intentions of the Emperor were.

“Did you ask why there is no progress in the negotiations? The reason is that Kayediv’s greed is excessive. There is no compensation for the unilateral benefits they have seen during the past five years of war, and this time too, they are trying to avoid any terms of negotiations that are unfavorable to them. How come you do not know that your people’s actions are a great diplomatic discourtesy?”

Cyrill was speechless. The empire’s proposal would not just lose them money but would also starve them to death. How could they approve of the negotiations when the amount of wheat they were offering was less than half the amount Kayediv needed? Even Kayediv’s most incompetent official would not agree to these terrible terms.

“In any case, after the trade is over, there are bound to be those who benefit more. How could it be considered a diplomatic discourtesy when we simply supplied what they needed, when they needed it?” 

Cyrill did not succumb to the Emperor’s harsh high-handedness and listened to him.

“But now the position has changed. It is the empire that provides the necessary goods, and it is you who are at the disadvantage. You acted with no regard for the face of the empire. Do you hope to be respected while you continue to disregard your partner’s self-esteem? There is no reason as to why the empire should one-sidedly be considerate to you people.”

“Your Majesty.”

“The Northern Country must bend at least once for the sake of the advantage of the next round of negotiations. The empire is a country with many enemies. We need an example, even if it is perfunctory.” 

“But if that happens, our people will starve to death. Is the empire trying to set an example, or make another enemy?”

“If We wanted to make you an enemy, We would not have even given you the chance to have this conversation. Agree with the terms, Prince Cyrill. If you bend yourself first, We will solve the next problem.”

The Emperor pointed his gun at the target and calmly suggested. He shot straight away without waiting for an answer from the other person, and Cyrill had to cover his ears before answering. Since he hadn’t eaten anything all day, he felt sick to his stomach, as if it turn inside out, due to the strong smell of gunpowder. He looked at the Emperor, barely holding back the disgusting vomit.

“What does that mean? Please be specific.” 

“Apart from the imperial administration, We will become a party to the contract and commission Kayediv with a personal order. For now, one ship with a main battery of 80 gums and ten ships with a main battery of 50 guns. If you secretly build a total of eleven ships, you will be given the wheat requisitioned for the military during the last war in return.”

One ship with a main battery of 80 guns and ten ships with a main battery of 50 guns. It would cost a tremendous price of 600,000 dinars even in terms of the market price. Converted to wheat, that would be a whopping 1.5 million sacks. If that amount of wheat was provided, Kayediv’s needs could be sufficiently met.

“… What are so many ships needed for?”

The conditions the Emperor was proposing were not bad at first look.  It meant that the Emperor himself would personally compensate for the rest if he saved the face of the empire on the outside and endured some damage.  However, Cyrill saw signs of turbulence in the contract proposed by the Emperor. He couldn’t figure out what the Emperor was secretly building such warships for. 

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