A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor
Chapter 1815 - 1815: The Freedom to Move - Part 3

"And with the four of you together, victory must be certain?" Queen Asabel said.

"I will make sure that it is certain," Blackwell said.

"That a man of your quality must resolve yourself so, despite the apparent advantages that you possess…" Queen Asabel said. "This Tiberius must be quite the monster indeed. He calls himself an Emperor. Quite bold."

"He has the strength to back it up. I suppose I can not fault him for seeing highly of himself," Blackwell said. "With more humility, he might indeed have one day become that. But we will see him ended long before then, fear not, Your Majesty. He will not be a detriment to your rule."

"...Well, I have an update for you of my own, Lord Blackwell," Queen Asabel said. "We have reopened all of our important trade routes, and we have seen order installed in all the major cities. Lord Idris believes that whatever problems do remain will sort themselves out now – that it's just a matter of time, and the pressure exerted by those larger establishments will bring everyone in line in good time."

"The matter of trade, especially, is of importance…" Lord Idris reminded her.

"Oh, indeed," Queen Asabel said, straightening up as she remembered. "It shall mean that we can afford to supply the armies for the foreseeable future. Lord Idris is looking into reopening the trade routes we had with the Verna too, which should give us a good deal of independence, even if the entirety of the Stormfront does turn against us."

She said that cheerfully, as if the entire country had not already turned against them.

"There is further hope too," she said, "in the form of the Emersons. We have not seen activity from them since their defeat. Lord Idris believes that we might negotiate with them. If we can at least secure a non-aggression pact from them, then we will be in a far better position, I do believe. And so, I think that is what I shall aim to do next."

"It is very much worth sending out letters, Your Majesty," Blackwell said, dipping his head in approval. "It certainly can't hurt – and indeed, it would improve our position immensely if we could find something of that sort. We have the hostages to make it work, after all."

"No," Queen Asabel said. "You misunderstand me. I will not ask for something so important through letters. I must go in person. You intend to depart tonight, do you not? Our destinations are the same. You shall take me with you."

For once, Blackwell was at a loss. He frowned heavily, and then glared at Lord Idris, willing him to say something, where the others would not. "I did try to counsel her against it," Lord Idris said. "The other pillars did as well. However, Blackwell, you are leader of our armies, are you not? And the scale and quality of the army who would receive you – who could serve as a better escort?"

"I am that," Blackwell said. "But we are also at war! I can not bring my sovereign towards a battlefield. The entirety of the borderlands, Tiberius could be lurking. We could fall victim to an ambush, and then what?"

"And then what?" Asabel repeated. "If you were to fall to an ambush on the way there, Lord Blackwell, what would happen to our cause? Do you believe we would have a chance of defeating this mighty Tiberius without you?"

"...Something could be done. I am replaceable, we have many Generals. You, however, are not."

"I disagree," Queen Asabel said. "If we lose you, when this war of ours hangs so entirely in the balance, then we lose entirely. So I say, if there is a possibility of ambush, now you have even more reason to ensure that we do not fall into one. Now I wish to go even more strongly, given that you seem to view your own life so lightly otherwise."

"...You ask a great burden of me, Queen Asabel," Lord Blackwell said. "My intention is to go there to make war. I cannot escort you all the way to the Emerson Capital. The border is my destination. Not Ernest or otherwise."

"King Emerson surely wants to put a stop to the fighting that is going on in his own lands. He also surely wants to get his son back," Queen Asabel said. "I am inclined to believe that he will listen to reason, provided we show the sincerity of going in person."

"Your Majesty, please, this is… Would you have me spare men merely for the purpose of escort? The entire road that you wish to travel is filled with war. From here, to the borderlands, to Ernest, there will be battling all the way through. Can you not wait, at least until my business with Tiberius is concluded? If you stay with me, that is what shall happen regardless," Lord Blackwell said. "I will have to deal with Tiberius before I dare to show him my back in escort."

"It seems I really am forced to go now," Queen Asabel said. "You Generals are just as foolish a creature as the footsoldiers that you so dare to command. You value your life so much less than mine – that's a silly place to stand. The balance, Lord Blackwell, we cannot lose any of you. If Karstly, or Broadstone, or Skullic, if any of them are of the same mind as you, then, if you declare my life to be worth so much more than yours, you shall have to ensure that you fight well, to see it protected."

"This is too great an ask…" Lord Blackwell said.

"Is it reckless?" Queen Asabel asked, with a sly smile that let her single odd canine tooth slip out.

The look made Blackwell increasingly suspicious. "Do tell me that you are not getting your decision-making instruction from that boy," he said.

She shrugged, delighted at the comparison. She had to hide her giggle behind her hand. "I do believe this to be decided then," she said, rather excitedly. "We take a grand risk, Lord Blackwell, because we have to. That is the nature of the war that we have embarked on. You have been saying so from the start. This is not a battle that we can afford to lose – so, we shall put our backs right up against the wall, and ensure that indeed we do not lose it. What do you say, Lord Idris?"