The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 272 - 13: Allies

Chapter 272: Chapter 13: Allies

Some arrogant laughter sounded particularly grating to Katya’s ears. The other party was clearly trying to infuriate her, but they seemed to have forgotten who she was. Such petty tricks were really not worth mentioning. However, Katya had to admit that their words did hit the Kingdom’s sore spot—if the king heard this, she had no idea how the situation might escalate. But now she faced Komer, known for his composure, his hopes might have to be discounted.

"Your baron, the Kingdom is not a small territory. It has to consider more problems in every aspect and cannot be as whimsical as you imagine. True, the relationship between Homer and the Central Kingdom is tense, and the Kingdom does indeed intend to solve this problem, but it’s definitely not as simple as you think. We need your help, and for those loyal to the Kingdom, we would not hesitate to give anything in return. However, suggesting that Caucasus becomes a direct territory of the Kingdom might just give Homer an excuse to trouble the Kingdom. So on this issue, I can’t promise anything. Everything must wait until I return and report the situation to Lord Tez and Marshal Mathew, and they, together with my father, will make a decision. But I believe that while we can’t solve this problem for the time being, we can definitely have a good discussion about other substantial issues—I’m sure we will find more common ground in those areas." Finally, Katya steered the conversation toward substantive negotiations. The other party’s exorbitant demands inevitably needed consideration, but even if the Kingdom agreed, these were not things that could be accomplished in one or two days, and what needed to be negotiated now were more substantial and practical issues.

"Well then, it seems that Princess Katya does not have full authorization from the Kingdom. Perhaps I was a bit too eager. But as Your Highness said, on some substantive issues, we can achieve more consensus." Komer was obviously aware that such matters couldn’t be settled instantly. Gaining psychological acceptance from the other side was a significant victory in itself. At least Katya no longer regarded his demands as pure fantasy unworthy of consideration, which was enough for him. As for the Kingdom’s side, whether it was Tez or Mathew, he believed they could see farther and making a wise choice wouldn’t be difficult.

Negotiating with intelligent people is always the most relaxing. Once the bottom lines of both parties were clarified, the second negotiation went relatively smoothly and easily. The Kingdom promised to continue supporting Caucasus with food as it always had, even though Odessa was in Homer’s hands. Before Homer and the Kingdom completely fell out, he believed Philip wouldn’t dare to attack the ships holding permits issued by the Kingdom’s Ministry of the Interior. Komer even suspected that the Kingdom intended to use this to force Homer to disrupt their arrangement—if Homer initiated a dispute first, then the Kingdom could take the opportunity to deal with the Homer problem legitimately. But would Philip fall for it?

Of course, Caucasus would do its utmost to help Leon’s mob maintain the current situation, and it would be best if they could build a floating bridge across the Nissai River to the northern bank as soon as possible. Only in this way could Leon’s mob directly threaten the north bank. Only then could they fully leverage the power of Leon’s mob to restrict Homer’s power. On this point, Komer and Katya’s opinions were surprisingly consistent. The Kingdom hoped Homer would be constrained by Leon, while Komer wished the excessively large mob in Leon could spread north across the Nissai River. This overly powerful menace remaining in Leon was a source of danger. When their needs could not be met, they would lose control, even he wouldn’t be able to manage them. The only solution was to divert this trouble north and let the forces of the Homer People and Leon’s mob deplete each other.

The negotiations concluded cleanly. Katya instantly reverted back to the elegant and graceful woman she had been in Versailles—beautiful and charming, women always held an advantageous position in the minds of men, whether they subconsciously wanted to admit it or not. Komer never wanted to hide his fondness for Katya, and it seemed she quite appreciated this fondness. In her view, such fondness should be a good start to garnering help from many parties, especially as Caucasus’s importance in the Kingdom’s future political shifts became more prominent. While Katya didn’t dare to hope to turn Caucasus into a pawn for herself, at the very least, she could make them stand with her, cheer her on in any potential future situations. Just being able to do this would be significant support for her as a noble from outside the central areas.

Komer too was sizing up the other side, noting the Kingdom’s overly keen interest in the details of Leon’s disastrous defeat to Homer’s army. Clearly, they didn’t believe that Leon’s mob and slaves could beat Homer’s regular army, not even with support from Caucasus. The secret behind that was precisely what they wanted to learn. Komer didn’t want to expose his true strength, even though Katya had some understanding of the mage power behind him. The intentions she disclosed were repeatedly overlooked by Komer intentionally. Meeting with Rebury and the others right now wasn’t appropriate—he didn’t want them to know too much. Maintaining a certain level of mystery was more advantageous for gaining a better position in future negotiations.

However, Komer still satisfied Princess Katya’s request to inspect the Caucasus Lord’s Guard and the Self-defense Army training situation. The army, composed of mortals, half-beastmen, and half-elves, made Princess Katya frown deeply. It was evident that, like other kingdom nobles, she harbored significant prejudice toward other races. "If they are not of our kind, their hearts will be different", a saying that mortal nobility had always adhered to staunchly, yet this belief was overturned in the Caucasus. Perhaps it was due to the sparse proportion of mortals among the native population of the Caucasus that prompted it to adopt policies different from other places from the start.

What attracted Princess Katya’s interest, however, were the performances of the two mortal knight instructors. Solonberg, who had concealed his dark aura, and Vladimir Koff, who behaved impeccably, made it incomprehensible to Princess Katya why two nobles with good upbringing and excellent martial skills would choose to serve a minor baron in such a remote land. Even though the future of Caucasus looked bright, with their capabilities, they could have found positions with more potential, including in Gutenberg, Cyprus, and even Jazair. However, these two noble knights seemed quite satisfied with their present life, showing no sign of feeling unworthy or unrecognized. Apart from suspecting that Komer had some other secret pact with them, Princess Katya could find no other reason to explain it.

Watching the sail shadow slowly recede, Komer’s expression grew ever darker. Princess Katya had departed. Before leaving, Princess Katya finally presented her second intention, albeit in a very subtle and implicit manner. Nevertheless, Komer, who was particularly sensitive to these matters, quickly grasped her intent. It could be said to be an agreement that was reached with a perfect fit.

Hoffman’s attitude toward the Caucasus was mostly one of utilitarian use. Although he showed considerable regard to him on the surface, the underlying arrogance and condescension always inadvertently revealed themselves. For Komer, who had experienced this feeling before, it was all too sensitive. Being used and betrayed were wounds too deep to touch; he swore never to be betrayed or exploited again unless it was of his own volition. Last time, he had volunteered willingly because he thought it worth it, at least allowing him to understand that so-called love and eternity seemed so vacuous, pale, and powerless in the face of worldly forces, even insignificant. That Princess Katya could propose clear terms of exchange at least showed that she regarded him as a partner with whom benefits could be mutually exchanged. Komer liked this feeling of being treated equally, especially the sensation of sitting shoulder to shoulder with the powerful. Princess Katya might not seem powerful, but in fact, her political resources in Jazair and the entire kingdom were without a doubt among the top three even among the royal successors—a fact that Palermo let slip to Komer during a bout of heavy drinking. Just thinking about it, it was impressive that a foreign common woman could be the third in line to the throne; this fact alone spoke volumes.

Princess Katya clearly hoped that Komer would support her in any potential conflicts among the royal successors for the throne in the future. She also made it clear that under normal circumstances, she did not need support from the Caucasus, but should any anomalies arise, then the Caucasus would need to express its stance and opinions clearly, and even possibly provide other forms of help. These so-called anomalies included several scenarios; the first and most likely being that when all parties were equally matched in the struggle for the first royal successor, the Caucasus only needed to clarify its position. The second possibility, though less likely but more dangerous, was that if any party resorted to illegal means to claim the right to the throne, it would require support from all aspects, including martial power.

As a reward, Princess Katya promised that upon returning to Jazair, she would help Komer to seek the status of the Caucasus as a direct territory of the kingdom and Komer’s appointment as a direct vassal of His Majesty the King. She would defend Komer’s every action in the Caucasus and Leon through various means, implying support for Komer to act as he wished there. This hidden a great deal of maneuverability, and although Princess Katya could not represent the opinions of the Central Kingdom, she could undoubtedly become his spokesperson in Jazair.