The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 478: Volume 10: Thunderous Movements and Winds Rising, - 13: Allies

Chapter 478: Volume 10: Thunderous Movements and Winds Rising, Chapter 13: Allies

The rather arrogant laughter was particularly grating to Katya’s ears; it was clear that her adversary intended to provoke her. However, he seemed to have forgotten who he was dealing with. Such petty tricks were truly beneath her notice. Still, Katya had to admit that his words did strike a nerve with the Kingdom.

If her father, the king, had heard these words, she could not be sure how he would react.

But now, facing the famously composed herself, Komer’s thoughts might need revision.

"Your baron, the Kingdom is not a minor territory; it has more issues to consider, in all aspects, and it cannot act as casually as you imagine. Indeed, the relationship between Homer and the Central Kingdom is tense, and the Kingdom does indeed want to resolve this issue, but it is not as simple as you imagine. We need your help, and for those loyal to the Kingdom, the Kingdom will not hesitate to give anything. But your suggestion that the Caucasus become a directly governed territory of the Kingdom could easily provide Homer with an excuse to trouble the Kingdom. Therefore, I cannot promise anything in this regard. Everything must wait until I return and report the situation to Lord Tez and Marshal Mathew. They will make a decision with my father. However, I believe that although this issue cannot be resolved immediately, we can fully discuss other substantive issues. I believe we will find much more common ground in these areas."

Katya finally steered the conversation towards substantive negotiations. While the outlandish demands of the other party needed consideration, even if the Kingdom agreed, they could not be accomplished in a day or two. What was needed now was to discuss some more substantial and immediate issues.

"Very well, it seems that Princess Katya has not been granted full authority by the Kingdom. Perhaps I was too hasty. However, Your Highness is right, on some substantial issues, we can indeed reach more consensus."

Of course, Komer was aware that such matters could not be settled instantly. Gaining psychological agreement from the other party was already a significant victory. At least Katya was no longer dismissing his demands as mere pipe dreams, and that was enough. As for the Kingdom’s side, whether it was Tez or Mathew, they could see further and would not find it hard to make a wise decision.

Negotiating with smart people is always the most relaxing. Once the bottom lines of both parties were clear, the second negotiation proceeded much more smoothly and easily.

The Kingdom promised to continue its full support for the Caucasus in terms of food. Although Odessa was in Homer’s hands, before Homer and the Kingdom had completely fallen out, he believed that Philip would not dare to seize the ships that had obtained permits issued by the Kingdom’s Ministry of the Interior.

Komer even suspected that the Kingdom wanted to use this to force Homer into chaos and to provoke conflict first. Thus, the Kingdom could take the opportunity to legitimately solve the Homer problem. But would Philip fall for this?

Naturally, the Caucasus would make the greatest effort to help maintain the current situation with Leon’s mob armed forces. It would be best to build a floating bridge across the Nissai River to the northern bank as soon as possible, allowing Leon’s mob to directly threaten the north bank. Only then could Leon’s mob’s full potential be realized, restraining Homer’s power.

On this point, Komer’s and Katya’s views were surprisingly aligned. The Kingdom hoped Homer would be restrained by Leon, while Komer wanted the overly large and unruly mob of Leon to spread across the Nissai River to the north. Keeping such a potent source of danger in Leon was a risk.

Without sufficient supplies, they would lose control, and even he could not control them. The only way was to redirect this calamity northwards as much as possible, letting the strength of the Homer People and the mob of Leon wear each other down.

The negotiations ended cleanly, and Katya immediately reverted to the composed and graceful woman she had been in Versailles. A beautiful and charming woman always has an advantage in the hearts of men, a fact that men might subconsciously refuse to acknowledge, but it is indeed the case.

Komer did not wish to conceal his fondness for Katya, and she seemed to appreciate this feeling. To her, this fondness was a good start for obtaining help from many sides, especially as the Caucasus was about to become increasingly pivotal in the future political shifts of the Kingdom.

Katya dared not hope to turn the Caucasus into a chip for herself, but if she could at least ensure it stood on her side in any future situation, cheering for her, that alone would be an incredible support for an outlying noble like her.

Komer was also pondering her intentions. It seemed that the Kingdom was excessively interested in the inner workings of the disastrous defeat of Homer’s army in the battle against Leon. Clearly, they did not believe that Leon’s mob and slaves could beat Homer’s Regular army, not even with support from the Caucasus. The mystery behind that was exactly what they wanted to understand.

Komer did not want to reveal his strength, even though Katya had some understanding of the magical forces behind him. Yet, the intentions she conveyed in her words were repeatedly and purposely overlooked by Komer.

Meeting with Rebry and the others was not appropriate at the moment. Komer did not wish for the other party to know too much. Maintaining a certain mystique was more beneficial in gaining an advantageous position in future negotiations.

However, Komer still fulfilled Princess Katya’s request to inspect the training of the Caucasus Lord’s Guard and the Self-defense Army.

Composed of Mortals, Half-Beastmen, and Half-Elves, the army made Princess Katya frown deeply. It was evident that, like other Kingdom nobles, she harbored considerable prejudice toward other races. The adage, ’Those not of our kind must have different hearts,’ has always been an unwavering belief among the mortal nobility. Yet, this notion had been subverted in Caucasus, perhaps due to the original inhabitants’ sparse mortal population compelling Caucasus to adopt policies different from elsewhere from the very beginning.

The performances of the two mortal knight instructors, on the other hand, greatly intrigued Princess Katya.

The collected demeanor of Sault Solonberg and Vladimir Koff, free of dark auras, puzzled Princess Katya as to why two nobles with good cultivation and exceptional martial skills would choose to serve a minor baron in such a desolate place. Despite the bright prospects for development in Caucasus, with their capabilities, both could easily find positions with more potential for growth in places like Gutenberg, Cyprus, or even Jazair. These noble knights seemed entirely satisfied with their current lives, without any hint of underutilization or unappreciated talent. Princess Katya could think of no explanation other than suspecting that Komer had some other secret agreement with the two.

Watching the slowly departing sails, Komer’s expression turned even darker.

Princess Katya had left. Before her departure, she had finally presented her second purpose for the visit. Although very subtle and covert, Komer, who was extremely sensitive about such matters, swiftly grasped her intent, resulting in an agreement that seemed to be a perfect match.

In his attitude toward Caucasus, Hoffman was more about exploitation. Although he appeared to value Komer on the surface, his innate arrogance and condescension would inadvertently show through. Komer, who had once experienced such treatment, was all too sensitive to it. Being used and betrayed had become an untouchable wound for Komer; he swore never to be used or exploited by anyone again unless it was of his own volition.

Last time, he had acted voluntarily and believed it was worth it. At least it made clear to him that so-called love or eternity felt so hollow, pale, and powerless under mundane forces, and it could even be considered insignificant.

The fact that Princess Katya could offer a clear exchange indicated that she regarded him as a partner with whom interests could be mutually exchanged. Komer liked this feeling of being treated as an equal, especially the sensation of sitting shoulder to shoulder with a powerful ally.

At first glance, Princess Katya did not seem like a powerful person, but in reality, among the Royal Successors, her political resources in Jazair and even the entire Kingdom could be ranked among the Top Three—a fact revealed inadvertently to Komer by Palermo after a convivial evening.

Thinking about it, it made sense. The fact that a daughter of a commoner from a foreign land could become the third in line for the kingdom’s succession told much of her standing.

Princess Katya explicitly hoped that Komer would support her in the potential future battle for the royal succession, clarifying that she did not need support from Caucasus under normal circumstances. However, should an exceptional situation arise, she would need an unequivocal stance, opinion, and possibly other forms of assistance from Caucasus.

This so-called ’exceptional situation’ included several scenarios, the first and most likely one being an evenly matched contest for the primary successor, which would only require Caucasus to make its stance clear.

The second possibility was less likely but more dangerous—if any party resorted to illegitimate means to claim the successorship, this would necessitate broad support, possibly even martial power.

As compensation, Princess Katya promised to assist Komer in obtaining status for Caucasus as a direct territory of the Kingdom and elevating Komer to the rank of a direct vassal of His Majesty the King upon her return to Jazair. She also pledged to defend all of Komer’s actions in Caucasus and Leon through various means—effectively providing indirect support for Komer to act at his discretion in Caucasus and Leon.

There was enormous potential behind this, and although Princess Katya could not represent the Central Kingdom’s views, she could undoubtedly become Komer’s voice in Jazair.

Overall, the visit from Princess Katya, from all perspectives, was quite perfect. Yet, an offhand remark from her just before leaving almost plunged Komer into an icy abyss—the Church of Light Religious Tribunal, those fanatics, seemed to have developed an interest in Caucasus!