Chapter 3: The Lehrsatz Meeting Incident
THE meeting room prepared for the Kratos delegate was simple; it included a long table in the center with the bare minimum amount of furniture. Usability was prioritized above all. The Kratos side had Lawrence Marton as their representative and Margrave Billy Cervel as his guard. The rest of the delegate was sent back to Kratos to report on what had happened to the queen and commence an investigation. Only Lawrence and Billy stayed at Lehrsatz’s manor.
The guts it took to dive straight into enemy territory with only a single guard was almost impressive. Even if this guard could single-handedly destroy the entirety of Lehrsatz’s Dragon Knights, in terms of diplomacy, he only acted as a deterrent. Lawrence’s decisions alone would determine the fate of his queen and the direction of his kingdom. Camila would never take on such an important role. But that wasn’t all that was making this particular meeting unusual.
“It’s truly nice to meet you, Sir Marton. My name is Millay, and the emperor has ordered me to take charge of this meeting as his empress candidate.”
Lawrence’s cheek twitched slightly at the sudden appearance of this lady dressed in knightly clothes, but he kept a smile plastered on his face. After a brief pause, he spoke. “An empress candidate, is it? I hadn’t heard the news.”
“It was only decided very recently,” Millay replied. “I shall act in lieu of the Dragon Consort. I hope you’ll go easy on me.”
Billy, who stood behind Lawrence, loudly cleared his throat. “I heard that the Dragon Emperor is here as well. May I ask where he is?”
His eyes flared wide, his gaze filled with murderous intent. And who could blame him? As Jill’s biological father, he’d personally fought against Hadis to win his daughter back. Billy could hardly allow Jill to marry Hadis, but for the emperor to accept an empress candidate, implying that he’d have a wife other than Jill? That was absolutely unforgivable.
“As an in-law, I’d like to have a duel—I mean, a chat with him,” Billy said.
“His Majesty isn’t feeling well right now and is resting,” Millay replied.
“That shitty brat fled, didn’t he?! I’ll destroy the entirety of Lehrsatz!” Billy roared.
“Is that the consensus of Kratos?”
At once, Billy’s rage dissipated. Millay remained smiling. Oh? Camila thought as she observed the scene. Millay had a good head on her shoulders, but she was still only thirteen. She wasn’t like the raccoon boy in front of her, and her sudden standing as an empress candidate surely made her nervous. She wasn’t even given Duke Lehrsatz as an assistant in this negotiation, and she was thrown in front of Lawrence with just Camila and Zeke as guards. Camila found Hadis to be merciless, but it seemed her worries were unnecessary. No, that’s not it.
While it wasn’t made clear in front of Jill, all ladies-in-waiting-in-training were empress candidates. Precisely because they were excellent, they were constantly mindful of their actions to become the empress. It’s a bit mean even for me to assume that they were all just gunning for the spot with nothing to show for it.
“Do pardon my attendant, Lady Millay. I hope we can have a fruitful meeting,” Lawrence said.
He smiled and extended a hand for a handshake, accepting her as his negotiation partner. Billy clearly looked dissatisfied, but he quelled his anger toward Hadis. The meeting went surprisingly smoothly. Both sides agreed that the Arks were behind the disappearance of the queen and her Sacred Spear; it was only natural for them to come to an agreement because of the accord. But when Millay acquiesced to allow a Kratos search group to be dispatched, she also offered the Lehrsatz Dragon Knights cooperation with the investigation.
“It’d be a real ordeal for Kratos to search through Rave with no help,” she said.
“I’m happy to receive that help, but are you sure?” Lawrence asked.
His question also inquired whether Millay could use the knights at her discretion. Camila hadn’t heard of such a plan beforehand either, but Millay smiled back.
“Of course,” she replied. “We should help each other during times of need. When you also require aid for investigations within Kratos, please allow us to offer our support then as well.”
Camila felt compelled to click her tongue, as she found herself impressed by Millay’s quick thinking. Lawrence narrowed his eyes before he calmly nodded back. It was all he could do for now.
“I appreciate your assistance,” he said. “And who will be leading the Rave’s search party? Will it be the Dragon Consort?”
Here it comes. Camila went stiff as she braced herself. Zeke remained as grumpy as ever. For some inexplicable reason, Hadis had ordered everyone to hide Jill’s whereabouts. He reasoned that he didn’t want to hand over information about Jill to a guy who lusted after her—or his nosy father-in-law. But even Camila wasn’t sure just how serious Hadis was about his claims—the Arks were likely behind everything, making Jill as much of a victim as the queen. It made more sense to search for both of them.
“I cannot divulge any information about the Dragon Consort,” Millay replied. She wasn’t aware of Hadis’s intentions either, and her expression tensed.
Lawrence wasn’t one to miss this opening in her façade. “Please think about Margrave Cervel’s feelings. He worries about his precious, young daughter. Or perhaps there’s a reason behind your silence? Even though the Dragon Consort may also be one of the Ark’s kidnap victims?”
Millay instantly paled. Lawrence smiled.
“It’s been rumored all around the city,” he said. “The Dragon Consort has apparently gone missing. It seems a bit coincidental for her to disappear exactly when our queen has also vanished—I feel like the Arks are involved. I expected you to ask us for assistance searching for the Dragon Consort.”
Camila gritted her teeth—Lawrence was very much aware of the situation, and his question was meant to trick Millay. He had executed his plan expertly, and Camila couldn’t help but think about what Jill would do in this situation. I know I’m just being annoyingly nitpicky with Millay now.
“I also heard rumors that His Majesty was so enamored with you, empress candidate, that the Dragon Consort was deserted and left to her fate,” Lawrence continued.
“Rumors just can’t be trusted,” Camila interjected. No one reprimanded her. “It’s more probable that Jill left after she was exasperated by His Majesty’s antics.”
Zeke received a glance from her. He sighed and said, “I don’t think Captain would ever do that. I understand her father’s worried, but we’ve got a job to do. We’re not gonna leak the Dragon Consort’s info.”
“Aren’t you the Knights of the Dragon Consort? Aren’t you worried about your master?” Billy joined in on the conversation.
“Sorry, but there’s nothing we can worry about,” Zeke replied casually.
“After all, we’re here precisely because of her orders,” Camila added.
Billy’s purple eyes, the same color as Jill’s, flickered with murderous intent, but he managed to calm himself. The knights couldn’t possibly win against a Cervel, but they had pride in carrying out the orders in accordance with Jill’s wishes.
“I understand. I suppose prying further will do neither of us any good,” Lawrence said, backing down.
Millay slumped her shoulders with relief. “I shall hand you papers detailing the search party at a later date,” she said.
“I’ll be waiting for it,” Lawrence replied. He stood and turned to the knights. “Camila, Zeke, why don’t we have a little chat? It’s a perfect time to have some tea.”
Camila and Zeke stared back blankly, and Millay and Billy looked on with surprise.
“Oh? Are we being invited out on a date? Since when were we so chummy?” Camila joked.
“We escaped through the mountains together, didn’t we?” Lawrence replied. “Margrave Cervel, please hash out details about the search party with Miss Millay.”
“Sure, I don’t mind that…” Billy replied.
He gasped and straightened up as Millay gave a strained smile and bowed her head. It’s not that Lawrence wants to speak with us. He wants to leave Billy and Millay alone.
“It’ll be my treat,” Lawrence said. “My salary went up now that I’m Her Majesty’s aide.”
How nice. We just managed to move into the house of the Dragon Consort’s Palace and save some money… Camila huffed angrily.
“I want meat,” Zeke said from beside her.