My honest apology pulled a small laugh from him. “I can’t believe you were that desperate to write. I thought I knew you well enough by now, but it seems I’m still underestimating your tenacity.”
“I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t have a deadline coming up, but I’ll be careful not to cause any more trouble. I’ve had enough motion sickness for the time being.”
“Please take care of yourself.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead. This comforting gesture tickled and warmed my heart.
He must have had time to spare, as he didn’t try to leave right away. I clung to him and let him spoil me for a while, then asked about what happened after I’d left earlier.
“No particular issues arose. We all returned to our rooms after dinner. Everyone is resting in preparation for tomorrow’s trek. Princess Mira is with her maid in her room, the Visselian troops are stationed outside of her door, and we, the knights, are guarding outside.”
The Royal Order of Knights were keeping watch both in and out of the manor. They’d decided on their roles with the Visselians fairly quickly after a smooth discussion.
“So we aren’t fighting with them anymore?”
“We should be fine on that front. Everyone is much calmer now. Only Sir Meyer has qualms with us. His role is to be an envoy for friendly relations, after all.”
I’d figured as much. Mr. Meyer was a problem we’d have to pay attention to, and he was also a bit rowdy.
I blinked up at the ceiling. “Should I go apologize to Their Highnesses?”
“Do so tomorrow. It’s late and not the time to be visiting people’s rooms.”
It would’ve been bothersome for me to have to dress up, so I was glad he’d said so. I told myself I’d apologize when I saw the prince and princess the next day.
“By the way...” I suddenly remembered something. “I’ve been meaning to ask, but why is Lord Nigel on this journey with us?”
Lord Simeon’s answer came just a bit too late. “I believe this is his usual habit of tagging along.”
“Really?” I peered up at Lord Simeon’s handsome face. He had his eyes turned away and was wearing a troubled expression. That made me press further. “He wouldn’t be allowed to accompany us for a reason like that. We’re escorting a state guest! He had to have received an official approval with a proper reason. I’ve been curious about this since I met with him the other day. He wouldn’t tell me, even when I asked about it, but there’s positively something afoot. Is Shulk involved, perhaps?” As I spoke, Lord Simeon gave no answer at all. “Can you not tell me? Would it be infringing on state secrets?”
“No...” Lord Simeon finally gave up and turned back to look at me. “It’s nothing top secret, but it also isn’t something that can be spoken of lightly. This is a source of conflict, so keep this between us.”
“Yes sir!”
He paused. “You can’t use it as reference material either.”
I’d answered him energetically, yet for some reason, that had made him even more anxious. I understand! I’ll keep it a secret no matter what! Unfortunate though it may be. I made that promise several times over, finally getting Lord Simeon to explain.
“We received a slightly worrying report. Recently, Shulk has been strengthening their defenses out of caution.”
“Caution for what?”
“Us. The southern kingdoms are against us, as you know, because of our tendency to colonize.”
The word “colonize” made complicated feelings arise in me. Because of a certain recent incident, I couldn’t remain neutral toward it anymore. I bit my lip. “The people of our colonies most likely despise us, since we’re, frankly...invaders.”
“This isn’t a simple topic, since our kingdom has its own circumstances and inner workings. However, it’s true that there are very few people who would gladly accept being ruled over. The reason we pulled away from Gandia was to avoid conflict with Shulk—they’re neighbors, so they felt a sense of danger at our approach. They supported Gandia’s movements for independence on all fronts. Rather than fight with them and damage both kingdoms, we decided that it would be best to accept Gandia’s independence and maintain a good relationship with them.”
“And yet, Shulk is still wary of us?”
“We haven’t relinquished control of our other colonies, and our influence on Gandia remains. We can’t exactly tell Shulk not to worry when we have troops stationed there.”
“Indeed...”
Lord Simeon’s younger brother, Adrien, had been dispatched to Gandia previously. On the surface, his role was to protect the Lagrangian expats there, but that was most likely a front.
“Do they think Lagrange will attack them again?” I wondered.
“They’re anxious that we might.”
“What’s the truth? Do we plan to do so?”
“I understand you’re curious, but I can’t reveal anything and everything.” Lord Simeon put the final nail in the coffin of my curiosity, then chuckled when I shrank, downtrodden. “All I can say is that we have no plans for now. Shulk thinks otherwise, however, so they’re watching Lagrange’s and Easdale’s moves carefully. What makes it worse is that Slavia’s political measures in the far southern countries are becoming more severe...”
“Huh? Wait. Why is Slavia being brought up here?” A new name popped up, throwing me further into confusion. What does a northern empire have to do with what we’re talking about? “Does Slavia own colonies as well?”
“That’s what empires do. They profit from having countries under their control, and they can exert military prowess as far as their political power reaches. This is no different from the colonization measures of the countries to the west—those also trend toward imperialism.”
H-Hmm... Um... Does that mean that the countries forming part of the empire are also considered colonies of Slavia? Lagrange does not call itself an empire, but we’re doing the same thing. Not just economically either—our military is also involved. Though our kingdom’s territories are detached, that’s what they technically are.
I struggled to put my thoughts in order. “S-So, what was this about Slavia?”
“They have political measures in place in the far southern countries: They’re invading the south, so that they can achieve ice-free ports.”
“Ice-free ports... Ports...?”
When he saw my reaction, Lord Simeon searched around for something to write with. I told him my pen and notepad were in the clothes I’d left on the chair, which he retrieved.
He drew a simple map on a blank page as he explained. “As you can see, Slavia spreads across the northern region of the continent.”
“Yes... It truly is humongous.”
“It wasn’t originally. This is the result of them taking over many countries and people. They were able to obtain resources and agricultural production power by expanding their political prowess. However, they lack a clear route to the sea. The only ocean border for Slavia is to the north, and that’s frozen land. They wish for a convenient sea path that won’t freeze in the winter.”
“That’s why they’re going south?”
“Yes. The countries to the west have political measures for colonization, while Slavia has its own for the far south. Do you understand why Shulk has to put up its guard now?”
Lord Simeon drew many arrows on the map, most of which were pointing toward the south.
I stared at it intently. “They’re being targeted from all sides... We’re the villains, aren’t we?”
Hearing that the knights were worried about Shulk’s movements made me feel somewhat like they were an evil enemy. But that was wrong—Shulk and its surrounding countries were the victims here.
We were the perpetrators...
Lord Simeon patted my head. “Things like this can’t be divided into a clear good and evil like in stories. Long ago, Shulk was also a large empire that invaded the west. The state of affairs changes depending on a country’s power during any given era.” He paused. “Let’s leave it there for today, since it’s a complicated tale. At any rate, Shulk was already cautious of the northern and western regions; they’ve just strengthened that vigilance recently.”
He brought us back to the original point. Putting aside the more difficult aspects of the situation, I chose to focus on this point as well. The relationship between two countries could affect all those around them. I wouldn’t be able to fully understand this unless I studied it more.
“Why have they been strengthening their defenses?”
“We’ve come up with several theories, but a major one is that Lagrange has become closer with Slavia as of late.”
“Have we...? I...suppose?” I had my doubts, but then I remembered something. Ah, right. That. “Is it about the engagement between Lady Anna and Prince Leonid?”
In early spring, our king’s niece got engaged to a member of the imperial family of Slavia. We’d promised Prince Leonid that Lagrange would support him within his empire’s opposing political factions. The wedding wouldn’t be held until more progress had been made on that front, so Lady Anna remained in Lagrange for the time being. Depending on the situation, this engagement could even be called off, but it was already public knowledge.