“Phew, today sure was exhausting, Reiner,” Arwin said upon entering the drawing room.
“It was indeed,” Reiner replied. “However, the reactions from the nobles here in the capital were quite entertaining. I was especially amused by the comical expressions on Count Roland’s face.”
“I didn’t expect Matilda to be so aggressive in her approach,” the emperor admitted. “But as a result, we now have established rules about the interference of nobles in matters of privilege. In terms of being able to rein in the behavior of nobles, the performance today was a great success.”
Arwin and Reiner were in a drawing room separate from the one they’d been in with Kris and Matilda. The castle was equipped with several drawing rooms to accommodate multiple guests and different uses. The room the two men were currently in was under strict guard to ensure that their voices wouldn’t be heard by anyone outside.
The two men sat on sofas across from each other, a table between them. On the table were two cups of freshly poured tea, with steam wafting up from them.
“I have to ask, what’s going on in your mark? I doubt just anyone could come up with products like lotion and conditioner. You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”
“Who knows,” the margrave replied. “Even if I was hiding something, I wouldn’t dare share the secrets of my own mark.”
“That’s understandable,” the emperor said with a chuckle.
Arwin and Reiner were old friends who had known each other since early childhood. They now had appearances to keep up, so they only had limited amounts of time available to get together. Even so, they continued to make time for each other so they could let off some steam.
“I think that’s enough small talk,” Reiner said. “I’m guessing you have another troublesome matter to deal with?”
“That’s right,” the emperor said with a sigh. He let out a wry chuckle before continuing. “A certain kingdom has approached us regarding marrying one of their own into either the imperial family or a noble family of the second-highest status.”
“Your eldest son is around the same age as Reid, right? And you’ve also got a younger son.”
“Yes. Under normal circumstances, they would be the candidates for such an arrangement, but the nobles who want their own daughters to become the princess won’t stand for that. The sons of all the dukes have also declined such a marriage proposal.”
“In that case, the remaining candidates are Margrave Glade’s family and mine.”
There were two territories that were designated as marks within the Magnolian Empire. The land under the rule of Magnolia spanned from east to west of the continent, so the marks were on the eastern and western borders of the empire and other neighboring countries.
“Margrave Glade is also unable to accept this offer,” Arwin revealed.
“What do you mean by that?” Reiner said, anger faintly apparent in his tone. He could accept that it was difficult for someone from a foreign kingdom to marry into the imperial family. Arwin had to consider the succession of the throne, as a princess would be the future empress. It wasn’t a decision that could be made lightly. However, what reason could the dukes and Margrave Glade have to refuse such a proposal? Did they not understand their responsibilities as nobility of this empire?
Arwin sensed the frustration in Reiner’s tone and continued speaking in a solemn voice. “Margrave Glade is much too old to accept the offer himself, and it would be equally difficult for his sons, considering their ages. The proposal is regarding the princess of Lenarute, who is still a young child.” The emperor sighed as he pressed his hand against his forehead and shook his head.
“That sounds like quite a difficult problem,” Reiner remarked.
The Kingdom of Lenarute was a neighboring country that bordered the Valdia Mark. It was a kingdom with a unique culture that was not only prone to cultivating all varieties of plants, including medicinal herbs, but had also developed advanced farming technologies. Lenarute bordered both Magnolia and the kingdom of Valst.
The reason Arwin was facing such a dilemma could be traced back to the Valst Incident, which had taken place several years ago. At the time, there had been some trouble between the kingdoms of Lenarute and Valst. Lenarute was a country that was surrounded by mountains and forests, which had resulted in the development of their unique culture. In terms of their military strength, each member of the army boasted incredible combat abilities, making them a formidable opponent even in the face of the powerful Magnolian Imperial Army.
The most notable skill of the Lenarute army was their thorough knowledge of the mountains and forests. Fighting in an environment favorable to them could lead to unimaginable numbers of casualties. On the other hand, Valst was a kingdom that bordered the coast, which provided trade opportunities. This led to Valst obtaining incredible economic power and allowed them to trade with a large portion of the world. Valst utilized this financial advantage to strengthen their army, and these days, the nation was known for having had a sudden spike in growth.
On top of their growing power, Valst was a kingdom where it was legal to sell and buy nonhuman races as slaves. As a result, the population was quite diverse. This slave trade was the reason for the problems that had occurred between Lenarute and Valst.
Lenarute was a kingdom ruled by dark elves, and there were a considerable number of kidnappings carried out by malicious traffickers from Valst. The government of Lenarute naturally lodged complaints with the government of Valst, but all they were offered was a promise to strengthen their regulations regarding the slave trade, and they took no action toward resolving the matter.
Valst was reluctant to aid Lenarute’s efforts because dark elves were extremely valuable slaves. After Lenarute’s government made an official complaint, dark elves were no longer publicly sold as slaves, but they continued to be traded in backroom deals, which only worsened the relationship between the two kingdoms. Eventually, things had gotten so volatile that the kingdoms had reached a breaking point.
However, if the situation were to devolve into war, Lenarute would be at a military disadvantage, and they could not invade Valst. Similarly, if Valst were to invade Lenarute, they would have to fight in the mountains or forests that would surely be full of local soldiers ready to battle. Therefore, the two nations remained in a deadlock.
Despite the standstill, traffickers from Valst continued their illicit kidnapping of dark elves. The government of Lenarute was at a complete loss, so they reached out to Magnolia for aid. The request for help led to heated debates within Magnolia over which kingdom to side with.
In the end, Magnolia decided to side with Lenarute when Lenarute agreed to become a vassal state, which gave the empire power over not only its territory, but also its technology and people. Lenarute, in turn, had agreed to such terms due to its geography. Since it was surrounded by mountains and forests, the kingdom had no access to coastlines and was thus unable to manufacture salt. They therefore had to rely on exports out of Valst or Magnolia. Once the relationship between Valst and Lenarute had grown contentious, Valst had stopped exporting salt to Lenarute—in other words, they’d placed an embargo on the salt trade there. As a result, the cost of salt in Lenarute had soared. During this turmoil, a confidential missive from Magnolia had arrived in Lenarute, which shared that Valst had approached them in an attempt to stop them from exporting salt to Lenarute too.