The Magnolian Empire was in a position of strength, and they used the opportunity to offer their full support to Lenarute on condition that the elven kingdom agreed to become a vassal state. Magnolia also notified Lenarute that if the kingdom were to decline this offer, they would give in to Valst’s demands and stop exporting salt. As a result, Lenarute agreed to all of Magnolia’s terms. To the public, the two kingdoms had formed an alliance, but secretly, Lenarute had become a vassal state of the empire.
The only people in Magnolia who knew the true nature of the countries’ relationship were members of the royal family and nobles with the title of duke or margrave. Leaking such classified information would undoubtedly be punished by execution. Magnolia publicly announced that they had formed an alliance with Lenarute, and the empire immediately began pressuring Valst to solve all issues plaguing the other kingdom, including the malicious kidnappings carried out by traffickers.
The kingdom of Valst knew that they couldn’t take on both Magnolia and Lenarute, and dark elves were finally prohibited from being traded as slaves. All of the dark elves who had been kidnapped into Valst’s slave trade were subsequently freed.
After this incident, the relationship between Magnolia and Lenarute greatly improved. Because they had formed an alliance, Magnolia was able to avoid any criticism regarding their interference in a matter between other nations. Valst and Lenarute had been fish in troubled waters, and Magnolia was the fisherman that had benefited from their struggle.
Additionally, despite the fact that Lenarute was a vassal state, Magnolia allowed the elven kingdom to maintain its autonomy. The empire only maintained the right to review and receive reports on any final decisions regarding administration of the state. As a result, Lenarute continued to publicly operate in the same way it always had, while the royal family were puppets of the Magnolian Empire.
The current issue was a proposal of marriage between the king’s daughter and a high-ranking noble from Magnolia in the name of strengthening their alliance. In actuality, the Magnolian who agreed to the proposal would be accepting a hostage from Lenarute. This had actually been something agreed upon in the secret contract between the two countries.
The proposal also offered benefits to Magnolia. If the empire succeeded in adding the royal bloodline of Lenarute to one of its own noble families, they would likely be able to have a say in future matters of succession within the other nation. Because of that, Arwin had originally thought to marry his younger son, the second prince, to the princess of Lenarute, but the dukes who were aware of the classified agreement opposed the decision.
Things would have been different if the second prince were to take a Magnolian noble as his wife and the princess as his concubine, but the dukes argued that there was no benefit to the second prince taking the princess of a vassal state as his lawful wife. They likely argued this out of a desire to have one of their own daughters marry into the royal family, but regardless of their motives, their logic was sound. That didn’t resolve anything though, because none of the dukes wished for their sons to marry the princess of Lenarute either.
The emperor could indeed force one of them to allow the princess to marry one of their sons, but that would make the nobles antagonize him. Arwin also realized that a child who had the blood of both the royal family of Lenarute and a prominent family in Magnolia could pose a danger. If things weren’t handled properly, the child’s claims to power could cause new factions to form within the central government.
“In other words, your son is the only appropriate candidate to marry the princess, Reiner.”
Arwin had first explained the surrounding circumstances of the empire’s relationship to Lenarute. He’d cut off any exit routes before delivering the news to Reiner. As he’d been listening to the emperor, Reiner’s brows had gradually furrowed into a proper scowl. Now, having heard everything, the margrave simply looked up at the ceiling and exhaled. Seeing his reaction, Arwin was confident that his dear friend could successfully solve the issue. Satisfied that this weight was off his shoulders, he took a sip of his tea.
“You could just take the princess as your concubine,” Reiner remarked.
The emperor choked on his tea.
“What part of our conversation just now led you to think that?!”
Arwin hadn’t expected those words from his friend, and after choking on his tea, he was now having a coughing fit.
Reiner continued, his anger now obvious. “You already have Matilda as the empress consort, so you could solve this by taking the princess from Lenarute as your concubine. Just watch over her until the time is right. Yes, that is good. This is what you should do.”
“You’re provoking me on purpose, aren’t you? Besides, I could never take such a young girl as a concubine. She’s similar in age to my own children. Even if I were to do something like that, Matilda would likely have me assassinated.”
Reiner chuckled. “‘Even if’ you did? Does that mean you do have an interest in child brides?”
“Watch yourself, Reiner,” Arwin said, furrowing his brows. “You know that disrespecting the emperor is a punishable offense.”
“In that case, go ahead and punish me. I understand the relationship you have with Lenarute and the prominent noble families in the empire. I may be your friend, but I am also a margrave responsible for protecting the borders of this kingdom. You’ve made a decision on this matter without so much as a single consultation and brought it to me, a noble with a vital role in this empire. What is the meaning of this? People often forget that manners are important, even between good friends. However, in this matter, you should have discussed this with me much sooner—not as a conversation between friends, but as a formal discussion between the emperor and a margrave. Am I wrong?”
Being a noble, Reiner understood why the emperor had said what he’d said. However, from his perspective as a parent, he was being told that a decision had been made to force his child into a marriage that was guaranteed to be a difficult relationship to navigate. Reiner was offended that Arwin was naive enough to think that he would accept such terms simply because they were friends. That was why he had to speak candidly to the emperor—not just as his friend, but also as a parent and a noble in his court.
The emperor fell silent for a moment before he responded. “No, you’re not. This is indeed something I should’ve brought to you as a formal discussion. I apologize.”
As Arwin had admitted, Reiner’s assertions were correct. Dukes and margraves differed in title and roles, but they were of equal standing in Magnolia. It was only natural for Reiner to feel that he was being disrespected as a margrave if the emperor had made a decision with the dukes’ input, but not the margraves’.
“Next time, make sure to discuss things with me before making a decision,” Reiner huffed. “I have to put my life on the line just to complain to His Majesty.”
The emperor chuckled. “Got it. I’ll do that from now on.”
After he finished speaking, a look of exhaustion appeared on Reiner’s face, and he let out a heavy sigh. Arwin saw how exasperated his friend was and simply laughed.