“Of course, everyone knows that story... The Third Prince wasn't even given an official imperial army to fight the fearsome Jin Kingdom, which had been plaguing the Empire for generations. He was merely assigned an aging commander to oversee him, and given command of a ragtag bunch of mercenary corps thrown together at the very last minute,” Jeckson nodded, recounting his own knowledge of the history.
Lord Edward poured himself another glass, nodding grimly. “Yeah... So you also know how that war ultimately turned out, right?”
Jeckson took a sip of his drink, poured by Lord Edward this time as he replied, “For the next three years, the brutal battles raged on. But in the fourth year, both nineteen-year-olds, the Third Prince and Miller Havel, who just took the leadership of the Zeta Mercenaries back then, fully took over the command of the entire war front.”
This time, Lady Frederica’s hands trembled slightly as she lifted her wine glass. “The Emperor's expectations that the Third Prince would simply perish on the battlefield were completely shattered... With just a third of the troops compared to the massive numbers of the Jin Kingdom’s army, those two massacred every last one of them. They even rode straight into the Jin Kingdom’s capital, beheading the tyrant king themselves and liberating the kingdom.”
Even saying it out loud a whole year after the incident, it still felt utterly unbelievable that a generations-long feud between nations had ended in such a devastatingly swift way.
“The Third Prince and Miller Havel returned as absolute war heroes,” Lord Edward muttered, drinking deeply.
Jeckson drank as well, fully understanding the heavy political implications.
“To somehow mitigate the massive crisis this posed to their own positions, the First and Second Princes' factions temporarily put aside their differences,” Edward continued. “They came to the exact same page and decided they had to separate those two unbelievable beasts at all costs... And the Emperor fully agreed with their view.”
“That’s right. He granted Lord Miller the isolated Ironwood territory and the Viscount title,” Lady Frederica nodded with a heavy sigh. “On the surface, it looks like an honorable reward advocating for his grand contributions, but in reality, it allows them to keep him far away from the capital and completely cripple him economically.”
“But... but why doesn't the Emperor just wipe out the Third Prince’s faction entirely?” Jeckson asked, his brow furrowing with curiosity.
“Because the Second Prince will not allow it... After all, our faction is his safety net,” Lord Edward explained, placing down his cup, finally feeling drunk enough for the night. “Which is the exact reason why Duke LeonCraft even offered a marriage alliance as a business deal to Lord Miller in the first place.”
Before Jeckson’s confusion could grow any further, Lady Frederica quickly clarified, “It was a perfect storm of political events. The First Prince had started making deep connections with the imperial military higher-ups, gaining a massive portion of the army for his faction. Meanwhile, the Second Prince was far too focused on securing wealthy merchants and high-ranking nobles, leaving him with no strong military force of his own to counter his brother's might...”
“So they decided to use the Third Prince’s fierce military faction as a buffer?” Jeckson realized, the pieces falling into place.
Lord Edward patted Jeckson roughly on the back. “You are indeed quick-witted, aren’t you!” He paused to drink a cup of water before continuing, “You see, the Second Prince has all the wealth, while the Third Prince’s faction just returned from a grueling war with nothing. There is no way we can sustain ourselves alone, so the Second Prince's faction sponsors the funds to keep the Third Prince's faction just afloat enough. They keep us dependent so they can control us, but never give us enough resources to actually rebel against them.”
Jeckson nodded slowly, mapping out the grim reality. “So as long as the Third Prince’s faction exists, and the Second Prince remains our economic lifeline, the First Prince won’t dare make a sudden move on the Second Prince... nor will he be stupid enough to try and fight the fearsome Ironwood Mercenaries head-on.”
“Exactly.” both Lord Edward and Lady Frederica in unison.
“So we are caught in a parasitic relationship with the Second Prince's faction,” Jeckson concluded, understanding completely now why Miller Ironwood’s mere existence was such an issue. “They ensure we stay economically dependent on them just so they can stay alive against the First Prince’s military might.”
“And Lord Miller absolutely refuses to change his loyalties or abandon the Third Prince, so we are completely stuck like this,” Lady Frederica sighed bitterly, staring into her empty glass. “If he could just be practical and switch his allegiance to either the Second Prince or the First Prince directly... our lives in this territory would be so much better.”
“The worst part? Duke LeonCraft now holds exclusive mining rights for our gems and a strict priority clause for his road usage,” Lord Edward added, pushing himself up from his chair. “It’s clear as day. The Second Prince is trying to pressure Lord Miller even further into a corner.”
“But his Lordship’s idea to build more roads should—”
Before Jeckson could fully voice his thoughts, Lady Frederica sharply interjected. “That is a complete fantasy!” Standing up herself, she leaned across the table. “Think about it, Lord Libert. For an entire century, the Ironwood territory hasn’t once been successfully invaded. Why do you think that is?”
Stretching his legs, Lord Edward continued the explanation. “The steep caldera walls of the mountain aren’t the only reason. It's because for generations, the lords here maintained a strict 'one-road policy' to easily bottleneck and counter any foreign attacks on our territory. But even if we were to discard that defensive strategy, the biggest hurdle right now is Duke LeonCraft. He has been systematically buying up and inflating the prices of construction materials in all the neighboring territories for months, deliberately making it harder for us to build anything.”
“Well, it's enough for me tonight. I will be taking my leave,” Lady Frederica announced, looking around the tavern to see that almost all the other vassals had already filtered out. Stumbling slightly from the alcohol, she made her way out the door, where her personal knights safely escorted her into her waiting carriage.
Lord Edward patted Jeckson roughly on the shoulder one last time. “Well, have a great night. I have big expectations for you, kid, even if we are supposedly stuck in this miserable rut for many years to come.” With that, the bald man also took his leave into the cool night air.
The moment the heavy wooden door clicked shut and everyone had officially left, the innocent, greenhorn look in Jeckson’s eyes vanished in an instant. His naive posture straightened into one of sharp, military discipline.
Pulling a small piece of parchment and a charcoal pen from the inner lining of his coat, he quickly began scribbling a coded message. He cast one final, razor-sharp look around the empty tavern to ensure no eyes were tracking him. Satisfied, he stepped up to a shadowed window, tightly secured the note to the leg of a hidden messenger pigeon, and tossed the bird into the night.
The messenger flew a short distance over the rooftops of the caldera-locked Ironwood Viscounty before arriving swiftly at its intended destination: the Lord's castle.
A window on the second floor swung open silently, and the vibrant crimson hair of the man waiting inside would be unmistakable to anyone who saw it. Miller Ironwood gently took the bird, untied the tiny scroll, and unrolled it to read the brief words.
“I have successfully completed my objective, Lord Miller. The full, detailed report on the council’s current sentiments and factions will be sitting on your desk tomorrow morning.”
With a quiet, satisfied smirk, Miller held the parchment over the flame of a nearby candle, watching the secrets turn to ash.