Ententes, p.9
Ententes, page 9
part #7 of Eternal Dominion Series
In ED, Xeal spent his time split between spending time with Princess Lingxin and grinding with the same guard as before. Unlike his first day grinding where the guard had been almost completely quiet, she was now asking questions that were a bit probing, but mostly innocuous. This included things like how he had started to court Enye and what his guild’s goals were. Xeal had little issue with expressing his goals for his guild, but played it a bit coy as far as just how he had ended up courting a princess. Still, other questions that the guard asked told Xeal that she was asking many of these at another’s direction. These were things like what would he do if the empress refused to see him for weeks, or decided to hold him here indefinitely. Xeal had smiled at these questions as he made it clear that it would be a mistake on her part to do so while also making it clear that he had to make a short return to Nium to check in on the night of day 37. He didn’t let her know it was to keep his date with Dyllis. Instead, he played it like Prince Victor would assume something went wrong if he didn’t check in.
Xeal was just about to sit with Princess Lingxin for breakfast a few hours before logging out on day 37, when the guard that had been accompanying them arrived with a summons. He and Princess Lingxin were to have breakfast with the empress in her gardens. As the pair followed the guard, Xeal wondered what the play here was. He knew it would only be a short meeting due to his own time constraints, and a meal was a rather informal first meeting for an empress. As he considered this, they arrived in the garden where Empress Sakurai Jingū sat enjoying a cup of tea while she waited. Xeal knelt as Princess Lingxin curtsied to the woman who, while in her early 50’s, was clearly in good health. She had long flowing black hair that normally would have been done up, but was currently hanging free as her brown eyes appraised Xeal thoroughly. For Xeal’s part, he was astonished to see her looking so plain as she had clearly had yet to go through her daily routine and was in a simple silk dress that could easily be her sleepwear. When she addressed Xeal and Lingxin, it was with confidence and poise.
“I do apologize for being so informal for our first meeting, but with Viscount Xeal needing to check in with Prince Victor, or should I say Lady Dyllis when he wakes this afternoon, I thought it prudent. Now please rise and join me and I think I would like to use the same rules you have at your own table here, Xeal. So you may call me Lady Sakurai for this meeting as I can’t do away with all formalities in my position or some may think I am aiming to add another consort. Something that I am sure neither of you would be amenable to.”
“Thank you, Lady Sakurai. I appreciate your decorum and hospitality. Lingxin and I are more than grateful to finally make your acquaintance as formal or informal as it may be.”
“Xeal speaks true. While your hospitality has been wonderful, we do have important matters to discuss.”
“I understand, but first I would like to get to know you a bit better. My children have been reporting a few interesting things these past few days. Is it true that while you would like your guild to have wide networks of commerce across the world, you only wish to have a major presence in Nium, Xeal?”
“It is, Lady Sakurai. It is to ensure that I do not become what I fear.”
“And what is that?”
“A plague that consumes everything in front of it as it grows endlessly.”
“I see, and you believe that if you fully tied yourself to multiple countries, you would become that?”
“Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
“Oh, am I corrupt?”
“I have no way of knowing, Lady Sakurai, as I have not dived into your empire and how it is run, past the surface level. For all I know you are a figurehead, or a puppet, for those with the true power, or you could be helpless against those who are in charge of the day to day. You also have to contend with the other nations on your borders who would love to take your lands as their own. That alone can act as a restraint on corruption.”
“My, my, I must say you do not show fear, Xeal. So what are your thoughts on just what you have seen?”
“You do not have absolute power, though you do rule your empire yourself as you are the puppet master, if any puppets are involved.”
“And you, Lingxin?”
“My brother would never allow himself to be seen as you are now, Lady Sakurai, and while he doesn’t have absolute power, he is much closer to it than you.”
“Does that make you see me as weak?”
“No, it means you have not yet separated yourself from the day to day of your empire as my family has, as can be seen by how hard it has been to get a moment of your time.”
“Alright, now, Kuni, please join us.”
Xeal watched as his guard removed her helm, revealing a face eerily similar to Empress Sakurai Jingū, except clearly much younger. With a wave of her hand, a few servants arrived and within a minute her armor was removed, leaving her in the plain clothing that she wore under her armor at all times. A moment later breakfast was brought in and Empress Sakurai Jingū ordered all servants and guards to clear the area. Lingxin’s guards hesitated until she dismissed them as well, leaving just the four of them at the table to speak.
“Now, Xeal, let me properly introduce you to my eldest daughter and second born, Kuni. She has had the task of observing you for me these past few days and she has made a few interesting observations. Combined with my own information networks, let me lay out why you two are here. I currently have a large group of adventurers who tried to act as the law inside my kingdom. So, I, like any ruler should, imprisoned them without mercy and now you wish for me to set them free. They came to you, Xeal, in your world to ask if you would intervene for them as you are the only one currently with any chance, however small. While I do not know what they have offered you, it had to be enough for you to take the risk, yet you do not want them in Nium. So, you picked the Huáng empire which has something you want, though what it is I haven’t a clue as nothing about it could be discovered, which just intrigues me further. However, that is neither here nor there. The point is that you sold them and now you are here to sell me on it as well. Did I miss anything?”
“Nothing that is pertinent to my purpose here beyond that my price was 96 gold per head freed, to be paid by them over the next 13 years.”
“I see. Thank you for your honesty on that matter. Anything you wish to add, Lingxin?”
“Only that my brother knows our empire is doomed regardless of this deal, and the real thing he is gaining from this is my safety and the continuation of our line.”
“I see. I take it Xeal here is the lucky man. By my count that will make five prospective wives for you, including two princesses. Kuni, what are your impressions of Xeal?”
“He is not a man who rests on his laurels, or neglects to push himself. He is also far fiercer of a warrior than any I have seen at his level. I dare say that before my last tier up I might have lost to him, even with the major discrepancy in levels. As for who he is when he is away from the battlefield, I see a man who can’t help but care about those who care about him.”
“Would he make a good match for you despite the others he is currently involved with?”
“No, he would not, Mother. If he was untethered by others he would be perfect, but I am tied here and he is tied to Nium completely. I see it causing issues for Lingxin as even though she has been released by her brother, it was done by force slightly and she will have to watch her home possibly fall from afar.”
“And you would rather burn with me than survive and continue my line?”
“Mother, Momo would be a better fit if you wish to send one of us away.”
Xeal had been listening to this exchange as it caused a headache to begin to grow in his head, finally he couldn’t let it continue or he would be saddled with an unknown woman as another bride.
“Hold it right there, Lady Sakurai. Please do not give me another bride without asking me. I already have enough of them without you adding more.”
“Xeal, I am a mother and like Lingxin’s brother, I know that my empire is likely doomed. You have already stated that your guild will be unable to help us. Even if I freed them, I could not use the adventurers currently imprisoned as anything without looking too weak to rule. So, I am left with the play to preserve my line and Kuni here is my favorite daughter and second in line for my throne, behind only her brother. I don’t care about the gold, though I will still have to take it to appease my ministers who don’t see our reality. All I want is a place where my children can run to in confidence when the walls crumble.”
“Lady Sakurai, if that is all you are after, then I am able to provide that without marriage.”
“No, you are not. Until you have given me a grandchild, my sons and daughters and their children will not be safe in Nium. You may be close to Prince Victor, but do not think for a moment he would risk the ire of those who triumph over us for such an easily severed bond. Or are you saying that you will rule Nium by that point?”
Xeal had a sour look on his face as he thought through his options. He knew that if he relented now, then he would add another woman to his life. The longer Xeal took to respond, the more assured Lady’s Sakurai’s smile grew and then it hit him.
“Lady Sakurai, you speak as if it is already assured that your nation will fall.”
“Yes, I have no way to avoid it. It may not be for five or so years, but it will come.”
“Lady Sakurai, I will do this. Your empire will fall only due to it being such a soft target due to the removal of Jingong. Over the next two years I will help establish a power here that will counter that issue and if I fail to instill confidence in your ability to survive, at that point I will take one of your daughters as a wife.”
“Hmm, you would need to work on giving me a grandchild immediately after the wedding and she would be joining you after you have wed the others. No, you will court one of my daughters while you work to resolve this issue. If you succeed before your wedding date with Princess Enye, I will call it off if that is what you still wish. Otherwise, you will be leaving your wedding with Princess Enye to be wed here, and I dare say you will then leave to be wed to Lingxin in the Huáng empire directly after. We can’t have any of your princesses getting too far in front of the others, after all.”
Xeal wanted to remove the smile that Lady Sakurai had on her face as she waited for his response, but he had nothing to counter her words as she was right. Once he married Enye, any further courtships of royalty would reflect poorly on the lady who was courting him. It would seem like they were a war prize more than a wife as it would be assumed that she was gained through hostile negotiations.
“Lady Sakurai, you are correct and I failed to think my counter through. It sounds like you still have things to figure out on your end and I will need to speak with Prince Victor and my other brides on this matter as I cannot simply accept it without doing so first. Also, while it is a fact that I have accepted that I will likely court and marry Lingxin, it will not be official until after I do the same regarding her.”
“I see. Very well, we will shelve this until tomorrow morning as I believe both of us will be otherwise occupied until then. I do hope we can come to an agreeable solution together at that time.”
With that Xeal returned to his room with far too much on his mind and without anyone to discuss this with before his next login.
Xeal walked down the road on his way to the palace to pick up Dyllis for their date; he knew he would also need to sit with Enye and Victor to discuss things. When he had told Dyllis that he needed to delay their date slightly for the chat, she had seemed disappointed, but at the same time she understood. When the four of them were seated in Victor’s study ten minutes later, Xeal launched into a full status update that lasted a full twenty minutes before he stopped for questions. Needless to say, there were plenty from Enye and Dyllis about the ladies before Victor cut in.
“Xeal, you say that both nations foresee their own falls in the wars that are to come?”
“No, only the emperor and empress, respectfully. I am not sure of if the nobles and officials of the Muthia empire see it yet, but it is safe to say that only the emperor does in the Huáng empire.”
“I see. Thank you, and you are marrying those princesses so long as they are not a major issue with your other wives. That said, I need to never let you go on another diplomatic assignment unless I want you to come home with another princess.”
“Ha, ha very funny. How about I have the empress send one of her daughters to be your bride instead?”
“There would need to be an alliance first and with them looking like a sinking ship, I would be a fool to do that as it could take us with them.”
“Brother, how can you simply agree to letting these other nations tie Xeal to them like this?”
“Enye, it is quite simple. If they truly do fall, Xeal will act as a magnet for the remnants of their strength. While there will be slight issues caused by this, when it comes to our own survival it will be of great help to our cause.”
“Brother, is all you can think of power?”
“Enye, Victor is right, though I would like to add that among those issues will be the ones trying to kill my wives and children disguised in those remnants. Then you will have the ones who wish to retake their homeland and place my wife, or child, on that throne, or worse, yours. Are you ready to deal with those issues, because I will not accept responsibility for my actions should any of those scenarios play out.”
“Noted. Now I believe you and Dyllis have a date to get to. I will continue to monitor the situation, but if I don’t see any major reason to refuse, you will be having three weddings in one day.”
Xeal was annoyed at just how easily Victor agreed to the proposals as he led Dyllis on a late evening stroll through the noble shopping district as they chatted about happier topics. To make up for the terrible start to their date, Xeal took her to one of the most expensive restaurants for dinner. When they were seated, Dyllis started asking Xeal questions about Lingxin as she wished to know as much as she could before she arrived. By the end of dinner, Xeal felt terrible about how much he had talked about another woman when Dyllis was meant to be the center of his attention. Even though Dyllis had a bright smile on her face, he still felt like it wasn’t fair to her as he walked her back to the palace before returning to the Muthia empire.
The following morning, Xeal once again found himself eating breakfast with Empress Sakurai Jingū, only this time it was not just Kuni that was seated with her. Three more young ladies had joined the table. Each of them looked to be in their late teens to early 20’s. They were introduced as the four of-age daughters of Empress Sakurai Jingū: Momo, Mari and Kuri. As Xeal looked at each of them, he could see that while they all shared the empress’ black hair and brown eyes, they each had different facial features, unlike Kuni, who Xeal was still taken aback by how much she looked like her mother. Momo was the second eldest and had the gentlest smile as she met Xeal. Next was Mari, who looked at Xeal with the most scrutiny as she kept her expression neutral. Then the youngest, Kuri, who must have just passed her 18th birthday recently and still had a bit of her baby fat on her cheeks, and just felt warm as she smiled. Xeal knew what was to come as the empress instated the same rules as last time, before clearing the area of anyone not involved as they chatted over breakfast.
“So, Xeal, which of my daughters catches your eye the most.”
“Lady Sakurai, I do not wish to judge them like one would a melon at the market. Yes, Prince Victor has given his tentative approval, but they are each their own person and if I were to try to decide simply by looks, not only would I be here all day, but I would miss their best parts.”
“See, what did I say, he is not only after arm candy. Now before I turn this into a bridal interview for real, there is a bit of business to take care of. Lingxin, you can inform your brother that I will agree so long as he pays the 30,000,000 and the prisoners sign a contract. The contract for us just needs to say that they will never step into any lands we have at any point from now, and moving forward, been controlled by the Muthia empire. I would also request that the contracts all be held by Xeal in trust, with him being the recipient of any unpaid funds should something happen to the Huáng empire.”
Xeal choked when he heard that last line as she had basically said that when the Huáng empire fell, he would see a massive increase in funds. Though at that point, those funds would be nothing compared to the 30,000,000 that was being paid today, in purchasing power. Inflation was a major issue in ED as guilds grew and gathered more and more gold each day.
“Lady Sakurai, I do believe my brother will be fine with that so long as Xeal does marry me, so that will need to be worked in as well.”
“That is fine. I do believe, unless something drastic happens, you have already secured him, regardless of any of this. Now, daughters, please take some time to get to know Xeal as Lingxin and I speak more off to the side.”
As Lingxin and Lady Sakurai left, Xeal felt like a piece of meat that had been placed before a pack of wolves as the four ladies looked at him. It was Kuri who spoke first, and it was like a dam broke after that as each of them asked him one thing after another. Kuri seemed to want to know what he did for fun outside adventuring. Mari wanted to know things related to how he planned to realize his plans and how he planned to ensure their safety. Momo took the passive approach, letting her younger sisters ask all the questions while stepping in whenever they asked a question she felt was inappropriate. As Kuni had watched him for days already and had already said she didn’t wish to leave the empire, she simply smiled as Xeal talked with her and her sisters. Xeal, for his own part, asked each of them their fair share of questions as well to ensure he knew about them as well. By the time Lingxin returned with Lady Sakurai to bring an end to the interrogation, Xeal had a fair idea at the surface level who each of the ladies were. Each was a warrior, as unlike most nations, the noble ladies of this empire were expected to fight and rule as much as the men were. Kuni was the leader of them while Momo was the empathetic one who always looked to find common ground. From what Mari showed, she was all about results and liked to over analyze everything, while Kuri simply enjoyed living and finding things that brought her joy.
