The days went by quickly after that. Althea's schedule only grew worse, but at least now she was spending time with other people. Mira had to take up some of her work, and so did Nathan.
The former because Althea basically forced it on her, and the latter so that he would be able to gain administrative experience.
After all, a Crown Prince needed at least some experience before he took the throne. Althea was glad for it. The Merlen kingdom unexpectedly held its capital against the Confederacy's attacks, only increasing Althea's worry about the girl she had sent there.
The lack of communication orbs made it even more complicated. The only way for her to communicate was by ship, and that meant it would be weeks before she knew if anything happened. At least for now, the girl had been welcomed into what was left of the Merlen kingdom, and was able to travel through both Confederacy and kingdom lands freely.
The fleet arrived at the Elara Empire safely, and the trade completed. Isa and Vanessa were both progressing nicely enough, reaching Journeyman 5 on the same day. Althea herself had just managed to breakthrough into Journeyman 6 in the last few months. At least now, she knew how to deal with mental attacks very, very well.
"Can you hear me!" Pulsie's voice said into her mind.
"Yes." Althea replied. "Now try Nathan."
"I already did!"
Althea knew the answer from his tone.
"Ok, now try the Steward." she said, trying to hide her smile. As much as she wanted this to succeed, it wasn't going to.
"That doesn't work."
Althea could practically hear the pout in his tone.
"I told you, a wave function is not the answer." she said, stepping into her bedroom.
"But sound travels like that! And you can't tell me what is the answer either." the plant protested, its leaves shaking audibly as she stepped into the garden.
"I can't! How the heck am I supposed to know, you're the scientist."
"And you're the person that can sense what will work and what won't." the plant replied.
"Well… I just, you know, get a queasy feeling when you do the wrong thing, you know? Like the mana just isn't resonating with what we want it to do. The communication is lacking."
"There you go with your communication. Perhaps you would like to translate for us, because I sure as heck can't talk to mana!"
"Perhaps we should try later." Nathan interrupted. "There are still a few hours before the Countess leaves.”
Althea turned to look at the boy, rolling her eyes at his bored tone.
"No, I am sure she has a hundred things to do before she has to go." Pulsie replied.
Well…there weren't a hundred things to do. But it was true that she didn't have time.
"The two of you will have to continue without me." she said. "I have to talk with Matilda about the slots."
"The college students would be happy to participate, you know." Nathan said.
"I know, but none of them are even at the Journeyman stage yet. Asking them to participate is too much. Even if there are only three of us, it’s better if we all pass. If a third of the Empire's representatives are from the county, then that will be quite prestigious."
"As you wish, your grace." Nathan shrugged. "I have a meeting with the Emperor anyway."
Althea looked towards him, wondering if she should even bother mentioning it. But in the end, this wasn't her choice to make, even if she knew what answer he would give.
"Prince Keron wanted to ask if he could reschedule-" she began.
"No, if he can't attend this month then we can just meet next month." the boy replied quickly, stepping away.
Althea sighed. Nathan's relationship with his father just seemed to get worse. The Marshal was very awkward around his son, but seemed to have an opinion on everything. A royal pride that really got in his way. And a busy schedule he kept prioritizing over his son. Althea had just decided to let it be.
The Marshal was angry with her too. The county's coalition with the Garron family had produced…explosive results. The fleet's defeat of the pirates had led to a huge increase in demand for the Garron family's weaponry. And since they refused to sell it, fleets from as far as the Western coast wanted the family to escort them. This time, they agreed.
Now the Empire had to deal with a part of its naval force wandering around while the situation on the continent grew more precarious.
At least she knew more about that now. Just having a single person in the new capital of Merlen had greatly increased the information she could receive. The King was more than generous since she had been providing supplies to the port city that was under siege.
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The Confederacy did not dare to attack a ship flying under the colors of the Solerian Empire, afraid that the Empire would take the chance to attack them. The only reason the war was still going on, way because the Confederacy was too prideful. The King had basically been confirmed to have power equivalent to a half-step Grandmaster after he had slaughtered a dozen Confederacy Adept stages, including three at the peak of Adept.
That put the Confederacy in an awkward position. On one hand, retreating would show that they had retreated against a mere Kingdom, on the other hand, if they fought longer, they could lose much more.
But that was not for her to deal with. No, the Human cup was what held her attention.
Matilda's image appeared in her orb as she sat down, the Steward contacting the Admiral without needing her to prompt him.
"I greet her grace, the Countess Guarding Diery." Matilda said.
"And I greet her grace, the Admiral Guarding Garron." Althea greeted back. "Have you decided?"
"Yes, it would be unwise for me to participate. I fear my combat ability will prove too disappointing."
"I see." Althea sighed. "I hope you get more practice then. A Color Mage has quite a bit of combat ability."
"I know," Matilda sighed, "But I feel that I am better suited here. In other news, we have been able to make new versions of the current cannons-"
"I will wait a few months." Althea replied, suppressing her giggles. "At the rate you're going, you will have three new versions out by then."
The lack of denial on the other side meant that they probably would have three more versions. A Color Mage did specialize in research. A fact made clear by the frequency at which they were upgrading their weaponry.
Althea had tried several times to get Matilda to come to Diery and help Pulsie, but to no avail. The Vice-Admiral was quite insistent that she was vital to whatever research they were doing.
"As you wish, then." Matilda replied. "I must leave, I wish you luck in the Human cup, Countess. And if you need a few handheld cannons for any reason-"
"I will use the ones I already have." Althea replied as she told the Steward to end the call.
"Mira wished to meet you, Countess." Anthony said, popping his head in.
"Tell her to deal with as much of it as she can, I have to call the Eastern Isles first." Althea replied, nodding her head at the Steward.
The orb glowed again as Jerus' grumpy image appeared.
"How are you doing, Jerus?" Althea asked, fixing a smile on her face. This was practice for later anyway.
"What do you wish, your grace?" The elf said, rude as ever.
"Replying like this could be considered rude, you know." Althea noted. "And I wanted to speak with Verest."
"The Prime Minister is busy at the moment, your grace. I can communicate whatever you wish to say to him."
Althea sighed. The elf would find out later anyway. "Steward Ven will leave with me to the Southern Continent if I am selected. The county will need another Adept to protect it in his place. I was wondering if the Eastern Isles could spare one."
Jerus frowned at her request. "I shall present your request to the council."
"I shall await an answer." she said as the call cut off.
The door opened almost immediately. Althea turned to see Mira carrying in a huge pile of papers with a wicked smile on her face.
Was she sure she had enough time to complete it?
----------------------------------------
In the end, it seemed that she did have enough time. The pile of paperwork got over while she waited for the Empress, who was running late, to pick her up.
A happy coincidence? Not really, more of a sad one. Althea had been hoping for the bell to save her.
"Are you sure you want to pass the law while you might be away, your grace?"
"Yes, Mira. I might be away for several months if I am selected. And I intend to be selected." she said. "Just try your best to settle any hybrids that come this way."
The law she was talking about was of course the law that guaranteed equal rights for hybrids. Even with the Diery county's accepting environment, the law had gone through many, many amendments. But Althea had made sure that the core remained the same. The amendments and conditions added in would not make the law effectless.
"The Empress is here, Countess." the Steward said, interrupting their conversation.
"Just follow the plan, Nathan will help you." ALthea said, getting ready to step out. Thankfully, she had gotten ready an hour ago.
The Empress did not speak to her, teleporting as soon as she was in range. The two of them reappeared in a grand hall Althea realized as being the Emperor's palace. The entire royal council was present, even Matilda.
"Countess, you are finally here." the Duke said. "But where is your team?"
The Empress disappeared beside her, reappearing with Isa. Vanessa was already standing with the other contestants.
"The three of us seem to already be here, Duke Zerolian." Althea replied, sticking to her smile.
"Please, this is no time to quarrel." the Empress said. "The witnesses from the other nations will be here soon."
The Duke's expression did not change, but he didn't comment anything else. The hall's doors soon opened to let a dozen people in, representatives from the other nations. A round of greetings began, where Althea simply smiled and returned a greeting when appropriate.
At least none of the representatives were ranked higher than her. Then again, that was hard to begin with. A member of the Solerian Empire’s royal council was only outranked by an Emperor. Not even a King could make her bow.
"Have the participants assembled?" the envoy from the Sel Empire asked. The Sel Empire was the strongest Empire on the continent, and the de-facto leader of the Human cup.
"Yes." the Empress replied. "As is tradition, the selection shall take place in a challenge format. As this is the Diery county's first Human Cup, they shall be the default."
The challenge format was simple. The contestants from one team would be the 'default'. The contestants from other teams would challenge these ‘default’ contestants, and if they won, they would take their place in the lineup. The final nine standing would be considered to be participating from the Solerian Empire.
"The Diery county will only have three participants this time." Althea said. "Six others from the Leria duchy can join in."
The Leria Duchess nodded, gesturing for her top six to join their ranks.
"Will the Countess herself be participating?" the envoy from the Sel Empire asked.
"Yes." Althea replied, letting her smile widen. "Is there a problem?"
"Not at all. I was merely surprised." the envoy said as the participants lined up. For an event of this scale, it looked extremely informal. But that would be disproved in a few minutes. There was no need to make the setting more formal. The seriousness would be shown by the participants.
"The Zerolian duchy has the first challenge." the Empress said.
The Duke nodded towards someone from his team.
A boy with a distinct resemblance to the Duke stepped forward, holding her gaze as he frowned at her.
"I challenge her grace, the Countess Guarding Diery."