"Organized protests cripple the Empire of Larissa! Scattered radio reports point to local revolutions in small and major cities. Units of the Imperial Army have been noted to be fighting each other. Imperial Princess Anastasia Illyenov, the younger sister of the now detained Empress Katerina Illyenov, declared a 'State of Emergency' in the Imperial Capital after sending a 'Declaration of Immediate Peace' to both Order Pact and Ivory Alliance member states. It is unknown if the youngest member of House Illyenov is attempting a power grab in the fallout of the Northern Sea Campaign. The extremism of this revolution must be noted with great alert, however, as scattered reports of 'anti-magic' massacres reach the ears of our ground reporters. This is nothing short of a disaster!"

- The Arcane Updates

"Organized takeovers have proven successful! After months of riots, militia agitation, and negotiations with Imperial Army officers, our brothers in the Larissan Brotherhood Front (LBF) have now taken over multiple major cities of the blasted Empire! We are watching as the inept and corrupt aristocracy of the Empire turn tail while their wands fall off from their hands as the revolutionary tide chases them off their ivory towers. This marks the day that the revolution turned the tide for us men - the two superpowers of the Matriarchy have fallen!"

- The Front Newspaper

"Another lamentable attack against liberty and democracy in the name of our rights is happening before our eyes once more. It is a shame that more and more of the movement is being hijacked by extremist elements. The collapse of the Empire has been long overdue, but this is not what men's rights stand for!"

- Liberty One Radio

+++

"I see…well, in that case, why should we even prioritize OAF POWs, Your Majesty?" The Archduchess coldly suggested, leading to an infuriated groan from William.

It had been three days of negotiations already with the Putschists, and Amelie was still far from achieving any productive deal with them.

And that wasn't great, because she was running out of time. The ceasefire, while a massive relief (as she had seen nothing but the distant horrors of war for entire months), was not exactly in an indefinite time frame. Eventually, those eight days would be over, and the Grand Duchy would be back once more in a slugging match to slay each other.

And most unideal of all, Pristina and William were now once again in a bitter duel of words over who they should prioritize for the POW exchange.

And since the Colonel made it clear that "releasing female hostages" would come at a "significant cost in exchange" meant that there was a massive possibility that they would not agree to a POW exchange where all women are released - alongside three thousand soldiers of the OAF.

"Look." William breathed out. "We've been dying for you like flies, and this is how you plan to repay us? I can't accept any POW exchange where none of my men would at least see freedom."

"And I will not accept any exchange where any woman is left in the hands of these men. Major William, this entire revolution is anti-women, not anti-men. Surely you understand that women are more at risk from abuse under their captivity."

"As if those extremists will not shy from abusing their fellow men who aren't following their ideology. Did you forget Red Street?"

"Don't bring that up…"

"I will, because if any of you have the false idea that these men will somehow not be vile with their fellow men just because they fight for 'men's rights', then I'll keep reminding both of you about that night."

"Alright…" Amelie said, quite tired of their bickering (again). "I understand both of your points, but we have to make a choice that will be for the best benefit of our cause. William, what decision do you think will yield us the most practical effect?"

"Well, ignoring the questionable morality of this entire thing, releasing women first will be more practical, as we are trying to get more women to the fight, and that should send a message to most women volunteering that they will be prioritized should they be endangered." He looked down. "And bitterly, I admit that my fellow men will not even bat an eye if we abandon them. It will just be business as usual. There won't be any morale loss when the morale is nonexistent anyway."

The Archduchess held a smug smile, which further irritated William.

"Well, at least you have some brain in your skull." She taunted.

"Do refrain from insulting my intelligence."

"Well, I suppose you did hold the Royal Capital from impossible odds. As expected from an officer molded in the trenches of the Great War."

"I'm not just some war dog, you know?"

Amelie cleared her throat, as the role of referee was clearly hers. These two would always butt heads as if their entire existence was all for the sole purpose of contradicting each other, but at least it wasn't as bad as when Heindhöff and Pristina spoke to each other in one room.

However, Amelie mused that it could be explained simply by William's nigh infinite patience, and his eerie ability to stay composed in the face of utter hopelessness. A little verbal spar from an aristocrat shouldn't bother him too much, but Amelie had the heart to interfere.

"Look, no need for further fights, the two of you."

"I apologize, Your Majesty." The Archduchess quickly said. "I was just making things clear for him."

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"Yeah, sure…clear…" William breathed out as he looked away from her.

"But, anyway," Amelie said softly at the two. "Now that we know which one will be the most practical course of action, should we do it?"

"Absolutely." The Archduchess replied just as quickly.

"Sure…not like it will matter anyway. Saving a few thousand of my men will still leave over ten thousand detained." He shook his head with a self-deprecating laugh. "Not like it will change how morally screwed all this is."

"I truly apologize, William."

"Don't apologize to me. You owe that to those men only."

"I…" Amelie sighed. "I understand."

"Good. Let's get back to them then."

+++

The rebel trio was eating their lunch when Amelie walked inside the room. It wasn't exactly five-star gourmet, no, but it was half-decent at least. Amelie didn't really want to treat the three like an awful host would.

So far, while their stance had been staunch and hardline, they didn't show her any disrespect. On the contrary, these men treated her as a bit of an equal. Which, if she was some different monarch, would be quite insulting - but she honestly preferred that to being worshiped.

Or being looked at as an evil enemy. She'd seen enough of that.

"I'm back."

The Colonel stood up.

"Have you made up your decision?"

The Archduchess and William followed her inside, and she nodded.

"Yes. At least, on the subject of POWs."

"Well, I'm quite sure that High Command will be pleased with having our men and officers back regardless." His gaze hardened. "After all, we don't leave our brothers behind."

That seemed to have shot William down, as his expression darkened. Amelie felt bad for him, but, well, these were Royal Guard Knights and nobles that she needed to rescue. And, it really wasn't like she had the chance to rescue those men anyway.

Exchanging above ten thousand OAF troops for three thousand rebels just would never happen. The Colonel made that crystal clear.

I have no choice left.

She took her seat, alongside William and Pristina in front of the three rebels. They set aside their lunch for the files and documents, while Amelie herself fetched the draft of the ceasefire agreement.

"So." The Colonel began. "I believe I made myself clear earlier. There's no way that our leadership would accept the earlier proposals, including the revised ones."

"Yes, I understand, we already took account of that."

"Good. Because it just cannot happen. You can't have everything from this."

"But at the very least, if you accept this one, this will set a precedent for future negotiations, no?"

"The possibility of further POW exchanges?"

"Ceasefires and other agreements." She wasn't really sure about all this, but if there was anything she hoped for, at the very least, an agreement here would make the future less bleak.

Of course, she could not predict the future. Maybe if she beat them off harder, talking to them would be harder as they radicalized further in response (and she knew they were already really radicalized), but she wanted these negotiations to succeed even if hostilities resumed.

At least, to prove that diplomatic avenues would be a possible option eventually. If there was anything she feared, it was total diplomatic absence. She didn't want to fight them to the last, even if she would win.

That would be too many Orlish lives lost - even if they were rebels.

"Well, I'm sure our leadership will be quite pleased that you Royalists can be talked with. Yes, that is a possibility."

"Good."

"So what is it then?"

Amelie, with slight reluctance, handed over the draft agreement. It stipulated that the exchange would be purely for the release of female POWs, all in exchange for the release of all rebel POWs captured in the Grand Duchy.

Alongside it was an eighteen-day extension (lowered from the previous agreement) of the ceasefire. It also included clauses about how both sides would react, reasonably, to ceasefire violations, which the Colonel (and William) warned about.

Both of them believed that the tense standoff in the Grand Duchy would result in sporadic, localized streaks of hostilities. Especially in areas where both sides were positioned only a few hundred meters away from each other.

But as long as no major resumption of hostilities occurred (like one side shelling the other side for no reason), it identified possible pipelines for both sides to communicate and resolve violations and cool off hostilities.

After all, an eighteen-day ceasefire would be quite useless if they resumed shooting each other halfway through it.

And finally, a clause about continued negotiations. Amelie hoped that perhaps, she could extend the ceasefire further, but if that wasn't possible…well, she wanted it in there anyway.

The Colonel read through the draft, as his fellow rebel officers took turns checking it, one by one. Amelie watched it while subtly holding her breath at times, all while glancing at the Archduchess, who was growing impatient.

Finally, the Colonel placed her draft on the table with a deep breath.

"I see…"

"So how is it?" Amelie asked.

"Well, it takes the interests of both of our sides well. It's not bad."

"That's great! Shall we make the official copy for the signing already?"

William groaned at her sudden excitement, as this wasn't how diplomacy was supposed to be done. Amelie herself chastised herself for getting way too ahead, and her cheeks slightly reddened.

"Too fast." The Colonel noted.

"Oh, uhm…sorry."

"But anyhow, we request to send this copy to our leadership for a review process. Then we'll sign."

"So you'll return first to your side?"

"Yes."

Well, that did make sense. Of course, they'd have to ask Heindhöff first before the agreement was implemented. That grated her nerves. The last thing she wanted was for that jerk to strike it down and demand more.

"Well, do make haste then." She said, already tired.

"I'll make sure of that." The Colonel replied. "Thank you for this talk. It gives us hope about the future."

"I'm glad. And…I assure you three, if you ever need to surrender, we shall treat you all with dignity. There's no need for any more of this."

He replied neutrally.

"And I assure you the same, should you surrender to us."