"I demand an explanation for this, Your Majesty!" Hesron shouted as he pushed aside the two guards who were trying to hold him back "Why is my daughter's future husband marrying another woman?!"
In panic, Valantine looked to Valasaire in hopes to clear up the situation but he didn't know that Valasaire was already churning his head to think of a way to calm the Great Lord.
"My Lord this is all... I-I-... I can explain!" Valantine was panicking and stuttering as he tried to explain the situation to the enraged Hesron
"You shut up...! *BAM*" Hesron violently punched Valantine across his head as he quickly made his way to the ground in full force. Amazingly, that punch didn't knock him out immediately. Amara shouted in panic as she immediately rushed to her husband's aid.
Valasaire's expression grew stern at the scene though Valamar could see his father's eyes were secretly bright. The king must be truly enjoying the scene in front of him right now.
"Okay, that's enough." Valasaire finally said as he raised his hand signalling the guards who were ready to apprehend Lord Hesron to stop what they were doing. King Valasaire got up from his seat as he walked up to Lord Hesron and bowed "On behalf of the House of Vala, I sincerely apologise for the disgrace this situation has caused you, Lord Hesron."
King Esteban and Prince Miguel were shocked at the scene. For a fully sovereign king to bow his head to a lord. Seeing the confusion on the face of the Provarians, Valaron stepped in to explain,
"It's a Rumasilian thing. The other six noble houses are just as ancient as ours and what Valantine did was equivalent to stepping and spitting on the pride of one of the great houses. Out of all the prudeness of our people in the ways of the church, the Rumasilians easily succumb to the sin of pride... Anyways, you don't need to worry. This doesn't mean that the Royal Dynasty is in any way subservient to any of the other Great Houses. We are the eldest of the great houses and we are the family that rules the kingdom..."
Just as Valaron said that, Valasaire had already returned to his seat, beckoning Lord Hesron to do the same. Lord Hesron nodded though still with an unpleasant expression on his face.
"Your majesty, I demand a full explanation of the situation. I want to know what caused all of this and why you of all people went through with this outrage!" Hesron said sternly though after calming himself from the previous rage
"Lord Valantine appears to have impregnated that woman there." Valasaire explained "Like it or not, the child she bears is that of the Valamen. The Valamen do not have bastards. All children whose father is a Valamen are Valamens themselves, as enshrined in our constitution. In this situation there is nothing I can do. You and your noble house will be compensated properly as is dictated by law. When we return to Rumasil, you may send your lawyers to the royal court to sort out the details and the legal charter."
"I had an oath with Lord Valian! He said his son would marry my daughter!" Hesron said
"And my father said I was going to marry a Slavic Princess, what's your point?" Valasaire quickly retorted "The law stands above all else in this matter. They are married, witnessed by an official of the church as well as myself. There are no annulments after the deed has been done."
Seeing Lord Hesron having a distraught expression on his face, Valasaire couldn't help but give a bitter smile. There was nothing he could do on this matter any further. Lord Hesron gritted his teeth as he punched the ground. He then looked to the king with a calmer expression.
"But what of my daughter? What about her love for that fool?!"
"I wouldn't exactly call an unhealthy obsession love..." Valasaire said
Hesron accepted bitterly what the king had said. He knew full-well of his daughter's character towards her fiancee was more out of an obsession of entering the Valamen family. He knew that she couldn't hope to marry the king's direct descendants but he had hoped to enter her into a prestigious branch anyways. Hesron now showed a complicated look.
"Well, these personal matters should be taken care of at another time. Tomorrow we must march to Valencei and quickly put an end to this campaign. I hope you wouldn't do anything subversive, lord?" Valasaire said with a tone that indicated he was done discussing the matters any further
"...Of course not, your majesty." Hesron said as he caught on to the king's mood and he immediately bowed till his head touched the ground "Please forgive me for the utter disrespect and disobedience I have shown to your sovereignty..."
"It is of no matter. After all, it was from my side which caused you offence. Now I believe we should all retire for an early start." Valasaire said as he clasped his hands together
Soon after, the people there bowed to the King as they left. Before Hesron left, he couldn't help giving a spiteful gaze towards the newlywed couple and said with the coldest tone, "I wish you both eternal happiness in this life... till death do you part."
Valantine and Amara couldn't help but get a shiver from the cold tone the old General spoke in. When everyone left, Valaron was the last one there as he sat down next to his brother.
"Well, that could've gone worse." He said as he took the wine bottle from his brother's hands and poured it into his own goblet "Could've gone a lot worse... this wine is the best."
"Alright, that's enough drinking." Valasaire said as he quickly swiped the wine bottle from his brother and put it in a chest before locking it and hiding the key in his pants "Now, no one's gonna get it. Unless you fancy poking around a grown man's trousers" The King shook his hips in front of his brother's face while laughing and teasing
"Get that away from me, you perverted and stingy ass." Valaron said with a little smile as he pushed his brother back down
"I'm not stingy! Well, at least not compared to Manuel."
"The damned dwarves are more charitable than that miser." Valaron retorted "I'll be damned if I have to ask for money from him."
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"You're lucky he isn't here to hear you or else you'd be on the receiving end of one of his bloody excuses."
"How a man can quote scriptures to justify being stingy is beyond me." Valaron said "...anyways, who'll be writing the letter to 'ompung master jendral?' ( Great General grandpa / Valahan )"
"He'll have a long winded lecture ready that's for sure. Old man can give father a run for his money." Valasaire groaned as he pondered the thought on having to pen a letter that might send the elder flying to a fit of rage "Screw it, I'm writing it. We're not the ones who're going to be beaten anyways. Valantine's gonna have so many people gunning for him when we get back. The show's gonna be great!"
"You devilish bastard, abang."
"Oh come on, it's like you don't even know your own big brother." Valasaire raised his goblet and clinked it to his brother's "Sul Vala!"
"Sul Vala!" Valaron answered
The two brothers drank and continued to talk until they eventually fell asleep on the ground, snoring loudly in response to each other which even the guards outside the camp could hear. The campaign was going to end. All that was left was to march into Valencei.
***
It was midday when the large Rumasilian army caught sight of Valencei. The noise and bustle of the city was nonexistent with the gates closed shut and the streets outside of the walls completely void of human presence. Valamar saw through his telescope to catch a glimpse of the state of the city.
Though they haven't even laid siege to the city, things were looking quite desperate already. Some of the guards on the battlements looked like they were still snot-nosed brats, which in all honesty they still were, while the rest looked like they were already long past their prime. It was clear as day to everyone in the invading army. The war has been all but won.
"Looks like Lae (cousin) Christopher's blockade did quite the number to the city." Vald said to his brother "It's gonna be an easy win."
"Not necessarily, your majesties." King Esteban said "The remaining noble families might still have their private guards near their estates so we best still be wary."
"It shouldn't be much of a problem." Valamar said as he put away his telescope into his belt "We should try sending an emissary. They're going to surrender if they know what's good for them. Is your brother prepared, your majesty?"
"I was born prepared." Miguel said as he rode up his horse towards the group at the head of the army "Wish me luck, amigos."
Miguel wasn't wearing any battle armour, instead donning his formal attire, befitting a high-class envoy. He wore a side cape embedded with the royal Valamen crest of Provaria. Behind him followed a few horsemen holding the banners and flags of the Kingdoms of Rumasil and Aerland as well as Provaria.
When they saw the company approaching, the battlements started to be filled with soldiers who were looking out at the vast army on the field in front of the city. The state of the city was tumultuous to say the least with the only semblance of leadership left in the hands of some minor noblemen. As the distance had reached the point where his words could be heard, Miguel stopped his horse and cleared his throat before he shouted at the top of his lungs.
"This is the last chance given to you by His Majesty, O citizens of Valencei, the jewel of Provaria!" Miguel said firmly "Surrender now and the king will show you mercy! Resist and only hope that the Lord Above have mercy in His heart for you!"
As Miguel said that, the soldiers on the battlements started to falter. They all knew the meaning behind the fact that the enemy force managed to get this far. The last bastion of the Gissario forces had been summarily defeated and all hope has been mostly lost.
Valamar continued to observe the reactions of the soldiers on the wall through his telescope and quickly took note of the wavering morale on the walls. He quickly gave the signal to the army and soon after, the thousands of captured conscript soldiers were lined up in front of the army. Their hands and feet were bound and they were being guarded by armed knights, but it was clear their condition wasn't all that bad. The Rumasilian army clearly didn't torture this lot.
Some of the soldiers on the wall began shouting as they spotted the row of prisoners. It was to be expected as the captive conscripts were mostly drawn from the surrounding villages and towns and so were most likely related to the soldiers guarding the city.
When Miguel saw this, he smiled and took the opportunity to persuade the soldiers of the city once again.
"As you can see, we are no savages!" He exclaimed "We bring no harm to those conscripts who were forced to fight us and who surrendered immediately! The last thing His Majesty wants is more bloodshed! Surrender now and be reunited with your families! Once again, pronounce your loyalty to the true king and all will be forgiven! Besides the criminals and the traitor nobles, we will not seek trial for any of you!"
As he said that, many of the soldiers on the walls immediately tossed their weapons aside and soon enough, the gates to the city were opened to welcome the army. King Valasaire still positioned his artillery to target the battlements just in case the small likelihood that this was a trap happened.
About half an hour after the gates were opened, something truly surprising happened. Hundreds of people, civilians be they man, woman, or child, and even some elderly began running towards the army. The soldiers started to get into position at this turn of events and were bracing for orders while the gunners were ready to open fire.
But just before a battle was about to erupt, King Esteban raised his hand, signalling the soldiers to stand down.
"Do not engage them!" Esteban shouted "They are no soldiers! Merely citizens!"
At first the soldiers, especially the Rumasilian ones, were reluctant to comply and were still standing at attention preparing for a fight, but when they saw King Valasaire nodding, they stood down but were still on alert.
It was a heartwarming scene where women and children ran towards their captive husbands and brothers embracing each other again, although it was clear some of the people were distraught when they saw that their family wasn't there and began to cry.
Vald quickly moved towards the scene to maintain a stable order and keep the people in line while Valantine positioned himself to lead the soldiers to march inside the city. The gates were large enough for six lines of soldiers to march side by side so he formed a formation of crossbows at the outer position followed by spearmen beside them and then to have heavy infantry stationed in the middle of the six column formation in case there were still soldiers in the city willing to resist.
Vald showed his compassion towards the citizens and guided them towards the temporary prisoner of war camps so they could be with their families. It was mostly clear that most of the people who ran out weren't inhabitants of the city proper, most likely being refugees from the nearby empty villages and farms. They looked malnourished and impoverished due to what most likely was a heavy tax burden.
Though he knew he couldn't do much, he still made it so that at least the children could get some food from the leftover rations from the military spoils.
As Vald was busy with the logistics, the rest of the officers followed behind the main army along with their majesties into the city. The war was mostly won, but there still remain the problems of capturing the main palace inside the city as well as the noble estates that have yet to formally surrender.
Valamar secretly took a deep breath as he rode behind the Provarian king. He sensed that this was still merely a prelude to even bigger drama and bloodshed to come. He wasn't riding with Cassandra as she had agreed to stay back with the forces outside the city due to her pregnancy. He promised to allow her into the city once the situation calms down a little.
And so they made their way into the city and headed straight for the palace. The goal of capitulating the Gissario was almost complete. Only a few more steps and the campaign would end in a resounding victory that would last throughout the ages.