"I refuse to believe that!" Lars raised his voice as he looked at the confused general.
"But, my Lord..." General Jergen slowly shook his head.
"But that is the truth, Father." Theresa leaned in the comfortable chair. "This is what I always meant when I told you that the Emperor's authority is unquestionable and unchallenged."
"Theresa, this is simply impossible! There must have been some well-hidden factions waiting for the first signs of the Emperor's weakness." King Lars huffed, offended, and rubbed his eyes. "What is happening here, is most probably a case when the ruler is in favour of the people and-"
"Hahahaha!" Theresa almost doubled over. "No, oh, Dad, you are so wrong! You make the mistake of thinking about Arcadia in terms of an old country that had many rulers through the ages. But Arcadia is young, a few months old as you know. Emperor Theon Avalon used his own armies to win the wars in Cridia and Berna. He never truly needed the help of the nobles or wealthy merchants so he never granted anyone special privileges or positions."
The King slumped in his chair a little bit and slowly covered his mouth with his hand. As he closely observed his daughter, he knew that she wasn't pulling any pranks on him. He rubbed his beard and let out a prolonged sigh.
"Why? Why someone so powerful is stopping themselves from taking Iceleon?"
"There is no value in waging a constant war." Theresa sighed. "His words, not mine."
"That's it?" Lars almost barked angrily. "I must understand what drives him. What are his plans and goals? If I made a single mistake..."
"Then what, Father?" The Princess cackled amusedly. "I offered him a political marriage and he declined. If he wanted Iceleon he would already have it without spilling a single drop of blood."
"What?!" Lars stood from his chair and looked down at Theresa. "Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Well..." She turned red and lowered her head. "It wasn't my proudest moment. Even now I'm embarrassed."
"Argh!" Lars dropped heavily back on his chair as he vigorously ruffled his hair. "So we can assume that he is honest?"
The last word was spoken with such shock and absurdness in his voice that it almost sounded like a swear word. The King took a deep sip of cold water and closed his eyes. His mind was racing as he mulled over such a ridiculous idea: an honest ruler...
"One of the Empresses told me that they can afford to be honest because of the might of their armies and the power they personally wield. And I believe them..." Theresa added much quieter than before.
"Ridiculous..." Lars huffed angrily.
"If Your Highness would like to consider, everything they have shown us so far confirms their claims." Count Jergen carefully disagreed. "Even if this ship is one of their biggest, it possesses considerable firepower and we don't even know how many warriors it carries on board. Considering its size, we can safely assume it carries around five, maybe six hundred sailors..."
"What exactly are you implying?" Princess Theresa asked with a deceivingly calm voice.
"Sorry... I wanted to say that ships like HMS Scimitar are practical evidence of the Arcadian Royal Family's honesty. A ship this big can be deployed alone to destroy entire formations or even armies of any potential enemies of Arcadia. The name of this ship class is most telling:... The Destroyers..."
"I'm glad that you are looking at this situation rationally, General Jergen." The Princess slowly nodded.
"But... It's not working like that!" Lars grumped as he further ruffled his hair in frustration.
"He is a man who is capable of controlling Dungeons, Father," Theresa said quietly. "Someone like him doesn't have to follow the rules that have reigned our lives for millennia. He makes his own rules."
"All right..." The King sighed heavily and closed his eyes for a moment. Once calm, he opened them again and tried to speak controlled but still sounded offended. "So we can assume that he is honest. Is this truly a chance for Iceleon or another trap foreshadowing our final destruction?"
"I don't know..." The General slowly and sadly shook his head.
"I would rather be optimistic instead of looking for another disaster to strike." Theresa shrugged.
"We must be wary after the Bernan Patriarch lineage was extinguished..." The General mused.
"Elisabeth Berna is alive. As well as her two sisters. When the two sisters stepped down from politics, they began attending the Royal University of Avalon. Elisabeth married Raphael Nix. He is currently a Lieutenant General and overall commander of the Arcadian forces in Everlight - the former Berna. Elisabeth is the Queen and one of the reasons why Theon Avalon was elevated to the status of Emperor by the World's Words. Before Mia and Tia Francesca married Theon Avalon, they pledged fealty to him which added two more countries under his reign. 'The one who rules Kings is called Emperor.' Those are the World's Words." Theresa said.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
"How do you know that?" Lars demanded, feeling woefully unprepared for the meeting he was heading.
"It's common knowledge in Arcadia." She shrugged but became gradually more and more agitated. "I know that placing a spy is extremely hard but, in this case, it would be enough to send a few soldiers to a tavern. Before they got drunk, I believe they would gather far more interesting intelligence than you can imagine."
"Theresa!"
"What? Do you know how you sound, Father?" She asked angrily. "We are sitting inside the Arcadian warship and you are sounding as if you want to make them our enemies! You question everything, looking for weaknesses to exploit and assume you know everything! I won't allow you to ruin Iceleon's future. I won't let you ruin my future!"
"Calm down, Theresa." King Lars suddenly looked around as if only her outburst reminded him where he was. "I just wanted to..."
"If anyone spoke like that about Iceleon or you and you found out about it, what would you do? What would you do in the Emperor's place?" She looked at him with fury. "Stop spouting nonsense!"
Her father started turning red in anger but, before he was able to cry out, someone knocked at the door, visibly startling everyone. Theresa gave her Father a wide-eyed stare as if he had sentenced them all to death. Even General Jergen straightened nervously and his forehead was instantly covered in sweat. The knocking repeated and King Lars noticed the silent accusation in his daughter's stare: 'What have you done, Father?' She took a very slow breath and slowly turned around as she managed to say: "Come in!"
The doors opened with a clang and the Captain entered their room. He was softly smiling, which allowed Theresa to relax a little bit.
"We are approaching the Dungeon of Bravefall. In ten minutes we will be landing." He informed them with a mysterious smile painted on his face. "Would you like to observe the final approach?"
"Gladly!" Theresa replied with a smile and gave one more angry stare at her Father.
She stood up, not giving him a single opportunity to protest, and left with the Captain. The King and his General shared a troubled look and followed the two in silence. King Lars gave himself a moment to rethink what Theresa said and wondered if his concerns were legitimate or not. Ultimately, it was he who was responsible for the Kingdom and its people. Lars watched the back of his daughter walking side by side with the tall man and he internally sighed. What if Theresa was right and they had to change their ways? The idea seemed so abstract and absurd that Lars very slowly concluded he was denying the very possibility. However, the evidence that the Emperor was so strangely open and honest was all around him. As he followed wherever the Captain was leading, he could not help but notice the Arcadian Marines standing guard.
He focused on one of them. Normally, the old King would meet such a sight with a lighthearted smile. The young man was barely an adult, maybe seventeen years old and his combat gear looked shiny and new. With his small frame, the man looked like the squire of a wealthy knight who wanted to amuse himself and employ him while he was still a kid. The polished black and blue armour was perfectly maintained and the sword on his hip looked unused. Normally, a sight like that would amuse Lars. However, his impressions melted away the moment he looked into the young man’s eyes. His dark eyes were defiant and held the calm and composed gaze of a veteran of hundreds of victorious battles. Their gazes met the moment Lars tried to appraise him. An amused smile crossed the Marine’s face and his eyes shone with a deep blue hue of mana as the Marine appraised him in return. What Lars saw was so unbelievable that he almost tripped.
This wasn't a child or even a veteran but a monster in Human flesh. The Marine was level 100 and had a subclass that was almost maxed as well. Having a subclass was something so rare that it would guarantee him a noble status in Lars' country. Yet, it seemed like Arcadia escaped from the confines of logic that ruled Aderon for centuries. Lars smiled awkwardly at the Marine, nodded, and received a polite bow in return. That short encounter made him observe things more carefully as they walked. The sailors and officers were attending to their duties in a way almost unthinkable to Lars a few days ago. There was no noticeable rift between the soldiers of various standing like in his army. Is that what Theresa saw during her short stay in Avalon? He walked in silence, taking in the sights around him, and thinking. He paused briefly when they crossed the boundary of the Bravefall Dungeon but no one seemed bothered in the slightest.
Soon, they reached the exit where Captain Thornton and his daughter were waiting for Lars and Jergen. The Captain and Theresa were chatting with low voices and laughing through smiles. For the first time in his life, Lars saw Theresa blushing. For a moment, his heart melted as he remembered times when she was just a kid - his little princess. Back then, he promised to do everything to make her happy. Now that they had both grown older, he knew how much that promise was nearly impossible to keep. After everyone was given their coats, they walked out of the warm and cosy ship straight onto the cold and windy deck of the destroyer. While Lars and Jergen were slightly trembling from the cold, Theresa and Captain Thornton looked fine. Only then, Lars noticed she was wearing a fur coat she must have recently received. The two leaned over the ship's railings and, suddenly, Theresa straightened with a short shocked scream, hit the Captain on his upper limb, and then they both laughed. The King was speechless as he and the General joined them.
"Now you can see yourself, Lord Lars, I wasn't lying. Behold the armoured fist of Arcadia!" With a big smile, he extended his arm towards something below.
On the surface of a large lake, in a huge harbour were standing nine ships. Seven of them looked small compared to the biggest one. They were still high above them but, even so, the ships looked intimidating. Another shiver ran down King Lars' spine as he realised what he was looking at.
"Rejoice as the HMS Dauntless leading the First Fleet of Arcadia has arrived!" The Captain opened his arms in an inviting gesture as HMS Scimitar began its fast descent.
His heart missed a beat as the warships' size grew bigger with each passing moment. He slowly raised his eyes at Theresa, who looked at him with a soft smile and he finally understood her change. There was nothing they could do when facing such an absolute power. As the Arcadian destroyer touched the lake's surface like a feather, it swiftly approached the harbour. As the King took a closer look at the sister vessels of Scimitar, the view was covered by the monstrous shape of the Arcadian flagship.
"The Arcadian Monarch decided to become our ally, Father. Can you see now why I question your behaviour? Do you understand what protections Emperor Theon Avalon can offer if only he wishes?" Theresa asked so quietly that only he could hear her voice. "I have seen Avalon in all its majesty and glory, Father. I have seen the armies of the Empire. I realised that we, in our hubris, are insignificant specks in the face of the man whose single wish is enough to make such an army obey. Do you want to make someone like that angry?"
He tightly closed his hands on the railing of the airship until his knuckles went pale. The cold steel was reassuring and he took steadying breaths. In the distance, on the wharf, he noticed a large group of soldiers and carriages waiting for their arrival. He fearfully looked at his daughter and, then, slightly nodded. Something deep inside him broke and Lars realised it was his pride. Lieutenant Commander Victor Thornton softly smiled as he looked at King Lars.
"My Lord is expecting us all at the embassy."