Chapter 2: Meeting with Envoys (Part 2)
The air in the room changed as soon as Elias finished his work. The heavy, perfumed scent of the wine was cleared away, replaced by the crisp, sterile smell of fresh parchment. The curtains remained open, letting the harsh midday sun expose every dust mote in the air. Although the weather was a bit chilly because it was the fall season, just before winter.
Alexius stood before the mirror again, adjusting his posture. For Canis, he had pretended to be a sloth, and it was a success. For Countess Lupus Custodia, that wouldn't work. The "Badger" faction valued strength, tradition, and martial prowess. If he acted lazy, they would despise him. If he acted strong, they would see him as a threat to be crushed before he could mature.
So, he had to be something else.
He had to be disappointing.
"She is here, Your Highness," Elias informed.
"Let her in. And Elias? Don't offer her a drink. She'll think I'm trying to poison her. I met her twice, and she is always cautious and never takes a sip, even at royal gatherings. Contrary to her uncle, Duke Custodia—the muscle head."
The heavy oak doors opened by the servants.
"Presenting Countess Lupus Custodia, Vice Knight-Commander of the Northern March, Niece of His Grace, Duke Marius Custodia."
She stepped into the room, her boots clicking against the stone floor with a rhythmic, military stance. She was young, perhaps only a year or two older than Alexius, with hair the color of burnished steel tied back in a severe ponytail. Her uniform was stark grey and white, tailored perfectly to a body clearly honed by years of combat. A rapier hung at her hip—elegant yet wild.
She stopped exactly three paces from him and executed a salute that was technically perfect Royal military etiquette.
"Your Highness."
"Countess. Please, no need for... shouting. My ears are sensitive today."
Lupus's eyes narrowed slightly, but she still stood at attention.
"My apologies, Your Highness."
"Right. Well." Alexius gestured to the chair Canis had occupied.
"Sit, if you must. Elias, the map."
As she moved to the chair, Alexius triggered the Inspect skill.
[Name: Countess Lupus Custodia]
[Class: Magic Knight]
[Level: 28 (Veteran)]
[HP: 2,800 / MP: 500]
[Affiliation: Custodia Faction (Leonian Loyalist)]
[Disposition: Disdainful / Guarded]
[Key Traits:]
– Honorbound: Cannot lie.
– Martial Pride: Despises cowardice.
– Glacial Heart: High resistance to charm/flattery.
[Current Thoughts: "So this is the Phoenix's heir? He looks like he would break in a stiff breeze."]
Level 28, Alexius noted. Strong. In a fair fight, she would destroy the old Alexius in seconds. Even now, without his full strength recovered, she was dangerous.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, Countess?" Alexius asked, feigning a shiver as if the open window was too cold for him. "Your uncle usually sends letters. Long, handwritten letters about... tradition."
"The Duke felt this matter required a personal touch," Lupus said, sitting with a straight back, not touching the backrest. "He sends his regards on your recovery. And he sends a gift."
She reached into her jacket. Elias tensed, his hand twitching toward a hidden knife in his sleeve. Lupus ignored him and placed a long, rectangular object wrapped in grey cloth on the table.
She unwrapped it. It was a dagger. Simple, undecorated, made of iron.
"Iron," she said.
"From the mines of Custodia. Unpolished. Unforgiving. My uncle hopes it will remind you of the realities of our world, Your Highness."
In Leo tradition, giving a plain iron dagger was a threat and a lesson wrapped in one. If you refuse our demand, we won't hesitate to turn a blade on you.
If I don't meet their demand, I will be in trouble, Alexius thought.
"Scary," Alexius whispered, shrinking back into his chair without touching the knife.
"It looks... sharp. Elias, put it away. I might cut myself."
Lupus's lip curled in disgust.
"Your Highness," she said,
"I am not here to discuss metallurgy. I am here to discuss the Iron Legion."
The Silver Legion was one of the five legions stationed in the capital, and the other four regions, to safeguard against external threats such as monsters in peacetime and protect from invasion in wartime. There was another motive: stationing the Royal Army to check the power balance of the local lords. He had heard that every Legion commander in the other regions was corrupt, mostly because current commanders were appointed not due to military expertise but due to noble patronage. After his father fell ill and he became Prince Regent, he had to appoint them, stripping the former real commanders under nobles' pressure, and it had been like that for two years. Since then, the situation had worsened.
Back to the Silver Legion—The Royal Army's detachment stationed in the North. They were supposed to be the Crown's projection of power, helping the Duke fight monsters from the Sea of Forests.
"The Legion?" Alexius blinked rapidly, playing the fool.
"Are they... asking for more money? I just gave Canis—I mean, I just acquired some funds, but I hate spending it on soldiers. They eat so much."
"They are useless," Lupus said bluntly.
Silence hung in the room. To insult the Royal Army to the Prince's face was treason. Or it should be.
Elias clenched his fists. He had to restrain himself for the Prince. If not for that, she would be dead already.
"Explain," Alexius said, dropping the whine for a second, then quickly adding,
"I mean... oh dear. Why?"
"They are undisciplined," Lupus stated.
"They cower behind our walls while my uncle's knight order holds the battle line. They consume our grain, harass our village women, and when the Beast Hordes attack, they are the first to retreat. They are an insult to the flag they carry."
She leaned forward.
"Duke Marius requests—no, he insists—that the Crown recall the Silver Legion immediately. The North will defend itself. We do not need the Capital's 'help' if that help is a parasite."
Alexius's mind raced.
The Silver Legion in the North was composed of 3,000 men. On paper, they were his soldiers. In reality, they were corrupt, poorly trained, and likely loyal to whoever paid them the most—which wasn't him.
If he refused, Custodia would be angry.
If he agreed, he would be effectively ceding control of the entire Northern border to the Duke. Everybody would follow suit. It was a step toward the secession of the Royal Family's power.
System, analyze options.
[TACTICAL ANALYSIS]
Option A: Refuse.
Result: Custodia Faction hostility increases. Potential for civil conflict in the North.
Option B: Agree.
Result: Loss of military presence in the North. Custodia gains autonomy. Royal Authority decreases (-5). Budget surplus increases (+3,000 soldiers off the payroll).
Option C: The "Coward's …..."
(Incomplete option—awaiting user decision.)
Alexius looked at the map Elias had laid out. He pointed a trembling finger at the Northern border, the jagged line marking the Sea of Forests.
"You want me to... bring them back?" Alexius asked, his voice shaking.
"But... if I bring them back, who will die for me?"
Lupus blinked, taken aback. "Excuse me?"
"If the monsters attack," Alexius said, widening his eyes in mock terror,
"The Silver Legion is supposed to be the shield! If I take them away, and the monsters break through... they'll come here! To the capital! To me!"
He stood up and paced frantically.
"No, no! The Duke is trying to trick me! He wants to leave me defenseless!"
"Your Highness!" Lupus stood up, her patience thinning.
"The Duke's forces are the finest in the land! We have held the North for five hundred years! We do not need your pampered, drunk conscripts to save us! We are trying to save you the expense of feeding them!"
"Expense?" Alexius stopped pacing. He looked at her.
"Wait. If I recall them... I don't have to pay their deployment bonus? Or their hazard pay?"
"No," Lupus said, looking at him as if he were a bug she wished to crush.
"Right now the burden of finance for stationing the Royal Legion in the region is shared by the Local Lord and the Crown, 30–80. You are paying thirty thousand silver sovereigns and nine thousand silver sovereigns by our household, per month—twice the amount of stationing them in the capital. You would save approximately fifteen thousand silver sovereigns a month, and we both wouldn't have to pay that absurd amount anymore. Win-win, right?"
Alexius's face transformed. The evil grin appeared.
"Fifteen thousand?" He whistled. "That's... that's a lot of wine. A lot of silk."
All he can think is money and luxury staffs? Lupus thought,
He rushed back to the table.
"Okay. Okay, I agree. Take them. I mean, send them back. I don't want them stationed in the North. They're expensive and loud."
He grabbed a quill and looked at Elias.
"Elias, write the order. 'Immediate Recall of the Silver Legion.' Tell General Kray to march them back to the capital. And tell him... tell him if he loses any equipment on the way back, I'm docking it from his pay."
Lupus stared at him. She had expected a fight. A political debate about the balance of power. Instead, the Prince was handing over the sovereignty of the North because he wanted to save money on hazard pay. What a weak and stupid man.
"You... grant the North full military autonomy?" she asked, clarifying.
"Yes, yes, autonomy, whatever," Alexius waved his hand dismissively, signing the parchment Elias presented.
"Just keep the monsters away from my palace. If a single goblin gets within ten miles of Arthenburg, I'm blaming your uncle."
He thrust the signed order at her.
"Here. Take it. Is there anything else? Or can I go back to my nap?"
Lupus took the parchment. Her hands were shaking slightly—from sheer rage at his incompetence.
"You are..." she started, then bit her tongue.
"You are exactly as the rumors say, Prince Alexius."
"Handsome?" Alexius grinned.
"Tragic," she corrected.
She executed a sharp bow, turned on her heel, and marched out of the room without looking back.
As the door slammed shut, the "greedy coward" mask fell from Alexius's face instantly. He stood up straight.
"Tragic," he repeated. "I can work with tragic."
"You just gave away the North, My Lord," Elias said with curiosity.
"Duke Custodia will essentially be an independent King in his own lands now. In a matter of time, everyone will follow suit."
"No, Elias," Alexius said, walking to the map and tracing the line of the Northern border.
"I just recalled 3,000 armed men to the capital."
He turned to the butler.
"The Silver Legion is undisciplined and corrupt. Like any other Legion stationed in the other regions. Lupus was right about that. But they are useful bodies."
"You plan to retrain them?"
"Correct," Alexius said.
"It is better to call them back than waste the Crown's finances for ineffective power checks on the lords. Also, General Kray is a Vetus sympathizer, damaging both the Duke of the North and the Crown. When the Legion returns, I will strip Kray of his command for 'failure to maintain discipline'—using Lupus's own complaints as the evidence. I'll break the Legion down, dismiss the useless ones, and funnel the capable ones into the Venator Order alongside the Elves."
He picked up the iron dagger Lupus had left behind. He tested the edge against his thumb. It drew a bead of blood. Sharp.
"Custodia thinks they won independence," Alexius mused.
"But what they actually did was hand me the excuse to concentrate my military power right here, in the capital, under the noses of the nobles. And I'm making Custodia pay for the privilege of defending the border alone."
Elias bowed low, a deep, genuine smile crossing his face.
"A maneuver worthy of the Grand Prince in his prime. Perhaps even better."
"The Tragic begun."
A chime rang in his mind.
[QUEST COMPLETE: The Iron Bargain]
Objective: Survive the meeting with Lupus Custodia.
Bonus Objective: Recall the Silver Legion without raising suspicion.
Resolution: Northern Military Autonomy granted. Royal Forces consolidated.
Rating: A+
[REWARDS]
– Experience: 3,000 XP
– Influence: -5 (External), +20 (Internal - Military Control)
– New Asset: The Iron Dagger (C-Rank Weapon)
– Status Effect: "Underestimated" (Enemies will delay direct action against you)
[LEVEL UP!]
Current Level: 36 → 37
Status Points Available: 5