A month later, beneath the warmth of the midday sun, the sprawling industrial district of the Fiefdom of Vindia.
A lone carriage bearing the crest of House Conti rolled along the newly paved gravel road, escorted on all sides by mounted knights clad in black armor, their horses moved in disciplined rhythm, hooves striking gravels.
They rode until they reached a particular factory.
It was an enormous building of red brick walls reinforced with iron beams, tall windows lined in soot and towering smokestacks spews steam and smoke into the sky like some kind of small volcano.
As the carriage wheels ground to a halt, the door opened slowly.
Valeria stepped out in her usual attire, composed and elegant as always.
Waiting at the factory entrance stood a tall man with a serpentine face and calculating eyes. Serafino, her advisor, now also the liaison between her and Victor.
"Welcome, my lady," he said, bowing deeply. "A trial is about to begin."
Valeria descended the small carriage steps without hesitation.
"Then what are you waiting for? Guide me inside!" she said, her expression serious, as her knights dismounted behind her, remaining at the perimeter.
"Please, allow me" Serafino replied, extending his hand in a polite gesture.
"Then be quick!" She speaks as she moved forward with firm yet graceful steps.
Inside, the factory was not merely workplace, It felt more like a working organs of the man-made mechanical god.
Rows upon rows of workers labored in designated zones marked by painted lines and color-coded sections across the floor, every area had a purpose, every purpose was fulfilled by a rhythm of organized machines.
Steam-powered lathes rotated with hypnotic precision, Stamping presses descended in thunderous cadence, Pneumatic tools hissed and snapped like mechanical serpents, like a metallic trees grew in the orchard of industry, their fruits forged from iron and steam from works of hundreds upon hundreds of workers had been drawn here by suspiciously high wages and generous welfare policies.
The entire building felt alive.
Valeria observed everything.
"It is more complex than I imagined" she murmured.
As they ventured deeper, the noise intensified, steam screamed through pipes, exposed line shafts rotated overhead, while the air smelled of burning coal and hot steam.
So many mechanisms, so many remain unknowns, and what Valeria did not understand, she instinctively categorized as potentially dangerous.
After several minutes, they arrived before a heavy yellow metal door, with a red warning sign with white letters outlined in black read: "Danger: Weapon Testing Area"
Serafino opened it without hesitation.
Inside was a reinforced red-brick chamber, in which the far wall was riddled with impact scars, wooden target frames stood before sandbag barriers.
Crouched at the firing line was Elena, holding a unfamiliar looking weapon, and John stood nearby with several officers surrounded them.
And at the rear of the room, Victor was attempting to explain something rather urgently to a short ginger hair noblewoman whose composure had completely collapsed.
Arina, the marquise who's currently her colleague due to the situation at hand.
She was crying, with a full-on heartbroken sobs.
"I trusted you!" she exclaimed between sniffles. "And then I hear you've taken some random beastwoman as your concubine?!" she cries.
Victor looked as though he had just been informed that the world would end.
"What!? No! That is absolutely not what happened!" he answered.
"Then why is she living in your mansion?!" Arina demanded, pointing accusingly.
"She's a diplomatic hostage! I mean, not hostage, that sounds worse, she's a representative! Official representative!" he explains.
Arina cried harder. "This is not helping!"
Valeria stepped forward calmly.
"Sorry for being late," she said.
Arina blinked through tears, while Victor looked like a drowning man spotting land.
Valeria turned toward Arina with a measured expression.
"I think the snow leopard chieftess is being housed under supervised protection, as I understand." she explained evenly. "So I thinks her tribe surrendered, keeping their leader close ensures compliance and security. It prevents retaliation and stabilizes the tribe's members."
She explains then glanced at Victor.
"It is not a romantic arrangement! It is a political containment!" He hurriedly continue.
Arina sniffed, "Containment?" she asked with her puppy like eyes.
"Yes" Valeria continued smoothly. "If she were left free among her people, factions could rally around her. There, she is monitored."
The explanation settled over the room like a well-placed chess move.
Arina's tears slowed. "So… he didn't…?"
"No" Valeria said flatly.
Victor nodded vigorously. "No!"
Arina wiped her eyes. "I'm so sorry darling… I may have overreacted..."
Elena, still crouched at the firing line, stared at them with visible impatience.
"Are we going to test the weapons today?" she asked dryly, "or are we going to host a drama show instead?" She asked.
The tension broke immediately.
Valeria folded her hands behind her back.
"Please, proceed..."
And so the weapon trial begin.
-----
Elena rose and held up the compact firearm.
It was crude in appearance yet purposeful, tubular receiver simple side-mounted magazine. minimalist iron sights and a folding stock of plain metal rod, it's silhouette faintly ressemble Sten MK2.
"This is SMG-01" Victor announced, regaining composure. "Chambered in 10mm. pistol ammunition. designed for close-quarters combat!"
Elena inserted a magazine and shouldered the weapon.
"Ready!" she declared.
The room seemed to hold its breath.
Then... She squeezed the trigger.
The weapon erupted.
Not the sharp crack of a rifle.
But a violent, rolling wheeze of a small yet exceedingly dangerous lead spitter.
The SMG-01 spat fire in rapid succession, the recoil climbing but manageable, casings clattered across the floor, the nearby wooden target shredded within seconds.
The sound reverberated off brick walls like a thunder trapped in a cage.
Elena released the trigger.
Silence followed, as she glanced at the torn target.
"Compact, controllable in short bursts, simply deadly" she said simply.
John stepped forward, examining the damage.
"At close range, this will dominate close quarter engagements."
Officers murmured in approval.
Valeria observed without outward reaction, but her eyes were sharp.
"Production cost?" she asked.
"Significantly lower than a rifle" Victor answered.
She nodded slowly in approval, "Please continue." she said with a smile.
-----
Elena approached a heavier weapon resting on a bipod.
This one was different.
Longer, more angular perforated barrel shroud with a belt-fed mechanism, it's silhouette faintly ressemble MG42.
"I proudly present!GPMG-01"Victor said, voice carrying a small hint of disbelief, "A weapon that could change the definition of war itself! chambered in the same cartridge as the SIR-01 rifle." he continue.
Arina had stopped crying entirely now, her attention captured by the weapon.
Elena loaded the ammunition belt carefully.
She took position behind the weapon.
"Ready!" she shouted.
Victor swallowed, he had expected something to go wrong.
Then, Elena pulled the trigger.
The weapon did not simply fire.
It screamed like a beast in pain, the sound alone was terrifying enough to rout an entire formation of men. Then came a ripping, relentless torrent of gunfire exploded from the muzzle, as the belt fed smoothly, the barrel shroud vibrated with fury, the sandbags shredded, the wooden target simply cease to exist.
It felt less like a weapon and more like a magical artifact specifically made for the sole purpose mass murder.
Elena maintained control, then released the trigger.
The sudden silence was almost oppressive.
Smoke curled upward while, the gun's barrel shimmered with heat.
Everyone stood stunned.
Even John's usual composure cracked, "Incredible..." he breathed.
Valeria's gaze remained fixed on the weapon. "What in the actual hell is this!?" she ask with a panic expression.
"Machine gun?" Victor replied, almost automatically and smiled awkwardly, "To be fair, I was not expecting this thing to work at all." He continue.
Elena stood and dusted off her uniform.
"Recoil manageable with bipod, rate of fire is god-like." She said with a warm smile.
Arina looked between the ruined target and Victor.
"You made that, darling?"
Victor replies while scratched his own cheek, "…Apparently".
-----
Discussion erupted afterward, officers debated deployment doctrine, squad composition, ammunition logistics.
John proposed assigning one GPMG-01 per infantry sections, to turn them into literal invincible army.
Elena suggested forming shock troop assault unit comprised entirety of SMG-01 carrying troop.
Serafino quietly helping Valeria calculated budget implications, then, as if she could just remember something really important, she turned toward Victor, Arina, and Elena.
"By the way! I forget to mention it earlier, my mind was too focus on the weapon test. The Princess has invited the three of you to attend a royal soirée with me." She said.
Victor blinked, "…A soirée?" he asked.
"Yes to discuss future plans." Valeria continue.
Arina straightened immediately as it was basically her natural habitat.
Elena frowned slightly and sigh out a deep breath.
"She wishes to have a conversation with those who support her. The war to come must make she feel quite anxious, as I calculated." Valeria continue to explains.
Victor glanced at the machine gun which now lies dormant like a hibernating beast.
Then at the shredded wooden targets.
Then at the officers gathered in his testing chamber.
He then smiled with a grin.
The civil war was coming and he clearly has the means to win it.