Chapter 195: The Queen's Calculation
Draudillon was sitting in her chair in the side room off the throne hall, legs dangling in the air, the pale pink skirt spread across the dark wood seat.
She was holding the beastman nation's surrender document.
Prime Minister Bergmann stood nearby with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze resting calmly on the document in her hands.
"The first name on the surrender document is Sebas-san." Draudillon's voice came out low, with something hard to name underneath it. "The second is Lord Lucian. The Dragon Kingdom comes last."
Those large eyes held an expression caught somewhere between aggrieved and faintly amused.
"Bergmann — should I be angry?"
Bergmann raised an eyebrow by a fraction. A very faint smile found the lines of his face.
"Your Majesty may certainly be angry, if you wish. However, the territory and human captives the beastman nation is returning will keep Your Majesty quite occupied for some time. There likely won't be much room for anger."
Draudillon's mouth twisted slightly, but she didn't argue.
The towns that had been under beastman occupation for years were being returned to Dragon Kingdom governance. Restoring order alone, setting aside the question of resettling the returned prisoners, would keep her and her officials running in circles for a long while.
The ranking on the surrender document was, in the end, a small thing.
She let out a small sigh and set the rolled parchment down on the side table. Her gaze drifted unfocused, clearly somewhere else now, working through other calculations.
That evening, the banquet.
The hall blazed with light. The long table was covered with the best the Dragon Kingdom could produce — a whole roast piglet gleaming golden-brown, braised fish in thick sauce, a mountain of seasonal fruit, and bottles of wine brought up from the depths of the cellar.
Draudillon had changed the pale pink dress for a more formal pale violet gown, a silver dragon-shaped brooch pinned at the collar. She held a wine cup larger than her own palm, and raised it toward Lucian and Sebas in the most appropriate manner, delivering formal thanks in that same soft, babyish voice.
Lucian sat at the head of the guest table, raised his cup in return, his smile warm and composed.
Sebas stood behind him, cup also raised — but his manner was less "attending a celebratory banquet" and considerably more "executing a surveillance task that requires sustained vigilance." His eyes moved at regular intervals across the hall's entrance and the windows, watching for anything that hadn't been invited.
Lakyus was seated slightly behind Lucian and to one side, her red-and-white armor exchanged for a softer pale blue gown, gold hair loosely braided at her shoulder.
The banquet drew toward its end in a subtly peaceful atmosphere. Dishes were cleared. The candles burned lower. Guests made their farewells and drifted out one by one.
It was in one of these quieter moments that Lucian found a private opening with the Queen and raised the subject he'd come to raise.
"Your Majesty. Now that the Dragon Kingdom's affairs have been brought to a close, I intend to set out tomorrow and return to the Aindra domain."
Draudillon was sitting in her specially raised chair, holding a cup of warm honeyed water — suitably dignified. When she heard this, the cup paused. The surface of the honeyed water sent out a small ring of ripples.
"So soon?" Even her practiced soft voice sank slightly without her intending it to. "The beastman nation's surrender only just arrived — there's still so much to be handled..."
"With the Prime Minister's capable management, those matters will be well in hand." Lucian's tone remained warm, but his manner left no opening. "I've been away from the domain too long. There are matters there that need attending to."
Draudillon was quiet for a moment. She set the cup down and folded her hands in her lap. After a pause, she spoke again.
"Lord Lucian, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
Lucian watched her steadily and waited.
"The territory the Dragon Kingdom has recovered..." Draudillon's voice came out a little lighter than before, as though testing the water carefully. "I'm thinking of setting aside a portion of it as a fief — a formal grant to Lord Lucian, in recognition of what you've done."
As she said it, her gaze slipped sideways for just a moment.
"A fief?" Lucian asked, with mild puzzlement.
Draudillon nodded, as though adding weight to her own argument. "Lord Lucian has given so much to the Dragon Kingdom. The beastman threat was dealt with by Lord Lucian and Sebas-san together. If the Dragon Kingdom offers nothing in return, I am not at ease."
The reasoning was sound. She even chose language that sounded appropriately dignified about it. But watching those eyes that had drifted sideways for just an instant, Lucian had the clear impression that the words were covering something else.
They were.
The surrender document was signed and the beastman army had withdrawn — but that document had been signed under the pressure of force. However compliant the beastman nation was behaving right now, it was only because Lucian's deterrence was still recent in their memory. Give it enough time. Let the border quiet down. And once those beastmen noticed that Lucian had left and the Dragon Kingdom still had no power of its own to deter them —
So Draudillon needed a name that would carry weight.
If she could use a fief to nail "Aindra" to the Dragon Kingdom's border, even without Lucian himself stationed there, that banner alone would function as a deterrent. Any beastman thinking about trying again would first have to reckon with whose name was flying over that piece of ground.
This wasn't so much a reward as it was insurance.
Draudillon knew her reasoning wasn't entirely straightforward, but she didn't have a better option. The Dragon Kingdom was still fragile. All she could do was use "gratitude" as the justification, "fief" as the presentation, and carefully wrap the small calculation inside language that sounded entirely appropriate.
She raised her head and looked at Lucian again.
Her expression had been adjusted. That young, girlish face was wearing the innocent and cheerful look once more, as though the sideways glance from a moment ago had never happened.
"What does Lord Lucian think?"
Lucian was quiet for a moment.
He had seen through it immediately — this loli queen wanted to use a fief to anchor his name to the Dragon Kingdom's border, giving the beastman nation reason to think twice before moving again. He could expose the reasoning directly if he wanted to.
But watching this small girl working so hard to look like she was simply trying to thank him, he found he didn't quite have the heart.
"I cannot accept." His posture was respectful, but his tone left no room. "I'm afraid that's my answer."
Draudillon blinked. Genuine puzzlement on that young face. "Why?"
Lucian met her eyes steadily. "Because there's no way for me to take on the additional responsibility that would come with it."
If you're enjoying the story, toss a Power Stone or drop a review — it helps more than you'd think.
Advance chapters → patreon.com/Eatinpieces