Enlightened Empire

Chapter 377: Moral Highground

Although most of southern Medala was covered in ice and snow during these winter months, the ground Fadelio was walking down was rough, and there was no risk of slipping. After Saniya’s troops had set up camp atop the hill, they had strewn coarse sand all the way down the hill. Although the slippery snow would havei mproved their defense against a charge, there was no guarantee their enemies would attack at all.

Depending on the circumstances, if the league of lords would turn out to be timid, they may have to initiate the attack themselves. Thus, Corco had ordered to provide as balanced a battlefield as possible, to maximize their numerous advantages and minimize the chance for surprises.

From the chaotic appearance of their enemies, Fadelio realized that it had been a wise choice. As he closed in on the noble delegation waiting for him, he realized that there were almost as many lords as there were warriors in their team. In Medala, the size limit for a diplomatic detachment of this kind was twelve men, plus one negotiator. Those were the rules that had been established by the first Medalan emperors centuries ago.

These lords were all old-fashioned and steadfast about the rules, so they would never consciously break them. Though since too many of them had come along, there were only a handful of spots left for accompanying warriors. From the looks of things, they either couldn’t decide who their leader was, or they didn’t trust in their leader’s negotiating skills. In comparison, Fadelio’s hand-picked team looked much more organized, though not much more uniform.

His own entourage consisted of three distinct groups: First were four musketeers from Saniya, elite soldiers from Corco’s own army. The second and third groups were similar in make, but different in their origin. Both were carrying large shields to protect Fadelio and the musketeers behind them, as well as small axes for attack. All eight were warriors with proper cultivation and superhuman strength.

However, four of them were warriors from Cashan, the home of House Villca, while another four had been sent from House Makipura, north of Qarasi Castle. Both groups had been chosen as a sign of trust towards the lords who had decided to ally with Corco early on.

Throughout this operation, the king had plans to involve them heavily. He wanted to give them plenty chances for glory without sustaining too many losses. This would reward the lords, while bringing their warriors in closer contact with his own people in the process. Thus, even though these guards represented three different estates, there was no disunity, and the flag they marched under was only one.

All troops of the king’s army had been unified under the silver triquetra of the Pluritac family, with a purple background to signify Corco’s branch of the family. Only the wealthy Saniya could be so extravagant to carry dozens of large pieces of purple cloth with them into battle.

In comparison, the flags flown by the envoys of their enemies were not only cheaper, but also a confused mess of estates and houses. It looked like all flags of the ten conspirators were represented. Fadelio was almost surprised that they hadn’t added the flags of Borna and House Ichilia for completion’s sake.

After all, even House Rafun's sigil was there, despite the lord’s earlier death. Fadelio didn’t believe that the lord already had a successor ready, or that any successor would be eager to follow Mayu into this pointless war. Most likely, Rafun’s flag had been added by the other lords to bring Corco some pressure. They would surely accuse him of killing a fellow lord to gain the moral and legal high ground during the negotiations.

What a sad attempt.

If they thought that the move would catch Fadelio off guard during the talks, or boost their morale for the fight, they had miscalculated heavily. He was long prepared for this line of questioning and ready to attack them in turn.

Soon, the two groups stood opposite each other, and Fadelio’s impression of disunity became stronger. Now that he was this close, he could identify the lords by their faces, rather than just by their fancy clothing. Five different lords had come from the other side, with Mayu in their middle.

Over the years, Fadelio had participated in many of Corco’s banquets, and even led a few himself whenever the king wasn’t in Saniya, so he knew all of the southern lords by name and had a fairly harmonious relationship with many of them. This time however, he was hit by scorn as soon as he came to a standstill, even before he could give his regards.

“Hah! Has the coward king sent his lowly servant in his stead? Would Corco not dare face us without his soldiers around him? Or does he feel guilt for the crimes he has committed?”

The snide voice, of course, came from Mayu, who else? With his silly coat, the lesser Saqartu brother stood in between his fellow lords, half a step ahead, his arms crossed like a common bandit.

“Governor Mayu, there is no reason for King Corcopaca to appear in person,” Fadelio replied with a smile, while putting emphasis on the word ‘king’. “He can safely send his subordinates to do his bidding by themselves. King Corcopaca can trust his men, as they trust him. There is no need for supervision.”

As he spoke, Fadelio looked over to the lords around Mayu, especially when he said ‘supervision’. The implication was obvious: The other lords didn’t trust their leader, and had come here to make sure he wouldn't sell them out. Looking at the governor’s face, it was obvious that he understood the implication. To no-one’s surprise, Mayu decided to move past the issue as quickly as possible.

“No matter. Today we need the king to explain his vile actions,” he tried to sound angry, but the wide arm wave he did was far too dramatic, as if he was trying to brush away Fadelio’s implication.

“The troops of the southern kingdom have come to put down a rebellion,” an unimpressed Fadelio replied in a dry tone. If Mayu wouldn’t be polite with him, then he had no reason to stay nice either. “What sort of answers are you expecting here, governor?”

As soon as the negotiations opened, Fadelio went on the offensive. Now, it was up to Mayu to justify his actions.

“Do not play coy, servant!” Again, Mayu tried to be loud and intimidating. He made a big step forward, but Fadelio didn’t flinch, and none of the lords behind Mayu followed him. Thus, although he looked a bit awkward, he had to continue his play by himself, exposed out in the open.

“If the lords of the south are simply murdered because they are not obedient servants to the king, what are we to do? Lord Rafun has been murdered by his king! Are we meant to sit by and do nothing as we are destroyed one by one? The lords of the south are merely defending themselves from tyranny!”

As expected.

Not only was Mayu predictable, he was also clumsy in negotiations. Not that Fadelio was surprised by that. From the first day Mayu had taken over as Governor of the South, all international negotiations of the southern kingdom had been handled by Corco and his staff.

Throughout these years, Mayu had only ever held talks with natural allies, his fellow lords and maybe some of those outsiders who wanted to get close to the governor and harm Corco. Now that the fake governor was finally confronted with a proper enemy who wouldn’t just agree with him out of politeness, he didn’t know what to do, and made simple mistakes. Although Fadelio really wanted to grin, he had to force himself into an angry reaction.

“That’s an outrageous accusation!” he bellowed. “Governor Mayu better present proof for his claims, or he will have committed another crime against the crown!”

When Fadelio stepped forward, his soldiers followed, and Mayu stumbled half a step back before he caught himself. Although the governor tried to look aggressive to hide his shame, he was even more on the defensive now.

“Proof?" Mayu asked. "Did Lord Rafun not die in Saniya, King Corco’s city?! Who else but the king could have killed him!? What more proof do we need!?”

For a second, Fadelio gave a weird look to Mayu, who seemed to misinterpret the silence and looked confident again. Apparently, he hadn’t even realized how weak his argument was, or that the other lords behind him gave him the same look. Only after the bad impression had marinated for a while did Fadelio speak up again, a sneer on his lips.

“So if I go kill someone in Puscanacra, your city, that means you’re the culprit too? Have you yourself murdered every man who has ever died on your lands?

Mayu wanted to refute, but before he could, Fadelio continued.

“If this is all your accusation amounts to, then there’s nothing else to talk about,” he said. “You are accusing your king of murdering a fellow lord, only based on your own hunch and nothing else.”

Again, Fadelio paused, because this time he knew that Mayu couldn’t answer. Without any proof, his accusations were weak. Thus, he only moved on when he saw everyone behind Mayu look uncomfortable.

“Unlike the governor’s vague fairy tales, the king’s staff have done an actual investigation on Lord Rafun’s death, an extensive one. Because unlike the governor, the king is interested in the truth. Of course, the king is more than willing to share the results of our investigation his the fellow lords of the south. Surely, everyone is aware of the lightning miracle that happened during the solstice festival in Saniya.”

Two of the lords on the other side nodded in response, while others at least remained quiet. It looked like they were more reasonable than Mayu, or at least they had a better understanding of their weak position.

“After the miracle, the entire crowd was in chaos, predictably,” Fadelio continued. “During the confusion, someone approached lord Rafun and shot him dead point blank, with a pistol.”

“Aahaah!” Before the warrior could finish his explanation, Mayu’s shout interrupted him. As if he had caught Fadelio red-handed in a lie, the governor pointed his finger at him. “The pistol is a weapon typical of Saniya, is it not!? Who says there is no evidence!? This is clear evidence of Corco’s conspiracy!”

Despite the accusation, Fadelio remained calm.

“It seems like Governor is forgetting that almost all of Saniya’s pistols are built by craftsmen from Arcavia,” he replied. “The people of Saniya are not the only ones who have pistols. Our Arcavian friends have them as well. They have a much longer history of making these weapons, and they have been eager to sell them to any Yaku with money in his pocket.”

“Still, the pistol should have come from Saniya. That is where the crime was committed and where the weapon appeared,” Mayu insisted.

“The pistol that was used to shoot the lord was dropped on site after the attack, and it has been retrieved by our people,” Fadelio explained. Their ‘evidence’ had long been arranged to implicate the correct criminals. “Although we did not find any finger prints on the weapon, we could determine that it was of an Arcavian make. Saniya’s weapons tend to have different designs. Further, the lead ball retrieved from Lord Rafun’s wound was made of pure lead. This is not the kind of ammunition that would be produced in Saniya, or used by Saniya’s army. Due to the high cost of lead in Medala, the balls we use contain other metals besides lead to reduce cost. Thus, it has been determined that the weapon and ammunition were most likely produced by our Arcavian friends and then smuggled into the city.”

“Lies! Why would the Arcavians try to kill Lord Rafun?”

Mayu still sounded combative, but his rebuttal was silly. With it, he had tacitly agreed that Fadelio’s evidence was true long before he had even seen it. Even worse, he had all but admitted that he was allied with the Arcavians. After all, why else would they be apprehensive about killing one of his people?

Again, the attendant had to stifle a smile. Not only had Mayu maneuvered himself into a corner, he had no way to admit the truth, or he would have to admit to own his treason as well.

“Why would they not?” Fadelio said in a flat tone, as if it was obvious. “After all, they have long occupied our lands around Port Ulta. At this moment, one of their armies is still stationed on our eastern borders, threatening attacks on our eastern estates. Meanwhile, they are making trouble for us everywhere to cause more chaos in the south. They sell weapons to the northerners, and they send their ships to help our enemies in the Verdant Isles. Chaos is their only goal, chaos they can use to gain a stronger foothold on our lands, to install puppets on thrones or take over directly. Whether they led the assassination themselves or someone bought and used their weapons with their consent, both scenarios seem just as likely. The Arcavians have good friends in the north after all, and it seems like Lord Ogulno has also been one of their regular customer. There are many suspects for the attack, but King Corco is not one of them. Rather, over the past few months, the king has appeased your league of lords at every turn, never initiating conflict. Among all the lords, the only one who is the least likely to have caused this tragedy is King Corco.”

“Who is to say if any of this is true?”

Finally, Mayu doubted the claims, but it was far too late. By now, his doubt just sounded like quibbling.

“We are,” Fadelio emphasized. “All evidence has been collected and can be freely viewed in the capital for verification. However, for that, the traitorous lords would first have to return to the capital, to accept the judgment of their lord.”

Again Fadelio went on the attack, rather than the defensive. All Mayu could offer in response were empty phrases.

“We will never be slaves to this heretical king! How dare he punish his equals!”

“Equals?” Fadelio replied. “The treatment of equals, as well as all privileges that come along with it, is afforded to the lords who adhere to the rules of Medala’s nobility. Those privileges have been revoked the moment the league of lords turned traitors. Once you turn your weapon on your king, you are no longer a part of the kingdom. You are as equal to King Corcopaca as the lord from the north are. Now we stand as foes, and the only ways to resolve our conflicts are twofold: You will either surrender, or combat will decide your fate.”

As he spoke, Fadelio’s voice became more and more grim. If Mayu still thought that this was just some small disagreement over the distribution of benefits, this little speech should have woken him up.

Rather than scream any more empty phrases, he stared at Fadelio with wide-open eyes, in pure shock. Meanwhile, the other lords behind him also looked all kinds of uncomfortable. Clearly, their morale had already taken a hit. Happy that his main goal had been achieved, Fadelio continued.

“If you still wish to avoid war, Governor Mayu Saqartu, then all you can do is surrender. Here is your king’s offer: Lay down your arms, and return to your estates. Hand over the leading traitor of the conspiracy against the Kingdom of the South - Lord Ogulno - to be judged for his crimes by your king in Saniya. All foreign emissaries are to be expelled from your manors. In addition, all lords will accept Saniya’s supervisors to their rule in their estates, to guarantee that no more outside forces can meddle in the kingdom's internal affairs.”

“Impossible!”

All throughout the offer Mayu had remained quiet. Even when he had been ordered to give up his uncle, he said no word. However, as soon as he was supposed to be supervised, he exploded again.

“If there is no supervision, then how are we supposed to trust any of you lords in the future?” Fadelio replied. “Do not forget, Saniya has also been supervised by your warriors over the past months, for far flimsier reasons, without any complaint from the king.”

This time, Mayu had no more arguments to offer. Confused, he looked behind him for help, at the lords he had brought with him, and at the tens of thousands of warriors they commanded. When he turned back around, it seemed like at least some his courage had returned.

“Sachay has always had its own ways, and they will not be changed by one little king!" he shouted. "This tyranny will not stand!”

“The second you colluded with the Arcavians and northerners, those old ways were dead and gone,” Fadelio replied, “They’re not coming back. What divides us is that you are fighting for your new way, while we are fighting for ours. Now, all that remains to be seen is whose version of the future will win. It seems like today is a good day to do make that decision. Governor Mayu should ready himself for combat. This discussion is over.”

Not bothering with any more politeness, Fadelio turned and walked through his guards, back to the tens of thousands of troops amassed on the hill behind them. With a glance back, he saw how Mayu watched on with a green face. The governor could never agree to a surrender, but the lords around him already looked rattled now, long before the first drums of war had sounded. With his goals achieved and no more time to waste, Fadelio returned to his king's side, to await the start of battle.