Steel and Mana

Chapter 162 – Peace Talks (1)

"It is always shocking when you see it." Emperor Kadosa IV said with a smile hanging on his face, standing right beside Ahnud Sar V, the current emperor of Sar and someone who he could call a friend. 

"It is." He answered simply, watching without a flinch in his eyes, unafraid as the flying, golden ship of Ishillia arrived at Palanel, slowly circling above it before beginning to land directly at the other side of the city's gates.

The two emperors were staying atop the main walls, waiting for this moment for a long time. They arrived early, right after the sun was up, coming in with only their elite guards and a handful of mages. Even though the two of them wore different names, representing their countries, standing next to each other, the similarities in their features were unmistakable. Both of them stood at the same height, having dark-brown hair and eyes, and the most significant difference was only in the color of their skin; while Kadosa was fair and light, Ahnud had a healthy, bronze color to it. If not for that, they could easily be mistaken as brothers.

From their position, they watched as the frightening wonder of magic flew over them, sounding its horns twice before finally landing at an empty spot before the city. They could hear the magic surrounding it hum, invisible yet powerful, only subside when the ship's belly opened up, lowering a luxurious ramp from which a dozen soldiers surged forward, standing guard, letting their Empress walk down. She was followed by her entourage, consisting of a handful of servants and the nobles she invited along on this historic trip.

"The Ishillians still have a gorgeous body." Kadosa mumbled, making Ahnud scoff after hearing him.

"Beautiful on the outside, rotten on the inside. Don't let the Empress's look deceive you; they are already murderers before they become adults. No Emperor or Empress of that rotten country has sat on their throne of bones without killing their own kin."

"I wasn't about to court her." Kadosa chuckled, patting his friend's shoulders, "I am just making a logical observation. I am curious as to what type of girl she is. I never met her predecessor!"

"We didn't meet an Ishillian ruler for centuries. Not that it matters! Our goal is to see their limits and determine how dangerous they are currently. They have been dormant for a surprisingly long time... If we look at another Ishillia that is planning to expand further, we are going to have another century of nothing but bloodshed."

"This is no longer the old times." Kadosa exhaled, leaning on the walls, watching the Ishillians near the entrance, flanked by their soldiers, "We are more than prepared to deal with them if they got the taste of blood after annexing Scorc."

...

....

......

"What an ugly city!" Mirian shrugged, walking along the cobblestone streets, looking at the empty brick buildings surrounding them before heading to the castle, where the Queen of Roblesia awaited them.

"At least it has been cleaned out of dregs." Duke Juntaro, an already aging man added, walking behind his Empress, along with Milan and two other dukes. Still, they were not in a position to talk, and while they were all dukes, they were not equals. Unlike them, the Juntaro family had been holding onto the rank for 900 years, while they were only recently being elevated to the position, thanks to Kathrien's massacre.

"We can't look at civilians as dregs, Duke Juntaro. If we do, then we will alienate those who make our country work. Without them, who are we going to rule over? Each other?" Milan spoke up after a monetary hesitation, needing to remind himself that he had the biggest supporter amongst them all and shouldn't be afraid of speaking his mind. Especially because Mirian loved it.

"You are still young," the Duke answered, his voice calm, but his black eyes didn't share the same serenity.

"And right." Mirian chuckled from the front without looking back and silencing the Duke at once. "For example, my predecessor, didn't she slaughter your comrades? Or did we already forget about that? Well, she may have been thinking the same, cleaning the dregs out... Ahahaha!"

Her voice sent shivers down the spines of the dukes, including Juntaro, who suddenly felt his arms trembling just by remembering that bloody day. His thoughts were yanked back to reality when trumpets sounded from the front, and Queen Nuen appeared, welcoming them into the city.

"I welcome you in the Kingdom of Roblesia, Empress of Ishillia."

"We came because we value the stability of our shared region. Blood has been spilled; now it is time for peace." Mirian answered, showing her respect by returning the same degree of bow.

"Then we share a common goal. War is expensive and consumes lives that need decades to be replenished. Let's head inside so we can continue it in peace!"

Looking at the castle from the outside, it was nothing awe-inspiring. Still, at least from within, it had a particular luxurious design with the different, colorful carpets covering the floors, the jewel-encased trophies on the walls, and the golden trims around the doors and windows. 

"I am going to collect the others, and we can sit down and have lunch. We don't need to start right away, but at least we all could get to know each other. How does that sound?" Nuen chuckled, playing the role of a kind host.

"Fine by me." Mirian nodded, her face remaining placid as they were led into a massive ballroom. Multiple nobles from all the participating kingdoms and empires were already present, mingling with each other. When the Ishillians arrived, they were immediately silenced, watching them with mixed emotions of fear, hatred, and anger.

"You stay." Mirian ordered, which let her dukes know that it was time for them to show the superiority of their country by 'socializing' with the locals. At least, that was what they thought, but they were only brought along because Mirian didn't want the Kustov family to get too much heat too quickly. "Except you. You keep following me." She declared, looking directly into Milan's eye, who had no other option but to nod back at her, feeling the burning gaze of Duke Juntaro drilling into his back.

Nuen said nothing, only kept smiling while flanked by her two guards. She led Mirian, Milan, and their own guards into a separate room where an oval table was already present, decorated with the finest clutter, fitting for their status.

"Please, take a seat; we will be here shortly." Nuen chuckled, leading Mirian to her seat, and yet the Empress didn't take it, looking questioningly at Nuen, who very quickly caught on after scanning the number of chairs. If she took her place... the young boy beside her had nowhere to sit. She wanted to have a... simple noble with her there? Next to... her? Why? Of course, her womanly instincts were ringing already, but she couldn't be so sure, as she was, after all, an Ishillian. "Bring another chair over!" Nuen ordered, snapping her finger, turning around, and heading out to bring the others while her servants made sure Milan could sit down with them. "I need to start this as soon as possible... there is something extra happening, ahaha!" She thought, hastening her steps to gather everybody for their lunch.

When she returned, introducing the emperors and the three rulers of the defeated countries, Mirian's expression remained undisturbed all the way through it. She only greeted the rulers of Sar and Geth while glancing over the rest, letting Milan voice her words of welcome. Watching it happen, Nuen thought that it was the Empress's way of showing Ishillia doesn't care about the three, not even looking at them as equals. Yet, in reality, Mirian simply wanted Milan to shine a little and spread his name through the neighboring monarchs, preparing his fame for when she finally marries him.

Were the three angry? Not really. It was what they expected. They, including the emperors, were only surprised about Milan's presence and the fact that Mirian let him talk in her name. This was either a show of ultimate contempt for everyone present or something else, a weird ploy by the Ishillians. Were they trying to anger them so they could say the peace talks broke down before they even began?

"Well... introductions aside, let's eat!" Nuen clapped, acting like a mother, making everyone sit down, ordering her servants to bring in food of a great variety, ranging from big game to creatures of the sea.

Once again, most eyes were on the youngest and probably the most dangerous of the group, Mirian, who just sat there, letting Milan pick on her plate whatever he wanted.

"Sit." She finally spoke, but it was directly towards Milan, forcing him to pull his chair close to her and do something that made the two emperors drop their forks. With a calm look, she picked up a piece of shrimp, bringing it over Milan's mouth, hand-feeding him before everybody, watching as he chewed and gulped.

"It's... interesting. Not bad." He answered reflexively, knowing that his Empress loved doing this, but it was the first time they did it before anybody else. Hearing him, she smiled happily, picking another up and tasting it herself.

Of course, the others at the table had a different idea in mind. Even Nuen had to twitch her lips because they all thought of the same thing... She brought him here to taste-test everything! Was she really this paranoid?! Did she think her... Queen Nuen would stoop so low and try to poison her?! At least, that is what everyone believed, missing the sparkling love spilling out for Mirian's eyes every time she picked up something new from the table and first gave it to Milan, watching him eat it.

Initially, Nuen wanted to use the opportunity to try and set a casual tone, using her charms to make the others relaxed and soften the atmosphere before they began discussing the fate of the three kingdoms... but now she was feeling that her pride was trampled on. Her chest felt stifled, finding it difficult to find any words to utter, working hard to push down her anger.

On the other hand, Mirian was enjoying their lunch, happy to let Milan shine, at least in her head. Milan was already too used to her antics, and although he felt embarrassed doing it openly, he knew that if Mirian thought to do something, she would do it. No questions asked.

"Ishillian customs are something we will never get used to." Kadosa spoke, breaking the silence after a few minutes.

"My Empire is the size of your two." Mirian answered, looking at him, and although her words were true, the way she said them was as domineering as one could expect from her bloodline. "We do have a lot of customs of the myriad of cultures living under my rule."

"Land and history, all taken from others." Ahnud added, working in tandem with Kadosa to begin exploring Mirian's personality while Nuen sat back, letting them do as they pleased.

"If I remember right..." Mirian murmured, looking around, chewing on a piece of lamb meat. "We did take land from each of you present at this table. They managed to be integrated nicely into Ishillia, so much so you don't even miss it. Or do you? What? You want them back?" She asked amicably, smiling, but it was an open provocation to her opposition.

"Maybe." Ahnud blurted out, making Kadosa chime in to be the balance of the scale.

"It happened centuries ago. What has been done is done; it is pointless to worry about it. We are no longer living in the times of the Empress of Death!"

"That is true." Mirian agreed, "I have yet to earn my title."

"Is it what you are aiming for?" Ahnud pushed on, and this time, Kadosa remained silent.

"You don't choose your titles; that defeats their purpose." Mirian stated calmly, taking a sip from Milan's wine, using the exact spot where his lips touched it a moment before. Of course, it was to taste his saliva, but for the others, it showed that she was so careful and alert that she only touched the things that her little 'tester' already proved to be poison-free.

"..."

"As for what mine will be," she continued after putting the cup down, "history will tell it for us. Maybe it will be Empress of Jelousy. Empress of Conquest. Empress of Bedsheets." She giggled at her little joke, but the rest felt she was just mocking them, missing that she had reached over under the table and squeezed Milan's thighs once. "But for that, time must pass, and decisions must be made on important things! One being... for what we came here to do. Let's hear it then... shall we?" She finished, turning towards Nuen, who was watching her eyes, and slowly nodding her head in the end.