194 CHAPTER XVI -- TERRESTRAINER (2/2)

Yeah. The duke's rebellion has devastated the country, and you want to avoid the war as much as possible.

'After all this time, ...... war, we can't just cancel it now, can we?'

I think it's in both our interests not to do this.

Well. I don't think the pig would think for a second that he'd lose if he heard about the dragons. And even if we did stop the war with the Empire, it would still be a terrible civil war.

You're right: ....... Even for free, our nobles can do whatever they want.

Hélène is not well-liked by the nobility.

If there's a civil war, the first thing they'll come after is Hélène.

What... Haha. It's hard not to get nervous.

Yeah. But that's all I have to do now.

I'd like to help, but the politics of the game are going to have to be left to Hélène.

The only thing I can do is protect her.

SIDE: Leonce.

Well, welcome a long way. I am Lambros Beckman, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Arbor.

When he decided to arrive with a flourish, a man with thin hair came out of the castle in a hurry .

Prime Minister, is this the man who controls the incompetent king .

''No . Thanks to the dragons, you don't seem so far away. You're Ramlos. Congratulations on the wedding of Highness Elemenane and brave Kite.

Do you have a dragon? ......

I knew he was afraid of dragons.

Gil, Guile. You can be a man.

There was no point in scaring them any longer, and I made them the size of a man.

”You're a long way from home.

Thank you.

Hmm.

When I thanked him, Gil bailed and Guille turned his head to the side with a grin.

Well, it's cute to think of it as Guile's way of showing affection.

Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Léonce Muldaine, this is Rihanna Abelard. I'm here to assist the Imperial Envoy.

After turning the two dragons into people, I introduced myself to the Prime Minister, introducing Leena to him.

”Well, good morning. Word of Lord Leons has reached the kingdom.

”Really. That's very nice of you. By the way, may I ask what your plans are for today?

”Yes, sir. Later today, His Highness Shelia and Prince Leons will have an audience with His Majesty the King. And if I may explain what happens after tomorrow, tomorrow evening we'll have the eve of the ceremony, and the day after tomorrow morning the ceremony will begin early.

An audience with the king is a bit disconcerting, but otherwise normal.

Yes, sir.

Also, the two of you and His Highness Prince Elemenane would like to speak with you after the ceremony, and I would appreciate it if you could remain in the kingdom for a while afterwards.

It's been a while. .......

”That's very kind of you. I've been wanting to speak to His Highness Elemenane in person as well.

It was a bit awkward, but I smiled and said yes.

I've always wanted to talk to the princess, so I guess it's okay.

Oh, I see. Well, I'll let you know what I'm doing after the ceremony.

Yes, sir.

Prime Minister, you were pretty tense when you saw the dragon.

We were ushered into a room until we had an audience with the king, and we were discussing the prime minister's reaction.

”Your goal of intimidating the kingdom for now was a success.

If they're that scared, maybe some of the nobles will balk at starting a little war.

The question is, what will the kingdom, and especially the king, do when they see the dragon? It would be nice if they would give up the war, but with the situation in the kingdom, that would invite rebellion, so we can't do that.

After doing some research, I found out that the kingdom is not too happy with the king.

If it's only the common people, then the nobles hate him too.

So the king wants to somehow turn that anger against the empire.

Well, if you take someone's wife, even the most disobedient nobleman will explode in discontent.

What does Leo think the king will do now?

Assassination or incarceration.

I can assure you the king will be doing this.

”What?

I think that's what he was going to do. It would give us a fighting chance and me and Shelly are good POWs. Well, we've got that covered.

Now we just need to go to ...... and talk to the Jewel Princess.

Yeah. I was actually going to sneak out to talk to him, but it saved me a lot of trouble.

Preventing an assassination is a pain in the ass, but talking to the next king is a big deal.

I have a lot of ideas for political maneuvers.

Will it work?

It'll be fine. Vals says that princesses are smarter than their parents.

This is easier than talking to the Fool King.