Chapter 297 (1/2)

Celis nodded her head over and over again like a bobblehead. As Reina gently tapped her on the shoulder, she came to her senses, blushing with embarrassment.

「Hm. I see that there will be no problem with carrying out our agreement, then. I’m glad to see that.」

「I-, I’m sorry…」

As her ears twitched with embarrassment, Vermudol smiled wryly. It seems that she had a lot to improve on as a ruler. She was not very good at negotiations.

The world of diplomatic relations is completely different from the real world. The term “straightforward” becomes “easy to understand,” “considerate” becomes “easier to push into doing things for us,” and “generous” becomes “it’s okay to be excessively demanding.” The same goes for internal struggles for power as well, and if someone were to rise up to challenge Celis’s authority, they would undoubtedly try to take advantage of her.

A lack of understanding of these concepts could put Celis into immense danger. However, if she had beside her a capable person that could protect her from these vocal threats, there would be no problem.

Vermudol was certain that Reina had the power to do this, but he figured that she probably wouldn’t stick around for too long.

It was already very strange that someone like Reina, who had been missing for ages, happened to be residing in the castle of the Canal Kingdom. It’s likely that, once her work here is over, she will head off somewhere else.

Vermudol imagined the various horrible situations that could unfold after she leaves… Not letting his thoughts escape his mouth, he forced a smile.

「So, about our tentative treaty of friendship… Right now, this treaty will be signed on the basis of a personal relationship of trust between me and Princess Celis.」

「…Yes.」

Celis nodded in response to Vermudol’s words.

Right now, there were two political powers that were seen as “legitimate” by their respective side in the Canal Kingdom’s civil war.

In this situation, an outside kingdom signing a treaty with one side would be the same as acknowledging them as the legitimate power. It would be seen as an outside intervention in the Canal Kingdom’s domestic affairs, and if things go wrong, it could devolve into an all-out war with a completely unrelated kingdom.

This is why they had to twist the reasoning, to try to make clear that “it has nothing to do with the kingdom.”