12 The Cost of the Alliance (1/2)
The King frowned.
” It seems his Majesty is not happy with my offer” the emissary said
King Leopold was silent for a long time
” What does Wismar want in return?” He looked at the emissary straight in the eye.
King Leopold was not a fool. It took decades for Wismar to accept Castonia as a trading partner. They wouldn't just offer an alliance on a whim. They must have wanted something in return.
”His Majesty's opinion of Wismar hurts my feelings.” The emissary put his palm on his chest as a playful sign the Leopold's words hurt him. ”Your Majesty, a friend wouldn't demand something in return from his friend. Wismar just wants to be a friend of Castonia. It's just..how should I put it… a friend sometimes doesn't approve of his friend's other friend” The emissary smiled again.
” Be direct” Leopold demanded
”We want you to cut all ties to Vanadis”
Leopold understood what the emissary was talking about. Wismar and Vanadis were trading rivals. Relations between the two countries were strained. For Wismar to be friends with Castonia, the latter must first be an enemy to Vanadis.
Between the two countries, Wismar would be a better ally. Its armies were strong and it was a rich Kingdom. Leopold had long wanted to have Wismar as an ally. He spent decades improving relations with Wismar. Now that it was the Wismarines themselves who were reaching out, he should be overjoyed.
But Leopold already promised Vanadis an alliance. He already spread the news of the partnership between Castonia and Vanadis. What would the other Kingdoms think if Castonia breaks its promise of friendship to Vanadis? Nobody would want to forge relations with them in the future. Even their current trade partners would probably close their ports and gates to Castonian goods.
” Why didn't you come earlier?” Leopold frowned. If they had come earlier, he would have chosen them over the Vanadians . ”I already spread the news of my Kingdom's alliance with Vanadis”
” It's because you forged partnership with Vanadis that Wismar is now reaching out to you. We don't want our greatest competitor to benefit from Castonian strength” The emissary looked him in the eye.
”If I go back on my words, Castonia's name will live in infamy. We can't have that” He firmly said
” That's a small price to pay for Wismar's friendship” the emissary insisted.
Braun whispered to his ears, ”We can't agree to this, Your Majesty.”
”I know” Leopold replied ”But let me think of a way”
Leopold thought for a while. Suddenly an idea came into his mind” We can't go back on our words. It's okay to replace Vanadis with Wismar, but our reputation will suffer. But there's another way” he smiled
” Oh? And what would that be?” The emissary raised his eyebrow
” I told the Vanadian King that my condition for an alliance would be a royal marriage” Leopold said
” And you intend to cancel the wedding. Am I wrong?” The emissary correctly guessed
Leopold shrugged ” Without the wedding, there won't be an alliance.”
” But if you cancel the wedding, then Castonian reputation would still be ruined”
” Not if I had no choice” Leopold smiled
” Your Majesty, it's my turn to ask you to be direct” the emissary frowned
” Timothy is the only one among my three children who's unmarried. If, say, something bad happens to Timothy and he dies, then I would have no choice but to cancel the wedding. The Vanadian princess can't marry a corpse” he said in a cold tone. Behind him, Braun gave a low grunt and tried to talk. He opened his mouth but Leopold stopped him with a gesture of his hand.
On the other hand, the emissary remained silent. He frowned and contemplated for a while. And after a while he smiled. ” I didn't expect His Majesty to want this alliance so much. He's even willing to sacrifice his son for it”
” Just like what you said, it's a small price to pay”