Volume 8 Chapter 1 Part 9

Marlne shook her head.

「Lord Milza also should’ve been more patient and wait for me to arrive with the reinforcements, but he didn’t do that. 」

According to what Ulrika heard, Milza didn’t wait for Marine because that would place her in danger, and he left Castle Unicorn in order to prevent her from being defeated and captured by Artuk Treaty.

「… Big Sister Marine, you shared a bed with Milza once, correct? 」

Ulrika asked, knowing full-well that it was a rude question. But this is not the public place, and Marine welcomed her as her childhood friend. Ulrika lived in this town for about two years because she was sent here to study. She then remained in Elam together with Marine.

After that, she and Marine studied abroad at Elam. When she was a child, she adored her as if she were her real sister, and even now, her feelings towards her have not changed.

Marine turned towards the window in the room to avoid looking Ulrika directly in the eyes.

「Yes, I allowed him to hold me in his arms just once. 」

Ulrika was very surprised, as she had not expected to get an answer from her at all.

「Big Sister Marine… did you intend to make Milza your husband? 」

Once again, Ulrika knew that she was nowhere near the position to be asking such questions, but she asked it again with a tone that sounded almost accusatory.

「Actually, I never thought about it. 」

Marine gave Ulrika a flat response this time.

「Lord Milza’s goal was the unification of all the Crests through the path of conquest. He hoped that by conquering all of the Crests, an Era where an Emperor could rule over the entire continent with their power as the one and only true Lord would come that much sooner. He had high hopes for Vilar Constance, the late Earl of Artuk, but in the end he was not prepared enough to meet his expectations, so he gave up on him. Because we share our ideals, I took this chance to invite him into the Factory Alliance, and he became a treasured ally to my cause. Now that we lost him, this is a great loss to the entire Alliance that won’t be easily made up for. 」

Then she looked back at Ulrika and gave her a stern look. That was a signal for her that the private part of their conversation was now over.

「My father, Eric the Ocean King will soon conquer all of Bretland, and then he will proceed to invade the territories of the Fantasia Union. The weak Lords of the Union are not going to pose any kind of challenge for him. 」

Ulrika straightens her posture and declared with absolute confidence.

「That’s right. 」

Marine said while retaining her stern facial expression. Ulrika didn’t know what was going o in her mind, but at the very least it would seem that she has no intention of overtly restraining the Nords from becoming stronger, especially since Waldrind was in such a geographical position that it now needed to deal with the possibility of being attacked by the Artuk Treaty and Kurt Gallas from two separate sides, which made it difficult to think about increasing its own power right now.

After the Factory Alliance will finally unify the entire continent, a Lord’s Conference will be held during which the Alliance will choose the person that’s going to become the Emperor by the way of a vote, which means that at present, Ulrika’s father Eric is the most likely candidate to claim that title for himself.

Milza, who was welcomed into the Alliance as one of the electors was also one od the strong candidates, but in the end he said that the title doesn’t interest him and all that he wants is to be Marine’s sword. That’s why Milza’s loss must’ve been more of a personal blow to Marine than a loss to the Alliance as a whole.

Ulrika herself didn’t intend to go that far. However, there was no doubt that her refusal to join forces with Marine and Milza during the siege of Castle Unicorn was part of the reason why the position of the Nords in the Alliance got weaker. Ulrika betrayed Marlene’s expectations and acted in the best interest of not the Factory Alliance, but her home country, the Nord. As a result, he received the worst punishment of losing Stark, the colony that she was supposed to be in charge of.

「Stark is a land that you conquered and gave me as a settlement to govern, Lady Marine. My father told me to always make sure to cooperate with you when I left Nord. If I failed to do so, I would be punished for losing the settlement. So now that it happened, I am prepared to receive any punishment you’re going to deem suitable for my failure. 」

「The Nord will be the one to punish you, not me. I heard that because you are a member of the royal family, you will be judged by the Council of Chiefs. 」

Marine said coldly.
「Yes, it would seem so. 」

Ulrika nodded. Marlne probably knows that Nord’s judgment system is harsh. The worst case scenario is the death penalty, and even the lightest sentence is banishment from the country.

「Publicly, I can’t forgive you for what you’ve done. But as long as you’re a private situation is concerned, that’s different. If you’re going to end up in real trouble. Know that you can always count on me. 」

「The members of the Kraische family think about everything rationally, but they are kind to their own relatives… 」

Ulrika shook her head. Marine spoke with her gentler tone again, indicating that they returned to a private conversation.

「This is what ultimately brought ruin upon Lord Jurgen and Lord Matthias. Are you planning on making the same mistake, Big Sister Marine? 」

「 I’m already ruined… 」

Marlne gave Ulrika a self-deprecating smile.

「That’s why I will accomplish my purpose. For my grandfather’s ideals, my father’s regrets, Lord Milza’s expectations, and for all the people who lost their lives because of them. 」

「That’s why you’re still wearing this mourning clothes? Don’t you ever think about wearing something more gorgeous again? 」
When Ulrika asked, Marlne nodded her head silently.

「This outfit represents my resolution and determination. 」

「Big Sister Marine… 」

Ulrika was at a loss for words.

According to her father, The Ocean King Eric, Marine was trying out all sorts of schemes in order to secure the situation in which she herself could become the Emperor. Her marriage to Alexis Ducet was supposed to be the one out of convenience, just like the adoption of the system of electors. She even went as far as to rope the Viceroy of Dartania into her plans and made him her ally.

However, Ulrika didn’t see it that way. She felt as if Marine was fighting an altogether different battle than her father. That’s why she wasn’t feeling alarmed even though she knew that the Nords were preparing themselves to expand their power and sphere of influence once more.

(It’s like she doesn’t care what happens after she dies…)

Ulrika was horrified by that thought.

After a moment of silence, Marine then continued.

「I’ve told my subordinate Lords to support you in whatever way they can. It’s a long way back to Nord, but please be careful of any misfortunes that might be waiting for you along the way. 」

Marine said as she stood up and hugged Ulrika again as she also got up from her seat. Then the door opened and two maids entered the room.

The time for them to part ways has come, and Ulrika had a feeling that they won’t be seeing each other again.

As her tears threatened to fall from her eyes, Ulrika bowed to Marine and she hurriedly left the room. When she went out into the hallway, the Werewolf Flint was waiting for her with a worried look on his face. However, when he saw Ulrika’s face, his expression completely changed. He didn’t have his tail out anymore, but she could see him wagging it happily all the time. Werewolves are loyal to the person they choose as their master, and they seem to have inherited that habit from their wolf ancetors.

「Let’s go. 」

Ulrika called out to Flint. Now that she met with Marine, she felt like she was ready for anything. All she has to do now is bring Stark’s colonists back to their homeland, and then she will face justice.

* * *

The Army of the Artuk Treaty totalling about 10,000 men marched towards the great river Donir, which formed the border between Artuk and Waldrind, led by the leaders Theo Cornero, Lassic David the Kin of Selvis, Petr Morva the Viscount of Veltava and others.