After the battle

In the office that Duchess Rania Teresa Alumet Vidfamne does her work. Margarita Prigent was ending her report on what was happening.

"Is that all?"

"Yes, duchess. His majesty will be arriving tomorrow to finalize everything,"

"I see. Thank you for your service in saving my duchy countess Margarita Prigent," she said as she lowered her head.

"I was simply following my king's command. I am unworthy of such praise. Well if you will excuse me then. I still have some duties to perform." She replied before exiting the office.

"What do you make of all that Shelley?"

"It is truly unbelievable, but I have received various reports that say otherwise. As it stands, all the destroyed buildings, city walls, and the gate will be fixed by tomorrow. Had it been under normal circumstances, we would have finished fixing the city gate and wall in about six months."

"Umm... I agree with your assessment. Then there is the matter of the food."

"Ah...that is another situation all on its own. As it stands, the dukedoms warehouses are bursting in all four cities. We had to even use private warehouses, but even they were not enough to house the relief food Highland brought."

"Do you have any ideas on what to do about the leftover food?"

"Well, we could hold festivals in the cities to celebrate, and some merchants have approached us, seeking to purchase whatever we cannot hold in the warehouses."

"Selling food we were given?"

"I glanced on the topic with countess Margarita Prigent. She said, 'This food is yours to do as you please,'"

"As the whole world struggles for food, I wonder what trickery Highland pulled to amass this amount of food."

"Indeed; and it's not like this is cheap food. Wheat, eggs, meat... these things are hard to come by, even by rich merchant and noble houses. Whatever Highland is doing behind their border, they have surpassed the two empires by now, and not just economically."

"Their technology in all aspects. From weapons to building, and even invention of new technology has left everyone else behind by generations."

"That so-called spirit phone shocked me. They are allowing us to use it to communicate with the other cities, as a result, a lot of things have been solved rather quickly. I dare not imagine the nightmare it would have been if we were to use the normal method, and this is with the fact that the duchy isn't even that big."

"Yes. Sending messages back and forth by carriers would have been a pain."

Shelley nodded her head in agreement.

"We will go with your suggestion. Hold a festival and sell whatever leftover food to the merchants. We will start the festival tomorrow when King Edwin arrives here."

"Understood."

"Now, all that leaves is the problem of the engagement that my daughter broke off. I fully supported her when she did it, but now it seems it was a big mistake."

"What will you do?"

"I don't know. It's not like I have another daughter to offer, and from what you said, offering a granddaughter doesn't seem to be a variable solution."

"Yes. Countess Margarita Prigent did seem to be annoyed when I suggested that to her. We still haven't received a reply to the suggestion, but it's safe to assume that they will reject it."

"Then what is the alternative?"

"Couldn't we just ask them to wait until you have another daughter?"

"Umm... I thought of that, but I have a feeling they will not be so inclined to do that anymore."

"Why is that?"

"Just something King Edwin said before he left. If my hunch is right, Highland might leave the Vidfamne alliance."

"That would be troublesome. The people are already praising Highland for coming to our aid, plus the support they have given after the battle. I dare not think how the people will react if Highland was no longer an allied kingdom."

"I agree. I may face a backlash from this."

"The people might voice some grudges, but it will probably end at that."

"Yes, but I fear that some might try to migrate to Highland rather than stay here where demons could attack at any moment. Without Highland's guaranteed protection, they might deem it safer to move."

"What can we do to prevent that?"

"There is nothing we can do. All we can do is wait and see what happens tomorrow."

<< Princess Louise POV>>>

"What is going on here?"

"It looks like a celebration to me,"

"I don't understand. How could this be?"

Lady Euphemia, Princess Louise, and Princess Siraye had just entered the capital of Vidfamne. The elite elf rangers had reported to them that the demons seemed to have been defeated and that strange knights they have never seen before were in the city.

These rangers have never seen the Highland royal crest before, so they couldn't identify the knights as Highland knights.

Using a disguise, they entered the capital on high alert but what they saw was shocking.

"Is that meat I am smelling?" Princess Louise asked

"It is, but that's not all. I smell baked goods and high-class vegetables, spices, and wine," answered Princess Siraye.

"Euphemia, has Vidfamne been hiding all this from us?"

"Of course not Louise! We too are struggling with food."

"Then explain this!"

"I don't know." She replied before turning her head to one of the elite rangers, "You said there were knights you have never seen before correct? Where are they?"

The elite ranger was about to answer when the crowd burst into jubilation.

"Look! They are coming from the east!"

"They must have come back from the eastern cities"

"I heard that they saved those cities before the demons could even enter."

"Thank the goddess. My family lives in one of those cities."

They were shouting such words.

Euphemia wanted to grub someone to ask who they were talking about when Princess Siraye uttered, "Highland!?"

"What did you just say!?" asked Lady Euphemia

"On one of those flying things. I can see the royal crest of Highland."

"Are you sure?" asked Princess Louise.

"Yes. Elf's vision is better than most. There is no mistake. That is the royal crest of Highland."

What does that mean? Did Highland come to Vidfamne's rescue? Are they responsible for all this food? Princess Louise thought to herself.

"Princess, what shall we do now?" asked an elf ranger.

Princess Siraye looked at Lady Euphemia, asking her the same question with her stare.

"We will head to the castle and find out just what is going on.