'I hoped it wouldn't come to this. Turns out I was too naive.'
Ariella sighed before returning to her seat. She took a deep breath before clarifying things for Eren.
"Grimdawn, I know it sounds like I don't wish to cooperate with you. But that's not how I want you to feel. I want you to understand our perspective– our struggle against oppression."
Eren was about to talk to Ariella. But the latter raised her hand and pressed on.
"Please let me finish.
Let me tell you something about our side. The Last Blood Bastion is already stretched thin trying to fight the Anfang Alliance with whatever limited resources we have. So we can't pick a side.
We will need to prioritize our benefits before we can even choose between the various allies we have. So it's nothing personal. Also, you need to know that we will not be moving against you just because Demonmir wants us to. We have decided to play neutral to the conflict between you two."