Chapter 14: Machine Gun Negotiation

The feast, hosted by Princess Rosa, proceeds smoothly and with delectability. As standard for an Ustian Royal Feast, the first course is hors d'oeuvres such as pheasant, shellfish, soup, and Pâté. Fruits are served in the shape of large pyramids. Other dishes include roasts and pies of chicken, turkey, duck, boar, venison, and beef. There are also options for oysters, salmon, and sardines, as is pottage—meat boiled with vegetables. Served in dishes and bowls with golden engravings, the experience is luxurious, to say the least.

With my hand holding an empty golden chalice, I hold it out for a maid and say. "Be a dear and pour me some of the famous champagne served here, will you?". Much to the annoyance of Bryn sitting to my right. Her twitching face is cute.

As I watch the dutiful maid pouring the golden liquid into my chalice, I slowly dart my eyes around the table we are dining at. There are only seven persons here, namely myself, Bryn, Alexa, and Rommel on the Belka side, there are Rosa, Francis, and his wife Alia on the Ustio side. We are being served by more than fifty staff, vetted by Belka of course, with more out of sight working to bring more food to the table. I let a small smile etches on my lips, thinking that it's possible for peace to achieve, albeit with a touch of manipulation.

Seeing that the chalice is filled and the participants are done with their meals, I elect to stand up and announce. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have a few words please."

With their attention on me, I say. "Today, I'm pleasantly surprised by the hospitality of the people of Ustio. A welcome party with cheers and flowers and then a sumptuous feast of their most renowned delicacies, truly, they're much more than I have anticipated. This is why I hold great expectations for our upcoming discussion and I hope we will achieve a win-win solution for both sides. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" Everyone at the table stands up with their chalices held high before partaking in either the delicious wine or champagne.

After that, we sit back down, and the atmosphere changes. It's time to put on our diplomat's faces and move on to the topic of the day.

I start first. "With our bellies filled and our thirst quenched, the negotiation between me, Reich Princess of Belka and her representative, and Princess Rosa Bonaparte, leader of the Reformist Faction of Ustio, is now in progress. Our talk will center around the lands of Ustio that are now or soon to be controlled by Belka, the treatment of her people under Belkan occupation, the matter surrounding Prisoners of War, and finally, Ustio's policies around non-human races and cooperation between the two factions from now on. Is there any question?"

I scan the table with an inquisitive gaze, my left hand supporting my head as I lean back on the chair. So far, only the maid whose name is Mary raises her hand while standing behind her liege. I nod to her. "Go on."

"Your Highness, can you clarify more on the part, and I quote, 'the lands of Ustio that are now or soon to be controlled by Belka'?"

"A valid question and I will explain. This war is not gonna stop even if the negotiation here ends in a peace treaty between our factions. No, it will continue until the current Prime Minister of Ustio is deposed from his position and Princess Rosa here rises in power. From then, the second round of negotiation will be held about the distribution of landmass should the Belkan army encroach further into Ustian soil. As of now, we will only discuss the portion of lands from Arash to the current battlefield frontline."

Rosa frowns at the explanation. "Correct me if I'm wrong but won't that mean that the entire of Ustio will be under your control if you reach our capital."

I smile with squinted eyes. "Who knows? That all depend on how much of an investment we've made to put you into power. In case you have got a mistaken impression of us, I will further clarify." Unknowingly, I put on a cruel smile that makes everybody shudder. "We don't need you. But you, on the other hand, need us. Should you and your allies be of use to me, I can assure you the terms more favorable for you in the future. If not, I can just take my sweet time and slowly disassemble Ustio, limbs by limbs. Regardless of whether you exist to block my way or not. By that time, Ustio will be forever integrated into the greater whole of Belka, wiped from the map."

Rosa and Mary take on a pale countenance. Yet, only Francis is calmly eating his pudding while Alia glances around in concern. The rest of the Belkan party remains unperturbed as they trust in my words.

After a moment of silence, Rosa bits her lower lip and then says. "Fine, beggars can't be choosers. I assure and will prove to you that I and my people aren't useless rags. Speak your terms."

"Good! It's nice to speak with an Ustian that has some backbones left in them." I clap my hand, a bit excited.

With that, the table turns into a hotpot of words. The nearby scribe will later describe the event as the first civilized discussion between the two nations. Yet, while no weapons are drawn, the words they said are no different than using a machine gun to suppress the other party.

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"No, no, no. You still don't get it." Alexa interjects amidst the talk about occupied land. "We will not give up on Arash nor White Rock, they're too valuable to be wasted away in your hands."

Rosa replies with zeal. "Arash is the lifeline of many citizens and is currently one of the only pillars that support our country's economy. You can't just assimilate the city outright! The economy of our country will collapse if you do so! That will result in the death of thousands once the Months of Demons arrive!"

Alexa snickers. "So what? That's none of our issues if the people that are not under our occupation lose their job. The entire battle plan up till now is to take this city and we'll be stupid to let go of this literal goldmine. Princess, my dear, this is war and you're the losing side so believe it or not, you don't have anything to offer us with."

Rosa is about to blow a fuse when I intervene. "Alright, that's enough. Princess Rosa, you've made your point but Alexa is correct. We cannot and will not return Arash and its treasury. We paid a price to get here and it will make everything moot if we are to renege on it. Yet, we can not leave innocent civilians to die out there when the Months of Demons come. So, we will offer material support and relinquish a few cities and towns for your faction, let you take in refugees, and gain their support. Colonel Francis here has experiences in managing a sanctuary for non-humans, I don't see why he cannot do the same for humans when the time comes."

I look at the defected Colonel to see that he is ok with the idea. "There you have it then. What we need now is to spread the word. They will come to the land under your faction soon enough.

Rosa bites back a tsk. She knows that getting back to this city was a tall order but it's still maddening to have it wrenched out of her control. At least her faction will get enough lands to marshal up their strength in the future. "Fine, we accept your terms as long as we have enough support. Otherwise, we will be forced to seek alternative investment."

I snicker at Rosa's bold attempt. We both know she won't be able to do that in the first place. "Don't you worry about me not keeping my promise. Now, as we are on the topic of land distribution, we need to discuss border management. Clearly, the Prime Minister's cronies will not let you separate Ustio into two halves. They will surely send undercover agents or even an armed force to sabotage our effort. We must not let civilians get caught in the crossfire because of this, so the establishment of an army under your control is a must."

Rosa concurs with a hint of surprise. "That's a bit of surprise to see you are the one to bring it up first."

I explain with a shrug. "I just don't want to waste too much time on this talk, that's all." Causing Rosa's face to twitch in annoyance.

"And care to clarify why?"

"It's because I still have a war to fight while your job isn't of much importance for a while."

"...Moving on then. I should be able to gather enough support for two divisions in the near future. Enough to run border patrols yet we won't be able to stave off a large counterattack from the military. It pains me to say this but we will also need military support from your end to hold the line. I expect it will take a couple of years, if we have that time, to put up a standing army for our faction."

"Understandable. Once the frontline stabilizes, the Belkan army will be focusing on securing our gains so far, we should have more than enough troops to aid you. But only for defensive purposes, I don't want the war to rekindle when you're not up and running yet."

"Agree."

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Alia reports the data she gathers after receiving it from an aide. The dining room is now filled with people working on papers surrounding the content of the talk today. "So far, the sanctuary has been the home to around 2000 non-humans. Many were waiting for transport that can take them to Belka when the war broke out. If possible, I would like to request accommodations for them so they can move to their homeland. The space there will be used to help sort out refugees later."

"That many?" I am surprised. "Many of our people were scattered after Ragnarok and the First World War. I'm astonished that you managed to have 2000 people here. On behalf of the Belkan Reich, you have our gratitude."

Alia smiles and says. "You flatter us, Princess. This is but one of the few places in Europe that are not discriminating against them. We are also lucky that they cooperate with us so that operating the sanctuary is smooth sailing."

"You and Francis did a splendid job, it won't be a stretch if we award you two a medal later. Yet, we must move on to the topic of the citizens under our control. Is there any input that you would like to say?"

I sweep my eyes around. As full-time Belkan officers, Alexa and Rommel sit this one out so that leaves only Rosa, Francis, and Alia to suggest whatever they would like to change.

It's Francis that speaks first. "With the upcoming Months of Demons, the citizens will have a hard time finding stable and safe jobs to do. They can't just sit around and do nothing even with the aid from Belka. Putting them up as Adventures will also do more harm than good. Is there any plan to put them to good use?"

I nod and calmly explain. "I do have something in mind. Those that are fit and capable will soon be able to find jobs in the industrial department of Belka. I have plans that can bolster our two factions in the future so I would appreciate it if you can help me vet the citizens."

"I see, if Rosa is fine with that then I have no more words to add."

Rosa says after taking a sip of tea. "What are we expecting in return for sending our people to work in your factories and construction projects?"

I quirk an eyebrow at her choice of words. "In return for letting them work for us, we will provide them with fair wages and all the accommodations befitting of a standard Belkan. The work period will be up to five years after that will have to decide whether to change their nationality to continue their work or remain Ustian and do something else. As for you, what you can expect are an improvement in standard living condition and cultural aspect for your citizens. I do not need to explain how that can benefit your territories, no?"

Rosa ponders the issue for a minute before saying. "So you receive a healthy pool of experienced workers, while we can elevate the condition of the common folks, making them more accepting of this alliance of ours."

"That's the gist of it, yeah."

"Fine then, you got me hooked. Last question before we move on to the military talk. Are we a puppet to you or something else?"

I smile at her straightforwardness. "Then let's answer the question of what is this alliance in particular, shall we?" I take a drink from my chalice before saying. "I envision this alliance to be of something much grander in the future. Something along the line of world unification at the end of everything. Interest?" I end it with a charming smile.

It seems my sudden revelation comes out of the blue, shocking even Bryn into silence. Rosa, the one who put up the question in the first place, reboots and says. "While you do have a grand ambition, grander than me to be honest, it still doesn't answer my question."

"Are you seriously not understanding why I say that? Or do you want me to spell it out, fellow Princess of mine?"

"...You want me as a staunch ally in this endeavor of yours."

"Yes, while it is better to have full control over your country. The fact still stands that Belka lacks the means to do so. It's better to have you fully cooperate with me rather than manipulating everything, history has proven that stuff like that usually didn't end well." I pause to lean back on my chair before continuing. "By supporting me, you are entitled to much better benefits in the future. Europe is too small for both of us so why not expand beyond?"

Ending my sell speech like that, I have caught Rosa hook, line, and sinker. Though I can see a few are still on the fence. Bryn, Francis, and Alia in particular but I only need to explain myself to Bryn later. So, I gently hold my hand in between her's under the table, giving it a squeeze. We will have all the time in the world later to talk about this. Bryn agrees by squeezing it back with a look in her eyes saying. "Later then."

As for Rosa, she finally chooses to join this fun train fully. "Ugh, you know what. Screw this, what do I have to lose anyway? It's either I do not join you so that you will soon replace me with a figurehead, or I stick with you so that I can reap more benefits for the country. The answer should be obvious, right?"

I smirk at her words. "Welcome aboard then, future Queen of Ustio."

With that out of the way, it's high time we discuss our military cooperation.

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"As I said before, it will take time to gather up troops that are loyal to me. Those that are trying to get here so far are few in number and lacking in equipment. I highly doubt they will be capable of anything further than performing internal security jobs." Rosa adds with a hand on her chin. "For the foreseeable future, the task of tanking the brunt of the Prime Minister's army can only be left for you to deal with."

I nod at her words. "We understand. What we need is for you to help us relocate the civilians elsewhere from the speculated danger zones. Bryn here has the marked locations that need to be evacuated." Bryn hands over the map to Rosa and Francis. They peruse the map with detailed markings that also include where they will put the civilians at.

"If the people can be provided with enough necessity, I don't see why we cannot stash them away at a few abandoned towns. They will understand our needs in war, I'll make sure of that."

"I'm grateful for your cooperation."

The talk then goes on for a while until dinner. Even though we have a few small breaks during the day, you can see that everyone is exhausted. Thankfully, a hearty dinner is all it takes to rejuvenate our spirits. In the middle of our meal, Rosa poses a question. "Yuki, can I call you that?"

I look to Bryn and she just shrugs. I smile and use a handkerchief to wipe a bit of grease on her face, earning me blush and a muffled thank in the process. I then respond to Rosa. "Sure, I don't see why not."

Rosa stays silent for a bit after witnessing the display of our affection, the others are used to it by now and Francis and his wife are in their own world. She frowns before shaking her head. "Well, you left the topic on how you will stave off the upcoming army during the talk. I'm a bit curious how you will proceed to handle it, that's all."

"Our intel suggests that they will take a week time to gather the required army of Reservists. During that time, we will be focusing on improving the fortifications here and will make some changes to the city layout. We expect there will be skirmished here and there but it shouldn't be an issue. As it stands, we will need to do a lot of work to make this place more defensible. Thankfully, the upcoming airdrop will give us much-needed supplies. No doubt that I will make this place a living hell for the enemy. That's all you need to know."

"I see."

With that out of the way, the meal resumes with a pleasant atmosphere. Everyone, including the aides and secretaries from before, tries to enjoy dinner as much as they can before the tiring days ahead. This marks the peaceful end of the meeting between two Princesses of two warring nations.