Princess's Struggle for Survival

As the doctrine of the Church of Light spread widely throughout the kingdom, the ecclesiastical power held by the Pope had, imperceptibly, eclipsed secular royal authority. Whether in mobilizing the faithful or in overall influence across the realm, the Church now far outstripped the king.

When the nobles rose in rebellion within the kingdom, the Pope of Light Hebrew was fully capable of unleashing the initiative of his followers: he could have ordered believers to persuade the rebels to lay down arms and submit, or simply had the Church’s knightly orders join in carrying out suppression.

But when King Velys made such a request, Hebrew refused. He said it ran counter to the doctrine they upheld: changes in secular power should be handled by secular hands. They were God’s messengers; Their foremost mission was to spread the faith and save souls, not to seize temporal power.

Thus Hebrew ultimately did not command troops to march. He only sent the Saintess Monica Angelis and several bishops to the epidemic zones to carry out necessary dispersal and healing work.

All the pressure, then, fell squarely upon the king.

He had to rely on his own confidants and private troops to withstand a rebellion that had risen from within the nobility and was quickly sweeping the land.

While the king fretted, an independent royal army south of Sevelia set out toward the rebel territories. The wind howled; the soldiers’ faces were grim. Their leather boots tread out clouds of dust.

"What’s going on?"

"Don’t know. Suddenly there’re so many people... it looks like they’re heading south..."

Scattered villages and towns dotted both sides of the capital road. A large marching column made considerable noise; it was hard for the peasants to draw water at dawn not to notice.

"Maybe they’re going to war again..."

"Fight again? How many have already died?"

"That’s not something to say out loud."

"..."

The murmurs rose and fell among the farmers. Because this was an army of the kingdom’s power, people could only whisper, even afraid to speak loudly.

A middle-aged man in a black robe, his clothes noticeably finer than those around him, mingled among them, his gaze fixed on the army on the road. Restricted by poor communication and deliberate concealment by Velys’s upper echelons, these peasants did not know an epidemic had broken out in the southern kingdom, nor that the outbreak had become the fuse for a noble-led rebellion against the royal house.

Only those who deliberately collected information, agents with flexible cover who could move about the kingdom, knew the crucial facts.

The man, dressed in rich robes and watching the royal troops, was a Valerian. He had been sent by Amalia to infiltrate the Kingdom of Velys and gather essential intelligence.

With imperial backing, the agent had invested heavily in buying goods on the Velys border. By bribing customs and reselling these wares in other cities, he gathered information along the way, preparing the Empire for future military operations.

Besides him, several other agents posing as merchants had penetrated Velys. Most moved through different regions, occasionally exchanging intelligence through couriers and meetups.

With the help of the Saintess Monica Angelis and a small circle of Church adherents close to her, a tiny number of imperial spies even slipped inside the Church and learned of the plague’s spread, and the truth that the Church of Light cannot cure the disease.

Watching the dust along the road, the man posing as a merchant looked on for a while, then calmly told his servants to load their goods onto wagons.

"Once the soldiers pass and the road clears, we’ll take the goods into the Capital."

"Yes."

When the trade was done, he could, under the pretext of purchasing raw materials, return to the empire’s border near Liya Tower Fortress.

In order to suppress the internal rebellion, the royal house’s control over the border had grown weaker. With the storm not yet fully over, these conditions greatly aided the Valeria Empire in gathering intelligence from Velys, an opportunity from heaven.

....................

A week before the storm had fully abated, Theresa returned to Capital City and handed over the consigned crystal stones to the crown.

"Sorry, Astrid, there’s been a delay from the schedule we agreed on,"

"No problem, only a few days late. No harm done."

Astrid asked for maids to tidy Theresa’s wind-tousled hair. Once the Blue Dragoness recovered her usual refinement, Astrid dismissed most of the servants and asked, "Did something happen on the road, Theresa? Or... was there another reason?"

Theresa looked worn, as if her thoughts had been elsewhere, perhaps anxious about her dealings with the human Empire, hence the disheveled state and loss of draconic poise. And yet, despite her concerns, she still hadn’t fully kept her promise of arriving at the appointed time, which was odd.

Theresa hesitated, then answered softly. "Something at home needed dealing with, so I was delayed."

In truth, the moment she returned home after introducing human magic to a dragon named Vinne and sharing imperial vintages, Theresa was promptly locked by her mother.

Seeing her daughter with a precious space ring and having previously left home without a word, the adult Blue Dragon treated Theresa to a rigorous interrogation. Only after repeated questioning did she learn of Theresa’s trip to the human Empire and the details of her trade with Astrid.

Unlike young dragons like Theresa, adults had far less curiosity about humanity and fewer basic sympathies. Raised without contact with other sapient races, Theresa’s mother was cautious and suspicious of her daughter’s travels into human lands, trying to stop her from risking further expeditions.

Theresa persisted with repeated entreaties and fibs. She told her mother about how Astrid had welcomed her, fed her human foods seasoned with special spices, gave her a library borrowing card allowing free access to royal books, and invited her to participate in a magitech exposition.

Hearing these stories softened the adult dragon somewhat, human hospitality and Astrid’s enthusiasm did make an impression, but it did not erase the elder’s deep-rooted distrust. Ancient dragon records warn that humans could be crafty; exceptions might exist, but most could not be entirely separated from greed.

If possible, Theresa’s mother would rather her only daughter not mingle too much with such people.

Between mother and daughter there was a typical familial affection: in general loving, not obedient in everything, quarrels of various degrees included. Faced with her mother’s stubbornness, Theresa did not understand. After sharing in the convenience of magical devices and enjoying human cuisine together, the mother still refused to relent and forbade further journeys to the Valeria Empire.

"Anyway... once things were settled, I came straight away," Theresa said finally.

She felt embarrassed to tell Astrid the full truth, that she had been confined by her mother and only escaped after much ado, so she simply said the matter had been resolved.

Astrid, guessing Theresa did not want to elaborate, did not press. She smiled gently. "I understand, Theresa."

Theresa had kept her commitment and delivered a batch of precious mana crystals to the capital; that alone honoured Astrid’s trust. No further scrutiny was necessary.

"The servants will count and catalog them, don’t worry. By the way, how long do you plan to stay in the Valeria Empire this time?"

A week earlier, Astrid and Amalia had sent a diplomatic delegation to the Kingdom of Velys, demanding that those responsible for starting the war be handed over and that compensation be made to the Valeria Empire for inflicted damages.

Compensation might be feasible, the Velys royals could possibly accept paying damages to avoid war, but handling over the offenders would strip them of their privileges and render them fugitives; no noble would accept that. Even a humble noble would resist surrendering themself to certain execution by another’s hands.

Astrid and Amalia had long since understood this. An invasion of Velys was becoming inevitable. Under such circumstances, they might lack time to entertain guests.

Theresa blinked and, in a low tone, said, "I can’t stay as long as last time... only about two or three days."

Her mother was currently near the Valeria border. If Theresa stayed away too long, it was not impossible her elder might come looking.

Astrid nodded and spoke gently. "Then in these brief two or three days, I hope you enjoy the riches of the human Empire."

"You’re tired from the trip, go and have something to eat, Theresa. Treat yourself."

With that, Astrid told Elise to prepare food for their guests. The simple command spread quickly to the kitchen.

"Oh, and Theresa, those large magical stoves you mentioned? I’ve already had craftsmen building them," Astrid added softly.

"You can use the space ring to carry them back when you leave. I’d thought about making some devices scaled to dragon size as gifts, but the scale would be enormous. Transport would be difficult unless the work crew went to your home to install them, so I had to give up."

Human underfloor heating, wall warmers, and bathing facilities, scaled up to dragon size, were a colossal undertaking. Theresa understood and was not disappointed; she answered kindly, "That’s fine, Astrid."

Astrid continued, "But you could take several sets of devices suited to human size with you."

"Weren’t you fond of soaking in a tub?" she teased.

On Theresa’s last visit to Capital, Astrid had often missed her and later learned Theresa had been bathing, floating books with wind magic, the faint air currents keeping pages dry and turning them.

Surprised at how Theresa had embraced something akin to human ’watching videos while bathing,’ Astrid wanted to send a set of conveniences home, trivial compared to the big trade profits, but a kindness for a friend.

"And some spices and fine wines, and a pastime boardgame lords enjoy, consider them gifts, and as a token of goodwill from the human Empire to the dragons."

Of course Astrid had a purpose: she hoped Theresa would share these with those dragons living a primitive, joyless daily life and thus open a new market. A friend was worth more than an enemy; Such potential allies could help Astrid oppose Brennild and trade for rare magical materials unavailable within the Empire.

If commercial ties could be built, both humans and dragons would profit.

Remembering Vinne, who’d praised the Empire’s wines and asked Theresa to bring more next time, Theresa liked her head and focused Astrid again.

"On behalf of the dragonkind, I thank you, Astrid."

Perhaps these wonderful magic items will gradually change her mother’s view of humans. At the very least, her mother had been less stern while they shared a meal.

Astrid smiled, her lashes caught scattered light, red irises clear as a deep pool. "And I thank you, Theresa, for providing such precious mana crystals to the Valeria Empire."

"Your learning and your integrity have increased my regard for dragons."

"I sincerely hope that, in the not-distant future, humans and dragons can coexist harmoniously, sharing what each has, becoming friends, like you and me."

For now, their first impressions of one another were good enough. The rest could be left to the future.

####

Volume 8 ends here. It had a short plot but still there was some progress between Astrid and Charlotte. Next Volume will be more of a breakthrough of the relationship between Charlotte and Astrid while bringing peace to the world by beheading evils. This will also reveal some of Brennild’s plans.