Herald of Steel

Chapter 1235: Lady Parthia's Schemes

Alexander was quite a bit peeved when the Margraves family council members refused to swear Lady Miranda in as the new head.

Sure given that they were in the middle of a war, the entire thing might have been purely ceremonial.

But one should not also underestimate the effects of a purely political move.

The ability to firmly say that Lady Miranda was chosen as their head by the family during the negotiations would have been a great card to have.

However, try as he might, the Margraves council members refused to budge, claiming themselves to have become apolitical.

While at the same time, Lady Miranda appeared also reluctant to apply greater pressure. For her, it was already considered a victory to make them flip from actively supporting her sister to becoming neutral.

And she feared that if she were to push them too hard, instead of becoming hers, they might simply secretly flip back and stab her in the back at the crucial point.

Lady Miranda wanted to avoid that worst case scenario.

So as Alexander pressured them, she secretly urged him,

"Forget these old coons. I only need them alive for the next few years. I will be able to train a few men to replace them by then. It will be good if they are obedient till that."

And given it was the lady of the house's wish, along with the staunch resistance Alexander had little recourse but to agree.

But that made him slowly warm up to the idea of leaving Caira, as he began to see the advantages were slowly creeping up to upset the risks.

After all what was the point of holding the manor if Lady Miranda could not be officially declared his owner?

And what would happen if Lord Parker managed to successfully blockade the harbor?

He might have fewer ships than Alexander, but his men were multiple times more skilled. They even did not need to fight the legionaries head on, but simply make leaving and entering the harbor too dangerous of a prospect.

If that were to truly happen, Alexander would undoubtedly starve and die.

But the last thing that finally pushed Alexander to make the decision came from a very surprising source- Lady Parthia!

This former queen of Tibias had rarely shown herself in these meetings recently, content to fly away her time in her own room by herself.

Thus it came as quite a surprise to Alexander when the lady sought an audience with him one morning.

"My lady, welcome, welcome! What a pleasant surprise! I apologize for not being able to come to see you recently haha." Alexander flattered her as the lady entered, even going as far as to personally pour her a glass of wine, just like a filial junior should.

"I have heard from Lady Nanazin that you were very busy with everything. In fact, that was why I came."

Lady Parthia on the other hand eschewed most of the flowery talks and directly declared her intentions as soon as her large bottom hit the soft cushion.

"My lord, I have heard about your talks regarding the city and allying with the northerners. I am here to ask that you agree to do so."

"????"

But there was nothing, not a peep.

And the same went when Alexander invaded. Typically they should have lent him their help in exchange for some kind of negotiated favorable deal.

That's why, most scribes and scholars simply figured those ancient tribes were a relic of the past and thus relegated them to the pages of history.

Only a few people with extreme far sight such as the queen simply viewed them as a viable threat, one that needed to be guarded against even now.

She believed these tribes could not be so easily uprooted, or else they could have survived for so long.

However, her voice was in the extreme minority, as most found it not inconvenient to believe such a thorny problem still existed.

Add to that the fact that Lady Parthia was a woman, who was wildly considered to be inferior in politics when compared to me, she was hardly given any attention.

The threat was left completely ignored.

Thus in a way, it could be said this was her way of warning Alexander now.

Alexander however would find all these later.

For now, he decided to leave this dormant problem after simply noting it inside his head.

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And turned to bigger fish to fry.

With Lady Parthia's expertise over the subject, Alexander finally found someone unbiased to consult with.

So over the following hour, they talked about various ways this deal could be made.

And the sum of that discussion could be expressed by this statement from the regal queen,

"My lord, you should not see this conflict as us against the Heeats. That is too simple. It would be more accurate to say this fight is between four factions- us, the Margraves, the Heeat, and the northerners."

Lady Parthia held up four of her fingers as she said this, before announcing with a gentle smirk, "Such an arrangement also benefits us. Because in this way, we can use the various forces to tear a chunk of territory and make it a part of Zanzan,"

"I hear you are very interested in the sailors from here. This is your chance. A mere free trade agreement cannot be enough to justify all the resources you are pouring into this, my lord."

Let us say no to piracy! Don't take part in a crime! Don't patronize thieves!

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