Chapter 125: …Who Needs Enemies

- Crossroads, Merchant Lord Aste's Sector, Next Day - Queen Laura's POV -

The next day of negotiations was much the same as the first, mostly procedural, boring, and complicated. With the acquisition of new territory in the recent conflict my country of Anguis had gotten ahold of what was essentially a double-edged sword. On the one hand we'd gotten a fairly decent stake in various materials and goods normally unavailable to our own country which was located in a much warmer climate than the conquered territory. This was most definitely a positive thing and all of our "allies" wished to capitalize on the newly opened money-making avenue. The thing they were less eager to share in however, was the defense of said territory. Unfortunately, while we'd gained what was essentially a buffer-state with the Church controlled territories we'd also need to garrison and protect it. And, because of the optics of abandoning it when the invasion eventually came, we couldn't just drop everything and burn everything behind us. We'd need to incorporate it fully. Which meant troops. And laws. And a multitude of other minutia that meant a much larger investment of resources than if we could just use it as empty space between our two warring territories.

This didn't mean that the other members of the council wanted nothing to do with it of course. Offering to send the bare minimum or, in some cases, an actually substantial, number of troops to help defend the new territory in exchange for even further trade agreements. The only one seemingly uninterested being the Harem King himself, King Leo. Unfortunately, though his disinterest was eclipsed by his insistence at pursuing his eternal quest for powerful woman. Namely, my adorable niece.

[Well then, now that the theatrics are done with can we get back to discussing the Demon Lord, oh I'm sorry I meant your niece.] - King Leo, Delegate of Fastus

[I've already told you that she was NOT the Demon Lord but besides that what is there to discuss? I fail to see how a child has garnered so much of your attention "Harem King", are you into children now? If so, I feel obligated to warn all the children within 4 kingdoms of here, given your... notorious appetite.] - Queen Laura de la Anguis, Delegate of Anguis

We had finally been winding down the negotiations regarding the defense of our new territory when an irritatingly confident voice rang out over our bickering. If I were less observant, perhaps less acclimatized to politics, I might have mistaken King Leo, insultingly known as the Harem King, was unintelligent. His apparent obsession with power and nonchalant disregard for anything that didn't interest him as well as the facts behind his rise to power made him seem every bit the military muscle head with nothing going on between his ears. I knew this was an unfair assessment however, King Leo, despite his many character flaws, was extremely intelligent. Nowhere was this more apparent than in his pursuit of anything that interested him. The others, utilizing their own spy networks, most likely already knew of the oddities surrounding my niece. Despite this none of the other rulers and delegates had confronted me on the issue beyond some minor grumbling and overplayed outrage meant to show that, while they didn't believe me, they didn't have enough evidence to push the issue.

At this point, if I were less experienced, I might have assumed that King Leo was simply ignoring political decorum and had no more evidence than the rest of these vultures. The problem was that the Harem King was most definitely not an idiot.

[Oh, you need not worry for weaklings. As always, I'm only attracted to Power. And your niece, she has more potential than even me, Demon Lord or no. Isn't that right, oh Queenly Aunt? Oh and, while I care not for the muttering of weaklings, I will not abide by the strong mocking me with such a ridiculous nickname. My wives all joined me out of respect for my strength and I allowed them out of respect for theirs. I will not allow those I consider peers to question their devotion.] - King Leo, Delegate of Fastus

[...Fine. I apologize for the suggestion. Regardless however I'll not concede on whether my adorable niece is the Demon Lord because it's simply no-] - Queen Laura de la Anguis, Delegate of Anguis

King Leo, with a twinkle in his eye as he completely discounted my deflection as to his age preferences, immediately expressed his belief that my niece was the Demon Lord once more. His comments, while disrespectful, toed the line on just how far he could push it before going too far. His mirthful glee at the prospect of acquiring an actual Demon Lord quickly hardened however as the twinkle in his eyes turned harsh. It seemed that even the supposed Harem King did actually care for his wives beyond the children they could bring him. A useful confirmation of earlier spy craft but a current issue to back off from lest I push it too far. We were interrupted however by the annoying voice of one of several onlookers brave enough to actually butt in, although stupid enough might be more accurate in this case.

[Still continuing with that lie, are you?] - Delegate of Ignavus, Viscount Nominare

[Ahem! I think it's time for our esteemed Council members to adjourn for lunch. We may resume afterwards with... clearer heads. Now come, Laura, I believe you mentioned that you had a question for me?] - Councilwoman Gorvi, Delegate of Labyrinth City

[A-Ah? Oh yes, I did have something I wanted to ask you. Excuse us gentlemen. Viscount Nominare. King Leo.] - Queen Laura de la Anguis, Delegate of Anguis

The temperature of the room froze as silence descended on those present. The banter between King Leo and I had certainly been aggressive certainly but at no point had he directly said I lied. Doing so, especially to my face, was an act of extreme disrespect, the sort of thing that in less tumultuous times caused wars. The Viscount, to his credit, also seemed to realize that he'd gone too far nearly immediately as his face paled. Luckily however, for the sake of everyone present, a new voice spoke out to diffuse the tension.

- Crossroads, Merchant Lord Aste's Sector - Queen Laura's POV -

[Hmm, this is quite the nice place... Anyway, I realize that you only interrupted us to salvage the sheer stupidity of that idiot Nominare but I do actually have something to ask you.] - Queen Laura de la Anguis, Delegate of Anguis

[Oh?] - Councilwoman Gorvi, Delegate of Labyrinth City

[It's about my niece. And also, the rumors of your people hiding an Engineer.] - Queen Laura de la Anguis, Delegate of Anguis

[Should I be here?] - King Nero, Delegate of Abelis

Hurrying away from the meeting location we were joined by my other close friend, King Nero, as we entered a vetted establishment for politicians and associates of the Merchant Lord's. It was quite the nice restaurant, catering to high society, with expensive carpeting and I could even see pressed stone flooring that had been mixed with wyvern bone powder. The distinctive luster from the expensive mixture obvious even from this distance. Even my own castle didn't use such luxuries. Mostly because of the both the upfront cost as well as that of maintaining it. It was also surprisingly brittle despite the hardness of wyvern bone when it was actually "in" a living one. I'd have to see about getting a book about it at some point since I was thinking about it.

Shaking my head from the distractions I got to the main point of why we'd chosen such a secure location. Both reasons.

[It's fine. If I didn't wish for both of you to hear this, I would not have brought you along.] - Queen Laura de la Anguis, Delegate of Anguis

[If you're sure.] - King Nero, Delegate of Abelis

[I am.] - Queen Laura de la Anguis, Delegate of Anguis

[What I am about to tell you is of the utmost secrecy. It involves my niece, as well as her family, and if it spreads beyond those present it could lead to all of our deaths. It's also related to your own little rumors Councilwoman Gorvi.] - Queen Laura de la Anguis

[And what rumors would those be Laura? We've known each other long enough to not beat around the bush like this.] - Councilwoman Gorvi, Delegate of Labyrinth City

[You're right so I'll get straight to the point. You have a reincarnated person in custody, don't you?] - Queen Laura de la Anguis, Delegate of Anguis

I'd deliberated on whether to be straight with my old friend and colleague, afterall she's still a leader of a sovereign nation, at least in part. What had finally pushed me to go for a direct question had actually been my Queensguard, Miriam. She'd encouraged me to be open with those I considered close, especially with those considered my peers. Of course, this was also to set up the piece of information I'd reveal about my niece. King Nero, having met my adorable niece, probably already had his own suspicions regarding both her power and her origin but he had not pushed me to provide him an answer. Even after the death of his son and the subsequent chaos that followed as a result. Not only did this show how highly he valued my friendship it also spoke highly of his integrity. He deserved to know.

[Hmm.... And what makes you think that? You know how our culture views ANY reincarnators, even if they're not engineers. Our policy has always been to reveal them to the world, why would we keep one secretly?] - Councilwoman Gorvi, Delegate of Labyrinth City

She had a point, a good one. If this were before the reveal of Rose's origin, I'd have immediately discounted any such thoughts. Because, historically and religiously, she was being completely truthful. It was literally a tenant of their religion to be as open as possible about the existence of those they viewed as literal incarnations of holiness. But my theory was there was a reason to hide this one specifically, one that I'd have never even considered if I hadn't been exposed to the precedent that was my niece.

[The one you're hiding, they're not human, are they?] - Queen Laura de la Anguis, Delegate of Anguis

[...!] - Councilwoman Gorvi, Delegate of Labyrinth City

I had her.