Chapter 8

THE IRON FACTION, DUCHY OF MOREYA

"Your grace."

The Duke of Moreya and Leader of the Iron faction

"I know. There here." "Not all of them though sir." "Let me guess the three princes are not here." Those little shits. There probably off spending the fortunes of their kingdom. 

"Not only that sir. The king of Javena has decided to miss the meeting." "Hm. This the second time. What is the latest news on Dantina invasion of Malis."

"She has at a standstill right now. The republic has stalled her advances." "So Javena is still safe. But Jen must be wary right now." 

"I would assume so your grace." Guess it's time now. "I'll be there in ten minutes. Tell the other lords to continue the meeting." "Of course." Shay. When will it be enough for you. My contraction was disrupted by my mirror. I tap the mirror to open up the reflection of who was calling from the other side of the mirror.

This type of magical idea is only given amongst royalty in the land of stars. The mirror revealed a young and pretty girl. "Mia. You're calling quite suddenly." "Well, I just had a feeling you needed talking to." 

"Heh." "Things going smoothly there?" "No. People in the faction are on edge right now. Even their own people are feeling pressure by...Leigh and her war." 

"How do she end up like this." "She feels the need to keep the world together. She believes she and her people can do that."

"I remember you two use to take care of me when I was little and spent so much time together having fun." If only that life of ours was protected by the older generation, we could have stayed like that until our deaths.

"Enough about that. You called for another reason Mia." "I... have a request." Judging by her tone its some of a desperate person. "You know you like family Mia. You can ask me for anything." She seemed reluctant to ask. She's just like her late father. Always trying to figure things out on her own.

"It's about handing over my city to you. Having it become a part of your inheritance."

"Mia. You know that's not how that works. And don't give up like this." "I don't know what else to do. The people are starving. And the knights are questioning the reason for being here."

"Hm. If its food than I can help. And money." "Verse! It's not a good idea to just hand some of your nation's money to anyone!" "It's fine. This money is not from the nation treasure. It's from my personal family's funds."

"But what will your family say?" "I'm the Duke of Morey Mia. Though I know they will be nagging me about it. They have no authority to stop me." "It's just." She must feel uncomfortable about it.

"All right how about this. If your worried about the backlash from the other royal families. We can start some common business than." "What do you have in mind."

"We can discuss later. I have meeting I need to get to." "Allright. I will be waiting." The mirror shuts off.

"I should get going now." The meeting with the faction members was a bunch of whining and ideas that could do harm or help us.

"Your grace. The Duchess of Dantina is becoming a problem for us. Our trade partners and business has taken a hit. We can't make money or bring the goods we need."

"He right sir." 

"And what do you suggest I do?" One the old bastards shouted war in the room. Many nodded in agreement. "Your grace. War is on the horizon." "War, you think fighting Dantina will end this. This will only continue the suffering." 

"If I may sir." 

"Earl Thorn. Do you agree as well?" "We all know Duchess Leigh will never stop. She has taken all of the Western Alp's region in the past years. We should make it clear to her that we will fight and that she will lose more than just resources and men." Earl Thorn stands in front of the map behind me.

"I believe war is still not the option yet. But we should show her our power to make think twice of invading the iron faction." "Sending the army to our western border." Said one of the members. The country of Javena. "You want to send them to Javena. Earl Thorn" 

"Yes, Your grace. Doing this could also easy the people in our regions." Thorn sits than. Many countries have fallen to Dantina. I don't want another to fall. And Javena could be the next target in all likelihood.

"And war is the next option if does not heed our warning. Putting knights in Javena could prepare for...the inevitable." I frown my eyes brows of my disappointment. "Then let's do that. Send a letter to Javena for approval."

"Your grace Moreya. We also have another subject we want to address." They were hesitant on the matter. "Speak. What do we need to address." 

"It's about Lazare and Isbella in the southern lands." "What about them?" "Well...Lazare has been growing in power. That I fear Isabella will not be able to withstand the pressure from the king of Lazare."

"Lord Morey. Isabella is important for us. They balance out the influence in the southern regions. And we all know that Lazare is a vassal state to the Southern empire. They are much of a problem as Dantina."

"The princess of Isabella is...young and is not ready to lead her people." "She just needs the resources." " Your grace her people are unrest. They also feel the same way we do sir. Princess Mia Isabella is unconfident as a leader."

The member agreed together. They waited for my answer. "The city of Isabella is not in our authority." "Then how an engagement." "What!? What nonsense are you saying!?"

"Sir. If you send an engagement letter to her. She will most likely."

"Enough. This meeting is now over."

"Lord Moreya. Think about it. It's also for her sake." There is truth to what they say. But Mia is not incompetent. I daydream about the old days. Me, Mia, and Leigh. We were inseparable. "...Sign." I lean on a pillar. 

"Father. What do you think? If only you were still here. You probably would have delt with this in a flash."

"Your grace." King Albert is one of my father's older friends. "King Albert. Have you been waiting for me?" "Yes, I have received word on what you asked of me to do."

"I see. We should head inside." We drink wine together. It seemed we both needed it. "I see They found one piece." 

"Yes. Though a small part. It still contains powerful magic." "Good. Did the imperial families or the mage saints show up to the dungeon." "Yes. They did. It didn't end on peaceful terms." At this point they know everyone is trying to obtain the pieces.

"My god. What has this world become to." "What's wrong Verse?" "Just political agendas." "Dantina?" "Not just that? They mention the three princes spending the nations treasure and even talked about Mia. They suggested I marry her so she can stabilize her domain."

"Hahaha. Welcome to life Duke Moreya." "...Tell me. What do you think of their proposal about Isabella?"

"Honestly its reason solution. It fixes a lot of things Verse. The balance out the influence in the region. It fixes Isabella's unrest. And secures a very important trade route in the strait. Believe or not. The land in the south has many resources."

"It does. But putting claim on it could upset a lot of powerful people in the mainland." "Besides that."

"She is only 16. She is more like a little sister to me then a woman." "It's not about feelings your grace. This is about the benefit of one another. Marriages like this is not uncommon you know."

"That isn't the point. There should be morals in these types of things." "...Sign. Kids these days. They don't seem to understand traditions. Then you can do at it a different way." "I have an idea. But Mia needs to get her city under control before I can help her."

"Is it that bad?" 

"It is. The city is low on food. The knight order is showing signs of taking control of the city from her. Not only that. A bandit war lord is targeting her city too." "Has she not sent for help from her maternal family?"

"They have only sent her gifts for her." "What?" "There trying to destroy her image. By sending gifts it's a slap in the face of her. Telling the people that she more important than her." 

"She must have refused them, right?"

"She has but the damage has been done. A peasant uprising is brewing right now." "It's very strange." "What is?" "A year ago, Isabella was flushing under her highness."

"It is. She had the funds to support her kingdom and now it's gone." "She is not the type to spend money."

"Isabella only has two enemies. Lazare and the bandit warlord Krel. Mia would never let those people into her city and the Isabella doesn't have nobles."

"And she is an only a child." We have moment of silence. Thinking of only one reason why her kingdom is failing. "Do you think they are there." "Not black coats, not the red inquisition or the mage academy."

"The Southern empire." "They must have people in Isabella." "It's possible." "I'll have a talk with her after our talk about the piece we found."

"You should tell her now. You seem more worried about Mia than that thing." King Allbert is a man of focus he always tells me to focus on what benefits the kingdom. He was teacher when I young. I was sent away to his kingdom to learn how to be a leader and one day rise to be a king instead of duke.

"Verse. You must do what is best for your kingdom. With out it. The Cruel of the world will swallow you. I understand Mia is a close friend. But you two are not children anymore. You two are leaders of kingdom. Remember that."

"Isabella is important King Albert. We both know that." "I know. But you must understand your position when it comes to Mia." "I know that."

"Good." Sooner or later. I must put a boundary soon. If her kingdom was not in such a position, I wouldn't be worrying about her. "...Sign..." 

Leigh. I miss you so much. Thinking on that night. I only wish I could have stopped it sooner. Then maybe this war could have been prevented.

"Your grave." "What is it?" "Your tailor is here. Your clothes must be ready for the ball." "I see. I will be there in a minute."

Let's get through the day. Instead of thinking about my regrets. "I wonder is Duke Lee has carried out his plan.