Chp.8: Battle of prestige

No one dared to breathe. The nobles weren't even blinking. Everyone seemed to hang on Marcus's lips as he delivered his speech. "First of all, I want to thanks. To all those who have enabled this victory, be they great leaders, brave soldiers, knights, generals, or even simple mercenaries, I say thank you. Thank you all, whether you are alive or fallen , for allowing us to achieve such a great and important victory. Because the fall of the Baudonia City Alliance does not simply mark a new conquest, but the beginning of a new era for the Jurao Kingdom and all nations affiliated with it"

It was clear that the king had been preparing this speech for a long time. Haku, who was also very good with words, could understand this very well: however skilled someone was at speaking, an improvised speech would show clear discrepancies that weren't present in Marcus' one, a sign that it must have been carefully studied word by word. "As you all know, the Baudonia City Alliance had started to have contacts with the eastern empires, and in the future they would probably become a thorn in the side for all of us and help their advance. By conquering that nation, we proved to the nation of the east that they are not invincible, and that even if we do not yet possess a strength equal to theirs, we are by no means an easy prey and we can strike them at any moment. Now the Baudonia City Alliance which was supposed to become the passage for the empires of the east towards our nations will instead become an impassable wall that will allow us to curb their advance when their expansionist aims point towards us!"

Marcus waved his hand, as if he were chasing a fly, but it wasn't a casual gesture: it was a movement designed to arouse admiration in the hearts of those who were listening to him and emphasize his certainty in what he was saying. "We won the war and in doing so we annexed a territory one third the size of the former Jurao Kingdom. Over the past year, this territory has been pacified and our influence over it has strengthened. We have already begun to build new fortifications, roads and walls that our armies will be able to exploit to block any kind of invasion from the east. However, it is a very long job, which will require everyone's help. Therefore, I take this opportunity to do an announcement: in the coming months I will personally choose governors to whom I will assign the various lands, so that they can manage them, help with the pacification of the population, suppress any revolts and continue the work to transform that territory into a great fortress that will defend us!"

Many nobles smiled satisfied. Anyone who obtained that position would receive new lands, new wealth and much more prestige than the others, so the king's announcement was well received by all. "Furthermore, I hope that this victory will help us not only to defend this nation, but also to strengthen the relations between all of us. In fact, I also want to thank all the nations that have supported us economically during this war, whose rulers are currently here in this room with us. Your help has been indispensable, and I hope that in the future our relationship can not only continue, but also grow stronger than ever! We are weak alone, but together we are invincible! The union is ours strength, and it will be crucial in dealing with the empires of the east when they surely try to invade us in the future! Together, there is no obstacle that we will not be able to overcome, no goal that we will not be able to achieve, no enemy that we will not be able to to defeat! Anyone who cares about the future of our nations will surely understand this important and irrefutable precept! Therefore, it is with the hope in my heart for a better tomorrow, a tomorrow made of peace, brotherhood and unity, that I officially announce the beginning of this party!"

Marcus raised his glass and then took a long drink. All the people in the room followed suit; for a moment there was silence, broken only by the sound of the wine flowing down the throats of the guests, and then everyone put down their glasses and began to applaud. Clearly they had greatly appreciated that speech.

Haku had to admit that Marcus had played his cards right. Even if an ordinary person would have seen only a pep talk, Haku instead saw in those words a precise goal. Marcus had deliberately explained how the alliance between the various nations was fruitful and even if he hadn't said it aloud he had practically declared that whoever pulled out of it would have made a huge mistake and shouldn't have considered himself different from a traitor. Now, even if any of the other rulers planned to break away from their alliance, they would have met with no small amount of opposition in aristocratic society, much of which had been convinced by Marcus' words. By doing so, the king had ensured, at least in part, that the alliance with the other nations would remain firm, at least for a few more years. In fact, Haku noticed that many of the rulers were frowning slightly, as they too understood Marcus' game; even if they hadn't wanted to break away from the alliance, they clearly mustn't have appreciated being played like that, but he certainly couldn't contradict him in the midst of the party in front of the entire aristocratic society and especially after such a convincing speech. Any arguments they could come up with would seem futile now.

Haku further understood that Marcus had obtained another result from that speech: he had drawn the attention of the nobles to a single subject, namely the future institution of governors for the new territories. Before, the aristocrats were conversing on various subjects; now, they only talked about that. This was an advantage for the king, since he could more easily dominate the conversation if he knew the subject ahead of time.

Haku had also acquired an important piece of information from that speech: apparently, Marcus was concerned about some empires that lay to the east, beyond the Baudonia City Alliance. This was interesting: up to that moment Haku had thought that humans were conducting their war only for expansionist purposes, instead it seemed that there was a precise plan behind it. Perhaps the future conquest of Karbraland Great Forest was also part of this plan. This proved once again that Marcus was a smart and wise king, thinking about the future of his kingdom tens of years in advance, if not hundreds.

After that talk, the festivities really began. The various nobles sat down at their tables and began to eat and converse with each other, while the orchestra began to play very amusing and entertaining melodies, suitable for a dinner. The party would in fact be divided into two main parts: the first would be dinner, where none of the guests would get up from their tables and they would only talk to each other and eat; the second would have been the ball, where the guests would all get up, occupy the central space of the room and start dancing.

In reality, this explanation was very simplistic. Many things would happen during these two phases. For example, during the dance guests would also mingle with each other, stroll in the garden outside, form new connections and new alliances and enmities. It would have been the most important part of the 'battle'. Instead, the dinner was only the initial line-up: the position in which the guests were seated, the people they were next to, the order in which they were arranged and so on, all these were signals that indicated which ideologies, factions, policies and so on they felt they belonged. If the ball was going to be the time for the actual fight, dinner was just a statement of everyone's position.

While the nobles dined, interesting shows were shown in front of them: contortionists, circus artists, athletes and even fighters performed in the middle of the hall. In fact, at a certain point a long series of duels began which, although always ending without any deaths, were still very bloody and the servants often had to clean up after the end of the battle. Haku suspected that this too was a way to show off his prestige: the more duels a knight won, the more the noble who had sent him received admiration and showed his power.

Marcus, his wife and son sat at the nicest table in the room, surrounded by the other rulers. This was another victory for Marcus: since sitting next to certain people showed his adherence to their ideas, the fact that all the other rulers sat next to the king confirmed their intention to keep the alliance. And of course that was exactly what Marcus wanted.

"Truly a magnificent party, your majesty Marcus" said a man slightly taller than Marcus, who was gray-haired and bearded and at least twenty years older, but still looked very physically fit. "Worthy of your victory over the Baudonia City Alliance. I'm impressed, I must admit"

Marcus smiled. What was speaking was Elanio Thio Gorandor, the ruler of the Prettania Kingdom, the second most powerful nation in that part of the continent. Though the king's words were cordial, Marcus knew they were veiled in much hypocrisy, since he and Elanius had long fought over control of the alliance. Prettania Kingdom had been the hegemon of that part of the continent for several centuries before the sudden rise of Jurao Kingdom; clearly, the rulers of that nation had not taken it well. Marcus didn't fear that Elanius would break away from the alliance or worse that he would declare war on him; after all, he too was a very intelligent man and knew that it was much better to remain allies than to enter into a very uncertain conflict. However, Elanius still posed a threat, as he constantly sought to wrest control over the alliance between the various nations from Marcus. The alliance did not have a real head and was mainly guided by wealth and prestige: the more a kingdom, or rather a ruler, possessed wealth and prestige, the more the other kingdoms obeyed him. Therefore, the Prettania Kingdom had to surpass the Jurao Kingdom in wealth and prestige to succeed in controlling the alliance. As a result, even though Elanio had complimented him, Marcus knew he was actually furious and was sure he should expect some dirty tricks. "Thank you for your kind words, your majesty Elanio. I hope you enjoy yourself properly and that we can continue to maintain strong relations between us in the future"

Elanio smiled. "I'm sure. I've heard you had a daughter; I recently had another son, so we might consider marrying them off"

Even though that conversation might have seemed indecent if performed by ordinary people, it was very normal in the aristocracy. Marriages were means of fortifying alliances; therefore, it was common to discuss it even when the children were not yet old enough to walk. And in fact Marcus was not in the least perturbed. "Actually this would be very advantageous for both. I will carefully evaluate your proposal"

"It's a pity I never had the good fortune to have a daughter, or I could have introduced her to this young prince" Elanio said, looking at the little Percival. "He would already be old enough to get engaged. Have you found him a fiancee?"

Being engaged when very young was also normal for the aristocracy. Percival was only five years old, but at that age his parents were usually already starting to think about finding a girl from a good family to entrust him with. Generally, it was considered strange to remain single beyond the age of seven. "I've started looking at the possible candidates" Marcus replied. "Unfortunately, there are few princesses in neighboring kingdoms of that age. I would like to avoid betrothing him to a woman who is too much older than him"

While having a large age gap was common among arranged marriages, Marcus would have preferred that his children marry people close in age to their own, only five years older or younger. Certainly not with twenty years more of them.

Elanio took a long drink from his glass. "I understand you. I too had a hard time finding a suitable bride for my third son. But don't worry, with the strength of your current kingdom you will surely find someone" he said with feigned cordiality, then looked at the people who were dueling in front of him. he. "Oh! Apparently my boy has won again"

Marcus also looked at the people who were dueling. One of them was the first prince of the Prettania Kingdom, Augustus Elanio Gorandor. He was a little surprised that his father had allowed that boy to fight: even if the ability in the swordsmanship of the first prince of the Prettania Kingdom was well known, it was unusual for him to fight in front of everyone like that. It wasn't forbidden, but it was very dangerous: after all, if Augustus lost even one duel, the entire Prettania Kingdom would receive a setback. "Why did you agree to let him fight?"

"Ah, that boy is better with the sword than with formal discussions. Besides, I have nothing to fear. It's impossible for him to lose a duel" Elanio replied with a smile. "Do you know that this year he reached the level adamantium?"

Among the other rulers at the table many comments of admiration arose. Reaching the level adamantium was rare at that age: Augustus was only twenty, so his achievement must have been the result of great talent. Marcus frowned slightly: he knew that Elanio was deliberately boasting by highlighting his son in order to increase the prestige of his kingdom and decrease that of the Jurao Kingdom. It was as if he had said: 'My heirs are so good, but yours aren't yet past weaning!'. It was a real slap in the face for him.

But what Elanio proposed next was an even bigger slap in the face. "I have an idea. I have to admit I was very impressed with that dragon you captured, Marcus. How about we make them fight?"