Chapter 86: Tension and Greed

At the head of a 100,000-strong army, Grand Duke Fontaine and his eldest son Stetson arrived at Archenshien. They were greeted by the Luxenberg army, who were stood in a parade-like fashion. Their uniforms clean and their weapons present.

Stetson and Simeon approached with a handful of adjutants and a few dozen soldiers. Riding out to meet them were Victor, Marshal Soult and Marshal Bessières, followed by a few dozen of the Royal Scots Grey cavalry.

"Grand Duke Fontaine, welcome to Archenshien. We will escort you and your subordinates into the city and will find proper accommodation for them. The rest of your army will have to be camped outside," Victor said in a firm but welcoming tone.

"We appreciate the warm reception, Grand Duke Luxenberg. My party and I shall follow you," Simeon replied appreciatively. The combined groups entered the city and reconvened at the Maldenberg palace.

In the lounge of the palace, both Simeon and Victor were beginning their meeting. Stetson and Marshal Soult were present for this discussion between the two rulers. Victor was the first of the two men to break the silence.

"I must admit Grand Duke Fontaine, your arrival is a tad unexpected. Personally, I thought we would treat in Osterbon a few months later. Might I ask why you have descended on us with an army at your back?" Victor was straight to the point. There was no reason for them to make small talk. Simeon's arrival was peculiar and concerning. 

"Well in truth Grand Duke Luxenberg, I wanted to settle the matter of the spoils of war before returning back to my capital. I must thank you for your assistance in this war, if you had sided with the Maldenbergs, then we would have faced annihilation like they did." Simeon said eloquently.

"Now this is where I am confused about, why does it have to be before you return to your territory? The war is over, every single one of the Maldenbergs is dead, all facing the guillotine. Their allies were defeated, with one of them swearing allegiance to me. Why bring 100,000 men with you as a retinue?" Victor replied sternly.

Trying to meander his way around the question, Simeon gave a half-assed answer that Victor could not dispute. "I was not aware of the city's fall. On the way here we were not sure if you were still under siege or not so I brought reinforcements to assist you."

Victor knew he was lying through his teeth, in the letter he specified discussing the spoils of war. He would have had to know of the success of Victor's army while they were defending Archenshien. The issue now was that Victor could not risk calling him out on it. If tensions rose and relations worsened then another war could break out and his army could be defeated instantly if Simeon willed it.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Grand Duke Fontaine. Well now that you are here why not settle this matter now. Given the fact that my army had crushed Arthur Maldenberg's army and captured multiple cities. I am happy with what I have taken, nor do I seek anything more," Victor stated strongly.

Hearing this, Simeon's face twitched slightly. He took a minute to collect his thoughts before replying. "Well you are entitled to your spoils, but you should be amicable and hand over at least some spoils. You merely capitalised on a distracted enemy and conquered lightly garrisoned cities."

Marshal Soult and Victor were surprised at Grand Duke Fontaine's audacity. His army single-handedly defeated and conquered the Grand Duchy of Maldenberg. If given the chance, they could have taken Inglefeller and Konitz after some more time for rest. Instead, they left those territories to be handled by Grand Duke Fontaine.

Feeling disrespected by Grand Duke Fontaine, Victor took the initiative and made his displeasure known. "I must have miss heard you, Grand Duke. Are you seriously telling me to give you lands and wealth that my army conquered fairly? It would be fair to say I fought this war alone. We defeated the entire Malednberg army and captured their cities while you remained at the border. I should not have to give you anything."

Stetson was outraged by such words and replied, "You insolent man! How dare you disrespect us like that. You should be complying with my Father's wishes. If not for us you would not have had such an easy time conquering this land."

"Silence boy! We lost good men in this war. Your father and your army did not do anything, you conquered two cities and faced a depleted army that you outnumbered at least 5 to 1. Do not talk of matters that you do not understand," Marshal Soult replied angrily.

"Come now Grand Duke Luxenberg, you are painting us as thieves. We both appreciate your support in this war, without you, we would certainly have lost. At the same time however you are being greedy, you should at least share with your allies," Simeon said with a fake smile on his face.

"You begged for our assistance in this war. Not only did we give it but we pretty much fought it for you. Now that it is over, you come demanding that we give up lands we took fairly. Next you will be demanding that we hand over Kreighelm as a gesture of good faith. I see no reason to hand anything over," Victor replied authoritatively.

Seeing Simeon like this made Victor uncertain. When he visited them in Osterbon, he was kind, gentlemanly and a good host. Now he was a greedy man using any form of negotiation to secure more land.

"That is a shame I would have thought you would have been a bit more friendly. Nevertheless, you can not fault me for trying to balance the scales out a bit. The Maldenberg territory had lots of wealth and cities, everyone could get a piece of that pie. But oh well, seeing that you will not relinquish anything. There is no point in further talks. Simeon said disheartened by Victor's attitude.

Before Simeon and Stetson exited the room, Victor said something that caught their attention. "I have something to tell you regarding your son, Harrison. During the execution of the Maldenberg family, Adrian revealed his father's plan of using Penelope to falsely accuse your son and insight war between your two families. As a father myself, I felt important to tell you that your son is innocent."

Both Fontaines turned arround and looked at Victor with uncertainty. Stetson was curious about the authenticity of Victor's statement. "Are you sure that Adrian's words were not lies to try to downplay his involvement in the war and save his own life?"

Instantly replying to Stetson's question Victor said, "Penelope could not hide her guilt and even apologised to the masses. To her dismay, her apology and pleas fell upon deaf ears. The crowd was blinded with murderous rage and wanted her dead."

Silence filled the room as the Fontaine men contemplated the validity of Victor's words. Simeon looked at Victor with soft and appreciative eyes. "Thank you for letting us know Grand Duke Luxenberg, however, this does not excuse your disrespect. Me and my family shall remember this insult."

Just like that the Fontaines and their army departed the following morning from Archenshien. Their stay was not that long, but thankfully peaceful, despite having an army on their doorstep.