Chapter 3 – Letter Exchange and the Prince’s Character

Tormented by a sense of defeat, Alessia-san and I returned to the dining room with heavy steps and were greeted by Ines with a big smile on her face, as if she was enjoying herself.

“Master, it’s done. It’s quite good.”

“The letter to the prince?”

“Yes, read it.”

I looked at the letter she had handed me.

“A prince from a dying country is going to pick a fight with me?

I can only wonder, but if you want to die, I will make it happen.”

“That’s two lines. It’s only two lines with malicious words only. Is that all there is?”

“I thought hard. At first, I tried to write a long sentence, but I thought it was strange to write a long sentence when Master wrote it in anger, so I rewrote it. I think it’s simple and easy to understand.”

“…Simple, but is it okay to be so radical? Felicia, Dorothea-san, and Ilma-san thought about it, too, right? Is this okay?”

“Master, it may be a little radical, but we thought that considering it as a threat, to some extent, a radical statement was necessary. Halfway through, I hear there is an arrogant battalion commander, so there is a high likelihood that he will be aggravated.”

“Oh, I see. But what if they insist on doing it?”

“Maybe summon the Stronghold in front of the city walls?”

“Ines, Master said he wouldn’t do it. Give it up.”

“I understand. I’m sorry, Master.”

“Haha, well, what do we then?”

“Depends on how they respond, but I think they will break easily if we blockade the harbor, so no problem there.”

“Eh? Is that what we are doing? We came here to save Lucca, right? What are we here for?”

“Yes, but to avoid too much damage, if things get out of hand, we will take the families of the people of Girasole and run away.”

“…I think it’s better if we run away now.”

“Wataru-san, we think it best if we can manage Lucca too, if possible. Since I think we can manage the prince’s demands by blockading the port, could you please lend us a hand?”

“Hmm, I understand your feelings, Dorothea-san, but what happens if I antagonize Lucca according to the terms of the contract? Aside from threatening the prince, wouldn’t blockading Lucca be a strange thing to do?”

“Because my contract with Wataru-san is to help with the defense, to help with the escape. I don’t think there will be any problem.”

“I see.”

…I helped with the defense, but I didn’t sign a contract that says I can’t interfere with the defense, so it’s okay? When you put it like that, how detailed a contract do you have to sign?

Ah, so that’s why when you sign a contract in Japan, you get a contract that is written down in minute detail…

“I understand. I will cooperate, but it’s going in a different direction than I thought. If I think it’s impossible, I will abandon Lucca as soon as possible, so I will ask you to agree to that. Is that clear?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Then all that’s left is to deliver the letter and see how they react.”

“There is one more thing. Wataru-san, I think it would be better to notify them of the blockade of Lucca together from the beginning. It will take time if we only threaten them.”

“Well then, please write a letter to the marquis regarding the blockade of Lucca. There is no need for threats or anything like that, so just tell him that we are going to blockade.”

Ilma-san is pretty scary, isn’t she? I know she’s saying this for Lucca’s sake, but she’s making the decision to blockade so easily.

“…But if you deliver a letter like this, won’t Alessia-san and the others be captured? It’s quite a rude letter.”

“Master, that’s all right. Girasole will pretend not to know the contents of the letter. Having come back to save Lucca, Girasole is a very popular hero among the people. No matter how stupid they are, they can at least understand the risk of capturing Girasole.”

“Ines is right. If you care about the people of Girasole, they will think that using them will be useful, and that will be dangerous.”

“Oh, I see. I understand.”

The popularity of the Girasole has increased, but we don’t know what’s going on, so it seems they are in a delicate position. Don’t feel sad about it.

The discussion is over; I put on my hood… and we’ll probably still have to discuss it anyway, so let’s stop acting for the day.

Ines, with her hood up, takes Girasole back to the port.

~Alesia’s point of view~

Arriving at the castle with the letter to the prince and the marquis, I am ushered into the room where they have another military discussion.

“What’s up with the mage?”

Is that your first word?

“Yes, I told Mage-sama as you said, and he entrusted me with letters. He asked me to give this one to His Highness and this one to Marquis-sama.”

The letters are carried to the prince and the marquis. I was told to pretend I didn’t know what it was about, but with that content, it was going to be rough.

I watch with a thrill as the prince opens the letter.

“Rude.”

“Your Highness, what is the matter?”

“Look at this.”

“…Alessia, was it? Do you know the contents of this letter?”

“No, I do not.”

The knight commander’s face is scary. He’s turning red, and his veins are bulging. That feels good.

“And what did the letter you received, Marquis?”

“Only that he’s going to blockade Lucca, Your Highness.”

Marquis-sama is turning pale. I feel sorry for you, Marquis-sama.

“Alessia, the mage has declared war on us. Tell me more about the mage.”

“I can’t tell you because of our contract.”

How many times do I have to tell this commander?

“Tch, useless.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Marquis, it says here that the mage will blockade the port. Is that possible?”

“Yes, Your Highness, perhaps it is possible. He is capable of destroying the Imperial Navy.”

“That would leave us isolated… Did I miscalculate it?”

“Your Highness, he is bluffing. As long as you are in this castle, there is no way he could come after you.”

“Is your life in danger, Your Highness?”

“Oh, I haven’t shown it to you yet, Marquis. Here is the letter.”

“A prince from a dying country is trying to pick a fight with me?　

I can only wonder, but if you want to die, I will make it happen.”

“This… combined with the blockade of Lucca, makes things pretty sour. I think we should focus our efforts on improving relations.”

“Marquis, improving relations with a man who has made remarks that threaten the life of His Highness is not the way to go.”

Viscount Jacopo, you are seriously disturbing us. He is looking at the marquis with a smirk on his face, and now that he is in a stronger position, he starts to lash out at the marquis.

“What else are we going to do in this situation where we are completely surrounded? Either you improve relations with the empire or Mage-dono, or else Lucca will dry up. Or will you bow to the Empire?”

“All we have to do is deal with the mage.”

“How can we do anything when we can’t even see him?”

“…So, as I said, let Girasole seduce the mage.”

“Is it too late? The mage who sends such a letter even to His Highness. Do you think he would listen to a woman so easily?”

“…..”

“Your Highness, if things continue as they are, we will dry up. Even securing food is something we’ve had to rely on Mage-dono to do for us.”

“…Alessia, was it? Is there any chance the mage will work for me? I can offer him titles, gold, and rewards of great value if he helps me save the kingdom of Brescia.”

“In my opinion, Mage-sama is the kind of person who gets what he needs on his own. I am sorry, but I cannot tell you anymore.”

He earns the money to buy the ship, but other than that, he’s all about good food and women, isn’t he?

Ilma also said that Mage-sama likes women, and when I said I would do anything for him during our discussion, he asked me if I would do anything ecchi, so I’m sure it’s not a mistake.

Well, I’m ready to do whatever he asks, but should I wait until he tells me? I can’t say I have romantic feelings for him, but I do like him, so I don’t mind.

At least, it’s dozens of times better than the men who have tried to get involved with us to make us their property. I don’t think it would be the same if I were to reward myself with something ecchi. I’ll talk to Ilma about it.

“Well, I need a force to fight for the Kingdom of Brescia. I heard from Marquis that you also came back to protect your hometown, but protecting the Kingdom of Brescia is the way to protect Lucca. Could you tell that to the mage? I want you to clear up the misunderstanding. I would also like to leave a letter with you. Is that possible?”

Do you need a force? You were going to use him as a pawn, weren’t you? You? Sir? Misunderstanding? You’re changing too quickly. Is that normal for royalty? I’m horrified.

“I can deliver it for you, sir.”

“Well, I’ll be counting on you.”

“Thank you.”

～End of Alessia’s point of view.

“Welcome back, everyone. Are you all right?”

“Yes, we’re fine. I was told to deliver a letter. Here it is.”

“Thank you.”

Let’s see….. what’s this? I don’t feel so good.

“Master, you look disgusted. What does it say?”

“Yeah, it’s terrible. It starts out by saying that there seems to be a misunderstanding, not explicitly, but it is coming out to say that everyone in Girasole may be twisting the information.”

“Oh no, Wataru-san, I did no such thing.”

“Oh, it’s all right. I understand. With the information that Alessia-san told me, I thought about running away from Lucca. I know that is inconvenient for you. Even I can understand that much, so please don’t worry.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Continuing the story, it says that he will send his trusted battalion commander, Clement, to serve as a negotiator. This is the arrogant battalion commander, correct?”

“Yes, perhaps, the arrogant battalion commander is a close aide of the prince. He only sees Wataru-san as a tool he can use.”

“Ahahaha, hah~ Well, so I read that if I serve the prince, I can get a title, a territory, gold, silver, treasures, beautiful women, and anything else I want. Alessia-san, can you tell me the story of how this happened?”

“Yes, I gave him the letter, there was a bit of a struggle, and when the marquis told him about the possibility of drying up due to the blockade of the port, the prince’s attitude changed quickly. I think he switched because you didn’t give in to his threats.”

“I understand. Well, if we refuse the dispatch of the battalion commander since there is no point in getting into trouble, shall we accept that it was a misunderstanding?”

“Master. If you accept it easily, the other party will take advantage of you. At the very least, you have to make them apologize.”

“I agree with that. I have seen with my own eyes how quickly they change. If you forgive them easily, I am sure that they will soon think of something terrible again.”

Ines aside, even Dorothea-san is speaking clearly. I’m sure they want to defend Lucca without getting into trouble with the prince, but… I guess they don’t trust him very much.

“I understand. Let’s call it settled this time. What shall I say in reply?”

“I’ll write the reply to the prince. It seems that we haven’t given him enough of a threat yet.”

Ines started to write a letter happily. I wonder what she is going to write.

“It’s done.”

She handed me the letter with a smile, and I looked it over.

“You have only two choices: die alone or perish with Lucca. Oh, let’s also include a special surrender to the empire. If you beg miserably for your life against the Empire, you might just live, you know?”

“…It’s a little too radical, don’t you think? Everyone should check it out.”

After being passed around, they said they were in for it. It seems that the other party is not going to understand their situation unless I say something like this. It’s not your lucky day when a prince like that has his eye on you.

In the first place, I wonder what the Imperial Army is doing. After the defeat of the navy, they just came to unload the cargo, and the rest of the time, they were just surrounding the ship.

Again, I will have the Girasole deliver the letter to them. It seems that only Alessia-san and Dorothea-san are going to the castle, so I recommended that they should stay behind. They need to be prepared for when they escape in Lucca.

Everyone is thinking a lot. I wonder what the prince will answer to this letter? More importantly, what would I reply to reconcile?