Chapter 143: The Changing International Situation (2)

Once he was alone with Queen Leila, Milton spoke.

Didnt you accept too many of them, Your Majesty?

Im tired. What do you mean?

Queen Leilas face expressed her tiredness from dealing with all the nobles who had been turned away every single day.

Im talking about the Strabus Kingdoms nobles who are currently surrendering, Your Majesty.

Dont worry about it. Theres no problem.

But I AM worried.

Milton quietly went behind Queen Leila and gently massaged her shoulders.

What do you mean youre worried dont do that. Think about your image, dear.

Queen Leila looked slightly shocked when Milton began to massage her shoulders. Even if she was a queen, it was pretty unconventional for a man to massage a womans shoulders in this era. But Milton liked seeing his lovable vixen showing a rare expression of embarrassment and continued to massage her shoulders.

Whats wrong with me doing this? Its just the two of us right now.

Still ah

Queen Leila tried to get him to stop, but his fingers were too skillful. Acting as if she had given up on stopping him, she accepted Miltons massage

But whatre you worried about? Ah a bit softer

You have a lot of knots. Of course Im worried. Too many lords surrendered to us. If you combine all of their territories, its almost as big as our country originally was, right?

It is a bit ah much.

Queen Leila felt so comfortable she felt like she was melting in a puddle. She spoke weakly.

When Milton heard her sigh, he paused a moment before continuing.

Were too defenseless, it could be dangerous, Your Majesty.

Mm whatis?

Thats

He almost said, youre dangerous, but managed to turn what couldve been a blunder into something work related.

Im talking about the border defense. Itll be difficult to protect the Western region from enemy attacks with our current troops, Your Majesty.

Just like the Lester Kingdom didnt pay much attention to the defense on their Eastern border, the Strabus Kingdom hadnt paid much attention to the defense on their Western region. Milton didnt have the confidence to protect a region without any defense if this large region became the frontline. Now that the Strabus Kingdom had surrendered, he would have to fight with only the Lester Kingdoms troops. Currently, the Republican Army had the numerical advantage and with the frontline expanding, this was disadvantageous for them.

Mm youre right. Right there

Look here, you have to respond when a person talks to you, okay, Your Majesty the Queen.

Ah but your fingers are too magical.

Haha. Fine, alright. Ill stop joking around and answer you.

Queen Leila rotated her shoulders as if they were lighter and she felt better. She continued to talk to Milton.

You dont have to worry, the enemies cant fight.

Why is that?

Its said that the Hildes Republic fell and Siegfried took control of the Republican Army.

I heard the news.

It was unwelcome news for Milton. He had a strong feeling that so far, Siegfried had a low position compared to his ability and hadnt been shown his full ability, but now, Siegfried had been inaugurated as the commander-in-chief of the Republican Army. He had full control of the war. For Milton, this news only made him tense even more, but Queen Leila thought differently.

If Siegfried isnt foolish, hell stop the war at this point.

What is your reasoning for that, Your Majesty?

First of all, he achievedtheiroriginal purpose. From the outside, the Republicans won this war. They destroyed the Strabus Kingdom and captured King Bauchen.

Thats right. But because of us, didnt the Hildes Republics mainland get passed over to our country? Not to mention, we took over the wester part of the occupied Strabus Kingdom

Milton sighed.

No matter how much he thought about it, they had done too well.

If I was Siegfried, I wouldnt stop the war here. At the very least, I would want to take back the Western region of the Strabus Kingdom.

Hmph, my dear, your political sense isnt as great as your cleverness on the battlefield.

When Queen Leila smiled as she said that, Milton responded sullenly.

Sorry for that.

Queen Leila clung to him and began to comfort him when she saw that Miltons pride had been slightly bruised.

Whoo. Dont sulk. Im happy to be able to support you when you cant.

Shes seriously a vixen.

The moment he saw her acting cute, he lost his mental state. At this point, Milton couldnt help but wonder if this wasnt almost brainwashing.

Ahem could you keep explaining?

Queen Leila nodded in response.

In the first place, it wouldnt be right to continue the war when youve already accomplished the purpose. Thats because you would end up using moreforcesthan originally planned.

Thats true, but thats only if youve reached your goal. Weve swallowed the Western region of the Strabus Kingdom, do you think hed get past that, Your Majesty?

He wouldnt get past that. But, at this point, if he continues to fight against us, its impossible to see how long the war would be.

Would he be that vigilant against us?

Yes, to be more precise, he would be on the lookout for you, dear.

Me?

Queen Leila smiled when she saw him so flustered.

You seem to have evaluated him highly even before the war started. In my opinion, he thought the same of you. Wasnt it you that made Siegfried revise his plan multiple times in this war?

Well, thats

Milton tried to speak humbly, but he couldnt.

Why? Because everything she said was the truth.

Whoo In fact, its all because of you that I was able to devour the Western region so boldly.

Because of me, Your Majesty?

Yes, thats right.

Queen Leila leaned against Miltons shoulder as she gave him a dazzling smile.

Ive been acting under the premise that even if the Lester Kingdoms 50,000 troops might not be a lot, as long as the renowned general Milton Forres is leading it, itll be enough to deter the enemy. So

She whispered softly into Miltons ear.

Its all thanks to you, my dear Milton.

Wow

For a second, Milton got the chills.

Devious devious devious There was no other vixen as devious as her. First with logical facts and persuasion, then she praised her mans abilities and struck the final blow with her love.

Patience. Lets be patient.

Milton repressed himself with superhuman patience. If this hadnt been the barracks in the middle of the battlefield? If their relationship was beyond engagement and were actually married? If Queen Leila wasnt a monarch and just an ordinary noblewoman? If one of these conditions had been missing, Milton wouldnt have been able to endure it.

Just you wait until were married. Once were married

Queen Leila laughed as if she found it funny as she watched Milton seeming to struggle with something.

Hes the cutest when Im teasing him.

Queen Leila stroked Miltons cheek as she spoke.

An envoy will most likely be arriving from the Republic in a couple of days.

You really think so, Your Majesty?

Yes. Since itll be difficult to keep fighting, well have to engage in diplomatic negotiations to end the war safely. Theyll also want to take back the Western region that we slowly took from the Strabus Kingdom.

Will it be alright? After all, arent we a country that lost? Wouldnt that be unfavorable during negotiations?

As a result of this war, the Lester Kingdom had more than tripled its territory and eliminated a potential threat, the Hildes Republic. However officially, the Lester Kingdom was a defeated country. It was always the winner who had the advantage in negotiations after the war. Even though he believed in Queen Leilas skills, Milton was still worried she would struggle in these disadvantageous conditions.

However, she smiled softly at him.

Dont worry, dear. I wont waste the sweat and blood you shed on the battlefield. From now on, its my battlefield.

She was asking that all diplomatic wars be left to her.

Its definitely something Leilas good at Ah!

A thought crossed his mind as he was thinking.

Leila, I have a favor to ask of you.

what is it?

Youll eventually meet with Siegfried in the near future during diplomatic negotiations, right?

Thats right.

Let me join you. I want to see him in person.

Sure, thats not something difficult. I was planning to do so anyway.

Good.

Milton clenched his fist in victory. It was important for him to see Siegfried with his own eyes. Why?

I have to check that monsters stats.

Because he would be able to see what kind of enemy he was.

***

It was just as Queen Leila had expected

Siegfried sent his envoy to attempt negotiating with Queen Leila. Once both sides agreed to meet with a minimum number of personnel, they established a neutral zone.

On the arranged date

Representatives from both sides met in a spacious place where everyone could look in from the outside.

Its the first time were meeting. My name is Leila von Lester.

Queen Leila smiled brightly as she said hello first.

I am Schheimer of the Kobrook Republic.

I am Painheim of the Hanovirtue Republic.

The two Fuhrers responded with hard faces. Truthfully, if you considered the ideological differences between a kingdom and a republic, you couldnt show relaxed demeanor even in a diplomatic setting. The two deliberately took on a hard attitude in order to control their thoughts when they saw the beauty of Queen Leila. Now that the higher ups of both sides had greeted each other, it was time for the people below them to say theirs. No, even if you said, people below them, it didnt mean that their importance was low. In fact, this greeting could be the most important during this diplomatic meeting.

Milton Forrest.

Siegfried.

Neither deferred to the other. There was no handshake. Even their expressions had a sharp edge to it that did not suit the diplomatic setting. Normally, these two didnt have an arrogant personality, but nevertheless, the two took on an arrogant and stiff attitude towards each other. It was as if both believed they couldnt lose face and be pushed by the other.

It was the first meeting between Milton Forrest and Siegfried in an official setting. In the future, countless plays and songs would arise from this meeting as the first encounter between the two heroes who divided this era.

Its the first time Im seeing you so closely.

Milton spoke first,then, Siegfriedresponded.

Yes, I thought Id see you at Litinque Castle but your ability to run away was impressive.

The two Fuhrers who were on Siegfrieds side were rather dumbfounded by Siegfrieds tone.

Whys he doing that?

Is this his real personality? Even if Miltons the enemy, whys he doing this here?

Without changing his expression, Milton responded to Siegfrieds blatant provocation.

My equestrian skills are pretty great. But, are you alright?

About what?

I mean, according to my subordinates report, he saw you falling off your horse all of a sudden.

Milton was bringing up what happened when Trike had struck Siegfried.

If you were gonna do that, you might as well have broken your neck. I wouldve sent you a flower in condolence.

Hearing Miltons thorny words, Queen Leila thought to herself.

Hes different from usual. Hes more biting than I thought?

There was no one in this meeting who was hot tempered.

At least thats what they thought but

Just in case, Queen Leila immediately tried to smooth things over.

As a weak woman, my feet hurt too much to keep standing. Why dont we take a seat and talk like civilized people?

At herwords, everyone sat down at the prepared table.

As Milton sat, he narrowed his eyes and looked at Siegfried.

Shall I check it now?