Chapter 105 Royal Cour
Typically, Royal Courts were held to address issues facing the Kingdom and to discuss plans to be implemented for the general welfare of the people. But now, due to the presence of the envoys, these matters were set aside at least until the four left the court. After all, it wasn't appropriate to have representatives of foreign nations listening in on discussions pertaining to matters such as those.
As the right-hand man of the King, it was the duty of the Grand Court Mage to conduct the proceedings. Thus, as soon as everyone was seated, he started to speak again.
"The Kingdom of Lanthanor welcomes the presence of the four allied forces in this Royal Court. You may now address the King in any order you choose."
In any Kingdom, the ruler was the highest authority who had to be respected, especially in a location like the Throne Room. Thus, it was the custom for visiting dignitaries to speak first and say their piece.
Before the four could even look at each other, Bos stood up from his seat, making a loud "THUMP" resound across the throne room due to him setting his enormous feet on the ground.
From his pocket, he took out a blade which looked like a knife in his hands. In fact, it was a sword that any human-sized being could use.
Raising the sword in the air with both hands, he said, "On Lady Arafell's command, Bos presents King Daneel with this Neophyte Warrior-Tier Enchanted Sword. One of only 20 produced this year, Bos has forged this sword personally and can assure the King that Bos did a great job. Bos knows this, because Bos hurt himself when testing the 'Lightning Blade' Warrior Mage spell enchanted within. "
As Daneel's eyes fixated on the gleaming sword, he remembered what he had heard about this gentle-looking giant's kingdom. Called the Kingdom of Arafell, it was named after an ancient personage who was believed to have led the race of the giants onto this continent. This was the only information known about their origins, other than the fact that every ruler of the Kingdom had to take the name of the lady they worshipped as their founding mother.
Theirs was a small Kingdom, roughly half the size of Lanthanor, yet their military power rivaled that of the other 5 nations. In fact, these 6 nations were almost equal in power, making it so that a power equilibrium existed between them.
Of the 10 forces, 5 were represented in this very room. Excluding Axelor which was similar in level to these 5, the other four were on the outer parts of the continent, intent on competing amongst themselves.
It was only one of those forces which backed Axelor, which had initiated the need for the alliance of these five forces in the first place if they did not want to conquered by this powerful force which sought to unify the smaller Kingdoms under itself. The consolation was that the other three powerful factions weren't interested in these inner forces like the one behind Axelor was.
Thus, according to what Daneel could see, Angaria was now in a very delicate balance. In summary, of the 10 forces, 6 were smaller and on a lower power level when compared to the other four which were on a different plane altogether in terms of power. Of the four, one wanted to annex all the smaller ones and thus supported Axelor in this attempt. To defend against this, the other five of the 6 smaller forces had allied together. It seemed that the bigger force couldn't spare enough resources to facilitate an overwhelming power advantage over the alliance, thus it was set on the path of whittling down and finding chinks to take advantage of and achieve their goals.
Because it was an alliance formed more out of necessity, the 5 forces had varying degrees of relationship with each other.
As evidenced by Bos's humble message and the precious gift, it was quite clear that there was a great relationship between Lanthanor and the Kingdom of Arafell.
Gesturing at Kellor to receive the gift, Daneel waited while the Grand Court Mage strode forward, took the sword in his hands and presented it to Daneel while kneeling.
Using the grip to hold it, Daneel marveled at the exquisite workmanship. It was a straight sword, with a V-shaped cross guard and a two-sided blade which seemed to shine faintly with a hue of jade. On the blade, the words 'King Of Lanthanor' were emblazoned in a grandiose font. Seeming to be made for practical usage in a battlefield, there were no overt decorations except a red stone which looked a lot like a Ker Gem embedded in the pommel.
[Unmastered Combat Trinket detected. Would host like to bind the trinket?]
The system sounded in his head, alerting him that this was indeed a Warrior-level trinket. Unlike Human-level trinkets which could be picked up and used by anyone, these advanced ones had to be bound only after which their enchantments could be activated.
Only Warrior level Mages or Fighters could do so, thus Daneel refrained from ordering the system to carry on with the binding.
"I have long heard of the Kingdom of Arafell's skill in producing combat trinkets. Although Eldinor is known as the 'Trinket Hub of Angaria' specializing in all kinds of trinkets, it is Arafell that one goes to when one is in need of a high-tier weapon capable of bringing their power out to full effect. I thank Lady Arafell for the generous gift, and I hope that the relationship between our two Kingdoms stays as strong as it has been in the past many decades."
Some ministers who had been worried that the King would botch up the Court due to his inexperience relaxed when they heard his measured reply. In fact, some even started whispering, amazed at the Daneel's perfect display of elegance and grace, as if he had trained in the ways of a leader since childhood.
Hearing these words, a disgruntled expression appeared on Eldra's face, but a glint shone in her eyes as if she had were planning something. Even the blades that were her earlobes quivered, as if in excitement for whatever was coming.
Clapping his hand with an expression of elation on his face, the giant replied, "Bos is happy to hear the King's gracious words! Lady Arafell has told Bos that she also only wishes to prolong our relationship and that any negotiations can be done later. Bos thanks King Daneel for being a great ally!"
Seeing Daneel smile and nod in response, the giant sat down animatedly with the same joy still on his face.
Yet, as soon as he sat down, a cold voice sounded across the Throne Room, startling those who had been feeling happy seeing the smooth proceedings.
"The Queen has instructed me to inform Lanthanor that the prices of all trinkets imported from Eldinor will be increased by 20% until such a time that the creator of the 'Honey Trap Solution' apologizes to the Queen personally for entering the market which was proclaimed to be monopolized by the Kingdom of The Elves."
"Outrageous!"
"The gall!"
"Your Majesty, they are simply taking it too far this time!"
Daneel fought hard to control the expression on his face as he saw the sudden outbursts from the ministers who had gotten to their feet with faces reddened with anger, protesting against the statement made by the elf Eldra who was now standing. In fact, even he had been quite startled by the eld's sudden statement.
Eldra had a lazy smile on her face, while she gazed at the ministers with an expression akin to that of one looking at barking dogs.
Not to mention the fact that this was a breach of protocol, Daneel realized that this was probably a common occurence from the sigh Kellor let out seeing this sight.
"State your protests one by one.", said Daneel calmly, prompting Kellor to cast a mute spell which made the fuming ministers calm down.
While Eldra still stood with her hands behind her back, a short man with a bulging midsection stood up from his seat, still huffing with anger.
"Your Majesty, this is not the first time Eldinor has stated such ridiculous conditions. A few decades back, a noble tried to set up a barrier manufacturing unit in the Kingdom. Using the same excuse of an arbitrary 'Monopoly', Eldinor had the unit shut down. They just want to take advantage of the fact that they suppy most of the trinkets used by our people, which Lanthanor cannot run without!"
Daneel felt a headache coming on as he heard the minister's words.
The smooth atmosphere in the Royal Court had already devolved into one of chaos with the elf's words.
As if she had achieved some goal she had in her mind, Eldra's smile only widened seeingthe crease in Daneel's forehead.
"What will you do now, upstart King?", she mused, feeling elated that she had done what she meant to do: place the King in a tough spot even though he was not experienced with making decisions tactfully while keeping the needs of the Kingdom in mind.