Dominic escorted Princess Alexis back to their suite after the official functions, so that the Dagos Nobles could plan their next actions.
Prince Alex was accompanying the Dagos delegation, along with a single representative of the other Nations present.
But officially, they were only there to observe.
Dominic would have liked to sit in on that meeting, as it promised to be an absolute disaster. King Gustav didn’t have much of a nation left, with a third of it in rebellion and the other two thirds either turned to banditry or occupied by Cygnia forces.
There was a chance that some of the other nations would be willing to help. But an even larger chance that they were about to start making plans to parcel off the majority of Dagos for themselves the moment that Cygnia’s troops backed out of the nation.
They would never let Cygnia claim as much territory as they now occupied.
If that happened, then Cygnia would become too strong.
But that didn’t mean they intended to leave Dagos intact.
"What should we do tonight?" Alexis asked from the other room as she motioned for the maid to help her with her dress.
"Warm fire, a good book, and wait for the others to get back with the piping hot tea?" Dominic suggested.
Alexis chuckled. "Not a bad plan. But I’m getting soft. We should spar."
The maids in the room with Dominic looked mortified at that prospect. The chance that someone might be seriously injured while sparring was low. However, the chance that a Princess would be injured while sparring was simply unacceptable.
Though, if they knew how much worse Dominic was with a sword, they would not be concerned for the Princess’ safety.
"Your Highness, there are important social functions coming up in the morning. Please, you can’t have bruises on your arms during the galas. What would everyone think? We might lose our heads if someone believes you’ve been mistreated during your stay." The maid in the room with the Princess pleaded.
That was a good servant, Dominic thought. She was saving him the embarrassment of having his ass whooped in public.
So, instead of training gear, Alexis came back out in a dressing gown, and the serving staff brought them tea and croissants with chocolate drizzle.
A bit of excess sugar, but truly luxurious in the circumstances. The chocolate had to be imported, but Albroles was on the major river route between Axbridge and the ocean.
There were advantages to being on the major trade route, and the fact that the old capital of Wavemates, the City of Kinewen, was further upstream on the same river was one of the major motivators for the invasion.
They didn’t put any tariffs or restrictions on goods. Instead, they traded magical items for all the best, so only what they didn’t want would make it to Dagos and the overseas buyers.
Because the merchants wouldn’t risk sending that much money on an extended voyage, the magical items used for payment were turned back toward Axbridge, leaving the Dagos buyers with none of the upsides of a wealthy and powerfully magical neighbour.
When Prince Alex returned to the suite, he found them both sharing the same large chair, and initially thought that his sister had fallen asleep in Dominic’s lap.
But no. They were just reading the same tome on the history and lineage of the Dagos Royal Family, as written by the Royal Court’s historians.
"Did you make any progress?" Alexis asked as her brother sat down across from them.
"Indeed we did. We have negotiated an armistice and support deal that includes five nations. Dealing with the new King is much easier than the previous one.
He is much more reasonable.
The price is going to be incredibly high for the Crown of Dagos, but it shouldn’t be too bad for the common people. At least in the short term.
You see, King Gustav has agreed to implement the same tax amnesty program that we are planning to use to repopulate the regions we wanted for reparations.
There will be a two-year exemption from taxes, then for ten years half the sharecropper’s portion of crops and half the Noble taxes will go to the supporting nations, based on the share of the support they need to supply to keep the nation stable.
Realistically, it’s a losing proposition for everyone.
But the benefit to international trade will be greater than the direct losses. If Dagos falls into a civil war, it would no longer be safe to send merchant caravans across the nation, which would only increase the need for a foreign military presence in the nation.
Axbridge refused to have anything to do with it, even after I contacted their Crown Prince directly. He says that it’s between us, and he doesn’t care who the King of Dagos is, as he is willing to divert all his nation’s caravans to go to sea through Skiple."
Alexis sighed. "That doesn’t sound much like an armistice."
The Second prince chuckled. "Oh, but it is. Even Axbridge sent a magical message officially recognizing King Gustav as the rightful ruler of Dagos.
Now, we just wait for the rebels to make a move and start a civil war.
If the Northern Nobles don’t fall in line, our armies will finish what they started, and those self-loading cannons on the airships have proven incredibly effective at shelling cities.
The production of them and the armed airships has been quite efficient. So much so that I expect we will be asked to disarm them after the war.
However, that will not be a concern for the two of you.
After tonight’s festivities, you are both being sent back to Cygnia City, so that father can formalize your marriage. If he doesn’t do it soon, I can already see that we will have trouble.
But more importantly, the estate that you are to be granted may become a target for rebellious Dagos Nobles if it remains empty.
There are still younger sons of fallen families, and we suspect that they may try to claim estates by right of possession, and then plead with the Cygnia King to make them Noble Citizens."