The following afternoon, the imperial chancellor had his audience with the queen in the reception hall.

  He had deliberately chosen the time after lunch, hoping her mood would be at its best.

  The boy he had seen yesterday was nowhere to be found. Today she wore a deep indigo dress, her hair elegantly arranged, and the same unusual hair ornament.

  Is this also an act of deliberate innocence to lower my guard? Lucius wondered.

  “Imperial Chancellor Marcius Lucius at your service. I am delighted to see Your Majesty in ever greater splendor.”

  “Thank you. I am Aelius Anastasia.”

  Her tone was refined and courteous, without a trace of sarcasm. Lucius felt slightly relieved.

  “I am most grateful for this audience. I have come today to speak about the recent war.”

  “You mean the emperor. Unfortunately his arm cannot be restored, but he is resting comfortably for now.”

  “I cannot thank you enough for providing treatment. If possible, we would like to return him to our empire for further care. Would that be acceptable?”

  “To be perfectly frank, I am currently in mourning for a family member. That same family member was being mourned when your emperor chose to march an army onto my lands. My mood is… rather poor. Taking that into account, please decide for yourselves what price is appropriate for the return of your emperor. As for war reparations, we will discuss them separately. If necessary, would you be willing to cede the territories of the lords who participated in the invasion?”

  “So… you are saying the empire itself may decide the ransom amount?”

  “Correct. I believe it is not for us to decide the value of your emperor—that is for the empire to determine. Please set whatever price you consider fitting. We would not presume to judge it.”

  Lucius wondered if this was a veiled insult, but he remained silent.

  “…A most difficult proposal, but we shall consider it. Regarding reparations, you mentioned the territories of the participating lords. That would be our fourteen western provinces—roughly one-third of our entire empire. Is that truly what you desire?”

  “Indeed. If that is impossible, then bring those lords to the Achelos Plains. There they may open their own bellies and pull out their entrails. My aunt died after her abdomen was cut open during childbirth and she bled to death. Those who disturbed her mourning shall taste the same suffering. I expect your answer within one month. Should there be none, I will take what I want by force. Remember the magic I displayed in the last battle. That was merely a warning. Next time I will show no mercy. I am not as kind as my aunt, Chancellor. However, I will guarantee the emperor’s life.”

  “…Understood. I shall take my leave for today. Thank you very much.”

  Lucius bowed deeply and left the audience chamber. He departed for home immediately.

  He could not believe this was the same person as the boy from yesterday.

  Yet the demands were outrageous.

  The ransom had to be “appropriate to the empire’s dignity.” Too small and other nations would mock them; too large and they would be laughed at for overpaying.

  There was no obvious correct amount.

  The reparations demand was on an entirely different scale.

  She was furious.

  Back in the empire, Lucius gathered his ministers at once.

  When he explained the reparations condition, everyone fell speechless.

  Ordering men to cut open their own bellies and pull out their guts was unheard of.

  But her rage at having her mourning disturbed was crystal clear.

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  “You had better think carefully. A mage who rivals Lunafrea will march into imperial territory in one month… How exactly do you plan to stop her?”

  Lucius was at a loss.

  “Are you telling the western lords to commit suicide?”

  The lords of the fourteen western provinces turned deathly pale.

  It was an impossible choice: disembowelment or war against a monster mage.

  “Why not go to full-scale war? She said she would fight. Let’s accept!”

  A few reckless voices spoke up, but almost no one agreed.

  “You can say that because you didn’t see it. She dropped a waterfall of lightning across the entire width of our ten-thousand-man army in a single instant. No matter how many troops we gather, we cannot fight that… It would only be pointless slaughter.”

  “And she has already industrialized the production of that much gunpowder. Using chili peppers in warfare? Unprecedented.”

  “But the effect was devastating. Formations became meaningless, cavalry became useless. She does terrifying things. Hard to believe she’s just a young girl.”

  “By the way… who was the one who suggested this war in the first place?”

  No constructive discussion was possible. The meeting stalled.

  The deadlock lasted another half month.

  Half a month later the chancellor returned.

  Once again he entered Ternova by sea. Using diplomatic privilege, he unloaded one hundred gold ingots (roughly 1,000 kg) duty-free.

  The merchants in Ternova saw it with their own eyes.

  Foreign traders were present too.

  The information spread quickly: the emperor’s ransom had been one hundred gold ingots.

  It was more than half the empire’s annual budget.

  The ingots were divided among five wagons and slowly transported to the capital.

  During the second audience Lucius presented the hundred ingots of two hundred ryo each and reclaimed the emperor.

  The emperor had lost an arm but was otherwise in high spirits.

  In front of everyone, he bowed deeply and apologized.

  For reparations, instead of territory they brought a national treasure: the royal necklace set with five enormous rubies—one of the kingdom’s most valuable artifacts after the crown and scepter.

  Bringing the crown itself would have been tantamount to offering the empire a queen, so they had chosen the necklace.

  The lords of the fourteen western provinces were also present. They bowed deeply, apologized for disturbing the mourning, and begged forgiveness.

  Both nations agreed to increase exchanges so that such incidents would never happen again.

  News of the empire’s military and diplomatic defeat spread throughout the continent. Offers of treaties with Aristera poured in.

  Especially from the neighboring Eldora Kingdom to the west, which sought an alliance-like pact. Aristeran diplomats were suddenly overwhelmed.

  After the year-end festival and the turn of the new year, the first ship of the Aristera Royal Navy was completed and unveiled.

  The hull was painted jet black. The warship carried six cannons—the same type proven effective in last year’s battle against the empire.

  It had two masts and was rigged with fore-and-aft sails.

  The Trisha maritime security company had been nationalized and turned into the navy.

  By switching from convoy escort to area defense, they had dramatically reduced costs.

  Long-range ship-destroying cannons proved overwhelmingly effective. Pirates around Aristera effectively ceased to exist.

  Among sailors it became common wisdom: If pirates chase you, just run to Aristera.

  Anticipating that the saltpeter method would eventually leak, Anastasia announced at a summit of world leaders that she would share both the manufacturing process and cannon technology with any nation that signed a non-aggression pact.

  She believed that if countries stopped crossing borders, even temporarily, major wars could be avoided.

  The treaty included a clause: any signatory that violated it would face collective military action from all other signatories.

  Offers flooded in. Aristera signed non-aggression pacts with many nations and shared the saltpeter method.

  When it was later revealed that the process used urine, history recorded the embarrassing name Urine Diplomacy.

  Yet for more than two hundred years afterward, no large-scale wars broke out—an undeniable achievement.

  One night—

  “You’re doing quite well. It suits you now.”

  “Really? Well… I do have memories from my previous life.”

  Basti was unusually soaking in a shallow tub of hot water.

  “It will come soon, I suppose.”

  “What will?”

  “Marriage proposals.”

  “Whaaaaaat!?”

  Shocked, Anastasia slipped in the bath and tumbled into the water.

  The maids waiting outside wondered what had happened.

  They already found the queen’s bath time eerie—only the sound of her talking to herself and a cat meowing.

  “I mean… in my previous life I never had a single lover…”

  “What? You died a virgin?”

  Basti narrowed his eyes and grinned wickedly.

  “Yes, zero experience with women. Got a problem with that?”

  How shameless…

  “So your first time will be with a man?”

  “…Yes.”

  Basti splashed the water and rolled with laughter.

  “Isn’t that mean…? It’s actually a serious worry for me…”

  “Ahahaha. You don’t need to worry that much.”

  “Hmph! I have Lunamaria, so it’s fine! I don’t need to get married to have an heir!”

  “Don’t be so stubborn. Why not try it once?”

  “With who?”

  “Felix, perhaps? You’re close.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding. What are you thinking?”

  Basti narrowed his eyes again, still smiling.

  “By the way… have you noticed? For some time now your speech has become much more feminine.”

  “Now that you mention it…”

  “If you simply accept that you were always a woman, it will be easier.”

  “Easy for you to say…”

  Anastasia loved these light, teasing conversations with Basti more than anything.

  They were moments when she could bare her entire soul.

  Having someone she could speak her true heart to was an immense source of strength.

  She had been sent to this world and inherited the life of a princess. Now she felt she was somehow managing it.

  She had met wonderful people. Anastasia was grateful and truly happy.

  And so another night in Anastasia’s life quietly deepened.

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