Chapter 243: Outlook
Giliath demands your power stones! Let's try to get over 500!
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With a jam-packed and exhilarating night of events coming to an end, those residing in not only Valflame Palace but all of Heimdallr entered a peaceful slumber. The Chancellor's declaration of Liberl and Erebonia joining hand-in-hand only took a mere couple hours for it to spread far and wide, thanks to the several news organizations that were present on the scene during the Emperor's closing year festivities that were open to Erebonia's nobles. Many wondered what would happen from here on.
After all, it was only until recently that both Liberl and Erebonia were at each other's throats during the gruesome Hundred Days War. Her Majesty the Queen could do nothing to prevent this tragedy from striking and had to bite the bullet in taking the secret to her grave, together with the Chancellor of course. Only those in the upper echelons of either side's military knew of the truth behind the attack on Hamel, but those from the outside perspective only saw it was enough reason for the two countries to start a war with each other. Seeing Cassius's domineering tactics chipping away at his own army, the Chancellor could only come to a ceasefire, after catching those who were responsible of course. It was to make sure this incident wouldn't see the light of day.
Most people didn't know that those stuck-up nobles of Erebonia were the cause behind Hamel, so they could only assume this turn of events was questionable from their perspective. Erebonia ignored most doubt the other countries faced during the spreading of the news, since it, along with Liberl, knew the entire truth behind the matter.
The same nobles were caught and hung, given the death penalty by a secret trial. It would be these nobles of similar fashion to instigate the October War in the coming couple of years. Yet right now, the nobles could only hide away, fearing that the Chancellor would strike out again against them. Being able to celebrate and ease the tensions at Valflame Palace to celebrate the new year was only superficial at best. If anything, most of the nobles that attended that dance were surprised that one of the highest ranking nobles decided to attend it, Rufus Albarea.
Still, despite both Liberl and Erebonia happily celebrating the coming of the next century with newfound interests at hand, but also with a new set of worries, there existed another land that was bound to face far more pressure than it had ever seen before.
And that was the land of Crossbell.
Crossbell City was placed in a very peculiar setting. It was surrounded by the entirety of three different nations. Now that Crossbell is seeing Liberl joining hand-in-hand with Erebonia, it was definitely going to face far more pressure than it had in the past. It was used to similar pressure, however, since Crossbell City was a war-torn nation that had seen countless wars.
Crossbell has been a nation as old as all of its neighbors, surfacing out of the Great Collapse, and experienced the Dark and Middle Ages just like any other. In the past, it was the main choke-point between the three, often being a city of trade, allowing goods to come into other countries with ease, and often mediated problems if one arose. Its leadership has changed multiple times, becoming part of either Erebonia or Calvard thanks to its many wars it has seen in the past twelve hundred years. It had long desired a sense of true peace as its own independent nation. It is currently in such a life presently, but that looming pressure has started to grip this particular nation yet again. In a different way, because it had not seen two of its three surrounding countries form an alliance to date.
Crossbell did know that the Chancellor was in his final stages of presenting the Non-Aggression Pact to both Liberl and Calvard, with the goal of not starting another war between the three countries. That did provide some safety to Crossbell, but Mayor MacDowell still felt anxious. This feeling only grew while the Mayor dined and celebrated at Long Lao Restaurant together with his granddaughter and the CPD. It wasn't just this anxious feeling alone that the Mayor felt. It was a variety of complex emotions both good and bad, on top of the overall festive mood that spread throughout the restaurant.
Elie MacDowell, his granddaughter, was obviously quick to notice the complex array of emotions Mayor MacDowell was silently experiencing during the party, and that eased his worries for the time being. Mayor MacDowell wasn't sure how the future was going to turn out, but he decided to have some fun together with the others, making sure that it was worth the visit, and seeing his granddaughter happy, he knew it was well worth blocking off the time. His own daughter often fought with Elie's father, even going as far as to file a divorce not too long ago. Elie had already gotten adjusted to this separation, but he still was happy to see the new years spent in Crossbell passed by with no disturbances. There was no fighting, no sightings of monsters, everyone was able to have a great time with the sounds of fireworks sounding off.
There was one thing the Mayor knew that the others didn't. He knew the Chancellor wasn't a stupid man to propose such an outrageous idea of two countries entering an alliance on emotion alone. For he, along with Elie, held a secret that was far more grand than the idea of having a princess and prince of two countries enter a marriage. He knew the origin of said prince. After all, he would bring Elie over for a few times when Elie was just a child to a certain place in the outskirts of Trista. It belonged to the Chancellor's home, but who knew that the little boy at the time would become the same person to receive the right to ascend Liberl's throne in the future. Bloodlines can definitely go a long way back, but it was definitely a secret worth keeping secret. Elie knew well about it, but she, along with the Mayor, had stayed silent on the matter completely.
Mayor MacDowell wasn't ignorant either. It was especially brought to light the moment Elie expressed her desire to attend Jenis Royal Academy for one to two years in the coming year or two. She had no reason to attend there, considering it was a school meant for Liberl's high end society. It wasn't known for taking in many foreign exchange students. Mayor MacDowell could only reach the conclusion that she grew to develop feelings for the little boy she had often played with in the past before the two grew apart. The only thing that Elie didn't inform him about was that Elie had a chance encounter with Naoto while Naoto drifted through the seas going to Nemeth Island a few years ago. That only further grew her desire to see each other again, even going as far as attending training in Arteria's headquarters as a Squire, in hopes to provide some form of security that Naoto wouldn't have to bear alone.
Signs were already starting to point in certain directions. The future remained unknown for the many worries spreading not only across Crossbell City, but to all countries beyond, wondering how things would play out from here. As the celebratory night soon dawned into the morning with festive fervor dying down, Mayor MacDowell pondered throughout his sleep whether or not he should give his granddaughter a push, since it was clear to him that she had come to like the little boy she had long gotten friendly with over the years.