I grinned as the wind slowly drifted through the sound barrier around us. The question hung in the air as I put forward the offer to the A-ranked general. She looked intrigued and tempted by the offer. I could see the last shackles loosening her grip on the Empire. The Empire's military was this woman's life. I could feel it from her bones and actions. She thought of other species like Beast-kin as lesser in almost every respect. Her demeanor told me that with clarity before we spent a month in that tent.
That tent had not changed her demeanor either. Doorknocker was a perfect representation of what her Kink entailed, too. She was a big dick masochist lover. She wanted the biggest dick to put her in her place and make her submit. Which she obviously had not had a lover in a long time. But you do not get to an A rank just by being someone subject to whims. There was willpower tempering, and she was also the leading General in one of the most powerful nations in the known world of this world, at least.
Spending that month in a tent with me, though, only gave her a small amount of increased respect for me. She was more enamored with Doorknocker than me in any respect, calling it God and all that. I could even feel her contempt from time to time that such a dick was attached to me. No, I was not the reason that she was looking to leave. She had admitted what it was.
Politics.
Politics back in their capital, probably, which added that the Crown Princess had my child, meant that things were heating up. She was clearly going to be the political whipping post, and she would bear the front of the Emperor's wraith at other people's failings. That was the problem with being at the top; ultimately, it was your fault.
Unless you can push it onto others.
But now, as the Duchess Greenwald stood there contemplating, looking at me while being clearly tempted by my offer, I could only smile. Here she was, looking for salvation from political persecution from the very person who caused it in the first place. The person who defeated her, standing on the border between our nations?
I did that.
Who was the one to devise the strategy to take Border City?
I did that.
Who was the one who stopped the army from pushing too deep into the Empire?
I did that.
At each critical point where the Empire could have stalled or devised a way to at least etch out a victory, I was the one there. Even when it came to negotiations, I had stopped several smaller terms that were like poison pills for us to follow. Although they would not have done major damage, they were things that, with that specific wording, would be a major pain in the ass.
And so, defeat after defeat, both on the battlefield and at the negotiation table, was piled up, and it was burying the Duchess, bringing her to this point. The best solution is to leave the enemies alone. I would have to watch her if she jumped to our side, but I would place her in a position that would make her more attached to our side.
Raising someone and sending them out into the field means you are responsible for them. I could feel that the Duchess felt responsible for the Generals she sent. She took their losses as losses of her own, and so I wanted her to teach Military tactics and strategies to a new generation. New thinking for a new Military.
She was a woman to contend with, and I could feel her contemplations finally come to an end.
"You know, I hate this," The Duchess said while she bit her lip. That lip was bleeding, but I knew it was not because of me at this time. "I hate that I am put into this position."
"You can stay," I replied, my voice flat, "I am just offering you what you want."
"No, not that," The Duchess laughed, "Your offer is more than generous. Especially because an A ranker joining your nation from the Empire itself, which is your enemy, is already suspicious. I have come to terms with that before I even met you. I HATE THAT I HAVE TO DO IT!" She sneered, her anger almost tangible.
The Duchess took a deep breath, "I worked for decades, a century I have been in the Military, slowly taking land from other nations. A war with the Kingdom of Arlin. With the Praries, with the Northern Beastal Mountains, and the Northern beast tribes. I have been going from war to war, fighting all over and doing the bidding of the Emperor and his father." She paused and sneered, "And ONCE, Just ONCE," She took a moment closing her eyes, "I trained the Generals you killed and defeated. They were not stupid, they were arrogant from Victory after Victory," The Duchess slowly commented, looking up into the starry sky. "Arrogant on the blood of decades of Victories with no defeats in sight. We took the land we wanted, and when they encountered an enemy who was at an equal level to them, they refused to acknowledge their arrogance. I looked over the records from our side that were pulled out from the Border City. " We knew about the intrusion not long after you invaded," The Duchess said, "We sent reinforcements to try and stop you, believing we would make it in time." Instead, they were eaten up and spat out. We could have reached Border City in time. Again, we failed to act because we thought we had more time to act. Never before had we just been laid flat, even with our forces. We should have had enough A-rankers, but instead of sending reinforcements, we waited and watched. The Emperor is right, we failed so badly that it calls into question our competence, but I don't believe our Competence was in question."
"You were arrogant, and I used that against you," I told her, and she looked at me sharply, "Arrogance comes from Confidence, which the Empire needs. A Military need. You need that Arrogance to believe and know you are the best. It keeps morale up, allows you to do things with your forces that otherwise would be impossible," I replied to her words, and she winced. "That arrogance, that ignorance is also a strength, but also a weakness," I finished, and she smiled wryly.
"I agree, but I hate that I do," The Duchess replied.
"There are things we must do even if we hate it. Everything in the world has an upside, and," I paused for a couple of moments with a wry smile, "A downside. Arrogance to be the best and to challenge the world is something that must be kept in check, and you failed, Duchess Greenwald. Maybe not in yourself but in your subordinates."
She winced, and I could see more blood seep from her lower lip as she bit down, but then loosened up. "I have already come to terms with the fact that I am the reason for the failure of my army in the end. I allowed arrogance to seep into the bones and not see outside of it. To have some mechanism to wake up my people to awaken from those ingrained beliefs. It will not happen again," The Duchess said.
"Duchess," I paused, "Never mind, Duchess," I said instead of what I was going to say. There was no need to comfort this woman as she took a deep breath and leaned up to look at the stars, ignoring me for a moment. I could see the woman before me getting over the final hurdle she needed to say what she wanted to say. She was struggling with it, and she knew it was the final step.
"I will betray the Empire and leave this nation for yours, Chelsea Loveknot," The Duchess Beverly Greenwald said, her voice making it final to herself, "I cannot leave right away, but I know the shackles of the Empire might be coming even at this moment. I have already made preparations. The decision was made weeks ago, and my things are already headed to the port of the Demon Lands Capital to be put on a ship to come to the Beast-kin Empire. I have no family to care about in the Capital city, and the Emperor will be very annoyed that I will lose nothing in my retreat from the Empire."
I smiled, my smile growing bright in the starry evening, and she looked down slowly and back at me. I did not hide my smile, "I have already gotten more than I thought in this exchange. But this one is between you and me," She said slowly.
"And what would that be?" I asked curiously.
"A family, I want to raise some kids, and settle down a bit, if I am going to be an educator, that is a job, but-" The duchess paused and her face turned a little red, "But I would like you to be my companionship, no matter how many others you have."
I was a tiny bit shocked she came out and said it, but I knew her fetish, and I walked up to her, and my hand was about to reach out.
BOOM ~!
A blast came from the right of us, and suddenly the Duchess leaped back, shocked by her mana coming up to its full power, and three Human A-rankers appeared. A moment later, as the Duchess looked stunned, my mother appeared with Elder Lily and Gregory, three beast-kin A rankers, and three Human A rankers, with myself and the Duchess in the center.
The Cover for this meeting was suddenly and utterly shattered.
"Sigh, I guess I was caught," The Duchess said slowly, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Suddenly, the Duchess started to laugh, and I looked at her, and tears were pouring down her face. Tears that had not been there a moment before, and mana solidified around me, and I was protected in an embrace of my mother's mana.
The Duchess stepped back, away from the humans, "Well, I guess I will not be finishing the Negotiation."
"Duchess Beverly Greenwald, the Emperor would like to speak to you," A sword master, A ranker said, his voice dark with anger.
"He may speak with himself," The Duchess finally said, her voice light, "He can do as he wishes, as will I from now on. I renounce my noble title. From this day forth, I am defecting from the Empire."
Shock showed on their face, quickly replaced with anger, and I felt their mana start to manifest, and more A-rankers started to appear. But that was quickly countered by more Beast-kin Elders appearing, matching the numbers of the Empire, and the Duchess stepped further and further back.
"Good, old friends," Beverly said, paying no mind to the brewing conflict. "The next time we meet, it will be on the battlefield," She stated, then she spat at the Sword master, much to all our surprise. "I always fucking hated your guts anyway, Duke, may you go fucking die in cultivation," She sneered, and I started to retreat with her.
The shock of that statement reverberated with the Empire's A rankers, and suddenly, we retreated as a group. With the Duchess, there were more A rankers on the Beast-kin side, and with losses already high for the Empire, they watched us go.
Hate filling their eyes.
Under those hate-filled eyes, we departed and disappeared beyond the hills and into the fortifications.
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