Behind the Letter

It was just as I suspected: the wording of the letter granted my Independence.

What on earth was he thinking, having the King himself deliver such a document in person?

I stared silently into his eyes.

There was no warmth in the depths of his gaze. I had a feeling that taking the contents of the letter at face value would be a mistake.

"I have reviewed the terms," I said. "But what exactly is the meaning behind 'recognizing this territory as an independent nation'? For my part, I only came here to serve as the Acting Lord of the frontier."

The King’s eyes widened ever so slightly at my question.

It was a fleeting change, of course; his expression returned to its original mask in the time it took to blink. That composure was exactly what I expected from a King.

"You joke," he replied. "Between your marriage alliances with multiple nations, your talent for developing this land into something rivaling the Royal Capital, the technical ingenuity to create trends, and military might that equals any other country... no matter how you look at it, these are not assets that should be contained within a single territory."

I had only been working hard to fix up this destitute land, but...

The King's words forced me to re-evaluate my own position.

In other words, the King wanted to excise me. I possessed enough power to threaten even his home base at the Royal Capital. He likely believed that if my influence surpassed his own, his throne would be in jeopardy.

Yet, letting me defect to another country was equally terrifying.

My territory held the power of a whole nation. There was a risk that I would double the strength of a Hypothetical Enemy State.

He couldn't keep me within his borders, yet he couldn't afford to lose me to a rival. Summing it all up, recognizing me as an independent nation while ensuring our ties remained firm was his safest bet.

However, from my perspective—being cast out from the protection of the crown—this was outrageous.

I understood his logic, but this was still just a small territory on the frontier. I might be able to avoid Ruin through association, but I could easily see a future where I was simply invaded and wiped off the map.

After all, this land was sandwiched between the Five Nations: the Kingdom, the Demon Kingdom, the Empire, the Principality, and the Beast Kingdom...

—No, wait.

If I thought about it calmly, I was already engaged to Elu, the Princess of the Beast Kingdom, and the Empire’s Princess as well. The Principality was making the outrageous claim that they’d hand over their entire country to me whenever I wanted, and now the Kingdom was pushing for an engagement too.

Furthermore, Demon Lord Lucille was already strolling through my streets as if she were a local resident. In short, there were no neighboring countries likely to attack me any time soon.

There were other countries further out, but they weren't going to march across major powers just to reach this place.

Should I accept this for the sake of Ruin Avoidance? Or should I...

After a moment’s hesitation, I gave the King my answer.

[Author’s Request]

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