━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
With so many 'volatile' forces gathering up in their capital, Phoenix naturally didn't dare to take any chances. Not only was the security everywhere at the highest level possible, but absolutely no one was allowed to bring too many 'bodyguards' or weapons with them regardless of their identity.
Even Emilia, an Empress allied with their country was no exception, and aside from Dixie and Crystal, no one was allowed to accompany her into the meeting hall.
Naturally, even if everyone had agreed to these 'rules' before their arrival, none of the thirteen leaders of the Federation felt very comfortable being so vulnerable, though didn't dare to make any fuss.
After all, it was their initiative to ask for this meeting, and it was for a good reason.
When Emilia walked in with the 'host', the prime minister of Phoenix by her side, even the 'enemy' leaders had to admit that her charisma had only grown since the last time they'd seen her.
Compared to the somewhat childish and seductive aura the girl had before, now she felt much more mature and dangerous to face. Perhaps had they met her before making that decision… they would have weighed it more carefully.
This was no puppet, after all.
As the host, Bella was naturally the one to first introduce everyone and talk about certain 'etiquette' expected during the meeting, and then she turned to the president of Red Dusk with a professional smile. "All that being said, we'd all be very glad to finally know why exactly all the illustrious leaders of the mighty Federation decided to grace us with their presence tonight."
The twelve other 'leaders' of the Federation remained stone faced and unperturbed, as if the topic had nothing to do with them, while the president of Red Dusk fidgeted awkwardly.
"As I'm sure madam Bella and Miss Emilia are aware, the war between our Federation and your alliance has already made us both lose a lot of loved ones, and also put a lot of unnecessary pressure on our people's lives." He coughed. " We feel like going on like this wouldn't be very wise, so—"
Emilia interrupted him with a snort. "So what? You want to stop, right? It sure must be great being the mighty Federation. Attack whoever you want whenever you feel like without good reason, then stop whenever it doesn't suit you."
Her eyes turned chilly as she leaned forward. "Do you know how many of my children died? Can you bring them back to life now that you've changed your mind?!"
Even as her ally, Bella felt some stinging in her heart when she faced the crimson-haired beauty's eyes. 'M-Maybe my idea of negotiating a good truce here might not work, after all…'
Perhaps no one was unaware of the almost fanatical level of worship that the people of Blue Dawn had for their empress, but it seemed like very few knew just how much Emilia cared about them in return.
As for the president of Red Dusk, he couldn't help but shudder in fright. For a moment, he almost felt like a soft yet deadly blade had brushed across his neck.
Luckily, a few panicked grasps at the part let him know that his head was still attached to his body, but that only made him more aware that he might not be able to get away with his life for long.
After all, he was only fine now because he was the 'president of Red Dusk', but would that title still be there to protect him a few weeks later? Unlikely.
This time, one of the other 'leaders' of the Federation took the initiative to speak with a somewhat calming smile on his face. "Dear… Empress, we totally understand your aggravation and pain. But continuing like this will only bring you more of it in the future, right?"
Emilia sneered. "Maybe, but if I let you come and go as you please without paying the price in blood, would my empire and my people even have the dignity to continue surviving anymore?"
There was a promise of bloodshed and death in her gaze, and even the usually composed leaders of the Federation found it hard to continue smiling.
But since they'd already made up their minds before coming here… they only needed a moment of silent communication with their eyes to come to a conclusion on what must be done.
They'd carefully re-evaluated their strategy and possible future outcomes after the major losses in the battle to retake Fort Wanderbilt, and realized that they really couldn't afford this 'war' with the empire anymore.
The unstable factors in their own territories kept getting worse and worse every passing day, their military's morale was at an all time low, and any hopes for a quick and easy victory had long since been dashed because of Phoenix unexpectedly siding with their enemy.
The only possible 'solution' they could see was to start using weapons of mass destruction, and hope that Phoenix chickens out… but that was not a gamble they dared to take lightly.
It was better to take a loss this time, and retreat while they still could. After all, as long as they found a suitable scapegoat to blame it all on in time, no one would really blame them too much, and they could go on with their lives like nothing had happened.
But first, they had to convince the other side to agree.
And for a young and volatile empress that seemed hell bent on vengeance… for peace to exist, they would have to be the ones to take a step back first.
"We believe the war was caused by a series of very unfortunate misunderstandings, all on our side, of course, and we'll definitely work hard to correct them in time. But in the meantime, to compensate the Empress and her people for their suffering… will the Commonwealth of Red Dusk be enough?"
The president of Red Dusk could only sit there stunned, his heart filled with disbelief. 'They said it would only happen if the situation was really desperate, but now they're just throwing me under the bus just like that?!'
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The sourc𝗲 of this content is fre(e)webnovel