After the Royalty of the Kingdom of Elise left them alone, only then did Thurin, Carian, but most of all Lucas, relax a little. They had been played, duped, and lost.
"A peace treaty that last forever or realistically a long time isn't the worst outcome for us. The public will be outraged and angry, while the nobles will be angry about the waste of funds.", Carian tried to summarize the consequences of what just happened, but his mind was a mess, he couldn't articulate them all.
Lucas felt the need to ask them to only grant the peace treaty for the current and next ruler, but nobody after that, but he held himself back when Thurin spoke.
"This might not be bad. While my father can be known as the Iron Fist, let me be known as the King that loves Peace.", Thurin added, "Or the King of Cowardice."
"Thurin.", Carian didn't want that to be the case, but the words he was searching for evaded him. Lucas, who was starting to decrease the amount of self-hatred he had stepped in.
"Ask Augustinus to spread propaganda that the surrounding countries have incited this war and are waiting for us to collapse. Say that the peace treaty was in order to secure our prosperity and future. Then give them something else to distract them."
He waved his hand around as if it didn't matter, still caught up with the Queen's reveal, he felt like he needed a long break. Carian, for once, didn't see anything wrong with Lucas's plan, for he wanted anything but to go down in history as a coward.
Time passed slowly as both parties worked together to form a decent peace treaty that they would follow to a T. While Thurin and Carian worked on debating for the best results as possible, Augustinus and Lucas were discussing on how to move forward.
It was obvious that many people would be in an uproar and their borders wouldn't suddenly open up. One big barrier between the people was the fact that they spoke different languages. Just that was enough to separate the masses.
In order for things to stay amicable, it was necessary to bring the barbarians in a positive light while finding a different scapegoat. All the while, they had to present the people a view that they weren't barbarians but rather citizens of the Kingdom of Elise.
A few positive and heartwarming stories, fabricated or not, from interactions between the two groups were needed to form a dilapidated bridge between the groups. Augustinus found it a task too tall to accomplish. To him, the people would always be divided.
Lucas assured him that as long as they aren't at each other's throats, then they'll have accomplished their goal. As the discussions between Thurin and The Queen continued Lucas read over the agreements to look for loopholes. As was his nature, he always found the extremes in a situation.
The talks were finished not long after and they both shook hands to solidify this new era. While it all seemed glorious, these were talks in a small room fitted with guards from both sides and a tension so high that nobody dared break their composure.
Lucas, who felt like everything was in order, spoke to the Queen. "Now that treaty has been signed, and we are no longer at war, I want to visit your palace as a guest, your majesty.", Lucas said as he bowed slightly for the Queen.
He couldn't treat her as a normal person anymore if they wanted to maintain their shaky relationship. The Queen didn't even bat an eye as she long suspected this. "Why of course, it's only natural to go on a vacation every once in a while."
The guards around were all caught of guard as they would never allow this monster of a man near their Queen at any time. They wanted to protest against her, but even if they had all the courage in the world, they wouldn't dare talk back to her. All that was left was to simply nod or hold in their complaints.
Thurin didn't really like the idea, but couldn't hold him back. In a certain sense, it was actually useful to have Lucas visit them. If they dared to pull anything, they could instruct Lucas to wreak havoc. And if there was one thing they were certain of, was that Lucas knew how to cause chaos.
It didn't take long before they separated and went back to their own kingdom. As a sign of trust, Lucas was given the honor of riding the same carriage as the Queen.
The guards didn't like it one bit, making sure they monitored them at all times. The Queen felt satisfied with the results even though it wasn't the best she could get.
The carriage moved at a comfortable pace without any kind of interruption from bystanders. Galen and his men made sure nobody was foolish enough to try.
"You look happy despite what happened?", Lucas was curious to know how this scheming woman was able to not lose heart at the sight of a failed plan. Her pride must've been shattered and broken, yet she stood strong. Lucas would've felt terrible if all his plans were disrupted out of nowhere.
"Why wouldn't I be happy? Aren't the results perfect for us?"
"If things went according to plan, it would've been better, no?"
"Plans can fail, more often than not, it's up to the orchestrator to create enough escape routes in case of emergency that are good enough. Please don't think I like threatening the life of my own son."
Lucas stayed silent as he thought this through. There was some wisdom in her words that he couldn't neglect. His plans had mostly all or nothing results, which looking back on it now, seemed like a bad idea.
Still a student of his own craft, there were plenty of things to learn, and the person right in front of him would be a perfect teacher. The only issue was that she might not be that eager to share her way of working with him.
The Queen was waiting for a response decided it was time for a different topic, one that Lucas would surely enjoy.
"I assume you wanted to come back with us to see how we gained our strength to see if you can get a piece of the cake?"
"Is this bait?"
"Not everything I say or do is with an alternative motive, you know? Just because I've created one big scheme doesn't mean that I can't be genuine.", she smiled sweetly at Lucas, who had trouble believing her.
"Then yes, I'm very interested in how you gained your strength. I've fought with one of your men before and was surprised by his strength."
"Yes, Galen was quite shocked after seeing you. The rumors about the Starborn aren't to be underestimated. We are less blessed than the Empire. The Stars provided them with three trials that boosted their strength in different stages, gradually increasing their power. With us, we only have a single trial, so to speak."
Divulging all details, the Queen didn't hold any information back. Whether that was because she wanted Lucas to be on her good side or she just didn't see a reason to keep it secret, it was hard to tell.
"Do you know the reason why we were unjustly called barbarians by the Empire?"
"Frankly, I just thought it was because we needed to dehumanize your people to make it easier...", Lucas ended his sentence before he said too much, but the Queen didn't care.
"To kill us off? Quite true. The reason comes from three points. One, our language is different, making it harder to comprehend what we're saying, making us seem uncivilized. Two, our primary weapon is our own body instead of tools or weapons. And thirdly, our ritual requires an animal sacrifice."
"I see, then the first contact with your people would've already been viewed in a bad light."
"Not only that, but we expanded our territory righteously, only taking woods where beasts live, trying to live in nature's harmony. Never have we gone after other human settlements. The Empire, on the other hand, saw no problem burning down cities to build their own on the ashes of what was left."
She spoke calmly and there was no emotion to be detected in her voice, but her words made clear that she truly hated the Empire deep down. Lucas felt a bit awkward to see her true feelings, knowing now what the Empire did. Looking at things objectively, the Empire was in the wrong, still, he was on their side, whether he liked it or not.
In the end, Lucas couldn't really care, because to him, he was on his own side. He cared for certain people like Thurin, but if the people under him died, he wouldn't really mind it all that much.
"The animal sacrifice, what does it entail?"
"Has this practice stopped up there? I thought this would still be quite known. Like the ritual's name, all you need is the body of a beast. Our trial takes the beast's body and infuses it in your own. Of course, the effects are great and depending on the beast, you can get results that are better than the second trial in the Empire."
"The catch being that only the strongest monsters give such results."
"Exactly. We are dependent on the growth of monsters and their offspring. Sadly, the stronger the monsters, the lower their reproductivity. If only we could increase the libido of those beasts."
"Then the Empire would've been done for.", to which the Queen nodded slightly. She wasn't hiding her intentions nor her beliefs. They were in times of peace now, so there would be no fighting officially. But that didn't mean that they were the best of friends.
Lucas didn't expect her to act immediately though since that would be quite a backstab.
"What are the strongest beasts you've captured?"
"We have gotten our hands on a Black Griffon, at the cost of many."
"If I brought my own creature, could I perform this ritual as well?"
The Queen knew this was bound to happen. To her, it made no sense for this Starborn to join her on the journey back to their kingdom. "I guess the rumors are more than true. All Starborn have a great desire for power and strength. Well, I anticipated this. I can let you take the ritual at a normal cost."
Lucas smiled as he had no idea on how much she would charge, and it also wouldn't matter to him. The funds would come from the Empire's Treasury, so he had little to worry about.
"That's fine, I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of effects the ritual has."
"Not much, it's similar to the trials in the Empire, only a lot shorter and more to the point. You can discuss the details with Galen if you so wish. It might not seem like it, but he has taken a liking to you."
"A liking? I don't remember bonding with one of your men.", Lucas said flat out, the only times he came in contact was after he finished the first trial and fought against one of them. He could still remember the long black hair on the man's head, the other details were somewhat vague.
"Oh, but you certainly have, my dear boy. Don't you remember? He was serving as one of the close guards that protected the Emperor in his throne room. I don't know about you, but he has talked plenty of times with you."
Lucas felt like cursing himself once more, he had paid little to no attention to the guards in the castle. They all seemed like they had no importance, mere canon fodder in case an assassin passed by. If only he looked at them a bit more in detail, then perhaps it wouldn't have gone this far. But this also raised a question in Lucas.
"Why didn't you send him to kill Thurin then? There were plenty of opportunities, and I'm sure it would've given you a better result."
"I've already said this back then, and I'll say it again. I'll be candid with you, the plan was for my lovely son to die while on his way back from his training. The goal was for two scouting groups to convene and take him out. Sadly, Galen reported back that someone unexpected interfered, dismantling the entire plan."
The Queen was all smiles, despite her deeply disturbing words. It looked like he had plenty to learn from her, and he wouldn't pass on such an opportunity.
"It's true that I kept, I assume Galen, busy, but even so. He could've easily ran past me and killed Thurin in a single strike."
"Quite an astute observation, young man. There is one single absolute command that all the people under me have to follow. If the situation gets too risky and your life is on the line, run away and abandon all plans."
Lucas frowned when he heard that. It was a basic rule that would limit the damage done to their group at the cost of perhaps so much more. He didn't like the idea, refuting it.
"One man's life is more important than the plans you set up? That's just ridiculous, if one sacrifice can save many, that's the only obvious choice."
The Queen laid her hands on top of each other to try and remain calm as she spoke in a serious tone. "If I had to sacrifice thousands of lives of the Empire, I couldn't care less. My people are the only ones dear to me, I won't let any of them perish due to my own failings. If a plan fails because I was too incompetent in making it, then I won't let my own people die to fix my mistakes."
"Are you truly saying that? If Galen killed Thurin back then, you might be crowned as ruler of the Empire, you could've stopped the war and saved so many more."
"Luckily, my good subordinate isn't so close minded like yourself. He saw the danger you posed and retreated to inform me. Even if Thurin was killed at that moment, what would you have done? Would you back down and happily join our side while knowing nothing about us?"
Lucas felt attacked, but he recognized his own mistake. No, it wasn't a mistake, it was a difference in opinion. There would've been ways to approach him and still gain the best results possible, or that was how he thought. Lucas prided himself in always figuring out a plan that would work out to his favor.
But even here, he was duped by the person in front of him. She was able to create a plan that outsmarted himself. While Lucas was distracted by Augustinus and the assassins after him, she was already scheming for what would happen after.
"If a plan fails, you believe that it is because the maker was incompetent? It is impossible to predict what would happen at all times. That would require an almost infinite amount of information that you can't get. Sacrifices are necessary for certain plans to succeed. It's the path of least suffering."
This was how Lucas saw things, he was prepared to sacrifice a few people if it meant coming out on top. It was the only logical conclusion he could come to, even back when he was fighting against Grok, he was prepared to throw the soldiers towards him to save himself.
The Queen wasn't entertained, her beautiful smile long vanished from her enchanting visage. "Have you ever loved?"
"What?", it was a question that completely caught Lucas off guard. The Queen simply looked at him and waited for an answer. A powerful image of a young blond girl dominated his mind before he tried to focus on the woman in front of him. Still, just by mentioning it, her appearance got stuck in his dome for quite some time.
"Yes. I have."
"Would you be able to sacrifice her if it would progress your plans?", she said coldly. Lucas clenched his fists almost unconsciously. There was absolutely no way in hell he would ever let anything happen to her. It was already far too late for that sadly, but that didn't mean a thing.
"I get it now.", Lucas lowered his head in defeat as the Queen smiled slightly. "We're almost there now."
It didn't take long for the carriage to arrive in a scenic town. Looking outside he saw the people happily strolling along the street while doing some basic grocery shopping. It didn't feel like a city on the border of a country that was ravaged by war.
"Are you surprised?", the Queen obviously knew that what was shown was far from the norm in the Empire where most of the border cities looked gray, like the color had been drained from the very bricks.
"We have suffered a lot through this war, making some of us into pessimists. It was through the genius of a few people that we turned this feeling into something better. The fear that our lives might be short due to a fight blossomed into a need to forget about all our worries. People try to enjoy their lives as best they can, knowing that death can be on their doorstep any moment."
"How sad."
"Hmph, that's just your look on it. You can stay here, there's a place to do the ritual nearby. Or you can come with us to the capital."
"No need."
"I thought so. Goodbye, Starborn Lucas, may we never meet again.", she smiled as if she knew what he was going to do. Throughout history, it was clear that a Starborn rarely stayed for a long time. They were always in a hurry to go back to the Stars, and she knew a bit more than others.
Lucas smiled in return, after doing this ritual, all that was left was the third trial. Then he would look for a way back out of this place. It was the only thing he could think of, he wanted to go back to Elam and Asta, no matter how strange that felt to him.
Elam was a strange but great teacher. Part of Lucas, no, more than just a part, wanted to go back to that relaxing cottage in the mountains where he was free to study and practice his magic. He never fit in with all the people here, just the difference in skin color was a constant reminder.
Stepping out of the carriage, a guard that traveled with them stopped as well. He descended from his horse as he looked at Lucas with his cool eyes. Lucas didn't really recognize him until he removed his helmet. Long black hair fell down, making the man recognizable enough.
"So you're Galen?"