Chapter 195: Chapter 195 - Peace In Our Time
"Very well done, everyone! We did the impossible!!!"
I look at the cheering soldiers in front of me. Everyone is tired from all the fighting, but with their spirits bolstered by the resounding victory.
We are in a plaza inside the fortress’s grounds. The fortress’ outer wall has crumbled, and some of the buildings inside are damaged, but the inner castle and the plaza are intact.
Even that destruction is just a minor conundrum compared to what could have happened.
"We stopped an army several times the size of ours, and with very few casualties. To the point that they sent for a talk of peace. They are asking us for peace. Think on the size of what you all have just achieved!"
More cheers.
"Now, everyone. You deserve a good night of resting. Tomorrow we’ll hold the peace talks. Those negotiations might end this war, or they might not. But, even if they fail, we’ll hit them even harder next time. Until we can go back home to our land and families. We will only stop when our people can live with freedom and hold our heads high!"
To be honest, I can never tire of the roar of the crowd. The sensation of commanding such a reaction gets me every time. It’s thrilling.
I get down from the place from where I was talking and go in the direction of the office, but Lovelace gets in my way.
"Where are you going, my dear?"
"To the office."
"No, you aren’t."
"Huh?"
She is soon joined by Yaci.
"Exactly. You are not going back to work today. You are going to your quarters, and you’ll have a good night of sleep."
"But there are too many things to do..."
Yaci puts a hand on my shoulder and looks me in the eye.
"Aurea. This victory today was only possible because of you. You guided us every step of the way. You are the general who pulled off the impossible. If you overwork yourself, we won’t last a week. So we are not going to let you overwork."
"Exactly. You need a healthy balance. And we’re here to ensure you are going to have it."
"But..."
"No ’but’ allowed, Aurea. Lovelace, please help me."
"Of course, Yaci."
Yaci takes my left arm and Lovelace my right arm, and together they take me to my room.
I wouldn’t be able to resist even if I wanted to. But the truth is, who in their right mind would want to resist these two awesome girls?
I love them so much. Period.
:::
The following day, at noon, we go to the agreed meeting point. Lovelace, Ingela, Mom, and me.
To my surprise, Urraca doesn’t come with the three angels, as I was expecting. Instead, she comes with the High Bishop and two of the commanders of her army.
"Good day to you, Princess Urraca. It’s been a while."
"Good day, Princess Aurea."
After the introductions and exchanges of pleasantries from both sides, the real talk begins.
"I’ll be blunt and direct. You won. I just want to go back home and end this stupid war, so I came to negotiate the terms. There’s no way we could win a war against a goddess."
"I see. Then that’s why the angels didn’t come with you today?"
"They weren’t very pleased with the idea. They might try to do something, but I assure you that any move that they do from now on is not in any way related to my army or this crusade."
At my side, Mom nods, acquiescing.
"What she said is true. I don’t feel them anywhere near. They have probably gone somewhere to plan their next move."
That’s good and worrying at the same time. They might strike from the shadows at any moment, and that thought fills me with unease.
"Right. Now let me get this straight. You reunited people from everywhere, declared war on us, and marched upon our territory. Without any provocation from our part, nor any real motive. And now that you were defeated, you want to simply wash your hands and go back home as if nothing had happened?"
"No. I understand your frustration. So we’re open to negotiating your terms."
Our terms, huh?
That’s something I haven’t put that much thought into, to be honest. I’ve been so focused on winning the war that I haven’t had the time and energy to plan for what comes afterwards.
But here we are. A victory so thorough that the enemy wants to negotiate our terms without even having heard them before. Let’s see what I can leverage.
"First and foremost, you will have to accept formally our freedom of faith. What we worship is our matter and ours alone."
"Of course. We’re ready to accept that."
The High Bishop is tense but is not saying a word.
Wait, is that a rancorous glare Urraca gave to him? Has she caught up with the Church’s lies? Hehe. This ought to be interesting.
"Second, all the countries who formally endorsed this invasion will have to accept that the people can worship whomever they want. No persecution against other faiths. In exchange for that, we of course won’t persecute Juno’s followers within our territory."
"Sounds fair, but I can’t guarantee it without talking to the governments of those countries first."
"I’m not in a hurry. We have time to work out the kinks on that before we sign the lasting peace."
"Right. Anything else?"
"No citizen of the kingdom of Wesgoth will ever be taken as a slave in any of your countries. If there are citizens of ours among your slaves, they should be returned to our country. That includes beastkin."
"Some nobles will flinch at that, but it can be negotiated."
Oh? The Bishop is livid and doesn’t say a word. Something must have happened for her to be so accepting of these terms without any complaints whatsoever.
"And, of course, you will take your troops out of our territory and pay reparations for the families of the fallen soldiers, as well as for the villages whose fields were thrashed by the movements of your troops."
"Naturally. How much?"
"We’ll make an estimate of what our losses are. But don’t worry, it will be a reasonable value. We don’t aim to enrich by plundering."
"Very well. I will begin by taking our troops out of your territory and returning home. Then I will talk with all the leaders involved in this campaign to work out this peace deal. Do we have a truce in the meanwhile?"
"Yes. Let there be peace in our time."
I extend my hand to her, which she takes.
I can’t douse the nagging feeling inside me that she is being a bit too earnest with all this. I wonder what happened last night inside that tent.