Finally, half a month after the crisis began, Viscount Moore received word that a special envoy would be arriving to represent Marquess Balfour the next day.
Victoria was becoming a bit desperate by this point, so when she heard this news, she personally ca out to welco the envoy, hoping to press her case and receive supplies and soldiers to help her stabilize Port Calden.
What the Viscount never anticipated was that a young child would be accompanying the Marquess’ delegation.
Why a seemingly ordinary boy had specially been allowed to fly from Herald City to Port Calden was beyond Victoria’s ability to understand, but she quickly adjusted herself and stepped forward to greet the one who she assud was here to represent Celestina Balfour.
"Greeting, Lady Envoy, and welco to Port Calden," Victoria spoke politely, addressing the freshly dismounted Allina Crest.
This was, by all accounts, a reasonable assumption on Viscount Moore’s part.
Allina was wearing her armour that bore the crest of the Raging River Legion and not bothering to conceal her cultivation aura, which was stronger than any aura Victoria had ever felt from a Spirit Initiate before.
It only made sense that Allina was the envoy sent by Marquess Balfour, but to Victoria’s great astonishnt, Allina simply flashed a wry smile and shook her head, "Thank you for your warm reception, Viscount Moore, but I believe there has been a misunderstanding. I am not the special envoy, I am only here to serve as his assistant."
Raising her brow slightly, Victoria nodded, "I see. I apologize for my hastiness. Might I ask then, who is Marquess Balfour’s envoy?"
This delegation consisted of 19 mbers, all of whom were at least in the Core Formation Realm, and since Allina had ntioned that the envoy was a male, Victoria’s eyes naturally gravitated to the only other Spirit Initiate amongst them. However, having learned her lesson, she didn’t make any assumptions and instead just asked for confirmation up front.
"That would be ."
Victoria thought she had fully prepared herself, regardless who the envoy turned out to be, but when the 20th mber of this group, the only one she had completely written off from the start, stepped forward and declared in a child-like voice that he was the Marquess’ envoy, the Viscount was unable to stop her expression from faltering.
Lowering her gaze, Victoria t eyes with a boy who could not be older than 12 and involuntarily frowned.
Not showing the slightest intimidation or displeasure at being looked at like this, Lucas simply saluted in a formal manner and spoke again, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Viscount Moore. My na is Lucas, and I have the honour of being Marquess Celestina Balfour’s First Disciple. I hope, despite the trying circumstances we find ourselves in, we can have a swift and productive discussion regarding how to handle the current crisis."
There was nothing wrong with what Lucas had just said. In fact, his manners and etiquette could be considered superb; however, the boy’s eloquence did nothing to lessen Victoria Moore’s concerns or displeasure.
Over the past half month, Victoria had been desperately dealing with one issue after another, doing her best to safeguard her subjects and her territory while all her requests for help were largely ignored.
The viscount could still sowhat understand this, as the entire South-West Province was in chaos, and Marquess Balfour was more than likely very busy, but that still didn’t excuse the latter sending a re baby to handle such important discussions.
Almost involuntarily, Victoria Moore ignored Lucas, turned back to Allina Crest, and narrowed her eyes slightly as she asked pointedly, "Is this so kind of bad joke? Does Marquess Balfour think so little of my Moore Family that she believes sending a child to et with is sohow sufficient?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the air in the yard beca tense, with Allina Crest also narrowing her eyes and allowing her full cultivation pressure to leak out as she snapped back, "Tread carefully, Viscount Moore. What you’ve said just now could be considered an insult to the Balfour Marquess Family."
Despite feeling an intense pressure descend upon her, Victoria did not back down in the slightest. She hadn’t gotten to where she was by cowering before others, even those who she knew were more powerful than her. As far as she was concerned, if Celestina Balfour was going to insult her, there was no reason she had to remain polite.
One might think Victoria Moore was being foolish, challenging the authority of the Balfour Family, but this was still a calculated move on her part. While it was true that the Balfours could utterly crush the Moores in any and all regards, that didn’t an doing so wouldn’t cause damage to the forr.
Victoria had enough confidence in herself and her family to take a hard stance here, even if that ant creating so animosity between her and one of the most powerful forces in the Rockwell Kingdom.
Just as the situation seed to be spiraling out of control, Lucas stepped between the two ladies and shouted, "Enough!"
Turning first to Allina, the young boy scolded, "Commander Crest, we are here on a mission of utmost importance and ti is of the essence. As long as I am in charge of this operation, you will comport yourself in a manner that best serves our purpose, is that clear?"
Frowning slightly at this sudden rebuke, Allina Crest paused for a mont before withdrawing her aura and nodding, resuming a composed and detached attitude.
Next, Lucas turned to Victoria and glowered, "Viscount Moore, I understand your confusion, and you are free to question my qualifications to negotiate with you, but in return, I must insist that you not disparage my Master with false accusations."
Being told off by such a young boy in such a sharp manner caught Victoria off-guard, but that still didn’t an she was willing to just accept him at his word, so she asked back, "Lucas, was it? You say I am free to question your qualifications, yes? In that case, tell why I should trust you, or why I should even believe you? How can I be certain that you, a child, can fulfil your roll as a special envoy and that your words will carry any weight with the one you claim to represent?"
Even as she asked these stinging questions, Victoria was gaming out her next move, anticipating how Lucas would respond, and how she would respond in turn.
She had already begun treating this young boy as sothing of an equal, though she probably hadn’t realized that yet.
Still, of all the answers she had expected, Victoria never imagined that the one she got would actually be a burst of laughter.
After a few seconds of boisterous chuckles, Lucas shook his head and replied, "Those are all valid questions, Lady Moore, but the answer to all of them is actually quite simple. Why should you trust ? Why should you believe ? Why should you think my words hold sway with my Master?"
Pausing here, Lucas let silence fill the air for a few seconds before narrowing his eyes and declaring, "Because you have no choice."
"I am the one my Master sent to handle this matter," Lucas continued in a firm tone, "and while your cooperation would be appreciated and will make things easier for us, it is not required."
"You, on the other hand," Lucas smirked, "Have no one else you can rely on but us. The Royal Council has its own concerns and cannot act right now, so only the forces commanded by my Master can co to your aid."
"We need each other, but you need us far more than we need you," Lucas put a point on it, a blunt one that gave no regard to the viscount’s pride or feelings.
This was not the way Lucas would have preferred to start off these negotiations, but since Victoria was taking a hard stance without even trying to understand the situation, he felt no need to show her anything more than the barest minimum of courtesy.
For her part, Victoria Moore was completely taken aback.
Clearly, she had greatly underestimated the boy before her. She had been treating this situation like a conversation between nobles, where a certain give and take was expected, or perhaps like a deal between rchants, where the primary motivator was benefits, but Lucas had ruthlessly torn that illusion away and hit her in the face with the harsh reality.
He might have called it a discussion, or a negotiation, but what it really boiled down to was a superior giving orders to their subordinate.
Lucas had said to Allina Crest just monts ago that they were here on a mission, but Victoria now realized that the one he was speaking to when he said that was actually her.
If they could secure her help in completing their mission, so much the better, but if they couldn’t, or worse, she got in their way, they were prepared to ignore or remove her if that is what it took to accomplish their goals.
Understanding just how weak her position really was, Victoria Moore couldn’t help feeling depressed, but she soon collected herself, swearing she would work even harder in the future to elevate herself and her family so she would never again be put in such an awkward position.
For now, though, she accepted the situation and bowed politely, "I understand. Please forgive my earlier disrespect, Envoy Lucas, Commander Crest. I assure you it won’t happen again."
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