Reborn As A Crown Prince 32 Chapter 32
"Look! Look! It's the Lunarians..." Two kids spoke to one another in hushed voices, they observed the stern faces of the soldiers in black."Woah..." The other one was awed, the Lunar soldiers were standing, no movement whatsoever, they then saw the Imperial Carriage and was mesmerized by it's beauty...It wasn't only them that noticed this, but even those of whom were inside their houses and buildings, came out to check on the beautiful carriage.The carriage then took off towards the gates of the palace...-●-●-●-"Our neighbours have arrived already..." Alexis smiled and informed his father."Indeed they have, they are probably very eager to meet us!" Aurelius chuckled and shook his head at his own comment.The Carriage pa.s.sed the Satellians who immediately frowned and glared at the flags that were mounted on all four corners of it...They did not do anything rash fearing retaliation from both Empires and doing so would ruin the entire purpose of the conference.Aurelius and Alexis got down from the carriage and were escorted by the armoured knights of the Kingdom, behind them stood the silent Moon Paladins...They quietly entered a Neocla.s.sical palace, the entrance was surrounded by four tall pillars that were equally distant to one another but separated into two in each side, inbetween the two inner pillars were a bigger s.p.a.ce and a marble staircase leading to a well decorated door.Once it was opened, Alexis and the group walked over to their councilmen and sat on the side opposite to the Satellians, it was a long rectangular table which was seperated from the middle by a gold strip indicating that the two sides have been given their own area.The atmosphere in the hall was peaceful, everyone seemed calm and relaxed."Emperor Aurelius" Emperor Nartus of the Satellian Empire nodded and greeted his fellow Emperor.Aurelius smiled wryly at the man and greeted him.Alexis simply sat down next to his father, he didn't greet the personage from the other side and glanced at them nonchalantly...He heard a few grunts of annoyance and leaned towards the table and rested his elbows on it, then kept his chin on his hands and stared at the other side with disdain in his eyes."Y-" A voice from the Satellian council was quickly suppressed by Nartus who smiled at Alexis and opened his mouth to speak."Crown prince of the Lunar Empire, Son of fellow Emperor Aurelius, is it not rude to be seated as such in an important meeting like this?" He gently reprimanded Alexis.Alexis did nothing to change his posture and glanced at Nartus."Rude? Important? Emperor Nartus, you got everything wrong... First of all, this meeting is not important for us, we only came here because you wanted to surrender. Second of all, I'm not being rude by sitting like this, I'm just treating you depending on how much you are worth in my eyes and to be fair, you Satellians are not worth much..." Alexis explained with a smirk.
The Lunarian councilmen glanced at each other awkwardly and wanted to speak up but their Satellian counterparts immediately shouted at him."INSOLENCE!""ATLEAST SHOW US SOME RESPECT!"This went on for a few seconds until the King of Enleitz quickly moved his hand towards the gavel and struck the mallet against the sound block."Please calm down everyone!" He quickly reminded the audience in panic, the man did not want to offend any of these individuals, many of whom are worth more than their entire Kingdom...The man did not want his kingdom to be destroyed and wouldn't mind getting stepped on to keep it safe... "Councilmen, please mind your words!" Nartus warned his fellow council and waited for the last person of their side to arrive."The conference should have started by now, you Satellians pleaded us for peace but are not bothered to even come for it, what exactly do you people want? If it's war, we will gladly take over more territory!" Alexis jeered at them, he was a bit annoyed aswell.These people have sent letters upon letters for peace talks but the one person who should be seated next to their Emperor is late by thirty seconds!Isn't this supposed to be a formal meeting?"And then you bigoted fools blame me for being seated like this, atleast I showed some respect by arriving on time!" He mercilessly reprimanded them and glared at the few councilmen who dared insult him."What happened? Can't speak anymore? Such cowardly men... no wonder you all lost the war, arrogant people with no sense of confidence!" He sighed in annoyance and crossed his arms. "Alexis, please calm down... the late comer probably has gotten into troubles of some sort!" Aurelius calmly said, secretly elated that his son is making the Satellians feel bad...Immediately as he said so, Amelia, the Eldest Princess of the Satellian Empire arrived.She was a bit sweaty and tired, Alexis noticed another feminine smell on her, her skin was also slightly tinted in pink, he immediately guessed why she was late."Humph! This woman dares waste our time by going around sleeping with other women!" Alexis distastefully shouted and glared at Nartus who looked shocked."What is the meaning of this 'Emperor' Nartus?" Alexis emphasised on his t.i.tle sarcastically as he doesn't care about it.Amelia paled in fright and turned to her father who glared at her as soon as their eyes met.The entire conference immediately turned to her and frowned, this was a formal event but she dares to get late?!"Child, you made everyone in here wait because of your 'adventures', and shamed your own nation, do you know how disrespectful you are?" Aurelius asked her calmly as she looked down in shame and nodded."Nartus, apologise to us! Kneel down!" Alexis ordered him.Everyone noticed his lack of respect for his t.i.tle, but they stayed quiet because they were shocked and looked at the scene with widened eyes.Aurelius too was shocked at his son's words, this was going too far, especially when talking to the emperor of one of the Four Great nations!He turned to his son who winked at him making him sigh solemnly."You are going too far!" Nartus warned him coldly as Alexis scoffed and pointed at Amelia."That wh.o.r.e was late because she was sleeping around, you scolded me for being seated! I need an apology! You b.a.s.t.a.r.ds from the Satellian empire are the ones that lost this war and yet you have the GALL to reprimand me? Furthermore, your people were late, not us! We demand an explanation for this rude behaviour in such a formal event... therefore bow down and apologise!" He said and glared at Nartus."My daughter is not a wh.o.r.e!" Nartus shouted at him furiously and glares back at Alexis.Alexis who saw him glare didn't back down!Why would he back down? It wasn't his fault anyway...He knew he was making a scene, but being reprimanded by an enemy for being seated 'rudely' while their own people got late struck his nerves."Bunch of daydreaming idiots... Father let's leave! The war will continue and we will kill every single one of these d.a.m.n hypocritical fools and do the world a favour!" Alexis got up and turned to Aurelius who could only nod dumbly at the authoritarian tone Alexis was speaking with.The Lunarian councilmen were too shocked!They would obviously side with their beloved Crown Prince who actually spoke words that made sense but this situation was too overwhelming...'Please! Our beloved, handsome and magnanimous prince, please do not ruin this!' They prayed.But once Aurelius stood up, the councilmen from the Lunar empire too followed suit which made the Satellians panic inwardly and outwardly as they looked at Nartus worriedly.Amelia was terrified, she knew this was all her fault!'If only I didn't fool around!' She scolded herself and kneeled on the cold tiles floor and bowed, her head touched the floor."Please wait, I-I... apologise for my... disappointing and shameful actions, I... beg of you all to stay and discuss the matters of the war!" She pleaded with Aurelius who looked very complicated and turned to Alexis who shrugged and sat down.The atmosphere was now tense..."My child, get up!" Nartus ordered his daughter as he clenched his fists and glared hatefully at the man who created this entire drama."Nartus, I must say, your daughter is more manly than you... she actually apologised! Unlike you who would rather ruin your own empire because of your oversized egotistic brain!" Alexis jabbed at Nartus who sighed."I too would apologise for my previous comment on your sitting posture!" He then lowered his head slightly..."Whatever... anyway, let's commence the Peace Conference!" He declared as everyone nodded.Nartus grit his teeth but calmed himself down...The King of Enleitz was so shocked that he didn't hear anything and almost fainted seeing the scene unfold infront of his eyes.The Princess and Emperor of the Satellian empire actually bowed!"Very well, we will start first then..." Nartus spoke up, breaking the ice."Speak? About what? You surrendered unconditionally, we decide what to do and get from you!" Alexis interjected with an amused smile."Councilman, get the map." He then ordered the elderly woman next to him who nodded and took out a big map from her s.p.a.cial ring...The map showed the continent, the continent seemed like an oval, from the knowledge he has, the continent had to be a super continent... The distance from the East to the West was four times the distance between the North and South, and there it was... the biggest and most powerful nation in the world...The Grand Lunar Empire took all the lands in the north and was reached the central parts of the continent.To the East was the Satellian Empire, where the dispute was...It was not even a third of the Empire but the power behind is not negligible, eventhough it was still not enough to defeat the Empire!The north of the Satellian empire was where the two nations connected.It was blocked and guarded by a ma.s.sive fortress that resembled a wall, this fortress moved along the border between the two nations and often considered the last line of defense against the Lunar empire.Now that Alexis had taken over it, he would demand that the fort be his and the Empire's property!"We will accept your surrender once you agree to our demands!" Alexis spoke and then pointed his index finger at the Fort that was drawn in the map."The fort is ours, we have already taken it..." Alexis said and turned to Nartus who was struggling to accept the condition."Your highness, let's just give it..." A Satellian councilman urged him and sighed, the others nodded as Nartus turned to Alexis."Very well..." He replied in a low voice."The second demand" Alexis then continued."THERE'S A SECOND?!" The Satellians shouted in shock and anger but quietened down once their Emperor raised his hand."We will take most of your provinces at the north!" Alexis stated and pointed at nine out of the ten provinces that were at the border."..." The Satellians went quiet, the north was the industrialized zone of their Empire! What is this man talking about?!"The last two are..." Alexis paused and took a quick glance at all faces of all the people present in the conference."The Lunar Empire demands 25% of the annual budget of the Satellian empire, you will pay us for five years as reparations... The last one is quite simple, demilitarize your de facto army, your army will be limited to one hundred thousand men, no conscription of soldiers, no supplies and no development in new weaponry unless ofcourse given permission by the Empire.The Lunar empire will aid the Satellians should it be attacked, threatened or invaded by any of the two great nations, this condition will last even if the ruling party is changed!That will be all!" Alexis then cleared his throat and took a sip of water from the gla.s.s placed at his s.p.a.ce of the table."I almost forgot, Failure to agree to any of these conditions will be taken as a stand of aggression against the Lunar Empire and immediate measures will be made to enforce these conditions!" He ended his speech and nodded at one of his councilmen who then took out the doc.u.ments containing the treaty of Enleitz which needed to be signed by Aurelius and the Emperor of Satellia.Nartus was shocked at these cruel demands and slammed his fist against the table in frustration, the gla.s.ses of water fell down as the entire table became a mess."...Do you want war, Nartus?" Alexis growled at the Emperor of Satellia as he flared his mana at the group of Satellians that shivered.Aurelius was shocked, his son was very close to becoming a Divine Duke!The Moon Paladins took out their swords and pointed at the Satellians and gathered around Alexis protectively.'Never has our Empire has been this humiliated!' Nartus thought to himself sadly.His own soldiers and knights gathered around him to protect him from any attacks, they stayed silently considering the fact that they were veterans.But they too were furious at the things, the Lunar Empire demanded for...This was equivalent to destroying the Empire from within! With such cruel demands, the economy of the Satellian Empire will be shattered... this will earn the wrath of the ma.s.ses and thus cause revolutions!"Your highness, the third demand might prove to have backlash on us... our own economy might be effected due to this, it is not logical to do so..." An elderly council woman advised Alexis."It may have backlash, but they are paying us... we can use that money to revitalize our economy if such a thing happens!" Alexis replied to her after thinking for a few seconds.The council woman sighed and nodded, there was no convincing the crown prince...He wouldn't listen to her anyway! Maybe it was because she was a woman... no, not that... he just doesn't care, the prince only listens to himself...She glanced at the solemn looking Satellian councilmen and women with pity in her eyes.'Poor people... they have no choice!' She added and closed her eyes, giving her thoughts and prayers to those that will suffer in the coming days and months...This council woman was Helga Ex Solis. "...please make it 10% of the budget!" A councilman begged Alexis who stared at them indifferently."Please! If we suddenly lose a quarter of the budget it will affect the Empire in unimaginable ways!" Another one pleaded.Alexis shook his head and replied, "You will pay, accept our demands... unless you want to feel the wrath of the Empire! Besides... You all will be paying us for five years, not more, tap into your gold reserves!" He smirked.Aurelius shivered at the brutal demands his son had given to the Satellians...If he were in Nartus' place, he would have just given the entire empire rather than suffer from the consequences of accepting those conditions!"We will..." Nartus paused and took a deep breath of air, turning to everyone in the room."Nartus, remember the war... you lost nearly three million soldiers in just a month of fighting, while we lost less than a million!" Alexis warned him before he could take any rash decisions."Father..." Amelia whispered her father's name worriedly...'This reminds of a treaty back in my previous life... what was it? It happened before those monsters, the Third Reich, won the second world war...' She clenched her fists and glared at Alexis who waved at her with a smile."The Satellian Empire, surrenders to the Grand Lunar Empire... we will accept all demands and conditions however-" Nartus spoke unwillingly as his face was overshadowed by his hair..."You don't have the right to make demands, loser..." Alexis interjected and forced him to shut his mouth."The people of the Satellian Empire will be treated humanely and will not be discriminated..." Alexis said and nodded at Aurelius who sighed and got up."We are leaving, sign the paper quickly!" Alexis informed them and gave the doc.u.ment to Nartus.Nartus went through thr doc.u.ments carefully and nodded, he then took out a pen and turned to the last page.'I'm sorry...' He apologised to his people and shakily brought the pen to sign the agreement.The conference was silent, the Satellian soldiers saw their Emperor sign the doc.u.ment, their faces shocked and filled with terror, anger and frustration...The only thing everyone heard were the distinct soothing sc.r.a.ping noises of the pen against paper.Alexis took the doc.u.ment and gave the copy of it, this was the doc.u.ment which will be given to the Satellians to keep in order for them to be reminded of the treaty and it's conditions...-●-●-●-"Alexis, throughout my life, I've been invited to many peace conferences as an overseer but this one was the most horrible one I have ever seen... there was no inhumane demands such as the act of taking away one's daughters or wives... but the sheer amount of chaos in those four demands, they make me feel sick in my stomach!" Aurelius sighed and looked down sadly."This will boost our power father... it had to be done! The money they send will be used to develop our weaponry that will help us take over the continent..." Alexis explained to him..."And also, you did a good job of taking my job away from me by giving out those demands! you are lucky we had people to modify the doc.u.ments..." Aurelius told him as Alexis smiled wryly.He knew he may have gone too far, but the man has already signed the treaty and going back now would destroy the reputation of the Lunar Empire...