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For the Alliance” is no Longer a Slogan (Part 6)
National affairs may not involve personal feelings, but I didn’t intend to take advantage of Nara’s situation. To the contrary, having an ally in the desert was a good thing. My plan was to have the five nations of the desert would forever be divided thereby never being a worthy threat to Rosvenor Empire. Surely that was the stable outcome Mommy Elizabeth wished for, as well.
Nara got what she wanted in the end, plus some authority. However, the guns I sold her had a shorter range. That said, they suited cavalry very well. There was no doubt she’d be able to reverse engineer it and reproduce the guns once she was back home. I was just as certain they’d be unable to produce compatible ammunition.
Our current pointed-tip bullets were the prototypes of modern day bullets. Even our production line had almost reached the level of modern day standards. Thanks to the metal beasts that our mana-powered machines were, we could easily forge copper sheets into bullet shells with no gaps. The press could also precisely set the bullet into the shell. Lorana’s painstaking efforts to create a semi-automatic production line astonished me. I think we managed to push forward industry manufacturing standards by two-hundred years. Although we still couldn’t completely automate it, we managed to reduce our required manpower by fifty percent. There were shiny golden bullets rolling into wooden chests, and then nailed shut before being sent off to many different places on the daily.
Recruited soldiers had commenced training. I could finally proudly say that if we went to war, the North’s only problem would be a shortage of manpower, but we had enough ammunition and rifles. Further, with the ammunitions factory, the city warehouse, the secret ammunition warehouse network that was connected up, which Freya and Mommy Elizabeth designed together, we could guarantee any location that was attacked would swiftly receive reinforcements from the spread out military camps. Additionally, the reinforcements could pick up weapons on the way to their location as opposed to arming themselves before heading to their destination. If defeated, we could pick up our rifles and join the battle again as long as the enemy could be stopped.
The North had no fear of a shortage of ammunition and firearms but lacked formidable soldiers. My guard unit could only protect the Imperial Capital. Any further and it was beyond their reach, so we needed a militia. I didn’t want to have to rely on Mom’s army to protect us forever. I planned to gradually send the soldiers who conquered the North with me back to Mom. The North required an army that was under my control. I couldn’t entrust its safety to another.
The populace of the North was still basically anthropoids; but nevertheless, some humans and anthropoids had developed feelings for each other. Needless to say, Ling Yue was the prettiest anthropoid….
The North basically tampered with my personal feelings… Anthropoids’ children started demonstrating intelligence a month after birth. They’d probably reach the level of an adult in three years. There were plenty of children in the North, as anthropoids were quite proficient at reproducing. To add to it, we implemented a policy which encouraged more births. In about ten years, my first main army would be a reality.
I resolved all of the matters in the North. The development of the North was led off track a little due to Freya’s rampage. Fortunately, Lucia stopped her in time. Otherwise, the North and Troy City would be faced with trouble. That was why I was very grateful to Lucia.
Lucia was always there to protect me and rescue me. She was a very ordinary elf, yet she could save me. She wasn’t the type who was always by my side. By that, I meant the type of main female protagonists you see in movies and novels who save the main protagonist and adventure the world together. However, she’d always be behind me watching me with a tender gaze. When I was hurt or drowned in despair, she’d appear and save me. Hence, I was beyond grateful to Lucia and really loved her. Nier was my wife, no questions there, but if I needed to appear with my main wife, I’d only ever take Lucia.
Lucia sat on the bed and gently rocked Vera, who was in her arms. Vera was done eating and relaxing in Lucia’s arms. Lucia had just done up her buttons, but it was perky due to her breasts. Her breasts looked as though they’d burst out of her shirt at any moment.  Seeing the sight, I contemplated, “I don’t think Lucia’s breasts were so ample before. Is it because she had kids?”
I had some free time after lunch. Nier was having an afternoon nap with Daisy, since she didn’t sleep last night. I, therefore, chose to keep Lucia company. Although I was supposedly keeping Lucia company, I just watched her sit on the bed and breastfeed Vera. Lucia wore a blissful smile on her face as she gently rocked Vera and hummed an elven ballad. With an affectionate smile, Lucia said, “She truly has inherited your genes. She strongly resembles Queen Vyvyan.”
I helplessly smiled. Innocent Lucia had no idea what happened, but neither did Vera, so the two were very close. The two sisters got along very well, so I sometimes thought that ignorance was bliss, especially in Lucia’s case.
While holding Vera, Lucia looked over to me with a smile: “Vera is asleep.”
Lucia then lowered her head down to lovingly look at Vera. She softly giggled, “Vera has inherited your mana. I wouldn’t have so much mana. If it wasn’t for you, Vera and Nona would probably be the same, I presume. Although I love you and know that you love me, if I failed to provide you with a qualified successor, I think it would be better for you to have another child with another elf with a superior lineage in order to ensure a qualified successor.”
Lucia sat down to one side and caressed Vera. She didn’t forget to tease Vera. I asked, “Would you not be jealous if I did that?”
“Of course I’d be jealous… Even now, I don’t like you mentioning Nier and so forth in front of me… because I’m very jealous… But you aren’t willing…”
Lucia still frowned at the mention of the topic. She was used to it, but the mention of my relationships with other women still annoyed her. I understood where she was coming from. Elves were very jealous to begin with, and they believed in monogamy. Lucia was the only elf who could accept me. If it was any other elf, they wouldn’t have accepted me. All I could do is sigh and be grateful of Lucia’s unconditional love for me. She even suppressed her own instincts for my sake and made such a big compromise so that she wouldn’t lose me.
I gave Lucia a hug, and then we touched our foreheads. I gently shut my eyes with a smile, and she shut hers. The two of us took slow breaths with blissful smiles on our faces. Vera was asleep in her mom’s arms. She, too, had a gentle smile on her face. It was as if she had some form of innocent dream. I just stayed there with my wife in my arms.
With Lucia in my arms, I thought to myself, “How much has Lucia suffered with this small body of hers? She’s dealt with my wilfulness while looking after me in every facet. She’s just an ordinary elf, yet she could give up everything she had to marry me. She’s been this way since day one. Instead of saying that she came to the Imperial Palace that day to receive a birthday present from Mommy Vyvyan, I’d say I found the best birthday present that day.”
“Your Highness… right now… I feel truly blissful…” Lucia shifted in my embrace and murmured at the same time. She said it so quietly that only I could hear it.
I lowered my head to give her a kiss on her forehead: “Me, too, Lucia. Being able to have you is the most blissful thing to me. Meeting you in that flower garden was the most blissful thing.”
“So you do still remember… I’m glad… I’m glad… I’m so glad I got to spend my birthday that way on that day. You’re the best birthday present Queen Vyvya gave me. I will… cherish this present forever.”
Lucia softly laughed, and then leaned more of her weight onto my chest. She began to snore a little. I just let her rest in my arms.
I wanted to sleep there with my wife and daughter, too, but I had something on my agenda in a bit. I promised to have afternoon tea with my Mommy Vyvyan and Dragon Mom. If I slept until the evening, the two of the might team up on me.
I stayed there and listened to Lucia’s soft snores. I placed Lucia on the bed and pulled the thin blanket over. I then picked up Vera and kissed her forehead before putting her into her crib by the side.  If Nona didn’t see her sister when she woke up and her sister was sleeping with her mom, then she’d probably get jealous and start crying. As aforementioned, elves were prone to intense jealousy. That also held true for young sisters.
I stood up to leave. When I got outside, I saw Freya standing on the glass platform. Our glass platform was made from crystal. It was twenty centimetres thick. You bet it was sturdy. The materials used to support it would prevent it from breaking. When standing on the platform, one could see the flower garden below.
I walked up behind Freya. She turned around and looked at me with a bitter look: “Sorry, Onii-sama. Had it not been for my mistake, you would not have to bear these responsibilities…”
I touched her head, and then laughed in a soft voice: “It’s all right. I’m the King of the North to begin with, so it doesn’t matter. It’s been rough on you, Freya.”
Freya’s eyes turned red. She lowered her head to rub her eyes. She then raised her head back up and took in a deep breath. She revealed a blissful and satisfied smile, “It is all right, Onii-sama. You are my brother, after all!”