Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1391 1363. Marriage to the Throne
With a bang, Foltest slammed his fist on the table, furious.

"It's not me anyway. I never thought of getting the crown by marrying a little girl! After all, I..."

"After all, you have been having an affair with Baroness La Valetti for the past four years." Mi Wei smiled again, "like two doves in love, just waiting for the old baron to close his eyes."

"Don't glare at me, my dear. It's reasonable for other countries besides yours, Temeria and Redania, to have some spies, isn't it? That's what I pay them to do."

"Considering the throne of Cintra, many kings would be willing to sacrifice their own happiness for it."

"Wait." Henselt scratched his beard and asked suspiciously, "Speaking of 'many kings', Calanthe once wanted to marry his granddaughter to the son of King Avel of Verden. Is that old guy also a suspect? This is related to the territory of Cintra. And it's not just him..."

Vizimir whispered to himself, "Indeed, King Avel has three sons. And among those present now, who are the male descendants? Hmm? Miwei? What if you are muddying the waters to deceive us?"

"Then you can exclude me." Queen Leiria smiled even more charmingly, "My two sons are still wandering outside. This is the price of indulgent education."

"Even if they haven't gotten themselves into trouble enough to get hanged, I don't think they'll suddenly want to be king."

"Although I am their mother, I can only say that they are even more stupid than my late husband. May he rest in peace. People who have seen my husband should know what this concept is."

"That's true," the King of Redania agreed. "I have seen it. Are your two sons really more stupid than him? Damn it, I thought he was as stupid as he could be. Please forgive me, Miwei."

"I forgive you, Vizimir. Well, who has a son now?"

Mi Wei said this, but her eyes were already looking at Henselt clearly.

The King of Kaedwen said coldly: "My son is already married!"

"Is this a problem?" Demawi said sarcastically, "A wise man just said: Considering the throne of Cintra, many kings are willing to sacrifice their personal happiness for it, let alone the happiness of the prince?"

"I won't allow such slander! Don't make things difficult for me. Do other kings have no sons? For example, Niedamir of the Hengfus Union, he has two sons, and he himself is a widower! And don't forget Isterad Tissen of Kovir!"

"These two are ruled out." Vizimir waved his hand. "The two families have recently been considering a political marriage and planning a joint rule. It would be unwise and greedy to reach out at this juncture."

"Indeed, Hengfus and Kovir are too far away from Cintra. They are both in the far north and can't reach us." Demawi suddenly changed the subject, "But there is one person who is close to Cintra, very close!"

"Who?"

“Emhyr var Emreis. He is unmarried and younger than you, Foltest. He is in good health, and I heard that three of the knights’ wives were his mistresses.”

“For the sake of smallpox and plague.” The Redanian king frowned. “If that were the case, Emhyr would defeat us with ease!”

“It’s obvious that the people and nobles of Cintra will follow Calanthe’s bloodline. Imagine what would happen if Emhyr got the cub? To make matters worse, the Queen of Cintra is also the Queen of Nilfgaard.”

“Queen?” Henselt said, curling his lips in disdain. “You are exaggerating, Vizimir. Why should Emhyr give that girl the crown of a queen?”

"He has taken Cintra, conquered it, ruled it, made it a province. He has taken the throne of Cintra. To give away the position of queen for what he has already obtained?"

“First,” Foltest countered, “Emhyr took Cintra as an invader. But if he can find the girl and make her his queen, he can rule there legally and legitimately.”

"The cost of Nilfgaard's rule over Cintra will drop dramatically! Cintra will even be able to provide support to the Nilfgaard Empire!"

"Nilfgaard, which has been united with Calanthe by blood, will no longer be an invader that the North hates, but a neighbor that we must value and interact with."

"The people are already in disarray. When the time comes, how great will the resistance be for us to start a war? How can we fight the Nilfgaardians? If a war really breaks out, we will become the invaders of Cintra!"

A just war and an unjust war, it seems, are just a difference in names.

But if the difference is really just a title, among all the famous ministers and generals throughout history, both in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad, there should always be a thorough pragmatist, right?

But no one would not use the opportunity to claim the title of justice. If they had the choice between a just war and an unjust war, they would know what to choose with their eyes closed.

This is not just a name, this is real power!
"Damn it!" Foltest's face turned completely ugly. "I don't know who is looking for that child, I can only say that it is not me. But I declare that I will start looking for her from now on."

"I still think she's dead, but we can't take any chances. Her identity is too important!"

Henselt nodded first, then continued, "But on the other hand, shouldn't we discuss it first, and decide who we want her to marry after we find her? We can't just leave it to fate, right?"

"She can be with Vissegid's guerrillas in the early stage. This will greatly boost the morale of the survivors and refugees of Cintra and become a banner." "But if we want Cintra to still be a steel gate that can defend against the south after its restoration, don't play dumb. You must understand what I mean."

"When that little girl sits on the throne, her husband will be of vital importance. He must be able to take on the defense of the entire North at the mouth of the Yaruga River! Is there anyone here who would like to recommend themselves?"

"I'll give it up." Mi Wei said jokingly, "I give up this right."

"I didn't intend to exclude those who were not present," Demawi said seriously, "and we can't exclude them either."

"Even Niedamir and Istrade Tissen, who are about to form a joint rule, are no exception. Even Vissegid."

"Who knows, Marshal Cintra might use that 'war flag' in a way that is unexpected? You must have heard of examples of marriages between nobles and commoners."

"Although the Marshal is old and ugly, with enough absinthe and aphrodisiacs, a little girl might fall in love with him. Even for a few nights, that would be enough. Is there a Lord Vissegid in our plan?"

"No," Foltest muttered, "that's not part of my plan."

"Me too." Vizimir said with a bitter face, "He is at most a collaborator in the war. After the war? Maybe he can establish meritorious service, but that also depends on whether he has the ability. That's all. I don't want to help him to the throne."

“Besides, if it is indeed Emhyr who is looking for the cub, we cannot afford the risk.”

“Of course,” Henselt said decisively. “The cub must not fall into Emhyr’s hands. She must not… must not fall alive into the hands of anyone who is against us!”

"You want to kill her?" Mi Wei frowned. "This is too shameful. We don't need to be so extreme. Find her first and hand her over to me. I will teach her to be a graceful princess in the castle deep in the mountains."

"Then she will marry a northern knight, a rootless knight who can be supervised by everyone. When you see her again, she will have a child and is pregnant with another one."

"If I'm not mistaken, that means there are three usurpers who may side with Nilfgaard in the future." Vizimir said coldly. "No, Miwei. This method is indeed dishonorable, but we can't take the risk."

"As long as the girl is still alive, her whereabouts will be the biggest destabilizing factor. This is related to national interests, kings."

The whistling wind in the Pontar Valley still blew at the window sashes, and the kings fell silent.

"Then there is another person." Suddenly, Foltest, who had been silent until now, spoke up. "Please forgive me, kings. Killing a little girl is indeed a very extreme decision, so I want to try my best to find room for maneuver."

Mi Wei sided with her relatives this time: "We are all ears."

"Isn't there still a great nobleman in Cintra who is doing well?" Foltest said with a hint of meaning, "Young, of the right age, handsome, and will never bow down to the Nilfgaard Empire. You know who I'm talking about, you know it very well."

“Cintra will remain Cintra for the Cintra people, and will remain a steel gate blocking the Nilfgaardian Empire. A free, strong, and resolute country.”

"That's a nice thing to say, Foltest." Demave sneered, "But we can't control him!"

The King of Temeria immediately retorted, "Control? Your Majesty Demavi, even if I help your own son to sit on the throne of Cintra, would you dare to pat your chest and say: You can control him?"

"The moment he sat on the throne, no matter whose support he received, who he helped, or whose blood he shed, it could not change the fact—"

"Whoever sits on the throne will have power, and that power, if used skillfully at the right time, will allow him to escape control! Become a king!"

"There have been many regents in history. Shouldn't they step down when they should? There is no such thing as perfect control."

"I really can't control my own son who becomes king." Demawi admitted bluntly.

"But at least I can exert some influence, because I know my son, and I know how to say something so that he will pay more attention or accept it, reject it, or get angry."

"But what about Lan of Cintra? We have never come into contact with him. The only time we saw him was when he was killing people on the battlefield."

"But how does his performance on the battlefield translate into national politics? In a word, we don't understand him."

"Only you! Foltest, you're the only one who has had daily contact with him."

"I've been talking about this for a long time, but I'm back to the same thing. Why do I feel like you just want someone you're familiar with but we're not to sit on the throne of Cintra?"

(End of this chapter)