Chapter 1091: Intervention IV
“So, what do you all think?”
The answers to Leon’s question came quickly, with few apparently needing time to deliberate. Cassandra was the first to speak.
“You should accept their request, Leon,” the purple-haired Imperial Princess stated with an imperious grin. “A Kingdom’s authority should never stop at their borders.”
“If they are this desperate to ask you for aid,” Eva added, “then they will give greater concessions than what they’ve already offered. You can raise your price for intervention…”
“You speak of our King like a common mercenary,” the Jaguar growled, eliciting a glare from Eva. “What need have we, my King, of these people? They come to us when, by your grace, we have already aided them once. Their tribute may be valuable, but what of the other price? If they expect aid, then others will, too.”
“Such is the way of Empire,” Anastasios didactically said. “As Queen Cassandra just said: a King’s authority should extend beyond his borders. Others must fear and respect a Kingdom’s sovereign, or they will not fear and respect the Kingdom itself and believe it open for plunder. These pirates would not have attacked if they had not thought Artorion to be vulnerable.”
“We are vulnerable because they attacked,” Ustaloch pointed out.
“Our arks will not be fixed for a long time,” Evar, the elder in charge of the Ravens in Artorion, added.
“Our power is diminished,” Ustaloch continued. “We ought to conserve it, not interfere in the affairs of others when there is no need.”