Snowid looked out at his war council and groaned at their tired appearances. "Tell me, what are the reports."

"Dabrowski still holds the beyond the river. Every push we have tried has failed." One of the men said with a resignation. His words made everyone slightly drop in mood. What should have been an easy victory had now become an annoying stalemate.

"What about the south?" Snowid asked, and everyone looked at the man in charge. "Small victories. Henryk isn’t there, so we have made a foothold but can’t push further than the forest. We’re spread too thin, and Dabrowski has had time to get a lot of mercenaries."

"USLESS!" Snowid slammed his fist on the table, the wood creaking, showing his immense strength. "Why must I always be the one to take to the field so we can win? All of you act like nothing more than children playing at war."

The men lowered their heads and bit their tongues to hide their complaints. They all wished to cry out that Henryk was the greatest military leader in the entire kingdom before his rebellion. How many years had he led the defence of the nation? But looking at Snowid’s rageful appearance, they all stop themselves.

"Your Grace. We have tried starving them and bribing the mercenaries, but the real problem isn’t Henryk. It’s the Empire. They are providing them with everything." One complained, getting nods from all around the table.

"Maybe we negotiate with them." One bravely said, making the tent go silent. Snowid took a couple of deep breaths and got up. He walked over to the one who said that he towered over him and stared with a ferocity comparable to a wild animal.

"Negotiate?" The word came out like a growl. Snowid scoffed and grabbed the back of the man’s head, slamming him onto the table and bloodying his nose. Pulling his head up, he dragged him off his chair and threw him out of the tent. "There will be no negotiation with the Blood Child. He is the cause of everything, and now you want me to bend over for him. Anyone who doesn’t wish to fight a war can leave."

The men hurriedly nodded in understanding. "Your Grace, " one spoke up quickly. "If we mobilise the Laskas and hire mercenaries from Chent, we may have enough."

"Duke Laska will come in time; we must be patient." Snowid paused and thought on it. "Chent can’t be trusted. If the Empire is shilling out this much gold, they will happily pay off any support we get from them, and if they can’t afford it, they may leverage the Gold Bank to help them. No, we need something more secure." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The tent fell silent once more, and everyone looked at Snowid. "Marriage. I think it’s the only way, Your Grace." Another said quietly. Snowid huffed but didn’t disagree. "The Church has used all the excuses they can to not get involved with the civil war. Despite being adamant about a Holy War against the Blood Child, they seem to be ready to abandon us."

"Maybe it’s time to change our strategy," One said, arousing everyone’s interest. "We can’t starve them, nor can we force the Church’s hand. We have to be brutal now, My King."

"What are you proposing?

"We let disease run rampant in their lands." His words made everyone’s backs go cold, and Snowid took a deep breath, understanding his words’ gravity. "If we can somehow force a plague of some sort to spread in the Dabrowski land, maybe we have a chance. And maybe it spreads into the Empire."

"You ask to destroy our people and home?" Snowid cautiously asked, and the man gave a deep nod. Even though he knew how crazy it sounded, he saw the threat the Empire posed. They were letting them get weaker, fighting the civil war. They had to bid time if no support was coming.

"No. We can’t." Snowid said sternly. Even though he saw merit, it was an uncontainable weapon. What was stopping it from destroying the rest of his Kingdom? He knew it could be done. Get those with an illness and sneak them into the land. it would be easy. "Not all the people are traitors, only Henryk and his lackeys." Despite how easily it could be started, he couldn’t. Things weren’t that desperate.

"So, marriage?" It went back to the topic, and Snowid nodded. "Prince Lesezek has had many offers from the nearby Kingdoms, aswell as Princess Ada."

Snowid rubbed his face and sighed. "Send word to the Gotics and Nogrovod. I don’t like relying on them, but we may have no choice." The noble who proposed the offer bowed and walked off to send word to the capital with Snowid’s order. "For now, we don’t let Henryk cross the river. Keep assaulting the South. Prepare a blockade against the Empire. Whilst we have a weaker navy, we can contain the support the South gets easier."

The men all nodded, and Snowid got up, leaving the tent. His mind raced, trying to find a way to win without involving a foreign power, but he couldn’t. Henryk had the full support of the Empire, and it was a machine that had been gearing itself for the conquest of the Commonwealth for years. He knew that it would be best to throw everything at them but couldn’t. The nobles would see a chance to tear him down.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ivan looked out at the large feast prepared for him and couldn’t help but smile. He and Dimitri didn’t wait long before Alfred walked in with Isra and Edward. The young boy was now three, and looking at him, Ivan finally got a good chance to see his daughter’s future husband.

It was strange. The boy looked to be calm, but Ivan could see deeper. The deep pain behind the boy’s face was sad to see. He couldn’t imagine what he had experienced but pushed it aside. It wasn’t his child; he had no way to help.

"Sorry for the wait, Prince." Alfred apologised and took a seat at the head of the table. Isra sat beside him but only focused on Edward, preparing his meal for him.

"It’s fine." Ivan waved it off with his usual smile and dug into the food. It was nice, and he almost indulged himself but remembered his main reason for the dinner. "Have you given any thought to what I offered?"

"Yes." Alfred stopped cutting the slab of meat on his plate. "You see, the civil war in the Commonwealth is currently eating away at our resources, and I won’t lie, we can’t afford to start sending any to Vladmire." Ivan raised his eyebrow and stuffed a piece of veg in his mouth. Looking at him, Alfred couldn’t help but feel he played into the man’s hands, but he didn’t mind.

The Alliance with Vladmire was his most important foreign policy. He had to keep them tied to him or risk having his empire surrounded by enemies. He saw how that worked for the Safrids, and whilst he thought it may have been possible to survive, it was only a matter of time before it became unbearable.

"My daughter, as you know, is a bastard. But I assume you were already prepared for that when you asked for the marriage." Ivan gave a nod to Alfred and smiled. Sighing, he cut the slab of meat on his plate. "I will accept the marriage between. But you will not have my last child, no matter what happens."

"Perfect," Ivan happily said as he drank his glass of wine. I understand that it is not ideal, but it was something I needed to do. I can’t have the world think Vladmire is a vassal of the Empire after all."

"Of course. But we must discuss the future." Alfred seriously said, taking a bit of his food. "I know you know what will happen with our dynasty, but I can’t accept the continuous marriage. We both know the madness that comes when these things happen."

"Alfred. I understand. But these things can be controlled. Bring in new blood occasionally, and we can prevent the madness and other abnormalities that will come. A simple fix. But the blood of the Blessed One strong for the next few rulers. We need it so the Panethon can be seen as legitimate. All the previous Blessed Ones in scripture that failed in their schisms did so because they rushed things. They thought their title made them invincible."

"We don’t need you to be invincible. However, we need your legacy to be immortal. So when we die, the changes we make will survive." It was strange for Alfre to hear Ivan say something like that. Although he knew Ivan’s playful attitude wasn’t a complete lie, he definitely played into it. But hearing him talk about it, he realised the man had thought far ahead and wasn’t throwing things out on a whim.

"I understand, but it’s dangerous that our dynasties are so closely related." Alfred paused and put down his cutlery. "Ivan. Why do you care so much about the future? Most men only care about their children being fine and will forget anything afterwards, but you seem... obsessed."

Alfred asked and looked at Ivan. It was a moment he knew that would change their relationship forever. If he got an answer, Ivan trusted him; if not, then all they were was political allies, nothing more. Ivan took a deep breath and ate a couple of bites of food. He fell into deep thought but smiled.

What is the current legacy of the Brantov family?" Ivan asked a question in return.

"A fallen family," Alfred said, knowing the Brantov history. Ivan bitterly smirked and shook his head, his eyes hate-filled as his fist tightened around the knife in his hand.

"Boris 3rd. A weak, spinless man." The pure contempt in Ivan’s voice was obvious, and Dimitri looked at him, worried. "My Grandfather was a useless man, someone who destroyed my father’s future because of his weakness. I refuse to be like him. I refuse to let the Empire I will build crumble as he did."

"I will restor the Brantov name. I will wipe out the very failures of my Grandfather, and I will erase his legacy from this planet. My name will not be laughed at in the future as a failure." Ivan said seriously, and Alfred nodded in satisfaction. The burning hate and ambition in Ivan’s eyes were palpable and reinforced the idea that he did not want him as an enemy. Vladmire may be weaker than the Empire, but Ivan would not stop trying to dominate it if he failed to take Nogrovod. He would rebuild his family’s old Empire one way or the other.

"Then. Help me, and I will help you, Ivan. The North and the South. The Old Silesian Empire and my Empire. We will dominate this land and solidify our existence in this world." Alfred raised his glass and watched Ivan happily smile, lifting his own.