Estrith scowled as she watched the Imperial dogs get carried away. She did not trust the Imperials to enact justice on their own…and was not at all comfortable with letting them live. The snake had explained that they weren’t responsible but Estrith wasn’t sure she bought that.

But then, the pup curled up closer to her, clutching at her fur.

“I want my mom.”

Estrith gripped him tight.

“Not to worry, little hunter. I will return you to your mother, this I swear.”

The most important thing was that the pup had been saved. While the debt of blood had not been settled…Estrith could restore hope to a Dobhar mother who had none.

Estrith turned to look at NSLICE-00P and frowned.

She had to admit…without the Queen of the Dobhar’s assistance, she could not have rescued the pup. She hadn't had any idea of where to look. She would have had no options but to attack every wagon in sight, hoping that one of them held the pup. The Imperials obviously would have objected to this. Estrith would have ended up trying to fight off endless Imperial soldiers and fallen without achieving anything.

Instead…the Queen of the Dobhar had immediately identified where the pup was being held captive. The Imperial girl secured permission for them to retrieve the pup without having to fight their way through. And then the snake turned the Imperial soldiers against one another.

And now the pup was safe within her arms.

Estrith took a deep breath.

“Queen of the Dobhar.”

NSLICE-00P turned to her.

“Acknowledgement: Does friendly Estrith have an update, query, or concern for this unit?”

Estrith bowed her head.

“Thank you, for protecting our people.”

“Acknowledged.”

She then turned to Ateia.

“And thank you, Ateia. Your assistance was…appreciated.”

Ateia smiled.

“Of course. I’m happy to help.”

Estrith nodded.

“I, Estrith Edilddaughter, will not forget this debt.”

And so the group headed home.

Consul Noxisius heaved a massive sigh. He fell back into his chair and grabbed a glass of wine. He drank deeply from it and then held his head.

“What was he thinking?!”

A black haired woman stood in the room with a neutral expression.

“Balbus took every opportunity he could to boost his status, that much was to be expected. He was in a situation where he had to either submit and be humiliated, or attempt to turn things on her. Most of your faction would have done the same. The wisdom and execution of his attempts aside.”

Consul Noxisius grit his teeth.

“I get that but there’s a big difference between standard maneuvering and stupidity! I expected him to lay the charm on and worm his way into her graces, not…whatever this harebrained scheme was supposed to be! What did he even expect to happen here?! That the Court would refuse to investigate a situation involving an Amiciti Populi Elteni? That the Magister Exploratores wouldn’t be conducting a full rundown of everyone who came into contact with her?! The trafficking thing was going to be exposed no matter what happened here! And now we’ve failed utterly to make any sort of positive contact with this NSLICE-00P.”

The woman rubbed her chin.

“I consider this a partial failure, but not a complete one. I believe we can turn the situation to our advantage.”If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Consul Noxisius shook his head.

“I wish I was as optimistic as you. I fail to see any sort of silver lining to these storm clouds.”

The woman shook her head.

“It is not optimism. In fact, this situation presents a better opportunity. Previously, you were constrained by your position as head of the traditionalist faction, correct? You had to send a subordinate to make contact because most of your supporters would frown upon you meeting directly with an outsider like this.”

Consul Noxisius sighed.

“That’s right. They’re a bit…inflexible when adapting to practical changes in our circumstances. Really now, is not looking down on the girl who defeated a legion alone too much to ask?”

The woman nodded her head.

“But now one of your subordinates has caused a massive scandal and a grave insult to an Imperial Friend who is an honored guest of the Emperor.”

Consul Noxisius raised an eyebrow.

“You are trying to point out the bright side, right?”

The woman nodded again.

“The scandal has become so great that even your most vocal and hard-line supporters have joined in condemning Balbus. Since you were the one who sent him in the first place, even if you have washed your hands of his schemes, it would be acceptable for you to offer an apology. No, I believe it is expected that you would do so.”

Consul Noxisius paused, and then began rubbing his chin.

“So…I could now offer to meet this NSLICE-00P directly…and none of my supporters will complain...much.”

The woman nodded.

“Yes.”

Consul Noxisius slowly began to smile.

“Impressive. It appears we may be able to salvage this situation after all.”

The woman nodded.

“If we are to achieve our goals, we must adapt and make use of every opportunity we can find.”

Consul Noxisius nodded.

“That we must. Make the arrangements. Send her a token of our goodwill as well, to ensure she will accept.”

The woman bowed her head.

“It shall be done.”

Then she stepped back into a shadowed part of the room and disappeared from sight.

In order to make up for this grave insult to the Queen of the Dobhar, the Empire offered the service of one of its airships to return the pup to its home. As such, Princess Caecila escorted NSLICE-00P and company aboard the ship once again, sans Agedia who remained behind in Corvanus. This time they were not taking the scenic route and flew at full speed, so it only took a few hours to make the trip to Turannia.

NSLICE-00P had contacted Uscfrea ahead of time so he was prepared when the airship arrived above the former Legion keep in NSLICE-00P’s lands. Still, Uscfrea found himself staring blankly at the ship floating in the air.

“...maybe I overestimated the Empire’s decline. Or underestimated…if they had something like that and still couldn’t respond to my attack…”

Behind him, Vopicus shrugged.

“It’s the latter. Utrad and Turannia have been requesting airship support for decades now. But after Magister Galenus’s rebellion commandeered one, the Northern Court has refused to deploy its airships outside of the Imperial Heartland, save for short trips like this.”

Dux Augustalis grit her teeth and clenched her fist.

“It’s decisions like that that drove us to desperation.”

Uscfrea was about to make a smug comment when he remembered how the Dobhar’s elders had refused his command to move the Home Fleet onto land. He slowly closed his mouth.

He remembered that poor strategic decision making was not limited to the Empire.

A smaller ship separated from the large one and landed in front of Uscfrea. The ramp extended, and then she walked out. NSLICE-00P had returned.

“All hail the Queen of the Dobhar!”

Uscfrea struck the ground with his tail and bowed his head, along with Wulver Chief Ceitidh Greumach and all other Dobhar and Wulver in the area. Dux Augustalis and Vopicus hesitantly saluted in Imperial fashion, and their people followed suit.

Estrith, Ateia, Taog, and Princess Caecila’s group also disembarked. Princess Caecila raised an eyebrow at the sight of the Imperials in NSLICE-00P’s territory, but said nothing. Estrith walked up to Uscfrea with the pup strapped to her back and knelt.

“My King, I have returned.”

Uscfrea nodded.

“Welcome home, Estrith. You should probably call me Steward or Uscfrea in public, you know.”

Estrith frowned.

“I could never!”

Uscfrea chuckled and shook his head.

“Well, we’ll talk about it later. Now are you going to introduce the hunter on your back?”

Estrith lowered herself and gently took off the pack, then picked the pup up into her arms and rose to her feet. Uscfrea smiled at the sight.

“This is Eoforich, son of Elfswitha.”

“Eoforich!”

The moment Estrith said the name, a Dobhar woman broke into a run. Eoforich’s eyes widened and he leapt from Estrith’s arms as the woman approached.

“Mom!”

Elfswitha caught her pup and embraced him with all her might. Only after a long moment did she turn to Estrith and bow her head.

“...I thought he was lost. I hoped, I prayed, but I never dared to imagine he might return to me. How can I ever repay you?”

Estrith frowned and then shook her head.

“It…was not me, but the Queen of the Dobhar who rescued your son.”

Elfswitha’s eyes widened, but she nodded and walked towards NSLICE-00P, and began to thank her. Uscfrea nodded, and then turned to Estrith.

“How fares your trip, Estrith?”

Estrith furrowed her brow.

“It is…confusing, My King. The Empire…is as mighty as you always said. Yet…they are strange, they waste tremendous time and effort on things I do not understand. I…do not know what to think, if I am honest.”

Uscfrea patted her shoulder. Estrith looked up to him.

“That is good, Estrith Edilddaughter. Our people are warriors, straightforward and honest. The Imperials are significantly more complicated. It will take some time to get used to them, but that is the point. We will need more than spears if we are to rise among them, it is good that you see how much we have to learn.”

Estrith’s eyes widened, and then she nodded her head. Uscfrea then glanced over.

“What do you think of Our Queen, so far?”

Estrith frowned.

“I have no liege but you, My King. But…she uses her power to take care of what is hers, and she is powerful indeed. It…is good that she is on the Dobhar’s side. She…she is the Queen of the Dobhar, for now.”

Uscfrea smiled at that.

“I believe so as well, we will need to work to keep it that way. Come, let me show you how our people have grown.”

Estrith smiled and nodded.

“Of course, My King. I would be honored.”