Глава 14

Er, excuse me, who are ye... sir?

Phew... much better.

Once you reach a certain age, you come to prefer bright and warm places.

And... is that beans I smell?

Er, aye, I was cookin' some canned beans for dinner...

D'ye want some, sir?

Don't mind if I do.

Would be better if we had some seasoning from home, perhaps some marinated meat.

Aye, I was thinkin' the same! We Gododdins...

Er...

What is it?

I ken who ye are now, and ye’re a wee bit different from whit’s in the news.

Ah. Well, you can ask your captain. I held her when she was wee.

Little Rita touched my horn and asked why her dad didn't have one.

...I apologize for my insolence at the time, Your Grace.

Not many have the nerve to touch my horns, Lieutenant Skamandros. You showed courage from a very young age.

Or should I say... all of you are brave warriors of Victoria.

Your defense of Chetleigh was outstanding, as was your performance at Brentwood.

The Exemplars, you call yourselves...

I've long wanted to meet you, though it seems your leader does not welcome my presence.

Pardon my frankness, Your Grace, but it is hard to treat your sudden appearance as a pure gesture of good faith.

Of course, Lady Windermere. I understand.

Especially in times like this.

I sent men to the Irnclad Galavae. They were traveling quickly, but fortunately, I made it in time to present funeral flowers for Amphelise.

...I appreciate the gesture.

I assume the duke of Gododdin hasn't come all the way here just to give us a medal?

What if I say I have?

Most of us are neither nobles nor intelligentsia. It would be best if you didn't beat around the bush.

Your Royal Highness Alexandrina is as direct as they say.

Or would you prefer that I called you 'Siege', like your friends do?

I fully understand why the Exemplars avoided the ducal armies along the way.

You didn't want them to get involved in the machinations of the dukes.

You want to fight only for Victoria and her people, like the legendary unit that you're named after.

And so, I'm not here as the Duke of Gododdin.

I'm here as Sean Gododdin, Member of Parliament, to extend an invitation to the Parliament authorized Tempest Platoon and the rest of the Exemplars.

Leave that outdated identification code behind. I'm asking that you intervene in this war in the name of Parliament.

The miners' camp has burned to the ground.

No sign of Sarkaz soldiers.

Misery feels a slight chill. The campsite’s charred debris has cooled.

He moves some collapsed wooden beams aside, and finds a few unrecognizable bodies.

Miners. Remains of the Infected.

It's all the same, everywhere.

What's that sound?

Nice hiding spot, Sudaram.

Nachzehrer spotted to the northwest of Gibsonham—

Out of comms range already?

Death has you.

Several rune swords pierce out of the ground beneath Misery's feet, but he is no longer there.

Misery rips through the fabric of space with his dagger and retreats out of range. The collapsed ruins turn into a cage, trapping the Nachzehrer's withered bodies.

Shush now...

I have you too.

...Duke Gododdin.

I understand that the Victorian Parliament has not held a session for a long time.

Everyone who escaped Londinium knows that the Sarkaz have been the ones giving the orders from the Palace of Westhaleg during this time.

Of course. I don't deny the present circumstances.

Why don't we cast our gaze further, though, to the future beyond the war?

The future? Isn't it a little too early to be bargaining over that — if 'bargaining' and 'coercion' were synonyms?

You misunderstand me. Gododdin is not Caster. I would much prefer to sit by the fireside than gather at the negotiation table. I'm more about drinking and playing cards with friends.

It gets cold rather quickly once summer is gone. Mind if I have my men add some wood to the fire?

You might as well have them come in.

Thank you.

That's much better.

Where were we? Oh yes, the future.

We know that the war will end, and Victoria will triumph.

The war will inevitably bring... or should I say has already brought about irreversible changes, ending a twenty-year stalemate.

If anyone in the room is interested in the empty throne, it certainly isn't me.

Excellent, excellent! See? We already have a consensus.

As a matter of fact, I held a little meeting not too long ago and saw the Iron Duke in person.

Seeing him always reminds me of when I first saw the Gastrell.

Like so many other children who grew up hearing tales of the Empire's Death Knell, I searched for the shadow of the ruins that belonged to Lingones, only to find not Gaul...

But the glory of the strongest nation of our time, so splendid that I could not bear to turn away.

You want us to believe you care more about Victoria than Gododdin?

Make no mistake, I would never call myself a patriot.

A duke must always put his dukedom before all else; this is not just a matter of interest, but also a duty, a responsibility.

But I wonder... what is the difference between Gododdin and Wellington?

Wellington would still be Wellington, with or without Victoria. But what would become of Gododdin, if the light of Victoria went out?

Perhaps it would survive. But things would certainly not get better.

You don't want the Grand Dukes to really divide Victoria.

I'm not the only one.

You know that.

As strong as Victoria is, she is not without her rivals. Ursus, Leithanien, Columbia, Sargon... all the ambitious nations of Terra have their eyes on us.

We need a single, unified voice to bring stability.

This is why Parliament exists. All the ducal realms will select an appropriate representative... including Windermere.

This is what the Exemplars mean to Victoria. No soldier who fights for the cause of Victoria will need to fear betrayal again.

The Speaker of Parliament has always been the king, for the entirety of the role's existence. But that does not mean that he — or she — must sit on the throne.

And this is what you can mean to all of us, Your Royal Highness Alexandrina. If you are willing.

No one speaks as the duke's words sink in.

Only the crackling of the fire Gododdin lit can be heard.

I have only one question for Your Grace.

If all of this could have waited until after the war—

Then if I refuse now, can my friends and I leave with the Sighs of Kings?

Hah.

Siege!

Crossbowmen outside!

We're surrounded. Maybe we already were the moment he showed up...

Well, well. First we learn what a 'commitment' is to Caster, now we learn what 'friendship' is to Gododdin.

Friends treat each other as equals, do they not?

My offer remains fair.

At the minimum... I gave this young friend from Gododdin the opportunity to point her piledriver spear at me.

Lost the signal from Drone 6 again... blasted place!