Chapter 409 - Possibility Of Collaboration
After listening to Lyra\'s impassioned speech, Marcus still had his doubts.
He wondered if the rebels had any chance at all.
Even if they had a few powerful fighters on their side, at the end of the day the kingdom proper would still be far superior in both quality and quantity.
\'I cannot let her continue on a suicide mission.\' Marcus thought seeing no good end for Lyra if she stayed with the rebel army.
"Lyra, I understand where you are coming from, but I think you should reconsider. Fighting against an entire kingdom is not going to end well. I do not want you to die again, so come with me and I can set you up in the Kingdom of Borealia. There you can try and find another way to fight against Tralenstein." Marcus said wanting to get Lyra away and make sure she survived.
However, for the first time since the two of them had met again, Lyra became angry and practically started yelling at Marcus.
"You want me to run away, after all that happened! My parents were mercilessly executed for a crime they did not commit! There is no way I can leave until I have received justice for them! Also, there are millions of people counting on this rebellion to succeed and to make this kingdom a better place. If I, one of their pillars of the rebellion left, what do you think would happen? Right now we barely have enough strength as it is. I cannot just run off to another kingdom to spare my own life when so many others are counting on me."
As lyra went off on him Marcus quickly realized his mistake.
He had been trying to think logically about how to keep Lyra alive, but it was quite obvious that if she had any intention of fleeing, she was more than strong enough to do so.
No, she was staying to avenge her parents and to protect the people she cared about.
Raising his hands in surrender Marcus said, "Sorry I should not have suggested that. I did not properly take your feelings in to consideration. I have done plenty of dangerous things fueled by emotions as well, so I am in no place to judge. I just did not want you to end up dying again."
Seeing that Marcus was just concerned for her, Lyra began to calm down, and got her emotions under control.
After she had found out her parents were dead, getting justice for them had been what continued to drive her. And once she joined the rebellion, she had found what felt like a new home.
Lyra then sat there and thought for a few moments while Marcus did the same and eventually, she looked at him hesitantly obviously having something to say.
"What is it?" Marcus said trying to coax whatever Lyra wanted to say out.
And a bit timidly Lyra said, "Well if you want to make sure I do not die, how about you join the rebellion with me?"
Hearing this Marcus blinked his eyes a few times astonished by what he had just heard.
He had not once even thought of joining the rebellion with Lyra.
Yet as the gears began turning in his head an idea began to from in Marcus\' mind.
Yes, by joining he could keep Lyra safe, but there might also be an opportunity for him to score some major points with the Kingdom of Borealia.
At one time they had been a part of Tralenstein, and Marcus already knew that the king while not actively pursuing any sort of agenda, was ready to pounce at his kingdom\'s neighbor the moment the opportunity presented itself.
\'Hm, while he can send any sort of troops or such since starting a conflict with another kingdom is against the adventurer guild\'s tenants. He might be able to provide other support, and if the rebellion is successful Borealia might be able to take over instead.\' Marcus thought.
Of course, he never would have even considered this if Borealia was not a prosperous and decent kingdom.
And while it did have its fair share of rotten nobles, they did not wield absolute power, and Marcus had met plenty of upstanding nobles as well.
Also, the people were generally well treated, and so far, everywhere Marcus had been he had seen that almost everyone in Borealia at least had their basic needs met.
\'Even in the farthest most backwater villages the kingdom sends out soldiers to clear the areas of monsters and beasts. And while that may not always be effective, they do not sit back and do nothing.\'
With the basics of a plan having formed in his head Marcus decided to tell his proposal to Lyra.
"Lyra, I already told you that I am connected to the royal family in Borealia. What would you think about trying to get their support?"
Taken aback by this Lyra had not expected this question especially since she had honestly expected Marcus to refuse her offer.
Still, she was wary of getting another kingdom involved, especially Borealia.
Obviously Tralenstein was not on good terms with their neighbor to the north, and often had skirmishes on the border with them.
Lyra herself had always heard about how awful Borealia was, and that its people were left to die in the freezing cold along with other horrible things.
Of course, Lyra did not believe any of this and when she later was able to ask some traveling traders about the kingdom to the north, they said that it was a generally great place that was typically safer than Tralenstein.
"What did you have in mind?" Lyra said trying to gage what Marcus wanted.
He then told her about the princess that was the older sister of the current king of Tralenstein that had fled to Borealia and about Princess Eis who was both a royal of Tralenstein and Borealia.
That she was planned to be a bridge between the two kingdoms should Borealia every get the chance.
"I see I did not know that something like that had happened. I had heard that some of the king\'s siblings had fled to other kingdom\'s when he started killing his rivals."
Lyra then took a moment to think before saying, "So the king of Borealia wants to take over Tralenstein by having his daughter become its new ruler. I am not sure how I feel about this, and I know that plenty others here would not welcome it. In this kingdom everyone is taught to hate Borealia, the territory that betrayed its mother land. But I have seen firsthand how screwed up this kingdom can be, so I understand why those territories revolted. Unfortunately, I cannot say if it would be the best to try and get their help, especially if we lose our sovereignty in return."
But after she said this Lyra smiled and said, "However, it might prove to be exactly what the rebellion needs to win. Borealia is not much different than us fighting against a system that oppresses the people, and gives too much power to rotten nobles. So, while I cannot say we will agree to what ever terms Borealia gives, I think it is worth a discussion at least. Though I cannot make this decision on my own. We will need to run it past the rebellion\'s leader."