On the eighth day after the end of the battle, the Four-Nation Coalition sent representatives to request peace talks.

The Duke of Valstad gave carte blanche to his Foreign Secretary, the Earl of Southgate, to represent him in the peace talks.

On April 21, peace talks took place in a fortified city called Fort Flint.

After the tragic Battle of the Nord River, neither side was able to launch a new campaign, and only the noble allies advocated another war within the coalition forces.

Unable to send more reinforcements to the peninsula due to domestic pressure after the defeat, the representatives of the noble allies felt betrayed and left the meeting in anger, only to be persuaded to return by the other representatives.

The representatives of the coalition forces said that it was absolutely unacceptable for the Duchy of Valstad to unify the entire peninsula, but that they were willing to make some concessions to the Duchy in terms of territory, so the focus of the debate gradually focused on the demarcation of the border after the war.

After three hours of bargaining, the representatives of the two sides finally reluctantly reached an agreement and jointly drafted the Fort Flint Contract.

The contract is divided into 10 articles:

1. The Duchy of Valstad recognized the legitimacy of the noble allies, and the two sides sent teams of diplomats and administrative representatives to each other to cease all hostilities. The coalition states stopped charging the principalities with retaliatory high tariffs.

2. No one is allowed to call Princess Sarantos Midknight of the Midnight House an illegitimate daughter, or a witch, or other contemptuous words. His father, the Duke of Easter Midknight, has recognized the princess as the legal heir in third line of succession, and since the first and second heirs, Prince John and Prince Pato, have died, all the participating countries have confirmed the princess as the legitimate duke's successor.

The countries of the coalition recognized his legal status and title of Grand Duke of Valstad, and used the honorific title of "His Majesty the Duke" in diplomatic occasions.

3. His Honetific Majesty Palladia, on behalf of the Templar Church, vindicated the witch practices of Lady Irene, the mother of the Duke of Valstad, and captured the members of the "Inquisition Army" involved in the murder of Lady Irene, and sentenced the murderer to be hanged.

4. The coalition nations will arrest and hand over to the Duchy the conspirators involved in the murder of Duke Easter Midknight and the coup d'état.

5. The Noble Confederate paid a total of 40,000,000 universal currency to the Duchy of Valstad.

6. The boundaries were drawn from the areas of de facto military control on April 21, 1704, and the occupied territories of the Noble Confederation were transferred to the Duchy of Valstad.

7. The two sides exchange prisoners with each other, and each family shall pay a ransom for the noble captives in accordance with their status, and if they are temporarily unable to pay, the other side shall also ensure that the captives are not subjected to any physical harm or mental abuse.

8. During the validity period of the treaty, the two sides undertake not to launch new offensives and to reserve a 20,000-meter-wide demilitarized zone along the ceasefire line as a buffer zone.

9. The Duchy of Valstad must allow the families of the fallen soldiers of the allied forces to go to the battlefield to pay their respects, and allow religious figures from the Papal States and the Knights to enter the country to hold large prayer ceremonies, and the Church of the Duchy of Valstad must become an independent religious system, free from the restrictions of the General See of the Church of the Papal State.

10. This treaty shall enter into force on the same day and shall be valid for three years, and the violator will be subject to joint sanctions by various countries.

After the treaty was signed, the ongoing clashes ceased, and the gunfire gradually stopped.

The Earl of Southgate, Foreign Minister of the Duchy of Valstad, returned to the Golden Lake Palace with the contract and reported to the Duke.

"In general, the coalition forces have put the blame on the noble allies, and I have tried my best to fight for the rights and interests of the representatives of various countries, I wonder if Your Majesty is satisfied with this result?"

The young duchess held out a hand and let her foreign secretary kiss it.

"How could I not be satisfied? Nearly all the great powers of the continent are fighting against me, and you have vindicated my name, restored my mother's reputation, and won a large territory for my country.

My father used to say that you were the number one negotiator on the continent, and it turned out that he was right all along. ”

"Your Majesty, I am ashamed of your compliment, and I still choose to compromise on some things." The Earl of Southgate bowed his head and said with a little regret:

"We all know that the real mastermind of the coup plot is the royal family and nobles of the coalition countries, and they have found a group of substitutes for the dead to take the blame for themselves, and I can only accept this lie, if I investigate the real culprit's crime, the result can only be another war."

The Duke picked up the old minister, who had done his best for the country, and added to him: "And our country has just experienced civil strife and great war, and it will take time for our economy, order, and army to regroup, and you can only choose to accept their hypocritical rhetoric."

Whether we like it or not, sometimes we have to accept lies, and of course I understand them, my dear Uncle Southgate. ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your understanding! I'm sorry for not getting justice for your father and brother, but I really can't help it, and the truce is too important for my country. ”

The duke spread his hands: "I'm a woman, it's true, but I'm not a fool." She smiled and said, "If we continue to challenge the core interests of these powerful countries, I am afraid that they will stop fighting among themselves and show real strength against us." ”

"It's amazing that you're so young, and you have the same control of the situation as your father." The Earl of Southgate kissed her hand again, and his face was full of reverence:

"Your Majesty, I have to admit that I was not optimistic about your succession before, whether it was my birth or the identity of a woman, I was suspicious.

I used to be foolish enough to think that you would only be a warrior of noble birth and not a leader of a nation.

But now, Valstad has a mighty and wise monarch like you, and I'm glad I do that! ”

"I'm a little embarrassed by your compliments, Uncle Southgate, go back and rest, thank you for your hard work, say hello to your family for me."

The Earl of Southgate bowed and retired, leaving only the Duke and her valet in the great hall.

Outside, the weather was clear, and sunlight was pouring through the massive arched window lattices and onto the marble floor.

Duke Salantos Midknight stood in the shadow of the columns, his silver-gray eyes shining brightly, his fists clenched, his knuckles clucking.

The Duchess sat down at her father's desk, and she stared blankly at everything in front of her, and the old scene came back to mind:

She was a little girl at the time, and her father was a diligent monarch who was always writing and drawing on this desk, and she was holding a toy wooden knife and chopping the gilded legs.

"Little elk, my dear daughter, sometimes I wonder how a beautiful girl like you loves to play with such a rough toy. Why don't you like dolls? Her father had asked her.

The girl flashed a pair of innocent silver-gray eyes, and replied in a childish tone: "Daddy, I am playing a game of horseback and war!" Brother Pato and Brother John love to play like this! Whoever succeeds him as duke, I'll fight on horseback! Be a knight and protect your brothers! ”

The words of the past are still echoing in her ears, time has passed, the Si people have passed away, and only this deserted palace is left for her.

At that time, she had no interest in these power interests, and her training and polo were all she had.

After growing up as a girl, she longs for love, mortal girls love handsome princes, but she is different, she just wants to find a man with a similar breath to herself, marry this man with blue blood power, adventure with him everywhere, have a bunch of children, and play happily for the rest of her life.

Fate played a joke on her, for the sake of Valstad, for the sake of her father's ideals, she was willing to give up love and dedicate herself to the cold political marriage.

Just as she was slowly falling in love with her husband, just when everything was on track and about to usher in happiness, the shameless conspirators staged a coup d'état, took away her father, took away her brother, ruined everything for her, and threw a heavy burden on her shoulders.

The duchess opened the drawer, took out a heavy notebook, and in order to make sure that she had not forgotten the blood feud, as she had done countless times before, she wrote the names of her enemies again:

"The Pope of the Papal States of Flandia, Palladia Chiaramonti,

Grand Master of the Knights of Crusside, Alfred Heinlein,

Emperor of the Sylvinian Empire, Maximilian Habsberg,

King of the Noble Confederate, Víctório Emanuel.

No matter how high you stand, no matter how many thousands of people you have around you, they will not shake my determination to take revenge. ”

When she was done, she leaned back on the cushion, caressed her stomach with one hand, and picked up four silver knives with the other, tossing the heavy silver cutlery back and forth with astonishing agility and reflexes.

Suddenly, the silver knives flew out with a strong wind, and four knives were inserted into apples, candles, bread, and sausages.

The duke's valet was frightened, and he looked at his master in astonishment, only to see the duchess crouching on the table again, writing hard:

"I will never forget the heinous crimes you have committed against my loved ones.

My father's unfinished ideals are to be fulfilled by me, to unify the peninsula and revive the empire, and the heroes of Valstad will surely gather under my command.

At that time, I will let the winds of war sweep across the entire continent of Olasis in the name of Emperor Valsta! ”