Steel and Mana

Chapter 182 – Princess

Standing atop the Wall, we were supervising the very first test run of the Princess. Well, not the first, because Yuri already had a go with it when it first got turned on. But that was only for her to get used to the feeling of sitting in its cockpit. We let her walk it over to the Pass, where the actual testing would begin, giving her ample time to adjust.

"Is it just me, or Yuri's machine is slimmer than mine?"

"Your eyes are seeing it right, Dad. Her is more mobile than yours and a head shorter. Also, her machine is lighter and faster than yours."

"How much lighter?" he asked, measuring and looking the Princess up and down, her still unpainted, silvery frame. Because the Lion was back at the factory, going through maintenance, he couldn't tell how short Yuri's machine really was, no matter how much he looked.

"A leg-worth? Around there." I hummed, thinking about it, "Furthermore, hers got more gears installed, so she is turning about twice as fast as yours."

"Hmmm, when the Lion is back, we should use the two at once; I am curious about the differences."

"Sure. I would have suggested it anyway!"

"I'm online!" Boomed the mech, distorting Yuri's voice the same way it did in the Lion.

"Boom-boom!" Arthur laughed, sitting in Mikan's arms while Mom was hugging Leyla, who in turn was clapping proudly at the Princess.

"Don't forget the ear protection this time." Sasha whispered and nudged Luna, who quickly put it on before turning towards her with an OK sign.

"But... it has no cannons." Mikan mumbled, putting on Arthur's and then her own.

"There will be boom-booms." I chuckled, rubbing the head of my son, who was flashing a thumbs up at me, showing he was ready for it with his own ear mufflers in place. "You'll see!"

"First, the speed test, yes?" Yuri asked, hearing us just fine, ready to follow my orders this time around.

With Merlin measuring everything precisely, we recorded that with the new modifications and changes, the Princess's top speed was sixteen kilometers per hour, pushing twenty in a full-on, straight sprint. However, the latter could only be held up for a short burst until she needed to change direction. Plus, the ground had to be flat enough, or it would be impossible to maintain. Still, the basic speed of Yuri's mech turned out to be fifty percent quicker than my Dad's. A great success, if you ask me.

After the speed test was over, the examination of the spears and their stability was conducted next. Because it was a machine, its arms were designed differently than a human's. Our joints are fixed and are only able to twist and turn in a set direction. The Princess? Whichever way it needed, it could turn its hands. Backward, left, right, up or down, none of that mattered; if Yuri wanted, she could flip the arm over and bend it backward, whatever the situation required.

"It still feels weird." After the first set of trials, she moaned, sounding a bit disoriented. She was finishing the last sequences with her newest weapon before retracting it to a quarter of its open size and attaching it back to her holster on her torso. "I am unused to being able to bend my arms backward! I always fear it will break, but it doesn't. I need time to adjust..."

"It's fine." I agreed, smiling because, of course, she needed time; nobody was an expert in anything for the first time. Maybe Merlin... but he is an anomaly, so he doesn't count. "The swings are still pretty powerful; with our measurements, if you would have hit a regular castle wall, you would punch through it without much resistance."

"Cool! We should build some testing structures, and let me smash 'em apart!"

"We aren't going to waste it on you to have a wreckfest party."

"Booo."

"Keep yourself in check for the winter." Sasha added, smiling, especially after hearing Yuir's agreeable answer and seeing the massive mech saluting.

"Roger, Main Mommy~!"

"Let's return to the test, okay?" I interrupted before Merlin would have a chance to open a radio channel and start further diverting the topic. He was sitting up in the air in a hot air balloon, taking measurements from up above, accompanied by his still-spicy girlfriend. I hoped they could work it out up there, but who knows. For now, whenever he relayed their observations, Merlin's voice was focused, matter-of-factly, without much change in it. "Okay, everyone! Time for some boom-boom!"

"Boom-boom!"

Of course, my kids were most ecstatic hearing it, clapping in rhythm, watching as the Princess's left arm twisted backward, reaching to its own back, plucking down a telescopic rod, and flicking it open in one smooth maneuver. With her right hand, Yuri had already pulled off one of the explosive spearheads from her waist-mounted holster, screwing it on the end in under two seconds, ready to throw it.

"As far as you can!" I shouted and watched as she pulled her hand back, a magic formation flickering on the mech's elbow for a brief moment before throwing it.

It was equivalent to a small explosion, boosting the force with which she could thrust forward, throwing the spear at about a forty-five-degree angle for optimal distance. It whistled through the air loudly before landing about 150-ish meters away, exploding in impact. The resulting fireball reached around six meters in height. Simply by eyeballing it, it was around 30 kilograms of TNT going off... hm... That should be destructive enough.

"I can go farther!" Yuri said at once, already aiming and throwing the second, well, javelin, this time far outclassing her previous throw, going about 250 meters before impact.

In the end, after multiple tests and explosions, she used up all eight of her throwable spears, placing the Princess's throwing range between 200 and 250 meters. However, the target had to be between 150 and 200 meters to remain accurate. Good. I expected less at first.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Okay, you little explosion maniacs!" I laughed, glancing at my kids, watching as Yuri returned to her marked place, getting out of the mech. "It was enough booms for one day!"

"Agreed." Mom nodded, tilting her head towards the castle, "Let's go in, girls, and have dinner while they talk about their toys."

"Not a fan?" I shrugged, making Mom roll her eyeballs.

"I hear nothing from your Father but about how the Lion works this and that way whenever he pilots it. At least when my grandkids are here... spare me the bore!"

"Ouch..." I hissed, looking at my Dad, who was unperturbed, already waiting for Yuri to talk with her, wanting to compare the experiences of another pilot.

"Sovereign!"

"Shit..." I whispered, but my wives had already slipped away with my Mom, and I was left there, watching the hot air balloon descend, releasing Merlin and Elena, making me miss my chance to slink away.

…
….
……

"Mother, I don't know if this is a good idea! I think you lost your touch!"

"Son, the only thing I lost is the opportunity to deny you as my child." Matilda Zimmerman answered plainly while she was sitting in her library, surprisingly, without holding a wine bottle.

"All of our caravans were hit in the past week alone! All of them! Mother! This is bad!"

"Bad!"

The ones who were complaining were, of course, her three sons. The trio came together for the first time in history, acting as one, pressing their Mother to stop whatever she began doing and return to the old days. Even if they were only focusing on enjoying their privileges, it was now endangered by whatever power tussle their Mother found herself in. There was no way to ignore it anymore.

"We must contact Duke Jauwn and tell him what is happening!" Her oldest pleaded, receiving a blank stare from his Mother.

"It is exactly the Duke's forces that are attacking our caravans and taking the goods away, including your toys. He decided to not pay for anything and punish us because I sold off a minuscule percentage to someone else."

"WHY?!" They cried out in one voice, "We need to stop immediately! Mother! This must END!"

"No."

"Why?!"

"Because the times are changing!" She snapped at them. "We are now affiliated with Duke Kustov's camp. It is that easy. This is only the transitioning phase; everything will be in order after we clear it, and you three can go back to not caring."

The looks the three exchanged didn't escape Matilda's eyes. She knew what they were thinking, and before they could thrust her region into utter chaos and start an uprising, she decided the best route was to be as honest as possible.

"Duke Kustov's backing is the Empress herself."

"…" Watching their mouths slowly open wide and their eyes enlarging to twice their original size was amusing. She knew that it was already successful enough to stop their rebellious thoughts.

"Do you take me, your Mother, as an idiot? That part of yourselves was inherited from your Fathers' seed. I didn't betray Duke Jauwn because I was going senile. I am doing it because I got an offer that, frankly, I can't refuse."

"Is it true…? Mother?" They asked, gulping, their eyes shining in a golden light, already imagining how it would be to flaunt their family's contact with the ruling bloodline.

"Would I make something like that up? Would I risk that one of my three defects go and run their mouths to bring shame on me even more?"

“…”

"For now, the two dukes are duking it out, as they should. Take it as a test!" She moaned, leaning back, rubbing her forehead, "We will reroute all of our caravans, heading to the Frontier instead."

"The Frontier?"

"Don't ask, you just… go, and don't fuck things up for me, okay? I have enough trouble already… Haaah…”

…
….
……

"How are we doing so far?" Kustov asked, gathering within their conference room and meeting with the key figures of his family. The only one who was missing was his son, Milan, because he was currently out, meeting with two other dukes and trying to establish a loose alliance against Duke Jauwn.

"Even. So far, we are losing as many agents as many as we kill." The family's commander answered, standing up from his seat, "We are spending a good amount on mercenaries who had raided the storage locations where Duke Jauwn kept the resources he stole from the earldom. It… wasn't cheap."

"No matter. Keep on hiring them; money is not an issue."

He wasn't lying; it indeed wasn't, thanks to two crucial factors. One was that Garbank Kustov had been amassing wealth, taking over trading companies to help the Frontier get what they wanted, enriching his family in the process. Not even his lineage could recognize him since returning from the frontlines, showing his true talent as a shrewd and opportunistic merchant, a director of multiple guilds under his banner, puppeteering them from the shadows. The second, even more crucial influencing factor was Milan, as their coffers were exempt from almost all kinds of taxes through him. Whenever they needed some liquidity, a royal servant was ready to lend them a very generous loan.

"What about our army? Did they arrive at the Zimmermanns?"

"We are in position. If Duke Jauwn tries to move in, we will be ready to welcome him and protect our newest vassal."

"Good. Knowing him, he will want to send his army to take over the Silver Region after he learns that no more caravans are coming to the city. He wouldn't want to disappoint the Empress and cause issues in the supply chain. That would make him more afraid of consequences than losing it to us."

"Shouldn't we ask for the official support of the Empress?" Many asked a question that came up multiple times in the past weeks.

"Her inactivity is the support." Kustov answered, looking at the people at his table. "The more the Royal Bloodline meddles in the dealings of the nobles, the more ammunition it gives to those in their family to gather followers and try to take the throne. The Empress will only step in when it gets out of hand! That will be when he moves to occupy the earldom, getting stopped by our army. When enough blood is spilled, our Empress will come down on us and force peace between our families. That is when we will take over the Silver Region from that old bastard… That way, those who are salivating for the young Empress's chair will have no firm reason to jump in—"

"Lord!" The sudden shout and the room's door being kicked in made everyone jump in their seats, watching the old butler's panic-stricken face, his chest heaving, and his breath too quick for his age. "The Young Master… Master Milan…"

He needn't say more, turning Kustov's face deathly white… Where is his son? What happened to him?!

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