Her Beasts Volume Four

Farewells

It didn't take much longer to wrap the negotiations up. Alongside the other trade route negotiations, Iris had promised to send Princess Viola some free samples of any new products they made in the next few years that she might enjoy. Since the candle thing was a bust and things needed to be evened out a bit more, this offer made things much more amicable.

As for what Prince Ash had wished to negotiate this time around, much of it had already been taken care of. He was secretly worried about Iris being harmed by the wild beastmen and had wanted to use any excuse he could to ensure some stronger males he trusted would be able to join their city for a while longer. Hopefully, in the next year or so, the overall strength of Iris's city will increase or Ash will be able to convince Iris to consider him as a potential mate. Of course, he'd never be willing to admit all of this out loud to the others.

Since that was already taken care of, Ash concentrated on the matters his parents and eldest sibling had already agreed to. They were uninterested in going to war and wanted a lifetime contract that there would be no war directly between their two cities. In exchange, each city would send males to help should the other request it. This, of course, was limited to only circumstances that would not lead to the other city going to war with other tribes or cities unnecessarily. Basically, if wild beastmen attacked and a messenger was sent requesting help, the other city would be obligated to send reinforcements.

The wording of the contract would also allow for assistance to be requested if a tribe or city would end up being a mutual threat to both cities. However, wars that would normally leave the other city perfectly safe, unless they intervened, would not require any assistance to be sent. Neither side wanted their people to die for stupid reasons and it was still widely accepted that it was the fault of the weaker side should they die.

While Iris had no real right to make any additional requests, she did ask for one other thing to be done outside of the contract. Since Red Wood City had no interest in refugees and those who were too weak for their city, Iris wanted to make an official request to send anyone, who was interested in joining their city and was willing to follow their laws, to Blue Springs City. Of course, Ash had made a snarky remark about how desperate they must be to insist on taking such weaklings in, but he had still agreed to do so in the end.

Now that the contract was signed by all relevant individuals with an oath sworn, it was time for their guests to leave. There was an additional promise made by Ash to have his eldest brother and parents requested to also sign the document and that he would send a letter to inform Iris whether they did or not. After all, they couldn't expect such a treaty to be very effective if those who were actually in charge of the city weren't signing it, but they weren't going to have either party travel to the other's city either.

Princess Viola almost seemed sad to leave as she stood in front of her mates, getting ready to go home. A few of Iris's citizens had joined Viola's family, but the sparse-looking group of guards suggested that even more males were to be joining Blue Springs City in return. Iris gave Viola a smile as she approached her and asked

"Can I give you a hug goodbye? I'd hate to be seen as informal, but I would like to continue our friendship even after you leave. I'd be happy to continue to exchange letters with you and I'll be sure to invite you to our next festival during the harvest season."

Princess Viola seemed overjoyed at this news as she threw herself into Iris's arms. Luckily, there were no stuffy rules to be followed in the beastworld. It wasn't like the medieval ages in the modern world, it was just a demonstration of respect for another individual's strength that was required. So no one would say anything about Iris and Viola acting outside of their roles as the queen and princess of their cities as it simply didn't work that way.

"I'm glad you feel that way. I'll hold you to your promise! You better send me lots of letters!"

Iris just smiled as the princess pulled away and rejoined her mates. Next up was Prince Ares who walked forward before offering a deep bow to Iris as he said

"Farewell, Queen Iris. I hope we shall both meet again in the future."

His smile was charming and his manners were a perfect show of his royal upbringing. Iris offered an amicable smile, unsure how she felt about her new admirer. Still, she wouldn't be the one to avoid giving a proper send-off.

"Farewell, Prince Ares. I hope you have safe travels."

Prince Ash rolled his eyes and didn't even bother to step forward, much less give a proper greeting.

"I hope your males can do the minimum and keep you safe in my absence. Your city seems to be too frivolously built. As a ruler, you should be more capable than this. Your citizens need safety and strength, not festivals and fancy homes. Don't let others think you are as weak as you are and take advantage of it."

Somehow, despite how Ash was still acting like a tsundere and as rude as ever, Iris could tell he was speaking out of genuine concern. Iris felt her face heat up a little as she was reminded of the previous night when he had confessed to her while intoxicated. Iris still didn't know what to make of her own feelings, much less his. All she could offer up was a retort of her own as she tried to hide her own embarrassment.

"You should worry about your own affairs. I doubt the wild beastmen will leave your city alone for long. They were all quite strong and we all know that wild beastmen don't always behave rationally. There were only so many tribes near here to start with. Unless they travel a significant distance away and find new cities and tribes to harass, it will only be a matter of time before they are knocking at your doors as well."

Something seemed to flash in Prince Ares's eyes, but Iris just dismissed it as concern for his own people. Perhaps someone would take Iris's advice to heart, after all.

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