The Cardinal of Sin

Intermission: Aftermath of War

Neia Baraja's world had been reduced to simply the sole feeling of exhaustion. The black rings around her eyes were natural but now they were from tiredness. She had thought she had known exhaustion in the war. That was nothing. Now she was trying to hold everything together.

As the Sorcerer King's squire, she had never known how much responsibility would come to her once the Holy Kingdom declared their loyalty to the Sorcerer King. She wasn't sure how it had happened but somehow, that meant she was now his representative. She was the one in control.

And it scared her. She had never been trained for this. She could run a household, maybe. She had enough skill for that. During the war she had run a division but in war that was relatively simple and there was a legion of others helping her. Running a country was different. Many people were offering her advice but she couldn't trust them. She got the feeling they wanted her to fail.

She didn't understand that. A few weeks ago they had all been working together to save the Kingdom and now they had fractured. It wasn't everyone. She had to admit that. But some days it felt like it. She couldn't blame them completely. She wasn't trained for this. She had no experience but couldn't they remember this was only a temporary job for her?

The Sorcerer King had promised to send them a proper ruler in due course since most of their Royal Family had been killed in the war. Those that survived... no one wanted to follow. His Majesty had been very apologetic that he couldn't provide them with a leader immediately but Neia understood. Choosing the Leader for a country was not something to be done without consideration. It actually made her feel better that he cared enough to consider it. It just reinforced her belief that he was a considerate ruler. He thought through every decision. Those who were objecting to her would admit that. Privately at least.

Today was no different from any other day. She had woken up, practiced her bow, using the magnificent weapon the Sorcerer King had gifted to her. She had used what little authority she had to ensure she had at least that much time for herself. Then the problems had started.

It wasn't the sensible problems that bothered her. Food was something that was in short supply. The demihumans had eaten it all and there was no point in asking any neighbouring Kingdom for assistance there. She had no authority to do that, but she also knew they were facing similar problems. The Re-Estize Kingdom was also starving and there was no way she could approach the Slane Theocracy. Not when the Sorcerous Kingdom was at war with them.

Anyone she sent to them would most likely be taken as a hostage and Neia wasn't going to risk anything that would interfere with His Majesty's efforts. The news had come with a dispatch from the Sorcerous Kingdom. They had been hoping for a new Leader but at least His Majesty was keeping them properly informed.

The missive had been brief and to the point. One of His Majesty's direct servants had been assaulted. There hadn't been many details. There didn't need to be. Neia already knew the Sorcerer King cared deeply for his subjects. Given that, he would have a strong personal relationship with his direct servants. He would be very angry about this.

The missive had included the declaration of war. The Sorcerous Kingdom and all allies... The Holy Kingdom was now an ally. It would actually be treasonous for her to approach the Slane Theocracy. She wished the Holy Kingdom was able to offer support in some material way but they couldn't. The war had weakened them. They could maybe raise a brigade but nothing more. Against the warriors His Majesty could summon, a brigade was nothing.

She hoped the war would be brief. Having experienced war herself, she knew there was nothing good about war. It just brought misery to the nation, and she was now far more aware of how little the regular citizens knew about what their leadership was doing. She had seen both sides.