"And what of you, Your Majesty Alecio?"

Finally, he turned to the young king of the southern nation. Naturally, Alecio had no desire to agree. Jenkins was neither the king of Cheslan nor the husband of its future queen. But he knew that of the three great kingdoms present, his own held the least influence. After all, his kingdom's fragile restoration had only been possible with the help of other nations.

But he still did not want to concede. To do so would be to accept another's superiority over him. It would mean Cheslan bowing to Fidektri, acknowledging its dependence.

In ordinary times, he could have invoked the will of his people to righteously denounce this preposterous notion.

But now, he suspected many of his subjects would leap at the chance to become citizens of the far more stable Fidektri Kingdom.

Jenkins did not press him, his gaze simply fixed upon the young king. Turmoil churned within Alecio, and a cold sweat began to bead on his brow. He dared not meet that gaze; the mere weight of it was a terrifying, crushing pressure.

"Very well... I have no objections."

Reality had cornered the young king, forcing his hand. Such was the price of being indebted to another. If his own country had been more stable, he might have been able to negotiate for favorable trade agreements before yielding.

"So, this is not my fault."

"And the opinion of the churches?"

"We have no objections."

Pontiff IV replied so quickly it was almost instantaneous, earning a collective eye-roll from the representatives of the other churches. But this had all been arranged beforehand. If Jenkins Redemptor Williams could triumph over the Believers of Lies, the Orthodox Churches had agreed to temporarily accept the leadership of the Church of Knowledge and Books for the remainder of the eighteenth epoch.

"We agree."

One by one, the Orthodox Churches voiced their assent. With eleven more affirmations secured, Jenkins nodded and turned his gaze to the delegations from the pseudo-god cults. Their numbers were also considerable, but aside from a few who were exceptionally well-informed, most had been caught off guard. They were at a loss for how to respond.

"Do you have any

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