A few minutes ago

  “This…folding umbrella is wonderful.”

  "Of course."

  Under the blue umbrella, striding through the slimy mud of Latila's streets, Aurora and her new aristocratic friend were on their way to the palace closest to the harbor in the city, none other than the palace of the House of Voyage

  At first Aurora was a bit hesitant. Although Belisari claimed that he had acquaintances at that palace and he himself is an aristocrat, looking at the uniform he dressed (a low-ranking officer uniform) however, then maybe this man is over bragging.

  For a common soldier like Belisari to know an aristocrat who owns a magnificent palace, it sounds completely and utterly absurd. Well, he might be an officer who serves in that palace, that sounded much more reasonable.

  However, whether or not Aurora shall be welcomed just because she comes with Belisari, she cannot say for sure.

  But while the girl was still considering, the rain began to fall and quickly became much heavier, the breeze gradually built up its strength into gales, and there was lightning. An umbrella like this is not safe enough in this weather, and Aurora hadn't found any better option for shelter, so she decided to take the risk and go with Belisari

  On their way to the palace, Belisari took time to explain to Aurora a little bit about the Kingdom of Latila. From the information the girl gathered, the Kingdom of Latila has several Aristocratic Houses, three of which: the House of Latila, the House of Voyage and the House of Flemton are currently or once had their headquarter in this city:

  “The Voyage Palace, the place we're going to is my friend’s establishment. It is the largest palace in the city, almost twice as big as the Royal Palace - sounds ridiculous, huh? But it's true, because in addition to being the home of the House of Voyage, it is also the headquarters of an entire army.”

  In fact, the House of Voyage used to have countless other palaces/castles across former territory of the kingdom, one even a little bigger than the one in Latila. But after the Northern Expedition of the Empire, most of the palaces were either destroyed, or being captured and became the new homes of Elestovakia nobles, leaving only the palace in Latila intact. It wasn’t wrong to say that the losses of the House of Voyage in terms of fortune were tremendous.

  “The House of Latila is different, they only have a single modest palace on top of a high hill in the city. From that place we can look over the whole country, and even see across the border. And that is..."

  Along the southern wall of the city, facing a strait flowing between a coastal island and Latila (Aurora later was told that the island is called Hellene Island, the strait is called Bosphor and the sea surrounding the Kingdom is called the sea of Marmaro) is the castle of the House of Flemtom, once built upon the ruins of an old fortress during the war between the Kingdom and the Nosfeturan Empire several hundred years ago. Since both the House of Flemton and the House of Voyage are militarism parties of the kingdom, the Castle and Palace were once the joint headquarters of the Kingdom's armed force:

  “But it is now abandoned. Ten years ago when the Elestovakians were approaching the city from the south, 95% of the House of Flemton and their whole army were sent out to confront them.What followed is a fierce clash occurred in the southern flank of Latila, which ended in a Latilian defeat, and most Flemtone fighters were killed, but their sacrifice bought time and allowed the House of Voyage's army to gather in behind Latila’s walls to defend the city.”

  “When you said “95% " and "most ", you were saying that there were survivors?”

  “Not at all, the remaining adults died defending the walls. The children…while the Elestovakians breached the city, they splitted into two groups, one went westward, the other went south. The army that went south arrived at Flemton castle, when there was no defender and then…well, you know…”

  “That sounds tragic.”

  "Yeah..."

  Belisari’s face manifests a gloomy sadness. After all, as an aristocrat, Belisari knows some friends from Flemton. The extermination of the House of Flemton is a great loss for Latila and their Voyager colleagues.

  "Oh, I forgot to ask" - the prince suddenly changed the subject - "Where do you come from?"

  “Eh, I am a Greek, though I came here from Russia.”

  “Russia? Greek? Never heard of either, are they in the North?

  Nodding “Yes, very far, far beyond the polar region. I had to risk my life to get here.”

  “Well, I'm glad you haven't drowned yet. But, why did you come to this country?

  “I want to become a saint.”

  “Eh…that sounds pretty ambitious to say the least.”

  There was still some time before arriving at the palace, so Aurora asked the question she should have asked before:

  “Belisari, how advanced is Latila’s industrial capability? I need as much information as possible to make reasonable and logical adjustments for the army.”

  “Fair”- The prince crossed his arms- “Well, Latila can produce black gunpowder in large quantities. We can also craft guns or cannons, but not much in quality nor quantities, our ship-building technique is far outmatched by the Maritime Federation, sadly.”

  “Well, knowing how to make gunpowder is great enough, since it means Latila has the ability to handle chemicals to a certain extent. By the way, your turn."

  Belisari takes the umbrella from Aurora.

  This device is far superior in terms of protection, comfort and weight when put side by side with those umbrellas available on the market right now. If Latila can replicate and mass produce them, they may earn a lot of money from the notoriously skimpy merchants from the Federation.

  While thinking, the prince suddenly saw Aurora slip, luckily Belisari reacted fast enough to reached out and catch her:

  “Be careful, you might trip over and get seriously injured. What made your mind so unfocused?”

  “Ah, I was thinking about whether or not I should renovate the entire Kingdom's arsenal entirely.”

  “As long as you can finish everything in less than four months.”

  The two were so busy talking that they didn't realize they had arrived right at the entrance of Voyage Palace.

  “It’s me.”

  When they walked toward the gate, a few guards armed with halberds rushed out to encounter them. Seeing the guards, Aurora quickly hid behind Belisari. She did not have to however, because strangely, as soon as they recognized Belisari, the group of guards immediately stood aside and bowed to the "low-ranking officer":

  “Wow, you are actually a noble.”

  “You thought I was lying?”

  Looking behind him to see if anyone was following him, after making sure there was no one, Belisari continued:

  “Yeah, I am a noble, and I have a few friends from the House of Voyage, well, the three closest ones are Klein, Arlin and Lily. Klein is the youngest brother, while Arlin is the older brother, they are twins but Klein was born a few minutes later. Lily meanwhile is the eldest sister. All three of them serve in the military and have special units under their command.”

  “Special units?”

  “Are units with better fighting capacity than basic units, or simply units trained for special tasks other than combat. For example, Arlin's Cavalry Companions are melee cavalry, but they usually fight with crossbows to attack from afar in order to create an advantage before hand-to-hand combat. Or in another instance Klein's Legionary Corp can perform fighting, as well as building fortifications and other war facilities.”

  “What about Lily?”

  “Winged Husaria.”

  They can’t fly though, their wings are just for decoration and intimidation.

  “But to be honest, the Latilian army is quite lacking firepower.” - the prince further elaborates - “That's why I recruited you. Your technique of crafting explosive shells is very valuable to fill up the hole in our lack of heavy firepower, and I want to exploit it to the fullest.”

  “So I have the full authority to fill up that “lack of heavy firepower” hole of Latila, right?”

  “Don't do anything too crazy, logistics have their limits. Latila has the ability to install a giant cannon that can penetrate any wall, or mobilize the entire population to enlist, but if that cannon can't be pulled by horses to join the battle, or food runs out because the number of troops is unsustainable. That version of Latila will be lost in just the first month of the war.”

  Belisari looked at Aurora, the girl’s face was full of surprise:

  “You are… good at this, managing resources, unlike a certain country that invaded the Soviet Union - I meant Russia and its allies but lacked the ability to manage resources. Instead they poured money and effort into a bunch of useless weapons, and in turn lost the war.”

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  “Haha, then don't let our Kingdom suffer the same fate.”

  Belisari bursted out laughing, half joking, half serious.

  Back to the present

  “Gone for so long, eh?” Slap!

  As soon as he entered the room, before he could say anything, Prince Belisari was slapped in the face by Archduchess Lily, who had been waiting for him to begin this punishment, partly because Belisari made her younger brother worried, largely however because he tunneled out of his work without her allowance:

  “Hey! Sorry.”-Belisari says when holding his hand on the slap mark.

  “You deserved it. Do you know how long I have to suffer listening to my overreacting brother? I am not worried about you, but Klein keeps annoying me with his nonsense..."-Lily hurls another hit, but the prince was able to block it:

  “You should’ve targeted your fists at your brother, not me.”

  Klein was about to stop Lily, but hearing Belisari saying that, he decided not to interfere.

  “You are responsible for it.”

  For some reason, the two nobles began to clash, not in a violence way though. They fight, but in the way a pair of close friends fight, talking and laughing while blocking punches and kicks of the other, and holding back. The two are very close for sure, an outsider might say.

  Standing behind the door quietly observing everything, Aurora was a bit surprised. Compared to the world she used to live in, the aristocrats here have less rules and tend to be more aggressive, but they are more “common”, or “peasant” than she thought. That officer Belisari and the woman named Lily...they are the type of nobles who are willing to go to pubs and drink beer and chat with commoners, or stroll around flea markets to buy goods from street traders.

  Yeah, the two of them are that type of aristocrats. Maybe that is good, it will make it easier for Aurora to talk to them.

  “Okay, stop.”

  While Aurora was observing, the Archduchess suddenly turns her right eye and glanced at the white-haired girl, her face suddenly becoming serious and perhaps, a bit scary:

  “You better have a proper explanation. Anyway, may I know her name?”

  “Ah, this girl?”-Belisari pulls the guest from her hiding spot-“Her name is Aurora. Aurora, this is Lily Sobieski Voyage, the current Archduchess of the House of Voyage.”

  (Arch…duchess!?)

  "You can call me Liliya" - Lily raises her hand in greeting- "I hope His Royal Highness didn't bother you."

  (His Royal Highness- Prince as well!?)

  These two people are high-ranking nobles!? And Belisari is a prince!?

  “And that is”—Belisari continued his introduction—”Klein Caesar Voyage, Liliya's younger brother.”

  “Er...greeting.”

  The confused younger Voyage keeps his distance with Aurora and bows to her. Aurora imitates to greet him in return. Compared to the two others, Klein behaves much more modestly. Dealing with him might be a challenge. Well, whatever:

  “Nice!”

  Aurora was clearly lucky, it was unbelievable that as soon as she arrived in this country she was sought after by a prince, even though the reason she was "hunted" for was not the best. It was a bit cumbersome in terms of communication, and her wrist is still a bit sore from the first encounter. Regardless, the fateful meeting between Aurora and two of the highest ranked aristocrats was a wonderful event for Aurora. Why? Because if she needs any help in the future, it will be much easier-

  “Hey, you there.”

  "Huh?"

  Suddenly, Lily appears by Aurora’s right flank and says into the girl’s ear, which makes the guest startled.

  “Egh…heh?”

  Aurora looks around, Belisari is in the corner of the room discussing something with Klein, leaving the girl here alone dealing with the Archduchess:

  “You... aren't a vampire, right?”

  Aurora nods repeatedly, being scared, which is completely understandable as Lily looks extremely terrifying.

  The Archduchess has two scars on her face, one on her right cheek, the other on her left eye (perhaps Lily has to wear an eyepatch because of it) and she certainly has more scars underneath the fabric that is covering her muscular body. Besides, she is at least 1 meter 9 meters tall, even taller than Belisari. In addition, her jet black, silky hair falls down to her waist, or around Aurora’s chest.

  As for the gears…the right side of her belt is a decorative musket, and on the left is a pack of cigarettes. To describe it from Aurora’s perspective, Lily looks more like a professional mercenary than an aristocrat.

  “I can see, your hair is white, but your eyes are dark brown.”

  However, contrary to her appearance, Lily seems to be very hospitable and friendly. The Archduchess reached for an apple on the table, then gave it to Aurora:

  "Have a treat.”

  “Eh, thank you.”

  Aurora takes a bite into the apple. The apple is sweet, has a mild sour flavor, and is very delicious. She loves it. Indeed, apples grown in Vlenna are the best.

  “Aha…”

  Seeing the young guest seemed to like it, Lily put the whole bag of apples into Aurora's hand:

  “You may return my favor by buying me some cigarettes.”

  “Hey Liliya.”

  Belisari called back to the Archduchess:

  “Help me put out the couch.”

  The Prince was carrying the double armchair in the corner of the room to the table, but Klein was too weak to carry the other end, so he had to ask Lily for help. With the strength of the two, the chair was quickly folded, facing the two other chairs already there.

  “Okay”—Belisari said after lowering the chair-”Now let's start a proper introduction for each person, okay?”

  **

  After spending another minutes adjusting the fireplace, the four individuals, two hosts and two guests finally settled

  Everyone is looking at each other.

  Belisari glances at Lily sitting next to him, waiting for her reaction. Lily also looks back at Belisari, waiting for a clear explanation from her friend.

  Meanwhile, Klein was looking at Aurora the whole time, wondering if the conversation he had with the prince before they went out was actually heard by God and he fulfilled it by sending a vampire to Latila and by chance, Belisari had managed to bring that vampire here for his sake.

  Only Aurora's eyes were not fixed, she glances from person to person, worrying what come next:

  “You...didn't mistake her for a vampire, did you?”

  Finally, Lily spoke, but only whispered to Belisari:

  “Of course not, (let us ignore that the prince went looking for Aurora for a few hours because he mistook her for a vampire) have I lost your faith?”

  “No, just checking.”

  “What are you two talking about?”-Klein interjected.

  “Nothing”—they both said, then Lily asked—”Aurora, where do you come from?”

  Aurora should have been the one to answer that question, but Belisari answers instead- “She's a Greek, and...well...Aurora is an immigrant, I recruited her when she worked at Milishila Maritime Institution.”

  Blatantly, Belisari made up the story of recruiting Aurora when she was working as an employee of the Milishila Maritime Institution to avoid having to admit to picking her up off the street, and also to increase Aurora's knowledge’s value. The reason Belisari said Aurora came from Milishila is as mentioned before, Aurora has explosive shells, and the only country that owns this weapon is the Milishilian kingdom. By giving Aurora the Milishilian nationality, when later Aurora manufactures explosive shells, it would be easier to explain how she knows how to make them.

  Lily mumbled-"Greek... sounds familiar..."

  (Huh?)

  "Let's ignore the unnecessaries, Liliya." - the prince continues, interrupting the Duchess's line of thought - "As for the purpose of recruiting her, it is because she has enough knowledge and intelligence to improvise the Kingdom's military technology. Aurora will be a necessary factor in the upcoming military equipment renovating plan I shall propose-”

  "Who asked you to do it?"-Lily asks-”the “military equipment renovating plan"?"

  “It is something I need to do by myself. As a high-ranking officer, I feel that equipping my troops with good weapons is the minimum to maintain the ability to fight and win, right Liliya?”

  Lily sighs-“You have a point, but I'm still a bit upset because you didn't tell me about it. I am your superior after all."

  “Sorry about that, but I wanted to keep it a secret to protect Aurora.”

  The less people know about this girl, the better, she will be less likely to be assassinated by Elestovakian spies. A pretty reasonable excuse.

  “So why did Your Highness choose her? Why not a famed engineer, an experienced weapons researcher, but a young girl. Do you have any particular reasons?”

  It is now Klein's turn to strike with a sensible. However, that question lost its sense right away:

  Klein added while staring at Aurora-“Uh- could it be Your Highness is interested in little gi-”

  “May I throw you away?”

  Holding back his urge to give his friend a hit on the head, Belisari gives an explanation:

  ”I have reasons to hire Aurora. One, she is still young, which means she will be with us for a long time, and is unlikely to have age-related health problems. Two, compared to old men, Aurora's mind is more agile and is more efficient in planning and calculating, and also better at avoiding many errors in the production process. In addition, according to my observation, her experience is not that much inferior to that of a professional. And most importantly…”

  Belisari turns his eyes at Aurora, then says:

  “She is not from Milishila, is not loyal to the Kingdom of Milishila, and is therefore willing to sell us any knowledge and blueprints we need. Not everyone has all of those requirements...Aurora is the only one who satisfied all of them. She is unique.”

  The argument is clear and concise. Belisari is the type of person who has the ability to convince others to believe in what he says, you could call it a talent of his. Luckily he was born into royalty so he didn't have to use it much. Imagine him being a commoner and using that ability to scam the nobility, it might make you shudder thinking about it.

  "Alright..."

  It seemed that Klein was convinced, Lily sees that and nods. The scam of Aurora's identity is a great success, now it's time to present the military renovating plan for Lily. This is easy.

  “Well then, tell me about your “upcoming military equipment renovating plan” “

  "Well, my plan is divided into two main parts."

  Belisari took out a piece of paper to illustrate:

  "The first part will focus on the firepower of the cavalry force, including the elves' Cavalry Archer team, War Arlin's Cavalry, and especially your Winged Cavalry, Liliya. They will test new weapons that potentially outmatch any weapon we are using at this moment."

  “Just “Potentially”?”

  “Failure is inevitable.”

  “Fair enough, and I see why you chose the cavalry.”

  Cavalry account for 10% of the kingdom's land army, around seven thousand out of seventy thousand, upgrading them will take not much time. So if they fail in the first time, they still have chance to restart the whole thing and try again for two or three times:

  “I estimate it will take us a month to complete the cavalry upgrades. During that time, the infantry force will also be gradually enhanced in terms of logistics and transportation

  (or at least that's what Aurora promised to help Belisari with while the two were still in the hallway)

  At that time, I will begin part two of the plan.”

  The cavalry is done, so it should be:

  “Infantry firepower?”

  “50:50 actually. You were right in guessing that I would upgrade the infantry, but not all of them will be about firepower. It is true that some units will be equipped with better weapons, but some will have equipment suitable to that unit's unique combat trait. And...

  Also, I am also having a surprise gift for you and the Kingdom's army. I'll tell you the details later.”