Chapter 417: 395 Who did you just mention?
Since their own carriage had been turned into a honeycomb by bandit arrows and hacked to a mess by random slashes, Gel and Fannie, the servant and master duo, had no choice but to board Reiger’s carriage and set off with him.
Liz was still in charge of driving, the young princess’s face taut as she clutched a sword in one hand and the reins in the other, seemingly focusing intently on commanding the horses, daring not to be careless in the slightest.
This was because Liz had only recently learned how to drive a carriage.
Before she turned seven, Liz was still young and had always wandered with an old woman, never having driven a carriage.
After turning seven, Liz had been taken into the palace by King Hemulinp to become a deep boudoir princess, naturally having even less opportunity to drive a carriage.
Therefore, it was only when Reiger decided to head to Xinyele that Marilyn hastily imparted some knowledge of carriage driving to Liz.
The learning time was very short, less than half a day, so Liz was very careful and extremely nervous, fearing that as a new "road assassin" she might accidentally cause trouble.
Unaware of this, Gel and Fannie looked at each other in surprise when they saw Liz going to the driver’s seat to command the horses.
"... Why does such a beautiful sister need to drive a carriage?"
Fannie couldn’t help but mutter.
Reiger couldn’t be bothered to explain his relationship with Liz, and had Fannie and Gel sit opposite him, only then learning from their conversation why they had ventured alone to the territory of the Meipros family.
The answer actually left Reiger speechless.
"You sneaked out?"
Displaying a complex expression, Reiger spoke.
"Yes," Gel said, seemingly understanding Reiger’s feelings, and added sheepishly, "Because the master was not very supportive of the young lady coming to this territory, yet she had her compelling reasons, and felt that even with only me, I could manage the safeguarding duties, so... "
"So you hid it from your family and sneaked out on your own?" Reiger continued Gel’s words, adding, "And after you officially arrived in this territory, you then realized that you had underestimated the chaos here as well as the bandits’ skills?"
"Exactly." Gel’s face displayed increasing shame, and he spoke with a hint of dread in retrospect, "Fortunately, we encountered sir; otherwise, I can hardly imagine what misfortunes my young lady and I would have faced falling into the hands of those bandits."
Fannie, sitting close to Gel, also showed a face that seemed relieved of a great survival ordeal.
Clearly, the recent bandit attack had cast a psychological shadow over this servant and master duo.
"That was reckless," Reiger folded his arms, commenting coolly before asking, "So, what is the compelling reason you had to venture into this territory?"
This question’s answer was somewhat more credible.
"Me, I want to find my brother!"
Fannie, as if suddenly finding courage, spoke to Reiger.
"A brother?"
Reiger was slightly taken aback, looking towards Gel.
Gel pressed his lips together and after a moment’s hesitation, sighed before speaking.
"To put it simply, the young lady’s brother was sent to the Meipros family."
After Gel’s explanation, Reiger gradually understood what had happened.
Actually, this was also because of war.
Although the Kingdom of Leiblu and War Country had been at war for many years, both were prominent countries on the Aksia continent, and after countless battles, neither could overpower the other.
The two countries were equally matched and if they continued to fight, it was very likely to result in mutual destruction; ultimately, even if a victor emerged, the victory would come at great cost.
This worried the royal and noble families of both Kingdom of Leiblu and War Country, fearing that even if they won, it would lead to a significant diminution of national power, enabling the other two powerful countries of Aksia continent and many smaller countries to take advantage.
Thus, senior figures from both countries had intermittently suggested that they should cease fighting, to avoid a scenario where, by fighting each other, they would merely profit a third party.
However, these suggestions had been repeatedly obstructed and met with strong opposition.
The reason was simple.
"Leiblu Kingdom is the most famous War Country on the Aksia continent. From its foundation, it has had a strong militaristic atmosphere, promoting growth through war and enrichment through aggression, essentially a quintessential warrior faction."
"This ideology led many warmongers to converge in Leiblu Kingdom, and its military and armed forces grew increasingly strong. Eventually, it successfully annexed many smaller countries and became one of the four major countries on the continent, expanding its borders until it neighbored War Country, another major country."
"In this nation, both the king and those nobles were ambitious figures."
"They coveted the vast lands and rich resources of War Country, which led them to declare war on War Country about forty years ago."
That is to say, the most influential voices in Leiblu Kingdom were predominantly pro-war, with very few advocating peace.
On the other hand, as the attacked and invaded party, War Country had fought Leiblu Kingdom for a full forty years, and the accumulated hatred was imaginable.
Under such circumstances, even if voices advocating for peace existed in Leiblu Kingdom, due to the strong resistance from many in War Country who harbored deep-seated hatred towards Leiblu Kingdom, brokering peace would definitely face substantial obstacles, not merely from the enemy but even within their ranks, making it a very difficult task.