A Leap of Faith

"And you should request a royal pardon."


Adanita turned around. Looking at the expression on her face, he knew that if he had said such a sentence without gaining at least this much trust between them, he would be in mortal danger right now. He was not afraid, though. He silently watched her as she set the glass on her table. Leaning on the knuckles of her clenched fists, she took a deep breath before looking up at him again.

"Continue."

What a monumental show of restraint. He'd unironically applaud her if the situation was any different.

"The state of your Pirate Republic is unstable, at best," he calmly started. "The only way you people have managed to stumble along in the past few decades were extremely lucky circumstances during which your country was formed." Sad, but true. She didn't deny it, so he continued. "The wars between the Kingdom of Bretonia, Franac Republic and the Karpathian Empire won't last forever. In fact, Bretonia and Franac were just about reaching ceasefire when I was leaving to take my office." That ceasefire didn't last for too long in her previous lifetime, but it will if he gets a say in it. "The lack of cooperation between the nations is the only thing permitting you to form these loose alliances as you see fit at the time. Once your only advantage is gone, it is only a matter of time before two, or even three or four different fleets come to retake this area."

"Need I remind you that the royal pardon drove the Cove to ruin?"

"No. However, let us analyze what led to that." He leaned back and looked up at the ceiling, preparing the best words for this.

"You are simply unfit for the high society," he said. "You weren't able to find any allies, or to discern enemies from friends. From your writing, I'd say Teodolit may have some better skill than you, but neither of you are capable of dealing with those wretched excuses for human beings. They were going to ruin your lives out of mere boredom, they do it to each other all the time. It was merely bad luck that Duchess Almukantarat got her hands on the two of you first. That, however, is merely a part of what went wrong."

He looked back at her. She was taking his reasonably insulting statements pretty well. So far, so good.

"Secondly, let's discuss what the royal pardon did to Hannau Cove." It was his turn to get up and walk over to the window. He couldn't sit still, everything depended on this. Goodness, she really had a great view of that willow. He continued speaking. "First of all, with you going between Bretonia and the Cove for months at a time, you couldn't properly give either the necessary attention. With the Cove being so far from Bretonia, but equally far from two more continents, it was at a remarkably vulnerable position. By declaring your alliance with Bretonia alone, you've painted a target on your back as far as anyone else was concerned."

"So, why should I do it again?" she asked, finally interrupting him.

"You should not aim for the Cove to become a vassal or a colony of Bretonia," he said. "The royal pardon is merely a step we'll need to take towards getting other countries to recognize you as a proper country too."

"You must be insane."

Patience, patience. This will take some time and convincing. She went through a frankly terrifying ordeal. He knew she wouldn't immediately jump to agree to any idea he said, and he knew this plan was probably the hardest one to sell. But, it was necessary. Step by step, give her time. Ignore the trembling in your hands and speak calm and clear. This was just another courtroom, and she was just another jury.

"Allow me to continue."

"Please do."

Deep breath. "The newfound state as a colony of Bretonia meant that the Cove was now a free-for-all playground for every other country. You were unable to form proper alliances and new trade agreements without the Kingdom's supervision. Other countries, namely the Mletak Republic and Karpathian Empire did not need to hide their hostilities to you. I am almost certain that the mercenary raids on your ships and the town itself were paid for by Mletaks." In fact, those people were likely her worst enemy. While they may not have been as large as Bretonia or Franac Republic, or even Karpathians, the amount of money that went through their hands was frankly astounding. They could hire enough mercenaries to form a real army, if they wanted to. "Considering the distance from Bretonia and the Cove, you were too far for proper interventions that wouldn't have weakened Bretonia's own defenses during the war efforts."

So far, so good. She got the idea behind how it all went wrong, it seemed. It was time to put the offer out.

"However, should you become a free country, and gain recognition as one - you would be free to form your own agreements with whomever you wanted to, even if -especially if- they were at odds with each other. Your current situation, but backed with the respect this city-state deserves." Here we go: "To attain this goal, I offer my services to you. Free of charge, provided you assist me in this goal, as well as the goal of saving Lilac from Duchess Almukantarat, should she try to go after him again."

There, presentation done. He put a hand on his hip, holding onto the table with his other hand. Drained like never before. Now she needed time to consider this, while he needed a break. And he also needed to get ready for round two, in the likely case she doesn't buy it.

He looked up at her to see her reaction to all this. Bless her heart, it seemed she truly listened. She was thinking about it! It was half a victory!

"So, what is the specific purpose of a royal pardon in this situation, then?" she asked.
"To begin establishing a diplomatic bond between you and Bretonia," he said. "In this new form, your goal would not be to become a privateer, but to apologize for your previous attacks on Bretonian ships. Your goal would be a peaceful resolution of your differences, and hopefully gaining enough allies in the Bretonian court to continue onwards to other lands. I have some connections I formed during the time I advocated for the Verlice Experiment. I am certain they would be of use to you."

Very slowly, she nodded. "What will Queen Sarmia have to say about your pet project of creating a new country?"
"Convincing My Queen would fall under my own duties." At this time, he had no clue how to pull it off, to be fair. But, step by step. "You said that Duchess Almukantarat advocated for the royal pardon the first time around?" he asked.
"Yes," she said quietly. "It was her idea."
"I believe it was done to raise her standing with the Queen even further, by gaining a new territory." And to prove him an even greater fool for dying less than two weeks after arriving, when she'd so effortlessly create such an alliance. "If she has similar goals at this time around, I believe I could use even her to my advantage before disposing of her at a later date."
"So, your negotiations of my position would raise your own status?" she asked.

"Yes."

It was the truth. He waited for her to ask if that was what he was after all along. The question was written all over her face, but to his surprise, she refrained from a direct insult.

"Hah." She picked up her glass and downed it. "What guarantees do I get? How do you know you can succeed?"

"I don't. I can't make a promise of my success, and I never would," he said. Never once, in the two lives he lived. "However, I can offer my resume for your consideration. I have successfully negotiated cooperation between countries during an open war." That was coming dangerously close to a promise. Dial it back. "I can't tell you I will certainly succeed. I can't predict the future, either. However, this is the best I can give you: I swear to you that I will do all I can, within my power and ability, to help you and the Pirate Republic survive. I can't give you the promise of a future you desire, I can only give you myself. This is, in my opinion, the best course of action. Whatever you choose, it will be a gamble. However, I do believe that I can stack our odds the best if we proceed like this."

She crossed her arms, visibly in deep thought. "Then, what about that Vice Admiral?"

Aha. He leaned on the table. "All I need to do is prove that Khamil was the one giving orders, not me."

"Very well. How do you plan to prove that?"

"First of all, I must return to Hipparcos. I'd appreciate it if you accompanied me."

"Hah. So you'd like me to agree to your plan for the Cove, before you even deal with the issue straight ahead of you? You must be mad."

Patience. Patience, patience, patience. "Consider Khamil's plan," he said. "It either depended on sheer luck that I should find myself in the sea, or..." Keep it together. "Or, he meddled with my safety rope. So, either we are dealing with an attempted murder, or with an idiot. I survived either way. He is now in an extremely dangerous situation and he can either try again, or try to hide his own trail. Dealing with criminals like these was my entire life once before. I can handle him."

"Is that a promise?"

Must she? Apparently, yes. "No. I am only stating my skillset. Once I return to Hipparcos, I will handle him, as well as that gaggle of Captains who were happy to go along with his story when I was dead." By now, Nivelir surely arrested them all. He won't go interrogate them immediately upon return. No, no. They must hear the news of his arrival. They need to spend a few days simmering in their cells. Let the panic settle in, and don't let them get their stories straight. Getting witnesses to tell the truth was step one, step two will be evidence. He will get there.

She seemed to accept it, if only for the sake of the argument. "Fine. What else?"

"Nivelir and Lilac need to be brought up to speed. Nivelir is my secretary, my right-hand man, much like Teodolit is to you. Lilac has the right to know, too."

She let out a sigh. "You have... extremely tall orders."

"I know." She will need more convincing, he was certain. He kept himself calm and collected, and sipped some of the tokay. "These are all necessary. I also believe it would be good if Teodolit came along. He and Lilac may think of some reason why the time turned back, and more importantly, why you still remember what occurred previously."
"I heard from Ekliptik you also asked for their help," she said.
"I won't need them," he firmly said. "It was just to give them something new to think about."
"Hah, do you really think they'll quit that easily?"
"You speak as if you agree with me already."

"You... you are very convincing. It is frankly terrifying." she said. "I have a feeling that you could successfully argue that the only solution to this is those duck toys, if you wanted to. You make ideas sound reasonable even when everything in my head is screaming not to listen."
He decided to take it as a compliment.
"You said other nobles would ruin my life out of boredom... but you are a nobleman too."
"Consider your interactions with me so far, and what you've experienced in your previous life. I won't disrespect you by bothering to come up with an excuse for what you said."
"Hah."

Was that enough? Maybe not.
He took a deep breath. "Listen. I am only suggesting you this because I believe that it can become a mutually beneficial agreement. I believe that Hannau Cove can become a real country. And I believe we can deal with Duchess Almukantarat when the time comes."
"Right."
"I need at least this much trust from you. Plain and simple."

He sat down. This was it, for now. Emotional arguments were his least favourite, although it seemed they were the most effective at a time like this.

"Really?"
"Yes."
"It sounded more sincere before, somehow."
"I'd not put it that way. It is how I feel. You shared important information with me in the hopes of getting me to cooperate with you. I am willing to do so... but since you asked me to tell you what to do, this is it. I do believe my analysis of the situation should serve you more when you make your decision, though. I just... don't think I gave you as much of a reason to trust me as you did to me. I wouldn't say what I said otherwise."
"Telling me you lived once before isn't good enough?" she asked.
"It is irrelevant to the discussion at hand, isn't it?"
"Hah. You are... a real piece of work, aren't you?"

He allowed himself a smile.

"I'll... speak with the other Captains," she said.
"Wait, really?"
"Yes. Wasn't this your goal?"
"Well, yes. I somehow expected it would take several days of convincing you."
"What can I say?"

He raised his glass. "Yo-ho?"