Arknights: Prime Minister of Kjerag — Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Windermere Family AffairsYou're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

Terra Year 1093, June. Victoria, Duchy of Windermere, Lienkarden.

Duke Anfilia Windermere was a formidable woman. This description did not merely apply to her tall, powerful physique; it was the sharpest, most accurate summary of her very soul.

As a Grand Duke stationed on the jagged frontier between Victoria and Leithanien, her capital was a far cry from the opulent, decadent cities of her peers. Lienkarden was built directly upon the borderline, its heavy artillery batteries staring down Leithanien’s military fortresses. The entire territory was an entrenched war zone, radiating the grim aura of a sovereign’s shield holding the nation’s gate. The current Duke Windermere spent vastly more time standing over the tactical consoles of her front-line command center than she ever did resting in the lavish bedroom of her ducal estate. She was, in every sense, a paragon of martial authority.

Yet, even for a border warden who rarely dirtied her hands in the petty political squabbles of the capital, the stench drifting from the heart of Victoria was growing impossible to ignore.

It was the sickeningly sweet odor of festering flesh. The King’s demise had violently torn open the scab covering the empire’s deepest wounds, and the resulting rot was enough to drive any scavenging vulture into a frenzy.

“Something massive is going to break in Victoria.”

Anfilia had made that deduction weeks ago. Today, the bloody conjecture became an absolute certainty.

A secret missive had arrived via the courier of another Grand Duke.

The letter had crossed thousands of miles of rugged terrain, escaping the political maelstrom of the capital to reach her isolated command. It contained no pleasantries. It existed solely to inform Anfilia Windermere of a single, chilling fact: the Grand Dukes of Victoria had convened and agreed to hold a secret Ducal Council in Londinium, scheduled from late 1093 to early 1094.

How utterly absurd. As Duke Windermere, she had not even been privy to the discussions leading up to this summit, let alone its agenda. As the military vanguard defending the nation’s borders, she should have been the first to know. Instead, she was treated as an afterthought.

It was entirely possible that the vultures already gathered in Londinium had carved up the carcass of the empire before even sending this letter. Her presence was likely required only to rubber-stamp their treason.

But could she afford to ignore the summons?

“In war, one does not simply lay down their arms and surrender the moment an ambush is sprung. Since we have lost the initiative, we must at least uncover the enemy’s angle of attack.”

Anfilia spoke in a low, measured tone to her husband, Kent Windermere.

“Kent, this is a burden I must place upon you. As the supreme commander of the Windermere defense line, I cannot abandon the command center without explicit authorization. But you have proven your diplomatic edge time and time again. I am appointing you as my plenipotentiary representative. You will attend this secret Ducal Council in Londinium. Victoria will hear the voice of Windermere through you.”

Kent bowed his head. “It is my absolute honor, my Duke. However… what about Delphine?”

At the mere mention of her daughter’s name, the rigid, iron-wrought lines of Anfilia’s face softened. The cold winter general melted away, leaving behind a warm, quiet vulnerability. She pursed her lips, a rare flash of awkwardness crossing her features as she reached up to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

“I… I am not exactly suited for raising children.”

“If that is the case, why not send her away for the time being?” Kent offered a gentle, reassuring smile. “The political climate in Victoria is deteriorating by the hour. We do not know whether tomorrow will bring peace or total war. It would be wise to extract Delphine from this maelstrom until I return.”

The unspoken weight behind his words hung heavy in the air.and support the real translator.Read at elysianreads.com This is a stolen translation. You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

If the Ducal Council was a trap—if Kent did not return from Londinium—it meant the Grand Dukes had completely lost their minds. It would mean they could no longer tolerate the existence of a neutral, heavily armed Windermere faction.

Should that day come, both Anfilia and Delphine would be marked for death.

Kent knew his wife better than anyone. A woman bearing the name Anfilia Windermere was no fragile flower in need of her husband’s protection; she was a force of nature. The only variable that required his absolute caution was the safety of their child.

Anfilia frowned, her sharp eyes narrowing. “You want to send her away? Where could possibly be safer than the Duchy of Windermere? Where is safer than my own command center?”

“A safe location is not necessarily a hidden one.” Kent shook his head slowly. “Precisely because your command center is the most heavily fortified place in the region, every assassin and spy will naturally assume you are keeping Delphine there.”

“The sanctuary I have in mind is entirely off the board.”

Kent reached into his breast pocket and produced a crisp envelope, offering it to Anfilia. Pressed into the heavy wax seal was the distinct emblem of a snow leopard’s claw—the crest of Karlan Trade.

“Our friends in Kjerag have extended an invitation to attend the inaugural run of their nation’s very first train.”

Kent tapped the parchment. “Kjerag is completely encircled by treacherous mountains. The altitude is extreme, and the internal roads are punishingly rugged. They possess no Nomadic City Network, no modern communication infrastructure, and no mechanized transport. The locals travel primarily on foot or by Sumpter Beast., their society is bound together by an absolute, fanatical devotion to Kjeragandr. Their public consciousness is unified to a terrifying degree.”

Anfilia immediately grasped the tactical brilliance of the suggestion.

Surrounded by lethal peaks and isolated from the modern world meant the region was a black box. Intelligence rarely leaked in, and it certainly never leaked out. The lack of a Nomadic City Network and modern communications meant foreign espionage was virtually impossible to coordinate. And a population entirely devoted to Kjeragandr? That meant the locals could not be bought, bribed, or subverted.

Having spent her entire military career holding the line against Leithanien, Anfilia understood the sheer stopping power of faith. She could slaughter wave after wave of Leithanian Elector armies, but prying a single secret from the lips of a Witch King fanatic was an exercise in futility. Kjerag would be an impenetrable vault.

After a heavy moment of silence, she nodded, yielding to her husband’s judgment. “Very well. I leave this matter in your hands.”

“Accept the invitation. Take Delphine to this inauguration ceremony, and open negotiations with the leaders of Kjerag. We are prepared to pay whatever price they demand in exchange for their absolute protection and concealment of our daughter.”

Kent placed his left hand over his heart, bowing deeply in a flawless execution of noble etiquette. When he looked up, a faint, charming smile played on his lips.

“As you command, my Duchess.”

Late June, 1093. Duchy of Windermere.

A lone, heavily armored vehicle slipped out from the fortified gates of the command center, its headlights cutting through the biting wind as it began the long, quiet journey toward the snowy peaks of Kjerag.You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.