Return to Sender

[Sophie]

"Then it is your government that is in error." Ayano Okabe's voice boomed with ire after she slammed a fist on her table. "Our Empress set a very firm deadline for negotiations. She left no wiggle room. Perhaps you are ignorant to the matter at hand," Her voice only grew in volume. "But that deadline is in three days. So unless."

The Kumo next to her cleared her throat. The Minister of Foreign affairs held up her hand at her cohort. "I apologize for Okabe-kan's tone," Yamanaka spoke softly, attempting to disarm Okabe's irritation. "But I am afraid she is correct. Unless that letter of yours." She said, waggling a finger in their direction. "Is a complete acquiescence to our Empress's demands, then we will be forced to enact our contingency plan for non-compliance." She slowly held out her hand, outstretching all of her fingers. "So if you are not here to negotiate, then hand me that letter, and let's roll the dice."

[callmedelta]

“I have no idea what’s in that letter,” Ophelia hurried out. Ludwig had to stop translating for a moment, his mind unable to keep up with how fast Ophelia was speaking while keeping an accurate translation. 

“I do know, however, that when we left the status of the Notch was a very contentious issue, it could swing either way. If you were to declare war now, you would be throwing away tens of thousands of Franerri, Elenrian, and Kumo lives for no good reason, when Franerre very well could cede the province for no blood shed in another month.”

Ophelia took her hand off the letter, sliding it to the Kumo. “Read the letter if you believe it will help, but keep in mind it was addressed directly to your Empress.“

[Sophie]

Yamanaka took the letter while Okabe rolled her eyes and almost snarled. "Please give us another month to increase our illegal presence at the notch further. Do you think us stupid? If you were willing to cede our rightful territory, you would have either done so already or you would have conceded so in this very letter." She looked over to Yamanaka as she read and asked. "Well? What's it say?"

[callmedelta]

There were two copies of the letter, one in the original Franerri and the other translated into Koian.

---

To the Wise Empress Shiraori Tetsu Kumo,

It is my deepest regret that this letter must take the long voyage to Kumosenkan to reach you personally, but errors can ill be afforded in a matter as serious as this, and the only way I can be certain that this message is to reach your ears accurately and with my full opinion on the matter stated clearly is through a letter penned by my own hand. Kumosenkan's recent interest into the status of the city of Elenerre and the surrounding territories is of grave concern to me. Many in my government believe this situation can only be resolved through violence, but I am of the opinion that diplomacy can rule the day and that needless bloodshed on all sides can be avoided. However, convincing my government of this has already proven to be a struggle, and they fear that the information regarding the status of the territory of Elenerre may have been delivered by flawed, biased Elenrian accounts distorting your wise judgement, though this is admittedly pure speculation on the part of some of my ministers.  For talks to occur, and Elenerre to be ceded peacefully and without resorting to war, they request the presence of a neutral arbitrating power, specifically the Republic of Koi, to ensure that all information brought to the discussion table is factual, the situation as it currently stands in the city of Elenerre and the surrounding territories is known by all parties, and that all bias in the information be removed as best as is possible is the only compromise I have been able to extract from my government thus far in time to ensure this letter can reach your hands. I have already sent a telegram to the Republic of Koi requesting this arbitration, though specifics such as date and location have yet to be set. 

For the sake of peace between our two nations, I hope this letter is satisfactory to you and your government.

H.R.H. King Dante Emil Soleil Della Rosa II, King of Franerre
Director Lehran de Angelis, Franerri Foreign Affairs Administration
First Chamberman Isaac Dufour Jr.

[Sophie]

"How unfortunate." Minister Yamanaka sighed. "It seems all your king is able to do is shift blame. Unfortunately, I am not surprised. Master Librarian Meiyu is over four hundred years old. She knows better than anyone here who the notch rightfully belongs to. Anyone who looks at a map can tell that it belongs in control of Elenria. It is a disgusting pillar to border gore. As well, your king wishes to rope in a country that has nothing to do with anything regarding international borders. Koi has no right to declare where our Sovereign territory begins and ends."

"Perhaps they don't teach history in Franerre, but the last time Koi was involved in those decisions, the entire world went to war." The Minister of the Hunt snarled.

"I suggest you two reconsider your stance on not being able to sit down and talk with us." Yamanaka's voice was deadly serious. "Your decisions today will affect the lives of millions of occupants of the notch."

[callmedelta]

OOC note: all bracketed text is in Franerri. All other speech is in Koian.

---

The pair of Franerri diplomats looked at each other. Ludwig felt sick to his stomach, and Ophelia felt the sort of optimism that can only come from knowing that one was well and truly doomed, and that the only place to go from here was up. Ludwig stared at Ophelia.

[What?] Ophelia asked.

[Don't you fucking 'what' me. You understand how completely and utterly fucked we are here, right?] Ludwig responded, coming across much harsher than he'd initially intended. [Our signatures aren't worth the pens used to write them here. Kumo isn't going to fucking accept that.]

[We still have our orders. There can't be any harm in trying.] Ophelia said. [What's Kumosenkan going to do, invade us more? At worst we'll get scolded out of this room and Kumo will invade, which is just about what was already going to happen.]

[So it's still your job to try and fix this.] Ludwig had intended the harsh tone in his voice this time. [You're the fucking diplomat here, I'm just a translator. So do some diplomacy!]

Ophelia sighed. [Just...give me a moment to collect my thoughts. You focus on translating.]

Ludwig grit his teeth, but he did the translating dutifully. 

"First of all, I don't believe it's in anyone's best interest for us to sign anything at this time," Ophelia began, "The National Chamber never gave us the power to negotiate - any deals we signed would just be declared invalid and we'd be right back where we started. I do believe, however, that we can pass whatever deal we work out here to Pareau, and that it's in everyone's best interest if we used the telegrams this time. Second of all, this is only my speculation on what the King may be thinking, but I would find it hard to believe that he is asking the Koians to make a decision. If I had to guess, and again, this is only speculation, his Highness was simply asking the Koians to serve as a neutral arbitrator to facilitate a discussion. Thirdly, and this could be a translation issue, there's one part I don't believe I fully understand about the wording of your demands. You claim that Franerre's presence in the disputed territory is illegal, but the territory was ceded by the Treaty of Nanhaimen in 1547. As much as any military conquest can be legal, this one is."

[Sophie]

Yamanaka shook her head slowly and clicked her tongue. "Tsk Tsk Tsk Tsk." With a sigh, she spoke with disappointment. "Your occupation in Elenrian territory has never been acknowledged or recognized by the current Elenrian government nor Kumosenkan. The government that ceded that territory was long illegitimate. However, I am happy to hear you admit that your occupation and conquest of the Notch is a military one. I also hope you are aware of the definition of the word arbitrator; in a situation in which we were to agree to any form of arbitration, we would be agreeing to the decision the arbitrator made, as that is what arbitrators do. They hear a case and make a decision that both parties are meant to agree to. Now, if your king never gave you the authorization to make any form of deal with us, then I see no reason to believe that would change with a call home."

"I knew holding out hope for a diplomatic solution was foolish." Minister Okabe nearly spat. "If the Empress hadn't demanded it out of the kindness of her own heart, we wouldn't be here wasting our time!"

"Now now, Okabe-kan." Yamanaka interjected with a slight pat on her peer's back. "It is always worth it to try and talk things out first, even if it, unfortunately, bore no fruit this time around." With a soft smile, she returned her gaze to the Franerri duo. "It seems there is little left for us to discuss. We appreciate you taking the time to visit our lovely capital. I trust my subordinates will see you safely back to your vessel." She stood and opened the door to the meeting room, letting Yuriri Oreki back into the room. "Oreki-kas, please escort this lady and her assistant back to her vessel. We've had quite the productive conversation." With a final remark, Yamanaka addressed the Franerri for the last time. "Oh, just some free advice. Best not talk in a different language in front of someone you're trying to deal with, lest they think you're plotting something."