Notes

MA - Canon size MS.

MS - Humanoid size MS for infantry use.

Chapter 16

Mylene Rapha Holfort

Well played, Vince.

That's what she can only think of as she watched his daughter's wedding to the most powerful man in the kingdom.

Mika Fou Noah

An adventurer turned knight. It was a mistake of her in turning an eye to a gem like him.

Subjugation of the island fortress needs a powerful weapon. A weapon that is revealed on the duel.

A duel that turned into a scandal for so many reasons.

The court nobles wanted Noah's head for embarrassing the crown prince and to reclaim his lost item. Sadly for them, it's an honored duel, and by the rules of the kingdom, lost items are "finders keepers".

All of them threw a tantrum of being denied a weapon they could exploit so they went to an easier target.

Roland, that fool, listened to the vultures on his shoulders just to show-off. He had embarrassed Vince in court for his daughter's action ruining the royal family's reputation (even though it's already ruined by him).

And so Vince was given a choice,

Execution of her daughter or Life in shame.

He obviously picked the latter and used it in the most favourable course.

Damn you, Roland! With Mika on their side, war is now inevitable.

Oh, she already knew how the feudal nobles felt about her husband and her. Holfort is a kingdom built by adventurers and they wouldn't let a foreign queen rule it in the shadows. It also didn't help that Roland's court nobles are all parasites, playing around his hubris to control him like a puppet.

This is the man she married.

And now, Julius is most likely walking the same path as his father by courting this era's Saintess.

It was a surprise for her when the Lafan girl was acknowledged by the church as their Saintess.

It was a double-edge boon.

By courting Marie, Julius is giving the church a foothold in the royal court. There is a big reason why the church had no position on the royal court and by doing this, Julius is allowing them to interfere in the affairs of the kingdom.

A headache waiting to happen.

But it did come with a boon. If Marie becomes the Queen, the church will be part of the royal court intimately but it also means their forces would be added to the royal army.

Having the church's legion is a good bargain.

But it all pales in comparison to what Vince gained in marrying off his daughter to Mika.

What more weapons of the old world did he hide away? Mika is not an impulsive man by her observations and revealing the Unicorn was not out of impulse.

It was a calculated move.

Not only it cemented his place as the most powerful man in the kingdom but it's also a threat. Anyone foolish enough to attack him will die immediately. With this, he had created a fearsome reputation for himself which allows him to move unseen in the shadows for Vince as no one is brave enough to go in his path.

She needs to solve this dilemma.

Maybe Marie's magic can beat the Unicorn?

" Well, look at you. Sneaking around like a common thief now, Mylene." Her thoughts were broken by a voice behind her seat.

" Vince! " She exclaimed in surprise. How did he know she was here? She was at the farthest seat in the wedding ceremony.

Albeit calling it a wedding ceremony is a stretch. It was different than a normal wedding ceremony and more like a soldier's wedding ceremony with the Unicorn's looming figure on the soon to be wed couple as it knelt down with its weapons. It looked like a guardian watching over the wedding and also announcing Mika's allegiance to the Redgraves to the invited feudal nobles. A well played move by Vince.

" Don't make a scene, it's my daughter's wedding." He then took a seat beside me and watched the proceedings.

"How did you find me?" I asked him curiously.

"I didn't." Vince replied. I blinked in surprise. If he didn't find me, who did?

" She did."

My answer was given as I felt the cold sharp edge of a blade on my throat.

" You're not invited." It was Mika's dark elf slave. A variant of the elves that is thought to never exist and are only legends. Mika destroyed that notion.

" Careful, Chloe. We don't want her dead. Yet." Really convincing, Vince.

I breathe in relief as the dagger on my throat was pulled away but the dark elf remained behind as a constant threat and reminder.

Don't cause trouble.

" Why are you here?" Vince asked.

" That's a simple question, Vince." I replied.

" I watched Angelica grow as a woman. I helped in bringing her up as future queen. Does that mean I can't watch her wedding."

" A wedding forced by your husband. " He snarled.

" I apologize for my husband's actions but I still find that girl as one of my own Vince. " I sighed.

" Then why didn't you help her, my daughter, you're supposed to be future queen. You just threw her away after your son dishonored her. " Vince demanded. I don't blame him.

I too would do the same for Julius.

" You know my position, Vince. Roland is a fool and my authority will never be recognized as a foreign princess. My hands are tied."

It was the truth. I can do nothing but appease those leaches in order to assert some order in the court.

"But it was me who gave Roland the choice of punishments for Angelica." My reveal made the old gentleman's eyes go wide in surprise making me smile. " Knowing him, Roland will just go straight to execution to make a grandstanding display while taking your house down a notch. "

Vince looked down, mulling over my confession for a minute before looking up to me.

" You're a good Queen, Mylene. Thus it's a shame you're punished for ruling this Kingdom of ours." He closed his eyes with a sigh. " My deepest thanks and apologies, for looking out for my daughter and what's about to happen in the future."

I sighed in defeat.

" You're going to wage war on the royal family, don't you?"

" Yes. When will it be, I'm still uncertain but it will happen." he replied.

I snorted. " Looks like we're in the back foot as you've already secured a guaranteed win." I pointed at the groom.

Vince merely chuckled to my words. " It might be but with the current arms race for lost items, nothing is certain."

I nodded in agreement to his statement. Mika's unicorn had ignited an arms race in Holfort for lost items. Thought to be useless old relics of the past, these nobles are now scrambling to find exploitable relics for their own use.

As of now, none had yet to find a weapon comparable to the unicorn.

"I also didn't forget the royal family's secret weapon."

I sighed in defeat once again. " Of course you would know about it. Your house is part of the ancient founding families." I groaned.

Holfort's secret weapon is a lost item in the time of the Saintess era.

An unknown weapon with unknown capabilities.

" You may now kiss the Bride." The priest announced, making her turn to the front to see the groom tenderly kiss the Bride with great care and love.

Now she's just feeling jealous.

"Was it a good match?" I asked Vince, curious about what he thought of his son-in-law.

Vince shrugged. "It wasn't a perfect match but it was much better than her previous one."

I didn't dare to speak about the broken engagement. Julius had dropped the ball on this one.

Suddenly, Vince stood up as the groom carried the bride away.

He offered me a hand.

"Come, we had a wedding reception to attend."

"But I'm not invited." I replied in confusion.

Vince scoffed at my excuse. "If you're brave enough to sneak inside the wedding uninvited, you're brave enough to join the reception." His expression softened. "I'm sure Angelica would be happy to see the only woman she considers a mother on her wedding day."

I smiled at him.

How could I reject such an offer?

"We may become enemies in the future, but right now, we're still friends." Well said, Vince.

Angelica Rapha Redgrave

This might be the happiest day of my life.

I think?

The ceremony itself was grand, as it was held on the Redgrave territory. Mika added flair to it by having the Unicorn as a looming guardian over the ceremony.

But I can clearly see that it was a deliberate move on his part, as all invited guests were his father's allies and nearby nobles.

It's a statement of power, power now the hands of the Redgrave house.

I should be mad at him and father for using this special for a political move but I let it slide with how special the day it was.

Leon and Olivia's presence made it up, so Mika's not sleeping on the couch for tonight.

Having Olivia as my bridesmaid helped me adjust and calmed my nerves in the wedding even with Cordelia, Olga and Chloe by my side. Being married herself now, Olivia stopped me from breaking down in a nervous wreck.

How could I not be nervous?! I'm getting married!

Unfortunately for me, all my nervousness was for naught as Mika never once showed a hint of hesitation in the ceremony.

This bastard!

But the kiss at the end was unexpected. I almost fainted at how good it felt. I don't know that Mika is a good kisser.

Stop smiling, Chloe!

At the end of the ceremony, we all moved into a celebratory reception for the newly wed.

I got to see Leon sing (at Chloe's blackmailing) and he was terrible. Gilbert then joined him and sang along and soon most of their fellow men sang along.

It was funny and entertaining, I didn't know my father and big brother could sing like that.

And then came the highlight of the celebration.

Our first dance.

"I didn't know you could dance." I whispered to Mika in surprise as he easily glided through the floor while guiding and keeping me close to him.

"I practiced." She raised a curious eyebrow to that. He practiced?

(Later, she would find out that Cordelia tutored him secretly as a surprise for her.)

But the highlight of the day was my unexpected guest.

"Angelica, please bow to me." She said as my body acted on instinct.

"Your majesty." I replied.

"Come here." Queen Mylene opened her arms, beckoning me. I immediately hugged her.

"I'm so sorry it comes to this." She whispered to my ears. "Please don't hate me or Julius, Angelica."

I shook my head at her. "I don't hate either of you, your majesty. Quite the opposite actually."

"Oh!" She broke off the hug to look at me in surprise. "Do tell why?"

"Julius actions and words had revealed just how bad our match was. We never meant to be." I said to her. Looking back, Julius was right. We could never work it out with the way we are.

"But it did come with a welcome surprise. I'm now free!" I said with a bright smile.

Free from my duties as a daughter of the duke, free from the throne and free from everyone who wishes to bring me down.

Because Mika will make sure of it.

Seeing my smile, Mylene gave me a melancholic smile.

"I see. " She replied before looking at my husband at the distance, talking to Leon (Note to self: curve Leon's influence to Mika). "Looks like you have found an ideal partner in him."

" Yes I did."

Then her smile turned down.

"Angelica, you do know what will happen in the future." She said, and I nodded. I already know what's going to happen. It was inevitable.

"Well then, let's make a deal."

1 month later

Vince Rapha Redgrave's Pov

Mika's 3rd island (former pirate island fortress)

" Are we sure of this decision, father?" Gilbert asked me with a hint of worry.

It was given as I had given Mika full authority on the manufacturing of weapons, armors and ships for our army.

His manufacturing process is secretly funded by my house and other feudal lord's that wish to gain some share of the weapons. Others didn't like and rejected the offer, oppting to use their own forces than use what Mika would make.

It was understandable as Mika had just began the process after his wedding and it's been a month and yet he had called me for a demonstration.

It was very suspicious. A month of work won't cut it as Armor designers took years before giving a demo on their brand new design which is vetoed by the judges which is what I'm about to do.

"I don't know Gilbert, but I trust Angelica in this one." It was Angelica who gave them the letter for the demo and she praised Mika's work highly.

(Angelica is on his 2nd island, managing their new found business)

Let's just hope it wasn't a lie.

It didn't take long before we arrived at the former pirate fortress, which served as a symbol of Mika's power. He once dreamed of sieging the place, but it was too formidable, with many defensive installations and an entire fleet of bloodthirsty pirates, it was deemed impossible.

Until Mika arrived.

He would give this to him, Mika knows how to make a statement of power.

Docking and disembarking their ship, they are greeted by Mika himself but their attention was taken away by the hangar right across them and it had an Armor.

An unknown armor.

It was a grey Armor, twice taller than a regular Armor but fell short against the Unicorn by a few meters. It had a small upper body and a stocky waist. What's interesting is that it had a cone-like apparatus on its back.

"The GNX-IV had caught your eye, father." Mika had taken a habit of calling him "father" since his marriage to Angelica (which he didn't mind)

"Is that our new weapon, brother." Gilbert said. He can already tell that he is excited to try on the machine. Whatever doubt he had earlier was gone.

"Yes. This is the GNX-IV." He said, looking at the armor with a well-hidden pride. He had made it alone after all.

"IV?" I asked. This is the 4th variant?

"It was the most optimal design and isn't a huge waste of Dia and resources." Mika shrugged. " So who wants to test drive it?"

Gilbert immediately raised his hand like a child.

"I should be the one riding that."

I ignored my sons sulking as I looked at one of my trusted pilots performance with the machine.

It was superb. The flight was smooth and without any drag, as his best pilot went through various daring aerial stunts to test the machine's performance. And it didn't disappoint.

"As you can see, this Armor uses flight through the GN Tau installed on its back. It produces GN particles which cause the machine to achieve flight via weight loss." Mika explained.

It was impressive. Standard flight armors use a combination of magic stones and magic in order to achieve flight but Mika had done the impossible once again and achieved flight through machinery.

My investment to him was not a waste.

"As it main weapons, it had 2 beam sabers which is chargeable when in its storage rack. A giant bazooka for ship breaking and beam rifle for fire fights. As added bonus, I made a buster sword for it for close-combat."

I raised an eyebrow at the impressive set of armaments on it.

"But its most impressive weapons is it's Trans-Am system." Mika said, a rare smile grazing on his face.

" Mr. Robert, engage Trans-Am system as I instructed earlier."

As soon as he said it, the grey armor had turned red before becoming nothing more than a red streak in the sky.

My jaw dropped at the feat.

With this, even the fearsome Black knight would fall.

He had thought Mika was done surprising them but he was wrong.

"That Armor had a miniature version!" Gilbert exclaimed in surprise as he looked at the 7ft tall armor in front of him which is just a smaller version of the bigger one.

"What? did you really think your pilots are the only ones getting new toys." We both nodded. Mika's smile went wider.

"I'm making all toys for everyone in this war for a 100% victory. By the time I am done, warfare will forever change in this Era."

I think I made a mistake.

Chapter end

Been playing around in SD Gundam Overworld to get some inspiration.

(I'm playing a no Gundam run, only Mass produced units)

and then I found the GNX-IV and boy! this MS slaps.

it also had a bonus of Trans-Am system which is nice so I had it part of the story. Why?

Cause Mika is vicious as fuck. By providing GN Tau as an Army for the Redgrave and other feudal lord's, he is ensuring a higher win rate to them and keeping them in line in case of betrayal.

Mika still don't trust these people. He only trust Leon, Olivia and Angelica in this world.

Remember, this is the GN Tau, that means it had a self destruct feature which Mika tinkered around so he had a Deadman switch to all of them.

So Goodluck to any thieves or traitors cause they are fucked.

Also provided MS (small version) of the GNX for infantry cause Holfort infantry is seriously lackin.

Like what the hell, the cruise ship Leon is riding was taken hostage with zero resistance in the monster episode (forgot which episode) and the enemy only sent like what, a handful of enforcers to negotiate to a bunch of kids with magic on their fingertips.

Like I said, this world is a pushover. A political headache but a massive pushover.

Mika's entire added arsenal for the army would be revealed in the war (it would be in a bang). And let's just say I had to go creative on this one.

But before we go to that, next chapter will be an interlude.

Day of Dakar, also known as the Last stand of AEUG.

(Canon is fucked due to Mika's involvement)