“Glory to Gullivia!”

“Ease.”

I strolled past the gang of muscle men Joseph sent to be my bodyguards and proceeded into my hotel room. I told him not to go overboard with my accommodation expenses but judging from the 4-room apartment-sized suite with an aerial view of the metropolis, my words fell on deaf ears.

“Bring Sophia here, would you?” I asked the closest guard, before gesturing the rest of the men to leave.

The guard left with a curt nod and before long, Sophia entered the room. Her pink shoulder-length hair in an unruly mess without her cap. Before I could chastise her on her appearance, however, she spoke out first.

“You called, Madam?” She asked sarcastically.

I left my previous spot gazing at the view, to cross the room with long strides, approaching her. Though I was not very large myself, Sophia was still at least a head shorter than me despite being a few years older. So, when I reached about an arm’s length away, I was already towering over her.

“Is everything ready?” I asked, staring at the tip of her small head.

Sophia looked up defiantly, her emerald eyes glistening with defiance even in my shadow before replying, “Of course, who do you think I am?”

I maintained eye contact before she brushed me off, pivoting on her feet and throwing herself on one of the soft couches in the room.

“What the heck, what’s with this favouritism? I get a measly Queen bedroom and you get the whole penthouse suite to yourself,” she commented while taking off her boots. “Joseph shouldn’t make it too obvious you’re his favourite.”

I hissed disapprovingly, “Blasphemous. Address His Majesty properly.”

“You call him that, why can’t I?” She asked without a pause, shrugging her shoulders.

“Not in the presence of others,” I replied swiftly.

Wanting to end the conversation, I approached Sophia again and asked, “Was everything at the airport settled?”

Already taking off her medals, without even looking up, she replied, “Yep, all severely punished and settled.”

“Good.”

The small incident in the airport almost ruined our entire plan. Thank heavens only one female staff saw.

“How about that group of people? Do I need to do anything?”

By now, she was almost after taking off her jacket, wearing only a bra and her suit pants.

“No need. They have no connection to the President so it should be fine,” I replied, “The meeting is in 5 hours so please shower and dress appropriately Sophia.”

“Whatever.”

With that, she sprang up from the couch and left the room with her jacket and boots in hand.

What was Joseph thinking, sending me here with her? Now, not only does the fate of our 5-year-old nation rest on my shoulders but also the burden of taking care of a troublesome brat that acts like a 5-year-old.

I sighed in frustration. After closing the door behind, I tried to unwind. Taking off my cap and throwing it on my bed, I then crossed the room again to turn on the television.

“—very interesting. Now tonight, the whole world will be watching South Korea as its President, Mr Moon Jae In and Foreign Relations Ambassador, Elfria de Lamghette, from the new country of Gullivia begin talks on diplomatic relations. This sparks the first time Gullivia has ever made relations much less open its borders to anyone outside its small nation. Many were left with only questions when the announcement was made just days ago on Ms Lamghette’s trip to South Korea but one thing is for certain, tonight’s event is not to be missed. This is Audrey Lamb signing off with—”

Great, just when I turn on the television, all they talk about is the one thing I would like to not care about at the moment. But I guess, this is all part of Joseph’s plan. For what we are about to do tonight, we would need global attention.

I quickly switched off the television and glanced at the attire I would be wearing tonight. Hanging on the closet door was a white suit adorned with medals and badges speaking of countless achievements bestowed by Joseph himself, along with a pair of suit pants tailored to hug my legs gently. The white leather boots I was to wear laid flat on the carpet floor and was polished beautifully, sparkling even without light and the entire outfit was finished off with a long cape coloured a majestic purple folded next to it which was to be attached to my collar with a brooch fashioned after our national crest. Though slightly over the top, it was beautiful despite being only finished yesterday.

“Glory to Gullivia, the motherland of brothers. For united we stand, behind justice and goodwill, against evil and wrongdoings,” I muttered under my breath.

How ironic.

I chuckled softly and untied my hair, ready to shower.

 

*

 

Though tailored exactly to my measurements, the attire did not necessarily feel comfortable. The material was itchy and it took everything within me to not scratch at the brooch that was choking me.

“It is an honour, Miss Lamghette,” the President said in English bowing slightly while offering his right hand for a shake.

Remembering the cameras, I quickly plastered on a smile and clasped his hand.

“The pleasure is all mine, Mr Moon,” I replied politely.

As if on cue, the entire hall erupted in applause and flashes as reporters hurriedly took pictures of this—in their eyes—monumental moment.

Mr Moon gestured for us to take a seat in these cushioned throne-like chairs which Sophia gladly complied. Its striking resemblance to the throne back in Gullivia, though not as grand, made me very uncomfortable on the other hand. I hesitantly took a seat, trying to hide my discomfort which of course, did not escape the eyes of Sophia that cunning brat.

“As they say here, hwaiting, Miss Lamghette,” Sophia whispered in my ear.

I hid back my scowl but released the reins behind my murderous intent causing her to retreat. With a brat out of the way, I can finally focus.

“So, Miss Lamghette, what brings the humble nation of Gullivia to South Korea?” Mr Moon asked in Korean this time.

Humble? I almost scoffed. Let’s see who’s going to be humble soon.

Before the interpreter could even begin translating what he just said, I quickly replied.

“This humble nation wanted to begin interacting with the world, Mr Moon. We’ve built a wall between us and the outside for far too long so Our Majesty has decided to finally open the doors.”

Excited that I was speaking in his native language, he shooed the interpreter away leading to another flurry of flashes and the sound of fingers hitting against keyboards soon filled the room.

“Why now—no, why here?” He asked, a smile still hanging above his chin.

Before I could give my reply though, a military officer decorated in no less medals than I was, rushed onto the stage. He swiftly knelt on the ground and whispered something in Mr Moon’s ears.

Finally.

The smile on his face finally dropped off, replaced by a serious frown that ripped across where the smile originally was. He glanced at us before proceeding to stand up, facing the crowd of reporters.

“I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but we would like to ask of all of you to quickly vacate the venue,” Mr Moon said, his voice booming throughout the hall.

As if they couldn’t believe what they just heard, the reporters started bustling, their butts apparently glued to their seats and were only able to get up with the help of guards dressed in sleek black suits ushering them out.

After his announcement, Mr Moon retreated from the front of the stage, leaving the evacuation of the reporters to be dealt with by the aforementioned military officer and approached us.

“I don’t know what you are up to but we are not discussing it here. Follow me,” he said before swivelling around without waiting for our reply.

Unable to wipe the grin off my face, I stood up and strolled behind him smugly. Following his back, Mr Moon led us to one of the waiting rooms behind the stage. The room was furnished with nothing but a small table and a couple of chairs—one of which Mr Moon wasted no time sitting on. He gestured for me to sit opposite him and I complied with a curtsy.

As soon as I sat down, the door closed gently with a click and a burly man adorning a decorated formal military attire stood guard. As if that would’ve intimidated me though.

The man I assumed to be his secretary stood to Mr Moon’s left while Sophia stood behind me to my left with the rest of my guards further behind.

Being around Sophia must have rubbed off on me in some way because I could not wipe off the smug grin etched into my face.

“Is something the matter, Mr Moon?” I asked coyly, leaning forward and laying my arms folded on the tabletop.

“I thought you could better help answer that question, Miss Lamghette. What are you—no Gullivia, trying to pull here?” he asked back, anger sewn into his every word.

Annoying him would be kind of fun, I thought.

“Huh, I don’t know what you are talking about,” I replied without a pause.

“I’m talking about the Gullivian airships stationed just outside Incheon and the Gullivian navy ships parked just outside our waters. What is the meaning of this, Miss Lamghette?” He exclaimed, causing his secretary to quickly grab his shoulders to calm him down.

“Oh those,” I replied calmly, “what about them?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Lamghette. Are you trying to start a war?” He asked, evidently frustrated.

I received taps on my shoulder and looked up to Sophia’s stern look, realising that playtime was over. Now it’s time for business.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to come down to that. You can prevent this whole ‘war’—” I used air quotes “—from happening as long as you sign these papers.” I replied before gesturing at Sophia to pass me the contract.

With the file at hand, I took out the papers and slid them across the table.

Mr Moon stared at the papers in apprehension, unsure of how to comprehend this situation. I bet while running his campaign for president, he never thought he would be dealing with an imminent war and the fate of the entire country at hand.

For a moment I thought I was looking at a still[yo1] image of the man but after sorting out his thoughts, he let out the breath he had been holding and finally picked up the papers. Along with his secretary who was peering over his shoulders, they read the contract. As time ticked by, I started getting a little impatient. Just make up your mind already.

With furrowed brows, he slammed the papers down on the table.

Though his outburst of anger was understandable, I couldn’t help but yelp in surprise when his hands hit the table.

“You expect me to sign this?” He asked, bubbling with fury, “You expect me to surrender willingly and let Gullivia take over my country? Just like that?”

“Well, if you don’t want to, it’s fine,” I said, leaning back on my chair, “So, you choose war?”

“Can you give us some time to—”

“Hell no, this is war, old man. Answer my question, fight or surrender?” I asked again, this time more impatiently.

After pondering a while more, Mr Moon’s head whipped out and stared me in the eye. Seeing how his eyes filled with determination fuelled the sadistic fire that had been dimming for the past 5 years. Now, I couldn’t wait to those same eyes filled with fear and submission.

“War, it is”

I leapt up to my feet at the same time he did, and yelled, “Fire!”

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uhm another short one lol sozz