Regina didn’t get much sleep that night. While she wasn’t there and had only briefly considered going back to the hive when she learned of the gnomes’ activity, she still tried to do what she could through the psychic link. Mostly, that just meant watching and trying to give helpful contributions, occasionally using her psychic senses for something.

She was getting better at it, but at this distance, there really wasn’t much she could pick up, especially in the heat of a fight with many people and chaotic emotions involved.

Once the initial shock wore off, the hive thankfully got it under control pretty well. The gnomes had managed to hide the preparations for their attack quite well. The infiltrators they’d sent to sabotage and sow chaos among the hive’s rear areas were the worst problem. Regina really wished they had more people with psychic abilities of their own. Once she was focused on it, she didn’t have much trouble picking up a gnomish soldier trying to hide, but she could only focus on one place at a time and she wasn’t even that good at just picking them out of the background on a larger scale.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like that was something she could easily get. Whatever psychic talent the Hivekind had seemed to be bound up in their connection to the hive link, or the Hive Queen herself. I suppose it makes some sense if there’s a tradeoff for me being so powerful psychically, it seems. She wasn’t giving up hope on getting a sapient drone with a Class or even magic that could do it, but for now, they had to rely on other means.

The gnomes had already retaken a small part of the territory the hive had conquered, but they seemed to be stalled for now. The fighting was largely returning to how it had been before, but with additional pressure on her drones. Regina suspected there would either be further waves or it would largely settle into a new normal. The disruption the gnomes had caused would definitely be felt in the days to come.

In the meantime, both sides were bleeding fighters. Regina was starting to be vaguely worried about it. Had the gnomes decided to take advantage of their greater numbers in this way, even if it meant trading soldiers on unfavorable terms? Maybe they realize that letting us get any more time to grow our numbers is going to be worse for them in the long run, so they need to not let us get the numbers up in the first place. In the long term, her hive could beat any other nation in that regard, but right now they only had a few ten thousand troops. The Gnomish Confederation was a lot larger than that, with a much greater population pool to recruit soldiers from.

She’d hoped they would try to conserve their soldiers after their losses, but their recent strategy was more aggressive than she’d expected before. But maybe she was wrong about the reasoning to the gnomes were following.

Either way, when the day dawned, Regina had to push that aside, struggling to focus on the issues in front of her, the peace conference. What was decided here was in many ways more important than how the war with the gnomes was currently going. Both for the formation of her new nation and, perhaps, in terms of international relations.

She hadn’t forgotten Leian’s warning — or was it Berren’s own? She wasn’t sure how much of what he’d said had been a message from his boss and what he’d added on his own, even regarding that subject. Regina really wasn’t sure what to think of him at all. I do appreciate her sending someone to answer questions for me, I suppose, but it only left more questions than answers. Again. She knew she probably shouldn’t take his words at face value, he might have his own agenda. Although what he’d said about Leian not wanting other gods to monitor her was probably true; why else would she take the risk of sending Berren instead of just talking to Regina herself? And what he’d said about her — or rather, she supposed, them — did match other things she’d seen and suspected quite well.

For now, it meant there was probably some kind of plot going around and Regina needed to be watchful against any attempts to sabotage her goals here. With Deirianon’s involvement or not. She knew others would have enough motivation to do it even if he didn’t.

Of course, knowing that didn’t mean she knew what to do or where the danger would come from. If she had to guess, then he might be trying to drive a wedge between her and Nerlia. Cernlia seemed too secure, with Kiara at the helm, unless her enemies could take out Kiara or weaken her control. Regina made a mental note to make sure she was well-protected at all times, then told Max to do so as well. He was unofficially in charge of security for the summit. But her enemies probably knew Kiara was too close and too loyal to Regina to betray her, and so was June, her heir presumptive, so they’d probably look elsewhere.

Nerlia, then. They might be convinced to abandon the Empire — or, at least, someone plotting against her might think so — if they were persuaded that Regina had somehow broken their agreement. And, most likely, that she was a danger to them and didn’t intend to keep her promises.

Regina frowned to herself as she prepared for the day’s talks. She only had a small room, but she didn’t have to share and Ira had helped her get ready quickly. There were several meetings on the agenda today, both with what she was thinking of as the Empire core group and a larger assembly. At the same time, Mia and a few other drones, probably with Galatea’s help, would talk to delegates from Nerlia and Cernlia and demonstrate more of what they could do, as well as help in setting the groundwork for improving their technology.

“What would you do if you wanted to split the Nerlians off from us?” she asked quietly.

Ira paused in picking up a bucket of water. “It would depend on exactly what you’ve promised them, I think, Mother. I admit I’m not sure of all the details. But they’d try to make you seem untrustworthy or lying about something. They expect legal protection, right?”

Regina nodded. “So far, we haven’t really created the framework of laws that I want. So, as far as I know, they’re mostly going by what obligations there normally are between a vassal and the crown in Nerlia and Cernlia. I mean, there are differences between the two countries, of course, but the general paradigm is the same.”

“Hm.” Ira hummed. “And any specific promises or requirements you’ve added? Is there something it would look like you’re not meeting?”

Regina paused. “I don’t think so,” she said slowly. “I promised to protect them, obviously. I promised to share my technological knowledge, and they’re getting that today, at least the start of it. They can hardly expect me to just drop gigabytes of information on them in a second. And I made promises I’ve already started to fulfill about giving them valued and secure positions and making human citizens just as respected as the Hive.”

“Maybe the leaders could still think their standing is being threatened in favor of other potential leaders you want to install?” Ira mused. “Or maybe the Nerlians are fine and whoever you’re concerned about is actually working with or through the other delegates?”

Regina nodded. Talking this out with Ira probably helped, but at this point she didn’t have any concrete ideas. She supposed she’d just have to take things as they came. “Well, we’ll keep our eyes open, but I shouldn’t keep them waiting for now.”

Once she went out, Regina immediately caught everyone’s attention. She’d braced for it, but it was still a bit disconcerting. It would have been, anyway, but with her psychic senses, the attention was much more tangible for her. Which wasn’t a bad thing, it was probably a good opportunity to get used to this. Still, she appreciated that it gave her a rough impression of how everyone felt about her without really having to do any searching. And the reaction was about as expected. It had changed from before her announcement of the new nation’s founding, but that wasn’t a surprise. Awe, calculation, slight fear and curiosity mixed and swirled through the town. Ironically, there didn’t seem to be much of a difference between the (usually noble and wealthy) envoys and their various hangers-on, which she decided to take as a win.

Mia and a few others split off to start working with the respective members of other delegations right away, while Regina met with envoys from various countries. Instead of a large plenum, there were smaller talks scheduled. They allowed for other countries’ envoys to meet as well, in addition to letting her talk to those with a particular concern or area of interest, or those from a certain geographical area.

Regina knew her drones would be trying to listen in on other talks. They didn’t need her orders to try it. Unfortunately, it was pretty clear that the diplomats they’d invited weren’t born yesterday and took precautions to prevent that kind of thing, at least for sensitive topics. Some used magic, some just made sure there were only guards they trusted stationed close enough to be in earshot.

The most important meeting Regina attended that day was with diplomats from Nerlia as well as envoys from the area on the opposite side of the country. They were all smaller and weaker countries, but together they could, and historically did, prevent Nerlia from expanding in their direction. There was a delicate balance of power that Regina knew would have been disrupted by the formation of her new empire with Nerlia as a founding member. These people were the natural recruits for a first wave of annexation and inclusion into the Empire, but also the ones with the most grounds for fear. They also occupied lands that were historically core to the HRE, which she supposed meant more to her than to anyone else, but they might not be unaware of it. They might not be any of the German states she was familiar with, but the geography hadn’t changed that much — which also gave them the advantages and disadvantages she knew — and there might be some halfway-preserved ruins.

The meeting was off to a rocky start, given those factors. Regina had expected it and tried not to be discouraged. At least they were polite enough, or afraid enough, not to be openly hostile. Still, they found ways to make it clear the surprise founding of a greater nation was not appreciated. And all the questions about details of their economic and political relationship with Nerlia, if and how they would change … Regina would seriously suspect that they were just trying to annoy her or defeat her with boredom if the Nerlians by her side weren’t taking them so seriously. At least she was glad she had them.

While listening to them talk — Regina had honestly just not thought enough about these countries and the intricacies of their diplomatic relationship to contribute much — she watched them, tasted their feelings and thought about how to move forward.

There were several countries, four or five, depending on which you counted, arrayed around Nerlia in a half-circle from her position. The territory they covered ranged from what used to belong to Prussia to southwestern Germany. There were clearly a lot of local differences, but she’d only embarrass herself trying to focus on those. The countries ranged from about a quarter to two-thirds the size of Nerlia, although she’d be surprised if the population of any of them was above half of Nerlia’s. There were a few notable cities, but none that could truly be counted important in the greater scheme of things. None of them corresponded with old cities she knew, at least as far as she could tell.

Further beyond them, besides thick, monster-infested forests, the Rhine had reclaimed everything it used to claim and probably more and turned the area around it into swampland that was barely passable for ships, and so lands that were pretty sparsely populated. It presented enough of a barrier she wasn’t going to worry about the western part of Europe yet. Regina was just glad the modern incarnation of the Danube was navigable. Still, there were several other rivers and, while they weren’t quite as big, most of them were passable for ships, too, which meant these countries still relied on trade.

And thus, the endless wrangling about trade terms and guarantees from Nerlia. Regina sighed quietly, rotated her shoulders and leaned back in her chair. This was important, it would set the tone for their interactions in the coming years, but she couldn’t help but feel like she’d already come too late.

Whenever she tried to subtly hint at membership in the Empire curing all of their economic woes, and the Nerlian delegates tried the same (probably more skillfully), the reception was cold, almost harsh. Regina had the sinking feeling that the Esemen or one of her other enemies might have already primed them against her.

Besides, she didn’t like the looks they shot each other. If they allied together against her and her vassals … it could get messy. Damn, I just wanted to go a while without another war. And there’s still the gnomes, anyway. Regina tugged on her mandible, dismissing the thought. No need to jump to the worst possible scenario. So far, this was still in the realm of trade and diplomacy. If they formed a trade pact and cut her out, well, it would suck because she’d had hopes for them, but she’d survive. Eventually they might just come crawling back for better terms.

And besides, she thought, watching them again and letting her gaze linger on the singular two women in the delegation, they aren’t the soul of unity. One of the women was a princess, although some kind of more distant relative to her prince, the other a noblewoman sent as an envoy. They were the only two women out of twelve people not already affiliated with her in the room. But the men most likely had wives and daughters. They had demihumans and other races in their countries. And of course, Delvers. No, there were possible cracks to exploit or levers to use if she decided to go that way.

Regina just hoped it wouldn’t be necessary, even as she hoped that this low-key hostility she was sensing was the extent of any conspiracies against her.