It had been two years since the wedding, and much had happened during this period.
Firstly, Victor and his family received some blessed news during this time. Isabella was pregnant, and she was expecting any day now. It was a joyous time for the Luxenberg family; Clarisse and Victor were soon to be grandparents.
Another exciting thing for the Luxenberg family was the appointment of Henri. Shortly after the wedding, a modest event was held in Draysden celebrating the new Duke of Draysden. It was attended by many of the nobles and commanders on the continent; Field Marshal Schwarzenberg was even in attendance.
Now that Henri was the Duke of Draysden, he was awarded the opportunity to establish a branch of the Luxenberg family. He decided to change his coat of arms so that there was no confusion between his branch and the main family.
As such, he changed his coat of arms to incorporate both his father's and grandfather's sigil. On a field of dark blue lay a silver harp with a golden eagle perched atop it. The silver harp was an acknowledgement of the Dupont family, and the golden eagle was a nod to his father and his family.
To support Henri as a Duke, Victor bestowed the newly formed 19th Corps under Field Marshal Kutusov's commander to Henri. They would be his military, and Kutusov would be his advisor. The 19th Corps were also nicknamed the Draysden Corps, given their allegiance.
While Bulgar and Simbar were continuing to prosper, Zandar was facing a crisis. The political environment on the continent had begun to reach an alarming state. Half of the kingdom believed that Alphonse was not fit to be king, inciting that the Pope should form a holy kingdom.
Murmurs could be heard about a coup d'état or a civil war. It had not even been five years since the previous civil war had ended, and yet, the continent seemed to be heading towards another one.
This was a cause of alarm for Victor. It was not an easy choice who to support during the Civil War.
On one hand, he did not wish to sever the ties he had made with Alphonse. They had fought alongside each other during the war with the Red Visconte faction. Their children were married to each other, and they were soon to share a grandchild.
On the other hand, defying the head of the church was a dangerous idea. The Pope was the universal symbol of the faith. Going to war against him could stir the people of the Kingdom of Luxenberg against him. It would also be rude to offend the Pope when he had done a good thing for Victor.
The elderly cardinal who resided in Osterbon had passed away a few months after Anton and Isabella's wedding. There was an election to choose a new cardinal who would represent the continent of Bulgar. Out of the 7 candidates, there was a familiar name: Bishop Pompallier.
The Pope recognised that the Bishop was a trusted and respected man in Victor's eyes; as such, the Pope deemed him the right candidate for this appointment. The Bishop was now a cardinal, whose office remained in Hannover.
With the weight of such a costly decision bearing down upon him, Victor chose to abstain for the time being. There was no point in jumping headfirst into another civil war, not until it was clear that one party had caused such an issue. There was also no point in mediation; it was a pointless endeavour. It was clear that no middleground could be found.
Victor could not afford to focus on the political state of Zandar. His efforts were focused on the Sultan and his desert kingdom. He foretold that the Christian alliance would crumble and the crescent moon of Islam would spread across the world. He did not consider this an empty threat, so he began preparing for a long war with the Sultan.
Multiple battle plans were drawn up. Coordinated assaults were considered. Schwarzenberg would leave soldiers from Simbar, while Wellesley, Kutusov and Davout would lead troops from Bulgar.
They could unleash a four-pronged attack on the Sultunate and conquer it if they really wanted to. But there were major concerns. Supply lines would be critical, considering attrition would destroy the army if it lost its supplies. Navigating the desert would be difficult, and fighting in the heat was something that Victor and his soldiers had not experienced yet.
Until Victor could find a solution to these, there was no point in beginning to choose war targets.
At present, Victor was in his office going over paperwork. He was planning on introducing steam engines into this world. Simbar had an abundance of coal and precious metals, while Bulgar had the engineers and scientists to construct them. If he could build trains, then intercontinental logistics would become so much easier.
While Victor was going over these documents, a messenger had arrived bearing a letter from Zandar. The seal remained unbroken; there was no way Victor could know if the news was good or not at first glance. With that being said, he broke the seal and began to read.
'My King.'
'The situation is Zandar is slowly erupting into armed conflict. Count Vegni, Matteo Vegni's father, has been assassinated. Everyone is blaming each other for this matter, and given that the Count was a supporter of the Pope, many of his faction believe that Matteo killed his father so that he and his territory could support King Alphonse.'
'Our county is currently unaffected by this conflict, but if things continue to spiral like this, the people and the land will get swept up into this whether we like it or not.'
'Regards, General Orion Valerius'
This news was not a surprise; it was only a matter of time until a casualty would result from this inner turmoil. The issue at hand was what Victor could do. If he intervened, it would be pretty clear that he was taking sides.
Victor needed advice, someone who could see both sides of this conflict. There was only one man suitable for that: Cardinal Pompallier.