Chapter Text
The Antarctic Empire may have not been the biggest country, but no one hesitated to call it one of the most powerful ones. Despite its population being quite low, its army was one of the best trained one there was, soldiers prepared intensely from young age to be able to fight night and day in the toughest conditions.
But even with the reputation of its military force, some nations were still greedy enough to try and grab some of its rumoured riches for themselves. Especially the three small countries to the north of the Antarctic Empire seemed eager to do so.
Now, it wasn't a problem to defend from them, as the enemy armies were always underprepared, rations way too scarce for the coldness of the Antarctic, and the troops untrained for fighting in deep snow and biting cold.
The problem was how irritating it was beginning to be. As soon as the first country's forces retreated, the second's rushed in, hoping to have an advantage over the "weakened" Antarctic troops. And when they failed, the third country took its shot. And before they inevitably lost too, the first country had already collected itself and prepared another batallion.
Their puny attempts were funny at first, but the more time passed, the more tired of them the Antarctic forces were. They had the resources to keep the invaders away for decades, but they were still people, and they were getting exhasperated by not being able to catch a breath between the endless raids.
That's why the king of the Antarctic Empire had finally started considering to form an alliance with the country even further up north, the Kingdom of L'manburg. Technically speaking, the northern country was supposed to be a sovereign of the three brave yet stupid countries, but in practice it was a nation focused on arts and science, not military power. That's why the three countries ignored their attempts to tame them, and did whatever they wanted to do.
That's also why the Kingdom of L'manburg seeked help from the way more militarized Antarctic Empire. The exchange would be simple: L'manburg would borrow some of the troops from the Antarctic Empire to strike fear in the hearts of the cocky rulers of the dependencies, and in result the Empire could finally rest from the endless raids organized by them.
Both sides agreed on the alliance, deciding to seal the deal by a marriage arranged between the princes of both countries. That would make the whole ceremony more official, additionally creating an opportunity to celebrate, so everyone was happy about the agreement.
Well, nearly everyone.