Letter 40: To the most honored representative of the Empire,

To the most honored representative of the Empire, The discussions that our ambassadors have been conducting with their counterparts at the imperial court have made progress, and we believe the time has come to move toward a more formal agreement. The situation in Italy has not improved. The Lombard occupation of territories that should by rights be under Roman governance continues, and the hardship it causes to the Italian population continues with it. The argument for a coordinated response has not weakened in the years since we first proposed it; if anything, it has strengthened. What we now want to establish, in formal terms, are the following: the financial commitment that the Empire will make in support of Frankish military operations; the coordination mechanism that will allow our forces and Roman forces to operate in concert rather than at cross-purposes; and the framework for the post-campaign settlement of the territories involved. We are ready to send plenipotentiary ambassadors to Constantinople to negotiate these points if the Emperor signals his readiness to do so. We ask for that signal. From the court of Austrasia, committed to the shared cause