Chapter 106

As my words came to an end, the Minister of War and the King of the Northern Alliance turned their attention to the Duke.

After a moment, the Duke let out a deep sigh and spoke.

“Minister of War, please convey to His Imperial Majesty my apologies for using deceit to abandon the honor of my position as a prince, in order to defeat what seems to be the greatest enemy of the Empire to come.”

“I’ll convey that.”

“And Count Croilet, what do you intend to do about Lothringen?”

“I have no interest in Lothringen. Naturally, I will return it as it is.”

“I see… Thank you. The conditions I propose are these: including the costs for your disgraceful actions as a noble, the expenses of the war, and the compensation, I will transfer the entire eastern region of Lothringen.”

At those words, everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief.

The eastern region of Lothringen has over 20,000 residents in a free city and two smaller towns, with a total population reaching 200,000.

Moreover, there is a relatively wide river, the Main, flowing through it, and depending on the development, it could accommodate up to 500,000 people.

Seeing the Duke casually offer such land, the Minister of War asked in a shocked voice, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Your Majesty, even so, giving away the entire eastern region of Lothringen is nearly the size of a count’s territory, isn’t it?”

“Indeed. However, I have committed various dishonorable acts in this war and suffered a great defeat. Therefore, I must provide such recompense.”

“Of course, since it concerns Your Excellency’s territory, His Imperial Majesty will not disagree. Rather, if you pay such a great price as atonement, he will surely recognize your sincerity.”

The way they so readily agreed suggested that the Emperor must have instructed the Minister of War to extract the Duke’s teeth.

Otherwise, even in post-defeat negotiations, there would be no way they would pass up transferring a territory the size of a count’s without a word of opposition.

Although the Duke is a defeated man, if I trust and accept what he offers, I would be labeled a legendary fool.

Because there must be some scheme behind his offer.

And that scheme is obvious.

He likely thinks that while I am busy rebuilding the almost completely destroyed Lothringen region, he can regain his strength and, after teaming up with Franche, might just swallow the Count’s territory of Nante.

Moreover, while persuading the Emperor, he’d surely use the most predictable words.

“Your Imperial Majesty, although I have behaved dishonorably, this was all for Your Majesty’s sake. Knowing that the Croilet family will only grow more powerful is bound to be a great concern for our Romania. Therefore, while I facilitate the rebuilding of eastern Lothringen, I will ally with Franche to conquer Croilet and alleviate your worries.”

Then, he would probably generously offer one count’s territory from his own land to the Emperor and swallow Nante.

“Minister, I don’t need any land.”

“What then do you wish to receive?”

“I want the justified reward for winning the war, and I also request compensation for the damages inflicted.”

Having already discussed this with the Emperor, I saw him nodding with a pleased expression, while the Minister and the Duke looked shocked by my unexpected response.

“Here is the report summarizing the damages I have suffered and the costs incurred in handling them. Please read it, Your Grace.”

“Understood.”

The Duke swiftly took the report I handed him and began reading it.

At first, he read it with a somewhat relaxed expression, but gradually, his expression grew darker.

By the time he flipped to the last page, his face had turned ashen.

His expression and complexion resembled that of a jobless person who lost all his money after investing borrowed funds in stocks; won’t he really die from stress before paying the compensation?

Then, forgetting that there was a foreign emperor above him, the Duke stood up and grabbed my collar.

“Siel von Croilet! There’s a limit to your nonsense. To demand 200,000 gold coins as compensation! No matter how devastating the port’s damages were, losses of that magnitude shouldn’t have occurred!”

Although he protested while looking at me with fury, to me, the Duke was simply a cute piggy bank.

Because he absolutely cannot kill me here, and I already have the justification to rip into him contained within that report.

Of course, there are various schemes included to extract as much money as possible to seat the Duke’s territory in a mountain of debt like post-World War Germany, but in this extreme predicament, he won’t be able to find the fraud hidden within the documents… Duke.

Thinking that, I somehow felt a sense of composure even though my collar was being grabbed.

So, I decided to further plunge our disoriented patron into greater chaos and fear by speaking in the gentlest and most charming voice I could muster.

“Your Grace, your words are too harsh. Even so, to disrespect my honor as a count before His Excellency the King of the North and Minister of War like this… It might create the misunderstanding that His Imperial Majesty’s thoughts and intentions align with yours, wouldn’t it?”

At my words, the Duke released my collar, roughly shoved me aside, and returned to his seat.

“Firstly, the warehouse that was burned down by the criminal organization that invaded last time contained 60 tons of sugar that was originally meant to be exported to the Northern Alliance, along with various instruments and artworks. However, due to the fire, I suffered losses amounting to over 70,000 gold coins, including the profits I would have earned from selling the goods and compensation. Furthermore, the citizens of Blueport had considerable concerns about the impoverished individuals behind this incident. To address this, I had to demolish the slums, which cost me another 60,000 gold coins for the land, homes, and job placements. Additionally, I spent about 10,000 gold coins on expanding the guards to protect our citizens living in fear… In total, I spent 150,000 gold coins, leaving the remaining 50,000 as compensation for damages.”

At the end of my statement, the Duke was left in such shock that he couldn’t muster a response, while the Emperor looked at me and remarked.

“50,000 in compensation is not a small amount, but if that’s a quarter of the damages suffered, then it seems reasonable. No, you could even say it was a merciful offer, my son-in-law!”

“The scriptures say to hate the sin, but love the sinner.”

“My decision to marry my daughter to you was the best decision of my life! To think that she can become the wife of such a merciful and powerful man, I would almost be envious of her.”

“It is an honor.”

While I said that, the Emperor’s thoughts were undoubtedly different from this.

He must be feeling pleased, thinking that if I weaken Maxburg, he would secure a larger territory in Romania as a pretext. Father-in-law.

“Well then, son-in-law, how much compensation do you desire for your victory?”

“300,000 gold coins. I believe it’s only right to receive this much for the citizens and noble families living in Lothringen, as well as the ransom for the captured 1,000 knights and the cost of concluding the war. What do you think, Your Grace?”

While it may seem like a question, there was no way the Duke could cut this down, nor would he even think about trying to.

Especially since he had just suffered an absurdly easy defeat, his prestige was all but lost; if he were to cut down the costs related to protecting his retainers and their families, it would be downright catastrophic.

In that case, his retainers would surely defect with the lands they’ve received to either us or the Northern Majesty or another prince.

In that way, the Duke, having given up everything, spoke in a resigned tone.

“I shall pay 500,000 gold coins, all of it…”

“Minister of War, when you witness this contract on behalf of the Emperor of Romania, do you find any part of it unjust?”

The Minister of War nodded in agreement to my question.

“Very well. Then… what does His Imperial Majesty wish to receive as a rightful price for his bloodshed in this war?”

At this question, the Emperor pointed to the territories of Mainz and Linz marked on the map spread out on the desk.

“I wish to take Mainz and Linz.”

Even though the Emperor had occupied Mainz and Linz, with only 10,000 soldiers, maintaining Mainz would be the limit…

And surely, if the negotiations didn’t go well, he would generously let go of Linz to secure Mainz.

As expected, the Duke jumped up and raised his voice at the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, what kind of nonsense is that! Mainz and Linz!! You came in with merely 10,000 soldiers! And that’s without even announcing a marriage alliance with that count!”

However, the Emperor, knowing how to discard his conscience for the sake of the nation and territory as a professional politician, responded with even less conscience.

“No, didn’t I say my daughter couldn’t come for her reasons? And I have already conquered Mainz and Linz; it’s just a matter of recognizing my claim to them, isn’t it?”

“Although you have evidence of the marriage alliance, so you didn’t enter without justification, that still doesn’t mean you can have both Mainz and Linz.”

“Minister of War, what do you think?”

Hearing this, the Minister let out a sigh.

“There is some basis to what Your Grace mentioned. Moreover, since you haven’t publicly declared your marriage, it is true that you entered without proper announcement. Considering this, you should take one of Mainz or Linz.”

“To think I have to negotiate for territories I captured in a battle I participated in for my son-in-law… Truly, I have a hard fate. Very well, then I shall take the Baronhood of Mainz along with the attached Salzburg. Is that agreeable, Your Grace?”

For a moment, it seemed like the Duke was rolling his eyes, pondering something before he responded.

“Alright, let’s do that.”

Then, I turned to the Minister of War.

“Minister, now please draft the oath.”

The Minister meticulously wrote down our agreed-upon terms on four sheets of paper without a single mistake.

After verifying all of it, we left just the corners of the four sheets slightly visible and affixed our seals.

When we aligned the corners of the papers, the four seals formed a complete shape.

Thus, the compensation and territorial transfer treaty was now established.

Following that, the Duke, the Emperor, the Minister of War, and I shared the meals I had prepared before we all parted ways.

Indeed, it had been a dizzyingly chaotic day.