Chapter 83: I’ll Handle the Negotiation

Even while fleeing on horseback, Tamos felt like he was going insane.

‘Why did I fail? With all that troop strength! Those stupid fools could’ve just gathered and charged straight in!’

He still couldn’t figure out what hit him.

No matter how hopeless it seemed, he was still a lord of a territory.

He had heard bits and pieces here and there, but he had never seen or heard of such magic.

‘Was there a mage capable of using such magic? No, was that even magic at all?’

Everything was as unclear as a fog.

It wasn’t just the magic that felt strange.

‘What’s up with those guys in black armor? Did Perdium really have that much military strength?’

They devastated the soldiers in an instant and wreaked havoc on the siege towers.

He underestimated Perdium and got a rude awakening.

‘Damn it! Damn it! I’m done for! Absolutely finished!’

He had poured all his finances into this war.

But not only did he lose the battle, he lost most of his troops too.

With such a worthless territory, he questioned if he’d ever be able to make it work again without people or money.

‘I need to cut down on compensation as much as possible.’

Since this wasn’t a war over territorial disputes, and given that he successfully managed to flee, he might save his life.

Count Perdium was known for respecting customs and honor.

Besides, Perdium was in a precarious situation, barely managing one territory.

If he tried to swallow Digald, it might backfire on him.

They would probably gladly settle for a suitable compensation.

‘Damn it, how am I supposed to handle this with no money?’

There were possibilities of offering a few nearby baronies and some taxes for several years, but that wouldn’t be enough.

In the end, he’d have no choice but to squeeze the territory residents more.

‘Those stupid Desmonds. Sending a moron like that as a commander!’

Tamos muttered curses to himself and kicked his horse into action.

He had to get back to the territory quickly. Being within Perdium’s lands still felt unsafe.

In fact, even now, just thinking about those terrifying flames and those guys in black armor made him feel weak in the knees.

“Let’s go! Hurry! Gallop!”

Panting, Tamos raced on horseback without a moment’s rest.

As soon as he arrived at the lord’s castle, his horse collapsed, tongue out and all.

Everyone was shocked to see the lord in such ragged condition, but Tamos didn’t care and shouted loudly.

“Get ready for the surrender negotiations! Quickly!”

Under the pressure from the lord, everyone started moving without properly asking what happened.

They had seen him leading that massive army; how the heck did Perdium manage to hold them off?

Even while preparing for surrender, the people’s eyes were filled with confusion and curiosity.

Before long, Ghislaine arrived at the Digald territory.
Ghislaine had arrived at Digald’s territory.

“Oh, quite the swift preparation, huh?”

A white flag hurriedly raised from the boundary of the territory was visible.

Nobody stopped Ghislaine and his party as they rushed forward.

In front of the lord’s castle, a group of people was waiting, holding white flags.

“Guide him to the Count.”

Digald’s retainers politely led Ghislaine inside the lord’s castle.

Tamos was arrogantly seated in a high chair in the great hall.

It was the last struggle to maintain the pride of a noble.

They had lost the war, but there was still a lingering contempt for Perdium.

As Ghislaine entered, leading a grim-looking armed force, Tamos made a displeased face.

‘Hell, they’re coming fast. Did they chase us right away?’

By their attire, it was evident they were the fearsome Black Brigade.

Seeing Tamos sitting smugly gave Ghislaine no reason to hide his sneer.

In this situation, Tamos trying to maintain his pride was just plain ridiculous.

“Were you preparing for a surrender negotiation?”

“That’s right. And who are you?”

“I am Ghislaine Perdium. I’ve come here with all authority delegated from my father.”

Ghislaine’s tone might have been rather polite, but his eyes and expression clearly showed contempt for the other party.

However, Tamos didn’t even catch that.

“Are you…?”

If it’s Ghislaine, he’s the infamous troublemaker from the North, rivaling Tamos’s deceased son, Gilmore.

Rumors about him spread quite largely, especially in neighboring Digald.

That guy came here as the lord’s representative? And he’s the leader of that Black Brigade!

Tamos stared at Ghislaine dumbfounded, not bearing to believe it.

At that moment, Ghislaine coldly spat out,

“Pull him out.”

The mercenaries immediately approached and grabbed Tamos by the arm, dragging him away.

“What, what are you doing! How dare you lowly scum lay your hands on me! Let go of this!”

Tamos struggled in shock, but the mercenaries easily subdued him and tossed him right in the middle of the great hall.

Digald’s retainers were stunned by the mercenaries’ rude behavior but couldn’t say a word.

The atmosphere was too grim to protest.

Thud thud.

Ghislaine stepped up to the seat the lord had occupied and crossed his legs.

Tamos, forced to kneel on the floor, looked up at him with a face full of disbelief.

Is there really such an ill-mannered brat in this world?

Even though he lost the war, he was a high-ranking noble, a Count of the kingdom.

How could a worthless nobody dare to treat him like this?

“What is the meaning of this! Show some courtesy! Does Count Perdium even know you’re doing this?”

Ghislaine still answered with a smirk on his face.

“Shut up. Did you think your noble status would protect you? You’ve pushed countless lives into war, so now you have to risk yours. And my father knows well that I’m rude.”

“What, what? You can’t be seriously saying you’ll kill me?”

“Yep.”

“You bastard! I’m a noble! A Count at that! Do you dare to claim you’d kill me, a loyal servant of His Majesty the King! Maintain the laws and customs!”

“If you’re trying to kill others, you have to risk your own life too. Losing in war means death.”

Under Ghislaine’s cold gaze, Tamos was flustered.

It is customary not to kill nobles who have stepped off the battlefield or surrendered.

Nobles cover that up with the justification of not harming fellow servants of the same king.

That’s why Tamos hurried back to Digald in the first place.

Once he returned to his territory, he wouldn’t be able to kill the lord just like that.

“You’re going to kill me without any negotiation?”

Tamos began to feel uneasy.
While it is not common, among the powerful Grand Lords, there are often those who disregard laws or customs.

I never expected Perdium, and especially not a mere heir, to appear like this.

“No way! I will meet Count Perdium in person! I refuse to negotiate with scum like you!”

“I have no intention of negotiating with you either. The territory of Digald will belong to Perdium, and the title will be revoked.”

“Y-you crazy bastard, doing this without the royal consent…”

Tamos bit back the words he was about to say.

He realized that Ghislaine was serious about it.

Quickly changing his mind, Tamos pleaded, “Then, I will hand over the territory. Let me leave with a wagon’s worth of riches, as per custom!”

Tamos planned to secure his life first and then rush to the capital to sway public opinion.

But Ghislaine refused even that.

“I won’t give you a single coin.”

“Then I’ll just leave!”

“Denied. You will die here.”

“You bastard! How dare you…!”

“Execute him.”

With a nod from Ghislaine, Gillian swiftly swung the axe.

Swoosh!

As they watched the head roll in the middle of the battlefield, Digald’s retainers held their breath.

Regardless of being a Grand Duke, how could a mere representative take the life of a high-ranking noble loyal to the king at will?

This was something only a tyrant could do!

Ghislaine continued without caring what they thought, speaking calmly.

“Capture all of Digald’s heirs and behead them. Bring me the lists of administrators, retainers, and vassals who supported the war.”

At the sudden order, Ghislaine’s mercenaries and the guards including Skoban quickly sprang into action.

All of Digald’s retainers present in the battlefield were immediately bound and forced to kneel.

Those administrators and retainers who couldn’t escape were soon dragged into the battlefield as well.

“Please spare us! We did nothing wrong!”

“We just followed orders!”

Though the captured ones cried out, Ghislaine didn’t even glance their way.

He merely received and slowly scanned the list of administrative officers he had knocked out.

His desire to kill them all was immense, but doing so would throw Digald’s territory into chaos.

Already impoverished, Digald had had its remaining supplies completely stripped away.

Without at least a minimal number of administrative personnel, it would turn into a den of thieves.

Ghislaine quickly began sorting through who should live and who should die.

The tied-up administrator from Digald was trembling as he began to explain about the people standing before him.

“That’s Baron Aseng. He supported a hundred soldiers and two knights for this war and participated personally…”

“Kill him.”

“Aaaaah! No! How dare you!”

The mercenaries wasted no time dragging him outside as soon as the order was given.

Though some struggled not to die, it was all for naught.

“That’s Martin. A commoner who assisted with military supplies…”

“Imprison him.”

As one by one the captured were led away, panic gripped those still caught.

Those who were imprisoned at least felt relieved to have saved their lives.

Whether fool or idiot, they were now at the mercy of the envoy who held their lives in his hands.

Then another man was brought forward.

The young, delicate-looking man appeared quite dirty and tired. He seemed to have participated in the war alongside Tamos.

“That’s Lowell. He was a commoner working in the clerk’s office but served as an operations staff officer for this war…”

“Staff officer?”

Ghislaine chuckled softly.

The war was fought in Desmond; what could Digald’s staff officer have contributed? He was likely just following Tamos around, watching from the sidelines before running away.
What do you think Digald’s staff officer would do? He probably just watched next to Tamos and ran away.

Besides, he was originally a scribe; there’s no way he could effectively perform as a staff officer.

Typically, a staff officer is a role filled by knights or military commanders with expertise in military science.

Anyway, it was time to make a judgment fitting for someone who participated in the war.

Lowell shouted urgently.

“Please spare me! I can be of help to His Highness!”

“Hmm?”

Ghislaine looked down at him with curious eyes at his desperate voice.

“What kind of help can you provide?”

Seizing Ghislaine’s interest, Lowell quickly responded to avoid missing the opportunity.

“I managed administrative tasks under the scribe! Since no one else was working, I handled almost everything myself! I know all the pros and cons and weaknesses of the territory. If you allow me, I can stabilize it quickly! Aren’t you concerned about that now, which is why you’re keeping some alive?”

“Oh?”

Ghislaine raised one corner of his mouth. He seemed to have a good sense of the situation and was saying something enticing.

However, Ghislaine shook his head without showing any signs of interest. The situation wasn’t desperate enough to save this guy.

“Digald is famously poor and in chaos. What good would it do to oversee such a place’s administration?”

“Th-that’s because the Lord and the retainers are constantly pillaging and committing corruption! If it weren’t for me managing things as frugally as possible, it wouldn’t have lasted this long!”

“Hmmmm…”

As Ghislaine showed a lukewarm reaction, Lowell’s expression looked like he was about to burst into tears.

“I created the laws and system of the territory! I also studied military science separately to handle troop management instead of the military officer! That’s why the Count took me as his staff officer! Even though I couldn’t do anything with troops that weren’t from our territory….”

In essence, he managed the territory alone, and thus had been dragged to the battlefield as a staff officer.

If that were true, it would be quite impressive, but it couldn’t be taken at face value. He might be lying to save his life.

Ghislaine narrowed his eyes and asked.

“Is there anything else you excel at? I like capable people.”

Lowell panicked.

It’s already quite impressive for a commoner to do this much, so what else could he possibly want?

He figured even an aristocrat with substantial academic achievements couldn’t do as much as he did.

However, delaying his answer or saying no seemed to mean immediate death.

Lowell blurted out without thinking.

“I heard you got a Runestone! To sell that, you need to do trade, don’t you?”

“Really? Have you ever tried trading?”

In truth, Lowell had never traded even once.

Tamos, if anything, had never given him authority over money management.

Still, Lowell scrambled to speak just to survive.

“I-I’m really quick at calculations! I can definitely help!”

Ghislaine immediately jumped into testing him. It was a terrifyingly difficult problem that required using an abacus.

“Then what is 750 multiplied by 1920?”

“230!”

His answer came without a moment’s hesitation, and Ghislaine looked incredulous.

“You’re not even close.”

“But I was fast!”

“…….”

The battlefield fell silent. Lowell hung his head low.

It was over.

How could a commoner like him survive in the hands of a noble who just kills at will?

But there are exceptions to everything in the world.

“…Haha, this guy is hilarious.”