The Female Knight You Abandoned Turned Out To Be a Limited Edition (7)
“···.”
The Count Lichten wondered if he might be dreaming.
When he sent his son, Sion Clausen, to the negotiation table, he hadn’t been worried. The appearances his child had shown so far were already more than excellent. But still, he had never imagined it would be to this degree.
“This, what is this, my son? Am I, your father, seeing wrong?”
“No. You’re seeing it very clearly, in fact.”
[Condition 1. The County of Basura shall pay the Clausen March a reparations sum of 4,000,000 Dir, by Nudia standards.]
The Count Lichten rubbed his eyes and rubbed them again. The amount he had roughly expected was, at the lowest, 300,000, and at the highest, 600,000 Dir.
‘But 4,000,000? Not 400,000, but 4,000,000?’
He wondered if perhaps a zero had been mistakenly added, but then thought, what idiot would make such an impossible blunder at so important a negotiation table?
Which left only one answer: Sion had demanded 4,000,000 Dir in reparations, and Nudia had agreed to it.
“Go on, read the next part.”
“Th-There’s more?”
[Condition 2. The Clausen March shall release all prisoners of war captured during the conflict under the condition that they be ransomed for ten times the standard value usually assessed. However, Nudia’s high-ranking knight, Lischida Amschel, who defected, shall be excluded.]
In truth, this war had been short, and since it began with Clausen’s surprise attack, not many prisoners had been taken. Even so, a few knights, several dozen soldiers, and Nudia’s high-ranking knight, Lischida Amschel, had been captured.
Though she had changed her mind and decided to remain in the Clausen March, more precisely, at Sion’s side, the other knights and soldiers were in a different situation.
Their families and properties remained entirely in Nudia, so they had no choice but to return; to do so, they would have to pay their ransom.
“Ten times? My son. What on earth is this? You’re saying ten times the ransom to release the prisoners? That Basura County actually agreed to this condition?”
“There’s still one more left.”
[Condition 3. Henceforth, the Basura County of Nudia shall ensure that no further armed conflict takes place, and in the event of urgent circumstances, they shall spare ‘all kinds’ of effort to resolve matters amicably.]
The phrase ‘all kinds’ of effort was quite obviously expected to mean not just effort, but monetary effort, as anyone could plainly foresee.
The Count Lichten found himself at a loss for words. This was not a peace negotiation, it was closer to the signing of an unconditional surrender.
First of all, the reparations alone were absurdly catastrophic.
Ten times the usual amount assessed as reparations. Not double, not five times, but ten times.
4,000,000 Dir was an astronomical figure equivalent to Basura County’s entire annual tax revenue.
Of course, with various methods they might substitute other resources for part of the taxes, but even so, it amounted to half a year’s worth. This wasn’t the level of a party offering reparations as an apology to make peace, this was the level of a surrendering party laying flat on their face, shaking out every last coin in their pockets.
‘Even the prisoner release is bizarre!’
Again, they were paying ten times the usual ransom value. It made no sense. There was no precedent for this.
Clausen and Basura had fought many times before, often back and forth, sometimes with one side at a heavy disadvantage. Even then, no one had ever offered conditions this servile. They had always struck deals that preserved the opponent’s dignity while still being acceptable to their own side.
But this, this was something else.
‘And this third condition! I’ve never even heard of such a clause! Can this really be true?’
Nowhere in the conditions was the Clausen March mentioned. It couldn’t possibly have been forgotten, such documents could be torn apart over a single word which meant the Clausen March’s name had been deliberately excluded. They were supposed to be negotiating a truce, but Basura County had given away its guts and liver in the process.
“···Sion Clausen.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Surely… surely nothing strange happened, did it?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“No, I mean… did the Count of Basura perhaps try to harm you, only to be subdued and blackmailed, or something like that?”
“Nothing of the sort happened. It was an entirely peaceful negotiation, so you needn’t worry.”
It had indeed been entirely peaceful.
From Sion’s perspective, anyway.
“At any rate, the negotiations are concluded. Count Dishe Basura had been delegated full authority, so he won’t be so foolish as to renege.”
“···It still feels like I’m dreaming. Good heavens, to think Nudia would agree to terms like these.”
When Sion smiled, as if to say ‘all’s well that ends well,’ Lichten could only nod. He was still uneasy about Lischida being a knight of Nudia, but seeing her show such devotion, she truly did seem sincere in her defection, and at the negotiation table, it had been firmly declared she would not be discussed as a prisoner to be released.
‘It ended well.’
Despite the Count Lichten’s concerns, the negotiations ended without a single armed clash.
Well, aside from Lischida punching Count Dishe in the mouth, but that was his own fault, so it was let slide.
‘With all the problems and weaknesses I knew of in Basura County, and with all the recent misdeeds of Count Dishe that Lischida told me… We had enough dirt to bury him outright in Nudia.’
There was no way Basura County lacked rival nobles to restrain them.
Sion had explained, in detail and right before Count Dishe’s eyes, exactly how to set those nobles in motion. And with the assortment of scandals Lischida had shared about her former master, the arsenal of blackmail was endless.
“You’ve worked hard, Lishi.”
“Yes, thank yo– eh? W-What did you just call me?”
“Your full name, Lischida, is good, but it’s a little long. I was thinking of calling you Lishi instead. Unless you dislike it, in which case—”
“N-No! Absolutely not! It’s fine! I-It’s wonderful!”
At her booming reply, Sion groaned, “Uhh…” waving his hand to calm her down.
“I-I’ll be happy no matter what my master, no, my young lord, calls me!”
“Alright, alright, calm down. Why are you suddenly so high-tension?”
“Ah, well…”
Suddenly deflating, her shoulders slumping, Lischida hesitated before speaking.
“Now that I’ve seen the true face of the one I once called master, I feel… strange. I don’t know why I ever followed such a man.”
“Think of it positively. That hardship was just the path you had to walk to become my knight. Then it feels better, doesn’t it?”
“···Thinking of it that way, yes, I do feel better. Thank you. For saving me.”
“I only held out my hand, you were the one who chose to take it. You saved yourself, so don’t overpraise me.”
“Don’t overpraise…? What do you mean by that?”
“There’s an expression for it. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately.”
They said extremely advanced science was indistinguishable from magic. But in this world, it was simply magic that was advanced.
It was just that magic filled the role science did elsewhere.
“Young master.”
Sion turned to see Sebastian bowing. When asked what it was, the butler replied in a somewhat heavy tone, clearly displeased.
“A guest has arrived. A ‘rather troublesome’ guest, one might say.”
···Damn it, here we go.
There was only one person Sebastian would so openly call troublesome.
Raido, the former court magician who must have suffered running errands for the temple before learning of Lilith’s existence. And also, the father-in-law whose daughter he had taken, now fuming after discovering that his would-be son-in-law also had another woman.
“Lishi. Come with me.”
“Eh? But am I really permitted to attend in greeting a guest?”
Because it might not be a greeting at all, but a direct trip to the afterlife, that’s why. Though with Lucia present, that possibility was slim.
Led by Sebastian, Sion and Lischida headed for the innermost chamber of the castle. This was a place normally reserved for internal family councils.
As they approached, they heard a sharp, shrill woman’s voice from inside.
“Do you all want to die? I don’t understand what you’re saying! How could I know that? I was sealed away, for God’s sake! Locked up, unable to do anything, and now you’re demanding I spit out information? What kind of crap is that?!”
Apparently Lilith had arrived first and was talking with Raido.
Sebastian sighed, “Phew…” then, realizing Sion was right behind him, quickly bowed in apology.
Sion waved it off and, taking a deep breath, turned the knob.
“Hm? Ho, so you’ve arrived at last. Our brilliant future son-in, ahem. Welcome, Sion Clausen.”
“What took you so long?! Hurry and make this old man understand. Otherwise, I’m going to kill an old geezer for the first time today instead of some young punk!”
“Kuhuhu. That’s harsh, Succubus Queen. But no matter how old, a man is always a man!”
“Bullshit. Can you even get it up in the morning? I know some herbs that help with premature problems, want me to tell you?”
Succubus Queen or renowned mage, both were equally childish.
Muttering to himself, Sion moved to sit beside Lilith, but when his gaze locked with Lucia’s, he quietly adjusted and sat in the chair in the center instead.
Lischida stood behind him, and Sebastian departed to prepare tea.
“···So, I hear you’ve made a contract with the Succubus Queen.”
“Yes, as you know, Lord Raido…”
“Since you had not a speck of mana, she couldn’t escape your dream even in death. Thus she was compelled to contract with you to get out.”
“Precisely.”
“I don’t know the exact terms of that contract, but contracting with a dream demon is hardly a pleasant matter.”
Holding his forehead, Raido groaned.
There were limits to recklessness. And yet, the heir of a grand noble house had suddenly made a pact with one of the most reviled demons. And worse, his daughter was smitten with the boy. Raido thought he might go insane.
“This is driving me mad. Can things really tangle this badly?”
“What do you mean?”
“That temple, the one where the Succubus Queen was sealed. After the seal was broken, when we investigated inside…”
“You found a great magic circle, didn’t you? One crafted by the Celestials.”
A flash of lightning ran through Raido’s eyes.
How did you know?
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Sion shrugged, speaking casually.
“Who else but a Celestial of equal rank could seal a high demon, practically a demigod? There are no other possible answers.”
“···True enough. We’re still studying its purpose, but it was indeed Celestial magic.”
There was no real ‘purpose’ to be found. It was simply a reinforcement measure, installed to maintain Lilith’s seal. But the formula was so intricate and obscure that even Raido hadn’t uncovered that much.
“You’ve no idea how much I struggled to break through it. If not for Sion’s desperate call, I’d have collapsed unconscious halfway through!”
Lilith declared it proudly, as if bragging.
Raido looked at her with thinly veiled discontent, then turned his gaze to Lischida standing behind Sion, and covered his face.
“Ha, damn it… now I’m jealous.”
“Eh?”
“Nothing. Just talking to myself.”
Brushing it off, Raido went on.
With Lilith freed from her seal, the temple investigation was nearly complete. Recently, however, he had business elsewhere, so he would be leaving Clausen territory.
“And Lucia?”
“I thought to take her, but… I think it’s better she remain here. If I force her along, I might end up being beaten to death by my daughter on the spot.”
“Father.”
Lucia glared, her eyes like knives.
Raido flinched, shrinking back, showing again why he was called the serial ‘Killer Demon’ yet acted the fool where his daughter was concerned.
“And you’re heading to the royal capital?”
“Yes.”
“You’d better be careful. That place is crawling with jackals who’ll tear into anything weak. I shut their mouths with beatings, but still…”
“You think my inability to wield mana will be a vulnerability?”
“What else could it be, if not a weakness?”
“Well, objectively, it is a weakness. But used well, it could just as easily be a strength.”
“There you go again with your nonsense.”
Who knows. Maybe it was nonsense.
Sion chuckled inwardly, already imagining the events to come in the capital.
His inability to wield mana was certainly a weakness.
But on the flip side, it also meant he held an airtight alibi, he could never be the suspect in any crime caused by magic.
