How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 123

“How did you know?”

The Duke’s face was quite peculiar when he met me.

The Duke isn’t a fool. He can sufficiently foresee how the current situation is unfolding and what will happen as a result.

That’s probably why he’s giving me such a doubtful look.

“What are you referring to?”

“How did you know the southern mines would collapse?”

The rock salt mines scattered throughout the southern mountains were the greatest contributor to the Rodkius family’s power and a goose that laid golden eggs.

Those mines collapsed.

From Rodkius’s perspective, it was like being struck by lightning while preparing for war. I wonder if he’s screaming at the sky right now.

In any case, war is now impossible for Rodkius. He should be focusing on restoring the mines right away. To wage war in this situation? Even if Bashrun drags it out a little, Rodkius is guaranteed to self-destruct.

And the Duke, who knows this, must be marveling at my judgment.

“I had reliable information.”

“Information?”

“Yes, information.”

There’s a massive novel called Midland Saga, and I got the information from there.

“Information that predicted a natural disaster? That’s a bit much. If you don’t want to reveal your method, I won’t ask further. It’s your skill, after all. But the more I think about it, the more amazing it is. I can’t figure out what method you used.”

Of course, the Duke, unaware of the truth, seemed to believe that I had used some kind of method.

Well, he’s free to be mistaken.

“To have the ability to use a disaster to carry out such sabotage without anyone knowing? Huh, really.”

He seemed to be imagining that I had used some kind of trick, taking advantage of the frequent earthquakes in the south.

It was the wrong answer, but there was no need to correct him. There was no risk of being caught anyway, and the result was certain.

“It’s not something to be proud of. It would have been impossible without the help of nature.”

“Enough with the modesty. Whatever the method, producing results without causing problems is also a skill.”

The Duke waved his hand and chuckled.

“If we wage war like this, my certain victory would be guaranteed.”

“But you wouldn’t want to lose something precious in return, would you? There’s a saying, ‘Too much is as bad as too little.’”

“You’re right.”

The Duke readily admitted to the meaning of the word ‘prisoner’ [referring to the potential loss of his own men as prisoners of war].

“Besides, if they’re driven into such a corner, attacking would be a blunder. If they have nothing to lose, they’ll be prepared to die together. It would be like stirring up a hornet’s nest.”

The Duke meant that a cornered rat bites a cat.

That’s right.

Even if they lose the war, if they can plan for the future, the process will be carried out with both sides adhering to tacit rules. Like how biochemical weapons and nuclear war are avoided in modern warfare.

But if there’s no chance of recovery.

If defeat means the destruction of the family.

Rodkius would gladly use any means to try to die together. If there’s no future anyway, why wage war while following the rules?

“In that case…”

The Duke nodded at my question.

“I will give up the war. As you said, there’s no need to shed unnecessary blood. However.”

The Duke added, as if there was a condition.

“You know that this is only the case when Bashrun has perfectly obtained everything they want.”

“That’s why I came all the way here. Then, I’ll be on my way.”

I finished speaking and turned to leave the tent, but.

“Putting that aside.”

The Duke’s voice came from behind me again.

“I’m suddenly curious. What are you hoping for by intervening in this arbitration? Is it simply a sense of justice that you can’t let innocent blood be shed?”

“……”

“You don’t have to say if you don’t want to reveal it. I don’t have the right to pry into the details. But if you perfectly accomplish this, it’s also true that I should give you a reasonable reward.”

A reward…….

My main goal was to prevent the war between the two families and prevent the loss of power, so I achieved my purpose.

I didn’t particularly want anything from the Duke right now.

I turned around to face the Duke and shrugged.

“Well, you can just think of it as putting Bashrun in debt for the future. I didn’t do it for any particular reward.”

After all, what I wanted right now wasn’t from the Duke, but from Rodkius.

“Debt……”

The Duke repeated my words a few times and then nodded.

“I don’t know how much you’re going to charge, but I’ll keep it in mind for now.”

“Understood.”

“Then go and finish it, mediator Cain Lindayer.”

Finish it.

I nodded lightly at the Duke’s words, which meant the cessation of hostilities, and turned around to leave the tent again.

* * *

My steps to Baron Trill’s castle were light. Both sides seemed to have guessed that this negotiation was the last, and many people watched my progress, holding their breath.

The negotiation site was a makeshift tent set up in the middle of the castle and the military camp.

There, Alin O’Donnell’s warhorse, which seemed to have arrived first, was tied outside.

Soon, after leaving the following knight on standby, I entered the tent alone. Inside, as expected, Alin O’Donnell had arrived first and was waiting.

“Did you foresee this?”

Alin, who saw me entering the tent, immediately questioned me without even greeting me.

“What do you mean, foresee?”

I shrugged nonchalantly and sat opposite Alin.

His face was complex. The gentle smile he had always shown was long gone. All that remained was a persistent suspicion towards me.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

“I’m saying it because I really don’t know.”

“Did you take advantage of the earthquake to blow up the mines?”

“You have a rich imagination.”

“Terrorism without a declaration of war is strictly prohibited. Do you think you’ll be safe after doing such a thing?”

“I don’t know why you’re trying to find fault when you’re also breaking the law. No, in the first place, do you have any evidence before you accuse me?”

Of course, he wouldn’t have any. Because I didn’t destroy it.

“Oh, of course, you know that Bashrun can find as much evidence as they want to prove that Rodkius was involved in this territory war, right?”

“……”

“Whatever shady things you’ve done, it seems like only Rodkius will be exposed in the end. Of course, you were prepared for that. You must have fully expected the war that would follow. But well, did you really predict the current situation?”

I made a small sound effect. ‘Kwaaaang~’ Alin’s face began to turn red at my mockery, which meant the mines had collapsed.

“That’s why I gave you a chance. To accept the conditions appropriately and clean up the mess.”

“……”

“Did you really take that as a joke?”

“……”

At the continued questioning, Alin finally closed his eyes. He seemed to realize that the situation was not favorable.

“Let’s accept the conditions that Bashrun initially proposed.”

It was a declaration of surrender.

But the situation was different now than it was then. Why are you talking like you’re doing me a favor in this situation?

“Do you think I’ll accept that as it is?”

“Are there any additional conditions?”

“Let’s start by setting this place properly.”

“What do you mean by setting the place properly?”

“Are you a representative of the three nobles, or are you a person of Rodkius? Let’s start by clarifying that.”

At my words, Alin’s gaze quickly scanned the surroundings. There were still only Alin and me in the tent.

But not satisfied with that alone, Alin even checked outside the tent to see if anyone was eavesdropping before sitting back down.

“Since there’s nothing more to hide anyway.”

Alin leaned back against the backrest with a stiff expression and sharp eyes.

The Alin from before and the Alin of today looked like completely different people.

He’s taking off his mask and showing his true colors now.

“Let me be frank. My lord wants to finish things as soon as possible. He also said that he would actively accept the conditions that Bashrun wants in the process.”

“……”

“But if you insist on waging war, he also said to be prepared to perish together.”

It was the expected reaction. Rodkius had declared defeat and announced that he would retreat.

There was no reason for me not to accept it. After all, Duke Bashrun was also worried about Rodkius’s resistance, which was prepared for destruction.

“Good. Then, from now on, I will tell you the conditions that Bashrun wants.”

I opened the water bottle I had brought and briefly quenched my thirst before starting the negotiation.

“Bashrun will confiscate all the people, property, and land of the three nobles.”

“I accept.”

“Rodkius will be responsible for all the damages caused by this territory war and the compensation for the war expenses incurred.”

“This territory war is between the three nobles and Bashrun, so how can Rodkius be responsible? It’s like admitting that he was deeply involved in this situation.”

“Since when have you been moving so openly and proudly to find justification? Find a way. Any form is fine.”

Alin, gritting his teeth, narrowed his eyes and glared at me.

“……I accept.”

“It’s a matter of course, but the prisoners must be released safely.”

“Understood.”

“And one more thing, the Hruden River, which connects the east and south-central regions, has long been occupied by the Rodkius family, who have been collecting huge tariffs.”

“That’s right, but why suddenly that?”

“Let’s borrow that trade route for a while. Tariff-free.”

“……”

The Hruden River is the longest river on the continent, an enormous river that flows from the east to the center of the continent like the Han River [a major river in Korea] and flows out to the south.

The value of being able to transport merchant ships inland alone is beyond imagination.

Therefore, the Rodkius family, which manages the river, has imposed huge taxes, and all the merchants on the continent are desperately trying to lower the taxes and flattering them.

Alin’s face began to distort at the words that he would use the Hruden River’s port system tariff-free.

Of course, this was not a condition that the Duke particularly wanted. Rather, it was a condition I wanted. In a situation where I had to earn wealth through the Blue Wind Merchant Guild, the heavy tariffs imposed by Rodkius were a considerable burden.

Of course, I would have to put Bashrun’s name on it, but I was confident that I could easily get that approval.

“That place tariff-free? Are you kidding me?”

As expected, Alin shouted as if it was some kind of robbery.

“Oh, is tariff-free too much? Then at least I’ll pay for the cost of using the facilities.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about!”

“I don’t think it’s a harsh request. After all, most of the merchants owned by the Bashrun family have only been using land routes until now. In such a situation, you can’t change everything to maritime trade overnight. I’m telling you that the scale is not that big.”

“……”

“Besides, the ownership of the river remains the same, right? You can continue to collect tariffs from other merchants as you have been doing. Above all, I’m not saying I’m going to borrow the river for life.”

“What do you mean not for life?”

“Let’s go with a term. How about 10 years? Is 10 years too much? Then let’s make it 5 years.”

Alin’s face began to change strangely at my suggestion.

He must be calculating the profits and losses in his head.

There’s no way it’ll go up to 10 years anyway. The continent will be engulfed in war before that. So even if I only use it for 5 years, I’ll earn everything I need to earn.

On the other hand, from Rodkius’s point of view, who doesn’t know that the Second Tribal War will break out in the future, 5 years is not a long time.

Confirming that Alin’s worries were deepening, I delivered the final blow.

“The territories of the three nobles originally belonged to Bashrun. Getting them back is just regaining what was lost. But if it ends like that, wouldn’t the winner be too disappointed?”

In short, it meant that we won, so give us something.

Alin’s worries began to deepen a little more at my request. But what can he do? The scales have already tipped.

“……”

“I don’t think it’s a bad condition for Rodkius either? The distinction between victory and defeat has already become clear.”

Yes. The distinction between victory and defeat has become clear.

Rodkius, whose mines, which were a huge source of funds, have collapsed. If the war is dragged on as a long-term war, not a short-term war, defeat will be a foregone conclusion without any room for doubt.

Alin, who doesn’t know that, is not. And the one he calls his lord will be the same.

“……If we fight, Bashrun will not be safe either, regardless of victory or defeat.”

Even in a situation where he is about to die, he does not easily give in.

But I could easily feel that his heart had already tilted.

“I know. So I’m saying that I’ll agree to the previous conditions and the use of the Hruden River and end it. I think this is a good opportunity to shake hands and get out cleanly.”

“……”

“Instead, I’ll grant you one thing you want.”

“What we want?”

“Let’s not hold you accountable for anything that happened in this territory war in the future. I’m saying let’s end it cleanly.”

It meant that Rodkius would completely get out and return to as if nothing had happened.

It was also the condition that Alin wanted the most in the first place.

“……Are you sure?”

“It’s also Duke Bashrun’s will. Rather than pursuing responsibility to the end, it’s also a will to reduce innocent sacrifices.”

At my words of confirmation, Alin finally sighed lowly and nodded.

“I accept.”

From the way he accepted without saying a word, I could guess that Alin was a person with considerable authority.

Even if I don’t know anything else, the fact that he can make decisions about the Hruden River on his own means that he is definitely not a person of low status.

The contents of the armistice agreement were quickly written.

Alin, who looked at the contents that were written concisely, excluding unnecessary rhetoric, signed his name and stamped his seal on it without hesitation.

……Alione?

Alin O’Donnell.

Abbreviated as Alione.

Only then did I realize his identity, and I raised my head, feeling as if I had been hit in the back of the head.

“Alione Rodkius.”

Alin, who had already stood up, put one of the two signed agreements in his arms and opened his mouth.

“Let me formally introduce myself. I am Alione Rodkius, the official successor of the Marquis Rodkius family.”

Alione Rodkius.

He dyed his hair, and his features were made up?

I lost my words for a moment at the unexpected meeting, and Alione smiled softly again at the sight.

“I didn’t intend to reveal it at first. I judged that I would never see you again. But the situation has changed. Today, I lost to you.”

“……”

“So I have a reason to see you again. To repay this humiliation someday, it would be better to reveal my identity and secure the justification in this place.”

Alione, putting on the cloak he had taken off, declared that he would take revenge on me.

I could feel the quiet anger sleeping in his soft eyes. Alione must have been feeling a sense of defeat to me now.

“So please take care of me in the future, Cain Lindayer.”

He said it with some determination, but I couldn’t help but think, ‘What’s wrong with this guy?’

If you’re going to take revenge, do something secretly without anyone knowing, why are you declaring it so proudly?

Thinking that he was seriously suffering from middle school syndrome [a humorous way to describe someone acting immature or dramatic], I opened my mouth indifferently.

“That’s none of my business.”

Alione’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, perhaps because it was a different answer than expected.

Whatever.

“Shut up and go release the prisoners quickly.”

I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to hang out with a middle school syndrome patient like you.