How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 171

171. If You Say ‘Did I Get Him?’ It Always Comes Out (9)

“I heard rumors that Grand Duke Nilpas is incredibly scary?”

“Resilia…….”

“They say he’s so tall he can cut people down and throw them with one hand, and that he’s all muscular like this.”

He shook his head at his sister, who was making a fuss with suspicious hand gestures.

“Please, refrain from frivolous behavior at the negotiation table.”

“I know that much.”

She wasn’t such a child that she couldn’t distinguish between public and private matters.

Resilia pouted, as if wanting to insist on that.

“……It’s alright. Grand Duke Nilpas is reasonable enough.”

Just then, as if overhearing their conversation, a woman’s voice was heard quietly from outside the carriage.

“Sir Kenelia?”

Resilia tilted her head, calling out her name.

It was the name of the knight responsible for guarding the two royals, sitting outside the carriage.

“It’s always playful exaggeration. You don’t need to take it seriously.”

“……But it is true that he once threw a person with one hand on the battlefield.”

“…….”

“……I misspoke.”

“It’s alright. ……More importantly, Sir Kenelia, have you ever met him?”

“I haven’t seen him in person. But his reputation as a fairly rational old man is somewhat famous among the knights.”

“I see. That’s helpful.”

“I apologize.”

While they were having such a conversation, the border fortress of the Falgent Duchy began to appear in the distance.

This meeting was proposed by the Empire to be held at their border fortress.

It was a somewhat bustling place for royals to visit, but it would be shameless to ask them to come all the way to a city within the Duchy in this situation, so there was an intention to show at least that much good will.

To show that they were willing to go directly into enemy territory to talk.

That was the intention.

“We’ve arrived.”

Aleus abandoned his earlier relaxed attitude and cleared his mind.

There was no need for complicated arguments.

He just needed to proceed with the meeting calmly.

If they admitted their fault and offered the agreed-upon compensation, there would be no problem.

He repeated this in his mind.

“Then, let’s talk to the owner of this place.”

* * *

As planned, the two royals arrived at the fortress and entered with only a minimal escort.

The remaining escorts and carriages were all stationed outside the fortress.

If they were to bring such a large army into the fortress, no matter what their intentions, the others would be wary first.

There was a need to show their intent.

That they had the will to resolve the situation through dialogue alone.

“I understand the intention, but it’s a reckless move. Didn’t you think we might take you hostage?”

Of course, Grand Duke Nilpas was the first to ask that.

Aleus answered without hesitation, as he had already prepared.

“This situation is, after all, a tragedy caused by a foolish noble. Accordingly, the Empire must show that much sincerity. We understand the Duchy’s pain and have no intention of fighting any further.”

“……You speak well. ……Well, I will believe for now that you want to talk.”

“Thank you, Grand Duke. I trust you will understand our true intentions.”

It was nothing more than a formality without any sincerity.

Everyone already knew that.

At the negotiation table, the two royals, Grand Duke Nilpas, and his granddaughter, Duchess Elnia of Falgenta, were gathered, facing each other.

Aleus hesitated for a moment, looking at them.

‘Leaving aside the Grand Duke, the fact that the Duchess of the Falgenta family is also present means…… they don’t trust us easily.’

He had heard rumors about the artifacts they possessed.

The Imperial Family also judged the truth of it to be factual.

That meant they were trying to ascertain the truth by putting forward the Duchess, who had a contract with the artifact.

And also to prepare for unexpected situations.

‘It doesn’t matter. I intend to resolve this through dialogue anyway.’

Aleus steeled himself, telling himself not to be intimidated, and opened his mouth first.

“Regarding the tyranny of Marquis Selond, we fully acknowledge that the Empire was negligent in its management.”

“Are you saying the Imperial Family was never involved in his actions?”

“Of course. His Majesty has never allowed anything that would break the current peace.”

“Peace…….”

The Grand Duke chuckled inwardly at his words.

“What sustains the Empire isn’t peace, is it?”

The Forellos Empire grew thanks to fierce and repeated invasions.

Originally, the only place that called itself an empire was the Elphark Empire until hundreds of years ago.

However, the Elphark Empire virtually collapsed due to the Empress’s foolish tyranny, and while it was floundering, the Forellos Empire arose as a new empire.

And the current Emperor, who has inherited power through generations, is also a formidably greedy person.

There was no way he wouldn’t know how aggressive his desires were.

In short, that pretense was just to avoid responsibility for the failure.

‘Then, they’ll have to pay the price.’

He also wanted to end the war, but he couldn’t just shake hands willingly.

“It’s not that I don’t know your intentions.”

“Then…….”

“Then the responsibility must be clearly established. Of course, you have something to say about that, don’t you?”

“……Marquis Selond has died, but those who made secret deals with him will soon be severely punished in the Imperial Council.”

“That’s just internal affairs on your side. It has nothing to do with us.”

“Of course. We will receive compensation from them and express our apologies to the Duchy.”

“Hmm…….”

The Grand Duke didn’t say anything else, seemingly not dissatisfied up to that point.

The Duchess was also just quietly present.

“I have one question. Is the responsibility of the Marquis that the Empire claims is referring to his deviation?”

“Of course.”

That he arbitrarily raised an army and invaded, that he arbitrarily used the monster troops that were being researched in the Empire.

And even summoning a demon.

“Then what about the actions of that demon?”

“That would also be the responsibility of the Marquis.”

“I see.”

“Of course, the Empire will also bear the damage. That is our intention and responsibility.”

“Indeed. I understand that your sincerity is truly genuine.”

For some reason, the Grand Duke had a slight smile on his lips.

He understood the sincerity?

It was too hasty of an answer.

Aleus momentarily wondered if he had made a slip of the tongue.

That couldn’t be, the responsibility and the compensation for it were as he had reviewed them once.

“But that demon did something quite interesting.”

“……Yes?”

“Look at this first.”

The Grand Duke had a servant bring the data and then passed it over as if to show it off.

Aleus carefully looked at the bundle of papers that slid across the table, not missing a single word.

“……Wait?! Is this true?!”

He raised his voice without realizing it.

The data stated that the demons were building a strange ritual site and had performed some kind of ritual.

According to eyewitness accounts, even a dragon was summoned.

Moreover, the body of Krold, a vassal of Marquis Selond and one of the Empire’s knights, was found there.

It became difficult.

He couldn’t deny that they were related.

“Fortunately, we discovered it and stopped it, so there was no damage, but if we hadn’t, it could have become an even more serious problem for the safety of the continent.”

There were many witnesses and considerable evidence.

He couldn’t just pretend he didn’t know and deny that it was fabricated.

“What on earth was Marquis Selond trying to do? Isn’t it truly frightening?”

“……Th, that’s.”

He wanted to know more than anyone else.

Aleus cried out in his heart.

The damage and tyranny they claimed far exceeded what the Imperial Family had anticipated.

If it became known, it wouldn’t end with just condemnation.

If they had summoned a demon and done something else on top of that, the Holy Kingdom wouldn’t stand still.

And if a dragon appeared, each of the magic towers, except for the Red Tower, wouldn’t stand still either.

It had been hundreds of years since a dragon had harmed humans.

They had broken that balance.

Above all, the Elphark Empire.

In that place that had collapsed and was barely maintaining its existence, in that crumbling imperial castle, that obsessed Empress, who only resided there, would also sharpen her teeth, saying that this mistake was a good opportunity.

‘This is bad.’

Aleus couldn’t help but sweat coldly.

The Princess also sensed that something was unusual, but she couldn’t dare to speak and had to be confused.

Grand Duke Nilpas leisurely glanced at the data from just now and asked solemnly.

“If you want to resolve this, you must show the appropriate attitude.”

“…….”

“What kind of sincerity will the Imperial Family show regarding this situation? I would like to know how firm your sense of responsibility is, as you said.”

And dozens of minutes later.

In the end, Aleus had no choice but to bring out all the negotiation materials he had anticipated.

He had no choice but to settle this matter here.

That was the only thing he could do.

* * *

All Prince Aleus could do was admit it willingly.

This negotiation was bound to fail.

The only thing that allowed him to barely recover his senses was the pressure that he should not make a disgraceful scene.

After finishing the negotiation, he set out on the return journey to the Empire.

“……Brother.”

“……It’s alright. It’s enough that we finished without any major incidents.”

He quietly reassured Resilia, but he couldn’t possibly feel at ease.

His mission from the Emperor was to reduce mistakes as much as possible.

The grounds they claimed were something he wasn’t even aware of.

Before he knew it, the situation had become unfavorable.

“……Avil, that damn bastard. What on earth has he been doing.”

He seemed to hear a grinding sound from his molars without realizing it.

Just then, the communication artifact placed in a corner of the carriage reacted.

“…….”

Aleus silently held out his hand.

Meaning to give it to him.

The Princess hesitated and handed it over, and he took it and activated it.

This communication artifact was a device that only worked when the mana of the Imperial Family’s unique personnel was poured into it.

So the person contacting him now was also someone who shared the Imperial Family’s blood.

[I heard you’re on your way back, brother.]

“Yes. Is that Avil?”

Avil himself had contacted him first.

He seemed to have a thick face [shameless].

Aleus frowned openly.

[Did the negotiations go well?]

“Yes, the Duchy will no longer mention the matter of Marquis Selond.”

[You have worked hard indeed. His Majesty will be very pleased.]

“Yes. He will be pleased. Because I had to hand over half of the Marquisate to them and give them the heads and property of the guys involved.”

“……Yes?”

What was this guy pretending not to know?

“The price of the Marquis’s actions was not insignificant.”

He said everything.

The aftermath, and everything they claimed.

[……Isn’t that their insistence?]

“The evidence was too clear. At least, the causal relationship with the Marquis’s actions could not be ignored.”

“…….”

This time, Avil was silent.

“Don’t tell me, you planned this to give your brother a difficult task on purpose?”

It was no use pretending.

After all, the royals knew each other’s inner thoughts well, even if there was no material evidence.

Aleus lowered his voice as if wanting to say that.

“It’s no use trying to gloss over it.”

Clearly, even the Emperor was aware of it but was condoning it.

[There’s no way I would do that. It’s just that Selond’s actions went too far. Even I didn’t anticipate it.]

“Hmph, that’s enough. Anyway, His Majesty will surely be quite disappointed with this result.”

[……Oh dear. Then I will also file a petition to His Majesty together.]

“……Do as you please.”

He cut off the mana flowing into the artifact and muttered to the place where he could no longer be heard.

“What a detestable guy.”

If the guy had planned to put other royals in trouble, he had something in mind.

He suppressed his annoyance and resolved.

* * *

To put it in terms of results, the Empire had to promise and pay a considerable amount to the Falgent Duchy.

To pay compensation by recovering the heads of those responsible and their property.

Also, half of the Selond Marquisate will be handed over to the Duchy.

In return, the Duchy will promise to keep all investigation results and negotiation details confidential.

However, the Empire had to pay too much to keep their mouths shut.

They would have to take responsibility for everything they had done and even what they had not done.

Because that is karma.

That’s what a certain boy would surely say.