Merchant Noble is out (2/4 chapters for today)
Peace Agreement
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After the failure of the slum lightning search operation, which was caused by Boris’s pressure, Kario was taken to the royal palace. Due to the failure of the operation, voices calling for his execution were raised one after another from the ministers, but once again, Count Ludwig interceded.
“For the failure of this operation, Kario will be stripped of his position as Captain of the Royal Guard and imprisoned.” (Ludwig)
In the end, considering Kario’s past achievements, his life was spared, and he was stripped of his position as Captain of the Royal Guard and incarcerated. Above all, the rescue operation for Princess Alice had ended in failure.
The King Lureid, who was fearful of his daughter’s safety being threatened, received a shocking message.
“Your Majesty, a messenger has arrived from the Laplace Kingdom.” (Servant)
“A messenger from Laplace!?” (Tafman)
The King and the ministers began to stir in a commotion. They could not believe that the messenger had come so openly.
“How dare they come so brazenly!” (Minister)
“Kill the messenger!” (Minister)
The ministers, filled with murderous intent, shouted. However, the King shouted at the ministers to silence them.
“Enough! Do you intend to kill my daughter?” (Tafman)
He then ordered that the messenger be brought to the grand hall.
“Bring them here at once. I will meet them.” (Tafman)
After a while, three young women entered the grand hall and knelt before the King.
The King made a puzzled face. “Are these truly the messengers from Laplace?” he silently asked his attendant, but before the attendant could answer, one of the women looked up and boldly introduced herself.
“I am Alma, the 4th unit of the Royal Guard of Queen Casablanca of the Laplace Kingdom. This is Martina, the 5th unit, and Yuna from the Warden Trading Company.” (Alma)
“Oh. The Royal Guard of Queen Casablanca, and a high-ranking official from the Warden Trading Company. You have traveled a long way to come here.” (Tafman)
Indeed, if they were the Royal Guard of the Queen, it was understandable for young women to come. Sending Royal Guard members was a sign that they were taking this matter seriously, even more so than sending ministers.
The King raised his hands in a welcoming gesture.
“Alma, you say? Laplace Kingdom kidnapped my daughter. How is she now?” (King of Lureid)
“Princess Alice is being treated with great care. Though I cannot show proof, I swear on the name of the Royal Guard of Queen Casablanca that she is in good health.” (Alma)
No evidence had been found that the Laplace Kingdom was behind the kidnapping of Princess Alice. However, the Lureid Kingdom had recognized that the kidnapping incident was caused by the Laplace Kingdom. In response, Alma did not try to feign ignorance by asking, “What proof do you have that we kidnapped the princess?”. She admitted to the kidnapping of the princess.
“I am relieved to hear that. But why did you kidnap my daughter in the first place?” (Tafman)
“Yes. Negotiation can only occur when both sides are on equal footing.” (Alma)
The Lureid Kingdom had arrested the Tadont couple, yet they criticized the Laplace Kingdom for kidnapping the princess. Alma answered sarcastically.
“The Tadont couple, who are citizens of Laplace Kingdom, are imprisoned in your country, correct? There is no way your country would release them if we came empty-handed.” (Alma)
“So, you mean you kidnapped the princess in order to rescue the couple who are imprisoned?” (Tafman)
At the King’s words, Alma nodded firmly.
“That’s right. If you release the couple who are prisoners, we are prepared to release Princess Alice.” (Alma)
“I… I see!” (Tafman)
Surprisingly, Alma was someone who could be reasoned with, and the King seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He immediately prepared to agree to the terms for the release of Princess Alice.
“Then, I will immediately release the two prisoners…” (Tafman)
“Messenger!” (Ludwig)
Alma’s words made the King nod in agreement, but suddenly, the conversation was interrupted.
It was Count Ludwig who entered the conversation. He did not speak to the King, but instead addressed the messengers from Laplace.
“You must be tired from your long journey. We have prepared a room for you. Please rest for a while.” (Ludwig)
“But the King was about to say something…” (Alma)
“Please rest.” (Ludwig)
The Count stopped Alma from continuing her words with his forceful tone.
“Excuse us.” (Alma)
Reluctantly, the messengers from the Laplace Kingdom exited the grand hall, and the ministers, who had been silent until now, suddenly became noisy. Some insisted on accepting Alma’s proposal, while others argued against it.
“Ludwig, we might have peace right away, and our daughter could return. Why do you interfere?” (Tafman)
The King scolded Ludwig, but the Count responded boldly.
“Your Majesty, we must not rush to conclusions. Such a large matter cannot be decided so quickly.” (Ludwig)
Ludwig was not concerned with the King’s response but was instead worried about how easily the King was being swayed by Alma’s guidance.
“However, if we wait any longer, our daughter will never return!” (Tafman)
The King could only focus on his daughter. As a parent, it was understandable, but this was exactly what Laplace wanted, to manipulate him. Ludwig decided to shift the King’s perspective away from his daughter and toward seeing the bigger picture as the ruler of a country.
“Why do you think Laplace Kingdom hasn’t led an army to invade? It’s because the Tadont couple, who are high-ranking members of the Warden Household in Laplace Kingdom, are held as hostages in our prison. If we release them now, Laplace Kingdom will be like a bird with its chains removed, invading us in no time.” (Count Ludwig)
“So, what should we do?” (Tafman)
“In the end, as the King desires, an exchange of hostages between the couple and the princess is acceptable. However, we need to buy time. We must prepare for war and strengthen our defenses, just in case.” (Ludwig)
At present, they were ill-prepared for war. If they released the hostages now, Laplace Kingdom would have nothing holding them back and would invade immediately.
“What do the others think?” (Tafman)
The King asked the other ministers, but they all fell silent.
There was no one who could match Count Ludwig’s ability to analyze the current situation.
“Understood. Since no one else has any opinions, I will adopt Ludwig’s suggestion…” (Tafman)
Just as the King was about to make his decision, a servant rushed in.
“I must inform you! The messengers from Laplace are about to leave and are arguing with the guards!” (Servant)
“Stop! We can’t let them leave! Call them back immediately!” (King of Lureid)
Everyone was confused about why the messengers were trying to leave. The King quickly ordered the messengers to be called back.
“Messenger, why are you trying to leave when we haven’t finished the discussions yet?” (King of Lureid)
When the messengers returned to the grand hall, the King asked them.
Alma, as if she didn’t understand why such a question was being asked, answered confidently.
“Your Majesty, did you think we were still in negotiations? I had assumed that you had already rejected the idea of the hostage exchange.” (Alma)
The King was shocked.
Alma had hinted that the peace agreement might be ending.
“That’s impossible. This is a very serious matter. It’s not something that can be decided overnight.” (Tafman)
While in a hurry, the King responded by buying time, following Count Ludwig’s advice.
“Your Majesty is mistaken.” (Alma)
Alma said with a slight tone of mockery, as if laughing at the intentions of the Lureid Kingdom to drag the negotiations into the long term.
“The hostages of the Lureid Kingdom are just a measuring couple of commoners. In contrast, the hostages of the Laplace Kingdom are the princess of Lureid. I previously said that both sides are on equal footing, but I must correct that. As for the value of the hostages, we are the ones in the superior position.” (Alma)
Then, she said firmly.
“In other words, the Lureid Kingdom has no choice in this matter.” (Alma)
“What was that just now?” (Minister)
“How rude!” (Minister)
The ministers protested vehemently at Alma’s statement, but she did not care at all.
“If the agreement is concluded, the hostages will be returned to each side. If it’s not, then both sides’ hostages will die. That is all.” (Alma)
With that, Alma stood up and walked toward the King.
The guards quickly surrounded the King to protect him, but this only gave the impression that the King was terrified of Alma.
“Now, please make your decision. Will the agreement be reached or not?” (Alma)
“I… I understand. I will return the prisoners to the Laplace Kingdom.” (Tafman)
Finally, the King, following Count Ludwig’s advice to buy time, abandoned the strategy and declared his intention to accept the hostage exchange.
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