Merchant Noble is out! (3/6 chapters)
Persuasion
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“Where is Casablanca?” (Randal)
“She is confined in one of the palace rooms.” (Arc)
Arc, sweating coldly, responded to the bloodthirsty Randal. However, Randal frowned suspiciously, clearly not satisfied with the answer.
“Really?” (Randal)
“Yes, really.” (Arc)
“Of course, you intend to give Casablanca the punishment she deserves, correct?” (Randal)
“…Naturally.” (Arc)
In response to Arc’s calm reply, Randal showed visible irritation. He was frustrated that Casablanca’s punishment still had not been decided.
“By rights, the execution should have already been carried out. Why are you dawdling?” (Randal)
“…” (Arc)
Arc answered with silence, and Randal pressed him further. Randal’s expression was now completely colored with distrust and suspicion.
“Arc-sama. Could it be that you have no intention of executing Casablanca?” (Randal)
“…” (Arc)
“Have you forgotten the unjust death of Lord Tyr?” (Randal)
Even as Arc remained silent, Randal finally shouted at him. With that shout, the soldiers’ excitement spiked all at once.
“And you call yourself his blood brother?” (Soldier)
“If you won’t act, we’ll avenge Tyr-sama ourselves.” (Laika)
Soldiers, including Laika, scolded Arc one after another and shouted emotionally.
“Arc-sama.” (Yulia)
“Wait. Don’t come.” (Arc)
Yulia tried to step in to protect Arc, but he refused and made her stand back. He could not afford to provoke the soldiers any further.
“Where is Casablanca!” (Randal)
“She’s been locked away somewhere no one can find her, so you people don’t lose control.” (Arc)
Randal pressed him with bloodshot eyes. Arc answered firmly, trying not to be overwhelmed by their pressure, but it backfired. His statement contradicted what he said earlier. Naturally, they pounced on the inconsistency.
“You just said something different!” (Soldier)
“You said she was in a room in the palace!” (Soldier)
The already excited soldiers became even more aggressive. At this rate, not just Casablanca but Arc’s own safety would be in danger.
“Are you saying you distrust and fear us more than Casablanca? How sad.” (Randal)
Randal spoke in a disappointed tone.
“That’s not it. Casablanca is simply not in the palace.” (Arc)
Arc was clearly losing his composure. His usual smooth, evasive negotiation tactics, befitting a merchant, were gone. He made the blunder of denying the other party’s words with a lie.
“Is that true? Then may we search every room, starting now?” (Randal)
This kind of response gave the other party an opening. Having heard “she’s not in the palace,” Randal, of course, insisted on confirming it.
“…You have no authority to search the palace at will.” (Arc)
At this point, it was no longer persuasion. Arc had no choice but to refuse with the reasoning that they lacked authority. And such an argument would not work against someone who had already abandoned all pretense.
“We don’t need authority. I’ll accept the appropriate punishment later.” (Randal)
Randal declared triumphantly and looked back toward the soldiers standing behind him.
“Please… stop.” (Arc)
Arc pleaded in a voice so faint it was unclear whether it was meant for anyone to hear at all.
“This is practically a coup.” (Arc)
Despite the new king just having ascended to the throne, blood would be spilled in the palace because of Arc’s blunders. Randal either didn’t hear Arc’s plea or chose to ignore it, but he showed no reaction. He then gave an order to the soldiers.
“Hey, you guys. Search the palace…” (Randal)
“Unforgivable!!!” (Minerva)
Randal’s order was cut off by a scream that pierced the air. For a moment, everyone in the room was taken aback. The room, previously filled with excitement, fell silent once again. Everyone turned to look for the source of the voice. It wasn’t Arc. And it wasn’t Yanna either. In the corner of the room, the opposite side of the door, a place where the soldiers had not been paying attention at all. There stood Minerva. She was panting heavily, standing there with a furious expression on her face.
As expected from someone who had taught at the university, her voice carried well. She yelled at the soldiers with a loud voice that didn’t match her slender frame.
“Onii-sama is a minister of this country! To insult him is the same as insulting His Majesty Leone and this nation itself! You deserve to die for this!!” (Minerva)
This is bad, thought Arc as he listened to his sister’s roar.
She had completely declared herself to be in opposition to the soldiers. If the soldiers became enraged or bold at this point, Arc knew he would definitely be killed. Arc cautiously glanced at the soldiers.
“Minerva-sama…” (Randal)
Randal was dumbfounded. It wasn’t just him. The soldiers stood still like children who had been unexpectedly scolded by a kind mother.
“We never intended to insult Arc-sama. Never, never did we think of such a thing.” (Randal)
Randal hurriedly apologized. Unlike earlier, when he had been full of confidence, he now couldn’t even look Minerva in the eye. At that moment, the room was no longer filled with excitement or silence. It was under Minerva’s control.
“Randal. Don’t you understand how much Onii-sama hates Casablanca? The grief of losing our beloved Tyr-oniisama is something my siblings and I feel just as deeply. You have no right to call us heartless.” (Minerva)
“I’m sorry. My words were too much. I never thought, never thought that he was heartless.” (Randal)
Minerva’s voice became soft as she continued, and Randal was apologizing profusely. The soldiers, too, stood awkwardly and completely subdued. Laika, who personally admired her, looked as though she were about to cry.
“Onii-sama cares for this country more than anyone. If we kill Casablanca here, the Casablanca faction, fearing they will be purged, will rise up in rebellion. So, he swallowed his hatred and sorrow. Randal, why don’t you understand this?” (Minerva)
“…” (Randal)
Now it was Randal and his men’s turn to remain silent.
“Arc-oniisama made this decision while shedding tears of blood. Are you planning to trample on that decision?” (Minerva)
“…” (Randal)
Randal and his men stood silent. They weren’t fools. They could imagine the chaos that would follow if Casablanca were killed. But while they understood it intellectually, their hearts screamed for revenge. Minerva’s shout broke their spirits completely.
“Randal. Go back to your post.” (Yanna)
Unable to say anything further, Randal bowed his head, and, without a word, he and his men withdrew from the room.
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