After Retirement, Living a Stud Life in Another World - 82
Chapter 82: Conclusion of the War
Ultimately, this became the final direct confrontation. The Empire, which suffered over fifty thousand casualties including the dead and prisoners, hastily sent peace envoys.
Ideally, it would have been beneficial to thoroughly strike down the enemy here for the sake of the future. However, expecting honor from the upper echelons of the Empire would be futile… Once their national power recovers, they will undoubtedly extend their poisonous hand towards the prosperous lands of Belzenbruck again.
However, our side, despite winning consecutive battles, couldn’t sustain the war for much longer. Unlike the Empire, which had been preparing for invasion for years, the Kingdom had no provisions or personnel support systems in place. While the beautiful sorceresses of the kingdom could continue to win local battles, soldiers would undoubtedly starve on the long journey to the imperial capital. Queen Liese, a compassionate person, would not allow looting or plundering by procuring locally. Therefore, if the war continued as it was, we would inevitably lose before ever suffering a defeat.
Thus, we wanted to wrap things up at an appropriate moment too. Initiating a war of greed without a just cause, trampling the kingdom’s territory, and harming the people would necessitate ample compensation.
Normally, this role would fall to Her Majesty the Queen… However, Her Majesty couldn’t be ruthless even towards her enemies; while being merciful might sound noble, it essentially meant she was too kind. While this trait usually endeared her to the populace, it could be exploited by the Empire in such situations.
However, Her Majesty was wise and understood herself well.
“I will return to Belzenbruck with the prisoners. Beatrice will handle the negotiations, so assist her well.”
Indeed, Beatrice was perfect for diplomatic negotiations. With her Rare Skill, “Spirit’s Eye,” she never missed the intentions or lies of her counterparts, and it was exceedingly difficult to discern emotional fluctuations from her stoic beauty. Perhaps the only flaw was that she might be underestimated due to her youth… But anyone who tried to assert dominance superficially against her would soon regret it.
In any case… various sternly titled ladies from the Empire came forward, sweating profusely, trying to add unclear clauses to the treaty to protect their interests, but Beatrice didn’t fall for any of them.
“If you insist on those terms, then we shall resume our advance towards the imperial capital. What say you?”
If such words were uttered calmly from the lips of the unyielding porcelain doll, the Empire’s negotiators, who were seasoned in negotiations, would surely tremble.
As usual, Beatrice threw the negotiation strategy to me with a simple “Lutz, what do you think?” I couldn’t help but think this was a bit much, but this time it wasn’t so difficult. After all, we had been winning consecutive battles, and it was already well-known that territorial expansion was the Empire’s primary goal. We just had to use that to our advantage.
“This war was entirely justified for our nation. It is only natural that you cede three bordering provinces to us as compensation.”
If such words, devoid of any emotional inflection, were spoken from Beatrice’s lips right off the bat, the Empire’s negotiators would inevitably break out in a cold sweat. Those who had initially breathed heavily, underestimating the fact that the Kingdom’s representatives were all children, found themselves being led by us. While assessing their panic with Beatrice’s “Spirit’s Eye”… we waited for the right moment to withdraw our territorial demands “reluctantly” in exchange for economic concessions, leaving the enemy with no choice but to accept.
As a result, the peace treaty concluded was incredibly advantageous.
Firstly, the Empire acknowledged the enslavement of around twenty thousand of their prisoners as slaves of the Kingdom. They persistently insisted that noblewomen among them be exempted from this, but there was no way we would return them. All the noblewomen belonging to the military were powerful sorceresses… If they were returned to the Empire, they would undoubtedly cause more trouble.
Secondly, regardless of what decisions Belzenbruck makes regarding the Duchy of Liège in the future, the Empire would not object. Those arsonists deserved to be properly dealt with. The Duchy was an ally of the Empire… or rather, it was more like a semi-protectorate, but this time, we had no choice but to abandon them.
Thirdly, the second imperial princess would be sent to the Kingdom for studies. Naturally, this was essentially a hostage. By taking custody of the princess, second in line to the throne, they would refrain from foolish acts for a while. At least, that’s the plan for the time being.
Finally, the fourth point is reparations. If we give the Empire some financial leeway, they will undoubtedly channel it into their military. They need to stay poor for a while. By making them pay five billion gold coins annually for the next ten years, we can settle this. The Empire’s national budget is about thirty billion gold coins per year, so this should be incredibly burdensome. Of course, the other side objected vehemently…
“If you accept this, we can withdraw our territorial demands.”
“T-That’s…”
“Of course, we can continue negotiations if you prefer. From the perspective of Belzenbruck, territorial expansion would be preferable.”
“N-No! We definitely want to proceed with the reparations!”
It’s so easy, just like the scenario I envisioned. Glancing at the Empire’s minister sweating profusely, I muttered to myself in my heart.