Chapter 10. Let's Talk (1)

The carriage departed without incident.

Since the soldiers let me go quietly, I thought it would be smooth sailing from here on.

Thanks to Nikolai, who stepped up at an important moment, I had shown everything I needed to show, and the woman named Erika sitting in front of me was marked green on the mini-map.

I thought they would now ask various questions, and I just had to answer well in line with the concept I've shown so far.

Although I still had some lingering attachment to the kingdom, I carefully considered my answers to make it seem like persuasion wasn't impossible.

"..."

"Ahem! Hmm."

I was hasty in my judgment.

The crisis wasn't over yet.

It didn't matter that I was still tied up.

Whether they had tied me loosely from the start or not, I couldn't move my arms, but there was no other discomfort.

What bothered me much more was how quiet the two sitting in front of me had been.

I could understand Paul Richter, sitting on the left front, fidgeting with obvious discomfort.

He's the type of person who would be upset just by the fact that he came as a member of the negotiation team.

In the game, Paul is the commander-in-chief of the noble faction's forces and a duke of the noble faction in the "Northern War." In the game, he finishes with a complete victory and is granted some of the Rus Kingdom's land, rising to a position almost equivalent to a king.

Probably, in this world's "Northern War," he commanded the imperial army as well.

From my experience facing him, he wasn't a great general capable of overcoming the confusion in the command system and the cheating nature of the tactical map that inevitably arises when armies of various vassals gather.

Although he doesn't seem to be hot-tempered by nature, perhaps because he had to show results to the nobles who entrusted him with troops, he often made mistakes by moving troops hastily.

Anyway, what's important now is that he's a key figure in the noble faction.

It's unusual that he joined the negotiation team in the first place.

If it was the Empress' selection, I suspect Paul might be closer to a sacrificial lamb.

Although they minimized the size of the negotiation team, they needed to fulfill the role of negotiators, so they might have wanted to add weight with his title as the current commander of the imperial northern army.

He's a defeated general and a noble faction figure, so even if the negotiations go wrong and he's taken prisoner, it would hardly be a blow to the Empress.

Whether it's fortunate or not.

He seems to have realized his own unstable position, and although he's marked in red, he's not openly showing irritation but just quietly looking out the window.

Such people aren't a problem.

I fear people who are moody and lack self-control more than capable people.

The actions of capable people are difficult to surpass even with cheats like the mini-map and tactical map.

In a world setting where magic can only create and throw fireballs at best, such an overwhelming difference in the amount of information means most strategies can only be read from the start.

But what about the latter type of people?

If Paul had anger management issues, he might have drawn the sword at his side and cut off my head right away.

I'm tied up with ropes, so I'd die without being able to resist.

Fortunately, Paul belongs to the former category.

If he had been an irrational, violent, and impulsive person like Andrei, I would have been much more afraid, but since he's not, I didn't particularly consider him.

What's worrying now is,

"Ahem, ahem..."

The woman named Erika Bauman, sitting next to Paul, who has been clearing her throat repeatedly.

Although I've never heard her name before, since she came in a carriage covered with imperial symbols, she must be an imperial faction figure.

Paul absolutely cannot be an imperial faction figure, so she's the only one the Empress might have given a hint to.

If so, her actions are essentially clues to the Empress' orders, but,

"...Hup!"

Her reactions have been unsatisfactory from the start.

She keeps clearing her throat while looking at me, so I thought she might want to speak, but when I raise my head, she shrinks back with a strange sound.

Why on earth?

I can't speak first.

Right now, when I need to show a heartbroken appearance from betrayal, I shouldn't say anything except sighs and laments.

And I thought Erika would take on the role of figuring out what kind of person I am before the Empress, gradually striking up conversations.

But even she hasn't said anything for dozens of minutes.

She keeps glancing at me with her mouth tightly closed, making it difficult to tell if she intends to question me or not.

...If she's like this because the Empress didn't say anything to her separately, this isn't a simple problem.

I've been moving on the premise that the Empress wants to employ me.

She demanded my person first, and they tried to take me by sending a negotiation team all the way to the capital of the enemy Rus Kingdom.

For my plan to succeed, her interest was essential, and since she seemed quite proactive, I naturally thought she was interested.

But what if that premise collapses?

What if the Empress wasn't actually interested in me, about whom there were only rumors, and the kingdom just eagerly took the bait when he casually probed?

The difficulty of changing jobs skyrockets.

I've carefully crafted an image of being capable, socially adept, deeply loyal, young, but heartbroken by the king's betrayal.

I worked hard to create an image that screams, 'A precious talent! If you want to persuade me, now is the chance!'

After clearly showing the merits of gaining my loyalty, I wanted to give the Empress the impression that persuasion isn't easy, but possible right now.

This image is useful when being persuaded, but disadvantageous when I have to beg to be employed.

Just as fruit picked by climbing the tree yourself tends to taste sweeter than fruit that just falls from above.

The starting position, the Empress' interest, the topicality.

The moment I become the one doing the persuading, these inevitably decrease.

Even if things don't go to the worst-case scenario, if they don't properly inform the Empress of my appearance at the palace, the image I've carefully created will disappear.

Since this kind of image can't be created by one's own words, to recreate it, I'd need to borrow someone else's mouth.

Is that possible when I don't have any acquaintances in the empire?

...This won't do.

There is a last resort for when all options are blocked, but the moment I use it, my life hangs on the edge of a cliff, so I want to save it until the very end.

In the end, I can only wait for them to ask questions first.

I'm willing to answer sincerely within the limits of not breaking my concept, but why aren't they asking any questions at all?

It's frustrating.

"Haah..."

"Eek."

I wish they would stop being so flustered and say something.

Even cliché questions, or if nothing else, at least introduce themselves.

Please, just something.

---

"Haah..."

"Eek."

When Viktor suddenly sighed, I almost bit my tongue in surprise.

Wondering if that sigh was because of me, I rolled my eyes secretly while keeping my head down.

"...Phew."

Fortunately, Viktor's eyes were well closed.

At least it didn't seem like he sighed because of me.

I reflexively let out a sigh of relief, and after checking Viktor's mood once again.

I felt self-loathing at my series of actions.

Clearly, until I saw him in the main hall, I was confident I could carry out Her Majesty the Empress' orders well.

I had written down everything Viktor showed at the palace in my notebook, and prepared expected questions in advance.

Moreover, I had watched Viktor being betrayed by the king and disappointed by the nobles.

Until just before boarding the carriage, I was even imagining personally persuading him to come to the empire.

The order was only to gather information, but I thought it would be easier for Her Majesty if I changed his mind in advance.

-Clunk.

"Eeek!"

I was wrong.

It seems almost an hour has passed, but I haven't been able to say a single word to him.

As the eldest daughter of the Bauman Count family, who has some expertise in diplomacy, I had met many people following my father.

I had to deal with nobles of various ranks to take on diplomatic duties following my father, and I thought I was used to most people after years of broadening my horizons.

It's not like I haven't met soldiers before.

I could even be seen as being in a similar position to Viktor, and I had conversed freely with General Gerhardt, who was much older, almost old enough to be my grandfather, making Viktor a much younger counterpart.

I even have experience participating in knight training and expeditions a few times.

Yet, I couldn't utter a single word to this person who was just tied up.

Clearly, just looking at his face, he seemed like a handsome young noble, but perhaps because of his expression, even though he was just quietly closing his eyes, it felt like he was saying, 'If you say something strange, I'll kill you.'

General Paul sitting next to me was of no help at all.

He made no effort to hide his discomfort from before coming, and even now he's just needlessly looking out the window.

It was fine considering I was worried he might cause a scene with Viktor, but he's making the heavy atmosphere even heavier.

"Hmmph."

Still, I couldn't go back empty-handed like this.

Even if I couldn't have a personal conversation, if I couldn't say even a single word, I don't know what His Majesty would say to me.

I composed myself, taking deep breaths.

"Um, Lord Viktor."

"..."

He opened his eyes wide at my call.

As our gazes met directly, the fierce appearance he showed at the palace earlier automatically overlapped, making me feel like cold sweat was flowing.

I clenched my fists tightly.

"May I... ask you a few questions?"

I asked as politely as possible.

"..."

Perhaps thanks to my courage.

Viktor, who seemed to be pondering for a moment,

"...Yes."

Answered in a tone full of emotion.