Chapter 58
After entering Saint-Toire, Gerhart quickly resolved only the essential tasks such as accommodating prisoners and reorganizing troops,
"You said there were no other movements, right?"
"That's right. Their remaining forces are extremely few, so they don't dare to move."
"The soldiers need to savor the victory too. We'll suspend training for a week and reduce guard duty to a minimum."
"Understood!"
He essentially declared the end of combat situations.
"The alcohol... Did you say we drank it all last time?"
"That's right."
"That's a shame. Let them relax a bit, as long as they don't cause damage to civilian houses. Give them their pay in advance if they want."
"Yes!"
Having completely defeated the enemy's main force and captured their high-ranking officials as prisoners.
The imperial army officers didn't question Gerhart's instructions.
-Thud!
"Hey, you saw it. I told you I handle a shield brilliantly."
"Heh, you idiot, if I hadn't helped you from the side, you'd have been dead long ago!"
"Yeah, yeah. You're so great."
"That's right."
"...Crazy bastard."
Officers and soldiers enjoyed the afterglow of victory in taverns or markets, and,
"Ah, right. You, you said you're from the 1st Provisional Corps?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Your Deputy Commander, didn't they call him Commander-in-Chief there?"
"Did they?"
"Right?"
"...Why did you guys lose?"
"Seriously. How do you manage with such a general?"
"Because everyone except General Viktor is an idiot?"
"Ah."
"Well, that's, um."
Soldiers from the 8th Corps, 10th Corps, and 1st Provisional Corps, who had crossed the line between life and death together, united under the name of the imperial army and shared stories.
While the imperial army in Saint-Toire was having a good time like this, Viktor, who was being mentioned most often as the contributor to this,
"Guillaume Chatillon, King of the Brotan Kingdom."
"...Who are you?"
Following his request to enjoy victory after completely wrapping up the Brotan Kingdom, he visited Guillaume, who was staying alone in a guest room.
---
The conversation with Anna was very helpful in pulling myself together.
The idea that those who went ahead first, those watching me from behind might be smiling, considerably lightened my heart.
Because it was Anna, who usually doesn't say such things, who said this, it resonated more with me.
I'll be fine for a while.
Now, I too should do my best as 'Viktor'.
For those who believe in me.
"You must be having a hard time."
I dressed in the formal attire of an imperial officer and visited the guest room where he was staying.
"Ah, Deputy Commander Viktor."
The soldiers guarding the door of the guest room saluted me.
While returning to Saint-Toire, I pondered a bit on how to treat Guillaume.
Whether to show full respect as a king, or whether it would be better to inform him in advance of his position as a future puppet king of a vassal state.
The conclusion that Gerhart and I came to after putting our heads together was the latter.
That Guillaume might think we're showing respect because there's still some advantageous aspect left.
"I'm going to have a conversation with Guillaume for a moment. Make sure no one else enters."
"Understood."
After giving instructions to the soldiers,
-Slam.
Without knocking or asking separately, I opened the door of the guest room and entered.
"..."
"...?"
Inside was Guillaume, sitting wearing neat clothing that seemed to be provided by us, contrasting with a dented crown on his head.
It was quite impressive how his face and posture looked somewhat dignified.
"Guillaume Chatillon, King of the Brotan Kingdom."
"...Who are you?"
"I am Viktor, Deputy Commander of the Dragonian Empire's expeditionary force in the Brotan Kingdom direction."
"Deputy Commander? Hmm..."
He reacted indifferently to my introduction, raising one arm to rest his chin.
Seeing that arrogant posture and attitude, I could once again be certain that the choice to bring him down a bit was correct.
"I also commanded the imperial army in the battle a few days ago, now called the Battle of Baldua."
"Ha. Are you talking about commanding a battle, merely a deputy commander, leaving aside the commander?"
He opened his mouth while maintaining his posture of leaning back in the chair.
"Sending a youngster like you to try and irritate me is a good attempt, but there should be limits."
I shrugged at him, whose face was full of sneers.
"Well, you're free to think what you want."
"...This is ridiculous. The one in front of you now is not some common noble, but the ruler of the Brotan Kingdom..."
"Guillaume Chatillon."
Thinking I had listened enough, I interrupted him and slowly approached him one step at a time.
"Show some respect. You captured me to negotiate..."
"Guillaume, Chatillon."
"..."
I hardened my expression and looked down at him sitting in the chair.
"You seem to be misunderstanding something, so let me tell you. We don't really need you."
"...You, you insolent..."
"Insolent? Well."
He flushed red, sticking his body to the chair.
As he was originally someone who would burst with emotion while watching others' reactions, even now there was no sign of him trying to stand up.
...Separately from that, as he seemed to not have grasped the reality yet.
I decided to explain a bit more kindly.
"Let me tell you a story. There was a king who bullied nobles with the power inherited from his father and suppressed them with authority. His power reached the sky as he succeeded in his personal rule, as if refuting the nobles' concerns."
"...What are you trying to do?"
"However, a crisis came to him. He went on a personal rule, dragging all the kingdom's forces, but ended up being defeated."
Enjoying his panting and greatly distorted expression, I continued explaining in a tone as if reading a storybook to a child.
"Out of 70,000, 30,000 died, and 30,000, including himself, were taken prisoner. It was a crushing defeat with no room for excuses."
"Li-Lies! There's no way our Brotan Kingdom's strong army could have died like that to just 40,000!"
"Listen to the end. Because the king brought even the nobles who followed him on the expedition, only nobles who didn't like them remained in the court."
"...!"
As if remembering something he had forgotten, he reacted with wide eyes.
"And then, a proposal for an agreement came from the opposing country. A proposal too humiliating to accept, to make the kingdom a puppet state. But there's no strength left in the kingdom to resist, so it's impossible not to accept the proposal. Because the king took everything and messed it up."
"The Brotan Kingdom is still intact...!"
"But the nobles examining the proposal carefully could see a surprising point. While they were prepared to lose everything, the content of the proposal was quite generous to the nobles who were in place! Not only maintaining positions, but also not interfering much with the distribution of territories!"
As if realizing what my words meant, Guillaume's face, which had been bright red, gradually turned pale.
"The nobles, who had no patriotism, thought. Ah, we can make the king the subject of the agreement to shift responsibility, and we can enjoy power not much different from before under the empire."
"Wh-What, what are you trying to..."
"They thought it wouldn't be bad to tear apart the king's territory and power if he returned alive and set him up as a puppet, or if he died, to set up another puppet."
He opened and closed his mouth, but no voice came out.
"Some nobles even hoped for a proposal with the harshest content possible, to the extent that it wouldn't harm themselves, so that the king's authority could be completely destroyed."
"..."
"Even the king's supporters who were captured together couldn't do anything. Why? Because the empire mentioned that they would treat nobles supporting the king relatively harshly. Many nobles will choose to abandon him and survive rather than cling to a king who has already lost both power and justification. We both know that's what nobles are like, right?"
He rolled his eyes wildly as if considering how valid my words were.
But suspicion towards nobles is inevitable for those in power.
Just mentioning this will be enough to spark a fire.
"The captured king tried to exert influence somehow, but in the end, only two choices remained. To become the party to a humiliating agreement and live as a puppet for life, or to maintain honor by escaping through death."
"..."
"Between only two remaining choices, he came to feel terrible anguish. It's a really sad story, isn't it?"
"...Ha, haha!"
Guillaume burst into laughter that blatantly revealed the anxiety hidden underneath.
"What do you know, huh? Do you think the nobles of the Brotan Kingdom are just greedy like the nobles of your empire?"
"Is that so?"
"Do you think I don't know what you want? I will never, ever yield!"
He raised his voice and pointed at me.
Seeing his appearance as if scraping together the last of his momentum from the bottom, I felt he needed a little more time.
"If that's how you feel. I'll visit again next time."
"No matter what you say, my thoughts won't change! I am the king of the great Brotan Kingdom!"
I left the guest room without lingering, leaving behind Guillaume's shouts.
In a negative situation, most people tend to amplify negative thoughts the more they dwell on that situation.
Although he's raising his spirits like that now, as he thinks alone, he'll realize that my story is not far-fetched.
Moreover, since Guillaume treated the nobles almost like a reign of terror, his anxiety is bound to be greater than that of an ordinary leader.
"Tell those serving Guillaume to absolutely not have any conversations with him."
"Understood!"
Accommodating the nobles and Guillaume separately was also for this purpose.
Although he seems to be a person with a somewhat firm will, it's not easy to endure being isolated in enemy territory while being stimulated with anxiety.
"I wonder how long he'll hold out..."
It probably won't take long.
Even if it takes long, it's fine now because we have plenty of time.
***
Ten days after repeating conversations close to one-sided notifications and neglect.
Hearing news that Guillaume hasn't been sleeping well lately and that screams of some sort have been heard from his guest room at night, I visited the guest room again.
"How have you been lately? Are you doing well?"
"Uh, uh..."
"You look like you're having a hard time."
Guillaume looked much more haggard than before.
As if all his remaining dignity had disappeared, he just shrank and trembled even though I visited.
It seems that talking about the analysis of the Battle of Baldua and emphasizing his strategic and tactical incompetence, and informing him of how the nobles reacted to his irrational escape, had a big impact.
Leaking evidence that the nobles were gathering around Antoine, whose responsibility for the defeat was weak, might have stimulated him.
Or perhaps it was crucial to have people talk about nobles looking for king candidates around his guest room.
"Today I'm here to tell you good news. The kingdom's nobles say they're ready to respond to negotiations. There will be no more war now."
"He-Hey, De-Deputy Commander Viktor!"
"Hmm?"
Finally, Guillaume, who had been trying his best to maintain authority until now, called me urgently.
I smiled gently at his voice, trembling so much, it was hard to understand.
"This is the first time you've called me Deputy Commander, isn't it? Are you willing to negotiate?"
"That's right, n-no, that's right! I, I apologize for my rudeness earlier..."
-Clang!
"Uh, I apologize."
His incredibly rude words towards me weren't corrected, but the servile appearance of immediately picking up the fallen crown and putting it on his head reminded me of the fearfulness of power.
I should be careful not to become like this.
"Oh, good. You should wear the crown well. Even if you die, shouldn't you die as the King of the Brotan Kingdom?"
"What? Di-Die..."
"How about making a decision to protect your people proudly, as the King of the Brotan Kingdom and the one responsible for the defeat?"
"Please, please..."
Guillaume, who had been trying to maintain his dignity by eagerly interrupting my words, was now carefully opening his mouth trying not to interrupt my words.
Thinking he seemed well bent by this point,
"Still, seeing you like this makes me feel sorry."
I began speaking with a smile.
"Although I said this, it's better for us if you're around. After all, you're a legitimately elected king, so there will be less talk than if we set up another leader."
"...Huh?"
Now it's time to dangle a carrot slightly.
"Our empire will restrict and manage the Brotan Kingdom's army, and station imperial troops at major strongholds. Of course, including the capital, Levoie."
"Th-That means..."
"If you come out very cooperatively in the negotiations and maintain that attitude well in the future, our imperial army might protect your crown well, don't you think?"
"...!"
Ridiculously, Guillaume's eyes sparkled at hearing that imperial troops would be stationed in the Brotan Kingdom.
"I promise! Yes! I promise indeed!"
"Oh ho."
"Gold coins? Jewels? I have plenty of those! I'll do anything, so please help me return to the kingdom as king!"
"Hmm, hmm..."
In the end, he threw away everything for his shell of influence.
After letting it hang for a moment,
"We'll see."
"Oh, thank you, thank you!"
I left the guest room, leaving behind Guillaume who kept bowing his head.
If we massage him a couple more times, he seems like he'll become a decent puppet state leader.