Chapter 9
Although Viktor was quietly dragged away by the Royal Guard members, the impact he left did not easily fade.
The nobles of the Rus Kingdom, who had been enjoying banquets in the capital regardless of the war, couldn't easily shake off Viktor's gaze filled with killing intent.
Some particularly weak-hearted nobles, including Nikolai, even wet themselves, causing a smell of urine to waft from where they were gathered.
The 14-year-old king, while directly facing Viktor's intensity, faithfully delivered the answers taught by Vladimir Savinkov standing beside him. However, it was the older nobles who showed more inadequacy.
Vladimir felt a slight doubt about what he had been doing so far.
Whatever his intentions were, once Viktor is sold off, the power of those incompetent nobles would be greatly strengthened.
-Clap clap.
"Let's clean up."
Trying not to show his disappointment outwardly, Vladimir called the servants with a clap and assigned them to clean up.
Servants waiting nearby rushed in to take away the nobles in poor condition and clean up the remnants left behind.
Vladimir approached the trembling king and whispered what he should say.
"Th-the terms of the negotiation remain. Viktor will be p-placed in the carriage you came in."
"...Understood."
Erika Baumann, the representative of the negotiation team sent by the Empress, quietly bowed her head and mocked this farce.
Before meeting them directly, Erika had admired Viktor from the rumors she heard and considered his country, the Rus Kingdom, as a formidable competitor.
Since the Dragonian Empire couldn't concentrate its forces in one place, they had to deal with the Rus Kingdom using troops recruited from near the border.
Even though it was a loose collection of nobles under the name of the noble faction, she thought it was a country that couldn't be taken lightly once it cornered the imperial army, which was superior in both quantity and quality.
When she heard that Zabinsk, the capital of the kingdom, was the negotiation venue, Erika even considered the possibility that the negotiation proposal itself might be a trap.
In fact, she minimized the escort to minimize losses if the negotiation team was taken prisoner and formed the team with just herself and Paul Richter.
However, after seeing the reality of the Rus Kingdom, she could now dismiss all worries.
The negotiation process where they approached with a submissive attitude as if they were losing, the scene of all nobles cowering before Viktor alone.
After seeing all this, any remaining vigilance towards the kingdom completely disappeared.
Of course, Erika was also suppressed by Viktor's intensity, but in the end, it was the kingdom that handed Viktor over to the empire.
If there isn't an overwhelming difference in national power, what's important is the leadership, but if those leaders are nobles who show such an ugly appearance even in the presence of a foreign negotiation team.
If those who sold Viktor without knowing what might happen just a year later are in power in the Rus Kingdom.
It even makes one think they might collapse on their own without sending troops.
With such people strutting about at the top, the Rus Kingdom was bound to fight poorly.
'General Viktor, how did you manage with such people...'
Erika was amazed at how Viktor endured for two years with such people above him.
Just hearing the nonsense spouted by that Nikolai who stepped forward earlier, she could imagine how many hardships he must have faced.
Surely, supplies that were supposed to arrive would have been delayed or missing.
He must have had to endure constant checks coming in for every little thing because he was a commoner, and somehow persuade and nullify the terrible orders coming from above.
'No wonder Her Majesty was interested.'
Although the Empress only ordered to bring Viktor safely, Erika didn't miss the glimpse of interest in her eyes when giving the order.
She thought rumors were just rumors, but there was a reason why the Empress specifically mentioned him despite being from an enemy country.
'It would be good if he's employed.'
Except when mentioning the nobles separately, his gaze was entirely focused on the king, so his loyalty seemed certain.
His ability was sufficiently explained by General Paul Richter, who had been gloomy throughout the carriage ride.
A person who had been boasting before the war that no support from the Empress was needed at all came along quietly without saying a word, and even when seeing General Viktor earlier, his gaze contained more fear and tension than anger.
Judging by what he's shown so far, Viktor is a talent that might appear once in several hundred years.
'His appearance is... impressive too.'
Although her evaluation was tinged with personal interest, Viktor became someone Erika absolutely couldn't let go.
"We'll be taking our leave now."
"Yes."
Erika bowed deeply to the nobles of the Rus Kingdom who had handed over such a Viktor, with gratitude in her heart.
Viktor's loyalty was certainly great, but they even trampled on it step by step using the king's mouth.
It seems there might be a gap to exploit.
'What a waste of talent in a country like this.'
With this final impression, Erika checked the copy of the contract she had neatly tucked away, tapping it lightly, and returned to the carriage with General Paul.
---
For now, it seems I've buttoned the first button well.
I composed myself, taking a deep breath.
The Royal Guard members who were carefully moving me put me in an elaborate carriage placed near the city gate and quickly disappeared.
The carriage was decorated with a golden dragon emblem symbolizing the imperial royal family, so I could almost be certain that the imperial personnel from earlier were sent directly by the Empress.
Of course, this is still just the beginning.
The fact that I'm not being captured by the noble faction who must be grinding their teeth at me almost means success, but it's not yet time to let my guard down.
When I was being dragged to the carriage earlier, the gazes of the kingdom's soldiers on me were unusual.
If they were on guard duty on the city walls, they should have been looking outside the city, but everyone was standing looking in my direction.
Moreover, even the lower-ranking officers who should have been stopping such rule violations were just looking this way with meaningful expressions.
What could be the reason?
Honestly, I'm afraid something unexpected might happen.
The worst-case scenario is soldiers rushing in to oppose the negotiation and untying my bonds.
If that happens, my future looks bleak no matter what choice I make.
If I side with the soldiers, it can only lead to rebellion in the end.
The soldiers and I would end up confronting the nobles, and that's about all that can be done when soldiers gather.
If we fail, I die, and even if we succeed, I can't achieve my original goal of moving to the empire.
No matter how much the Empress craves talent, he won't employ the leader of a rebellion.
On the other hand, if I ignore the soldiers' actions and follow the king's orders?
Whether a massive purge occurs or a civil war breaks out, a bloody wind will blow through the Rus Kingdom.
I don't want to create such a situation.
"Ahem..."
I closed my eyes quietly to avoid provoking them as much as possible.
I would be grateful if they got angry on my behalf, but I hope they don't risk their lives.
Out of anxiety, I habitually opened the tactical map.
As the familiar UI appeared before my eyes, I felt a bit more at ease.
...It should be okay for a little while, right?
---
"...Don't you think something seems strange?"
"Pardon?"
Erika, who had been walking silently towards the carriage, only spoke when they were almost at the city gate where the carriage was placed.
"The, the gazes..."
"Ah, hmm. Now that you mention it, you're right."
As she said, all the soldiers on the city walls were glaring at the negotiation team.
Although they weren't holding weapons as if to threaten, having over dozens of soldiers staring with the same look in their eyes inevitably created a sense of pressure.
They were newly reminded that this was enemy territory.
"...Let's hurry."
"Yes."
Paul increased his walking speed slightly, and Erika hurried to follow behind him.
Paul, who reached the carriage first, opened the door, and,
"...Hmm."
"General Paul?"
He froze in the position of opening the door with a small utterance.
"...Ah."
Erika, who had hurriedly approached, could understand why Paul had reacted strangely the moment she saw the inside of the carriage through the open door.
"Um, well, uh..."
Viktor was sitting in the carriage, his entire body tied with ropes.
Even though the door of the carriage he was in had opened, he didn't move at all, keeping his eyes closed.
'...Is he very angry?'
Although Erika hadn't felt scared or threatened when she saw him from afar earlier, now face to face, she found herself moving cautiously for no reason.
It wasn't because he was particularly large or had a fierce expression.
Rather, judging by appearances alone, his fine-featured face and not-so-large build reminded her more of young nobles than a general.
Erika stood beside the carriage for a while, looking at Viktor who seemed immersed in melancholy.
"...Let's get in, Miss Erika."
"Ah, yes."
The important thing was the atmosphere.
Although Erika certainly viewed him favorably, the moment she boarded the carriage, she simultaneously felt an intuition that she shouldn't touch him carelessly.
She couldn't tell if the pounding she felt now was a warm feeling or trembling from fear.
Paul originally wanted to kill Viktor.
Whenever he faced Viktor as an enemy, he was crushed to the point of wondering if he was possessed by a ghost beyond unreasonableness, and he saw the Empress' inclusion of him in the negotiation team as an opportunity.
However, perhaps because Paul was also someone's vassal?
He felt a strange feeling when he saw Viktor crumbling miserably in the main hall of the palace.
Although he didn't know exactly what emotion it was, the immediate desire to kill him had disappeared.
Even more so after seeing him sitting with his head lowered powerlessly.
"..."
Paul and Erika sat down opposite Viktor, moving carefully so as not to disturb him.
"Let's depart."
"Yes."
When Erika told the coachman to depart, Viktor finally opened his eyes slightly to check who had boarded the carriage.
"Huk."
"Hmm..."
Erika, who had originally intended to try persuading Viktor from the carriage, couldn't say anything when she met those pitch-black eyes.
Viktor soon closed his eyes again, but the suffocating silence that settled didn't disappear for a while even after the carriage started moving.