It has been a week since the meeting with Merlin.
　The peace talks have yet to be finalized.


　The Kingdom of Roselle does not want to pay large sums of money in reparations.
　If it pays, it will be an admission of a great defeat.
　It would mean a loss of national prestige.

　The Kingdom of Roselle wanted to settle for a small defeat.


　Adelunian nations, on the other hand, want to make them pay dearly.
　King Domorgal's country has suffered no small amount of damage due to the invasion of Roselle's kingdom. They want to make up for it.

　King Gilbed's kingdom and Fardham's kingdom have not suffered much damage, but they have not gained much land.
　King Gilbed and King Fardham have not been able to secure the land that they pay for with the Argumentation Prize.

　If that is the case, the only way to make up for the lack of land is to make up for it with reparations or to cut it out of the lands directly under the royal family.
　Both King Domorgal's country and King Gilbed's country are countries where the power of the great families is strong.
　We don't want to cut the land under the royal family's direct control.

　Then, there is only reparations.


　And as for my land of King Loseys....
　They are keeping an ambiguous position.

　If you try to look like you want to negotiate a peace deal too much, you're going to get your foot in the door.
　But that doesn't mean I want to go to war.

　That's why I didn't have much to say in the negotiations, leaving it to King Gilbed and Domorgal.






　Well......
　I think we've made enough progress in diplomacy on the surface.
　It's not going to be resolved at this point anyway.

　Let's talk about covert diplomacy.

　Raimondo. How's the diplomat?
　'They seem to be satisfied with it. They especially like that 'pudding' food.
　''The pudding, well it was the only pastry I knew how to make properly, but I'm not sure if it's suitable for Gallic taste. Let me produce an additional ten or so for souvenirs.

　The "Diplomat Lord" is Merlin........
　They were dispatched from the capital of the Roselle Kingdom to convey King Roselle's intentions.

　However, Merlin's rank is higher than his, and he was treated like Merlin's subordinate.　
　Well, he was actually a subordinate, but he himself did not seem to consider himself Merlin's subordinate.

　The humiliation of being made to work like a limb under a woman who looked younger than him, just because she was older than him.
　The pride of having received an edict directly from King Roselle.
　And the frustration of Merlin's inability to make peace in the middle.

　At any rate, the diplomat was harboring his negative feelings towards Merlin.
　So we approached him.

　Using the diplomat as an intermediary, we jumped over Merlin and made a deal with King Roselle.
　That is Plan B.

　Originally Plan A was a dubious plan to succeed.
　Merlin is afraid of our country.
　So there is no way he would pay our country a large amount of reparations.

　But our country wants a large amount of reparations.
　So he's unhappy with Merlin's policies...specifically, he came up with the idea of dealing with King Roselle through someone who has disrespected our country.

　So I've been looking for someone who looks just right before I negotiated with Merlin....
　I didn't expect to find someone who fit the criteria so well.


　I explained earlier that the diplomats are very dissatisfied with Merlin.
　On top of that, the diplomat seems to have a strong desire to get ahead.
　They seem to think that in the future they want to be greater than Merlin, and in order to do so, they want achievements somehow....

　In addition, he likes drinking, women, gastronomy, and jewelry.

　And one of the thousand generals we captured here was a distant relative of the diplomat.
　Well, we can't call this a coincidence.
　As long as there's no examination system, personnel can only be hired by affinity or blood relatives. So it's not strange to say that two of the country's most important people are related to each other.....


　When I approached such a diplomat, he followed me with a whimper.
　I guess he saw this as a chance to outsmart Merlin.

　I responded by curtsying to him and keeping my hips low.
　He was delighted when I did.

　I guess he knew that Merlin was yelling at me and that the negotiations were broken off.
　Such a dour-looking King Rosais is doing himself a favor!
　Well, that's not unreasonable.


　I thought that was not enough to push them, so I gave them some of our country's speciality spirits, gave them a pretty girl to entertain them, and provided them with the best gastronomy that could be prepared on the battlefield.

　'We'll stop with the ornaments for the rest. When will it arrive?
　I'm sure he'll be here tomorrow.

　A little gem from our country's treasure trove is given away as a final gesture.
　This will win the hearts of our diplomats.


　But do you really need to be so polite?
　Well, it's not necessary for a one-time relationship. But there's a chance it could be a long term relationship in the future.

　There is a measure in the Chinese Book of Military Law that goes like this.

　If he is a capable messenger, give him nothing and turn him away; if he is an incompetent messenger, welcome him with courtesy.
　Then the competent ones will be shunned by the king and the incompetent ones will be valued.


　As for me, I'd be happy if my diplomatic achievements were recognized by King Roselle as a diplomat in charge of my country.


　Tomorrow, we'll negotiate. We will release the diplomat's distant relatives and provide them with their jewels before the negotiations begin. You will receive a gift of pudding when we have concluded negotiations. Please proceed with the preparations.
　Yes. Okay.





　'Oh no, thank you for everything. King Rosais.
　'No, no, don't worry about it. It's only natural to treat a prince like you with courtesy.

　I treat diplomats with respect.
　And I praise them.

　'I think it's strange that a man like you should serve under Lord Merlin.
　'Ha, you're exaggerating. I'm not that much of a person. ...Well, I think that woman's status is strange.

　The diplomat began to badmouth Merlin in a good mood.
　I'll give him a reasonable counterpoint.

　You know, people who talk behind your back get talked about behind your back, you know.
　Well, I'm not going to go out of my way to give you advice.


　After the small talk is over, I get right to the point.


　'Actually, well I have regrets.
　Do you regret...?　
　The war against the kingdom of Roselle.

　It's a lie.

　''This war has shown us the national strength of the Roselle Kingdom. We happened to win this time (...) but we won't win the next one. As for me, I want to make peace now.

　This is not a lie.
　I'd be lying if I said I meant it.

　In fact, if we play a long game, we will lose for sure.

　
　'It's overrated. It's a coincidence. It's a coincidence that I happen to be king. I'm no match for the born king, King Roselle.

　And also, I'll raise King Roselle.
　Make sure he knows we're coming.

　So will you grant these terms?
　'But ... too much ransom ...'

　When I reiterated the terms I had offered Merlin, the diplomat had some difficulty.

　'Our great family won't accept it. It is my inability to do so. If you don't accept these terms, we cannot make peace. ........The Kingdom of Roselle would like to raise it as soon as possible, wouldn't they?　........Oh, we are the only country that has solid information that a rebellion has taken place. Rest assured.

　The other Adelnian countries do not have the same thick pipeline to the Cilician people as our country does.
　And I've told them that maybe there's an upheaval in the northeast, but I haven't told them that it's happening.

　...Well, on the contrary, it means that I can tell them at any time.
　It's a far-fetched threat.

　'Our country wants to establish friendly relations with the Kingdom of Roselle. Think about it. Our country has never exchanged contradictions with the Kingdom of Roselle before. This war is an unfortunate misunderstanding. Neither of us has taken any territory from the other. As long as we can make peace, we can return to being a friendly nation.

　I'm going to argue forcefully.

　"Peace, Friendship, Anti-War.

　That's a good word.
　Gauls and Adelnians are the same person. They're brothers.
　It's foolish to fight each other.

　Peace-loving, friendly, anti-war!
　Come on, let's get tied up!


　'But what do you mean by the alliance against Gaul?　I don't think we can have friendly relations with our country as long as we have that...

　'It's the Alliance against Gaul. It's not an alliance against Roselle. And it's a defense agreement based on the principle of exclusive defense. Unless the Kingdom of Roselle invades some other country, there is no way that we and the Kingdom of Roselle will ever cross paths.

　....

　If friendship is established between our country and the Kingdom of Roselle, we will do our utmost to avoid war. We will do everything in our power to hold back any nation that thinks of breaking the ceasefire agreement and striking the Roselle Kingdom, which is showing an opening.

　Well, if a country actually starts to say something stupid like that, I'd stop them without friendship.
　If we fight properly, we're no match for the Roselle Kingdom.

　By saying this, we can make the Roselle Kingdom think that 'King Rosais' country is potentially on the side of the Roselle Kingdom.

　Of course, we can also make the Adelunian countries think that 'King Rosais's country is a bulwark against the Kingdom of Roselle'.

　This is diplomacy on all sides!
　Well, it's scary to think about when I'm found out, but if I can create a situation where it's too late to find out, it won't be a problem.


　''........I see, I understand King Almus's intentions. Let's somehow tell King Roselle about it.
　'Thank you. I hope to continue to be good friends with you.

　I shook hands firmly with the diplomat.
　The diplomat left with a beaming face after getting the pudding as his souvenir.






　Two days later, King Roselle received the diplomat's letter by hawk mail.

　"King Rosais is an insignificant little thing.
　You are in awe of King Roselle.
　Eager to establish friendly relations with the kingdom of Roselle.
　Hopefully, it will be a poisonous embedment for our alliance against the Gauls.


　King Roselle, who was beginning to distrust Merlin, took the diplomat's letter for granted.
　Two days later, an imperial edict arrived at Merlin's door, ordering him to sign a secret treaty.