Chapter 233
Chapter 233
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 233
Chapter Title: 99% Truth, 1% Lie (4)
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Stockholm Palace, reception room.
"For a kingdom of northern barbarian backwater savages, they've put quite a bit of effort into decorating this place nicely. It doesn't look too shabby compared to the Reich Empire's imperial palace."
"Is that so, sir?"
"Even as a count of the Empire, you might not have an eye for art, but you should at least cultivate some taste for furniture arrangements and the splendor of the castle. You've managed to muddle through social gatherings so far, but if the man who's to be Her Highness the Princess's consort lacks discernment, it'll put Louise in a tough spot."
From the first time we met in the north up until now, I'd always thought of him as the embodiment of FM principles—no, as someone who lived his entire life by the FM playbook.
So I'd assumed that even as the head of the Keitel ducal house, his cultural and artistic sensibilities were on the lower side. But he had more refinement than I'd expected, which caught me a bit off guard.
And on top of that, this was the first time he'd ever given me such earnest advice, despite rarely sharing personal stories even when he had the leisure for it. It left me a little flustered.
"Thank you for the advice, sir."
"Loosen up a bit now. We've dragged this out to peace negotiations, so it's basically over."
"Haha, didn't you say it yourself, sir? That nothing's truly over until after the war ends and the rewards are handed out. Lieutenant General Peter Jaeger here intends to follow that order to the letter."
"If only the young folks these days had even half your sense..."
And so, the commander and I exchanged jokes and banter for the first time since our decisive victory was sealed—right there in the palace of the enemy kingdom.
Not long after, the doors to the reception room swung open amid trumpet blasts, and the herald's voice rang out.
"His Majesty King of Stockholm, guardian of northern order and righteous judge, His Highness Christian von Vasa enters! All pay homage!"
What a clown. He botched the diplomacy, fought the war like an idiot, and now he's using trumpets and heralds in his own palace just to act all dignified.
As a king of a nation, he at least had to pretend not to be scared if he wanted to avoid getting carved up too badly and salvage some dignity.
But from our perspective—the side with the overwhelming victory—it just looked pathetic, like the desperate thrashing of a moron.
Still, protocol demanded we show respect to a king, so I swallowed my bursting laughter and quietly dropped to one knee.
"You may all raise your heads."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
"Herald, protocol officer, stewards, maids—all those uninvolved in these negotiations, withdraw."
At those words, a swarm of maids, stewards, and officials scurried out the door.
King Christian took his seat with what he probably thought was a dignified stride, accompanied by the Oxenburg Minister of Military Affairs.
"This might drag on, so make yourselves comfortable."
"We are grateful for Your Highness's consideration."
"You've waited so long—your throats must be parched. How about some tea?"
"We'll graciously accept the thought."
With that, our long-awaited preparations for the formal armistice negotiations were complete. Marshal Keitel spoke first.
"To get straight to the point, what conditions do you propose to offer, Your Highness?"
"We'll cede all territory south of the Osby Plains up to 250 kilometers and pay 300,000 gold in reparations. Shall we end the war on those terms?"
"Those conditions seem far too unfavorable to us. Please propose something more realistic."
"I think this is more than enough. We're handing over land the size of the Morenzia Duchy, aren't we?"
"We seek peace on the condition of receiving all territory south of 50 kilometers from the Osby Plains. No reparations required in exchange."
While Marshal Keitel and the King of Stockholm haggled, I reviewed the current situation.
For starters, the Kingdom of Stockholm was at war with two nations simultaneously: the Reich Empire and the Kingdom of Swedia.
But digging deeper, Swedia was just piggybacking on the war we'd already set the table for between the Reich Empire and Stockholm, feasting at their leisure.
Of course, if we hadn't orchestrated this setup?
In the worst case, I'd have been forced into the insane blunder of fighting three nations at once: the Warsaw Grand Duchy, the Kingdom of Stockholm, and the Kingdom of Swedia.
I didn't regret giving Swedia this much.
They were the ones losing money and land anyway—not a single copper (one ten-thousandth of a gold) from our coffers.
But I'd laid the groundwork for this entire war. Now that I was stepping back, was it right to let the Swedians keep freeloading?
I mulled it over while half-listening to the posturing between Marshal Keitel and the Stockholm king—not the real meat of the talks.
In the end, I concluded that for the Empire's sake, the Kingdom of Stockholm couldn't afford to take a blow fatal enough to destroy it just yet.
So we'd have to show some consideration to our defeated King Christian here, letting him avoid losing too much.
Ah, but of course, I had no intention of yielding the Reich Empire's rightful share.
What we were conceding was whatever the Kingdom of Swedia could squeeze out of their postwar negotiations.
"Lieutenant General Jaeger, no thoughts from you? You've just been listening."
"Even so, sir, you're in the middle of negotiations. As deputy commander, I can't just cut in ahead of Commander Keitel..."
"What does it matter if it serves the national interest? Besides, even Minister Oxenburg over there kept chiming in with his opinions while the king and I talked. It was a bit much handling the Reich Empire side solo."
With the marshal laying the groundwork, I chimed in with a sly tone.
"Does the Kingdom of Stockholm wish to cede all territory south of 150 kilometers from the Osby Plains to the Reich Empire, along with 300,000 gold in reparations?"
"That's right. I think we're being quite generous."
"We appreciate Your Highness's consideration. But if I may say one thing?"
"This is a peace negotiation. I'll hear anything that doesn't mock me or Stockholm."
I flashed a smile like I was truly grateful, bowed my head in respect, and asked.
"What are your plans for the war with the Kingdom of Swedia?"
"Once we've made peace with you, we'll focus on Swedia."
"And if you fail to reach an armistice with us—what then?"
Christian fell silent instead of answering.
But the reason for that was obvious to me.
He had no answer at all—nothing he could do—but he couldn't admit it, so he said nothing.
"Then give us what we want. In exchange, you negotiate in a way that minimizes your losses, no? If you hold out too long and the Swedia army pushes to the outskirts of Oslo, you'll be facing a joint force of the Reich Empire and Swedia."
"Are you threatening me now?"
"Peace talks sound noble, but they're just a forum for the victor to extract demands from the loser. And I'm not your subject, Your Highness, so I can gladly do this much for the Reich Empire."
The king and his minister's faces twisted, but I just grinned and continued.
"Isn't the point of these peace talks to avoid the worst outcome? With that in mind, cede all territory south of the 50-kilometer mark from the Osby Plains. That way, you'll have somewhat better terms when you negotiate peace with Swedia."
"......."
"Your Highness, this is your best chance to minimize losses. Seize the light now, or you won't even have tears of blood left next time."
Christian nodded as if to say he understood.
Whew. With this, we'd secured the Reich Empire's full share perfectly, while ensuring Swedia couldn't freeload off us anymore...
The profits would be a bit less than originally planned.
But I'd never lied to Swedia even once, and I'd given them gains without causing losses.
I'd kept our alliance intact while successfully setting up a northern balance where Stockholm and Swedia checked each other by biting and tearing.
And that very night, the armistice was signed on the terms I'd demanded.