Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Negotiations and Revelations
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First, upon returning to Rainpole, I took Master Ilya and Lutger with me and headed straight to Carten to meet Juras.
Incidentally, since the prisoner negotiations with Europa were also scheduled in Carten, I had to dive right into them.
The Europa delegation, who had been waiting first, greeted me with a menacing atmosphere.
“…Hmph. So you're Wade.”
Europa had dispatched military figures as their delegation. They exuded a sullen aura with their fierce expressions.
In response, my aides stood by my side as if to protect me.
Worried it might not be good for the pregnancy, I glanced at Master Ilya, but she seemed thrilled, her blood boiling after a long time.
“Well, well, I didn't expect Europa's Grand General to come in person.”
It was Jervain Pickford, one of the Ten Heroes and known as Europa's guardian deity.
Pickford half-ignored my words and started saying what he wanted.
“Where is Prince Romello? How is he being treated?”
“We're treating him politely. …For now.”
“For now?”
“If today's negotiations fail, I plan to change how he's treated.”
“Nonsense. You plan to be rude to Europa's royalty?!”
“In other words, he'll just be an outsider. Someone completely unrelated to me. If you don't negotiate sincerely and drag it out, from my perspective, he'll just be a prisoner wasting food.”
“You…!”
“Don't threaten me like that. Just show some sincerity in the negotiations, and it'll be fine.”
“Fine. State your terms.”
“Simple.”
The reason I'd gone out of my way to bring Europa's prisoners to Juras.
Truth be told, there was no real need to bring Prince Romello. Negotiating with other noble prisoners would have been enough.
Prince Romello was just solid insurance.
Insurance to bring in Bayolaf.
“There was a man in your country impersonating me. Bayolaf Dresden, was it?”
Pickford's brow twitched at that.
“What about him?”
“Even I got heated over it. So I want to make sure he can never impersonate me again. Hand over Bayolaf Dresden. In exchange, we'll release Prince Romello.”
“Hand over? What exactly do you mean?”
“It means I'll hold his life in my hands. To put it simply, I'll make him my slave.”
“What!? Don't talk nonsense! Bayolaf is the next head of the Dresden Count family! You think we'd hand a high noble like that over as your slave?!”
“Then the negotiations are off.”
As I stood up without hesitation, shing! The Europa men drew their swords in threat.
Anton, Eonia, and even Master Ilya drew their weapons in response, but Lutger held back the master and subtly pulled her to the rear.
“What's this? Since negotiations failed, you want to settle it with force?”
“You never intended proper negotiations from the start. Throwing out ridiculous terms like that!”
“They're not ridiculous. You just can't accept them.”
From Europa's military perspective, Bayolaf was an asset they absolutely could not let go to another country.
From the royal family and nobles' viewpoint, though, it wasn't such a big deal.
Because Bayolaf had been holed up for years, becoming a family disgrace.
“I don't see a need to negotiate with you anyway. A deal with Europa's royal family would get me Bayolaf easily enough. So let's end these negotiations here.”
“…Wait a moment.”
Pickford ground his teeth. He knew it was better to wrap this up himself and claim the credit.
“Can't you at least guarantee his safety…?”
“Impossible. As I said, I'll take full rights over his life and death. So you all should just forget he ever existed.”
“Urgh! You bastard, what the hell do you plan to do with him?”
“I told you. I got pissed about the impersonation.”
“He didn't claim it himself. It was other idiots who spread it around.”
“That's not my problem.”
Pickford squeezed his eyes shut.
It was a checkmate. The negotiations were too advantageous for me.
“You know best what happens if these talks fail.”
If the negotiations collapsed or Prince Romello stayed captive, rumors of the second or third prince's succession would surge, potentially sparking civil strife in Europa.
So the nobles supporting Prince Romello would pay any price to make this succeed.
Handing over the unwanted Bayolaf was nothing.
Pickford let out a deep sigh and nodded.
“…Fine. I'll talk to the king along those lines.”
And that was it.
With this, Bayolaf would shed the chains of Europa and come under me.
Of course, to make him truly loyal, I'd need the three visits and three refusals via nighttime persuasion… but it'd work out somehow.
*
*
*
With the negotiations done, I was able to meet Juras with a much lighter heart.
I left Lutger and Gaspar to handle the miscellaneous tasks for bringing in Bayolaf, then headed to Juras's office in Carten's top administrative building with Eonia, Ymir, Anton, and the master in tow.
The guy, propping his chin while reviewing reports, lit up when he saw me.
“You're here. Faster than expected. I figured the Europa prisoner talks would drag on for at least half a day.”
“It was a negotiation too favorable to me.”
“So? What did you get out of them?”
“It's a secret. More importantly, time to tell me everything now.”
“Is that the attitude of someone who wants to hear a story?”
“Sigh….”
Juras was insistent on knowing about the Europa negotiations. Since he'd dig it up anyway if he wanted, I decided to just tell him.
“I arranged to get a person.”
“A person? From Europa, someone you'd bother bringing… Bayolaf Dresden?”
“…”
That's why I hated this guy. That attitude like he knew everything.
It'd be fine if it was just the attitude, but he actually did know everything, which was annoying.
“I heard Bayolaf went into seclusion for unknown reasons. Looks like you made prior contact with him. Otherwise, you wouldn't demand him out of the blue. Heh, well done.”
“Well done?”
“With you gathering talent like this, it's ideal for me too.”
“What does that mean?”
“That's included in what I'll tell you now. What do you want to hear first?”
There were three things to hear from Juras.
The secret King Parline and Anton had hidden. The inside man in Buran and the reason for the king's assassination. And now, an extra: why me gathering talent was desirable for Juras.
“I'll start with the secret King Parline was hiding.”
“Straight to the core, huh.”
“Why did King Parline hide it from me in the first place? He was fine with everything else.”
“Of course. If you knew, you might turn against Uncle and Crossing.”
“Against Crossing…?”
“Yeah. Since we killed your birth parents.”
The air seemed to freeze in an instant.
Juras continued nonchalantly, as if recounting a fond old memory.
“It was, oh, seventeen years ago—before you were born.”
Seventeen years ago.
Back when King Parline wasn't listless like now, but obsessed with achieving his greater cause.
“Do you know what the Pensilon revival faction was up to back then?”
“…No.”
“They were wandering the lands, seeking a foundation force.”
“A foundation…?”
“They planned to lend their legitimacy to one of the existing kingdoms to revive the Pensilon name. And seize power again that way.”
Some nations were tempted, apparently.
In that era when kingdoms sprouted like mushrooms, legitimacy was a huge advantage.
“Uncle wouldn't stand for it. He knew all the insane things Pensilon's hardliners had done. He figured even if they took power and unified the continent again, it'd end the same way. Well, now he wants unification by any means, but anyway.”
So King Parline decided to wipe out the Pensilon revival faction before they could secure a foundation.
“It happened when their group was passing through Paragan Forest. Perfect spot for an ambush—barely any people around.”
“You ambushed them! You…!”
“To be precise, the special forces unit I was in. Seventeen years ago… yeah, right around when I came of age.”
“…”
At that time, Crossing's special forces set up a tight encirclement and tightened the noose.
The result was just as I knew it.
“So it really was you. Crossing…!”
“Yes, we killed your birth parents.”
I couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion. Even I, who had no feelings for my birth parents, reacted that way—let alone Ymir, who couldn't hold back.
“How dare you to Lady Lizna—!!”
“Calm down, Ymir!”
Eonia hurriedly hugged Ymir.
“Hahaha! Trying to kill me? Hilarious. Truly comedic.”
Juras mocked Ymir.
Ymir was overflowing with killing intent. If Eonia hadn't held her, she might have lunged right then.
“Ymir, was it? If you want to kill me, you've got the wrong target. After all, to you, I'm your lifesaver.”
What nonsense was this guy spouting now?
“This is something even Uncle doesn't know. Shall I spill it? Just lay it all out? Hahaha!”
Juras laughed like a kid who'd reclaimed a favorite toy. He kept dropping bombshells.
“In that special forces unit, I was the first to find your mother. And even the beastkin hiding in the trash pit, holding the baby.”
“…!”
“Your mother, Lizna Almain, must have realized I'd spotted her. She started begging me.”
Please spare the child at least. Take her life, just look the other way.
“So you looked away? Out of mercy?”
“Do I look like that kind of person?”
“No.”
“Right. I just figured there might be value in it later. So while it all went down, I made sure no one went near the trash pit where you were hiding. Think about it. In that ruthless operation, you think we'd miss someone hiding in a trash pit?”
He had a point.
“Without me, you and that beastkin would be dead. So calling me your lifesaver isn't wrong.”
It was the classic give poison then antidote, but it seemed true we wouldn't have survived without him.
“After killing most of the Pensilon revival faction and cleaning up, I personally tracked where you went. Confirmed you entered the Ilrain family and were adopted.”
“No way… You figured out who I was because…”
“Yes, I pegged you as Wade because I knew your every move. Had people in Revel constantly watching you. From taking Ilyia Anpei as your master, all the way to the Three Lions War! Piecing it together after the Three Lions War, you became Wade. That moment, I felt fate!”
The truth about the past incident.
I was stunned speechless.
Then, Anton, who had been somber throughout, spoke as if resolved.
“Lord Als. The one who commanded that operation was my father, Gallean Quinter.”
Crossing's Grand General and a Ten Heroes member at the time, Gallean.
He suffered immense guilt afterward, it seems. He'd been in the military even when Pensilon was strong.
Even though Pensilon was fallen by then, he'd personally killed the imperial bloodline he'd loyally served.
“Tormented by that guilt, Father erased the Quinter name and took his own life. Before dying, he told me: if Pensilon's legitimate heir ever appears, serve them with your life to restore our honor.”
This was the vow passed down in the Quinter family—and why Anton pledged loyalty to me.
“If you command me to die here and now, I will.”
His eyes were sincere. The master fidgeted, glancing between me and Anton.
“No… it's fine. It wasn't your doing anyway.”
With no real attachment to my birth mother, I could bear it. If my current Ilrain family had been slaughtered like that, even I'd lose it.
“…My deepest apologies. Take my life whenever you wish.”
“Don't say that. You're already one of us.”
“Truly… I'm sorry.”
But then.
“Anton, no. That's not it.”
Juras said with amusement.
“Your father's death wasn't just for that reason.”
“What do you…?”
He spoke as if mocking the whole world.
“Because I killed your father.”