Van’s Castle’s Audience Room.
In an audience room that had both paint and decor more glamorous than the one in Parnam Castle, I sat on the throne. Standing on the carpet several steps below me were the younger sister of the Grand Chaos Empire’s Empress, Jeanne Euphoria, and the eldest son of the late Amidonian Duke Gaius VIII, Julius. Julius, who I met now for the first time, was a handsome man in his twenties and had a cold feeling similar to Hakuya’s, but his eyes, that seemed to see others as beneath him, gave me an unpleasant feeling. He is an ikemen who I couldn’t be liked, or for short, an “eerikemen” type of feeling.[8]
Our lineup for facing them had as only Liscia and Hakuya at both of my sides, and Aisha, who served as the bodyguard, behind me. Seeing this, Jeanne tilted her head.
「How unexpected. I would have imagined that the negotiations would be watched by a lot of soldiers.」(Jeanne)
「Soldiers shouldn’t be needed for the audience with only the both of you, right? It will be discourteous.」(Souma)
「Indeed. An admirable insight.」(Jeanne)
Said Jeanne in admiration, but inside my mind, I stuck out my tongue. I simply believe that if a ruler in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms had done what Jeanne had pointed out, then there will be a shameful scene where the envoy says, 『You only have an audience of two people, but is it he Kingdom’s etiquette to be surrounded by soldiers?』 or 『Do you not feel secure if there are no soldiers protecting you?』…… So I did this to shut her up.
「Well…… As long as there is that lady behind you, you will feel safe, right?」(Jeanne)
Jeanne’s sharp eyes looked at Aisha. Did military people give off an aura or something? She could accurately see through Aisha’s capabilities. Aisha made a bow while staying in silent.
「An excellent soldier you have there. I wanted to have one bout with her, but I think it will be hard for me to win. As expected from King Souma, you have excellent retainers.」(Jeanne)
What a compliment. I couldn’t see how much truth was in it. She shouldn’t be someone who would back down just by seeing Aisha’s vigilant appearance, right?
「So are you, you are bold not to take any companions even though you are going to face the king of a country. Aren’t you worried about being assassinated?」(Souma)
「I am coming to this place as an envoy of peace. Why should I worry about being killed?」(Jeanne)
Jeanne, who said this while smiling, was quite an actress. She didn’t “bring any companions”, but wouldn’t the Imperial spy corps who had already infiltrated this castle were protecting her? Perhaps right now, they were rattling blades with Juna-san’s Marine Corps who were guarding this conference. Next, I shifted my attention to Julius.
「It is a pleasure to have finally met with you. I am Souma Kazuya.」(Souma)
「……Amidonian Duke Julius.」(Julius)
Julius called himself as the Duke while not concealing the hostility in his eyes. He couldn’t perform the coronation ceremony since we had occupied Van, so he shouldn’t be able to introduce himself as th Duke, but I couldn’t point this out since I was also in the same situation as him.[9]
「Then, what is the purpose of your current visit?」(Souma)
「……What a farce. Return Van promptly!」(Julius)
「Julius-dono……」(Jeanne)
Jeanne made a sour face as if she had swollen a bug, but Julius ignored her and kept on talking.
「Our Amidonia Dukedom is a participant in the 『Humanity Declaration』. There is a provision where 『Border changes due to military action would not be recognized』! Elfrieden’s action of dispossessing Van using military action is in violation of this provision, so I demand a prompt return of Van!」(Julius)
「Say what you like, but...」(Souma)
I rest my hand on the throne and placed my chin on it before continuing.[10]
「The one who invaded Elfrieden Kingdom not long ago was your side, right? Your side is the one who schemed first to change the border with military power, but when you lost the war, you complained about the provision violation. Isn’t that rather unreasonable?」(Souma)
「……The invasion to Elfrieden Kingdom was Father’s…… Gaius’ own arbitrary action.」(Julius)
「But you had also gone with the same campaign, then that’s why you have the same crime. To begin with, before doing negotiations about territory returns, you ought to apologize for invading our country first, right?」(Souma)
「Kugh……」(Julius)
「Julius-dono, what King Souma said is true. Since our current position is asking for a territory return, we must begin to show our goodwill by apologizing first.」(Jeanne)