Chapter 85: I’ll Go Negotiate. (4)
Zvalter’s eyes were filled with emotion and trust.
“Wow, you’ve succeeded this much already. I never imagined such a dashing figure.”
“Well done. You’ve really worked hard.”
He patted Ghislaine’s shoulder in encouragement.
Baron Homern, watching the two, cleared his throat a few times and dispersed the gathered people.
The Territory Residents, undeterred by the order to leave, continued to cheer Ghislaine’s name for a long time.
Finally, it quieted down only after the soldiers stepped in and took their families home.
Ghislaine also sent the mercenaries back to the fortress and entered the castle.
As he was about to return to his room and rest, Zvalter caught him from behind.
“How did the surrender negotiations go? Let me take a look at the draft you brought.”
Soon they had to settle the rewards.
They had already determined appropriate compensations based on achievements, but the excess funds depended on how much compensation they received.
With a mix of worry and expectation, Zvalter asked, and Ghislaine brightly smiled and answered clearly.
“There’s none.”
“No negotiation document? Why?”
“I killed them.”
Zvalter blinked several times, trying to decipher the meaning of his words.
Ghislaine’s attitude was so confident that he wondered if he had heard wrong.
“What? You killed them? Really?”
“Yes.”
Zvalter stiffened his expression.
“…Did you forget what I said?”
“I didn’t forget. I just thought it was better to wrap things up quickly after seeing it myself.”
“What do you mean, ‘wrap things up quickly’?”
“If we accept their surrender, they’ll target this place again. We need to prevent annoying things in advance.”
Zvalter let out a sigh.
He had warned his reckless son not to cause trouble, and sure enough, trouble was caused—big trouble at that.
He was about to scold Ghislaine but swallowed his words upon seeing his son covered in dirt.
“…….”
Well, since it’s already done, what can be done now?
It wasn’t something he didn’t expect, and it wasn’t urgent enough to keep his son from resting after the war.
“Just rest for now, and we’ll talk later.”
Zvalter shook his head, patted his son’s shoulder, and walked away.
For some reason, his son’s shoulders and back seemed drooped.
*
The next day, many people gathered in the great hall, regardless of their status. It was a place for settling rewards.
Many people gathered at the grand hall without regard for status. It was a ceremony for rewarding merit.
“Let’s begin.”
At Zvalter’s command, Baron Homern stepped forward.
He started a speech spitting on how glorious this victory was.
As his words dragged on, the expressions of the people grew increasingly lifeless.
Seeing the bored faces, Zvalter abruptly interrupted Homern.
“That’s enough. Now it’s time for the rewards.”
While Ghislaine was away, the achievements of those who distinguished themselves had been organized, so the award ceremony proceeded swiftly.
The rewards began with the lowest-ranked soldiers.
Next came the administrators responsible for logistics and territorial management, who ensured the war could continue.
Then the knights, who could be considered the backbone of the territory, received appropriate amounts of money and positions based on their contributions.
“I will now announce the second-class merit holders: Knight Commander Randolf! War Officer William…”
The commanders were conferred the title of second-class merit holders.
If it had been another time, some names that could have been first-class merit holders were mentioned, but no one appeared puzzled or dissatisfied.
Even after the rewards for second-class merit holders were concluded, people remained in their seats with faces full of expectation.
The most important figure was still to come.
All eyes turned to Ghislaine.
The true hero of this war, who had led Perdium to victory.
Everyone was curious about the grand reward he would receive.
“Grand Duke Ghislaine, step forward!”
As Baron Homern shouted, Ghislaine approached and kneeled.
People fell silent, focusing their attention on the lord and the grand duke.
Silence descended upon the grand hall in an instant. Zvalter relished the moment and rose from his seat.
“By unanimous agreement of the retainers, there is only one first-class merit holder: Ghislaine Perdium. It is no exaggeration to say this victory is thanks to him.”
The knights and soldiers who had witnessed Ghislaine’s exploits on the battlefield nodded in agreement.
Some retainers still frowned, as if unable to believe it, but they could not go against the tide.
“Therefore, Ghislaine will be granted two thousand gold.”
Cheers erupted in the grand hall at the announcement.
“Wow, amazing! Two thousand gold, that’s incredible!”
“That’s a sum that could last a lifetime!”
“The grand duke definitely deserves that much!”
Everyone chatted excitedly and buzzed around.
Even if you added all the rewards other people received, it wouldn’t equal two thousand gold.
It was an amount an average person would never touch in their entire lives.
The idea of giving such an enormous sum to one person left those gathered in shock.
But on one side of the hall, Belinda, Gillian, and Kaor wore confused expressions.
“……”
Ghislaine looked at Zvalter, exuding high spirits, with a somber expression.
How poor the territory must be that they could only offer two thousand gold…
*
A person who had lived frugally all their life would naturally be small-minded about spending money.
Not that Ghislaine was unaware of this; he didn’t refuse or argue that the reward was low in the hall.
The real reward could be obtained separately.
The merit reward ceremony had concluded, but the handling of the aftermath was still not finished.
It’s over, but the aftermath has yet to be resolved.
In a gathering of only the main retainers, Zvalter, with a complicated expression, asked Ghislaine.
“Was it really necessary to kill Count Digald? They must have already suffered enough from the war, and their troops have been utterly annihilated…”
“Do you really think so?”
“……”
Zvalter couldn’t respond to Ghislaine’s abrupt question.
“Digald originally couldn’t muster that amount of troops. They must have reached out to others. In fact, your father knows this as well, right? That’s why Count Roges hasn’t come.”
“……Yeah, I know.”
Zvalter spoke in a somber tone. Ghislaine resolutely continued.
“That’s why he was killed. Even if it was manipulated, the Digald family has justification to attack us. If they’re alive, those who practically invaded us will quickly use them to invade again. Eliminating Count Digald’s territory is the only way to buy us any time.”
“True, but…”
“Also, the North is mainly comprised of independent counties rather than feudal lands. It’s an opportunity to expand territory without any cumbersome procedures.”
“Cough…”
Zvalter coughed, unable to hide his discomfort.
The son always pursued extreme efficiency.
While that’s not a bad thing… one cannot ignore traditions built over a long time.
Thinking about future protests flooding in from other nobles already gave him a headache.
“……We could have just settled for compensation or imprisoned them. We don’t really have the capacity to govern that area anyway.”
Would Zvalter dislike expanding territory? Of course not.
It was simply a matter of reality.
With Perdium’s current poverty, uniting with the poor Digald would just double their poverty.
Perdium’s situation was already dire, waiting for compensation from Digald, while unable to manage Digald’s territory.
To stabilize that place would just mean pouring all of the remaining resources into Digald.
“Don’t worry. We still have the Runestone left, so I’ll help normalize both territories as soon as possible.”
“Hmm, will it be enough?”
“More than enough.”
“……Alright, you’re not wrong, at least. If we can digest Digald, we’ll become stronger. Since the deed is done, there’s no avoiding it, but…”
Zvalter showed a worried expression.
“Honestly, I’m concerned. Your actions are becoming more extreme.”
“…….”
“Be a little more restrained. You should know how fearful the nobles and other lords can be.”
If one only pursues efficiency, they’ll inevitably clash with the resentments of those around them.
In the long run, that would actually result in greater losses.
The established powers can be fearsome like that.
It’s better to compromise a bit than to turn everyone into enemies.
Zvalter pointed this out.
Knowing the habits of nobles, Ghislaine also nodded in agreement, readily accepting the point.
He nodded in agreement.
His father was only acting realistically because he didn’t know the future.
“I will try my best.”
“Ugh…”
Zvalter let out a groan. Looking at him speak, it seemed he would continue to act recklessly in the future.
But even if he wanted to scold him, he could no longer treat him carelessly.
Ghislaine’s abilities had now surpassed his influence.
‘Haha, how did it come to this?’
Suddenly having grown so much made it difficult to respond. Keeping up with the lightning-fast changes was quite overwhelming.
His head was in a jumble, but at the same time, he felt proud.
What parent wouldn’t be happy to see their child grow significantly away from their grasp?
‘Yeah, it’s extreme, but that’s just because he’s still young.’
What was done was done.
Honestly, he felt more joy and pride than anyone else.
He just nagged a bit out of concern as a father.
“I only spoke out of worry, so don’t be upset. Anyway, you’ve done well. Really, you did great. Now we need to deal with the aftermath, so rest for a while. We’ll soon hold a victory feast.”
As Zvalter was pondering ways to stabilize the territory, he suddenly remembered something he had forgotten.
“Wait a minute… that means we won’t be able to get compensation right away, will we?”
A new problem suddenly arose.
Perdium Territory was unfortunately low on funds.
Originally, they planned to share the reward money from Digald after receiving compensation.
However, since Digald’s territory had now been annexed to Perdium, they couldn’t draw much money from there for management.
“Albert… how much money do we have left?”
When Zvalter asked, Albert, the Treasurer, replied with a confused expression.
“We have no money.”
“No money?”
“Yes, not a single penny. Why do you suddenly ask? We’ve exhausted all our supplies because of the war. We’ve always been short on cash.”
“……Then how about the rewards?”
“Weren’t we going to cover that with the compensation we collected from Digald?”
“……Right, that’s true.”
The joy of victory quickly faded.
While the retainers could be given their rewards a bit later, the knights and soldiers cannot.
The longer the reward is delayed, the more their morale will drop.
The belief that if you dedicate yourself, you will be repaid is the foundation of loyalty. The reward for achievements was a prime example of such ‘repayment.’
“Huh, we must reward those who have made contributions!”
Zvalter clicked his tongue and looked around at the retainers. It was an unspoken pressure to come up with a way to get money.
But all their gazes were fixed on Ghislaine.
Everyone had something they wanted to say but couldn’t muster the courage.
The richest person in the territory and the one who promised to give the Runestone.
And, the only first-class merit holder.
“Ahem, ahem! Ah, my throat is a bit sore.”
Zvalter cleared his throat slightly and smiled a bit awkwardly.
“Uh… Ghislaine? Could you lend me the Runestone first?”
It was a situation where he had to borrow money before even awarding the first-class merit holder.
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