The moment Glom Bertica stepped into the Audience Chamber and before Aria opened her mouth, he quickly put his mind to work, putting aside his pride as a king.
The most important thing in negotiation is to understand the other party’s demands.
Catering to vampires was infuriating, but what good was pride if it cost him his life?
For the sake of the future, Glom had to prioritize his and the prince’s lives.
So what could be the progenitor’s demands?
The greatest weakness of the vampire race is undoubtedly their restriction during the day.
It was information obtained through the defeat of the allied forces that the progenitor could use some enigmatic magic to turn day into night, but such a massive and nonsensical spell surely wouldn’t be without limitations.
To date, vampires had only extended their activity periods around dawn but had never initiated invasions during broad daylight.
Thus, the most credible limitation likely pertained to the duration of the magic.
Therefore, it wouldn’t be out of line to assume that the progenitor’s demands were for control during daylight hours when the vampires would have difficulty acting.
No, there was no reason for the progenitor to rely on humans of the Bertica royal family, who could be seen as a risk factor in shaping public opinion and suppressing rebellions.
Glom went through various possibilities in his mind.
How could he save his life? How could he seize control?
He focused his gaze on Aria’s mouth.
What words would she start with, and how would she end? He needed to grasp the essence of her words even a second faster in order to devise an appropriate countermeasure.
And finally, Aria’s lips moved slightly.
“Tell me why I should let you live.”
With a nonchalant expression, she propped her chin to the side and spat out the line, her annoyance clear.
Glom’s heart began to race.
‘…Doesn’t she intend to go easy on us?’
If only she had stated her wishes first and then moved to threats, it would have been convenient, but this was a rather bothersome approach.
At a glance, it seemed like she didn’t care at all.
But it was certain they must have their own desires too, as they had called him here.
The vampires held the overwhelming upper hand, but there were undoubtedly things they couldn’t do.
Putting in labor for domestic management likely wasn’t what the vampires wanted.
She had started with an air of indifference, but that couldn’t have been her true intent.
‘It’s a bluff.’
Thus, Glom couldn’t help but conclude that.
It wasn’t that she truly didn’t care, this was a bluff. A type of act to seize the upper hand in negotiations.
‘Then there is no change in policy.’
He needed to flatter her a bit more and would have to give up a part of the hand he held instead of directly answering questions, but the tasks at hand remained unchanged.
“I stand before the progenitor of vampires. I—”
Swoosh!!
Glom’s head jerked sideways at the sound of an unidentified wind brushing past his ear.
An arrow had struck the floor a short distance behind him, still quivering in place. Had it flown just half an inch to the left, it would have surely pierced his upper lip.
“You don’t know your place.”
With a thud, every hair on Glom stood on end, and his heart squeezed tightly.
“Do you still think you’re the king of this land?”
The air grew thick, and even the blood flowing through his veins felt heavy.
Realizing the pressure meant that the progenitor was displeased, icy sweat began to trickle down Glom’s back.
“…I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
There was no longer any leisure to save face in a battle of wills.
It was irrational, but he instinctively sensed that this vampire could indeed kill both royalty without hesitation if things went awry.
Moreover, there happened to be two royals present in this very room.
If any foolishness ensued, he might not be able to kill both himself and the prince, but he was certain at least one would be doomed.
Glom quickly knelt and prostrated himself on the floor, and though he showed some hesitation, Prince Dweik did the same.
“There won’t be a second chance.”
Finally able to exhale the breath he’d been holding back, Glom carefully laid down one prepared card.
He thought the opponent wouldn’t react well to stalling with an introduction, so he planned to throw out bait and watch to see how they would react.
The surface content was that he was communicating with certain nobles in opposition to the royal family.
While demonstrating that the royal family held more influence than the vampires assumed, he hadn’t disclosed who the connected nobles were.
If they were interested in effective means of controlling the domestic nobility, they would likely react.
However, when he finished speaking, the progenitor’s indifferent expression didn’t change.
‘Was that not enough?’
Calmly, he laid down a second card.
Yet again, the reaction remained unchanged.
Feeling an increasing sense of urgency, Glom continued to observe the progenitor’s reaction while sequentially laying down a third, fourth, and fifth card.
And then, with the sixth, it became hard to concede anymore for the sake of survival.
Glom glanced up at the throne. But the red eyes looking down seemed still unsatisfied.
Giving any more information could lead to being used and then discarded.
Holding back a gulp, Glom shut his mouth, feeling Dweik’s impatience halting him with a mere glance.
Uncomfortable silence settled in, and after thirty seconds, Aria finally removed her chin from her hand and straightened her posture.
“I know well what you can do.”
‘So holding back was the right answer after all.’
He had just passed a hurdle. Glom praised his own judgment for not laying down all his cards in one go and managed to offer a faint smile.
However, the very next moment, the words that followed from Aria left Glom and Dweik frozen in place.
“However, I can’t find a reason to let you live. Dispose of them.”
As if indicating she had heard enough, she waved her hand dismissively, turning her head as if she had lost interest.
Vampire soldiers were closing in to take Glom and Dweik away.
Dweik, who had remained silent following Glom’s orders, suddenly shouted, forgetting even about the power struggle.
“Why! You must know that only humans of the Bertica royal family can do certain things!!”
Under normal circumstances, politics meant saying things you didn’t mean to deceive the other party, but therefore, the instincts of royalty who had walked on the thin ice of politics their entire lives couldn’t be ignored.
The progenitor had undoubtedly spoken sincerely just now.
It wasn’t mere bluster; she had genuinely ordered their disposal.
This couldn’t happen.
They had offered sufficient advantages, and the vampires’ gains were clearly greater when accepting than when rejecting.
The progenitor who had subdued two duchies couldn’t possibly be a fool who couldn’t even perform simple profit-and-loss calculations, nor would she toss aside gains out of whimsy or emotion.
Thus, it was incomprehensible.
Glom sent a late signal to Dweik to lower his voice, but contrary to expectations, Aria raised her hand and halted the approaching vampire soldiers.
“Why, you ask?”
Aria responded apathetically.
Perched sideways on her throne with her legs out, fidgeting with her nails, she seemed to have genuinely lost interest in them.
“You’re the leaders of the invaders who have intruded into the duchy. Someone must take responsibility and die to satisfy your subordinates.”
“…That’s certainly a valid point, but if I may be so bold, wouldn’t it be more beneficial to show a little mercy rather than slaying a royal on account of responsibility?”
Glom carefully chose his words.
Frankly, even saying such things risked angering her severely.
However, considering the very real possibility that Aria might execute both him and Dweik without a backward glance if he remained silent, he had to try to persuade her.
“There’s no need to kill all the royals.”
Aria drummed her fingers on the armrest of the throne as she pretended to think.
Her dramatic gestures gave off a condescending air, and it wasn’t until Glom saw the sly smile curling at her lips that he recalled the worst possibility he hadn’t wanted to think about.
“Very well. I’ll show mercy and allow for just one royal to bear all the sins. Now, which one of you is willing to offer up your life?”
‘Cunning vampire wench.’
Feigning gratitude for her mercy, Glom gritted his teeth.
The bloodline of Bertica present here was none other than Glom Bertica, the king, and Dweik Bertica, the prince.
In other words, Aria had just prompted them to choose who would die between the father and son.
Could her character be any worse than this?
Like a head of filthy bugs crawling through the stench of the underground, she seemed to revel in such sordid and grotesque tactics.
“Choose. Before my mind changes.”
Aria pressured them.
It was clear this was a calculated threat, but now that he realized she wouldn’t hesitate to kill both if it came down to it, Glom couldn’t afford to make any unnecessary excuses.
‘I can’t die like this.’
But sacrificing the prince was also out of the question.
He couldn’t give up either the kingdom’s present or future.
In the midst of his desperate thoughts, Glom rapidly put his mind to work. As the sound of her fingers tapping the armrest quickened and then abruptly stopped, a possibility suddenly flashed in his mind, and he hurriedly opened his mouth.
“May I understand that you mean that if a ‘single royal’ offers their life, the other side would be given the chance to survive?”
“If it’s just one direct royal, then yes. If someone pure-blooded from the royal family were to bear the sins alone, there’s no reason we couldn’t ensure the future safety of those who survived, depending on their loyalty.”
With emphasis on ‘one royal,’ without specifying the number of others, Glom inquired, who Aria subtly added ‘direct line’ to her response.
Glom secretly rejoiced.
The constraint of being a direct royal was no problem. After all, he had a choice that allowed both himself and the prince to survive.
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