"Good evening, His Excellency the Duke of Schleistein."
After some thought, I decided to talk to the Duke of Schleistein.
I've been observing the conversation for a while since then, but I still felt that the second prince was still too young in his thinking, and it seemed to me that it was the Duke of Schleistein who held the real power.
In that case, it would be better to take the story to Duke Schleistein, who is successfully controlling the Second Prince.
With this in mind, I sneaked into Duke Schleistein's private room and approached him like this.
"Who are you!?"
The Duke of Schleistein was startled by the soundless intrusion into his private chambers and became wary of me.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Allen. And will it be understood if I say that next year I will be Allen von Ramslett?"
I say so and bow.
"What!? Is the power of the Ramslett's treasured child so much?"
"You know about Est, right?"
"Gu~tsu, f-for what did you come here?"
Schleistein turned blue when I alluded to the fact that I had taken the head of the Crown Prince of the Est Empire.
Alright, the first greeting went well.
"Please be assured. I have been entrusted with a letter from His Majesty, King Gerhard of the Kingdom of Ramslett. Please accept this."
I took an envelope out of my pocket and put it on the desk.
"Mmm, this wax seal is … Hmm."
Duke Schleistein then opens the letter and proceeds to read it. And immediately his brow wrinkled.
"Does Allen-dono know about the contents of this letter?"
"Yes, I know."
"So, is it true what is written here? This case about the witch."
"Yes. It is all true. If that woman, who is now consumed by her own greed, is left unchecked, it is possible that everyone on this continent could be controlled. And that is easier said than done by force."
"Mmm … Then what Oscar-dono said was…"
Duke Schleistein mutters in a groaning voice.
"Yes. The reason I let Oscar go with that information in the first place was to make him aware of the danger of that woman. The king of your country must have already been entrapped. Your intelligence unit must have suffered a heavy blow, too, hasn't it?"
"…"
As expected, he doesn't admit it, but silence would be the same as affirmation.
"What would you do? If you won't do it, we will do it. But our country has no intention of giving up what we have gained through bloodshed, you see?"
When I said this, Duke Schleistein looked at the letter with an even more stern expression.
"You want us to move?"
"Yes."
I answer shortly. There is no need to give extra information. You just have to guess at your own discretion.
"But can we win? Even the elite of the Est Empire is having a hard time, you know?"
"We will also cooperate in that. We have the power to counter that woman's brainwashing."
"What exactly is that?"
Duke Schleistein has been trying to find out what's the inside story, but we can't reveal our cards just yet.
"That, of course, I cannot reveal here and now."
"Ggh, what are your demands?"
"The unconditional recognition by the Centraren Kingdom of the Kingdom of Ramslett as an equal."
Duke Schleistein thought for a moment, then grunted at me.
"Are you asking us to be a shield against Est?"
"No no, no way. We just want to protect the territory that we have and the people who are under our protection now."
When I said this, Duke Schleistein looked as if he was biting a bitter bug.
"Is that power a certainty?"
"Some of our soldiers were entrapped by that woman, but we were able to restore them thanks to this power. It also helped in breaking the brainwashing of Oscar, who I believe is under your protection."
"Is that so……"
Then Duke Schleistein was stifled.
"Can you decide now?"
When I said this, Duke Schleistein shook his head.
"Assuming we move, what will Ramslett do?"
"We will restore the soldiers who have been driven mad by that woman."
"You're not going to send out the troops? If you don't send out your troops, you can't be considered an equal, can you?"
Duke Schleistein was not willing to give up and tried to negotiate, but I'm already on top.
"What do you say? This is a civil war in your country. Our country is offering to help you remove the greatest obstacle in the Second Prince's path, you know?"
"Kuh…"
"Besides, if our country is going to send troops, we would like to be paid for it. We are not so friendly as to send troops to your country's civil war without any reward. That would not be equal…. wouldn't it? The southern part of the west border seems to be compatible with our industry. What do you think?"
When I said that, the Duke of Schleistein looked like he had given up.
"If we lose any more breadbasket areas, we will lose our country."
When he said this, Duke Schleistein sighed heavily.
"It can't be helped. I'll admit it. However, upon recognition, we will ask you to sign a peace treaty. The borders will be fixed as they are now. We will not tolerate any further territorial incursions."
"Of course. I am glad you understand. Now I can take the steps I don't want to take…… No, it's nothing. Now, could you please send me a letter of reply?"
Hearing my line, Duke Schleistein's face scrunched up and he looked a little pale.
"I-I see. You should wait for a while."
With that, the Duke ran his pen through the letter, sealed it with wax, and placed the letter on the table.
I put on gloves, accept the envelope, wrap it in the cloth I brought and put it in my pocket.
"Also, we have some preparations to make. We will probably be able to execute the operation at the beginning of the year when it will be coldest. Now, if you'll excuse me."
"W-Wait!"
When I finished saying what I needed to tell him, I quickly left the room. Then, after making sure there was no one around, I hid using 【Concealment】.
Oh, I'm tired. It takes a lot of brainpower to negotiate, and it really stiffens my shoulders to speak in such an unfamiliar way.
After spending the next three days at the Duke's residence gathering information, I returned home.