Chapter 44: Night Talk in the Study

“Marriage alliance? At this exact moment?” Sir Bart cried out in shock.

Hearing this, George and Sir Val both lowered their heads, guessing the hidden meaning behind Viscount Bolerum’s words.

“Are they forcing our country to submit so quickly? This is truly ridiculous,” Sir Val muttered with an uncertain tone.

‘Force our country to submit? Impossible. Even if they wanted us to pick a side, they wouldn’t do it this way. What is wrong with Mr. Val? He wouldn’t usually make such an irrational judgment. Could there be other hidden circumstances?’ Thinking of this, George looked up at Viscount Bolerum.

As the saying goes, no one knows a son better than his father. Even for this father and son pair hiding a huge secret, after noticing George’s gaze, Viscount Bolerum nodded slightly, as if signaling that George could decide for himself.

With his father’s support, George turned to Sir Val beside him and asked his question: “Mr. Val, did your channels receive some new information again?”

“Actually, the people I asked haven’t brought back any useful new news,” Sir Val said, feeling a bit embarrassed at first. But then he changed his tone and added his own thoughts, “However, the Pelor Temple did report that this time, the followers of the Tyrant God and the Lord of Conspiracy have been very active in Lucia and Cruz. I wonder if the envoys of these two countries were influenced by those guys to make these overly impulsive moves.”

“That’s not likely. To influence those envoys, they can only use persuasion, misinformation, or false reports. Even if they used Divine Arts or similar abilities, it wouldn’t last long. Once confirmed news arrives from our own country, everything will return to normal. In that case, all their previous actions will just become a farce.” Sitting in his seat, Viscount Bolerum clasped his hands together with fingers interlaced in front of his face. From behind his hands, he spoke his judgment, “But to directly attack the high-level officials of both countries? If they had that power, they wouldn’t still be a non-mainstream Church now. Besides, just having the Tyrant God involved is one thing, but since the Lord of Conspiracy has also joined in, it’s completely different. The latter would never make such an obvious waste of effort that might trap himself.”

‘After all, the true key to diplomacy is the comparison of strength between nations. Think about China’s experience from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, and it’s clear. Without strength, there is no voice between nations. Do you think those diplomats wanted to sign those humiliating treaties? No, it was those powerful figures in the central government who forced them. The diplomats who signed were just rubber stamps. If you didn’t sign, someone else would be sent to sign. Of course, after signing, they might even be used as scapegoats to attract hatred.’ Thinking of this, George was absolutely certain that the Kingdom of Coruz and the Kingdom of Lucia had other meanings behind their recent behavior.

You should know that the strength of the Duchy of Nohan is not as weak and easily bullied as some barbarian countries. If we had to compare it to a country on Earth, it would be similar to Prussia, which had just won the Franco-Prussian War. Perhaps its comprehensive national power wasn’t as strong as the old-established kingdoms, but if a real war broke out, no one would have much confidence in winning easily.

As for the war of attrition mentioned earlier, that was based on Nohan passively defending, and the time scale was measured in years. If the North Wind Knights of Nohan charged out, they could travel thousands of miles on the land of these two countries. Extorting a country that always follows a military-first policy would be impossible without a major trump card before crossing over. And Nohan does have a trump card.

Thinking of the trump card, George instinctively glanced at Sir Val.

‘Then this must be some kind of test. Mr. Val seemed to gain something when he went out alone before. So there is a possibility like this.’ George seemed to guess a possibility.

For this, George put forward his idea with an uncertain tone: “I think this might be a test, to see the Duchy’s opinion on the previous attack.”

“Opinion on the attack? Then why did people from both kingdoms do the exact same thing at the same time?” Sir Bart, who had been absent for a long time, suddenly asked this question. It seemed this person’s political sensitivity was really questionable.

“So, George, what is your opinion?” Viscount Bolerum placed his hands flat on the desk and leaned back slightly in his chair.

George turned his head to Sir Val and asked, “Mr. Val! I heard that because of my injury, you once went out alone to conduct a large-scale search and had some results. So, for the enemy who was finally caught, do you think he had a way to send the news of that night back to the enemy’s country?”

“You mean sending news! That is definitely possible. The other party is at least a Black Lead Rank cleric, so sending news about that night is absolutely no problem. Besides, that guy had quite a few Magic Items on him, with a wealth that made me a little surprised! But he definitely couldn’t know the specific battle situation, he only knew the battle failed. I can guarantee this. Whether he entered the town himself or used Divine Arts to detect, I would have definitely noticed him in the town.” Sir Val said this while slightly licking his lips, making him look a bit like a bandit leader.

Viscount Bolerum laughed and scolded, “So it’s loot that even Isolde found surprising! I’ll have to see it properly in a few days. It looks like my share won’t be too small either.”

The other three people in the room looked at Sir Val with slightly heated eyes. Sir Val couldn’t stand the gaze and quickly explained, “Hey! Hey! Hey! Don’t look at me like that. I was just surprised that these Magic Items were so hard to get for someone with that identity and strength. It’s not that I’m surprised by the items themselves.”

Feeling that there was a bargain to be had, Sir Bart rubbed his hands and said with shining eyes: “But no matter what, Magic Items that a Black Lead Rank cleric can get are not easy to find. Everyone really wants to see them. If it’s suitable, please let us have them. But let’s agree first that I can’t pay a high price.”

Sir Val looked at Sir Bart who started the commotion first and answered with a slightly teasing tone: “I’ll sell them at 70% of the market price. But Kobudo, I heard from Thomas about that Ogre Glove. Even with a 30% discount, you probably can’t afford much now. And this time, don’t ask for credit again; your ability to repay is really worrying.”

Hearing this, Sir Bart immediately wilted like a cabbage left out too long.

“Knock! Knock! Stop talking about these irrelevant things. Anyway, those Magic Items won’t fly away. It’s not too late to see them in a few days. By the way, if it’s suitable, George and I will also buy a few. For now, let George finish his guess first.” Viscount Bolerum gently tapped the desk with his finger, speaking to turn the topic that had gone off track back to the right path.

Getting the signal, George continued his previous topic: “Just now, Sir Val confirmed the news transmission. That means the black hand hiding behind the curtain already knows their previous action failed. That’s why they hurriedly came to test the Duchy’s attitude. As for why it was both countries coming together, it’s possible that these two countries have been testing and infiltrating each other for a long time. Regardless of which kingdom organized this attack, the other kingdom must have heard something about it. They probably followed up after seeing one side go to the Chamber of Council. As for the marriage alliance proposal, it was likely a test plan prepared long ago.”

“Do you mean both attacking kingdoms knew? How is that possible?” Sir Bart cried out immediately. Both Sir Val beside him and Viscount Bolerum sitting in his seat frowned, as if seriously thinking about this problem.

Seeing them like this, George didn’t dare to interrupt their thoughts. After all, figuring it out yourself and hearing someone explain it are two different things. Especially if similar situations arise later, their reactions would be very different.

For a moment, the study was very quiet. George relaxed his whole body, closed his eyes, and seemed to be resting his spirit. Sir Bart, though looking a bit at a loss, also stood quietly by, watching the two people with furrowed brows thinking beside him.

The sound of the lamp wick burning “Crackle—Snap” was especially obvious at this time. According to George’s feeling, about a quarter of an hour had passed. Viscount Bolerum was the first to relax his furrowed brows and then observed the performance of the few people in the study with interest.

Soon, Sir Val also seemed to have gained something. At least the slightly upturned corners of his mouth seemed to say something.

“Alright! It looks like those who can figure it out already have their own answers in their hearts. So what I want to say now is, do not reveal the content of tonight’s talk or any related content discussed in the future to anyone outside the four of us present here.” Viscount Bolerum looked at Sir Bart, whose face still looked a bit confused, and said: “Especially you, Kobudo. Be careful not to be tricked into revealing information. Of course, if there is anything you don’t understand, you can come to me or George tomorrow or the day after.”

Pausing for a moment, Viscount Bolerum continued: “The handling of this incident may concern the national fortune of the Duchy for the next few decades. So do not make any public statements before the final conclusion is made in the Chamber of Council. Especially you, Isolde. You should understand your weight in the Duchy. Any of your decisions could affect the decisions of a large group of people, or even affect the judgments of other countries. Okay, that’s enough for now. Isolde, Kobudo, you two have had a hard journey. Go rest first. George, stay behind. Father and I haven’t had a chance to talk together for a long time.”