CH 262

Yeah~, it’s been a week since the exam ended and nothing happened. It’s so wonderful. I wondered what would happen when my father came back, but I’m glad my life didn’t change.

I felt like I was forced to make a strange promise, but they didn’t say anything about it, so I guess there’s nothing to it. Maybe it was just confirmed at the end of the discussion at that time. I didn’t really listen to them very much, but if there’s nothing, it means I’ll be fine. That’s how it is!

“Miss Flora, a messenger has come to pick you up from the royal castle,” Katharina said.

“………… Hmm?” I went.

The message came while I was relaxing with everyone at the Carruthers Residence. What do I have to show up at the royal castle for?

“Did I make such a prior appointment?” I asked.

“No, it’s an emergency,” Katharina replied.

It seems to be sudden news… it looks like I have to dress up, so I change into the formal attire of a baron and leave the house. The messenger has also come to pick me up, but my carriage is more comfortable, so I just follow behind them. There is no reason for them to send a carriage to pick me up.

When I was absent-mindedly looking outside, the school’s male students were conducting a practical skill test. However, this time it seems that it is a training camp at the school. They can’t take the students outside without the Royal Guard Division. To begin with, the camp training is the first half, so the second half tests a different set of skills

In the latter half of the term, it seems that they will conduct mock battles and group duels. Usually every year, at the Royal Guards training ground outside the royal capital, the upper group will command the entire team, while the lower group will act as front-line commanders and soldiers for group combat training. This time, the Royal Guard Division is on an expedition, so it seems that they are using the school’s training grounds.

Well, even if it’s a normal year, it would be nice to do it separately from the school, so why bother doing it outside at the training grounds…? Perhaps the purpose is to make them live together at the training grounds. If you’re in the royal capital, you’ll end up being spoiled. In the worst case, you can go home immediately. Compared with that, if everyone lives together insulated from the city, that is not the case.

Being in an army is tough. Even in the middle of the night, you are suddenly woken up, and you have to do everything on my own. There is no way that a maid will wash and bring you a change of clothes, nor will a cook prepare a meal for you. In order to put them in such a harsh environment, they will be sent to the training grounds.

Wait, it’s nothing to do with me, so I don’t care. Do your best, gentlemen. I’m also a man inside, but at times like this I feel a little superior as a woman outside.

…… I have already experienced actual combat, far from practicing. Running around in the midst of rolling corpses, I have fought fiercely with monsters and enemy countries while always putting my life in danger. Their exercises and training camps are nothing more than recreation. There’s no real threat to life. When they grow up, they will be on the battlefield and experience the real deal. At least for now, I want them to enjoy life as students should.

When I arrived at the royal castle, I was passed through to the inner palace. This time it’s not the private room in the back, but the front reception room. Wilhelm was already waiting. It seems that Dietrich went to negotiate with Father in the Kingdom of Polsky, so he’s not here.

“My apologies for summoning you so suddenly,” Wilhelm said.

“No, if His Majesty calls, I will come to you at any time,” I said.

In this case, Wilhelm and I are in the position of king and vassal as I came in the formal attire of a baron. I can’t break it down like usual and deal with them casually. I must behave like a noble.

“Hmm… there’s no need to be reserved here yet,” Wilhelm said. “Save that for later. Rather than that, let’s have a meeting before the other meeting.”

“Of course,” I said.

For the time being, I take the seat offered to me while responding. But wait a minute. I don’t understand the meaning of a meeting or this other meeting at all, do I? What kind of meeting are we having before what kind of another meeting?

“I think you know that there was a first report from Dietrich and Lord Carruthers…” Wilhelm said.

No, I don’t know. What is the first report? The flow of conversation doesn’t mesh at all. But I can’t answer if I don’t know or didn’t understand, which is the hard part of being an underling. If your boss says so, you’ll answer with a face that you know going, “Right, right,” and then you’ll have to frantically ask other people to confirm what was being told to you. 1

“It looks like it will still take some time before the formal treaty is signed, but they have informed us that a certain degree of policy has been decided as the first stage of the peace conference,” Wilhelm said.

Oh, is that so? Then, I wanted you to say so without suggesting that I knew the first report or something. If you said that, I could have understood it, but didn’t that cause unnecessary confusion?

“Would you be able to tell me the contents of that?” I asked.

The fact that I was summoned to this place means that he will tell me the news. If you think about it normally, to begin with, I feel like a baron shouldn’t be given information like a national secret in the middle of negotiations, but the fact that I was summoned here and he brought up such a topic would mean that was exactly what I was here for.

I don’t think he could normally tell such a thing, but is it because I’m also a direct party? My father is negotiating, so I’m sure I’ll hear about it anyway. Thinking about it, it might be better if I was informed first.

“Mmm,” Wilhelm hummed. “It will ultimately be up to you to decide. It will take some time to negotiate further and have formal signings, but it seems that the Kingdom of Polsky’s terms of surrender is almost finalized.”

…… Hmm? Ultimately up to me, he said? What is……?

Come to think of it, I think we talked about entrusting me with something during that discussion the other day. What the hell are you going to entrust me with? I don’t know what you’re talking about, but for the time being, I make a face as if I understand, and listen to the continuation while nodding solemnly.

“According to our request, the currently recaptured areas will be returned to our country,” Wilhelm said. “There is a possibility that the line will change slightly before the official signing, but for the time being, let me tell you the borders of the first report.”

“Of course,” I said.

Was it what you asked for? I thought that we would definitely withdraw from the occupied territories and just take the reparations, but…

If it were a normal country, the actual war would still be beginning from now on. I think that what has happened so far is nothing more than a prelude. A surprise attack from the other side, for example. On the other hand, this is also a short-term counterattack. I thought that the war had only just begun and that it would become a quagmire with full-scale mobilization on both sides.

Since they suddenly surrendered in such a short period of time, “I’ll lose here, so I’ll pay you money, but calm down before the war starts for real. If you don’t like it, keep fighting!” is what they were trying to say or something to the effect.

“First of all, in addition to the current recaptured land, there is the area beyond Bromburg and Tolun,” Wilhelm said. “In exchange for maintaining the status quo, the northern region was to transfer the tariff rights in the Hulk Sea trade from the Kingdom of Polsky.”

“………… Huh?”

The range Wilhelm showed me was… in addition to the current invasion range, it expanded greatly to the south. I don’t understand it at all. Why did the Kingdom of Polsky make such an overwhelming concession? Don’t you still want to continue the war and get it back? Or is there something else…?

That’s right. It’s weird if it’s not. He’s talking about tariff rights, but that probably means that we can freely impose tariffs on the goods that are sent to the Kingdom of Polsky through the Hulk Sea Trade. That’s serious compensation. Is the Kingdom of Polsky in such a difficult situation that they have to make such concessions?

“Then the share of the Principality of Aust, who intervened as an intermediary in this peace conference, is as follows,” Wilhelm said. “And this will be the Principality of Moscove’s share.”

“What?” I said.

Wilhelm now indicated on the map the territory for the Principality of Aust, which lies on our southern border, and the Principality of Moskov, which lies on our eastern border and making a trading line to Polsky. This doesn’t make any sense either. Why have the Principality of Aust and the Principality of Moscove appeared here?

“It’s no wonder you’re surprised,” Wilhelm said. “They took advantage of our defeat of the Kingdom of Polsky and claimed territory from them under the guise of intermediaries. It’s a dirty tactic, but there are things like that in the world.”

It seems he noticed how dumbfounded I was. He may have thought that I didn’t understand the action, to begin with, as I was a child. But I know that much.

This happened many times on Earth. Even though they have nothing to do with it, they will only come to the peace conference and claim the territory even though they say they will mediate between them. Even after England and France quarreled with Qing, unrelated countries appeared, demanding spheres of influence and unequal treaties between them, like the Triple Intervention after the Sino-Japanese War…

I know it’s normal for such dirty things to happen. I understand, but…why did the Principality of Aust and Principality of Moscove, who had nothing to do with us, try to get in the way and demand territory even though we struggled to fight?

I just figured this out. The Kingdom of Polsky surrendered so early probably due to interference from neighboring countries. Without this intervention, the war might still have continued. In that sense, it’s maddening that they took advantage of other countries to gain territory, but it might have helped that the war ended quickly and the burden was gone.

It seems that the royal powers were able to regain the range they had envisioned, and the Kingdom of Ploiss seems to have no particular complaints. Otherwise, I don’t think they would be able to sanction such interference. Well, kicking them out would mean fighting with the two countries that were interfering, so I guess I had no choice but to accept it anyway…

“That’s why, as I said before, we have regained a lot of our territory,” Wilhelm said. “It’s still incomplete, but now we have no choice but to deal with it. Also, as I said before, I will leave this territory to you.”

“………… Yes?” I said.

What……? What did you say? Did I hear you wrong? Didn’t you tell me that you’re entrusting this territory to me now?

“This territory overlaps with your Caanza Alliance, and is an important region,” Wilhelm continued. “If you incorporate these cities into that organization and as your domain, it will make it easier for you to govern. It’s honestly a relief to me that you’ll be taking care of it.”

“Hey, hold a moment!” I yelled.

What is this old man saying? Is he going to give me this vast territory? Is he an idiot? I’m still a 15 or 16-year-old girl, you know? No matter how many titles I have, I’m still a baron. I can’t stand having a baron lord over such a ridiculous amount of territory. This is a marquis or principality class. If anything, you can call me a margarve all to me, separate from Father’s domain. To put it bluntly, it will exceed the size of those small countries in the kingdom, you know?

The Kingdom of Ploiss is a state made up of countless small countries. The territories of marquises and dukes are small countries called marquisates and duchies. The diplomatic representative is the royal family of Ploiss, and in aggregate they are the Kingdom of Ploiss. In addition to the occupied territories this time, if you include the area that has increased through negotiations, it will be on a scale that exceeds the marquisates and margraviates of the kingdom.

Of course, it’s not just a matter of having a large swathe of land. No matter how wide the territory is, it doesn’t have much power by itself. But this area is full of important points for trade facing the Hulk Sea. If you decide to govern such a place, it will really become the scale of a country.

“I don’t think any other nobles in the kingdom would approve of me governing such a territory,” I said. “Besides, it’s not the size for a baron to rule.”

“Hmm… Didn’t we talk about that too? You should have been convinced then…” Wilhelm said.

No… I don’t know… I didn’t hear that…. but even if you ask me, it’s impossible. If I were to announce such a thing, there would definitely be a strong backlash from the nobles all over the country.

What kind of crazy country would give a little girl a small country like this…? No, how can you give such a little girl rule over territory surpassing those small countries?

“Isn’t it because this time, you were not sent to the Kingdom of Polsky’s negotiations?” Wilhelm said. “Leave the other side to Dietrich and Lord Carruthers, and you and I will bring the rest together. An emergency meeting will be held from now on. At that meeting, you and I will be deciding who rules this new territory.”

“What!?” I yelled.

Is that what I was called for? Is a meeting coming up? Against nobles? Do I have to claim this territory over them? Please give me a break…

“At this meeting, we will silence the other nobles, give this territory to you, and let you be promoted to a viscount,” Wilhelm said. “You and I will be left fighting the remaining opposition. Are you ready?”

Not at all! I refuse! I want to go home! No more land! What’s more, I want to go out to the western ocean, but I’m being dragged eastward and eastward, deeper inland! What in the hell is going on?!

“So then… what are this mask and cloak?” I asked.

“Isn’t it a problem if you reveal your face?” Wilhelm said. “Hide your face with the mask and hide your body with the cloak.”

Oh, Your Majesty~… if you’re going to prepare something to hide your appearance anyway, please make it a little cooler… the mask and cloak that the king prepared for me are really suspicious. It was a disguise that just overflowed with a suspect aura.