[ Episode 214. Appeasement]
This was a matter of trust between me and Vivian.
Will she be on my side anymore if I don’t tell Vivien, who already seems half-sure?
No, on the contrary, after I speak honestly, will she still be on my side?
‘Your eyesight was so good. What can I say?’
Unlike other people, it was a problem with Vivian, so it was not easy to answer.
But even this hesitation might have already convinced her to some degree…
“Adrias.”
I cut off my thoughts and Vivian called my name again.
“I’m always on Adrias’ side. Even if the world abandons Adrias, I will remain on Adrias’ side.”
“Is that so.”
“You don’t have to answer. You can tell the truth or you can lie. Either way, I’m on Adrias’ side.”
An unknown emotion pounded in my chest.
There was something in what she said to me that cannot be expressed in words.
“I……”
“I like it.”
Just as he was about to tell the truth, Vivian stormed in.
When the accident couldn’t keep up with the sudden words, Vivian stood up.
“I want to stay by your side. So I’ll try.”
“Vivian?”
“I’ll be back. good night.”
Vivian spewed out all she had to say and left the room.
In the end, I couldn’t say anything properly throughout the conversation, so I had no choice but to stare blankly at the door she had left.
“What is this?”
Since I came to this world, I don’t think I’ve ever been this flustered except for the first day.
I didn’t know how to react, and it was the first time I felt like this.
A strange feeling that I have never felt in my previous life.
“What should I do…….”
It was a night where I was worried about how I would face Vivian in the future.
**
As expected, Claudia’s troops arrived around noon the next day.
It was a leisurely march, probably because he had received a telegram in advance.
“It was a short time, but it was nice to be able to see the face at least. We’ll do all the kicking around, so get some rest.”
“Please be safe.”
“Is there anything you can do to sleep without an accident? I heard that old Sinclair is already running rampant anyway, but he wants us to leave it alone.”
Every time Minus opened his mouth, the expression of Danyrd next to him became nervous and rotten.
We exchanged greetings with the hope that they would work hard and saw Vivian one last time before joining Claudia.
When her eyes met mine, she suddenly blushed and lowered her head.
Are you ashamed of what you said the day before? Anyway, it was the first time I saw it, so it was fresh.
“Vivian.”
“huh.”
“I don’t know if the day will ever come when I can definitely answer Vivian’s words. But one thing I can say is that I also think of Vivian as special.”
“ah……!”
Vivian’s expression brightened.
Two shining eyes were staring straight at me.
“huh!”
The reflection of the sunlight dazzled her face as she answered with a bright smile.
As I was having a conversation with Vivian, Minus, whom I thought had gone first, sneaked in from behind.
“this this. I wondered why we didn’t get an engagement proposal, and here’s the reason. Are you in love?”
“engagement?”
Rather, Vivian responded to Minus’ words.
With her eyes wide open, she looked at me with an expression asking for an explanation.
“I have work to do. I already told you when Miss Greta visited our mansion, but I have no intention of accepting anyone until the work is done.”
“Hmm. Let it be.”
Minus said something displeased, then turned and walked away.
I took care of Minus, but Vivian, who was still looking at me, didn’t seem to want to back down.
“I made a marriage proposal at Morhaime. That’s it.”
Contrary to appearances, if you think about it, Minus is a bodhisattva.
Not another family, but even within the empire that is said to be the ruler of the continent, the duke’s family, which had only four, reached out first, and they rejected him.
He probably thought that a gentle relationship would be more beneficial than getting angry and putting me in trouble.
If it weren’t for that, it wouldn’t have been a problem that would have been so easily passed over then and now.
“Did you refuse?”
“It happened.”
“I will try harder.”
Suddenly declaring her efforts, Vivian tapped her sword sheath on her waist.
“If you become an Aura Master, you will be similar to a duke, right?”
“I don’t know what you mean, but I will support you.”
Because Vivian is a master……
I think it’s possible enough, but should I say that the intention is a little impure.
Anyway, it was good that she became stronger, which meant that her safety was also guaranteed.
Now was the time to really leave.
I waved to Vivian and rode away with Claudia’s men.
Beside me like that, Pione, who had followed me before I knew it, was riding the same horse.
“Pione!”
Vivian shouted from a distance.
“Take care of Adrias!”
“Yes, senior!”
I don’t know who is asking whom.
Still, I felt Vivian’s heart and it felt good.
“I am back. How are you feeling?”
“It’s annoying.”
“lol! Still, it’s better than hating it.”
I had already talked with her the day before, so I didn’t have much to say.
More than that, I was surprised to see that people had changed a little in just a few days away from me.
“Rather than that, did you get a marriage proposal from Morhaime?”
“uh.”
“Hey, I don’t think anyone knew about this? It’s a scoop.”
Watching her write on the notebook, I asked what I hadn’t been able to ask yesterday.
“how was it?”
“yes?”
“War.”
Her body stiffened slightly at my question.
However, it was only observed with my keen eyes, and she replied calmly.
“It was harder than I thought.”
“A lot of people died.”
“……Yes.”
“The soldiers who greeted you until yesterday are buried in the ground.”
Fione’s horse suddenly slowed down.
I ignored the look and kept going.
“War is not a joke or a joke. However, the subject who causes the war and the object that suffers the damage are separate. Isn’t it funny?”
“What do you want to say?”
“I want to end this war.”
“Yeah, everyone thinks so.”
“every? Do you really think so?”
I couldn’t hear an answer from Pione, who followed me from a few steps away.
It was only natural that she, trained as an informant, knew the inexorability of politics.
“No matter how much food there is in a war, it is always beneficial to someone. And most of those people are nobles up there.”
“Does the nobleman above him include you?”
As if aiming at me for deliberately teasing me, Fione shot at me sharply.
“Again, I want the war to end immediately.”
“why? Have you already sucked everything up?”
“no. It’s not that I hate my major, but there are things that are more valuable than that.”
“What is it?”
“The safety of our loved ones. That’s the most important thing to me.”
He felt Phione at a loss for words again.
Maybe you didn’t expect my answer?
“I never thought you were such a warm person.”
“Learn now.”
“So you can’t end the war just because you want to end it?”
“I can finish it.”
“yes?”
“Wars can end.”
Fione hurriedly sped up and approached me again.
Her expression was a mix of disbelief, bewilderment, and faintly childish anticipation.
“how?”
“What do you think caused this war?”
“His Majesty the Emperor has announced an expedition against barbarians who are plundering the north. And I know that the barbarians who heard the news struck first.”
“Pione.”
“Is that right?”
“No, you are wrong.”
“Then what is it?”
“Before that, there is something I want to ask you. Are you in favor of war?”
“Of course I oppose it. Have you forgotten why I follow you? I didn’t do this to get my family out of the fire.”
Fione reacted violently.
After confirming that there was no lie in her appearance, I made a suggestion.
“If I could prevent a war, would you help me?”
“A senior? how?”
“I know how to do it. The important thing is whether you help or not.”
“How can I help?”
I quietly whispered to her who came right next to me.
“Don’t follow me anymore. And give a false report to the imperial palace.”
“Are you crazy? If I get caught, I will die.”
“If you behave well, you won’t get caught.”
“What does that have to do with preventing war in the first place?”
Her attitude was stubborn, with a face that said she could never do it.
No matter what I say, he won’t listen to me.
But I continued with the feeling that I should try.
“It doesn’t matter. Because the one who doesn’t want this war to end now is the imperial palace.”
“The imperial palace even offered a reward to encourage participation in the war. What are you saying?”
“It was not offered by the imperial palace to end the war, but to kill all barbarians. It was a reward. But what I’m thinking of is just ending the war without any more bloodshed on either side.”
“Is that really possible? As you said, the imperial palace will not stand still.”
“You can help. It’s something I can do as long as my actions aren’t reported only to the imperial palace.”
When I said this confidently, Fione’s expression wavered.
No matter how absurd a human being is, if you say it over and over again with conviction, you will assimilate it before you know it.
Humans are surprisingly irrational creatures.
“Tell me how.”
“What if I explain the method and then report it to the imperial palace?”
“I have seen enough stories just now, and the streets are overflowing.”
“So are you going to report it?”
“You should see that.”
“Pione, I’m serious.”
Judging that I had shaken it enough, I openly touched the emotional part this time.
“You saw it too. The people who used to smile and say hello to you not too long ago are dying in front of your eyes. Imagine if that was someone who was precious to you. I can’t stand it.”
“…….”
“The number of soldiers who died in just one day yesterday was 963. And the families of those people must be twice as many as that. Someone would have been the head of a certain family, and someone would have been a precious husband to a certain woman. What’s called on by this war are a few nobles out there who are just watching the war procrastinate. Why should innocent people be sacrificed in this way?”
To be honest, I had no feelings for the soldiers’ deaths.
They just carried out their mission and ended up with their lives as a result.
I am a human being too, so I would be sad if a colleague died, but my heart was too worn out to express sympathy for those I had never seen before.
All these words are just words to shake Pione.
I don’t know if it will work, but seeing her strangely changed since yesterday, it was worth a try.
“…In the first place, commoners exist to serve the nobles.”
“How can you have no feelings? I’m asking if they’re really the kind of people who will only look at them so coldly. After all, commoners have the same feelings as we do. After all, the nanny who took care of you when you were in the family is the commoner you mentioned, and the servants who greet you with a smile are also commoners.”
“You are a very special person. I never dreamed that a high-ranking aristocrat would think of the common people so much.”
I saw Fione biting her lip, unable to retort.
What I said seemed to have worked quite well, so I continued.
“okay. It doesn’t matter if you think so. To be honest, it’s not comforting to think that even now, somewhere we don’t know, some poor soldiers are dying. The lords are just watching. Maybe he ran away like the lord of Borgijen.”
When the lord of Borgien was mentioned, Pione also frowned.
Perhaps for her, the fact that the lord of Borgien escaped alone was an event that felt a great sense of betrayal.
“Haa…….”
“You can think of me as an idiot. You can just think of it as a child who has gone mad with a sense of justice. But I can say for sure. If you do as I ask, we can end this war right away.”
“If it’s really really possible…”
Pione mumbled for a moment before grabbing her head.
“sorry. It’s because I’m not a person with a strong sense of duty like my seniors. No matter how you think about it, the risk is too great.”
“Pione. It’s not just about taking risks.”
“What does that mean?”
“If you help me this time, it means that you helped me, Adrias Cromwell. Even so, I am the head of the Cromwell family.”
Upon hearing my words, Fione suddenly hardened her expression seriously and fell into thought.
After I said this, he seemed to have noticed that this was a transaction, not a simple request.
Thanks to being at the very back of the march, I could only hear the galling and hooves of the horses for a while.
After some time passed, Fione finally opened her mouth.
“I share a common destiny with the Marquis of Ardi.”
“I will regard your help as the help of the Marquis of Ardi.”
“great. Whoa…”
Fione took a deep breath and nodded slowly.
“I will help you.”
“thanks.”
“ha. Head hurts. I don’t know if this is a misplaced line or not.”
“I’ll make sure you won’t regret it.”
It was sincere.
Even though my first meeting with her was the worst, I had no reason to refuse if she became a sure ally.
Above all, she belongs to the Imperial Palace’s intelligence bureau.
Although it is said to be at the lower end, it would be quite nice to use it as a double agent.
‘To help with this task is completely the same as putting a line on my side.’
It was like betraying the emperor, but she probably wouldn’t be able to properly judge the situation now that she had gone through the horrors of war the day before.
I may regret it after time passes and I regain my composure, but that’s none of my business.
“I’ll ask you as soon as you get back to Claudia.”
“Will you manage the information sent to the imperial palace?”
“uh.”
“all right. You have to make sure you’re determined to help anyway.”
Phione nodded her head obediently and ended the conversation as if she was tired.
The first stage was passed safely, so now only the main operation remains.
Morn said that the shadow of the moon was attached, so it could have been quite a headache…
‘I’m alone, but I’m not alone.’
Necromancer was all-weather.
[ Episode 214. Appeasement ] End
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