chapter_0050

49 – Please Hold My Hand, Minister of Foreign Affairs

49 – Please Hold My Hand, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Negotiation Day.

In the plains located midway between the Imperial Corps Headquarters and the capital of the Kingdom.

An elderly man with glasses enters a large military tent set up there.

His name is Ivan Alexei.

As the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister and the person responsible for this negotiation, he has come to this place.

Adjusting his attire, Ivan slowly surveys his surroundings.

Aside from the negotiation table in the center of the tent, there were not even the usual soldiers in sight.

Thanks to the request from the opposing negotiation leader who wanted to have a sincere conversation with just the two of them.

As Ivan slowly walked toward the negotiation table, the entrance on the opposite side of the tent opened, and a young man entered, carrying a briefcase.

Ivan took a quick glance at the man’s appearance.

Black hair and black eyes.

Though he had a thin build, his tall stature concealed his slightness.

Moreover, the sharp eyes resembling a wolf held a power that could intimidate others.

Ivan knew that man.

‘Daniel Steiner.’

He was hailed as the chief contributor to the invasion of Nordia and a hero of the Empire.

‘But to elevate someone who is merely a major to the position of negotiation leader…’

Was he already viewing the Kingdom as a defeated nation and resorting to coercive diplomacy?

As Ivan frowned in displeasure, Daniel elegantly removed his winter coat.

Shaking off the snowflakes that clung to his coat, Daniel let out a wry smile.

“The North is hardly a place one could call livable. Snow falling in the middle of summer…”

Clicking his tongue and shaking off the remaining snow, Daniel approached the negotiation table.

With a friendly smile, Daniel extended his hand toward Ivan.

“As you may know, I am Major Daniel Steiner. I have been appointed as the head of this negotiation as a special envoy.”

“…I am Ivan Alexei, the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom.”

The two shook hands once before sitting down at the negotiation table.

Daniel placed his military cap and winter coat on the edge of the table and spoke.

“I’ve heard that the negotiations have collapsed twice. I can roughly guess the reasons, but could you enlighten me?”

His friendly demeanor suggested that he was here more for a conversation than to discuss the grave matters of the state.

It was a stark contrast to the stiff attitudes of those who had come to negotiate before.

Thinking that he was dealing with a difficult opponent, Ivan did not let his guard down as he replied.

“Because the Empire’s demands are absurd.”

The Empire demanded the cession of Nordia, a strategic stronghold, and went so far as to require the currency to be changed to the Empire’s standard and to impose military restrictions.

If that had been the end of it, Ivan might have accepted it.

However, the Empire not only set excessive war reparations but also discussed imposing severe punishments on the warmongers and military leaders.

If the positions of the ministers and military leaders were to be drastically vacated, those friendly to the Empire would inevitably fill the void.

This was essentially a declaration to make the Kingdom a vassal state and puppet of the Empire.

Thus, Ivan was insisting on a fight to the end without accepting the Empire’s proposal.

Daniel was well aware of this, so he did not press further.

Instead, he opened the briefcase he had brought and began searching for documents.

“I see. I understand the difficulties you, Foreign Minister, must be facing. That’s why I’ve come here to alleviate those difficulties. To get straight to the point, I want to join hands with you.”

Daniel pulled out a document and set the briefcase down.

“You might be wondering what someone treated as a hero of the Empire is saying. But that’s a misunderstanding. I am not that devoted to the Empire.”

“…”

“In fact, I worry more about the Kingdom and often find myself thinking from your perspective. If it’s alright with you, you may consider me an honorary citizen of the Kingdom.”

Ivan remained silent at the frivolous joke.

He could not grasp what Daniel meant by such words.

As Ivan stared at him, Daniel handed over the document he was holding.

“I think it’s better to show you my sincerity first. I hope you’ll take a look at this. It was hard to obtain.”

Curious, Ivan accepted the document Daniel offered.

As he read through it with a meaningful gaze, Ivan’s eyebrows twitched.

“This is…”

“It’s classified information of the Empire’s 3rd Corps.”

Daniel’s words were true.

The document was filled with details about the Empire’s troop status and operational plans.

There was no way to doubt its authenticity.

Some of the operations listed were already known to Ivan through the Allied Nations’ intelligence, so he was aware of them.

‘But…’

Seeing this, Ivan realized that the information the Allied Nations had uncovered was merely the tip of the iceberg.

In fact, the troop status was double what the Allied Nations had provided.

This could only mean one thing.

‘Even if we know, we can’t stop it…!’

The moment these operations were carried out, the Kingdom would not be able to avoid destruction.

He felt foolish for thinking that if they stood firm against the Empire’s invasion, the Allied Nations would actively support them, seeing hope in the Kingdom.

For a moment, Ivan was lost in thought, and a sudden realization struck him.

‘Those bastards in the Allied Nations…! They were feeding us false information from the start!’

It was clear that they had downplayed the Empire’s troop strength and operations to ensure the Kingdom would not lose hope and continue the war.

‘Then everything they said about sending support as long as we maintained the front line was…!’

A lie.

From the perspective of the Allied Nations, the Kingdom was merely a pawn to inflict casualties on the Empire before falling.

As Ivan came to this realization, his hands trembled.

Daniel, interpreting Ivan’s state differently, thought, ‘Is he feeling exhilarated?’

In the game, the Kingdom had collapsed all three negotiations and insisted on fighting to the end.

From the Kingdom’s perspective, having grasped the Empire’s classified information would undoubtedly be a cause for joy.

Just as Daniel thought he could easily join hands with Ivan, the latter raised his head and exhaled roughly.

‘Does Daniel Steiner… perhaps know everything about the internal affairs of the Kingdom?’

Logically, it made sense that he knew the Kingdom was receiving downplayed reports through the Allied Nations, which is why he had brought classified information to show.

‘He must have judged that bridging the information gap would be advantageous for the negotiations…’

Daniel’s judgment was indeed astute.

Even when he had only known half of the Empire’s troop strength, he had to insist on fighting to the end; now, facing the truth, it was impossible to fight.

‘This isn’t war. It’s one-sided slaughter…’

He could vividly see the soldiers of the Kingdom being swept away by the Empire’s attacks.

The screams they would let out became a guilt that approached him.

But even if he were to join hands with the Empire now, the future of the Kingdom remained uncertain.

Was it truly right to make the citizens of the Kingdom live under the Empire’s rule?

‘But it’s better than dying in vain…’

Amidst his many worries, Ivan finally opened his lips with great difficulty.

“…Major Daniel. May I ask you one thing? If you do not take my hand here, what will happen to the Kingdom?”

Ivan was asking what would happen if he did not accept the Empire’s proposal.

On the other hand, Daniel interpreted that question literally.

As their thoughts ran parallel, Daniel let out a low laugh.

For some reason, that eerie laughter sounded to Ivan like that of a devil.

“You ask a funny question. To ask what will happen to the Kingdom if I do not take your hand. Surely you know well, Foreign Minister.”

In an instant, Daniel’s laughter faded as he stared intently at Ivan.

It was as if a wolf was revealing its true intentions.

“If I do not take your hand, the Kingdom will…”

Leaning slightly forward, Daniel whispered just low enough for Ivan to hear.

“…disappear from the map forever.”

Upon hearing Daniel’s words, Ivan’s pupils dilated.

As he broke into a cold sweat and trembled, Daniel pulled back and stood up.

“Very well. Do you have anything more to say?”

Even as Daniel stood up, Ivan slowly shook his head without moving.

Seeing this, Daniel nodded once, gathered his military cap and coat, and began to walk outside.

Just as he was about to exit the tent, Daniel paused and said, “Ah.”

“Foreign Minister.”

As Ivan remained silent in tension, Daniel spoke with a hint of a smile.

“Please do convey my words well to the Allied Nations.”

With that, Daniel exited the military tent.

Only then did Ivan exhale the breath he had been holding and touch his forehead.

Hyperventilating, his vision blurred.

It felt as if he had just barely escaped a conversation with the spawn of Satan.

As Ivan gasped for breath, freed from the pressure, the Chief of Staff entered from the entrance behind him.

He was puzzled as to why Ivan had not come out after the enemy’s special envoy had left.

Upon discovering Ivan inside the tent, the Chief of Staff hurriedly rushed over.

“Foreign Minister!”

Ivan was not in good condition.

The Chief of Staff knelt beside the chair and looked up at the Foreign Minister.

“Are you… are you alright?”

At the Chief of Staff’s question, Ivan shook his head.

Tears streamed down from his tightly shut eyes.

“It’s time for His Majesty the King to acknowledge it too. We cannot win…”

Like a child consumed by fear, Ivan muttered in a dying voice.

“We absolutely cannot defeat the Empire…”

This left the Chief of Staff no choice but to be bewildered.

The Foreign Minister, who had insisted on fighting to the end based on firm beliefs, was steeped in a sense of defeat less than an hour into the negotiations.

The Chief of Staff, hesitating, stared blankly at the chair on the opposite side of the negotiation table.

‘What on earth did the person sitting there say…?’

Without knowing the content of the conversation, the Chief of Staff was simply confused.