Ch.302Chapter 302 – Bluffing

Shortly after, we arrived at a rather lavish room.

“Is it this extravagant because it’s a princess’s room?”

“Well, she is the face of the resistance. They say she needs to maintain her dignity.”

Gabriella spoke as if she didn’t approve.

Eve quietly commented, seemingly having calculated the value of the interior decorations.

“These would fetch quite a sum if sold.”

“If they had money to buy such things, I wish they’d contribute it to our war funds first.”

Gabriella said with a sad expression.

“Is there a reason they can’t?”

“There are many opinions within the resistance. ‘Princess Gabriella is our most important figure, so she must maintain her dignity!’… that sort of thing.”

“I see.”

Based on what Beatrice and Domestica had said, it seemed the resistance had been quite reluctant to rescue their important figure.

I don’t know many resistance members, but they certainly seem to be a bunch of shameless people.

“For your information, among those who insisted on this, not a single one contributed money for my dignity maintenance expenses.”

“That’s terrible.”

They’re reluctant to rescue her, yet they demand she maintain her dignity without providing any funds?

I didn’t know how to describe such behavior.

“But if I ignore their demands, they’ll accuse me of disregarding the collective will of the resistance. Shamefully, the princess faction doesn’t have enough power to ignore such claims.”

“In the end, those who follow me are struggling in a situation where they have no choice.”

It was truly a miserable situation.

Gabriella soon cleared her throat lightly and said with a smile:

“Still, I consider it fortunate that we can properly host such distinguished guests. Shall we sit down?”

Gabriella sat down first as she spoke.

I glanced slightly at Beatrice, and after seeing her nod very subtly, I took a seat.

As soon as I sat down, Gabriella smiled and said:

“So, you want to renegotiate our deal?”

“I’m here to take Beatrice back.”

As I looked at the princess, I gave Eve a slight signal, and she promptly took out the ship and placed it on the table.

When the magical ship that could freely change its size was placed on the table, the princess stared at it for a moment.

Then she smiled and said:

“…This ship is my sister’s keepsake, so I welcome its return to me.”

“Yes.”

“But you need the ship, don’t you? I should warn you in advance, I can’t guarantee that the resistance has a ship suitable for you.”

The princess was subtly trying to intimidate us by suggesting this item would be difficult to obtain.

But since I had already made my decision knowing this, I calmly replied:

“Even so, we can’t leave our comrade behind. We might find another way to get a ship, but Beatrice is one of a kind in this world.”

Gabriella quietly looked at me.

I spoke to her again:

“Actually, the deal itself was decided unilaterally by Beatrice without my approval as the leader. In a way, since she implemented a deal without having the authority to do so, I believe the deal is invalid.”

“Beatrice isn’t a child, is she? She’s an adult who can express her own opinions. And she’s not your property. So isn’t it inappropriate to say she has no decision-making authority?”

“But her opinion doesn’t represent our group’s opinion. Can’t you tell by how quickly we pursued her after she unilaterally implemented the deal?”

I could see the princess biting her lip slightly.

After that, the princess and I continued exchanging words.

Princess Gabriella maintained that she couldn’t back out of the deal, while I insisted that the deal itself was invalid.

We continued this back-and-forth for a while.

After some time, the princess, perhaps feeling thirsty, began drinking tea. Soon, she looked at me again and said:

“…If you really want Beatrice back, I’d like you to compensate for the tasks she was supposed to perform.”

“Specifically?”

“Reconnaissance missions, infiltration missions… various things.”

The princess said with a smirk.

“Those missions were already assigned and decided through our meetings. If Beatrice suddenly drops out, it would cause time delays and financial losses.”

“If Miss Beatrice is no longer part of the resistance, she wouldn’t need to participate in those missions at all.”

Eve gently interjected as she listened to the conversation.

Princess Gabriella looked at Eve briefly, then turned back to me and said:

“But that’s Beatrice’s circumstance. If I carelessly approve her withdrawal, the princess faction will bear all the responsibility. So I can’t simply accept your argument.”

Gabriella said with a smile.

“However, if you compensate for everything, including what we were originally responsible for, then we could renegotiate the deal from the beginning. As you said, we could back out of the deal. What do you think?”

Though she said it like that, she probably wanted us to either participate in those missions in Beatrice’s place or do whatever she asked.

In short, it seemed like she was trying to bind us under the pretext of a deal.

Moreover, considering Count Rizolkobu’s situation, Beatrice herself probably volunteered for those missions.

She was essentially asking us to clean up the mess Beatrice had created.

“You’re not wrong, but unfortunately…”

Eve was about to counter Gabriella immediately.

However, Gabriella ignored Eve and looked at me as she spoke:

“Would you answer? We were talking about decision-making authority earlier. Kay, since you’re the leader, I’d like to hear your decision.”

‘So she’s taking this approach.’

She must have heard something from Domestica beforehand.

It seemed she was trying to exclude Eve, who was relatively skilled at negotiation due to being a merchant, and make me answer instead.

And it was quite a good tactic.

Honestly, I’m not as eloquent as Eve.

But I had anticipated she would do this.

‘No choice.’

It’s time to play dirty.

Though I felt sorry for Beatrice, there was no reason not to use this.

“Could you dismiss your people for a moment?”

“Why?”

“I have something important to tell you.”

Gabriella frowned slightly.

Then Domestica quietly said:

“I’m sorry, but this person is precious to our resistance, so that’s…”

“You won’t lose anything by listening. In fact, you should hear this.”

I looked back at the princess and said:

“You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

“…Dome, could you step away for a moment?”

At Gabriella’s words, Domestica looked slightly flustered.

As she tried to say something urgently, Gabriella said:

“Unfortunately, if this person wanted to, they could have taken my head long ago.”

“But…”

“It’ll be fine, so please step away for a moment.”

Domestica was reluctant to leave, but Sarah held her back.

Eventually, Domestica moved away from us along with our group.

“You’re bold.”

“I don’t have much to lose, so I need to have at least that.”

After saying that, Gabriella looked at me.

Soon she smiled and said:

“But I hope this isn’t a waste of time. What did you want to say?”

“It’s about the schemes Beatrice has been plotting.”

+

A moment later, Gabriella’s expression briefly contorted.

“…Beatrice, what a needless thing to do.”

When I told her about Beatrice’s scheme—using her magical power to eliminate rival factions—even Princess Gabriella couldn’t maintain a pleasant expression.

“If this fact were to be revealed to the other resistance members, I think they would all welcome it.”

Using an enemy to eliminate influential allies is only acceptable when it doesn’t get discovered.

Didn’t you say earlier that such things are commonplace here?

Unfortunately, within the resistance, factions are busy keeping each other in check.

If a method to eliminate an ostensible ally through the enemy is exposed, it would provide an excellent pretext to bring down or discredit the opposing faction.

The princess faction is already weak in power, wasn’t it?

If my guess is correct, they probably couldn’t handle the aftermath.

Moreover, even if they tried to stop us, we have no reason to follow the princess, and they don’t have the physical force to stop us.

In other words, if we used this as leverage to side with another faction, the princess would be in a very difficult situation.

Nevertheless, Gabriella quickly composed herself and smiled as she spoke.

I was almost impressed by how quickly she regained her composure.

“…But on the battlefield, one never knows what might happen. You can’t definitively claim that it was Beatrice who plotted this, can you?”

“You’re not wrong.”

As she said, it’s true that one can’t definitively claim Beatrice induced such events.

“But if there’s evidence, that would be a different story.”

Looking at Gabriella, I quietly said:

“You may not have heard the report yet, but Lord Archery has recovered Count Rizolkobu’s body. I’d like to inform you that our mage can submit evidence based on that at any time.”

Since Count Rizolkobu was in charge of the mountain fortress we visited, Archery had recovered his body.

Rather than abandoning it, they had recovered it, so the evidence couldn’t be destroyed.

If such evidence were presented, the situation would become more complicated.

Now, the princess faction might be the first to be suspected, even though it wasn’t Beatrice’s doing.

After a brief silence, the princess was about to speak.

“That’s…”

“Let’s skip the other talk. We’ll just go in circles anyway. I’d like to hear what you’re going to do.”

I stepped back slightly and spoke casually.

The conversation shouldn’t be prolonged.

The longer it went on, the more time the princess would gain, as she did earlier, and eventually find a breakthrough.

I needed to end my conversation with the princess briefly, even if it meant being somewhat forceful.

Finally, the princess managed to speak.

“Beatrice won’t be safe either.”

Instead of answering, the princess pointed out that Beatrice would also be in danger.

This was an expected response.

She was probably saying this to buy time to find a breakthrough while I was talking.

So let’s just state the facts briefly.

“With Beatrice’s skills, she can escape on her own. It seems the princess faction will bear the full blame. I think you should worry more about the princess faction than Beatrice.”

The princess visibly clenched her hand at my immediate response.

And it was true that Beatrice could escape on her own.

I’ve already seen the resistance’s capabilities.

Beatrice is behaving now, but honestly, with her skills, she could escape from the middle of the base even if problems arose, barring any special variables.

Looking at the princess who seemed slightly frustrated and trying to think quickly, I quietly pondered.

‘I hope she gives in soon.’

Actually, I was in a somewhat awkward situation too.

In reality, I had no intention of reducing the princess faction’s standing.

Considering Beatrice’s identity, Princess Gabriella is Beatrice’s younger sister.

Surely Beatrice herself wouldn’t want her sister to be endangered or troubled because of her actions.

So this conversation was nothing more than a bluff.

But Princess Gabriella didn’t know that’s what I was thinking.

From her perspective, I was nothing more than a blackmailer.

‘Oh no.’

I’ve been thinking too much.

As I mentioned earlier, I shouldn’t give the princess time.

“If you have nothing more to say…”

“Wait a moment.”

As I showed signs of backing away, the princess quickly spoke.

“…Beatrice and I have a contract. If I command, she must be captured without resistance.”

“A contract?”

“I don’t have an obligation to explain that far.”

Princess Gabriella said with a smile.

Come to think of it, Beatrice had mentioned that the resistance would think she couldn’t betray them.

“But let me tell you in advance, this contract is magically very powerful. Once Beatrice agreed to it, she can’t break it.”

“A magical contract, you say.”

Something seems off.

I hadn’t heard about such a contract from Beatrice.

In other words, this is news to me.

And when one doesn’t know something, there’s a set action to take.

‘If you don’t know, ask.’

I glanced back slightly, and Vanilla, who was positioned where she could see me well, quietly shook her head.

Why Vanilla, you ask?

Previously, she demonstrated an excellent ability to read others’ lips.

In other words, Vanilla had been listening to the conversation between the princess and me, or more precisely, what the princess was saying.

That’s why she could immediately respond to my question with an action.

‘So, there’s no such contract.’

Or at least, it doesn’t have that level of coercion, or from Vanilla’s perspective, it’s not a significant issue.

Then there’s nothing to worry about.

“If that’s true, you’ll be in the worst situation.”

“The worst?”

“That would mean Beatrice’s scheme was ultimately under your direction.”

I quietly said to Gabriella.

“…It can be dismissed as Beatrice’s misinterpretation. It’s her own fault.”

“I’m not sure if others would accept that. There are people who would inflate even non-existent facts as truth.”

The princess spoke again.

“The truth will come to light.”

The princess said so, but I’m not sure if the resistance members would allow the truth to be revealed.

She’s not someone who wouldn’t know this, so her response seems a bit desperate.

‘This should be enough.’

It’s time to play the next card.

“By the way, if you have such a contract with Beatrice and try to pin everything on her, it seems you’ll make another enemy.”

“…Another enemy?”

“As you know, Beatrice is also affiliated with the Magic Tower. I don’t think the Magic Tower would stand idle if a faction arbitrarily interfered with one of their mages. You’d be unnecessarily increasing your enemies.”

I bring up a faction that hadn’t been mentioned in the conversation until now.

The princess narrowed her eyes and asked:

“…Would the Magic Tower really move because of this?”

“Unfortunately, there are high-ranking mages in the Magic Tower who are very close to Beatrice. They wouldn’t intervene without reason, but…”

I subtly hinted that they would intervene if there was a reason.

For reference, the high-ranking mages referred to Lucian, the master of the Green Tower, and Violet of the Purple Tower.

In reality, from my perspective, both of them have their own positions and wouldn’t move for personal reasons, but Gabriella, who doesn’t know their personalities, wouldn’t think that way.

But considering that Asam, Beatrice’s close friend, is also in a recognized position, it’s not entirely impossible that the Magic Tower might genuinely harbor resentment towards Princess Gabriella if something happened to Beatrice.

“Of course, you’d know that I would also harbor resentment, so I’ll boldly skip that part… If you do something unnecessary, you might just increase the resistance’s enemies. What do you think?”

The possibility of turning the Magic Tower into an enemy was no joke.

Gabriella glared at me, but I brushed it off lightly.

‘Now, what will you do?’

The worst-case scenario would be if Gabriella insisted on being stubborn.

Making threats I had no intention of carrying out was meant to shake Gabriella’s judgment, so if she insisted on being stubborn or tried to evade until the end, I would be in a bit of a predicament.

In preparation for such a situation, I had prepared “a somewhat barbaric method to forcibly conclude negotiations when the situation turns for the worst” as suggested by Sia.

It’s a method I’d rather not use, to be honest.

Fortunately, judging from Gabriella’s reaction, it didn’t seem like we’d need to go that far.

‘She’s wavering.’

The biggest issue for her was the lack of information.

If she knew Beatrice’s position or social connections accurately, she would have prioritized contacting the Magic Tower through Beatrice or delved into that aspect to demand Beatrice’s connection to the Magic Tower.

She wouldn’t have tried so hard to draw us into the resistance.

‘Now that I think about it, Beatrice might have deliberately hidden that part.’

She might have saved it as a card to escape from here later.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’

In any case, my job was to just slightly present the worst-case possibilities.

Through this, I was preventing the princess from focusing on calculations.

By quickly presenting another problem before she could find an answer to one, and deliberately giving her little time, I was ensuring her thoughts couldn’t flow smoothly.

‘Is it about time?’

However, if this state continued, there was a possibility that the princess might give up and show the extreme reaction I was worried about.

Therefore, it was time to bring up what we had discussed among ourselves.

“Well, I understand the princess’s position. Since Beatrice has caused trouble, you can’t just accept losses.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“So I’d like to make a proposal.”

I looked at Princess Gabriella as I spoke.

I prepared to throw a lifeline to the princess, who was probably having a headache trying to deal with the blackmail based on Beatrice’s actions.

The princess was already in a complicated situation due to the problem Beatrice had plotted.

I wonder how the princess would react when a lifeline is thrown.

‘…I feel like the bad guy here.’

But what can I do?

I opened my mouth to present the deal conditions to her.

-BANG!

And at that moment, a troublemaker suddenly barged in.

“Princess, it’s an emergency!”

“Lord Archery?”

It was Archery who suddenly intruded.

I clicked my tongue slightly as an unexpected savior appeared for the princess.

However, Archery didn’t seem to care about our presence.

Rather, he seemed to have no time to care.

“Calm down, Lord Archery. What’s the matter?”

“The sky…”

“Lord Archery?”

Gabriella asked again.

And Archery shouted with all his might:

“The sky is turning red!”