The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 73
After returning to Rainpol, I immediately headed to Karten with Master Ilya and Rutger to meet that guy Juras.
Since I had also arranged for prisoner negotiations with Europe in Karten, I had to enter into negotiations right away.
The European delegation, who were waiting first, greeted me with a tense atmosphere.
“…Hmm. So you’re Wade.”
Europe had sent military figures as their delegation. They were exuding a gloomy aura with stern expressions.
My associates also stood by my side as if to protect me.
Concerned it might not be good for prenatal care, I looked at Master Ilya, but she seemed to be enjoying it, as if her blood was boiling after a long time.
“Well, I didn’t expect Europe’s great general to come in person.”
It was Gerbain Pickford, one of the Ten Heroes and known as Europe’s guardian deity.
Pickford, barely listening to my words, started saying what he wanted to say.
“How is Prince Romelo doing?”
“He’s being treated respectfully. …For now, that is.”
“For now?”
“If today’s negotiations break down, I’m thinking of changing how we treat him.”
“Nonsense. Are you thinking of being disrespectful to European royalty?”
“In other words, you mean he’s a stranger? A stranger who has nothing to do with me. If you don’t sincerely engage in negotiations and things drag on, from my perspective, he’ll just become a prisoner who’s wasting food.”
“You…!”
“Don’t threaten me like that. It’ll be fine if you show sincerity in the negotiations.”
“Fine. Tell us your conditions.”
“It’s simple.”
The reason I went all the way to Juras to bring back European prisoners.
In fact, there was no need to bring Prince Romelo specifically. It might have been possible to negotiate sufficiently by bringing other noble prisoners.
Prince Romelo was just a definite insurance.
Insurance to bring Baeolaf.
“There seems to be someone in your kingdom impersonating me. Baeolaf Dresden, was it?”
At this, Pickford’s brow twitched.
“What about him?”
“Even I got quite upset about it. So I want to make sure he never impersonates me again. Baeolaf Dresden. Hand him over to me. In exchange, I’ll release Prince Romelo.”
“Hand him over? What exactly do you mean?”
“It means I’ll have the power of life and death over him. To put it in easy-to-understand terms, I’ll make him my slave.”
“What!? Don’t talk nonsense! Baeolaf is the next head of the Dresden Count family! Are you saying you’d send such a high-ranking noble as your slave? Did you think we’d accept that!”
“Then the negotiations have broken down.”
As I got up from my seat without hesitation, the European figures drew their swords with a swish, showing their threat.
In response, Anton, Eonia, and even master Ilya drew their weapons, but Rutger restrained Master and stepped back slightly.
“What is this? Are you saying you’ll resolve this by force if negotiations fail?”
“You were the one who had no intention of proper negotiations from the start. To present such an absurd condition!”
“It’s not absurd. You just failed to comprehend it.”
From the perspective of the European military, Baeolaf was a talent that absolutely shouldn’t be sent to another kingdom.
On the other hand, from the perspective of the royal family and nobles, it wasn’t that big of a deal.
Because Baeolaf had become a burden after years of seclusion.
“It seems there’s no need to negotiate with you. I can probably bring Baeolaf over easily enough by negotiating with the European royal family. So let’s end this negotiation here.”
“…Wait a moment.”
Pickford gritted his teeth. He knew it would be better to finish the negotiations himself and gain some merit.
“Can’t you concede a little? At least guarantee his safety…”
“Impossible. As I said, I’ll take all rights, including the power of life and death. So it would be better for you to forget that such a person ever existed.”
“Grrr! You, what exactly are you planning to do with him?”
“I told you, didn’t I? That I was upset about him impersonating me.”
“He didn’t claim it himself. It was other stupid people who spread that rumor on their own.”
“That’s not my concern.”
Pickford closed his eyes tightly.
He was already cornered. This negotiation was too advantageous for me.
“You know best what will happen if these negotiations break down.”
If these negotiations fail and Prince Romelo continues to be a prisoner, the succession claims of the 2nd or 3rd prince might surge, and Europe might face internal strife.
So the nobles supporting Prince Romelo will try to make this negotiation successful at any cost.
Handing over Baeolaf, who had become a burden, to me was nothing.
Pickford took a deep sigh and nodded.
“…Alright. I’ll talk to the king in that direction.”
That was the end of it.
With this, Baeolaf would throw off the shackles of Europe and come under me.
Of course, to make him truly follow me, I would need to use erotic novels for triple persuasion… But I’ll manage somehow.
After finishing the negotiations, I was able to meet Juras with a much easier mind.
After assigning Rutger and Gaspar other miscellaneous tasks to bring Baeolaf, I headed to Juras’s office, the highest administrative office in Karten, accompanied by Eo, Yumir, Anton, and my master.
The guy who was working with his chin resting on his hand brightened up when he saw me.
“You’re here. That was quick. I thought the prisoner negotiations with Europe would continue for at least half a day.”
“Because it was such an advantageous negotiation for me.”
“So? What did you get from them?”
“It’s a secret. More importantly, let’s start talking about everything now.”
“Is that the attitude of someone who wants to hear a story?”
“Sigh…”
Juras was eager to know about the negotiations with Europe. Since it would be no trouble for him to dig it up if he set his mind to it, I decided to just tell him.
“I agreed to bring back one person.”
“A person? If it’s someone you’d bring from Europe… Is it Baeolaf Dresden?”
“…”
This is why I disliked this guy. His attitude as if he knew everything.
It wouldn’t matter if it was just his attitude, but he actually did know everything, which was irritating.
“I heard Baeolaf had gone into seclusion for unknown reasons. It seems you’ve had prior contact with him. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have suddenly said you’d bring him back. Hmph, well done.”
“Well done, you say?”
“Because your current situation of gathering talent is desirable for me as well.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’ll tell you everything now, including that. What would you like to hear first?”
There were three things to hear from Juras.
The secret that the King Parain and Anton were hiding. The reason for Bülang’s inside job and the king’s assassination. And now the added reason why my gathering of talent is desirable for Juras.
“I’ll hear about the secret that the King Parain was hiding first.”
“Going straight to the core, I see.”
“Why was King Parain hiding it from me in the first place? While he gladly gave me everything else.”
“That’s obvious. If you knew that, you might become hostile towards my King. Towards us, Crossing.”
“Crossing…?”
“Well. Because we’re the ones who killed your birth parents.”
For a moment, it felt like the air had frozen.
Juras continued talking as if recounting happy memories from the past, unconcerned.
“That happened just before you were born, 17 years ago.”
17 years ago.
It was a time when King Parain wasn’t as powerless as he is now and was desperate to achieve his grand cause.
“Do you know what the Fensillon revival forces were trying to do at that time?”
“…I don’t know.”
“They were wandering around different places, looking for a force that could serve as their foundation.”
“By foundation…”
“Their plan was to give their legitimacy to one of the existing kingdoms to continue the name of Fensillon. Through that, they were trying to seize power again.”
Apparently, there were some kingdoms that were tempted by this.
In that period when various kingdoms were springing up like mushrooms, legitimacy was a great advantage.
“My King didn’t just stand by and watch. He knew all about the crazy things the hardliners of Fensillon had done. He seemed to think that even if they seized power again and reunified the continent, it was obvious what the result would be. Well, now he seems to want the continent to be unified even in that way… Anyway.”
So King Parain decided to annihilate the Fensillon revival forces before they could establish a foundation.
“It was when their group was passing through the Paragon Forest. It was a sparsely populated area, perfect for carrying out the operation.”
“You ambushed them! You…!”
“To be precise, it was a special forces unit that included me. 17 years ago… That’s right. It was around the time I had just become an adult.”
“…”
At this time, the Crossing’s special forces unit set up a tight encirclement and tightened the noose.
The result was exactly as I had known.
“Then it really was you. Crossing…!”
“Yes, we killed your birth parents.”
I unknowingly became upset. Even I, who had no thoughts about my birth parents, reacted this way, so Yumir couldn’t hold back.
“How dare you, Lady Rizna─!!”
“Calm down, Yumir!”
Eonia hurriedly embraced Yumir.
“Hahaha! Trying to kill me? How ridiculous. It’s truly comical.”
Juras mocked Yumir.
Yumir was unable to contain her murderous intent. If Eonia hadn’t been holding her back, she might have lunged at Juras right then and there.
“Did you say Yumir? If you want to kill me, you’ve picked the wrong target. After all, to you all, I’m a lifesaver.”
What is this bastard trying to say now?
“This is something even my King doesn’t know. Shall I tell you now? Should I just spill it? Hahaha!”
Juras laughed like a child who had just recovered a lost toy. He then proceeded to utter shocking words.
“At that time, as a member of that special forces unit, I was the first to find your mother. And I even saw the beastman hiding in the garbage pit with a child.”
“…!”
“I’m sure your mother, Rizna Almein, knew that I had noticed. She started begging me.”
She pleaded to spare at least the child. She said she would give her own life, so please turn a blind eye.
“So you’re saying you turned a blind eye? That you showed mercy?”
“Do I look like that kind of person to you?”
“You don’t.”
“That’s right. I just thought there might be some value in using you later. So I took measures to ensure no one came near the garbage pit where you were hiding while everything was happening. Think about it. In such a merciless operation, do you think we would have missed someone hiding in a mere garbage pit?”
That was true.
“If it weren’t for me, both you and that beastman would have been dead. So saying I’m your lifesaver isn’t wrong.”
It was a case of causing harm and then offering help, but it was true that without him, they probably couldn’t have survived.
“After killing most of the Fensillon resurgence forces and cleaning up, I personally confirmed where you were heading. I even confirmed that you were adopted into the Elaine family.”
“Don’t tell me… You figured out my identity.”
“Yes, the reason I realized you were Wade was simply because I knew all about your movements. I had people in Ribel constantly monitoring you. From when you took Ilya Anfei as your master to the Three Lions War! After the Three Lions War, when I pieced together all your actions, it became clear you were Wade. At that moment, I felt it was fate!”
The truth about past events.
I was too shocked to say anything.
Then, Anton, who had been looking gloomy all this time, spoke as if he had made up his mind. “Lord Ars. The one who commanded the operation at that time was my father, Galerian Quinter.”
Galerian, the great general of Crossing and one of the Ten Heroes at that time.
They say he suffered from tremendous guilt after completing the mission. After all, he had served in the military even when Fensillon was thriving.
Even though Fensillon had fallen by that point, he had killed the royal family he had once served loyally with his own hands.
“Because of that guilt, my father erased the name of the Quinter family and took his own life. And before he ended his life, he told me: if ever the legitimate heir of Fensillon appears, serve them with your life to restore the family’s honor.”
This was the oath passed down in the Quinter family and the reason Anton swore loyalty to me.
“If you order me to end my life right here, I will commit suicide.”
The look in his eyes was sincere. At this, my master fidgeted, looking back and forth between Anton and me.
“No… It’s fine. It’s not something you did.”
I was able to bear it somewhat because I didn’t have a real sense of my birth mother. If my current family from the Elaine house had died in such a horrific way, even I would have lost my mind.
“…I’m sorry. If you ever want my life, please just say the word.”
“Don’t say such things. You’re already one of us.”
“I’m truly… Sorry.”
But that’s when it happened.
“Anton, no. That’s not it,” said Juras, laughing as if it was amusing.
“Your father’s death wasn’t simply for that reason.”
“What do you mean…?”
He spoke as if mocking everything in the world.
“Well, that’s because I was the one who killed your father.”
TL NOTE:
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Juras being behind everything both makes sense and feels excessive at the same time. In any other novel the MC would already be trying to kill him.