My Soulmate Is I (Patreon)

Chapter 19: The Bottom Line of Interests

(Night)

"Princess Lotte, could you introduce the person beside you?"

In the reception room, I (Night) sat next to Lotte, and Ines, dressed as a maid, stood behind us.

My father (Yue father) gaze and questions were directed at me (Night).

"Night is Lotte's knight. Everything will be decided by Night."

In fact, Ines had some reservations about this, as she saw me as just a child. However, Lotte stubbornly insisted on this, and Ines had no choice but to comply, though she did request an observer's status just in case.

"I see."

Father nodded and looked at me with a calm expression, devoid of the anger he had yesterday.

"Mr. Night, I have some questions regarding Princess Lotte's request for assistance on behalf of the Kingdom of Green. I hope you can provide some answers."

"Please go ahead."

"Why has the Kingdom of Green attracted the joint invasion of the three countries? This question has been investigated secretly by all the nations, but there has been no answer. Mr. Night, can you enlighten me on this matter?"

"Unfortunately, Princess Lotte is still very young and is probably more confused about what happened in the Kingdom of Green than you are."

"Is that so? That's indeed regrettable. However, this means that my country cannot easily send troops to assist, as it seems that Princess Lotte cannot offer any benefits to our country at the moment. I only wanted to know the reason why the Kingdom of Green was destroyed. If Mr. Night could clear up my doubts, even if there are no benefits, I would be willing to persuade our King to help."

"To tell the truth, Duke Lilein, this is also a question that puzzles me. If your country ever discovers the truth, would you be willing to enlighten me as well? It's not just me, but even Princess Lotte is in the dark about why she has fallen to this state. Don't you find it pitiable, Duke? Don't you think it's too cruel to keep her in the dark?"

While we call it a negotiation, today's discussion is limited to this back-and-forth.

Even if Father doesn't engage in such tactics, I certainly will.

I(Night) understand Father(Yue Father) well, so I know that we are currently testing each other.

However, today's discussion will likely end with this.

Since Father has come here, it means he does have intentions to use Lotte's name to send troops to the Kingdom of Green. However, for now, I don't know what kind of benefits he intends to gain from it.

It's impossible for one country to send troops to help another without any benefit.

I didn't have such illusions.

In fact, Lotte and Ines probably didn't either.

Giving up some benefit is inevitable.

What's important is to grasp Father's bottom line.

Father definitely has a bottom line in his mind. Based on this bottom line, he'll try to maximize the benefits. The more benefits he can secure, the better. On the other hand, for me, the closer I get to Father's bottom line, the more I'll gain. If I can align perfectly with that bottom line, it will undoubtedly be a complete victory for me.

So, what's the minimum benefit needed to get the Kingdom of Dolge to send troops to help? I just need to know that, and I can win this "war (negotiation)."

Of course, if Father's bottom line is that Lotte can't offer any significant benefit no matter what she says, then the negotiations may collapse.

So, what is Father's true goal? What does he want to gain through Lotte?

—I must find out.