My Soulmate Is I (Patreon)

Chapter 21: Victory in Negotiations

(Night)

The next day, the negotiations continued.

"Princess Lotte, Mr. Night, let's get straight to the point today," Father(Yue Father) said with a serious expression.

"We can help the Kingdom of Green, and we can even negotiate with the Kingdom of Anli on your behalf. With the support of two major kingdoms, there should be no problem with the Kingdom of Green's restoration."

"Is this true?!!"

Ines almost instantly became excited, and it was the first time I had heard Ines's voice shake with excitement like this, which just goes to show how loyal Ines is to the Kingdom of Green.

However,

From my (Yue) perspective, I turned back to Ines with a calm expression and said in a flat tone, "Ines, be quiet. There's no room for you to interrupt here."

Really, it was too late last night to communicate with Lotte and the others in advance—and even if I had communicated in advance, I couldn't explain where I got the intelligence from, so this is the only way.

Fortunately, Lotte has entrusted me with the negotiations.

In a way, this is a foolish move, but Lotte chose the right knight, so she won.

That's enough, isn't it?

As a king, as long as you can find the right people and use them correctly to lead your country, that's enough, isn't it?

Even if you only choose one person right and use one person right in your lifetime, as long as you entrust everything to that person, that's enough, isn't it?

Luck is also a form of strength.

Who can deny that?

So congratulations, Lotte, you chose the right knight, and therefore, you've already won.

Ines's expression startled, then she realized and bowed her head, saying, "I'm sorry, that was very impolite of me."

"It's alright, Miss Ines. Since you're here, you have the freedom to speak," Father smiled, "However, while our country will wholeheartedly assist, starting a war requires a reason that can convince the entire nation—or rather, it requires an interest. The Kingdom of Anli should think the same way. I hope Princess Lotte will understand this."

Lotte blinked and smiled, saying, "I don't understand. Duke, you can speak to Night. Let Night decide everything."

You could visibly see a twitch at the corner of my (Yue) Father's eye.

But when facing a literal five-year-old child, would you dare accuse her of pretending to not understand politics?

Father probably didn't think Lotte was pretending, but he likely believed that avoiding a confrontation with me would be the best outcome.

However, I'm very sorry, Father, this was my arrangement.

Although I couldn't explain it in detail before, I did tell Lotte to answer that she didn't understand whatever you asked her and then push everything onto me. So, you can't escape this.

"Duke, regarding what you just said, we understand. So, I'd like to discuss the terms of our alliance openly."

I seized the opportunity and addressed Father:

"First, the Kingdom of Dolge must publicly announce an alliance with the third princess of the Kingdom of Green, Lotte Rafaelo, and acknowledge Princess Lotte as the new ruler of the Kingdom of Green."

"……"

"Then, if our coalition forces defeat the three-country coalition and force them to sign a compensation treaty, I hope that all war reparations will go to the Kingdom of Green. The Kingdom of Green needs these reparations to rebuild the country after the war."

"…………"

"Furthermore, I hope the Kingdom of Dolge and the Kingdom of Anli can also assist in the reconstruction of the Kingdom of Green. Of course, as allies, the Kingdom of Dolge and the Kingdom of Green only need to contribute one-third of the reparations from the other three countries."

"…………"

"Finally, on the day our three countries form an alliance, it must be broadcasted live throughout the continent as the first insurance of the alliance treaty, followed by an oath to the God of Contracts as the second insurance, and lastly, the alliance treaty must be reported to the Student Council of the Cradle Academy as the third insurance. That's it; I've stated our alliance conditions."

Why add these insurances?

Well, it's to prevent the Kingdom of Dolge and the Kingdom of Anli from initially allying with Lotte to pressure the three major kingdoms, only to abandon Lotte as soon as the three major kingdoms offer them something enticing.

The credibility of nations is something that can never be trusted.

Only a genuine alliance can bind the three-country coalition completely.

However, as insurance, just taking an oath to the God of Contracts isn't enough. Although it's rare, there are items in this world that can dissolve contracts.

The real insurance is the third clause. As long as the alliance treaty is reported to the Cradle Academy, the Student Council will act as notaries, and anyone who dares to violate the contract will face sanctions from the Cradle Academy's Student Council.

No country would dare risk that.

As for the first insurance, it doesn't actually matter much. It's simply to exert direct pressure on the three invading countries—after all, while every country values its reputation, when there's enough interest at stake, nations are often the most shameless. So, this clause doesn't have much binding force.

But overall, as long as Father agrees to my conditions, the situation for the Kingdom of Green can be considered settled.

So, will Father agree?

From my (Yue) perspective, I could see Ines's anxious expression, as if she wanted to speak but held back. Fortunately, she didn't voice any objections.

As for Lotte, her expression remained unchanged throughout. She had a supportive look on her face, no matter what I (Night) said, she would support it with all her might.

As for my (Night) view of Father:

"…………Quite the reversal."

Surprisingly, Father wore a smile on his face, as if he were amused.

"I underestimated you. You completely fooled me yesterday, and I thought you knew nothing. But it turns out you not only know but also have such a clear understanding of the current situation—this isn't something you can just know. However, are these conditions not too favorable? Aren't you worried that our country will seek cooperation with other royal families in the Kingdom of Green?"

"If you can find them." I said directly, "The royal families of the Kingdom of Green are now facing the relentless pursuit of the three major kingdoms. After all, the three major kingdoms are not idiots; they're going all out to prevent the current situation from happening. But I don't think they expected Ines to be so powerful."

Indeed, this was a miscalculation on the part of the three major kingdoms.

They miscalculated not in rejecting the Kingdom of Dolge and the Kingdom of Anli's involvement in sharing a piece of the Kingdom of Green but in underestimating Ines's power.

Who would have thought that an unknown royal guard would escape the relentless pursuit of the three major kingdoms and cross borders into another country with a "baggage" in tow?

But, —it's something only Ines could achieve.

"The other royal families of the Kingdom of Green are either captured or killed, I imagine. They wouldn't dare to show themselves in this situation. In such circumstances, isn't Lotte's appearance a timely rain for both your countries? Do you even have time to find the other royal families of the Kingdom of Green? Time is everything, and if you wait until the three major kingdoms completely control the situation in the Kingdom of Green, then everything will be too late, won't it?"

"So, are you boldly trying to retrieve the Kingdom of Green's once-lost trump card and play it again?"

"It's not me who's reopening the game, it's you yourselves. It's your countries' conflicts that have pushed this once-lost trump card back into the hands of the Kingdom of Green. I'm just going along with the flow, aren't I?"

"Hahaha, hahaha, hahaha!"

Father (Yue father) burst into hearty laughter.

"This time, I'll admit that I lost."

He stood up and extended his right hand to me.

"Young man, my impression of you has changed. But even so, don't think for a moment that I'll easily hand my precious daughter over to you. If you want to marry my beloved daughter, you'll have to continue to work hard."

It's nice that you can admit you lost, but could you please spare us the unnecessary remarks?

In an instant, I felt that the significant increase in my abilities due to the upgrade of the "Lotte's Knight" skill had suddenly returned to its original state.

But from my (Yue) perspective, Lotte's expression remained unchanged, still just looking at me with a smile.

Suddenly, I felt that this girl was quite frightening!