256 – Doubts and Lies (4)
Otto said as he sat down and looked down at me.
“Baron Cologne, you have suffered greatly. “I felt like I had entrusted my master with a very dangerous task, so I was very worried about whether he would be able to return safely.”
To put it bluntly, it would have been much more reasonable and easier to deceive the enemy to send someone who was lagging behind and not active in this faction, instead of me.
But why on earth did you entrust me with such a dangerous mission?
Do you think that if you just spit it out with a hole in your mouth, you can say it properly…?
No, f*ck. This bastard is clearly the lord of a faction, so he must have had his own thoughts.
And those who fall behind in this faction are not the most incompetent, but they are not good enough to be entrusted with such an important mission.
‘Personally, it sucks, but was I the only one qualified for the job?’
“No, Your Majesty.”
As soon as Otto heard what I said, he jumped up from his seat and helped me stand up.
“You are too humble. “If it weren’t for someone as capable as Gyeong, it would have been a dangerous mission that wouldn’t have been surprising if his head fell off at any time.”
Next, he held both of my hands tightly and lowered his head.
“I am truly grateful that even though I sent the Sir who contributed the most to this faction on this mission, he followed through without a single protest. Thank you. “Others disparage Sir, calling him a lowly former mercenary, but I consider him the most loyal subject.”
Prince Otto Although this man was a man who revealed women and launched unreasonable plans out of nowhere, he was at least a man with a conscience.
“I just followed orders.”
“Maria, if she defeats that b*tch, she will definitely increase my title.”
No, that’s something any human cub should do.
To put it bluntly, considering my contribution to subjugating the second prince, it wouldn’t be strange at all if I was given the title of viscount.
Me and Dalton worked together to defeat more than 15,000 enemy troops, and by occupying a county territory, we gave this force a way to survive.
But, well, even if it’s not Pappenheim, there are trash in this world who don’t do what any human being should do…
As long as it’s a human being doing what he or she is supposed to do, you have to put up with it, wondering if it’s any good.
“I will work harder.”
“The reward to be given then should be given then, and the reward to be given now should be given now. Money will be needed to stabilize the newly acquired territory. “I will provide you with plenty of gold coins.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Okay, it’s late at night, so let’s get to the point now. Maria, did you succeed in tricking that woman?”
If you look at it from a very simple perspective, you could say that just having my neck on top of my shoulders is enough to be successful.
However, it cannot be said that I completely deceived the princess and her faction.
I think I can say this one thing clearly.
“First of all, in the case of betrayal, you cannot know whether it is a success or a failure until you hit the other person in the back with a hammer. “It’s like a test.”
Otto also nodded his head.
“But I think they truly believe that Baron Cologne will betray them.”
“Hoo, what is the reason?”
He created the cause and then made me talk about it by asking him about it… He’s a poisonous bastard.
“Please think of what I look like on the outside. Aren’t you being marginalized in politics even though you risked your lives to stop an army of 15,000 people? So the nobles of that faction, including the princess, think this way.”
I took a moment to catch my breath and said.
“I don’t know why, but His Highness Otto hates me and is trying to drive me out. “It is because I see myself being pushed out of politics rather than being recognized despite my achievements, and I am under the illusion that I am in a state where I never know when I will be purged.”
“If you only look at what you look like on the outside, you are in a situation where you have to worry about your own life even though you have made great achievements.”
If any loyalist in this world experiences a monarch who shows signs of purging them rather than rewarding them for their loyalty…
Loyalty that burned like a pillar of fire is bound to extinguish in an instant.
“They don’t trust me as an individual.”
Otto tilted his head when he heard those words.
“It’s just that they believe in my situation that they can see with their own eyes. Because he was abandoned by His Highness Otto, he would gnash his teeth out of betrayal, and would betray himself in order to survive. So I plan to take full advantage of it.”
Honestly, not only in our faction, but also in other factions, there is probably no one who fights solely out of loyalty to the royal family, which is the center of that faction.
In the end, you fight for yourself and your family to eat well and live well.
And if you think that it won’t work, you will want to pull out your sword and bite off the neck of the lord you served.
“As expected, Gyeongdap County rose from being just a mercenary to this position. You have a cool-headed understanding of human nature and you use it properly. “It’s a plan I planned, but if a noble from another faction in a similar situation were to say the same thing and try to defect… I think the country would have been deceived as well.”
“It is an honor.”
“By the way, what does that woman, Maria, think of the Lord?”
There will be no rational favor towards me.
But if I think back on what she told me, she must have some human kindness.
At least, more so than the noble masters that Maria despised.
“I could tell that they viewed me quite favorably. When the banquet was held, at first he approached me with the intention of gaining my favor, but later he became absorbed in talking with me without any political calculations.”
“Huh, what did we talk about?”
“I told a story that girls of that age would like. I told her that I only have eyes for the person I love and that I am doing my best to make her dreams come true. He also said that he would dedicate his loyalty to the first princess’s happiness.”
When Otto heard that, he held his stomach and started laughing.
“I think it was a good idea to send Sir as her fake traitor. “No way, as soon as we meet for the first time, he makes such a sweet confession that will cause an earthquake in a woman’s heart.”
War is not a joke.
War is a high-risk, high-dividend gamble that risks not only my life but also the peaceful lives of countless vassals and people in my territory.
From Noble mtl dot com
So, honestly, I think we should use everything that can be used.
“Isn’t war a joke?”
“It’s just as the Lord said. Yes, apart from that, what was the woman you saw named Maria like? Even though I don’t get along well with Maria, I do know something. If you need it, I will give you some information about her that will help you deceive her.”
Except for Maria, the only ones who succeeded in forming a faction in this civil war are the princes.
Because in this world, women do not have the right to vote even if their social status is noble, and there are many nobles who dislike the term ‘female emperor’…
Because the princesses are only protected by other factions as political tools to be used in the future.
However, Maria threw away all of her weaknesses due to being a woman and succeeded in leading other nobles.
In the meantime, the way he boldly moves forward for his own happiness…
‘If the circumstances are right, Maria is better than Otto.’
“Although he was proud as a member of the imperial family, he had a soft side. “I guess it’s because she’s a woman.”
“That woman has been like that since long ago. “When her father was alive, she was confident as a woman, which was a flaw as a princess, but she is no longer like that.”
Nowadays, it is a story about Korea that is slowly being forgotten to the point that even the taste of my favorite food, budae stew, is faint, but if you say something like that in Korea, you will get a lot of criticism.
“It seems like there is personal favor.”
If I say yes here, my head may be blown off.
But if you deny it unconditionally, what you just said will be a lie, so you should tell the story.
“She is the enemy anyway. She just uses whatever she can to destroy it. “Only by doing so will I be able to protect the home of my wives and my vassals.”
Otto chuckled after hearing what I said.
“No matter how much it is a civil war, it is not good to kill women. “It just builds up notoriety for no reason.”
No matter what country or era, when the entire family of a traitor was killed, the women were usually not killed.
Of course, I just didn’t kill him.
“So, let me give it to you. “I think it’s a personal favor, so it’s not a bad thing, right?”
Well, if you leave aside politics and war, there is enough goodwill on a human level.
However, isn’t it a bit too much to say out loud that he will give the gift to her, even though she is his younger sister?
“And Maria is beautiful.”
But if I say I don’t like it here, I’ll end up offending Prince Otto.
“It’s a long story. Thank you for your hard work. In any case, you must remain faithful to your role as a traitor, so please do not use illness as an excuse to appear at this Christmas banquet. “Just leave now.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Anyway, there is about a year left before the war begins, so now do your best to win her favor by any means necessary. “Only then will we be able to properly deceive Maria.”