Dungeon Defense (WN)

Henrietta raised the corners of her lips.

“How should I welcome you? Are you a Demon Lord? Or a court noble?”

“My apologies. What sort of person did Your Highness intend to receive as an emissary?”

I smiled softly as Henrietta raised a brow at me.

“What sort of person did I intend to receive as an emissary?”

“The army currently surrounding Your Highness’ castle belongs to His Excellency the Emperor of Habsburg. If Your Highness wishes to discuss military-related matters, then I will approach you as a count.”

Our army has been carrying the banner of the Habsburg Empire. As an emissary, I should represent Habsburg and act as a count.

“However, if Your Highness wishes to go beyond the current state between our armies and discuss the future of the continent.”

I opened my hands as I continued.

“Hmm. And if I do not like you as a count or as a Demon Lord?”

“Well, then…….”

I stroked my chin as I pretended to think.

“Who knows? I guess I would want to approach Your Highness as a man, then.”

“What?”

“Your Highness’s beauty far surpasses the rumors. If there is a banquet prepared today, then I will look forward to it immensely.”

Henrietta chuckled.

“Who would’ve thought that a Demon Lord would ask me for a dance.”

“Your Highness has already shown us a splendid dance while using Frankia as your stage. You could compare today with the final curtain of a banquet. Yes, this is the moment where men and women are the most honest to each other.”

“There are too many watching eyes for this to be a private occasion.”

Henrietta raised her right hand.

“You may all leave.”

The generals gave a salute as they poured out of the reception room.

The Queen and I were the only people remaining in the room. Henrietta leaned back in her chair and folded her legs. The smile on her face was gone.

“I’ll get straight to the point. I want to have an honorable surrender.”

“As Your Highness is aware, there will be conditions.”

“Lay them out.”

We were pros. There was no need for us to waste time trying to make the other party waver. I raised an index finger and spoke.

“First, hand Empress Dowager Catherine de’ Medici over to us.”

“I accept. However, return Saintess Jaqueline Longwy back to us.”

Henrietta nodded and I nodded in return. There was no hesitation in our decisions. I raised my middle finger.

“Second, give up on all of the Frankian cities and fortresses that you have been occupying. Additionally, sign a nonaggression pact with Frankia.”

“……How long will the nonaggression pact last? It cannot be longer than a decade. Furthermore, we will be taking the weapons and provisions we have been reserving in the castle with us back to Brittany.”

A 10-year nonaggression pact. With this, we’ve stopped Henrietta’s desire to rule over the continent for the time being.

I finally raised my ring finger.

“Third, kill Frankia’s Emperor, Henry the Third, and make it seem like he died of an illness.”

“…….”

Henrietta glared at me intensely.

“Do you intend to make us take the blame for poisoning the emperor?”

“With Henry the Third’s death, Frankia’s royal bloodline will clearly be cut in both name and reality.”

Not only were the direct members of the imperial family killed, but even the distant relatives were all wiped out as well. This was thanks to Henrietta going around and snuffing them out like she was catching cockroaches for the past few years.

“All authority will end up going to the Empress Dowager. Things might be different if we tried to reign as regent while there is an emperor present, but it should be difficult for the Empress Dowager to handle the state affairs by herself. What do you think will unfold within Frankia?”

“……There will be another civil war.”

I nodded.

Most of the nobles who had high positions in Frankia had been eradicated. The only ones remaining were small fries. It was obvious that no matter who tried to seize dominance, they had a difficult future ahead of them. Therefore, another civil war would unfold.

“Until now, the royalists and republicans of Frankia have been united. Your Highness, this is because they had a common enemy. However, if a nonaggression pact is signed, then the gazes that were pointed outward will slowly move inward. They will, without a doubt, clash because of their own respective interests.”

“…….”

Henrietta went silent.

Her eyes were filled with anger earlier, but now she was clearly hesitating about how she should handle this. Henrietta sluggishly opened her mouth.

“Is your goal not to drive us out of Frankia?”

“That is correct.”

“I don’t understand. Why are you trying to harm Frankia, then?”

“Your Highness, Brittany is not the only country that would be troubled if Frankia gained power.”

Henrietta let out a long sigh after hearing my answer.

“……You are not trying to save Frankia. You were simply afraid that Frankia would become too powerful if they joined forces with Brittany. So you cut our military power and planted the seeds of civil war within Frankia. By doing so, you’re able to make a profit in the middle ground.”

I grinned. I didn’t admit or deny anything.

“Getting back to the main point, I believe that making the nonaggression pact last longer than a decade would be good for Your Highness as well. That would make the Frankians relax more.”

“……I see. The longer the nonaggression period is, the more the Frankians can focus on their civil war.”

Henrietta looked at me with a somewhat defeated look.

“You are a terrifying individual, Dantalian.”

“…….”

“People will think that peace will return once the war is over. There is nothing strange about any of the conditions you have placed; however, it’s nothing more than a scheme disguised as peace……. The Frankians will start a civil war on their own.”

Henrietta let out a sigh.

“So? What does Your Highness think?”

“As expected, this plot is wicked and heinous like a Demon Lord……but.”

Henrietta stood up.

“There’s no reason for Brittany to refuse these conditions. I accept.”

We shook hands.

Frankia’s fate for the next 10 years was decided here at this moment.

We drafted the treaty on that day. Unofficial talks that were never revealed to the public were had. Officially, the public was told that the Brittan army and our army were divided in opinion, so the negotiations had broken down.

A few days later, Henry the Third suddenly fell ill and passed away.

The Brittan army was ‘severely shaken’ by the Emperor’s death and revealed that they would ‘surrender’ to the alliance as they had lost their will to fight.

In response to this, we acknowledged the splendid struggle Brittany had shown us until now and proposed to them an opportunity to ‘surrender honorably’ so that they could return home with their flags and weapons. Thanks to this magnanimous offer, the official treaty was written as follows:

1. The Kingdom of Brittany and the Empire of Frankia will not invade each other’s territories for the next 14 years.

2. The Queen of Brittany will give the Emperor of Habsburg one gift.

3. War reparations will not be demanded from Habsburg or Brittany.

This treaty was referred to as the Le Havre Treaty.

The conditions felt much too merciful to have been suggested by the army that had completely defeated a nation’s queen. The ambassadors of others nations who were residing in Frankia had gathered to witness the signing of the treaty. Emperor Rudolf von Habsburg made a declaration at the signing.

“Our goal was to subjugate Demon Lord Agares. Since our goal has been accomplished, we have no desire to persecute Brittan’s ruler.”

With this, he had made it clear to the world that the justification our alliance had gathered under wasn’t only for show.

If an unfair treaty were established, then the nations that had been watching all this time would’ve stepped in to put a stop to it.

Similar to how people were anxious about letting Brittany become too powerful, they were also wary of letting Habsburg grow excessively powerful. However, the Habsburg Empire didn’t occupy any land during the war. The people of the continent had to accept that the emperor was true to his words.

Furthermore, no one had pointed it out, but there was something far more important hidden in the treaty.

It was the fact that the Demon Lord Army was also included in the treaty.

Until now, humanity has never made a treaty with the Demon Lord Army before.

On the surface, this treaty looks like it was only between the Kingdom of Brittany and the Habsburg Empire, but there was no one who didn’t know that the Demon Lord Army was included on one side. In other words, the Demon Lord Army and the humans have acknowledged each other as parties that can be negotiated with.

“With this, my goal has been accomplished.”

I hummed happily as I leaned back in my chair.

“Henrietta thinks she can restore her nation’s power in 14 years, but that’s highly unlikely since so many of her knights were wiped out. Furthermore, Henrietta is no longer the ideal ruler of royalists. The continent has left her hands.”

I laughed happily as I felt Laura’s hands massage my shoulders.

“Both the Rank 1 Demon Lord and the Rank 2 Demon Lords……the two individuals who were closest to being the absolute rulers have also fallen. There are only political faction battles left. Laura, we have won.”

“Indeed. Well done, Lord.”

Referentially, Baronet Bercy took the Empress Dowager under his care after she was released from the Brittan army.

Baronet Bercy escorted the Empress Dowager back to Parisiorum with his soldiers. Thanks to this achievement, he was promoted to an earl. Earl Bercy started to take over Parisiorum as the Empress Dowager’s aide and the leader of the republican faction.

Now then.

There were no more dictators in the Demon Lord Army now.

Be it the Plains Faction, Neutral Faction, or the Mountain Faction, none of these groups could move the entire Demon Lord Army on their own. The three factions coexisted and maintained their balance.

The powerhouses in the human world were also suppressed.

Elizabeth fell and became the consul of a mere republican nation while Henrietta was just barely maintaining her sovereign power.

The Demon Lord Army lost Baal and Agares while the humans lost Henrietta……. In truth, this war had caused both sides to incur losses. I can say with confidence that I was probably the one who benefited the most.

I had solidified my position as the mediator between Demon Lord factions. Additionally, by negotiating with a nation’s ruler as a count, I set a precedent that’ll allow me to be active in the human world from now on.

I was returning home after ending the war on a pleasant note. I genuinely felt refreshed.

That was until I was told some weird news.

* * *

“……Our army carried out pillagings in the southern part of Frankia?”

“Yes. It was apparently done at a rather sizable scale.”

We were on our way home after the Batavia Republic and the Habsburg Empire had separated when we were abruptly told something weird by an envoy.

Imperial troops from our side had apparently pillaged the entire southern region of Frankia.

I was baffled.

“No, what kind of random rumor is that? We never even set foot down there.”

“Nonetheless, the grudges held by the southern cities are genuine. Some places were even razed to the ground…….”

Our expressions contorted the more the envoy told us.

In summary, an imperial army of about a thousand soldiers had brutally pillaged dozens of villages. What they did was no different from a slaughter. They apparently also carried out mass immolations like what we did in front of Parisiorum.

For almost a month.

The damages were basically insurmountable, so petitions kept getting sent to the royal palace of Parisiorum that had only recently recovered. The newly appointed cabinet members were apparently investigating this matter without rest.

Barbatos looked around and spoke.

“Hey. Fess up. Who was it?”

“…….”

“Who released a detached unit and did something needless? Huh?”

All of the Demon Lords glanced at each other. Gazes went back and forth countlessly.

However, no one answered.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Who knew working would be so tiring? The weather is sort of getting better now since it’s been thunderstorming here. On a side note, a friend and I decided to host a modded minecraft server to enjoy something casually whenever we’re off work. Anyone is free to join it. Or rather, we want more people to join since the server does feel lonely when only 2-3 players get on it from time to time. As long as you don’t grief people. We enjoy seeing other people’s structures and bases. The modpack is mostly vanilla+, so don’t expect huge tech or magic mods. Instructions on how to join can be found pinned in the #games channel of the discord. I hope to see more people there :^)

I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.

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