The Sardinian royal court hastily dispatched an envoy.
They had finally grasped the true gravity of the situation.
Even with the Duke of Milan and the Grand Duke of Florence allied together, they had been utterly crushed. For the Sardinian royal court, even a fire landing on their doorstep burned at hellfire intensity.
This was no exaggeration. Three thousand at the Battle of Ticino, five thousand at the Siege of Novara, and twenty thousand at the Battle of Trebia — cut down or fled. All told, that came to a staggering thirty thousand. And every last one of them had been elite troops…
We had crossed the Alps on May 30th and ended the Battle of Ticino on June 28th — exactly one month. A mere month. The main force of Sardinia's Northern and Central Armies had evaporated in just one month.
According to rumor, the King of Sardinia had actually fainted upon receiving the battle reports.
"Thirty thousand! Give me back my thirty thousand!"
So the story went — that he had screamed like that.
From the king's perspective, it must have been nothing short of a nightmare.
The king was not the only one left dumbfounded. The citizens of Tevere, the royal capital, trembled in fear that the imperial army might come pouring in at any moment. The demon of House Farnese, the witch who had sold her soul to the Demon Lord for revenge — in the span of just a few days, Laura had been given dozens of colorful epithets.
The nightmare did not end there.
The very next day after the Battle of Ticino, two territories surrendered: Piacenza and Parma. Strangely enough, the people of these territories cheered at the news of the imperial victory. The reason was simple — both territories had once been under the rule of House Farnese.
As is always the case with regions branded as traitorous, the people of Piacenza and Parma — who had lost the previous civil war — suffered extreme discrimination. Their duchy had been torn to shreds and split into two baronies, and no one from these territories was ever appointed to the royal court.
There was no way to see it as anything but foolish.
If I had been a Sardinian politician, I would never have suppressed Piacenza and Parma that way. I would have demoted Piacenza to a county and Parma to a barony — and then applied discriminatory policies only to Parma.
This way, the anger of Parma's citizens would be directed, oddly enough, at the citizens of Piacenza. "We were all at fault — why should you alone be spared?" they would seethe. A rift of resentment would form between the two territories.
One must remember: the key to oppression lies in splitting one group into two. If you fail to understand this, all you end up doing is nurturing potential rebels. Not that it mattered — even if someone had offered this advice, the King of Sardinia would never have listened.
Can't be helped, I suppose. Do try to be more careful next time.
Ha ha.
Anyway, the royal court chose to dispatch a plenipotentiary ambassador at precisely the time when fear and rebellion reached their peak. The envoy was once again Marquis Rodi.
"It has been a while, Your Excellency the Court Count."
"I trust you have been well, Marquis."
This middle-aged gentleman—bald, with an unruly beard—had remarkably surmised from the very beginning that there was no chance of winning this war. In other words, in the world of aristocracy, he was a rare breed who did not wear his skull purely as decoration.
I liked people who knew their place, like the Marquis. Honestly, just watching him was enough to lift my spirits.
Not because his bald head looked particularly cool. I mean it.
"His Majesty the King is prepared to offer a sincere apology to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and Lady Farnese."
After exchanging a bit of idle chatter, we got down to business.
"If your country accepts His Majesty's apology, the war could end as soon as tomorrow."
"Marquis. I must once again express my deep regret that the Duchess of Farnese is still referred to as 'Lady' Farnese."
I was in no hurry. I wasn't the one pressed for time right now.
"'Lady'? Laura de Farnese is the sole and legitimate mistress of the duchy that governs Parma-Piacenza. It seems there is still a vast gap in perception between the two of us."
My tone was gentle, but the content was practically half a threat.
"……Hypothetically speaking, what if we were to recognize the Lady as the Duchess of Farnese?"
Marquis Rodi said cautiously.
"The Farnese territories would be completely surrounded by our nation on all sides, ultimately reduced to an 'island on land.' Trade routes would be cut off, merchants would turn away. What value could such a territory possibly hold?"
"Hmm. That is certainly a problem."
I tapped the rim of my glass with a fingertip. Did I look as though I were deep in thought? The Marquis's expression brightened ever so slightly.
"I appreciate your understanding. Now, for a more realistic compromise……"
"Then all you need to do is hand over the Duchy of Milan to us as well."
The Marquis's face stiffened.
"Milan, you say……."
"Look at it this way. If Milan is added to the Farnese family's holdings, our territories will border the Helvetica Confederation perfectly. And since the Confederation connects to our Empire by land, the Farnese family would no longer be an 'island on land.'"
I flashed a broad smile, as if presenting some grand piece of magic.
"A perfect solution, wouldn't you agree?"
"Are you mocking me right now?!"
The Marquis, agitated, slammed his fist on the table.
"Milan is the second largest duchy in our nation! It is not territory that other countries can simply take or leave at will!"
"The Duchy of Parma was just as vast. Yet it was dismantled without any issue whatsoever. An event that has already happened can happen again without anyone batting an eye. Isn't that so?"
"Preposterous……!"
The Marquis of Lodi flushed crimson and purple. He had brought up the subject hoping to avoid surrendering the Parma territory, only to be told to hand over nearly double—no, triple—that amount of land. It was enough to make anyone lose their head.
"Our demands are simple and clear, and therefore resolute, Marquis."
But did he know? We were the ones winning this war. He was in no position to dictate terms.
"We demand that His Majesty the King of your nation offer a formal apology to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and to Duke Farnese. Furthermore, as compensation for the previous civil war and the current conflict, you will cede to the Farnese family the Duchy of Milan and the former Duchy of Parma—both territories."
"Such insolent terms will never……."
"I am not finished. Cease all aid to the Habsburg Republic immediately."
My voice was unwavering.
"Until the above conditions are met, there will be no compromise."
"……."
The Marquis of Lodi's shoulders trembled.
"The Court Count… from the very beginning, he was the one who wanted war."
"My, my. Slander is quite unbecoming, Marquis."
I laughed.
"A month ago, two months ago, I proposed a peaceful resolution. The one who kicked that offer to the curb was His Majesty, the King of your country. Laura de Farnese is a harlot who sold her body to the demons, and the Empire is nothing but a pack of fools being played by a single witch… Quite the provocation, wasn't it?"
The Marquis of Lodi turned red all the way to his neck but could not bring himself to retort.
This was precisely why securing justification before waging war was so important. Not because one needed to care about the eyes of others. When, as now, you held the advantage on the battlefield, you could press virtually unlimited demands upon your opponent. That was the power of justification.
"Why do you think the Count of Pavia died? That fool is the one who lit the fuse for this war. To think he had the audacity to insult the Grand General of the Empire by calling her a war slave — the sheer nerve."
I rang the small bell by hand.
An aide brought three boxes. They were wrapped in luxurious blue silk.
"These are gifts for His Majesty. Why don't you open them and have a look?"
"……"
He had likely intuited what was inside. The Marquis opened the boxes with trembling hands. When he lifted the lid, there sat the severed head of the Count of Pavia, completely intact.
"……Persephone, save me."
The Marquis of Lodi squeezed his eyes shut.
The Count of Pavia's face was frozen in the exact expression of fury he had worn at the moment of death. That was thanks to magical preservation. I smiled.
"Because it might look rather repulsive, I added a strawberry fragrance. Grape or strawberry — I deliberated over which His Majesty might prefer, and in the end I settled on strawberry. Like so — open the mouth."
I reached into the box and pried open the Count of Pavia's mouth. Resting neatly atop a blue-purple tongue was a single wild strawberry. I picked it up.
"What do you think? Rather elegant, wouldn't you say? I tested how many wild strawberries could fit inside a human head. I swear to you, Marquis. Exactly forty-nine fit inside. I was off by just one."
"……"
"The remaining boxes contain the Commander and Vice-Commander of the Black Eagle Knight Order. I do hope these prove to be satisfactory gifts."
I bit into a wild strawberry with my teeth.
Marquis Rodi saw that and closed his eyes once more.
"This is an insult to the dead…"
"And the Count insulted the living. Relay everything I said to your king without omission."
Perhaps he sensed there was absolutely no room for compromise.
Marquis Rodi left the tent lifelessly. The marquis probably wanted to end the war even if it meant ceding the Duchy of Milan. But regardless of what the marquis personally thought, neither the King of Sardinia nor the Duke of Milan would accept it.
The war is not over.
I gestured to my adjutant.
"Assemble the regiment commanders. Have them all gathered within thirty minutes."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
The regiment commanders gathered as though they had been waiting.
"Gentlemen. From now on, the Kingdom of Sardinia will attempt to tempt you with bribes."
"Bribes, sir?"
"They want to avoid war. But they know they can't beat us. The only option cowards like them have is bribery."
The regiment commanders snickered.
"Your Excellency. Don't worry. On the honor of Helvetica, we will not fall for such bribes. You can trust us."
"That's not it."
I smiled.
"Accept the bribes. All of them."
"Excuse me?"
"That is, they have generously offered to give gifts. There is no reason to refuse and feel regret about it, is there?"
The regiment commanders exchanged uneasy glances.
They were probably worried that this was some kind of loyalty test through deception. But rest assured — I never lie when it comes to money. I have a terrifying young lady by my side, you see, and if I ever lied about money, she would punish me mercilessly.
"Receiving gifts does not mean you have to do whatever Sardinia asks. That is all."
"……Your Excellency. Surely you don't mean—"
"Oh yes, eat it all up and then wipe your mouths clean."
The regiment commanders were left dumbfounded by my brazen words.
"B-but is that really okay? Surely there is some code of honor to consider."
"What code of honor are you talking about, receiving it from the enemy on the battlefield? Fill up your own purses, gentlemen. The more prosperous you are, the more a piece of meat will trickle down to your soldiers. If it helps, you can think of it as doing it for your subordinates."
"……."
An officer who actively encourages taking bribes from the enemy — this was probably a first for them. The regiment commanders didn't know what to do with themselves.
"This is also an order from the Commander-in-Chief."
"His Grace the Duke……"
"Furthermore, the Duke has ordered this: each regiment commander's merit will be evaluated based on how much in bribes they manage to squeeze out of the Kingdom."
I slammed my fist on the table with a loud bang. The regiment commanders jumped in shock.
"This is not a game! It is a part of war! The less money the Kingdom of Sardinia has, the fewer enemy soldiers you will face in the future! You must not let your guard down for even a moment — do your utmost to collect every last bribe. Is that understood?"
"Y-yes, your orders are received!"
The regiment commanders saluted.
"If you understand, then get out of here immediately! What are you still standing around for! If any regiment commander comes back with only a piddling amount of bribes, it won't be the Commander-in-Chief you'll answer to — it'll be my own hand that punishes you!"
"Yes, sir!"
The mercenary commanders scrambled out of the command tent.
I smiled with satisfaction.
I felt somewhat sorry for Marquis Rodi. Unable to convince me, he would probably try to win over my regiment commanders instead. Admirable effort, but there are things in this world that effort alone cannot overcome.
Give it up. Once you give up, things get much easier.
============================ Author's Afterword ============================
To show the extent of the territory Dantalion demanded, I've posted a map in the settings section.