Chapter 98: Nothing Wounds Feelings More
The justification the Euz nobles had used to attack me was their claim to a share of the achievements I’d earned. And now, when I was trying to hand the key over by requesting fair distribution through the Euznirk heir, the topic had been dragged in a different direction. It had shifted from the justification of achievements to the right of distribution.
Not all Euz nobles were hostile to Fried. He was the legitimate heir of the Euznirk family, and barring any major upheaval, he would naturally become Euz’s next ruler. That’s why many nobles remained friendly or neutral toward him. And they began rallying behind Fried.
This was exactly the win-win situation I’d been aiming for. When I’d named Valent as the second-highest achiever, the nobles’ reaction had been fierce opposition, and from that alone I’d seen through the fact that while the Euz nobles were united by profit, they were far from being on the same side. So I’d empowered Fried while dividing them.
That’s why Valent had drawn Count Euz, who’d been staying out of it, into the argument. When Count Euz responded, he gave me a light warning while showing interest in how I’d persuade him. Needless to say, my father-in-law’s face turned red and blue watching this.
From my father-in-law’s perspective, his son-in-law was already being unfairly pressured by these provincial noble bastards, and now Count Euz was throwing down the gauntlet, saying "go ahead and try persuading me"—of course he was furious. It was basically the War Minister, representing the capital, being disrespected.
But the reason he didn’t ultimately blow up was probably that he trusted I’d resolve the situation. Honestly, I was more worried about my father-in-law’s temper than about persuading Count Euz. If my father-in-law had exploded and condemned the count, the conflict between capital and provinces would’ve flared up again.
In that sense, my father-in-law holding back was actually helping me.
I looked at Count Euz and activated the Diplomat Scouter.
Then Count Euz’s negotiation objective appeared.
[Baron Valent and Fried’s relationship involves a love triangle, causing them to be hostile toward each other, with nobles supporting Baron Valent. Count Euz, who claimed neutrality, was looking for justification to empower his eldest son, so he supports this negotiation]
Valent’s hostility toward Fried was because of a love triangle?
Since it was the negotiation target’s objective, there was no detailed background explanation.
I’d thought Valent was hostile to Fried because of differing views or positions between heir and vassal, but I suppose I was thinking too nobly about it. Nothing wounds feelings more than love affairs, and I never imagined a border cavalry family and an heir would be tangled up in something so complicated.
At least it was fortunate they didn’t have a hostile father-son relationship like the Finance Minister and Adelbert. Through the negotiation objective, I learned that Count Euz—Verakus von Euznirk—wanted to empower his eldest son so Fried wouldn’t be pushed around by his vassals, meaning I needed to provide the count with justification.
Diplomat Scouter, it’s your time to shine.
[Available Justifications - Ransom, Achievements, Heir, Conflict, Profit, Cooperation, Rights, Trust, Goodwill, Finance]
When using justifications, it links with F-Rank Negotiator to apply 20% persuasion.
"Forgive my rudeness. I didn’t intentionally exclude you, Count. From my position as a central noble, I judged it appropriate to entrust this to the legitimate [heir] of Euznirk, who actively [cooperated] with us, and this serves to repay the [goodwill] he’s shown."
"I know Fried supported you with troops. Fried extended goodwill to you first, and your repaying him with goodwill in kind is an extremely noble and natural transaction. There’s nothing wrong with the selection process."
Goodwill without reason warrants suspicion, but when goodwill has a clear purpose, there’s a duty to repay it in kind. This was the most basic form of transaction in noble society. Fried had wanted to keep the opposing Euz nobles in check by connecting with the capital through me. That’s why he hadn’t spared military support or supplies for my sake.
So now that I’d achieved results, I was trying to empower Fried in return. Count Euz calling it a noble and natural transaction was a way to grant it legitimacy. The Euz nobles could no longer claim this transaction was unfair.
The moment they did, they’d be challenging the authority of Count Euz, who had maintained neutrality.
Valent conferred with the other nobles, his expression hardening.
What was interesting was that while Valent and Hildrant teamed up, Boeven was staying out of it. Baron Boeven’s disposition was calculating (neutral). He was a noble who could join hands with whichever side benefited him most. He was likely weighing which side would bring him greater profit.
Valent was ambitious (neutral), and true to his disposition, he clearly had an obsession with power. His hostility toward Fried may have started over a love affair, but wasn’t his real goal to consolidate power by suppressing the next-generation heir? Hildrant was cunning (neutral), and it seemed he was thinking of using Valent as a pawn.
After finishing discussions with his supporting nobles, Valent spoke.
"As the count says, we’ll acknowledge that the transaction between the heir and Sir Streit is legitimate. However, since this needs to be handled fairly so no complaints arise, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to distribute through a joint meeting rather than leaving it solely to the heir?"
"Baron Valent. Are you saying I’m not appropriate? Is it my qualifications you’re questioning?"
"What could be wrong with the legitimate heir’s qualifications? However, I’m concerned that the heir might let personal feelings interfere and create an unfair distribution out of retaliation."
"That’s pure speculation. Unlike you, I have no intention of mixing personal feelings into public matters."
Fried immediately refuted the claim, but Valent dismissed it as unbelievable. The heated emotions between the two were the main reason this negotiation kept dragging on. Concessions from either side were hard to expect and there was only distrust, so ultimately they were just going around in circles.
"Baron Valent, refrain from remarks attacking the heir."
"My apologies, Count. As a vassal of the Valent family, loyal to the Euznirk family for many years, I’m merely worried that the heir’s rash judgment could undermine his rule."
That was pressure disguised as loyalty, wasn’t it? Perhaps even a veiled threat.
Fried’s hand went to his sword hilt, but with superhuman patience, he didn’t draw it.
Count Euz just watched Fried and Baron Valent with a cool gaze.
His mindset remained unchanged.
Just [observation].
So I stepped in.
"Count. May I have permission to speak?"
"I don’t recall forbidding the first achiever from speaking. Go ahead."
"Thank you."
He was giving me permission to speak freely.
I fixed my gaze on Valent and spoke.
"When I acknowledged your [achievements], Baron, what happened? Didn’t all three of you barons claim to be the second-highest achiever? You couldn’t agree on selecting achievers from the very start."
"That’s why I said we’d thoroughly review achiever selection through a meeting, didn’t I?"
"Then how long are you proposing? As you know, our duchy forces can’t stay long. The longer the mobilization period, the more massive the [finance] we burn through. We need to begin preparations to withdraw to Breisburg starting tomorrow—surely you’re not suggesting you’ll wrap this up within a week?"
As if it would be settled in a week, given such extreme differences of opinion.
Just organizing the casualty reports and merit rankings alone would take that long.