Chapter 103: Invitation
“…So you’re the one approaching me.”
“You expected me to approach you, did you not?”
“Even so, surely you didn’t expect to be the first? Lunoa Kingdom’s Hero of the East, Brigadier General Willard?”
“‘Hero of the East’ is rather excessive praise. I thought I had merely made a small name for myself in the West.”
“A true hero will become a hero wherever he goes through the force of his spirit. Is that not the path you walk, Brigadier General Willard?”
“…”
I had never wanted that.
I had never intended to go to the battlefield or make a name for myself.
It had been unavoidable.
“Shall we move somewhere more private?”
“Yes, let us.”
I nodded to the Rosha diplomat and followed him.
The man walking before me was Roy Freya, heir to the Marquis Freya family and reputed to be one of the sharpest minds in his empire.
“This should do.”
Grand halls used for parties often had several private rooms in their corners so important figures could meet in secret.
“A proposal for a ceasefire?”
As soon as we entered the private room and sat down, Marquis Freya spoke.
“No, a proposal for peace.”
Without the slightest hesitation, I offered an even greater answer.
“Our country is prepared to conclude a white peace with yours.”
“Oh?”
A white peace.
The moment I said those words, Marquis Freya’s expression changed for the first time.
“This must trouble your country as well. Do you want to be seen as an ally of Friez Kingdom, which ignored international law and massacred civilians? Why not halt our conflict and punish the country that crossed a line that must never be crossed?”
I was creating an escape route.
Friez Kingdom had created a pretext for leaving the war, and I was trying to guide the Rosha Empire onto it.
“Although our country is losing, you would still agree to a white peace?”
“Yes. We’ll demand neither territory nor reparations. I have persuaded my superiors to accept those terms.”
With Second Princess Emma’s help, I had secured the king’s personal agreement to conclude a white peace with the Rosha Empire.
“That can’t have been easy.”
“No, but it was no hardship if it could bring peace to both our countries.”
“I understand the proposal for a white peace. One question remains, however. Has the Austin Empire agreed to it?”
“Yes. We have also obtained the new emperor’s approval.”
“And… are those the only parties to the white peace?”
“Yes. Is there a problem with that?”
I met Marquis Freya’s stare directly.
…There was no deceiving him. The white peace would apply only to Lunoa Kingdom, the Rosha Empire, and the Austin Empire.
It wouldn’t include Poln Kingdom, which had declared independence. Despite the term “white peace,” the Rosha Empire would lose territory.
From Lunoa Kingdom’s perspective, replacing the neighboring Rosha Empire with a buffer state under our strong influence was adequate compensation for the war.
“It isn’t a bad offer, is it?”
Nor should it have been a bad offer for the Rosha Empire.
Even if it lost Poln Kingdom’s territory for a time, it could simply invade again to retake it. The absence of the Lunoa and Austin armies during that counteroffensive would itself benefit the Rosha Empire.
That outcome would suit Lunoa Kingdom as well.
While the Rosha Empire exhausted itself, we would defeat Friez Kingdom and become the dominant power in Europe.
The Austin Empire, which had already suppressed its domestic turmoil, would probably have little reason to object.
The terms should have satisfied all three countries.
“Yes, it isn’t a bad offer.”
“…”
I frowned.
“But you have miscalculated one thing: the condition of our country. The Rosha Empire must create an enemy, unite its people, and turn their eyes away from domestic troubles.”
“Do you need support?”
“We need an enemy. You appear to be struggling in the West, so why not continue this conflict for a long, long time, Brigadier General Willard?”
“…!”
“Please don’t look so displeased. Struggle is our country’s destiny—its very nature. Let us create a bloody, horrific world and survive it together.”
“…You’re insane.”
The words escaped my lips before I could stop them.
“Very well. The Rosha Empire rejects your offer of a white peace. Please remain our enemy… Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
I couldn’t rise from my seat.
Marquis Freya rose alone and left the room.