From the beginning to the end, I didn't want to believe that Felinold was a criminal who colluded with the demons.
How did a guy who once emphasized to me that life was precious go astray?
absurd......
I'm not sure if I have feelings like nostalgia for acquaintances who have passed away.
It is true that I often feel sad when I learn that they have passed away, but since then, whenever they appear in my dreams and look at their faces, I can't speak or even speak.
Meet their gaze.
Why am I afraid of the people I miss? Do I really miss them?
Maybe it's because of guilt.
I was supposed to be responsible for Ferrinold's death, but I didn't know what to do, and I didn't know how to completely get rid of the guilt, so I became more and more guilty, and fell into an endless loop.
Not to mention Raya, Paper Crane and Weig Town.
So, in order to get a good night's sleep, I need to do my best to prevent more people from dying because of me.
Including snow.
Although she was indeed bound to die, I promised her that I would definitely save her.
This is not a big talk, so I have to take action quickly.
Alas, who prevents me from getting rid of my nosy habit...
...
The night before the public negotiations, I suddenly realized:
I have lost contact with Snow for a long time.
Ever since she left Woolworth, I had the illusion that she had nothing to do with me, and the reason was very simple - she left without saying goodbye, and did not convey any more information to me, as if she had simply disappeared.
It's so heartless.
However, the more heartless a person is, the more guilty they are.
Perhaps as long as I can find the most vulnerable part of Xue's heart, I can truly convince her and let her be saved by me without any complaints.
...what a conceited thought.
I took off my one-eyed patch, drank the sleeping pills given to me by the special inspector, then lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
...
After waking up, I felt refreshed for a long time.
"I healed your injury."
The special inspector appeared in my room again.
I subconsciously moved my arms and legs - they were intact.
"What did you do?"
"Do you need me to repeat what I just said?"
"I obviously just slept..."
Still feeling unbelievable, I stared at my broken left arm.
"Ah, as for your eyes, there's nothing I can do about them."
"..."
"What? I can't do everything."
"Why do you want to help me?"
I couldn't accept this change for a while, and I was surprised but also a little annoyed.
"Don't get me wrong, I just want to reduce additional casualties."
The Special Ombudsman preached nonchalantly:
"The Earl's Mansion is heavily guarded. If you go there with an excessively mutilated body, I cannot guarantee your safety."
"..."
"It is no exaggeration to say that if it were really exposed, I would not even be able to protect myself."
"Then it's better not to be a burden like me."
"You are one of the witnesses."
"I'm too lazy to testify, let alone work for you."
I chose to reject her immediately.
Why is this guy so friendly to me?
It was obvious that she killed Felinold, but she kept me by her side and helped me heal...
Is she pitying me?
No, this is definitely a trap.
"I don't mind if you repay kindness with revenge, but then you won't be able to see that demon clan."
"When did you become my benefactor?"
I stared at her impatiently.
"Besides, what does this have to do with snow?"
"The person most likely to know the current whereabouts of that demon is the Lord of Fulvos."
"Well......"
"We are not the only ones who regard her as a bargaining chip. Since they have decided to use negotiations to solve the problem, they must be prepared and will not let go of any opportunity to increase their own advantages."
"you mean......"
"Why not just sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor?"
"......Too."
Her unquestioning tone made me give in.
...
Currently, my identity is "Baron Mika Christiansen".
After passing numerous security checks, I finally entered the Earl's Mansion.
Not far away, people dispersed - the meeting was over.
Negotiations have not yet begun.
I deliberately lowered the brim of my hat to prevent my one-eyed patch from attracting too much attention.
"What's wrong with your eyes?"
As a result, this action actually caused a middle-aged man next to him to cast an unnecessarily enthusiastic look.
"Ah, I accidentally splashed lemon juice while eating, so I applied some ointment. I have to use an eye mask to protect it for the next few days..."
"Oh - that's really uncomfortable."
The middle-aged man shook his head as if he understood deeply.
"My name is Evelyn Harriman, and I am the commander-in-chief of the garrison of Ersidora. Who is your Excellency?"
"Mika Christiansen..."
"I have admired my name for a long time. You are Delaro's secretary, right? You are so young."
"You're welcome."
I was secretly glad that I didn't reveal my secret.
The special ombudsman probably gives us identities that are not easily aroused by others' suspicion. As long as we behave appropriately, we can smoothly approach the negotiation table step by step.
Seeing that no one paid attention to me, I looked around.
The gang came to Miss Beliner and another man, and they were identified as the commander of Ridpasi Military Camp and the staff officer of Lord Ridpa West respectively.
The special inspector walked in front without looking back, looking confident.
"...Did you bring it?"
"Um?"
I heard Miss Belle's voice.
Her face was pale and she seemed to be in a bad condition. The reason was that she and the gangster man drank a potion that could resist bloodline suppression for half a day - [Pingshengling].
As a banned drug that is difficult to find on the black market, Pingcheng Ling has many negative effects, but now, necessary sacrifices have to be made.
Bloodline suppression has almost no impact among nobles with a small gap in titles, so no mistakes can be made in this regard. Although the nobles are consciously suppressing their bloodline suppression capabilities at the moment, who knows whether accidents will happen in the future?
"Did you bring the 'thank you gift'?"
"Well......"
I put my hand into my coat pocket and touched the small bottle.
"I just keep it in my pocket, and I won't notice it unless you tell me...but I don't want to carry such an unlucky thing with me."
"But you can't bear to throw it away, can you?"
"..."
"It's better to keep it and keep it well. After all, in the eyes of some people, what you can't get is always more dazzling than what you already have."
Miss Bellinger said this calmly, with the volume controlled so that only I could hear it clearly.
A chill penetrated my chest, and before I could respond, Miss Bellinger quickened her pace and left.
At the same time, I noticed that the special inspector had slowed down.
After a while, she appeared on my right side.
"...!"
She bumped into me without warning.
"Ah, sorry, I didn't notice the steps here."
"Um......"
Inexplicably, is she hinting at me?
No, no, I didn't know there was such a code.
Just as I was about to move forward in confusion, the special scout stopped as if deliberately delaying time, patting his clothes and winking at me.
I followed her obediently to the end of the line.
"Yes, at least you can understand what I mean, although it is a bit slow."
"What else do you want to explain?"
"There are more than a dozen poison arrow traps in the conference room... don't make any noise. I put [Pain Relief Powder] in your pocket, just in case."
"oh......"
This time I finally woke up.
"I understand, I'll be careful. By the way, is there only analgesic powder? Where's [Detoxifying Water]?"
"In order to avoid the security check, I can't make enough preparations."
"All right."
"Remember, stay calm and take it one step at a time."
"Um."
I looked ahead.
People are entering conference room two one after another.
It is not difficult to see that everyone is very cautious, most of them just nod to each other, and then return to the people they know well, in small groups.
Therefore, they did not notice anything unusual behind them.
God bless you, I can't help but pray.
...
The conference room is not big, with plenty of heating, slightly dim lighting, and a long "U"-shaped table placed in the center.
On both sides of the table are rows of neat seats, with the names of the participants marked on the backs of the chairs.
It's a bit crude - that was my first impression.
But it seemed that no one else cared about this and just looked for seats and sat down.
My seat is located in the corner of the entire conference room, and the positions of Miss Belin, the gangster, and the special inspector are also not very conspicuous.
Several servants came in with tea and handed the tea to the participants one by one.
The Lord has yet to be seen.
...
About ten minutes later.
"Sorry for the long wait."
The lord glanced around the entire place with a relaxed expression.
"..."
No one responded proactively.
The cold atmosphere made me wonder if the previous scene of them chatting and laughing was just a figment of my imagination.
But I clearly saw the expectant eyes of the people.
The servants retreated one after another, and with a "dong" and "dong" sound of the door closing, the white-bearded old man named "Anatasio Longman" spoke:
"You're welcome, Colby, we have plenty of time."
I remember him, he was one of the deputy commanders of the Traveler Alliance.
The Traveler Alliance obeys the orders of four deputy commanders, but the royal families of the past Hedara Empire, St. Lucel Empire and Bash Empire - "King He", "King Lu" and "Western Emperor" have no actual power.
Commander-in-Chief in name only.
"Well, thank you."
The lord nodded slightly and then sat down.
"Before the negotiations begin, I hope you will control your bloodline suppression ability throughout the entire process. Friendship and sincerity are the basis for reaching consensus."
"yes."
A neat answer came from one side of the long table.
"There is no need to take care of us. A true noble does not need bloodline suppression, let alone be afraid of it."
Longman refused without any courtesy.
He seemed to be reminding the other party: It is unnecessary to pay attention to complicated etiquette nowadays.
"It's not a care, it's an order."
After replying, the lord turned to Major General Hector Hallewood, who was on Longman's left. He was responsible for managing the [Crane Dance Corps] among the four elite regiments of the coalition.
"I heard that you are still unwilling to withdraw your troops, which troubles me a lot. The guarding legions of Wuervos and the armies of nearby cities such as Yapoko and Kectalon are all very angry at your renegade behavior.
Micro words."
"A large-scale withdrawal requires planning a detailed and appropriate route, which will be completed as soon as possible. However, you may not know that we are often provoked by some troops... This has deepened the conflicts between soldiers on both sides.
The calls I'm getting against the withdrawal are getting louder and louder."
"Except for routine patrols, we will not take the initiative to approach your camp in the near future."
The speaker was Lior Midofot, the commander of the First Legion of the Guards of Fulvos.
"As for the route planning issue, if you cannot handle it in time, I will be happy to provide assistance."
Nice comeback.
"Let's discuss the conditions first."
Slav Mina, the leader of the coalition's [Crane Wing Legion], interrupted the argument, but his confidence was a bit lacking.
By the way...yes, the special inspector told me some information about some key figures involved in the negotiations in advance, in order to give me a preliminary understanding of the content of the negotiations and to avoid additional misunderstandings.
.
But I would not be grateful to the Special Inspector for this. Instead of thanking my enemies, I would rather praise my own functioning brain.
"What are the conditions..."
The lord pondered for a while, then smiled bitterly: