Chapter 114. Mid-Night Negotiations

Meeting Hall, Hollowland Viscounty, Lord’s Castle

“Your Highness... this is completely outrageous! You must understand, just because you are known for this sort of scandalous behavior, we cannot simply let you go after what you have done!” Viscount Hollowland roared, violently slamming his hand against the heavy oak table.

“Yes...! Indeed!” several of the Northern nobles standing around the room murmured in heated agreement.

“Now, now. It is not as if I dragged the lady into my room against her will. Why was she even in my assigned quarters to begin with? How am I not supposed to be tempted?” Prince Vadim smiled calmly. He leaned back in his chair, looking casually out the window to his left, where the harsh snowfall was finally slowing down as midnight approached.

“That... His Highness does pose a valid question.” “He does have a point. Why was she in the guest wing?” The surrounding nobles immediately began to pivot, whispering amongst themselves at the implication.

Viscount Hollowland’s face turned a deep, boiling red. Damn it! he cursed inwardly. If only Lord Miller had been in that room, I could have completely suppressed him by being aggressive. But since it is His Highness... these cowardly nobles will actually take his words into consideration!

“I... I willingly walked into his room,” Nina spoke up from the dimly lit corner where she was sitting. Her hands were clenched into tight fists, a mix of lingering fear and raw nerve visible on her pale face as she continued. “We formed a connection during the banquet... out on the balcony. So... I stepped into his room.”

Viscount Hollowland turned his head, his piercing glare fully visible to her. What the hell are you doing, you stupid girl?! Even as those frantic thoughts raged in his head, he forcefully maintained a calm, fatherly voice. “Nina... you do not have to cover for His Highness out of fear. Just tell the truth exactly as it happened. You are safe here.”

Prince Vadim tilted his head, looking at Nina with a genuine smile.

Look at that expression. Oh, she is proving that she can step up to the stage. He realized perfectly what she was doing. Just as she told me, I don’t need to protect her. I only need to support her.

“We slept together because we wanted to! I only screamed because of His Highness’s... performance!” Nina finally roared, her voice echoing off the stone walls.

The entire meeting hall fell into an instant, stunned silence. Outside the window, the snow had completely stopped. With only a few minutes left until midnight, the heavy winter clouds finally began to clear out.

“Ahem... well, if that is the case, who are we to butt in?” “Yes, Goddess Hakio’s will was maintained here, so what exactly is the problem?” The nobles’ murmurs totally changed their tune, completely dropping their righteous outrage.

Prince Vadim suddenly slammed his hand against the table, drawing all eyes back to him. “My, my. Even so, looking at Viscount Hollowland... I think he is not satisfied with just letting me off the hook like this.”

Before Viscount Hollowland could even open his mouth to salvage the situation, Prince Vadim continued, a sharp smirk pulling at his lips. “Fine. As an Imperial Prince, I will take responsibility. I will make Lady Nina my official mistress and even bestow a Baroness title upon her. That should be more than fair compensation for my indiscretion, don’t you think?”

Dong... Dong...

The grand clock in the hall suddenly started to chime, and outside, a heavy, torrential rain abruptly began to pour from the cleared skies.

“My! It is the New Year’s Holy Rain!” “The New Year is here!”

“Come on, Viscount Hollowland, accept the generous compensation! Even the Goddess’s blessing is showering you right now!” the nobles started causing an uproar, enthusiastically pressuring him as the midnight bells rang.

Meanwhile, Viscount Hollowland could do nothing but sit rigidly in his chair, staring out the window at the pouring rain as his grand ambitions completely washed away right before his eyes.

Meanwhile Northern Church Envoy’s Guest Chambers, Hollowland Viscounty, Lord’s Castle

They actually sent junior priests rather than seasoned negotiators? Francesca thought, sitting elegantly beside Miller, directly across the small wooden table from Kavya and Samuel.

“The Northern Central Church explicitly sent us juniors to avoid drawing the suspicion of the Central Church spies. Please do not take it as a slight, My Lord, My Lady,” Samuel stated immediately, trying to clear the heavy air in the dim room.

Miller scoffed, his deep red eyes narrowing in the shadows. “I would say sending a threatening letter to blackmail us is more than enough reason to take offense.”

“Please try to understand, My Lord. It was the only choice we had given the dire situation,” Kavya pleaded softly.

Francesca merely smiled. Reaching into her coat, she produced a set of carved bone dice and distributed them across the table. “Let us play a little game while we negotiate, shall we?”

The two junior priests exchanged deeply confused glances, but Miller seamlessly picked up his dice and rolled them across the wood.

“From what I understand, it was your High Priest who killed the Central Church Envoy. So, why exactly should we help you fight your Holy Civil War? Aside from your pathetic blackmail, of course,” Miller asked, his tone flat and unyielding.

Even though Miller looked perfectly calm on the surface, his overwhelming presence was enough to make Samuel gulp nervously. He picked up his dice with trembling fingers and rolled.

“Just as it was written in the letter, she died by accidentally slipping and falling. But simply going by your own words just now, it is perfectly clear how the Central Church will react to that reasoning. They will never believe it was an accident,” Samuel explained, staring at the dice. “We had no other choice but to resort to this.”

Kavya nodded solemnly, rolling her own dice next. “We understand that it strictly goes against the doctrines of the Northern Church to weaponize personal information like this for our own ends, but... the very survival of the Northern Sect of Hakiosim is at stake. We believed this was the only way to force you to the negotiation table quickly.”

Francesca was the last to gather her dice. “So, it was just bait all along, and you never actually intended to release my secret to the public? Do you really expect us to believe that?”

She tossed the bone dice onto the table. They clattered to a stop. “Twelve. I won this round,” she smiled coldly.

Miller chuckled, a dark, rumbling sound in his chest. “She is right. If you actually did release that information and maliciously tore our marriage apart... you would not have a single place left to call the Northern Church. I and the central church would burn it to the ground.”

Samuel took a shaky, deep breath. He nodded, scooping up the dice for the next round. “Which is exactly why we are not going to release it. We certainly do not want to fight both the Ironwood Viscounty and the Central Church forces at the same time. However, if we do not enlist you to stand with us, you are just as likely to side against us. So...”

He released the dice. They spun and settled. Another twelve.

Kavya offered a faint, hopeful smile. “He won... this round,” she whispered softly. She leaned forward, the desperation clear in her eyes. “We are not asking Ironwood to bleed for us for free. We understand you will be taking a massive political and military risk by siding with us. So... shall we make this a fair deal?”