After eting with Charlotte, Count Witre stayed in North Port.
As the Violet Envoy, the Duke of Violet had given him considerable discretionary power in the negotiation, but since Charlotte had demanded territory, the decision ultimately had to be made by the Duke.
"Oh? She wants the territory of Baron Belt Domain?"
Inside the guest room at Count Mansion, the reflection of the Duke of Violet was projected within the Crystal Ball, he asked in a deep voice.
Communication Crystal Ball.
This was a magic-guided device similar to Falling Star Kingdom’s Communication Crystal, except it could not be mass-produced like Falling Star Kingdom’s; it was a treasure of the Bowat-Linte family, awarded by the Royal Family of New Moon.
"Yes, Duke, she is not willing to exchange His Highness the Prince for Master Victor."
Count Witre responded respectfully.
"Which family currently owns the Baron Belt Domain? Is it still that side branch of the Willert family?"
The Duke of Violet asked further.
"Yes, Your Grace, it is still the side branch of the Willert family, the Belte-Willert family."
The Duke of Violet narrowed his eyes:
"That Belte-Willert who has always wanted to restore the forr glory of the Willert Family?"
"Yes."
"If I rember correctly, didn’t their family participate in this war?"
The expression on Count Witre’s face was sowhat odd:
"Yes, but... they seem to have disappeared. I didn’t see their nas on the list of Castel’s prisoners of war, and they have not returned to their domain."
The Duke of Violet fell silent.
After a long while, he sighed and said:
"Agree to Count Castel’s proposal. Keeping Belte-Willert in Violet has always been a nuisance for us Bowat-Lintes. Giving them to Castel will also make it easier to completely erase the Willert trace in Violet."
"Duke, Belte-Willert are, after all, descendants of the Willert family. What if they truly beco vassals of Castel and later pose a threat to the Duchy?"
Count Witre couldn’t help but ask.
The Duke of Violet looked at him:
"Witre, do you know which family the Belte-Willert family hates the most?"
Count Witre paused, then answered uncertainly:
"Roman? After all, it was Roman who defeated Willert, causing them to lose everything..."
"No."
The Duke of Violet shook his head and spoke with profound implication:
"It’s Castel."
"Castel?"
Count Witre clearly paused, then suddenly realized:
"Oh! I rember now! The second Roman Battle was because of Castel that the Willert family was defeated!"
Saying this, he looked at the reflection in the crystal ball, his eyes slightly brightening:
"Belte-Willert hates Castel, and Castel, certainly needing to reward their champions when expanding territory, will inevitably lead to conflicts between them!"
"So... Your aning is, we could use Castel’s power to deal with the final side branch of the Willert too?"
The Duke of Violet laughed lightly in affirmation.
Seeing this, Count Witre’s posture beca even more respectful:
"Duke, your wisdom leaves your vassals in awe..."
Speaking, he hesitated before adding,
"What about Prince His Highness?"
"If Castel doesn’t want him, then just let him go back to Bold to fend for himself,"
said the Duke of Violet indifferently.
Clearly, he didn’t want to keep a fool who had caused nothing but trouble.
...
With the Duke of Violet’s consent, Count Witre revised the treaty terms according to Charlotte’s demands.
The Violet Envoy was very efficient, and the following afternoon, Charlotte saw the final version of the treaty.
The treaty stipulated:
1. Effective imdiately, Violet Duchy and Count Castle Domain unilaterally cease hostilities, and both sides revert to their pre-war borders.
2. The Violet Duchy acknowledges the independence of Count Castle Domain and its sovereignty over Tulip Count Domain, commits to supporting Castel in the Noble Council, and promises to introduce other Kingdom Lords to Castel.
3. The Violet Duchy will ransom the conscripted soldiers for 12.5 gold tana per person and the standing soldiers for 125 gold tana per person, and will redeem the enchanted standing forces in ten installnts with equivalent Transcendent materials.
4. The Violet Duchy will ransom the captured nobles for 3600 gold tana per Knight, 50000 gold tana per Baron, and 250000 gold tana per Viscount, with 63 Knights, 9 Barons, and 4 Viscounts in total.
5. All the transcendent equipnt of the nobles shall be ransod by their respective noble families, and those who cannot afford the ransom will have their confiscated equipnt beco the property of Castel, with no further interference from the Violet Duchy.
6. The Violet Duchy must pay a total of 2.43 million gold tana in ransom to Count Castle Domain and Transcendent materials equivalent to the value of 20 million gold tana, all of which must be paid within three months, with all living expenses during captivity over the next three months to be borne by the Violet Duchy.
7. The Violet Duchy will exchange the Baron Belt Domain to ransom Victor de Buwat Lint and will transfer Baron Betel as a vassal to the Castel family.
...
Charlotte was quite satisfied with the treaty.
The 2.43 million ransom was actually a small amount; Count Castle Domain wasn’t short of money—it amounted to only four months’ worth of fiscal revenue.
The Transcendent materials were the substantial portion, even when converted into gold tana, it represented almost four years of inco for Castel, and Transcendent materials were priceless; Transcendent materials worth 20 million truly had a value far higher.
"Although I had anticipated that the transcendent equipnt would be more expensive than the ransom of the prisoners, I didn’t expect them to be this valuable."
Looking at the list on the treaty, Charlotte couldn’t help but comnt.
"Count, it’s like this, people can be conscripted again if lost, and noble families are never short of people, but transcendent equipnt is the foundation that every family accumulates over many years..."
said Viscount Lien Castel.
"Viscount is right, in fact, if it weren’t for the continuous improvent of magic energy technology over the years and the enhanced efficiency of workshops, which reduced the cost of enchantnt, the prices of these transcendent equipnt would be even higher."
On the other side, Vincent from the Roman Fuer family nodded in agreent.
Viscount Roman Fuer led the fleet and accompanied Count Yulster northward, representing the Roman Fuer family by Charlotte’s side.
After hearing the words of the two accompanying nobles, Charlotte appeared thoughtful.
After pondering for a mont, she said to the Old Viscount:
"Viscount, please pay extra attention to the compliance with Violet in the coming days."
"I shall obey your command."
Viscount Lien Castel said respectfully.
After speaking, he hesitated, then added,
"Count, about the Bold Duchy..."
"I will handle the Bold Duchy myself,"
Charlotte said.
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