The Bookworm’s Second Life
Clarissa
애독자의 갱생 라이프 Jun 18, 2026 31 views
Chapter 30
“….”
The Marquis of Richten wondered if he was dreaming.
When he sent his son, Shion Clauzen, to the negotiation table, he hadn’t been particularly worried.
His son had already shown enough competence to ease his concerns.
But he never expected this level.
“W-what is this, son? Am I seeing things wrong?”
“No, you’re seeing it perfectly clearly.”
Condition 1. The Vasura County shall pay the Clauzen March 4,000,000 dires in reparations (based on Nudia standards).
The Marquis rubbed his eyes again and again.
The amount he had expected was at most 300,000 to 600,000 dires.
400,000? No, 4,000,000?
He even wondered if a zero had been written wrong—but no idiot would make such a mistake in a formal negotiation document.
That meant only one thing: Shion had demanded 4 million dires, and Nudia had accepted it.
“Read the next one.”
“T-there’s more?”
Condition 2. The Clauzen March shall release all prisoners of war in exchange for ten times the usual standard ransom. However, this excludes the surrendered Nudian senior knight, Rishikida Amshel.
The war had been short, and due to Clauzen’s surprise attack, not many prisoners had been taken—some knights and dozens of soldiers, plus Rishikida Amshel.
She had already decided to stay on Clauzen’s side, beside Shion, but the other soldiers and knights were different. They needed to return home, which meant paying a proper ransom.
“Ten times? Son… what in the world is this? You’re saying they actually agreed to this?”
“There’s one more.”
Condition 3. The Vasura County of Nudia shall prevent any future armed conflict, and in the event of rising tensions, will make every possible effort—including all forms of compensation—to resolve the situation peacefully.
Anyone could see what “all forms” meant.
Money.
The Marquis fell silent.
This wasn’t a peace treaty.
It was practically a surrender document.
The reparations alone were absurd—4 million dires, equivalent to an entire year’s tax revenue of the Vasura County.
Even if adjusted through various means, it would still equal half a year’s income.
This wasn’t compensation from the losing side—it was a complete submission, as if they had emptied their entire treasury down to the last coin.
And the prisoner clause is even stranger!
Ten times the usual ransom rate—completely unheard of.
Throughout history, Clauzen and Vasura had fought many times, sometimes gaining, sometimes losing.
But even in those cases, they had never negotiated like this.
Normally, terms were balanced—respectful enough for both sides to accept.
But this was different.
Something is off. Seriously off.
And the third clause…
There was not even a single mention of the Clauzen March itself.
That could not be an oversight. Every word in such documents mattered.
So it had been deliberately omitted.
A peace negotiation—but Vasura was behaving as if they were offering everything they had and more.
“…Shion Clauzen.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Tell me… nothing strange happened, did it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean… did the Vasura count try to harm you, and you subdued him? Or perhaps you found leverage over him?”
“Nothing happened. It was a very peaceful negotiation.”
It was peaceful—from Shion’s perspective.
“Anyway, it’s settled. Count Dishe Vasura had full authority, so he won’t be able to back out.”
“…I feel like I’m dreaming.”
The Marquis nodded slowly.
Though he had worried about Rishikida, seeing her sincerity made it clear she had truly defected.
And during negotiations, Shion had firmly excluded her release from discussion.
It really ended cleanly.
What the Marquis didn’t know was that Shion had thoroughly exploited every weakness:
The Vasura County’s internal issues. Dishe Vasura’s recent misconduct. And even Rishikida’s knowledge of her former master’s corruption.
All of it had been laid bare at the negotiation table.
“Good work, Rishi.”
“Y-yes, thank you—huh? W-what did you just call me?”
“Rishikida is a bit long. Can I call you Rishi? If you don’t like it, I’ll stop—”
“N-no! Not at all! I like it! I like it very much!”
Her loud reply made Shion sigh and wave his hand to calm her.
“I-I’m fine with anything! Anything you call me, young master!”
“Calm down. Why are you so hyper?”
“Ah, it’s just…”
Her shoulders slumped as she lowered her head.
“I just feel strange… seeing the true nature of the man I once called my master. I no longer know what I was even following.”
“Think of it positively. It was just the path that led you to become my knight.”
“…Yes. Thinking of it that way makes me feel better. Thank you—for saving me.”
“I just extended my hand. You were the one who took it. You saved yourself.”
“Don’t flatter me too much.”
“Flatter…? What does that mean?”
“It’s a saying. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about something lately.”
At that moment, Sebastian approached with a bow.
“A guest has arrived. A rather… unpleasant guest.”
Shion immediately understood.
There was only one person Sebastian would describe like that.
The former royal court mage who had suffered endlessly serving the church until he learned about Lilith—and also the furious father whose daughter had been taken away by a man now suspected of bringing another woman home.
“…Rishi, come with me.”
“Huh? Is it appropriate for me to attend?”
It might not be a meeting—it might be a journey to the underworld.
Though with Lucia present, the chances of that were low.
Shion and Rishikida were guided deeper into the estate.
Outside a heavily sealed chamber used only for internal council meetings, a sharp female voice rang out.
“Do you all want to die? I don’t know what you’re talking about! I was sealed away! Locked up! How am I supposed to know anything?! Stop spouting nonsense!”
It was clearly Lilith speaking to Raido inside.
Sebastian sighed in relief, then quickly bowed upon noticing Shion.
