Deal with a devil
'The best way to kill an enemy is to make them your friend'
Never in my life have I wholeheartedly agreed with a saying as I do now, in a world in which conflict and wars are happening everywhere, the easiest resolution to such problems more often than not is to just find a way for everyone to get along...
I myself am an avid lover of peace, as a person that came from an era in which order was apparent, I have never missed peace more in my life. Even as I come up with indigenous plans on how to effectively slaughter our enemies with my knight, I'm still thinking of a way to resolve this peacefully...And believe me, we have tried settling it this way...
One of my advisors sent a messenger to try and broker some sort of peace treaty or a compromise with the bandits, but all we got in return for that is the messenger's head. It's evidently clear that they aren't interested in peace...
...If that's the case then let there be war then, It's my first rodeo coming up with plans for an attack, but with the knowledge I have with strategies from the history of my previous world, the layout of the land, and the attitude of the former Vaneland soldiers, I was able to come up with a pretty decent plan...
I explained it to Ser Rudeus and he seemed to be on board with it, hell he even complimented me for it. I may have a bit of a knack for these things...No surprises though, histories about military conflicts were one of the things that sparked my interest to study history after all...
...Quite the irony if I do say so myself...
"Our plan to keep the bandits pinned down isn't half bad milord, I could definitely see us winning once our cavalry picks off enough of these savages...But what about the Frost mage? I was thinking that maybe we could try dividing half of our fighting force to deal with her but...then that would compromise the plan we have with the bandits..."
"Hmmm..."
The frost mage...The little rascal that welcomed us to the city of filth. The bandits may not be open for negotiations...but what about her? She may have all those supernatural abilities but camping in the forest...Especially the forest in the Vanelands would really be difficult, and she seems like a calm and reasonable person based on how she would always spare people...
The more I think about it the more she seemed like the perfect candidate to build friendly relations with, it might be a bit complicated since mages are despised throughout the world and all, but someone like her would be a reliable ally...
"Maybe we could try talking her over to our side?..."
"E-Excuse me...You want to what?"
Oops seems that I blurted out my thoughts...Well no matter, considering Ser Rudeus' experience I figured that it would be better to ask him about this anyway
"Do you hate mages, Ser Rudeus?"
"Come now milord, are you seriously asking me that even though you know which war front was I stationed for the past twenty years?"
Hmmm...This does sound a bit insensitive of me, but I just know that I have to keep asking. For one, he answered my question with another question which is often a clever way to avoid answering...
"So do you hate mages then? Do you harbor any ill will towards them?"
Rudeus closed his eyes and seemed to be lost in his thoughts. I reckon that he was thinking about whether to answer honestly or not, can't really blame him I'd think that this is some sort of test If I were in his position
And just as I was about to clarify that this is just a whimsical question of mine...
"I despise a certain mage, milord. But I don't hate mages in general"
"...Well this is a surprise. Oh Uhm, sorry if I awoke some bad memories or something with that question of mine by the way...It's just, I was curious considering most of the veterans that come from the north have an intense hatred for mages"
From the commanders to the cannon fodders...Almost all of the knights and soldiers that I've talked to who hailed from the north back when I was still at the palace all had the same opinion of mages, which if I had to summarize quickly, they see them as; 'The incarnations of evil'
"And you'd thought I'd be the same?"
"Welp...can you really blame me?"
"Well, I suppose not...Most of the comrades that I've fought with all harbor the same boiling hatred as well, but I never really felt that whenever I crossed blades with them, If anything...I pity them, they all seemed to be sent to fight against their will"
"I-I see..."
"..."
Damn, now I felt like I just stepped on an emotional landmine of bad memories, I should really watch what I say next time...
"Anyway, why did you ask milord? Does knowing my opinion of mages help us with the upcoming operation?"
"Yeah, I think it would, Ser Rudeus. I want to invite the Frost mage to our side..."
"...Pardon?"
"I want to invite the frost mage to our ranks"
"Y-Yes milord I heard you the first time around, It's just- Did you forget that she attacked and tried to kill us on our way here?!"
"Yeah I get that but she probably did that to gather supplies and for her camp at the forest, I honestly believe that she harbors any ill will towards us-"
Before I could continue Ser Rudeus grabbed my shoulders with a concerned look
"Milord you won't know that based on that one interaction you had. You should know better than I how mages are ruthlessly hunted in the Empire, we don't know what tragedies she experienced which led her to live off the Vaneland forest out of all places, a prince like you asking her to work under you may...No, It will be very offensive. You may actually be her first victim if you proceed with this"
I can understand where he's coming from but...
"I still have to try...Can you imagine how powerful of an ally would she be on our side? With her help, we could accomplish so many things in this shithole, just think about it!"
"...That's the same mindset as they have in the north milord, and looked what has become of them!"
"Don't compare me to those guys, I won't plan on enslaving her. I plan on building a mutual and beneficial relationship, I'd treat her as one of my subordinates as I would you and the others"
"Are you serious milord?! The fact that we're even having this conversation is already setting us one foot in the grave! Helping a mage is like helping an outlaw, imagine how everyone would react once they found out that an Imperial prince is working with a mage of all people, they'll slaughter us! And you're forgetting milord that as a knight of the empire I am honor bound to repor-"
"Three hundred gold coins...You help me cover up our cooperation with the Frost witch and I will give you just that, of course, they're also from my personal funds so don't feel guilty"
I was expecting him to bite but instead, all I got was a disgusted expression
"Milord I am a knight of the Empire, If you expect to bribe my loyalty and tarnish away my honor in exchange for a few measly coins then you're wrong!"
"Five hundred gold coins...And I'll pay for your tab at that whorehouse that you keep attending too"
"...."
"...."
"...I also want you to reserve the entire place for one night just for myself"
"What happened to all that crap about honor?"
"It is also the duty of a knight to follow the wishes of their lord, any knight that bites the hand that feeds them is a fool! Mwahaha!"
"Haaa...Fine, it's a deal then. But remember this means I have your full cooperation in keeping the mage under our ranks"
"I'm still reluctant about this milord, but if that's what you wish then ultimately I can't do anything about it. Just don't go crying to me once the hunters start knocking at our doors"
"Once that happens I expect your dashing self to come to the rescue" I said with a smile...
"Give me a break, you sure are weird..."
.
.
.
Thinking about that now, I think Rudeus was right. Now that I have the frost mage in front of me, I could feel my words getting stuck in my throat. I could sense her bloodlust oozing from afar, and the cold atmosphere around me was making me shiver to my bones...
To be honest, my instincts were screaming that I'll die if I get any closer, and I myself want to get away as soon as possible, but I suppressed all of these urges and continued to look at the mage with a smile. I couldn't really see her expression behind her white mask but I could somewhat tell that she was confused based on how she cocks her head...
"So? Are we just gonna keep staring at each other until the sun comes down or what?"
"Oh, apologies for that one I got lost in my own thoughts"
"I don't care, just tell me what you want already" She clicked her tongue in annoyance, and I could feel the mist around us growing thicker and colder...
"Now, Now, there's no rush we can talk all we want around here I assure you no one is gonna disturb us. I suppose instructions would be a perfect way to kick things off? I'm Arthur Dragonmourn by the way, what's yours?"
I felt a shift in the atmosphere again, this time though it felt...like it was easing up a bit...
"You're a prince? What's someone like you doing all the way out here?"
She seemed to mussed on the answer for a bit, then I sensed a spark of realization from her followed by the air going extremely cold once again.
"You're here to put me down, aren't you?...Hehe, So I assume that there are hunters lying in wait as you distract me? Is that how they usually work? You sly bastard"
Saying this, the air around her grew thicker and small sharp crystal shards began to form in the air, they were mostly pointed at me, but some were positioned so that at random spots...Possibly so as to anticipate an attack...I could tell that she was about to launch some of those things at me so I quickly held up both of my hands
"No, No! Listen! I come here in peace. There are no hunters stationed nearby, and if there were trust me they wouldn't even bother talking to you. I told you I come in peace, I want to make an accord with you so we could settle all of this without bloodshed...Could you at least hear me out"
"Why would even bother talking to me? Don't you people consider us mages to be devils?"
"Not me personally, but if that's how you see yourself as well then so be it. I don't really mind making a deal with a devil"
"...Make it quick"
The crystal shards were still high up in the air, but they were stationary for now. I slowly reached for my pockets a small pouch and an envelope with my seal on it. I both raised it for her to see
"Before we start, are you aware that I'm the current Viceroy of Vanelands?" Asking this, I pointed to my official insignia which was hanging at the left side of my clothes
"...No, this is the first time I'm hearing it. Hmph, I see...So I assume that this 'accord' you make with me has something to do with me robbing the merchants that pass by huh?"
"It's as you guessed. I'll be blunt with you, you're being a pain in our arses for all the times you've been robbing the passing merchants, because of you the economy of the city among other things is at its lowest point...I'm here to ask you to put a stop to it"
"..."
She's silent...Is she feeling guilty perhaps? Or is it indifference? Either way, she must've known that her actions would cause problems down the line...
"I understand that you were doing it for survival, but as things stand all of us will face dire consequences if things remain the same. The state of our city will plummet as you continue pillaging from the merchants and thousands would be affected. And while they haven't shown up now, the hunters from the church will be dispatched to take care of you...Which is where our deal comes in"
"...Which is?"
"I'll give you two choices, one is that you take this pouch which contains a thousand gold coins, and run off to another country, this will be more than enough to cover your expenses for the year so you can start a new life or something "
'T-That's a lot of money..."
I could only smile as I hear this, after all-
"My brother called this much money 'pocket change'... "
"W-What?"
"Oh it's nothing, anyways think fast"
I tossed the pouch to her which she struggled to catch, it was honestly an entertaining sight, though I wasn't able to keep up my smile the moment she glared at me which literally gave me chills...
"Anyways that's one option that you could take, but there's also another, which is this" I waved the envelope before also tossing it to her, which she was able to catch this time around
"What is this?"
"You see...We're short staffed recently in regard to our house servants. So I'm willing to hire anyone who can clean and make good tea...Well, you don't really seem to be that type but I reckon you'd be good at it after a couple of months"
"Are you kidding me? I'm a mage...There's no way I can-"
"No worries, your identity will be kept a secret between me and a...trusted subordinate of mine. Oh, and before you ask I won't force you to be a weapon of war or something, you can use or practice magic if you like so long as you keep it within wraps, and of course you can quit as a maid anytime and I won't release your identity or anything..."
"Well...This deal sounds too good to be true"
"It is, and I need you to decide now before everything is too late"
Saying this I began to walk back towards my horse, I'd already laid out my deal perfectly so It was up to her what does she want to do now
"You can use that money to leave first thing in the morning, but if you change your mind you can think of that as a downpayment and just come to my manor in the city, show that envelope, and our city guard would treat you as a guest"
"..."
She was silent once again, well I guess she does need time to think about this so I should let her be
"Hm?"
I suddenly heard my men on the other side of the forest their victories, I guess we won the battle huh?
"Welp, I should get going now. Just think about it okay?"
"..."
Since I was getting no response I figured that everything was done here. As I proceeded to ride back to my men I let out the biggest sigh in my life as I tightly clenched my chest...
"...I thought I was gonna die..."