Raphkiel went back to his own tent with such a terrifying expression. As the soldiers saw him passing by, they unconsciously backed away in fear, afraid that they would incur his wrath. It seemed that the marshal was in a very bad mood. They feared that something terrible had happened related to the war. No one wanted to die yet. While they were fierce and not scared of dying for their country, it didn't mean that they wanted to die if they could avoid it. A person's fame and glory were useless if all that remained were the memories of them when they were still alive as well as their corpses if ever it could be retrieved at all.
The prince ignored everyone else and entered his quarters. He took a seat to his usual spot and rubbed his temples. He felt quite guilty towards Meryl for betraying her. He promised her that he wouldn't approach any woman at all before heading to the battlefield. He even had allergies to their touch due to his traumatic past when he was still living with his controlling mother. But that short moment with Alisa was just way too tempting. He didn't know why, but the more he looked at her, it was like he was being sucked in by a powerful force even though she wasn't doing anything at all. There was something special about her that couldn't be seen in other people. His heart was in danger the more he remained on this battlefield. No matter what, he had to end it by tomorrow. He called out for his trusted subordinate, Timothy, to come into the tent. He arrived shortly after and greeted him.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
"Save the honorifics. I hate it when being called a prince. Anyway, contact the enemy Chalandria's prime minister. It's time to end this war." His gaze and tone were so cold that Timothy assumed he was angry. Then he thought about what happened in the car. It was his own fault that something like this happened since he was the one who initiated to help Alisa in the first place. How could he take his anger out on them? He shook his head secretly at this hopeless fool.
Nevertheless, he followed his orders and opened up a wide screen meant for long-distance meetings. It took a time for it to connect to the other side and an irritated man in his fifties while wearing a prominent suit showed up in the wide screen. Behind him stood the other important figures who had high statuses in their government. The moment the prime minister saw Raphkiel's face, his gaze was so cold that it could freeze someone to death.
"How dare you use such a dirty tactic, Infernal Monarch? Aren't you afraid your cowardice would spread to the whole country?" The anger in his tone was evident as he scolded him.
"What are you trying to say, prime minister Zachary? It's a tactical strategy. Why would I risk my men's lives if I could directly take down your commander?" Raphkiel's own cold voice didn't lose in terms of weight against the old man as he sneered at them. "If anyone who's shameless here, it's you Chalandrians. Don't think I don't know that you secretly hired a hundred thousand mercenaries from outside countries just to push us back. You violated the treaty by bringing outsiders in the war game!"
"Preposterous! How dare you accuse us? Do you have any evidence?"
Zachary's chest heaved due to the emotional strain. How could he accuse them for something they didn't do? However, he felt something was off and had a bad premonition. What if that foolish marshal of his actually hired an entire army of mercenaries to aid them in the war? If it was true and information about it leaked to the people, they would lose their trust to the government for being breaking the treaty. Just as his worst fears had come true, Raphkiel spoke once again.
"Why don't you ask marshal Balthor about that matter? Surely, he won't hide anything from the prime minister himself. His massive reinforcements should probably arrive any time now and oppress us. Don't blame me for being rude if you won't give us a satisfying solution."
He then gestured towards the soldiers and asked them to bring out marshal Balthor. It didn't take too long before they came back and brought him in. His face was swollen beyond recognition and his limbs were bent in a strange angle. The Chalandrians were outraged.
"Why did you break his limbs and beat him almost to death? He is an important prisoner!"
"Ah, I apologize for that one. It wasn't me who broke his limbs but a woman. Whether she did it out of spite or out of fun is none of my concern though. Now, how about you tell us how you gathered such a massive army of mercenaries, marshal Balthor?" He approached Balthor with a frosty smile and grabbed his collar.
"D-don't be impulsive, Infernal Monarch! Let me question him." Zachary frantically shouted when he thought that Raphkiel would rough him up again. No matter what, the marshal shouldn't suffer any more beatings or it would just be a blatant slap to their faces. After all, Balthor was still a marshal and a relative of the royal family of Chalandria.
Balthor's face paled while facing the furious Zachary. "P-prime minister..."
"What have you done, you fool?! Is it true that you hired a hundred thousand mercenaries as reinforcements?"
I... I did not—" He wanted to deny it but Zachary's murderous glare silenced him.
"You better be telling the truth if you want to get out of there alive! Now spit it out!" Zachary's roars rang through his ears and scaring him out of his wits. He felt so helpless and there was a trace of defeat in his eyes. There was no escaping this. But it was better to go home and be punished by his family than to remain in Sylpharia and suffer a humiliating torture in the hands of the infernal monarch. He wasn't that tough of a nut to crack.
"Yes... I hired a bunch of mercenaries in order to take the enemy by surprise." His voice was getting weaker and weaker that it was barely audible.
"How dare you, Balthor! Go die somewhere for all I care! You bring shame to our country, you piece of trash!" Zachary's continuous berating was getting annoying and grating to the ears. Therefore, Raphkiel hurriedly changed the flow of the conversation to the one he wanted. He had to end it already.
"So, are you going to discuss the negotiations or leave this trash to die here? I don't mind beheading him now and put his head on a pedestal for everyone to see, so that everyone can see how sinister and unscrupulous your country is."
"You won't dare!"
"Oh, won't I?" His eyes narrowed dangerously as he drew his sword and put it on Balthor's neck. A fine line of red blood was drawn at the slight touch of the sharp blade of his sword. Balthor almost fainted from shock and fear and the pungent smell of urine wafted in the air, making the people inside groan in disgust.
"S-save me, prime minister! I beg you!" Balthor cried in tears.
"What do you want, infernal monarch? State your terms." Zachary finally relented. He still couldn't afford to let Raphkiel kill this worthless marshal of his. He won't be able to bear the consequences if news about the hired mercenaries leaked out. He had to bring Balthor home and they could decide how to punish him whether to silence him or not. The physical losses were nothing compared to having their dirty secrets being aired out in public.
Raphkiel paused for a little bit to add a little tension that would make them forcefully submit to his demands. "Simple. First, withdraw all of your forces from the two of our cities you are currently occupying. Second, compensate our country for our losses due to the war you have started yourselves. It should be exactly five billion silver coins and a single one less, and fifty thousand sacks of wheat. Lastly, you should personally apologize to us."
Zachary thought he had misheard things. It was simply too much. But he couldn't really bargain with him now, so he was left with no choice but to accept it. Their country was filthy rich anyway that it would hardly make a dent to their resources. What he needed to do right now is to silence all of the information that could shake the whole country once it was out. After the negotiation was successful, Raphkiel coldly bid them goodbye and ended the call. He just had to wait for several days for the good news.
A few days had passed and the battlefield was becoming peaceful. The war had ended, with the Sylpharians emerging as the victor. The Chalandrian prime minister along with a few high-ranking generals who accompanied him arrived in Groovehill and took Balthor away after apologizing to Raphkiel and the soldiers. It was very humiliating that the veins in his forehead bulged as he endured the shame. He swore to himself that he would teach Balthor a thorough lesson later on. At the same time, he harbored deep resentment towards Raphkiel. He hadn't told him at all the identity of the woman who had crippled Balthor. He could only leave while huffing in so much anger and hatred.
As Raphkiel returned inside the camp, he caught a glimpse of that familiar light purple hair in the open field where the soldiers used to practice. Alisa was standing there while holding the light-blue pen she had shown to him and the two generals during their escape in Duskhaven. He was curious about how she got such an enigmatic weapon and was about to approach her, but spotted another person standing a meter away from him.
"Isn't that Timothy? What is he doing with her?" He frowned as he softly muttered to himself.
Alisa had been close to him lately and she frequently hanged out with the older guy. Timothy had taken a liking to her and even said that she was just as free spirited as his daughter back home. Right now, he asked her to show some of her moves that she used when slaughtering those people. However, the frosty aura she always carried before was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Alisa was having a warm smile as she gracefully demonstrated her martial prowess as the scythe returned to its normal form.
Now that Raphkiel had seen her again after a few days, he immediately noticed the changes in her. The previously sticky and dirty hair had been cleaned thoroughly, making it smooth and shiny. Her skin that had been dried up and cracked was slowly returning to its former glorious fair white tone and showed off her lustrous beauty completely. She was also now wearing a simple white dress instead of her military uniform. She was radiating the image of the most elegant woman while carrying an air of dignified poise and confidence. She was strikingly way too beautiful; even more beautiful than his fiancée.
Too bad. His heart was already occupied by someone else. He sighed and left, afraid that his heart would be sent in a turmoil once again if he stare at her too much. He would ask for the crown prince to reward her what she deserved later on.