56 days after the explosion – Army tent

When the prince saw his little sister been threatened with a knife, a brotherly feeling that he never felt before in his life suddenly awoken from him

Not

All he did was stare and felt like telling the guy to go ahead since it would be doing him a favor. It was really tempting to do just that and get rid of his really "lovable" sister ones and for all

Hell, it would even be a great excuse, saying something like "I tried my best to stop that evil bastard, but I couldn't save her" while looking reaaaaally sad

That way he shouldn't worry fro a sudden stab on the back or rebellion from all the people that loved her, and it was A LOT of people, so he didn't want to worry about them

But hey!  The prince shouldn't know she was behind the bomb, right? why would he want to get rid of her them?

Wrong!

From the start, she was one of the prince biggest suspects since she always thought there was no way for someone so smart to act so innocent all the time. He was sure there was something wrong in her head

It was definitely not because he held a big grudge thanks to everyone comparing his achievements to hers and because he was constantly made a mockery since she surpass him at the age of 5. It was definitely NOT because of it

Definitely, OK!!??

Well, the other reason was an interesting letter he got a few days ago, telling him of her involvement

He didn't exactly took it as an absolute truth since it could have been a fake later, but her sudden appearance on the tent help proves the authenticity of it

The best part was that if  the rest of the content in the letter  was really authentic, he had one more bargain chip to end the war with big profits on his end

"Cut the act, I know she is with you"(prince)

"Fine... General, you can drop the knife"(Aria)

"Ok"(Rexford)Said while dropping the knife

This action shock all the guards that came with the prince, but only them, since the prince already suspected it and the rest of the people from the Zergeit empire already knew

"Was it Jorge who told you?"(Alice)Asked with her typical angelic smile, like nothing was wrong

Now it was Prince time to be shocked. It seems she knew somehow that the mysterious letter came from Jorge(or at least sign by him)

For a moment he thought she may have sent the letter to confuse him or something, but then he collected himself

What would be the point? It was better to believe Jorge had been tailing her or something and send the information to help him. For now at least, it was better to play it cool

"Yep, good insight little sis"(Prince)

"Thank you big bro!"(Alice) kept smiling and doing her "innocent" act while thinking it was to be expected. How else would the idiot manage to win the battle otherwise

"Anyway, let's cut to the chase. I came to demand the surrender of your army, the return of the troops and forts, and war reparations from your part"(prince)said

And the room turn completely quiet.....

Not only Alice, general Rexford, prince Damian and all the people from the Zergeit empire were staring him like he was crazy, even his guards were staring at him like he was crazy

For starters, in negotiations it was standard to slowly poke at each others to have a general sense of how much they can get off from each others. True, a good negotiator can get more than a poor one, no matter the circumstances, but demanding everything from the start....

Let's just say it's not a smart move for a negotiation, especially when the other side still had cards to play

"Kid, aren't you jumping the guns a little fast? I know you are young, but at least make some sense before you talk. There is no way that is a fair deal, especially when we still have hostages. Or do you think we will agree because we are afraid to die?"(Rexford)

"Eh! I don't want to die!"(Demian) said the poor kid in a situation he could barely understand

And it was to be expected, even though he was only 3 years younger than the prince, in the end he was a sheltered kid that barely got out. Or in any kind of dangerous or complicated situation for the matter

Basically, he was a spoiled brat

"I am sorry to say this prince, but you do have 1 more brother and sister and our country has a policy of never yield under pressure, no matter what. The reason you were allowed to come to the battlefield was because not only our chance of losing were low but because the country wouldn't be in danger even if you got captured"(rRexfordmercilessly told Damian the hard thruth

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Of course, this made Damian turn completely pale while showing a horrifying expression

"Calm down Damian, everything will be alright"(Alice)said to him with her angelic smile, calming him down instantly and showing his veneration for her

Inside she was really annoyed at both the attitude from Demian and her big brother, but she still kept her act intact while earning some brownie points with Damian and the people from the Zergate empire. Sadly for her, they were all she had at the moment

Meanwhile, the prince was impressed on her skills to dominate the young prince from the other country. He felt sorry for the kid but in the end, it was his fault for falling in the honey trap. Besides, he was enjoying the show

"Like I was saying, you are demanding too much considering we still have a lot of soldiers and forts under our custody. I can agree to exchange all your soldiers for the few we have remaining and all  the people present in the tent of course. 

As for the forts we have in our possession, we can make a deal..."(Rexford) make a perfectly good offer under the circumstances

Afte the battle, the soldiers remaining on the Zergeit empire side were too few and too damaged to be an equivalent exchange for the numerous and healthy soldiers on the forts. Only by adding the importance of a general and prince it could be considered "equal" Depending on how you looked, one side had more earning than the other

 For one part, the heir to the throne and a competent general were extremely valuable to any kingdom, and the same can be said for numerous soldiers and mages. True, they have a spare of generals and prince, but at the same time, they would lose face if their heir to the throne got spoiled just because they refused to make a fair deal

On the other hand, if the other side was too greedy, they could use it as an excuse to dispose of him, so the offer the general made was fair under the circumstances

"Sorry but my offer remains the same"(prince) said while shrugging and showing a smug face

And more silence remained on the room....

Everyone was looking at him like he was crazy(including his guards of course). Any idiot would realise that the general offer was completely fair and totally refusing it  was a really stupid move. On the other side, Alice knew he was an idiot, so she wasn't really surprised, just annoyed

"Big bro, be reasonable. The general is offering a really good deal, Why would you keep on insisting in that completely unfair deal?"(Alice) said with her angelic smile

"Unfair? my offer is completely reasonable under the circumstances. In what way is it unreasonable?"(prince)kept acting coy

"Brat, can't you see how unreasonable it is!!?? Not only are you demanding we hand over our hostages and forts, you are even asking us to pay for doing it!?Are you crazy!?"(Rexford) Lost his cool

He was completely red and almost having a heart attack. He was already trying his best to remain calm after having a crushing defeat when it should have been a crushing victory. Not only was his future completely ruin, he dreams completely shattered and his honor tarnished in history for all eternity, he couldn't have his cup of tea under the present circumstances, making him really cranky. If you add the shitty attitude from the prince...

It was a blessing he didn't charge at the prince and tried to kill him were he stands

"Calm down old man, I think you are having a big misconception. I agree that exchanging your lives for my soldiers is a fair deal, but I expect you to pay me for letting you leave the forts"(prince)

"Uh!?"(x50)

Again, everyone(literally) was looking at the prince like he was crazy. Just how unreasonable can this guy get!

 "Big bro, you aren't making any sense"(Alice) was the first one that managed to said what everyone else was thinking

"Am I really? Why don't you read this letter then"(prince) said with a smug smile while throwing a letter to  general Rexford

He managed to grab it by reflex, and with confusion and a little curiosity, he started reading

When he finished, he turned completely white with a horrified face like Demian a few minutes ago. The face Alice show after catching a glimpse from the side wasn't much better...