I Am Not The Duke's Evil Son-Chapter 82: Negotiation

With a cold, indifferent gaze, Arthur stared at the group of Droblin before him, though deep inside, he was quite surprised.

’Are these Droblin? I knew there was a village of theirs somewhere in the forest, but I really didn’t expect to meet them this saves me the trouble of searching for them.’ 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

In fact, he was planning to look for the village and bring them to his side. Although they weren’t strong, he needed all the support he could get to face the goblins.

As he thought about what to do, he saw a Droblin girl take a difficult step forward and say in a broken voice, "O human lord, have mercy on us and spare our lives." Then, very slowly, she raised her finger and pointed to Thorne.

"My lord, we saved your follower’s life, and I hope that’s enough proof of our good intentions. We are merely a peaceful people, with no ill intent."

The rest of the goblins stared at him, showing pleading looks as well.

Arthur calmly turned to Thorne and asked, "Really? Is what they’re saying true?"

Thorne showed a reluctant look and replied, "Yes, my lord. They are peaceful folk."

Arthur began thinking about the matter and displayed a strange expression. Some of the Droblin began to feel a little relieved, as the human lord before them had not yet shown any hostile intent.

Maarit was on edge, but seeing the human leader’s reaction made her hopeful, and she prayed with all her heart: ’Please, don’t make things harder for us.’

After a minute of silence, Arthur raised his hand and signaled his soldiers to cancel the "Knight’s Aura" skill.

As the heavy pressure on them disappeared, all the Droblin breathed roughly and felt great relief. Maarit nearly collapsed from exhaustion, but she resisted the urge and remained standing, waiting for Arthur’s response.

Arthur noticed her gaze and sighed: ’What a remarkable girl.’ Then he checked her stats.

[Name: Maarit]

[Race: Droblin]

[Level: E]

[Class: Boundless Knight]

[Abilities: Swordsmanship (E) – Hardened Body (E) – Herbal Medicine (D) – Archery (E)]

[Equipped Item: Magic Rope (D)]

’Her skills are varied but very weak.’ He was a little surprised, then sighed. ’Alright, there’s a slight problem. Now that I’ve found the Droblin, I need to figure out how to bring them to my side. I can’t just propose it outright.’

After a short moment of thought, he looked at the Droblin with a sharp gaze that made them shiver, then said, "You may go."

And inwardly thought: ’With the Tracking skill Novarian gained, we can follow them and find their village. Then I’ll wait for the right time to reveal myself or something along those lines. Or maybe I can create an opportunity now... annoying.’

Because Novarian had killed a somewhat special monster, he gained a new skill "Tracking" and with it, they were able to locate Thorne quickly. Naturally, they had noticed the presence of small footprints near Thorne’s, but they assumed they belonged to goblins, which was why they had intervened aggressively earlier.

Upon hearing his words, the Droblin sighed in relief and wanted to leave quickly, but they didn’t dare move, not wanting to offend the human leader.

They gathered their belongings and placed their wounded companions on the stretcher Thorne had previously used.

At the same time, Arthur gestured to Faelor and said, "Heal Thorne."

"As you wish, my lord." As usual, the elderly mage acted with grace and cast his healing spell.

A gentle green aura surrounded Thorne and healed all his wounds both superficial and serious.

When Maarit noticed this, her eyes widened and she thought, ’A healing mage!’ She quickly turned and looked at her wounded companions. She knew most wouldn’t survive. After a brief moment of thought, she made a decision, showed a firm look, and stepped forward toward Arthur.

But Robert grabbed her arm and said quietly, "What are you planning to do?"

She gently pushed his hand away and said firmly, "What must be done. I won’t let my comrades die."

Robert furrowed his brow angrily and grabbed her more forcefully this time, then scolded, "Enough! Haven’t you made enough bad decisions? Let’s head to the village. If we arrive early, we might save some of them."

Maarit didn’t care what he said, and sighed sorrowfully: "And then what? Some will die, and in the end, more will follow, from goblins and beasts. You know that. Our village is dying, and there’s nothing we can do."

Robert’s hand slackened, and a complicated expression appeared on his face. He understood her point. Ever since the goblin nest appeared near their village, life had become hell. They suffered repeated attacks, their water source had been poisoned, and many villagers were sick. If this continued, many more would die. Not to mention, the forest had recently filled with more monsters, tightening the noose around them. They couldn’t leave and even if they did, they didn’t know where to go.

He pulled his hand back and stared at it for a moment before sighing: "What you’re doing might be suicide."

"Don’t worry. I’ll only ask him to heal our people. As you said, who knows what his true intentions are? He must not learn the location of our village."

She quietly walked toward Arthur with hesitation and stood before his horse, raised her head, and looked at him with determined eyes.

Her action drew everyone’s attention, both humans and Droblin.

Arthur gave a faint smile. Whenever he looked at the Droblin, they felt like small children with odd coloring. Calmly, he asked her, "What do you want?"

Maarit hesitated for a moment before saying, "Human lord, please have your healer save my comrades. I beg you. Their lives are in danger."

Everyone around them gave strange looks, while Robert let out a long sigh.

Arthur wasn’t surprised. In fact, he had been waiting for this moment, but even so, he showed a cold look: "Why should I do that?"

Maarit felt some anxiety, but she didn’t lose her composure. Quickly, she took out the magic rope she possessed and presented it to him: "This rope is one of our village’s treasures. It’s very valuable to us. Take it take anything you want from us, just save my comrades’ lives."

Her words drew sympathy from many of the soldiers, while the Droblin felt deep sorrow. Yes, the rope was a valuable treasure, but they were all willing to give it up in exchange for their comrades’ lives. Because of the village’s small size, their bonds were very strong.

Arthur gave a sarcastic smile: "I’m sorry to say, your village’s treasure is garbage in my eyes. But since you’re willing to pay for treatment, how about giving me something else?"

Maarit was surprised by his response. She felt a bit of hope because it meant negotiation was still possible, but she also felt something was off. Hesitantly, she replied, "What is it?"

Arthur showed an evil look and said, "You. I want you in exchange for saving your comrades. A very fair deal."

Everyone was shocked. The Droblin’s faces darkened, the soldiers grinned oddly, and Novarian furrowed his brows with confusion. He had been watching Arthur with his skills the whole time and noticed he was acting very strangely.

Most surprised was Octavia, who stared at Maarit strangely and scanned her small green body before giving her master a suspicious look. But she quickly shook her head and cleared her mind of strange thoughts.

Maarit froze and couldn’t respond. After a full minute of silence, she said, "I can’t."

Arthur shook his head with disappointment: "What a shame." Then raised his hand and signaled the soldiers: "Prepare to leave."

Upon hearing that, Maarit felt immense disappointment. She had wanted to continue the negotiation to reach a mutually satisfying outcome. Quietly, Robert placed a hand on her shoulder and comforted her: "You tried. But this human is asking the impossible."

"Yes." She looked around at the soldiers with hazy eyes and began thinking of her village. Then suddenly, she shouted, "I accept!"

"What are you thinking?!" Robert couldn’t help but scold her.

Arthur stopped and turned to her with a satisfied smile: "Hoooh, unexpected." Then said, "Faelor, heal the wounded."

But Maarit added in a firm tone: "But I have another condition." At this point, she was no longer hesitant about anything.

Arthur furrowed his brow and asked, "What is it?"

"I want you to help my village by exterminating a goblin nest. Then I’ll become yours to do with as you please."

Arthur felt a bit strange hearing her say that: ’Do I come across as some kind of pervert? What’s with these people?’ He sighed in annoyance and shook his head: "I can do that. But..." He gave her a cold look. "Do you think someone like you is worth all that trouble?"

"Take me too. Just help our village." Robert stepped forward and stood beside Maarit, surprising her greatly.

She stared at him for a moment and asked, "Why?"

He calmly replied, "All for the village. And I won’t leave you alone."

She smiled happily, then looked at Arthur with determination and said, "What about now?"

Arthur shook his head and was about to say something, but unexpectedly, all the Droblin stepped forward and said, "We’re all ready to become your slaves just save our village." To them, their lives didn’t matter if it meant saving their home and families.

Arthur didn’t know what to say and showed a strange expression. But in truth, his heart fluttered with happiness: ’Through this small group, I’ll win the hearts of the Droblin.’

He gave a resigned look and said, "Alright, I agree."

Maarit and the rest of the Droblin smiled with overwhelming joy, uncaring of their fate. The soldiers also smiled, impressed by the resolve of these small creatures and hoping their lord would help them.

As for Novarian, he chuckled softly, "What a talented actor... but still, he’s kind-hearted. Perhaps my worries were misplaced."