Niu Zida's words were extremely damaging, instantly pinpointing Amelie's deepest fear. Sure enough, upon hearing this, Amelie's delicate eyebrows twitched slightly. She raised her beautiful eyes, looked at Niu Zida, and said,
"Even if I support you, do you truly have the ability to handle the other knights in the family? There are also many knightly nobles who are not in the territory. If they find out in their own fiefs, they will definitely attack Duōléi City under the pretense of avenging my husband. What if I help you and you lose the war?"
"That is the purpose of my alliance with you. I will help your daughter stably inherit the title, and you can help me appease those knights who want to raise an army. If there are still people who do not obey your orders, then I will naturally deal with them."
"So, you mean to make my daughter your puppet?"
"'Puppet' sounds too harsh. Ultimately, I am just a Goblin; your daughter's title has no meaning to me. Without me, you wouldn't be able to govern this land at all. You should be clear about this. We both get what we need."
From the very beginning, when Amelie heard the news of her husband's death, she did not show excessive sorrow. Niu Zida judged that she was definitely a politically-minded individual driven by self-interest, with little affection for her husband. Therefore, for the subsequent negotiations, Niu Zida simply used practical benefits as conditions for dealing with Amelie.
"If you can truly stabilize the family situation, then cooperating with you is not out of the question."
His judgment of her was correct. Amelie's primary concern now was her daughter and herself. Such a product of a political marriage would inevitably be guided by self-interest. Niu Zida thought of this, and a wicked smile, revealing his understanding of human nature, appeared at the corner of his mouth:
"Of course, I will prove my capability. As long as you genuinely cooperate with me, I will not touch the land and property in the territory that originally belonged to the Baron. However, I still want one more thing…"
"What do you want?"
"It's you. I want you, to be my maid."
"Such a condition…"
Amelie heard Niu Zida staring at her lustfully, trembling as she held her child. Her rosy lips bit down, a look of shame and indignation on her face, unsure how to respond. Seeing this, Niu Zida pressed on:
"If you don't agree, I will kill your daughter and forcibly abduct you. Even if I can't occupy the territory, you will still be mine. So, whether you agree to the condition or not, the choice is yours."
"I understand."
Niu Zida's words clearly meant that no matter what, he would take her. But to save her daughter, she could only give up her body. Amelie had no other choice; even if her marriage was a political calculation, she might not cherish her husband, but her daughter was her own flesh and blood, and she could not abandon her.
"Very good, Lady Amelie is very intelligent. Our negotiation went smoothly. I hope all our cooperation goes well."
"But I also have a condition: you must truly be able to subdue the other knights in the family before I can commit myself to you."
"Agreed, it's a deal."
Niu Zida agreed without hesitation. He already knew that if he wanted to possess Amelie, he would need to suppress the other knights and stabilize the family. If he couldn't subdue the other knights in the family, he would only be able to forcibly flee with Amelie, and the negotiation would fall apart. So, agreeing made no difference.
By this time, it was almost dawn. Niu Zida took Amelie and her child outside. The smoke of war had mostly dissipated. Because there had been chaos all night, no commoners dared to go out in the morning. After all, there were many Goblins on the streets, and based on humans' inherent impressions of Goblins, they dared not approach them.
Seeing this, Niu Zida had Amelie use her influence to gather the city's residents, announcing that there was important news to share with everyone. They broadcasted continuously with loudspeakers, going door-to-door. By the afternoon, only two or three hundred residents had sparsely gathered in the square, surrounded by Niu Zida's Goblin and bandit coalition army.
Seeing that some people had arrived, Niu Zida had Amelie announce the policies that had been prepared:
"Due to taxation issues within the territory, a riot occurred last night. The conflict has now completely ceased. Lord Spring unfortunately died in this conflict. His daughter will now inherit the Baron title, and I will temporarily manage household affairs. To stabilize the situation within the territory, Lord Niu Zida, the Goblin Lord, has been specially invited to assist me in maintaining public order. From today onwards, everything will proceed as usual. All taxes previously imposed due to the war are now waived, and outstanding taxes are also forgiven. Furthermore, next year's taxes will only be two-thirds of the original amount."
Hearing about the significant tax reductions in the territory, the city's residents looked at each other, completely bewildered. In the past, after a war, a captured city would be lucky not to be plundered and massacred; now, taxes were being waived?
"Cough, cough, cough. I am Niu Zida, the Goblin Lord. I apologize for the disturbance caused by some of my men last night. To express my apology, I have decided to execute two of the leading looters as a warning to others."
Niu Zida finished speaking while leaning on Yor's beautiful back, then gave Misato Shizuku a glance. Misato Shizuku unceremoniously killed two of the bandits who had disobeyed orders and looted the previous night. Because it happened so suddenly, a gasp of surprise immediately erupted from the crowd when they saw the two dead.
"Please do not be afraid. This is to enforce military discipline and to show you my resolve. From now on, the city's garrison is not allowed to harass the common people. Furthermore, if the Militia who dispersed last night report back and swear continued allegiance to Spring's descendants, they will be pardoned without guilt. Otherwise, they will be treated as rebels."
Hearing a Goblin speak in a human tone, using human language, and announcing policies similar to human nobles, the common people of the territory found it all very strange. But no one dared to oppose Niu Zida at the moment, as he had just killed without batting an eye.
Having announced most of the policies, Niu Zida declared the assembly dismissed, sending the common people back. In the following days, dozens of Militia members reported back in succession. Niu Zida grouped them with the remaining bandits and called them the Militia, totaling 97 people. The knights in prison heard the news that Spring's daughter had ascended to the Baron title, and Lady Amelie was regent. Among the remaining 9 knights, 5 expressed willingness to pledge allegiance, while 4 disagreed. The 2 severely injured knights also agreed to pledge allegiance and were released by Niu Zida along with the other loyal knights for treatment.
The Dorei Territory had mostly settled down within a few days, but the real trouble was yet to come. The entire Dorei Territory had over a hundred knightly nobles. Now that such a major change had occurred in the Dorei Territory, how the other knights would react was the most crucial factor.