It didn’t take long for Hye-Sung to stroll up. She yawned as she approached, and tossed the notepad over to Francis. Taking a seat next to him, she watched the lieutenant with curious eyes.

“How do I use it?” he asked.

“There should be a pen attached to it.”

“Oh, right. There was that. Here.”

Hye-Sung fished out a fountain pen. Linking to it was a broken chain that matched up with its other half locked to the rings of the notebook. On the whole, the notepad looked rather mundane. A small book, barely large enough to firmly in his hand. Rings stretched across the left hand side of the notepad, and within it several pages were already torn out. Hints of black ink that seeped through the page onto the next, and evidence of rough uneven tearing were everywhere.

“By writing on the page with the pen, it's synced with an auxiliary base. It carries on all the way up to the general. But the immediate recipient is the captain.”

“Brilliant. And is it two way? Meaning, the writings on the other side gets transmitted as well?”

“It is not.”

“Can’t have everything, I suppose. Colonel, you aren’t familiar with the Loyran script, are you?”

“I’m afraid I am not, Your Majesty. I apologise.”

“Don’t be sorry for something that isn’t your fault.”

“I just hope that the one receiving the message is smart enough to pass it onto someone who can read.”

The contents of the message were simple. Written in plain Varexian, Francis hoped that it would get through. The telephone effect was in play, and he knew that.

“He’s asking what you wrote,” Colonel Janus said.

“Ah, of course. ‘This is Duchess Monroe, and we wish to discuss the terms of your surrender. Send an attachment of the highest ranking soldier you can find, as well as a translator that is familiar with Varexian. It would serve you well to find trustworthy men who can handle the task.’”

“Duchess Monroe, Your Majesty?”

“A pseudonym. I can’t let them know that I’m here in person, can I? Even better if they insult me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

They took shelter from the hot Loyran sun. The cruel sun beat down without a care, and even the Colonel looked uncomfortable. His blue uniform tanned and dried by the constant sunlight. There was a clear line between his exposed skin and the pale white from protected clothes. He had rolled up his sleeves, after asking for permission, of course. Francis was much worse for wear. In loose robes and barely spoke of the rank that he held, he vaguely resembled a desert trader from the old world of Arabia.

Even Katalina had stripped herself of the heavy metal armour. In a dark shirt that soaked up her sweat, she tied her brown hair into a high ponytail.

It took longer than expected, but a small pack of horses came riding. A group of perhaps around 3 men, all treading with caution the moment they entered. Even the one that looked like the translator was armed. One of them shouted out in Loyran.

“He says he’s the captain, Your Majesty,” Colonel Janus whispered.

They were hiding in the combined shade of a large boulder and a building. Colonel Janus reached for his knife, while Katalina gripped the handle of her blade. Francis however, was far more relaxed. He fidgeted with the musket in his hand.

“Reply, Colonel. Tell them to lay down their weapons.”

“The captain is willing to talk! We are laying down all of our arms, and hope you will do the same.”

“Throw a knife out there. Aim for the ground. And it’s their turn.”

The whole routine took a total of 10 minutes. Eventually, there was a whole pile of spears and knives, sparing more elaborate and precious weapons of course. Even Francis had the conscience to not strip the opponents of some familial heirloom. In the same way, he didn’t even let the musket’s presence be known.

“Hye-Sung, you take the lead and give commands. Katalina... Try your best to treat me as horrible as you can.”

“My Lord? What are you asking for?”

“It's obvious. If we treat him like a whore from the street, they’ll do it too. The worse they treat him, the harsher terms we can inflict.”

“Exactly that. And you obviously can’t degrade and mistreat me, Katalina. Which is why I’m leaving it to Hye-Sung. And make sure you tell Colonel Janus to convey your words directly.”

“Got it.”

With Hye-Sung taking the lead, she walked out from the shade and spread her arms out. Colonel Janus and the others followed after her. The Loyran men looked at them all over. With a click of her tongue, she tore off the headwear that Francis wore. The cloth dropped down onto the ground, revealing his long grey hair.

“Colonel Janus. Whenever their translator says something, make sure it matches up,” Hye-Sung said with a strong confident voice.

“Um-”

“Do you understand?”

“Y-yes, My Lady.”

Good, it seemed like he either caught on early, or wouldn’t say anything out of line. Colonel Janus shot a concerned glance at Francis before turning his head back to the Loyran men.

“I am Duchess Monroe,” Hye-Sung introduced herself.

“This is Captain Salenamid-al-Roshact. He is pleased to meet you, Duchess.”

“As am I. We want to discuss the terms of your surrender.”

“Is that woman a gift for us?”

Using his head, the captain motioned to Francis. Kim Hye-Sung only looked at the ‘gift’ with neutral eyes. With a swift hit to his legs, the ‘gift’ collapsed onto his knees and let out a soft cry. The captain let out a laugh, and slowly approached.

“Halt. Don’t approach. We are here to talk about your surrender, so know your place.”

“Fine. What are your terms?”

“Get over here and grope me. You’ll find a piece of paper on me.”

“Are you interested in this girl?” Hye-Sung asked as she walked towards Francis.

“I can’t say that I’m not. A Varexian broad is luxurious.”

“Heh. Is that so?”

Hye-Sung picked him up by his arm and felt around. Her hand intruded into his clothes, and reached the bareskin after a while. But as soon as she did, she retreated nearly instantly. Eventually, she found it.

Written by Haein, the terms were harsh. Unreasonable, even. Demanding territory and war reparations that a sane person would never agree to. And Hye-Sung delivered a convincing performance.

The captain laughed. The laughter spread throughout his men, before realising that their opponents were completely serious.

“You’re kidding.”

“We’re not.”

“This is insane.”

“However, we are willing to renegotiate the terms. We can settle for a ceasefire and discuss it at the capital of Loyra.”

“Give the captain a minute.”

“So that’s the plan?”

“You’re smart, Hye-Sung.”

“The captain says that he does not have the rank to authorise a ceasefire or surrender.”

“Then find me someone who can.”

“The captain can arrange for a meeting with the general. He can authorise a ceasefire.”

“So be it. We’ll meet here. You have a time limit of 6 hours to get him here.”