The art of negotiation. Its essence lies in presenting the strongest offer first.
If the other party accepts, great; if not, you've still secured a more advantageous position.
Even if you can only get 80 in reality, demanding 100 from the start makes 90 seem like a bargain.
"Yes, now this looks more like a surrender document."
"As I've said, it's not actually a surrender document..."
Well, it's all the same in the end, isn't it? I shrugged my shoulders and put down the letter as Tatikios sighed.
"Do you think those conditions were effective?"
Nikephoros asked, as if he'd been waiting for this moment.
By "those conditions," he probably meant all those giveaways.
"They should have been effective enough. Well, we'll know the details when we meet in person."
Releasing prisoners and guaranteeing all property in the capital. Honestly, these were conditions so generous it would be strange not to be tempted by them.
Especially for nobles who had accumulated wealth in the capital, if not for the soldiers.
"I still think the conditions are too generous," Tatikios said.
"It's wealth that would just be plundered by the Crusaders anyway. If it helps fill the Sultan's corruption gauge, all the better."
Besides, when we eventually bring the Sultanate of Rûm to its knees, that wealth would return to the Empire's hands.
"And the Sultan needs conditions like these to save face. It would be troublesome if he lost the nobles' trust over this matter."
War might be the soldiers' business, but it was the nobles' gold that fed those soldiers.
Until the Sultan completely fell to Roman corruption, we needed him to lead the Sultanate smoothly.
"Anyway, now that the Sultan has taken a step back, we should respond in kind. Could you bring me a pen and paper?"
"Are you planning to write the letter yourself this time, Princess?"
"Yes, I should at least show that much courtesy."
Tatikios's writing skills were excellent, but not as good as Anna's.
Besides, now that the Sultan had begun his seduction strategy, I needed to respond with sincerity.
If Liu Bei had delegated the three visits to Zhang Fei out of laziness, he would never have obtained Zhuge Liang.
"And I need to think about what to ask for instead of having him kneel."
"...So that was your true intention all along."
Nikephoros sighed as if he'd expected this.
What are you talking about? I shrugged and began writing.
※※
The meeting with the Sultan was held on the plain between our camp and Nicaea.
When I arrived exactly at the appointed time, a young boy who appeared to be the Sultan was already standing in the temporary tent with ten attendants, as previously agreed.
"This is why I suggested we leave early..."
Tatikios muttered with a sigh.
I replied with an awkward smile.
"Being slightly late is also a negotiation strategy. Come on, go ahead and assess the situation first."
"Sigh... very well."
Tatikios nodded and quickened his pace.
In response, a man from the Sultan's side approached us on horseback.
The two met at the midpoint, exchanged a few words, then turned to their respective parties and said:
"They say we can begin the meeting right away."
Fortunately, our slight tardiness didn't seem to be an issue.
At Tatikios's signal, Nikephoros, who was escorting me, also quickened his pace toward the tent where the Sultan was waiting.
"Princess."
At that moment, Nikephoros moved close to me and whispered softly.
"What?"
"Are you certain you won't need my assistance?"
It had already been arranged that I would meet with the Sultan alone.
I nodded as if it were obvious.
"Yes, just trust me."
Although I was a bit nervous about facing the Sultan, I preferred handling this man-to-man with just the two of us rather than having many people involved.
Above all, I planned to tell him everything I wanted to say, both the speakable and unspeakable.
"...Very well. However, if things seem to be taking a strange turn, please call my name at any time."
"Alright. Though I doubt things will go awry."
He was the Sultan of a nation, not just some random loudmouth.
Surely he wouldn't resort to violence just because I provoked him a little... probably.
"Relax your expression. You look more tense now than during battle."
"I am actually tense."
"Why, afraid the Sultan might pounce on me?"
"That's one concern, and I'm also worried that you might do something disrespectful to the Sultan."
"...Sigh, you always have to add something extra."
Of course, I fully intended to be disrespectful to the Sultan.
Creating a sense of humiliation for him was one of the goals of this meeting.
"Anyway, don't worry about me. I told you before, I have a purple belt in jiu-jitsu."
"And what exactly is this 'jiu-jitsu' you keep mentioning?"
"I'll show you later, when we return to Constantinople."
Wait, is this an opportunity to legally put Nikephoros in an armbar?
As I smiled meaningfully, Nikephoros tilted his head silently.
As we approached the tent and came within recognizing distance, all the kebab guys bowed their heads to me—except for one small boy sitting with an uncomfortable expression.
I quickly dismounted from Special Week, nodded lightly to them, and approached.
"Salam alaikum. Sorry I'm late."
A well-built middle-aged man replied in fluent Greek.
"Wa alaikum salam. It's fine, Princess. We simply arrived a bit early, so please don't worry about it."
I could tell just by his expression. He appeared to be the leader of the nobles who had positively received my conditions.
"Then we shall withdraw as agreed."
In contrast, the man standing beside him spoke with an irritated voice.
He was probably one of the Sultan's close allies who disapproved of the conditions I had set.
I nodded, and he whispered something in the Sultan's ear before withdrawing.
"I shall take my leave as well."
The well-built man also seemed to have more to say, but he bowed and withdrew as if he couldn't fight the atmosphere.
As he retreated, I turned to Nikephoros and nodded.
Our party also moved to a position twenty paces away from the tent, as previously arranged.
"Whew, it's hot today, isn't it?"
After confirming that both parties had completely withdrawn, I sat down across from the already seated Sultan, making small talk.
The Sultan, who had been silently glaring at me until now, finally spoke with a small sigh as I sat down.
"Haah..."
It was a sigh that seemed to contain many emotions.
Still, I could guess why he had remained silent in front of the others.
Pretending not to notice, I looked around and said with a grin:
"You can speak now, little brother."
Instead of kneeling, this was the condition I had requested and the Sultan had accepted: "The Sultan will regard Princess Anna Komnene as his elder sister."
It was a humiliating condition I had specially prepared for the 17-year-old boy who was likely still in his turbulent adolescent years.
Having to show respect to a younger girl—isn't that the greatest humiliation for a teenage boy?
"...I still cannot understand why the Princess proposed such an inexplicable condition."
"Tsk, you should call me 'elder sister.'"
"...Elder sister."
The Sultan sighed, rubbed his face, and continued.
"Will you really guarantee everything you promised just for something like this? ...Elder sister."
"Of course. Have you ever seen an elder sister lie to her little brother?"
I crossed my legs casually as I spoke.
"You can take all the money and even the golden candlesticks from the mosques. I'll make sure no one approaches the walls during the promised two days."
This had already been communicated to our soldiers.
Of course, there had been incidents where some Crusader knights expressed dissatisfaction, citing their "rightful plunder rights"...
[The Princess has bestowed additional funds!]
[Hurrah! Long live the Princess!]
I had suppressed that with money too. For at least the two days I promised, no one would approach Nicaea.
"In return, don't force any Christians who want to stay in the city to leave."
"Don't worry. No Christian will leave the city against their will."
"Really? Can your elder sister trust you on this?"
"...Yes."
This kid is more obedient than I expected.
Given the Sultan's unexpectedly compliant attitude, our conversation about Nicaea's treatment flowed smoothly.
As we wrapped up the discussion, the Sultan carefully changed the subject.
"Will you release the prisoners as promised?"
This seemed more important to the Sultan than Nicaea's wealth.
I nodded lightly and answered:
"Yes, we'll confiscate their horses and weapons, but return their armor."
The armor was a gift. For my little brother.
"There won't be any... eye gouging, will there?"
"Of course not. Who do you take me for, a barbarian?"
Romans might enjoy such things, but I didn't want to engage in such inhumane acts.
When I spoke firmly, the Sultan fell into thought for a moment, then said with a slightly agitated voice:
"I still don't understand. Do you not realize that within a month, they will again hold blades to your throat, elder sister?"
In this era where manpower was more valuable than money, this was the one thing he couldn't comprehend.
Still, he consistently calls me "elder sister." That's nice.
I smiled slightly and answered:
"That's why I'm releasing them."
"...What?"
"I'm releasing them so they can come at us again."
I was well aware that the Sultanate had the national power to quickly rearm the prisoners.
That's exactly why I was releasing them. So the Sultan could quickly recover his forces and promptly taste defeat a second time.
Through continuous defeats, I planned to firmly implant the notion in his mind that "Rome is an unbeatable opponent."
"...What do you mean?"
The Sultan stammered in confusion.
"In a week, I'll rebuild an army of 10,000."
"Yes, I'm looking forward to it."
"In a month, 20,000 will gather."
"I know."
"If—if I win, I won't show mercy like you, elder sister."
"Wow, that's really scary."
It was genuinely scary—his stubbornness in calling me "elder sister" even in this situation.
The Sultan still seemed puzzled after his outburst.
Come now, how could you understand the intentions of a dragon?
I smiled lightly and continued:
"Anyway, we'll return them quietly, so come at us again soon. Honestly, even you must think this defeat was too easy."
It was provocation. Even Zhuge Liang didn't hold back his provocations to maintain Meng Huo's fighting spirit.
The Sultan's face reddened, and then with a sigh, he spoke in a serious voice:
"In the not-too-distant future, at our next meeting, you will be the one kneeling before me, elder sister."
Fortunately, my provocation seemed to have worked.