Proofreader: somnium

Tactness Fight

Overall, he didn’t expect much from the Duke’s tea biscuit, which was heavy and dark in color and had almost no fancy decorations. Although the color and shape were not as flashy as in the tea party of young girls, the taste itself was the best. In particular, the chocolate eclair, which gives a savory yet delicate sweetness to bitter green tea, was quite a tasty combination.

“I didn’t expect that Sir Kahel would like such a sweet dessert.”

“I don’t hate it. It was a pre-meal dish, so I prepared it not too heavy, but I’m glad that Sir Luahalla seemed to like it.”

Luahalla was just confirming that Kahel had prepared well. If Kahel understands and prepares the dessert to his taste, this mysterious duke puts in a lot of effort while pretending not to be.

But he couldn’t ask what he was up to, blatantly. If he does, Kahel will find out that he was only pretending to love Kahel. Instead, Luahalla began to show affection for Kahel more actively. Reassured by his own attitude, he hopes that Kahel will reveal his purpose first.

“Tea time with Sir Kahel is so much fun. What can I do to receive more invitations to such ‘close’ events in the future?”

It was a remark that anyone who heard it would say that this man was also possessed by Kahel’s devilish power. Kahel grinned a subtle smile and decided not to drag any more as he touched his lips with the tip of his finger.

“Sir Luahalla. I need your connections and influence in my future business. And in return, I’ll support you in one business you run at Logos while at the same time being a safe fence for you. Even if the Crown Prince of Hildebrunn becomes king and behaves on a whim, he will not be able to tamper with you. If you wish, we will also make it possible for you to seek asylum in Logos.”

Kahel’s proposal was quite attractive to Luahalla. In fact, his half-brother, Crown Prince Ragdrill, was greedy and capricious. Ragdrill’s personality was so dangerous that the King sent him as a diplomat to the Logos, their greatest ally, after seeing Luahalla’s ‘talent’, and was pleased with him.

So, in fact, he was worried about after Ragdrill became king. It is because it is the second princes’ woe that they could be assassinated without even a soul knowing.

“To me…… I don’t know what kind of connections and influence you want. When it comes to my personal connections and influence, Sir Kahel’s would be as good as mine.”

“It has to be done with His Majesty the King and the Crown Prince of Hildebrunn. I could meet them in person, but it’s not a story that neither me nor them can easily bring up, so it’s important to have someone who can act as a bridge between us. And I don’t think there’s anyone more suitable for that role than Sir Luahalla.”

“What the hell is the kind of business you are trying to do?”

Seeing Luahalla, whose eyes were shining brightly as if he knew nothing, Kahel smiled.

“Sir Luahalla. You actually do know that I would contact Sir, right? I’m sure you’re not unaware of the results of research on bloodstone’s interaction with lylok. Perhaps, the Hildebrunn side has already spoken to Sir Luahalla.”

Luahalla felt embarrassed and his back was burning hot. Kahel Luave already knows everything. Perhaps he could even know that Luahalla was pretending to be in love with him. But as long as he pretended to be innocent, he had to push through to the end.

“Well…… I received a message that a messenger from Hildebrunn had arrived in Ardennes, but I didn’t know what it’s going to be about…… But if it’s about bloodstone and lylok, like Sir Kahel said, you do know that I will be negotiating from Hildebrunn’s point of view, right? In addition, I have not heard the instructions from my home country, so there is nothing I can say for sure.”

“I know. But…….”

Kahel looked at Luahalla’s expressions and lengthened his words.

“I’m asking you to think about what might be better for you. You’re too clever to put patriotism to the highest value.”

Luahalla felt a chill as if the hairs on the nape of his neck were sticking out at the red eyes that peered through him. This man, three years younger than him, was already head of the undeniable Duchy of Luave.

“What do you want?”

“Currently, the import cost of lylok is 300,000 luans per ton. It’s not a bad price for a decorative building material, but I know it’s not in high demand because of the similar form and cheaper alternatives.”

It was true. In fact, it was similar to lylok, but because it was cheaper and harder, lylok was a mineral with little merit. Thanks to this, Hildebrunn had not much interest in exporting lylok until now.

“But as of two months ago, the export of lylok from Hildebrunn was completely stopped. You must have heard the results of the reaction with the bloodstone. Hildebrunn will have a lot of trouble with pricing, but you will have to work with us, the largest producer of bloodstone anyway. We will be the largest importers of lylok.”

“That’s right.”

“If that’s the case, then we’re going to sign an exclusive contract altogether. We will guarantee a certain amount of revenue per year, well beyond the revenue Hildebrunn currently earns from the sale of lylok. Of course, there must be a discussion about the price.”

“What do you think the price is?”

“That’s why you should call Hildebrunn first. But I don’t want to waste time arguing for nothing. Be sure to ask for the price they want.”

Luahalla remembered the King’s letter he had received yesterday. He lied to Kahel that it had not yet arrived, but the King could not procrastinate on such an important matter.

-…… A 1 kg bloodstone is usually worth 2,000 luans, so if you sell it with a 500 g lylok, you will get 3,000 luans. Then, even after subtracting the processing cost, the value of lylok would be around 700 luans per 500 g. Try to coax him, but get to the minimum of one million luans per ton.

However, given the current atmosphere, there is a high probability that it will not be accepted. At a price nearly four times higher than the previous export price, the bloodstone would continue to be sold without lylok, but it was obvious that no one would buy lylok, which costs 1 million luans per ton. The hilt was held by the Luave family.

“Give me time to think.”

“Sure. I’m not asking you to give me an answer right away.”

Luahalla stood up with a serious expression, unlike the first time when he entered energetically.

It was Luahalla who had to fight. How much should the price of lylok be set to satisfy Kahel?

He said to weigh the Kingdom of Hildebrunn and the Duchy of Luave, but in fact, this was like a problem that had already been answered. If he was loyal to Hildebrunn, what would come back to him? He could have saved his life. Even that was destined to be easily swept away when his use ran out someday.

Although he was creating a connection within the Logos, he was still a foreigner. It was difficult to start a business without getting a strong supporter from within Logos. And Kahel knew all these things, so he made a fortune on it. Because there was a certain bait.

Luahalla followed Arder, who tried to lead him to the front door, frowned like a student carrying a difficult homework. Then he suddenly remembered something else he wanted to ask and turned around. Kahel said he would give him solid support for one business he was running, and he wanted to ask if Kahel even knew about the business he was trying to run. If he was going to hold Kahel’s hand, he had to know the exact price.

“Sir Kahel!”

It was when he was in a hurry and forgot to knock as he opened the parlor door again.

“Sir Luahalla? Have you forgotten anything?”

Kahel quickly erased the look of surprise and asked with a calm face. But Luahalla couldn’t take his eyes off the maid, who bent over to remove the teacup from his side.

Kahel clearly said that the ‘ordinary maid’ couldn’t be next to him. However, the maid was so ordinary that he felt an incompatibility. She certainly doesn’t seem to have any great aura, but she naturally stood by Kahel’s side.

‘Then…… Was it because he didn’t want to show the maid that he had the butler serve tea earlier?’

Luahalla’s head was spinning. But, with a quick glance, he remembered the excuse for staring at her for a moment.

“I…… If you would send the maid out for a while… … .”

“Oh, I see. Lena. Put it away later.”

The maid, called Lena, quietly bowed her head and backed away. And certainly, Kahel was keeping an eye on Luahalla, who had spotted her. However, Luahalla spoke about his business as if nothing had happened.

“I’m sorry for the sudden return, but you said earlier that you would definitely support me for one business I would like to start in this country, right?”

“Of course.”

“Do you know what kind of business I am interested in?”

The corner of Kahel’s lips rose slightly at that question.

“Sir Luahalla is known as a fashionable person in the social world. I heard that you are very knowledgeable about fabrics, buttons, and lace, and you are also very close with famous tailors. Well, that’s about it.”

“I think that would be enough. I want to do a big fashion business at Logos. Logos is where you can lead the world’s fashion. The nobles of this country are not afraid of new cultures and new challenges. I would like to hold a large-scale costume presentation here and attract talented foreign personnel. Can you really support a business of that size? There will be quite a few things that require the approval of Her Majesty the Queen.”

“Are you taunting me now? If the Duchy of Luave couldn’t do it, no one else could. Besides, Her Majesty the Queen will welcome the offer. Because she loves fashion and art.”

It was Liddell Santella, not the Queen, who was now trending in the social world. Of course, the young and beautiful Lady received more attention than the middle-aged queen, but it was a little problematic that the attention was too high.

Already, Logos’ fashion world was turning to Liddell. With an angelic face and a slender yet curvy body, she was dazzlingly beautiful no matter what she wore. All of the tailoring rooms made her a muse, and as she walked into the party all eyes were on her.

As a result, the ladies often passed out by tying their corsets so tight to make their waist slim or ruined their hair by bleaching it blonde like Liddell’s.