Chapter 260
If the top of Lombardi and the Pellet Corporation completely cut off the trade traffic to the South, the result was obvious.
Sushou sells grain through several tops, but of course the biggest clients are my two tops.
Broadly speaking, the Western trade was undertaken by the top of Lombardi, and the Eastern trade was undertaken by the Pellet Corporation.
Of course, Sushou will be fine if they don"t sell grain to the east and west as they do now.
The profits of the entire estate will be greatly reduced, but the local people of Sushou will not boil their stomachs.
But that wasn"t the picture Chanton Sushou wanted.
Just as my father wished when he built the port for Chesail, it was Chanton Sushou"s desire to prosper in abundance, not just live on grain.
The same was true of Lombardi and Pellet Corporation.
Even if we don"t deal with the South right now, the Lombardi family won"t fall or the Pellet Corporation won"t fall.
Eastern trade is difficult, but it can be done by land as before.
However, the extreme confrontation between Lombardi and Sushou was clearly a great loss for the entire Empire.
The longer the eye-contact fight between me and Chanton Sushou on both sides of the conference room, the more silent the day was.
"Stop."
Perez" short, firm words cut the tension that had been strained.
"Pellet Corporation note, bring it."
With a light hand gesture, what Perez pointed was a bunch of papers in my hand.
The details of the loss caused by the incident and the toll contract with Sushou were tied together.
When Clarivan delivered what was in my hands, Perez read it down without hesitation.
Perez, who had rubbed his forehead a couple of times with his long fingers, opened his mouth.
"In the contract, it is a violation of Sushou."
There was a sound of gulping saliva that seemed to come from the camp on the other side of me.
However, he couldn"t express his dissatisfaction in front of Perez and just sighed.
"The state of Sushou will cooperate to resume operations immediately, and according to the contract, double the amount of loss to Lombardi."
"......Okay, Your Majesty."
Chanton Sushou replied politely.
But I didn"t laugh.
Rather, I had to try not to make an impression.
"Suspicious."
I would rather have Chanton Sushou run wild and said, "You can"t do that, you"re being unreasonable!"
No matter how loyal he is to Perez, there"s a big reason for him to be pressured to defend himself and even try to protest.
But what a naive att.i.tude.
It"s like...
"The Matriarch of Lombardi."
"......yes."
I heard Perez calling me, but I couldn"t look at him from Chanton Sushou.
Obviously, I am the winner of this conference.
Somehow, the winner was over there, so my gut was saying.
"......the Matriarch of Lombardi is also the owner of the two tops, so make sure you pay more attention to the security of your trade traffic."
"I"ll do that."
Pep Pep.
Someone has been playing a joke on my back and I narrowed my eyes to a situation where it seemed that only I wasn"t seeing it.
Even though he paid a tremendous amount of compensation, the calm Chanton Sushou"s face was annoying.
More than anything else, that shabby face bothers me.
I felt sorry for the door of the conference room that had already been closed, so I waited for a while and woke up from my seat.
"Lombardi, of course."
"Twice the compensation against that nasty Chanton Sushou...... No, they"ve got it."
"Isn"t it clear from the beginning that it was a violation of the contract."
"That"s right. Actually, this wasn"t anything to do except come to the conference."
"......Today"s meeting will end with this."
Perez, who was briefly speaking, stood up right away.
Oh, he was just gonna have a little chat.
I kept staring at Chanton Sushou, and then came to my senses, I looked at Perez one step later.
But all I could see was the backs of the aides following the Emperor.
I was going to ask why his expression was like that before the meeting began.
Pro-Lombardi n.o.bles around me gathered their mouths to congratulate me, but those things didn"t come to my ears.
Then, Clarivan approached and spoke in a low, secret voice.
"The Matriarch, maybe there"s a little something..."
"Do you think so, Clarivan?"
I replied with a glimpse of Chanton Sushou"s seat.
"I thought he was a tough opponent, but."
I smirked without realizing it.
"I have to ask Bate to come into the mansion tomorrow."
It"s completely different from dealing with Angenas.
It was the Angenas family, who clearly showed their ulterior motives and even touched a little bit, they only screamed loudly.
Even the Empress, who was smart, could not fix her bad temper, so she could not see the forest at all the time.
However, Chanton Sushou is different.
That blunt face is not what he is thinking about, his quiet hands are quick and bold.
Several times since becoming a householder, Chanton Sushou"s hunting beast-like quick movements have struck.
"The Matriarch of Lombardi."
Just like now.
I turned to the voice I heard behind my back.
"Well, the Patriarch of Sushou."
Chanton Sushou, who is one head taller than me, came close by half a step.
The quality seems to be rich in hair color, but it doesn"t know what"s inside, and the size of the person who exudes the sense of oppression.
For some reason, a big black bear appeared.
"I came to apologize for this."
Do you mean to play the second round following the conference?
I could feel the eyes of the n.o.bles around me who were leaving the conference room, stopping one by one and looking this way.
"This?"
"For whatever reason, it was a violation of the contract first."
It was still an innocent voice and att.i.tude, but I could know for sure.
This black bear is making fun of me now.
"Let"s get it straight, the Patriarch of Sushou. It"s not "became a violation", it"s a violation. Do you still don"t understand what the double indemnity means?"
"......"
Chanton Sushou was silently looking at me for a while.
I looked straight into his eyes and raised one corner of my mouth at an angle.
"And even if this is the case, the compensation will not be reduced by a penny."
"Ah, dear."
Chanton Sushou spoke in an insincere way as if he were reading a book written by someone else.
"Even though I apologize myself?"
At the moment, I remembered the words of the Patriarch of Berne, who compared Chanton Sushou to a snake.
It"s not a snake, it"s a Neunggureongi*. (T/N: Red-banded snake . And has a meaning as "Sly person".)
At the moment, I wanted to break that expressionless mask that seemed to have no redness.
"In the first place, it wasn"t very regrettable, it"s an easy apology, why should I."
Watching Chanton Sushou"s eyes droop for a moment, I continued.
"Don"t you just blow out the smoke while making a fire from the beginning? What"s an apology?"
Then the black bear"s face was clearly hardened.
And that reaction gave me confidence.
Chanton Sushou did it on purpose, even though he knew I"d call a conference if he pressed my tops.
As if trying to catch my attention and prevent me from seeing something.
As Chanton Sushou did, I stepped closer and smiled.
"Let me give you just two pieces of advice, the Patriarch of Sushou."
I raised my index finger.
"One, don"t forget that farming is the will of the sky. How do you know what kind of punishment will come down if you keep making such bad sympathies?"
"What do you mean..."
"Second."
I cut off Chanton Sushou"s words which tried to refute, and I raised my two fingers.
"My people are important to me, just as the local people of Sushou is important to the Patriarch."
I know the love of Chanton Sushou is to his local people.
Especially, he cares about the farmers who are the foundation of Sushou.
So I thought it was understandable, but I didn"t hate it.
However.
"My father in particular is one of the most important of my people. So you"d better not touch it. And."
I completely erased the smile I was wearing and looked straight at Chanton Sushou.
"This is a warning."
That"s to keep him to be nervous.
I raised the tail of my mouth again and said to Clarivan.
"Please provide details about the compensation to the Pellet"s owner, to the Patriarch of Sushou, and get the payment commitment date. In writing, of course."
Having said that, I turned around and exited the conference room.
I warned, this black bear.
I don"t know exactly what Chanton Sushou is up to yet, but once I shot him, I felt refreshed.
If I call Bate tomorrow and think about it, I"ll know the answer quickly.
The sound of my footsteps alone as I walked through the halls of the Imperial Palace was light.
"I"ve got a bit of a loose schedule today."
This is because the conference ended too lightly than I thought.
I really thought I was going to roll up my arms and stick together, so I even brought Clarivan in there.
The face of Chanton Sushou, who was sitting across from the conference room and looking at me calmly, came to mind, and now his face become frowned.
"If it"s a bear, he"ll eat honey in the warm south side like a bear... Ooh!"
Something hugged me and pulled me while I was muttering.
Without a chance to shout out loud, I was standing inside the room and the door was closed before my eyes.
And someone"s solid body felt behind my back.
At the moment when I blinked at the familiar scent that came on me in an instant, I saw a green emerald ring on the fourth finger of the hand that embraced me.3
This time, I could know without having to look back.
I said, patting the hand with a small sigh.
"Perez, you scared me."
Then, his large hands hugged my body more greedily, and I felt a straight forehead rubbing against my neck and shoulders.
"I missed you, Tia."