Chapter 84

Chapter 84 – Negotiation Breakdown

  As Lolan Hill was discussing with the mages of Rourna, a round of questioning began in the study room of the Tisiphone family.

  ”Victor, did you give the order?”

  Edley looked at his stepbrother, his brows slightly furrowed. The assassination attempt that had spread throughout the city a few days ago could only have been carried out by the Tisiphone family, or rather, this stepbrother of his.

  ”Yes.”

  ”Hmph, when did you start giving me orders?”

  ”I just didn’t want you to be swayed by beauty.”

  ”So, you can just make decisions for me? And then push the entire family into the fire? You’re quite brave, my brother.”

  He emphasized the word ‘brother,’ Victor was not a biological son of the Tisiphone family; he was adopted by the old patriarch and raised under the Tisiphone education. Although he held a high position in the household, he was never part of the direct lineage.

  Usually, things were fine; he was capable and often handled household affairs with his own group of subordinates. But this action crossed a line that Edley couldn’t tolerate. It wasn’t that he sent someone to assassinate Lacy; it was that he never informed him about it beforehand.

  A knife in hand is good, but if it develops its own mind and disobeys commands, it has no value.

  If it weren’t for their deep brotherhood and Victor’s loyalty over the years, Edley would have had him removed long ago.

  ”I’ll say it again. I am the heir of the Tisiphone family. Any action must be approved by me. It’s not up to you to decide and send people off, which will only bring great danger and conflict.”

  ”Do you understand, my brother?” He stressed the word ‘brother’ once more.

  ”I don’t want to see the day when we can no longer be brothers.” Edley pounded the solid wooden desk with his finger, warning Victor, then stormed out slamming the door.

  Victor leaned back against the sofa, his head looking up at the ceiling, his hands covering his eyes, silent.

  After Edley left the study, he had his squire bring out the carriage.

  ”Master Edley, where are you going?”

  ”To the alchemy workshop on Narcissus Street.”

  ”Alright.”

—

  ”I apologize, but your country’s terms are too harsh. We cannot accept them.”

  Lolan Hill placed down the contract paper, her light voice echoing through the quiet hall.

  ”Why not? Don’t you know how excellent this technology is? If we collaborate, it can guarantee that your Carithes family will lead in shipbuilding for at least a century.”

  ”But that doesn’t mean you should take seventy percent of the profits without any risk.”

  ”But, there aren’t many guilds capable of shipbuilding, and only we in Rourna possess such advanced technology,” Branton, the mage, was unconcerned with Lolan Hill’s rebuttal. He thought this young lady merchant lacked experience and hadn’t seen the bigger picture.

  ”We provide all the raw materials, labor, facilities, and manufacturing, while you merely send a small number of personnel for technical guidance, and demand seventy percent of the pure profit. Without taking any risks and still getting the lion’s share, isn’t this too good to be true?”

  ”Miss Lacy, watch your words. The Verdant Empire shows signs of another war, and the Snowflower Seven Nations must unite to overcome the challenges. Why are you so greedy, indulging in short-term gains instead of considering the greater good for a hundred years?” A middle-aged male mage spoke.

  ”If the Verdant Empire conquers Rourna, Vergha will have no defenses and fall into enemy hands at any moment. What use would millions of assets be then?” Another mage chimed in.

  ”If it weren’t for the Verdant Empire’s intention to start a war, you wouldn’t have access to Rourna’s advanced technology and design concepts for twenty years. You should consider yourself fortunate.”

  Lolan Hill laughed bitterly. Indeed, these mages had no business acumen. To dare say such things during negotiations showed how confident they were and how little they valued the other party. How could they expect to be taken seriously after insulting someone?

  ”I’m even less inclined to take advantage of you. Go find someone else. Let’s see which guild is lucky enough to catch your eye.”

  She stood up and walked through the corridor between seats, leaving the conference hall. The Carithes guild members followed her out in an orderly manner.

  Seeing the suddenly silent meeting hall, Branton felt embarrassed. Any goodwill he had towards this young lady from the Carithes family vanished. How could she act like this? How could she leave so abruptly? Just because she made less money, acting as if she were so noble. It was absurd. Women, regardless of age, were irrational creatures indeed.

—

Unexpectedly, the Rourna delegation only stayed in Hope Lane for two days before leaving for Greenwater Port, the headquarters of the Dyas guild, who had previously lost to the Carithes in shipbuilding competition. Despite a significant reduction in market share, they remained resilient.

  Three days later, the Dyas guild welcomed the Rourna delegation with joy and began ridiculing the shortsightedness and irrationality of the Carithes family.

  Lolan Hill had no regrets. Although she hadn’t seen the actual product, from the blueprints described by Rourna, their so-called new technology was simply replacing wooden ships with iron ones. They had no idea that changing from wind power to propeller propulsion would require a complete redesign of the entire ship structure.

  Moreover, their design was overly conservative. The ship was only around 80 meters long, and the weapons were still the old-fashioned side-mounted cannons, lacking innovation.

  If Lolan Hill were designing it, the Iowa-class battleship, with its 270-meter length and 50,000-ton displacement, equipped with 406mm main guns, could easily shatter Rourna’s small ships into pieces with one shot.

  Although the craftsmanship of the Ivar world was not yet precise, the existence of extraordinary magic meant that the power of explosions and artillery would be even greater than in her previous life.

  Based on current craftsmanship, Lolan Hill deduced that Dyas would need at least a year to produce a test ship, and it might take three years to develop a mature design. Three years were plenty of time for her to do much more. Besides, the Mage Kingdom referred to more than just Rourna, didn’t it?

—

(End of Chapter)