I Seducing the Black-Hearted Duke Wasn't Me - Chapter 30

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 30
“How petty, trying to squeeze us on the Toll Tax.”
The Roar Trading Company’s primary business lay in tea leaves and spices.
These were cultivated across Jaherrete’s territories, scattered throughout the Orden Empire.
‘And to process them, I need to transport the harvested leaves to the factory on the Island.’
Which meant overland transport was unavoidable.
The problem was that Valentine’s Earldom sat squarely between the marquessate and the Island.
Until now, Jaherrete had been paying toll taxes to Valentine, but…….
“Suddenly five times the amount! This is tyranny. You’re taking revenge for what happened to the Marquess!”
Jang burst out indignantly.
“The real problem is, we have no alternatives. We could take a detour, sure, but then a week’s journey becomes three or four weeks maximum. There’s no other overland route—the whole region is mountains.”
“…….”
“Once that happens, the merchandise will deteriorate, obviously. True, there’s sea on one side, but without a proper port to dock at, maritime routes are out of the question…….”
“…….”
“No matter what, more than a month is impossible. Depending on the spice or herb, they vary, but harvested leaves can’t survive more than four weeks. They’ll all wither or rot.”
As he spoke, his frustration mounted visibly, and he vented it all at once.
“Honestly, Valentine’s fiefdom is fiefdom in name only—it’s basically a scrap of wasteland! Completely worthless barren land.”
Jang fumed at the sheer audacity of it all.
“What good is collecting toll taxes anyway? If you take it, you should invest it back into developing the territory! But he won’t even lay down proper roads.”
“True enough.”
“And yet he’s built some ramshackle hovels near the border, overcharging our workers and the merchants who trade with them.”
Ballorae, one of Valentine’s territories, survived solely on the tolls Jaherrete paid and the money extracted from travelers and traders passing through.
“But instead of showing gratitude, he raises the toll tax! It’s land that Jaherrete revived—without her, he’d have let it rot and the Crown would’ve reclaimed it.”
“…….”
“So, what do we do now?”
What do we do, indeed.
Well, plainly enough.
“We negotiate.”
* * *
The very next day.
The moment I received his notice, I sent a formal protest under my own name, and Valentine’s side responded as though they’d been waiting—dispatching someone immediately.
Though not the count himself, the lord of the land. Instead, they sent the Administrator who managed Ballorae’s toll revenue.
“This is an insult to the Marquess. You clearly said the Marquess would negotiate directly, and now you send a proxy!”
“Well, among the nobility there are plenty of rigidly traditional sorts. Some look down on direct labor as beneath them.”
And among those, Count Valentine was particularly stubborn.
“But that’s unreasonable! If Jaherrete’s proxy shows up, Valentine should match that courtesy. This is like saying ‘you’re not even worth that much’…….”
Jang ground his teeth.
I cast him a calming glance, and after a moment’s resistance, he stepped back, clearly displeased.
Then the negotiation began.
“I’ll be direct. We cannot accept the sum Valentine has proposed. By any reasonable measure, this is unjust—that’s our position.”
“Mm.”
A middle-aged man with a notably rigid demeanor smoothed his well-groomed mustache, then looked down at me with an almost sneering gaze.
As expected of a Valentine man. He was dismissing me out of hand—just a young woman, what could she possibly know of business?
‘True to form for Valentine’s people.’
The man exhaled sharply enough to flutter his mustache, then tilted his chin up as he spoke.
“I apologize, but my employer has no interest in negotiating.”
“Excuse me? What do you mean by that? The notice said there was room for negotiation, it clearly said——!”
“It said there was room—not that I’d negotiate with everyone. There are many trading companies that use that land besides Jaherrete.”
In other words, he was refusing to negotiate with me.
Speaking so brazenly……. How incredibly rude.
“Still, since I’ve come this far, I’ll at least hear what alternatives you might propose. Let’s hear it.”
The Administrator spoke with his chin thrust high and his bearing imperious.
“Jaherrete’s proposal is this: we maintain the toll tax at its current rate, and in exchange, we’ll develop proper roads in Ballorae for you.”
Land so barren it lacked even basic road infrastructure. Jaherrete would take responsibility for developing it.
It was an extraordinary offer.
“I’m afraid that doesn’t move him much. Surely you didn’t think my employer would be satisfied with mere roads?”
“…….”
“I thought, given you’re from the Marquess’s house, you’d have more pull. Five times the amount. Nothing less will do.”
The Administrator smiled mockily, his tone scathing.
“This is infuriating. So you’re planning to milk a worthless scrap of land dry. You’re already charging twice what anywhere else would ask, and yet you still want more.”
“Tsk.”
Jaherrete clicked her teeth deliberately, as if making sure I heard.
Fortunately, it seemed clear enough—the Administrator’s eyebrows, already pale as snow, twitched with visible irritation.
“Who asked you to set foot on our land? If you’re so troubled, take another route. We won’t stop you.”
……
“Of course, that means the quality of goods the Roar Trading Company produces will suffer, and prices will rise accordingly—which, I imagine, presents quite the dilemma for the Duke here.”
The Administrator, making no effort to hide the twitch at the corner of his mouth, glanced between me and Jaherrete as he spoke.
As though to say: What exactly do you think you can do about it?
‘Something’s wrong here.’
I tapped my fingers against the desk, lost in thought, studying him across from me.
No matter how I looked at it, there was an obstinacy that seemed to leave no room for negotiation. And a conversation that went nowhere, circling endlessly.
But there was one thing that nagged at me.
‘If he had no intention of negotiating from the start, why did he answer the summons? And why, even now, does he remain seated, holding his ground?’
As if he were waiting for something else entirely.
“Is there perhaps something you wish to ask of me, Count?”
At my question, the Administrator’s eyes widened twofold.
Just as I thought. There was something.
“Truth be told, we need not bother with negotiations at all. But seeing how earnestly you labor—a Duke young enough to be my lord’s daughter—he took pity and decided to show you some consideration.”
“How generous.”
“But where there is a giving, there must be a taking.”
……
“In exchange for maintaining the toll tax as it stands, my lord requests that you withdraw the lawsuit filed against Jaherrete and Bernstein.”
“What did you just say?!”
“Moreover, he intends to demand a suitable compensation fee, framed as consolation money for this matter—such is my employer’s will.”
“This is outrageous!”
Jaherrete cried out indignantly, as if to say the very notion was absurd.
“It won’t work, Duchess. That ploy is transparent. Give in once, and he’ll come back whenever he pleases, shaking down the House for everything we have!”
At Jaherrete’s outcry—comparing this to nothing short of highway robbery—the Administrator slowly raised the corners of his mouth.
“If you dislike it, refuse. I make no demands. We have nothing to lose.”
He lifted his chin even higher, as if to say: decide now.
Every gesture dripped with arrogance.
I exhaled slowly.
“I suppose we’ve reached a conclusion.”
“Then…….”
“I’m afraid we cannot accept Valentine’s demands. So go back and tell the Count: negotiations are broken off.”
“……Pardon?”
At my blunt refusal, the Administrator’s face registered shock for the first time.
As though he had never imagined I would refuse.
“Are you… truly serious? This is your last chance for negotiation. Will you truly walk away without an agreement?”
“There’s no help for it.”
I nodded, as if to say there was nothing to be done—a regretful expression on my face—and the Administrator’s eyes wavered.
“If you are simply testing the waters, I suggest you stop. My lord has no intention of showing further clemency.”
“Clemency? That’s not a word Valentine earns the right to use. When one commits a crime, one must face punishment.”
……
“Go tell the Count this: instead of worrying about us, he should concern himself with the problems he already carries.”
The Administrator seemed taken aback, unsure how to respond—then his expression hardened into displeasure, and he spun on his heel.
His footsteps echoed with fury as he left.
After the Administrator had gone,
“That was satisfying, certainly. But you do have a plan, don’t you?”
“I’m not without one. Rest assured.”
I let out a long breath, then sat in silence for a moment before opening the desk drawer.
Inside lay two document envelopes.
I withdrew one and opened it.
What appeared before me were the Engagement Vow and the Balka Port Transfer Rights Certificate.
“I had never intended to use these this way.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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