The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 209

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 209

King of Aemel and Duke Loigar and his wife danced two songs and left the ballroom early.

They had exchanged greetings in the audience chamber immediately after arriving, and a welcome reception had been held.

With this, the formal courtesies that needed to be observed between them were complete.

The three people headed to a small drawing room attached to Gannett’s quarters, accompanied by only one or two of their most trusted attendants.

And there, Pellona, Merchant Guild Master was waiting. She had taken off the maid’s clothes she had been wearing and was dressed in black formal attire.

King of Aemel was not surprised. He knew that a plenipotentiary representative would come from the Kingdom of Ients.

“We meet again.”

“It is an honor to see you, Your Majesty the King.”

Pellona, Merchant Guild Master knelt on one knee and placed her hand on her chest in salute.

Duke Loigar gestured.

“Please sit. It’s getting late.”

King of Aemel was the first to lean back in his armchair.

It was late. It was common to move to another location and continue conversations after balls or banquets ended.

However, he held the position of king. Though he had come here under the pretext that he couldn’t order a noblewoman around, he couldn’t stay long at a foreign envoy’s quarters.

Yet he couldn’t summon them to his own drawing room either.

There would surely be Cardiole’s spies mixed among both his guards and servants.

Duke Loigar personally brought a small bottle of brandy. It was tightly sealed with cork and stamped with wax.

“This is from my personal collection. Only thirty bottles were produced by the most famous distillery in the Eastern Region and aged for 80 years. Even His Majesty the Emperor probably doesn’t have any now.”

He broke the seal right there and poured it into glasses.

“Thanks to Your Highness’s grace, my tongue enjoys such luxury.”

Pellona, Merchant Guild Master received the first glass and tasted it.

Duke Loigar handed the second glass to the king’s servant. And he took the third glass himself.

The servant checked the glass and liquor again before offering it to the king. The king accepted the glass.

Around that time, Gannett spoke gently.

“Then I shall withdraw now. Please continue your conversation.”

“Will you go alone?”

“It’s just the next room over.”

Duke Loigar nodded.

Gannett withdrew from the scene.

Duke Loigar moistened his lips with brandy.

“I understand that the Ients side has already explained the general situation to Your Majesty.”

“That’s right.”

“An agreement has already been reached between the Kingdom of Ients and myself on a macro level.”

Duke Loigar said.

Pellona, Merchant Guild Master placed a single-page agreement on the table. King of Aemel didn’t bother to examine it.

What was there was not about Queen Eimel, but a trade agreement concluded between the Kingdom of Ients and Duke Loigar.

If he signed it, the Kingdom of Eimel would also secure a place in that agreement.

It was an agreement between the Cratese Empire and the Kingdom of Ients. He couldn’t be left out of this.

However, King of Aemel spoke with a deliberately dark expression.

“I wish to punish the traitor who assassinated the queen and resolve her grievance, not to discuss monetary matters.”

“Was I too hasty? My apologies.”

Duke Loigar said with a smile. He wasn’t embarrassed.

He knew that King of Aemel’s words were purely for the sake of appearances.

King of Aemel cleared his throat.

“Well, once all misunderstandings between us are cleared up, we might be able to discuss such matters then.”

He didn’t make the foolish attempt to gain relative advantage by scolding about discussing economic benefits while coming to mourn the queen.

In terms of formal status, he was currently being respected as the king of a nation.

However, in terms of actual power, Duke Loigar was far superior to him.

If one considered him the next emperor of the empire, there was no need to even distinguish between substance and form.

Pellona, Merchant Guild Master spoke gently.

“How could His Highness the Prince not understand Your Majesty the King’s grief? But building mutual trust is also important.”

“Hmm.”

“I came here alone despite being entrusted with full authority regarding the Kingdom of Ients. Because I know the queen’s assassin is within the royal palace. Please understand that Your Majesty has made a decision that wasn’t easy even for the Kingdom of Ients.”

“…”

Still, King of Aemel remained silent, fidgeting with his wine glass.

Duke Loigar spoke.

“Make your decision. The Kingdom of Ients can completely escape suspicion of being behind Her Highness the Queen’s assassination, I will gain the merit of having resolved the problem that arose in House of Liagan. And Your Majesty will be able to gain stability by eliminating political enemies.”

“I must point out the incorrect part in the Prince’s words. I only seek to find the one who harmed the queen. Political enemies? There is no one in this country who can compare to me.”

“Of course. I misspoke. You will be able to resolve the grievance of Her Highness the Queen who was assassinated by political enemies.”

Duke Loigar corrected his words.

He wasn’t one to engage in verbal sparring over every phrase when it wasn’t even going into a contract.

Moreover, this much could be allowed to preserve King of Aemel’s pride.

Even if he was someone who dressed in such splendid clothes and tried to show off to the empire immediately after the national mourning ended.

Negotiating with someone who couldn’t directly state what they wanted for the sake of preserving pride wasn’t a bad thing. They wouldn’t be able to say much even if losses were pushed onto them.

“It’s just that since the late queen conducted the salt business together with House of Liagan, such an agreement is included.”

Duke Loigar tapped the agreement.

“His Majesty the Emperor considers the salt business very important. He also trusted Duke Riagan. If His Majesty the Emperor learns that foreign countries were involved in the business, who assassinated Her Highness the Queen will become a matter of no importance at all.”

“…”

“So please sign. This is a necessary procedure to settle the salt business issue and maintain secrecy.”

King of Aemel hesitated.

He knew too. House of Liagan had made Queen Eimel their partner to avoid having the illegal salt business discovered by the imperial center.

But since it was already known, there was no way they would leave it in the hands of the Eimel royal family.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel regret. Just receiving a portion of the profits from the volume going to several small countries adjacent to the Southern Sea and to the eastern continent had provided income that exceeded the amount that came into the privy purse annually.

He ultimately couldn’t help but voice his desire.

“I heard that Duke Loigar will obtain the illegal salt business and receive tribute equivalent to seven years’ worth of tribute that the Kingdom of Ients pays to the empire.”

“It’s being given to someone who will become emperor anyway. We’re just offering it a little early.”

Pellona, Merchant Guild Master spoke gently.

It was a bribe, but it clearly had meaning as an investment too. It was also a decision made because Lawrence had fallen from grace.

This agreement was also compensation for that.

The core content was an agreement to abolish tariffs and greatly increase trade volume.

Instead, half of the trading partners had to be limited to merchant guilds designated by Duke Loigar. Also, 70% of the profits gained from eliminating tariffs had to be offered back to Duke Loigar.

However, even doing so was absolutely necessary for the Kingdom of Ients’ growth and expansion.

For the Kingdom of Ients, which could only survive through trade, there was nothing bad about supporting Duke Loigar.

King of Aemel looked at the agreement and tapped his upper teeth with his tongue. He couldn’t make a clicking sound.

Duke Loigar spoke leisurely.

“Your Majesty doesn’t necessarily have to sign this agreement. Whether you sign or not, we will catch the queen’s assassin, and Your Majesty will be able to resolve the grievance without any political burden.”

“What would you do if I reported this agreement to His Majesty the Emperor?”

King of Aemel said. Then Duke Loigar smiled coldly.

“The imperial capital and the south are quite far apart. And there isn’t just one king Your Majesty that I can support.”

Pellona, Merchant Guild Master spoke as if mediating.

“Since the queen’s assassin is inside the royal palace, you’ll need many hands if you want to clean things up. It will also cost considerable finances.”

“…”

“The southern seas will be empty for a while. Could we properly launch even a single ship without King of Aemel’s help?”

Right now Cardiole controls both the Eimel navy and pirates, commanding the Southern Sea.

Merchant ships pay tolls to pirates when they encounter them. Large merchant guilds or ships carrying precious goods that couldn’t be resolved that way requested protection from the Eimel navy.

Once Cardiole was eliminated, the pirates who lost their command would run wild as they pleased.

For that reason, the agreement included consultations on managing the Southern Sea and suppressing pirates.

As Duke Loigar said, King of Aemel didn’t have to sign.

The current strength of the Aemel Navy is thanks to Cadriole. She couldn’t imagine that the King of Aemel could demonstrate that level of leadership.

The Kingdom of Ients speculated that the naval power itself would soon weaken and become ineffective.

Nevertheless, their intention to include that clause and pay protection fees to the Kingdom of Aemel was aimed at getting them to sign the agreement.

The Kingdom of Ients wanted to prevent Duke Loigar from turning the agreement into a worthless piece of paper by involving more parties.

From Duke Loigar’s perspective, he needed to keep the secret until he could seize the throne.

The King of Aemel remained silent for a moment longer. However, he soon picked up his pen and signed.

“You’ve made a wise decision. This is something I quite favor. A negotiation where everyone gains.”

Duke Loigar and Merchant Guild Master Pellona signed afterward.

“I’ll send someone to discuss the detailed terms while you’re in the Southern Region.”

Merchant Guild Master Pellona said.

“Then the matter of the Queen…”

“Don’t worry. Once His Majesty makes his decision, my guard forces will move with you at any time.”

The King of Aemel nodded.

“Shall we raise a toast first then?”

“Let’s do that.”

Duke Loigar raised his wine cup first, and the King of Aemel followed suit.

The King of Aemel, now at ease, let out a deep sigh.

“This truly is fragrant wine.”

“Wine tastes especially good after making a momentous decision.”

Duke Loigar poured a second cup.

Merchant Guild Master Pellona stood up after emptying her first cup.

“I’ll take my leave early.”

“Won’t you have one more drink before going?”

“I’m going to pay my respects to Her Highness the Princess Consort.”

“I see.”

The King of Aemel gestured as if telling her to go ahead.

Duke Loigar bowed his head slightly in gratitude.

Merchant Guild Master Pellona bowed politely to both men and withdrew from the drawing room.

An official sent by the Association was waiting in her room.

“Did the agreement conclude safely?”

The official greeted Merchant Guild Master Pellona by keeping his back straight and bowing only at the waist.

“Yes.”

“You’ve worked hard. Even playing the role of a maid…”

“It’s for the country. When I’m the right person for the job, how could I refuse?”

Merchant Guild Master Pellona said in a cold voice.

This man was the one who had devised the specific plan for this affair.

Though she had adopted it because she thought it was right, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat uneasy about it.

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