Duke Cantareef greeted Belia with a bright smile. However, Khalid slightly tilted his head, blocking the greeting with his hand.

“We’re not in a situation to have a pleasant conversation.”

“Haha, that’s true.”

The Duke raised his eyebrows slightly.

In an instant, his expression changed to a sly one. But that was only for a moment; he quickly returned to a friendly face.

The momentary change showed that they were not entirely safe in the current situation.

Belia was confident that he hadn’t come here solely for a deal.

“So, why did the Duke arrange such a meeting?”

Khalid quickly got to the point.

The Duke took an oath from his pocket.

“First, if you agree to today’s deal, this means I will also keep my promise.”

It wasn’t an empty talk; what he took out was an actual oath imbued with magic. Moreover, it was a powerful enchantment that could take the user’s life if the promise was not kept.

Belia looked at it conspicuously, silently examining it.

‘Was his talk about making a deal all sincere?’

But it was none other than Duke Cantareef.

A spear aimed at the Emperor, always standing in opposition, ready to attack at any moment.

Although the Emperor was angry about the Duke’s misdeeds, he only summoned the Duke instead of sending soldiers. It still meant that the Duke Cantareef was the Emperor’s greatest strength in central politics.

“What’s the content of the deal?”

“You’ve probably already noticed, but it’s about discarding all the data you have.”

Khalid asked in disbelief, “Do you think we’ll agree to that willingly?”

Discarding a weapon already in hand?

The Duke might have come thinking it was possible.

However, Duke Cantareef, leading the biggest force in central politics, did not show any sign of wavering even in this moment.

“Do you know what we have?”

Khalid looked at him disdainfully.

Then, the Duke raised the corner of his mouth for a moment and gave a completely different answer.

“Details of transactions with the Southern Country.”
The Duke smiled.

“If you accept that as it is, we will offer an appropriate compensation in return.”

“…Let’s hear the conditions.”

“Recently, His Majesty the Emperor has been rushing the Crown Prince’s investiture. We will delay that a bit. Moreover, we can completely evacuate for about six months. During that period, we won’t interfere in politics at all.”

Currently, the most threatening figure to Belia and Khalid was Duke Cantareef.

If he were to evacuate from the mansion for half a year, Raul’s influence would surely be weakened.

Even if only temporarily, they could remove the biggest obstacle. It was a somewhat tempting proposition.

However, Khalid immediately rejected the Duke’s proposal.

“Sorry, but those conditions don’t appeal to me. Reject the Duke’s offer.”

“Is that so? Dealing with Your Majesty is indeed not easy.”

The Duke’s face was filled with disappointment as he spoke. Putting the oath he had placed on the table back into his pocket, he stood up.

“Cliché as it may sound, Your Majesty. You’ll regret rejecting my offer today.”

“Is that so? Well, then, I hope the Duke regrets it, as you say.”

Because it seemed highly unlikely.

Khalid chuckled as he bid farewell to Duke Cantareef.

Certainly, Duke Cantareef was competent.

As soon as he realized that our trade was faltering, he began negotiating with the Emperor.

What he had gambled on was unknown, but it was clear that he had given up something very valuable that the Duke possessed.

Without that, the Emperor wouldn’t have covered their crimes so easily.

After that day, Duke Cantareef turned completely away, so much so that it wasn’t even possible to attach the premise of “what if.”

“It’s a shame. Would it have been more advantageous if we had accepted their conditions?”

Belia muttered in disappointment.

Then, Khalid, who had been writing something on the documents, smirked and said, “Whether it was the Duke or us, we were both just thinking of stabbing each other in the back.”

“Still, you never know. It didn’t seem like he was particularly close to Raul either.”

Khalid put down his pen and leaned back in his chair.

“Even if that were the case, it wouldn’t have had any influence on whom he would choose between me and Raul. Duke Cantareef is a thorough planner; he probably planned to trade with the Emperor when he came to us.”

“But the conditions he offered were quite tempting.”

Half a year of evacuation.

There would be a lot they could do while the Duke couldn’t act.

When Belia expressed her regret, Khalid chuckled and replied, “If he hadn’t brought out something substantial, would we have bothered to meet him? Besides, trading with the Duke was not a precondition, so don’t worry too much, Belia.”

Perhaps Duke Cantareef had reached out as a way to grasp the enemy. So, he likely rushed straight to the Emperor without looking back.

In that moment, Belia burst into a bitter laugh as if she had realized something.

“The Duke messed up the timing for the second revelation.”

Since the Emperor had already promised to cover everything, for now, she couldn’t bring up the Duke’s weakness that she possessed.

Moreover, by implying that she knew what kind of data she held, the meeting had forced the Duke to prepare for it.

With this one meeting, the Duke’s most potent weapon, the fact that he handed information to another country, lost its power in an instant.

“He’s a cunning man.”

“Yes, like an old fox.”

Belia nodded her head in agreement.
“Anyway, since this wasn’t the decisive blow for us, the outcome probably hasn’t changed.”

It’s just a bit disappointing that we couldn’t deliver a more significant blow than expected.

Belia silently watched the sunset landscape.

In the end, she maintained her distance from the Duke in this life as well.

“But we should be thorough in our preparations. Let’s shake things up a bit using Viscount Capprie.”

Belia smiled.