“…I apologize for the rudeness I showed to you earlier. Please overlook our transgression.”
In the wake of the racket, Lorian, who had his head cooled down, sat at the inn table, smiling politely and apologized.
It was Leslie, not Cloud, who responded to his apology.
“As if it wasn’t enough that you brought an entire army without any pronouncement, you very well tried to assault Cloud. Even though it was only an attempt… You know it’s not an issue that will end with a simple apology, right? You will have to concede a bit in this negotiation.”
She fired her points one after another in her characteristic cold tone.
“…the rumors that the new Grand Duchess of the Principality has joined the Cloud’s party as his colleague are well met.”
“Yeah, right. So, I would like you to look at me as Cloud-sama’s colleague, and not as the Grand Duchess of the Principality. The chatter ends here. Let’s move on to negotiating the toll.”
The reason they had gathered here was not to welcome Lorian and the others as guests. They had gathered to get a reasonable fee from the uninvited guests.
That’s why she didn’t bother wasting time with useless bluff.
Lorian clasped his hands together and nodded.
“Alright. How much do you want?”
“30 million gold.”
The meeting room tinged with silence. The words, 30 million, echoed in their ears.
Lorian’s expression hardened.
“You are asking for too much.”
“Are we? I think this is meagre compared to the risk our side faces and the potential losses.”
Leslie replied with a grin.
“Then I think the risk is overstated. Our army is just commuting through the Kingdom of Prona on the way to support the Kingdom of Alitia.”
“The army itself is a big threat to the Kingdom. Especially in times like this.”
There was a heated negotiation between Lorian and Leslie to set the toll. While the two were negotiating, neither the Princess nor Cloud offered an opinion.
It had been discussed in advance that Leslie would be entrusted with this negotiation.
It was the same on Lorian’s side.
Most of the nobility kept their mouths shut and paid attention to Leslie and Lorian’s conversation.
Of course, there were also those who did not.
‘Huh…’
Lewis Sentry.
The eldest son of the Sentry family, the acclaimed loser of the Eastern region of Prona, he admired the women sitting across him.
Duchess Leslie handling the negotiations and the downcast princess were also beautiful, but there was another woman who caught his eye.
Lewis tapped the nobleman sitting next to him. When he turned around, he pointed at the woman with his chin and asked.
“Do you know who that knight is?”
“Who are you talking about… oh, you mean Miss Neria?”
“Hoh, so her name is Neria? It’s a pretty name…but somehow it’s familiar.”
“That’s natural. She is a member of the Hero’s party, Hero Cloud’s colleague. Don’t you know the Hero’s party of your kingdom?”
“Uh, I don’t prominently travel outside my manor.”
When the aristocrat asked incredulously, Lewis scratched his cheek shyly. Then he looked at Neria again and murmured.
“Right. Neria, huh…”
He was well aware of the rumors about Neria.
* * *
The first seating of negotiations broke down.
It was because Lorian, who had to somehow drag the time, deliberately didn’t reach an agreement.
Negotiations broke down and the participants went their separate ways.
Cloud was the same.
He was set for upstairs to discuss the future premises with Leslie.
If only Lorraine hadn’t caught on.
Cloud tilted his head at the sight of Lorraine clasping onto his arm.
“What do you have to say?”
“What, what..?!”
Lorraine was momentarily at a loss for words.
After anticipating what he might blabber in his defence, she latched onto him. However, Cloud broke all expectations and showed a brazen attitude.
Did this man have a conscience?
Feeling her heart whine, Lorraine just wanted to scream out loud, but managed to hold it back. If she got angry here, she would only fulfill what he intended.
She wasn’t stepping into a trap so easily.
She took a deep breath to calm down and spoke again.
“Duel. We haven’t reached an end yet, have we?”
“Didn’t I win that already? You have already lost to me over ten times.”
“It’s not over yet! Who declared it ended?!”
“Then when will it end?”
“Uh…”
‘Until I win!’ was what Lorraine almost replied, but she shut her mouth timely. All things considered, saying that loud was a quagmire.
“Yeah, when?”
“Sigh, stop being noisy! Shut up and prepare for a duel. Why are you chickening out now? You didn’t when you did to me what you go around doing across the continent.”
“Did I end up f*cking you too?”
“F*ck you! I’ll defeat you this time!”
“Crazy b!tch…”
Lorraine unnatural obsession with the duels had Cloud fed up.
‘This is the precursor to the very annoying nuances coming after.’
As he pondered over what excuse he should give to refuse, he remembered something and smiled.
“Sure. If you want to do that, let’s do it. Duel.”
“From the very beginning…”
“Instead…”
Cloud clamped his fingers around Lorraine’s shoulder. He leaned and whispered into her ear.
“Starting today, this won’t end with just kisses. Are you sure about this now?”
Lorraine flinched.
What did he mean it just won’t end with kisses?
Was there something he could do more than kisses?
What could be more than a kiss?
Suddenly, the contents of the sex education she had received in her childhood came to her mind.
Lorraine’s eyes trembled incessantly.
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