“I assume you’ve received the budget calculation documents?”
As soon as they sat down, Drushia pushed the documents Kalf handed over to Ashika.
“You’ve made the budget quite tight. Our investigators’ figures are different.”
Ashika replied without even looking at the documents.
“Your side is spending too much money. We’re trying to reduce costs.”
“You mean you’ve budgeted an absurdly low amount and expect us to bear all the burden?”
“Isn’t that amount just pocket change for Igraine?”
Ashika’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Last year, we bore the cost of the temporary garrison’s foundation work. You haven’t forgotten that already, have you?”
“Did I get anything for free? Have you forgotten that we had to dispatch additional troops because there weren’t enough knights employed on Igraine’s side?”
Yes, that had happened. But due to severe conflicts between both sides, they had returned without even completing half the promised period.
“This is a building we’ll be using jointly in turns. We can’t bear all the expansion costs.”
“But you’re getting the building ownership in return.”
“Duke Talion.”
Ashika’s voice turned cold at Drushia’s brazen reply.
The building was meant for garrison residence anyway. With the land ownership frozen by imperial decree, it was a useless right.
“Then let’s do this.”
When Drushia showed signs of reluctantly backing down, Ashika tensed. The real negotiation always started after this.
‘What is he trying to get this time.’
Drushia kept his gaze fixed on Ashika, who sat rigidly. Though she appeared coldly composed, her tense black eyes looked incredibly docile.
Dark ink-black hair and eyes black as living jewels. The vivid contrast with her white skin suddenly captured Drushia’s attention.
“Your Grace?”
The woman who rarely rushed others suddenly prompted him to speak. Drushia tugged at his collar. It was an unconscious gesture due to an inexplicable tightness in his chest.
“Have both sides’ investigators meet to adjust the cost calculations and submit a new report. We’ll split the construction costs equally as you suggested. But in return.”
At Drushia’s gesture, Kalf took out documents from his bag and handed them over.
“Igraine will be responsible for this winter’s supplies. What do you think?”
Ashika looked down at the documents presented before her.
The cost of maintaining soldiers was enormous. While buildings at least left something behind after construction, the cost of feeding and clothing soldiers was money that simply disappeared. And these weren’t even her own soldiers, but Talion’s.
However, what Igraine had in abundance was wealth, and what Talion had in abundance was soldiers. Negotiations always struck a balance between these two sides.
“Fine.”
Ashika didn’t bother checking the documents. She already knew the supply quantities, and there hadn’t been any special changes.
‘Better to compromise than deal with constant harassment.’
More than that, she didn’t want to sit here any longer. The blue eyes that persistently clung to her throughout their conversation felt more intense than usual.
Ashika gripped the thin gloves she had removed and placed beside the table. Her impatience to conclude the negotiation showed unconsciously.
“Please prepare the agreement document with these terms.”
“You’re not going to check the documents?”
“It’s not like the garrison forces would suddenly increase. We verify this content every year.”
Watching Ashika agree so readily, Drushia tapped the table with his finger.
‘Even though she’s always checked every single word and number for hours in the past.’
Until now, hadn’t she made him wait for hours, insisting on personally verifying every word and number?
“What if there are changes needed later? Are you planning to make me go back and forth?”
“What’s the point of having an aide if not for this? Don’t worry, I won’t call you out for minor matters.”
“Minor matters….you say.”
Something about the way he drawled those words felt unsettling. Ashika let out a small sigh.
“Then we’ll wait. Julma, did you record everything?”
“Yes, my lady.”
Julma, who had been standing by almost invisibly, finally spoke up.
“Add the content we just agreed upon to the prepared documents and draft the agreement.”
At Ashika’s instruction, the negotiation table was quickly cleared. As both sides’ aides moved to the adjacent room, Ashika stood up.
“I’ll take a short walk while the paperwork is being done.”
It was a notification, not a request for permission. Drushia thought for a moment and seemed somewhat displeased.
“The walking path isn’t in very good condition.”
“I saw that the path has been maintained. Didn’t Talion send gardeners?”
“Well, I wouldn’t know since I didn’t order it.”
It was people sent by his grandfather Neoren, not Drushia. Because the deceased Vanne had been Neoren’s only sister.
Understanding the meaning, Ashika fell silent. She gave a slight nod to the man still sitting arrogantly and rose from her seat.
Ironically, this villa was the only place where Ashika could be alone. Because neither side’s knights were allowed inside the villa.
Whenever they met, they would growl at each other and end up fighting, so at some point, they stopped bringing them to negotiations. Instead, they guarded different areas around the villa.
It was just past noon. The moment Ashika entered the garden, she realized Drushia had been right.
Only the front of the building was maintained. The back garden had turned into a jungle with randomly grown shrubs entangled with the garden trees. Ashika hesitated briefly before hurrying her steps.
‘I don’t want to go back to the reception room.’
She kept worrying about how she might appear.
“He must have…heard the rumors.”
The entire capital had been in an uproar over Ashika’s actions to break off her engagement. There were accusations of her being a ruthless woman who forcibly detained a pregnant woman, and sympathetic opinions suggesting she must have had her reasons.
Ashika didn’t welcome either side. She especially didn’t want sympathy or criticism from Drushia. She was rather grateful that he pretended not to know, like now.
‘Wait a minute?’
Something suddenly occurred to her. One fact she had completely forgotten while rushing to push through the broken engagement.
‘Wasn’t it Talion’s aide who brought Lady Schwern to the party?’
Baron Kalf Crowny, Drushia’s aide. At the time, she had been so shocked that she’d overlooked the fact that the man accompanying Glenoa was Kalf.
‘Are they involved somehow? No, that’s impossible.’
He was an aide famous for being so devoid of humanity that rumors called him a tin doll.
‘What is going on here?’
But she couldn’t demand answers. She didn’t want to hear anything about her broken engagement from either Drushia or his aide.
Lost in thought, Ashika failed to notice the shadow falling beside her. When she suddenly felt an eerie sensation, her vision flipped.
“Ack!”
She instinctively struck away the large hand approaching her. Simultaneously, she was thrown backward as if pushed.
A dull pain shot through her shoulder as it hit the ground. But there was no time to feel the pain. Sensing a shadow looming over her head, she sprang up from her position.
However, her opponent wouldn’t let her go so easily. A strong force grabbed her dress hem, dragging her body backward.
“Ack! Let go!”
Ashika tried to remove the opponent’s hands but couldn’t match their strength. Her body spun around and hit a tree pillar.
With her arms firmly gripped, she faced her opponent, and fear and anger surged together.
“Lord Oclein!”
“Yes, it’s me, Lady Igraine.”
A hoarse, threatening voice flowed out.
“Do you know how many letters I sent? Do you know how many times I begged the Duke to let me meet you?”
“This matter is already out of my hands. You know better than anyone why things turned out this way.”
“Who decided that!”
His bloodshot eyes looked more menacing than ever.
Coral’s hair was wet with dew, and his usually neat attire was disheveled with leaves and grass stuck to it. This meant he had been here for no short time.
“Breaking the engagement? How can you break it off without a single word of discussion with me, the person involved?”
“Are we really in a position to face each other and say goodbye? After all, both the political marriage and its dissolution are relationships that begin and end with contracts. I heard the agreement between both families is almost complete.”
“You’re going to pull out after toying with someone for two years?”
Coral sneered, revealing his menacing hostility.
This was ridiculous beyond ridiculous. Ashika felt anger rather than fear at his unreasonable attitude.
“You’re the one who toyed with me, Lord Oclein. Not only did you take a mistress while having a fiancée, but you also said I would need to get my own lover to have an heir?”
A look of confusion flashed across Coral’s face. For a moment, the hands gripping her shoulders weakened. Ashika grabbed Coral’s arm and bit down with all her might.
“Argh!”
Ashika pushed Coral away with her whole body and they both tumbled to the ground. Her vision flipped and she had no idea which way was which. She got up before she could fully regain her senses.
Fear flooded in after the anger she had unconsciously spilled out. The man charging at her with bloodshot eyes was not the noble lord she had known.
Her mind went blank. Only the instinct to flee in terror remained.
‘What should I do. What…’
Before she could take three steps, a rough hand caught her arm.
“Let go!”
Just as she was being dragged by Coral, a large shadow tackled him.
“Guhk!”
Along with a violent collision sound, Coral screamed. The force holding her disappeared and she was thrown to the ground again. Even fallen, Ashika flailed her limbs trying to escape.
Thwack, thwack.
Suddenly, dull noises from behind reached her ears.
“What….”
When she turned around, Coral, who had been charging at her like a predator moments ago, was being mercilessly beaten while pinned to the ground. The man crushing Coral was swinging his bare fists without mercy.
Ashika couldn’t close her mouth, gaping in shock.
“Duke….Talion?”
Nice