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Mia looked at Yuhal’s face and tried hard not to smile. She had come here ready to beat Shalloak badly because she thought that was the only way she could get what she wanted. But the way things were going, it didn’t even seem like a good idea. She looked like she was about to win the whole thing.

The help from Arshia and Rania was very important in turning the tide. Moons, there are so many people who want to help me. It must be because I am honest and good. I’m so charismatic that I sometimes scare myself!

The smug smile on her face probably came from the fact that she was honest and had good morals.

Also, it hardly needs to be said, but she didn’t have any complicated plans or big ideas. She had never thought about anything Ludwig talked about. Mia’s thoughts were always very straightforward. No matter how far it seemed to go, it was always easy. The highest level of Mianess was to think in terms of multiples, but each part was equal to one. One multiplied by itself is still one. And the only thing on her simple mind was whether or not Tearmoon and Perujin could trust each other.

Perujin had a lot of crops, so even when the harvest was bad, they always had enough to share. Keeping in good terms with a neighbor who had a lot of food could come in handy in a pinch. But there was a contract that made it hard for these two countries to get along. What should be done? How would Mia handle this problem? Simple, of course. If a rock got in her way, she would kick it. Sure, that rock could hit someone on the head and make a lot of trouble for everyone, but that was a problem for future Mia to deal with. Heck, it was really Ludwig’s problem, since future Mia would probably just pass it on to him. Easy is always the best!

Because she used this rule, the king’s mood seemed to be changing for the better. Surely, this meant that she was now making progress. Just as she was about to ride the waves as usual, though…

“No agreement, no written promise. Nothing but a verbal promise… Surely, the King of Perujin wouldn’t be so foolish as to act on blind faith?”

Shalloak’s angry words reverberated through the hall, and the wave began to weaken.

Shalloak was as shocked as Yuhal, if not more so. He didn’t know any of this was going to happen like the king did. From Princess Mia’s early arrival to her invitation to this dinner, everything about what was going on caught him by surprise. When he thought about it, he realized that the offer smelled fishy from the moment he got it. No, he just didn’t want to go in the first place, because if he did, it would show that Mia had caught on to all of his secret moves and was already planning a way to win over the Perujin King.

This very serious talk didn’t even need to happen. All the king had to do was say that he would keep doing business with Tearmoon the same way as before and add an easy clause that if there was famine and prices went up, they would be able to renegotiate to some degree. A short conversation like that would have been enough to end the problem for now.

Instead, the king was very interested in what she had proposed, and it was clear that it was because of something she had said.

Friendly relationships are built on trust.

It was hard to believe how shameless the phrase was. It was the kind of nonsense that no sensible person who knew how Tearmoon and Perujin worked would say out loud for fear of looking like a fool. Hearing it from the princess of Tearmoon made it even more fake to the point of being mean. Yuhal couldn’t look past that; it made him feel bad in a lot of ways.

The king should have put on a fake smile to hide his anger. His best choice was probably to gloss over the problem. If a plot is only in someone’s head, it can’t be proven. Don’t give any hints. Let nothing slip. Talk about things that don’t matter. That was the way to get things done.

But the princess didn’t spare prisoners on her road to success. She cut away at his front like a cook and did it on purpose to make him angry. When an emotional Yuhal walked onto the field, the game was over for Mia. Shalloak couldn’t say anything because allies were talking over him all the time.

Shalloak understood, to his own frustration, that the difference between him and the princess was that they had different plans. He came to watch and enjoy a good meal while avoiding some awkward questions. He was, in a sense, running the timer. But Mia had come to the fight with only one thing in mind: to win by knockout.

She did fight, attacking every reason the king didn’t trust Tearmoon, which were the most important parts of Shalloak’s plan, until they fell. Then she went straight for the throat.

“Your Majesty, could you please put your trust in me?”

She asked him to believe her. To have him trust her. To believe that she is honest.

“Surely, the King of Perujin wouldn’t be so foolish as to act on blind faith?”

Even Shalloak couldn’t believe what he was saying. He knew the king was already under the spell of the Great Wisdom of the Empire. It was a very tempting spell because it was made with the light of hope.

She does the worst things at the worst times. So that’s how the Great Wisdom works… Well done.

“Oh, Shalloak? I would like to talk to you as well.” She turned her attention to him all of a sudden. “Do you remember when we talked before and I said that money isn’t everything? So, what did you say to me in response?”

She put a finger to her cheek and turned her head to make a point.

“Oh, wasn’t it something about how doing things that don’t make money is a sign of being caught up in emotional wish-wash? That it means you’re weak?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, you are right. People who work in business put their faith in money. It has the power to control everything in the world, and it is our god.”

Shalloak could tell that he was getting angrier even as he answered. He knew why, too. Mia’s words and deeds showed that she didn’t think money was everything. It went against everything he thought was right. It went against everything he believed in. And most importantly, it hurt like salt on a small wound in the back of his head. The pain kept reminding him that maybe, just maybe, he’d been wrong about everything…

Even though he knew he was being manipulated in the same way Yuhal had, there was nothing he could do to stop himself.

“Shouldn’t merchants believe this? No, everyone should believe this. People work. For what, then, do they work? Money, for sure. So, it is obviously right for them to do everything they can to make as much money as possible.”

He had spent his whole life making money, and all merchants should do the same. Using all of one’s strength and intelligence to get on the most efficient path to the most money… That was why people went into business. It was a must.

It was a terrible act of blasphemy to share information that could make money, like the fact that cold-resistant wheat was being made.

“Is it objectively right? How strange… I’ve heard from a good source that you used to be quite the—Oh? Is there something wrong?”

Mia frowned. Shalloak did too. He wasn’t sure what she meant for a moment. The next second, a terrible pain shot through his chest like a bolt of lightning.

“Augh! Ugh…”

“Master Shalloak!”

He heard a young girl scream. Then he didn’t hear anything else.