Chapter 8.1 (Part 2)

“It seems you’re mistaken. Do you think this is a place to enjoy teatime?”  

With Tenus’s sharp rebuke, the relaxed atmosphere in the garden tightened.  

“Focus. Tomorrow is the last day of the meeting. There are still dozens of unresolved issues.”  

Yet, Tenus didn’t look at the vassals but at Sellakia, addressing her with stern eyes.  

“Don’t even think about going to the Long Gallery.”  

“Why…”  

“You can’t.”  

Before she could ask why, he added curtly. The pent-up frustration surged within her.  

Not wanting to lose, Sellakia impulsively retorted.  

“I wasn’t planning to go anyway. Who’s curious?”  

Then she turned away from Tenus. His perpetually smooth demeanor had an innate talent for irritating her.  

Tenus seemed to be watching her, but he said nothing and resumed the meeting.  

Sellakia kept her lips tightly sealed like a clam. Though she occasionally felt Tenus’s scrutinizing gaze and Amy’s satisfied glance, she ignored them all.  

Having confirmed there was no poison in the tea, she felt no threat from Amy. Knowing her life wasn’t in danger, she immediately dismissed Amy from her thoughts.  

She tried to disregard Tenus as well, but it wasn’t easy. Unlike Amy, his presence was annoyingly overwhelming. There seemed to be no way to ignore him other than leaving his side.  

However, she couldn’t abruptly stand up and disrupt the ongoing meeting.  

The vassals were engrossed in the meeting as if they’d never engaged in small talk. The exchanges were quite intense. Even if each vassal added only a word to each agenda, the discussions dragged on endlessly. It was understandable why the vassal meetings lasted all day.  

Tenus led the meeting by listening attentively, appropriately adjusting their opinions, or offering different perspectives.  

Just as Sellakia was about to smirk at his Duke-like demeanor, Nancy approached her.  

Nancy, exuding a savory aroma, placed bread and lingonberry jam in front of Sellakia.  

“Nancy? Why did you suddenly bring bread?”  

“The Duke asked me to bring it to you, Madam. You like it, don’t you? Go ahead, eat.”  

“How can I eat this here…”  

Though Sellakia had no interest in the vassal meeting and loved lingonberry jam, she had no intention of acting out of line in the middle of the meeting.  

Feeling troubled, she subtly pushed the tempting bread to the edge of the table. Viscount Shulman, sitting nearby, sniffed the air.  

“Oh? Isn’t this the lingonberry jam from Countess Sov’s estate?”  

Viscount Shulman’s eyes, which had dulled from the prolonged meeting, sparkled brightly. As Sellakia was about to respond, Tenus intercepted his gaze.  

“You seem to have time to focus on food, Viscount Shulman. There have been dozens of incidents caused by pirates just this year, especially in the strait your knights protect. Have you finally eradicated the pirates?”

“Well… We haven’t eradicated them yet…”  

Viscount Shulman’s eyes lost their sparkle as quickly as they had gained it.

Sellakia flinched at the word ‘pirate’ that suddenly struck her eardrums.  

Pirates, of all things. Recalling the earlier incident in the reception room, Sellakia awkwardly shifted her gaze.  

Perhaps feeling guilty, she sensed Tenus’s gaze fixed on her.  

“…”  

Sellakia quietly pulled the dish she had set aside and pretended to focus on the bread. Though her feigned eating quickly turned genuine, Tenus remained silent.  

Instead, the vassals’ gazes occasionally lingered on her, seemingly drawn by the savory and sweet aroma. Each time, those who eyed the lingonberry jam became the next Viscount Shulman.  

The vassals soon caught on to Tenus’s method of selecting targets and refrained from looking at her. However, a vassal sitting relatively close to Sellakia protested in an aggrieved voice.  

“Madam, instead of just eating bread, please focus on the meeting!”  

“…What? Me?”  

The knife energetically spreading jam came to an abrupt halt.  

Sellakia awkwardly straightened up, setting down the bread and knife. Tenus sternly stared at the speaking vassal.  

“Though she’s present, Sellakia isn’t yet familiar with the household affairs. Don’t shift your responsibilities onto her.”  

“But still…”

Baron Damanian spoke up in place of the now subdued vassal.  

“Since you’re participating in the meeting, why not share your opinion? You must be bored too, so please listen. Of course, there’s no need to feel pressured. Madam, are you aware that ships from the Skaron Empire pass through our Seidon strait with slaves? They’re smuggling people from the Matana Kingdom. As you know, slavery is illegal in our Pangaea Empire, but not in the Skaron Empire.”  

Sellakia was taken aback by the sudden topic but focused as she wiped the crumbs from her mouth. She found it curious that this topic was raised in the vassal meeting.  

“But is that an issue? Ships follow the laws of their flag state, don’t they? Even if they pass through the territorial waters of the Pangaea Empire, as long as they don’t deviate from the trade routes, we can’t raise a problem.”

Baron Damanian seemed about to respond, but Baron Colby quickly interjected.  

“You know well. So the issue isn’t with the Skaron Empire, but with the Matana Kingdom.”

“The Matana Kingdom?”  

“They requested our cooperation to stop the Skaron Empire’s slave traders from smuggling their people.”  

“As you know, our Pangaea Empire maintains friendly relations with both the Skaron Empire and the Matana Kingdom.”  

Now she could roughly understand the situation. Sellakia nodded with a thoughtful expression.  

“It’s a situation where we can’t easily side with either party.”  

“Exactly.”  

Countess Sov, who usually kept silent unless necessary, added her input, indicating the importance of the matter.  

“Though the Matana Kingdom is a small country, we can’t ignore their request. We hold the exclusive trade rights for all handicrafts officially produced in the Matana Kingdom through our Tria Merchant Group.”  

The Tria Merchant Group was the name of the merchant guild owned by the Seidon Dukedom. Sellakia listened attentively to the vassals’ continued discussion.  

“So are you saying we should antagonize the Skaron Empire? It’s been less than 30 years since we established diplomatic relations with them. Another war might break out.”  

“Moreover, if we fall out with Skaron, won’t the Imperial Family question our conduct? We could offend not only the Skaron Empire but also the Imperial Family over the small Matana Kingdom.”  

“Damn the Imperial Family. That’s why we should have declared Seidon a Grand Duchy sooner…”  

Sellakia’s eyes shook violently. It seemed she had overheard something she shouldn’t have.

Sellakia quickly closed her ears and mentally replayed the conversation they had exchanged. Whatever choice was made, it could sour relations with the other country. It was not an easy problem.  

Come to think of it…  

A sudden thought crossed Sellakia’s mind, and she looked at Viscount Shulman.  

“Viscount Shulman, you mentioned that pirates have been appearing frequently lately. Do you remember the figurehead of the pirate ship?”

“The figurehead?”  

Surprised by the unexpected question, the Viscount shifted his eyes in thought before answering.  

“It seemed to be a black bird with its wings spread wide. Probably a crow.”  

“And the captain of the pirate ship? Did you see him?”  

“He has bright red hair. He looked quite old, but he’s such a seasoned person that it’s hard to approach with a warship.”  

The Viscount mumbled in a dejected voice, his shoulders drooping. On the other hand, Sellakia was so excited that she didn’t even notice Tenus’s gaze fixed intently on her from the side.  

“Did you see his ears too? Wasn’t one of his ears missing?”  

“What? How did you know that, Madam?”  

It was a remarkable coincidence, and Sellakia smiled broadly. At that moment, a vassal seated at the end of the table raised his voice.  

“Madame, we are not discussing Viscount Shulman’s pirate suppression right now. We are presenting a much more important agenda, so please focus.”  

“Ah… I wasn’t sure if I had the right to speak. May I share my opinion?”

Tenus glared at the vassal at the end of the table and spoke to Sellakia.  

“It’s fine. It’s not something you need to worry about.”  

“It’s not that it’s a burden…”  

Was he giving permission?  

Sellakia glanced sideways at Tenus and cautiously opened her mouth.  

“I think it’s a difficult issue to decide on, given the close diplomatic ties. There are many aspects we can’t overlook. However, unlike us, there are those who are not constrained by anything. I wonder if we could make use of them.”  

“Those who are not constrained? What kind of existence are you referring to?”  

“Pirates.”