"I believe we have an agreement, Miss Caramille?"
The pompous fat man said as he finished the tea in my finest porcelain.
I really hated seeing those lips staining my dwarven cup.
But anything less than such quality would be perceived as an insult.
Indeed. Baron Fiuri would think myself insulting him if I did not use my pride collection.
Not that his anger could not be handled. It was just too much of a bother than all its worth.
I had done my best to play along up to this point, I had to see it through.
"I will be sure not to interfere in my capacity as the head of the merchant association, Lord Fiuri."
"I'm glad you understand, Miss Caramille. Even though these people are native to Damai such as yourself, you must realize it is not right to let commoners rule the market."
The idiot surprisingly stood up without the help of his gilded cane and continued.
"Elard Horgis and Ririan Sardu cannot be allowed to monopolize the trade industry in Damai. My Fiuri Company will make sure to disempower them."
I nodded as I showed him to the door.
"Horgis and Sardu have been around for a long time, my lord. Those two companies possessed great foothold in all of Damai. Even the Zeref Household supports them. They will be strong competitors to your company."
The fool laughed as he stepped out of my office.
"Not to worry, Miss Caramille. I have the support of Viscount Relevie in the Taga region as well as Countess Minara in Kapera City. Horgis and Sardu will be uprooted from this land when I'm done with them."
The Relevie Company had monopoly over the trade in northern and eastern Taga. While Countess Minara was known to be a vassal to the Harta Household, one of the Seven Great Houses.
Baron Fiuri certainly wanted to take hold of Damai given his backings.
Perhaps he wanted to gain Minara's favor while also using Relevie that had been wanting to penetrate into Damai's market.
Damai was considerably a smaller region in the empire. And the Zeref had a neutral standing in the empire's politic.
The Zeref was a strong family, but no other noble family would actually come help if Baron Fiuri were to attack them. Since the Zeref did the best they could to make sure no strings were attached to the region.
It was a desirable target for a greedy noble who wanted to make a name for himself without risking much repercussion.
"That is why you shouldn't try to help your fellow Damai folks. Their destructions are inevitable, Miss Caramille."
The fat man said as we walked down the stairs to my shop below.
We walked through the rows of dressed mannequins and bolts of fabrics arrayed on the walls and went to the entrance.
"I'm just the head of the merchant association, my lord. Managing business permits through the authority given by the Zeref Household is the extent of my power. And it's improper of me to obstruct the plans of a businessman who wishes to improve the trades in Damai."
The fool smiled and nodded to me.
"That is wise of you, Miss Caramille. I will make sure you are rewarded once I conquer Damai."
He bowed as deep as a commoner rightly deserved, which was only a slight tilt of his head, and stepped out into the rain where his servants were already waiting for him by his fancy carriage.
I chuckled as I watched him rode away from the window.
For all the things he boasted regarding his resources, the fool lacked the necessary thing.
Knowledge.
Elard Horgis and Ririan Sardu did not exist.
They were just the puppets I set up to become the figureheads of my companies.
When I said jump, they asked me 'how high?'
They would not do a thing without my saying.
And Baron Fiuri was truly mistaken if he thought Horgis and Sardu were the companies that ruled Damai's trades.
Didn't he realized that Horgis supposedly answered to the Terisa Company while Sardu to the Roilan? And that Terisa answered to Camon and Roilan to Pusein? While Camon and Pusein to more 'covert' establishments?
And the connection of those establishments would eventually circle back to Horgis and Sardu?
It took me years to arrange those companies of mine to be perceived like that.
I was disappointed nobody was smart enough to notice my work.
Well, there was one who did.
She was a very smart woman. Never had I been played and manipulated like that in all my years.
Such a shame that she died.
The life of a merchant could be so boring.
These so called 'rivals' who claimed they were going to conquer Damai.
I would be amazed if they could survive a month without going to bankruptcy.
Baron Fiuri would not even last two weeks if I let my puppets do as they should.
He would be gone in three days if I was bothered enough to dirty my hands.
Truly it was a shame that wise woman died.
My life became really dull after her passing.
Would I ever find such excitement again?
Would I ever meet such intriguing person again?
Would I ever discover such brilliant mind again?
"For a small clothing business, you entertain such interesting patron, Miss Caramille."
A soft composed voice said suddenly from behind me.
I quickly turned around and saw a cloaked figure standing over one of the mannequins.
The robe hid the person's body so well, but I noticed from the voice that the figure was a woman.
The cowl was also pulled way over the head, but the woman's black hair made quite a bulging bundle around the hood.
She wore a mask on the upper half of her face which hid her visage. Even so, the woman's blue eyes peering underneath were as penetrating as daggers.
"Baron Naian Fiuri of the…Arashi region, I believe? Quite far away from here. Did he really come all this way to simply order dresses for his daughters from you, Miss Caramille?"
The cloaked woman said while inspecting the dress on the mannequin.
Though from her eyes it was obvious she was not interested on the silk.
Goodness, when did such a woman get in?
I believed I put the 'closed' sign on when I was meeting with Baron Fiuri.
How much did she hear of our conversation?
"Baron Fiuri met me to discuss his plan to expand his business in Damai, my lady. I'm the head of the merchant association, you see. It's common for new merchants to meet me before they start their business in this region."
Yes. She had to be a noble lady.
That robe might hide it, but I could see parts of the precious silk of her dress underneath. No simple commoner dressed that way.
If not for that, then it was her manner of dignified speech that gave it away.
"You must be a very powerful merchant for those people to be seeking you, Miss Caramille."
She said. Her eyes were still on the mannequin.
I shook my head immediately.
"I simply handle permits, my lady. Or arbitrate whenever there's conflict between the merchants. I may also be involved in forming policies, but many other people are also involved in the same capacity."
She nodded at my words. Eyes were still fixed on the mannequin.
"True. As the head of the merchant association, that is the extent of your power, supposedly. But what about your power as a merchant itself, Miss Caramille?"
Supposedly? Was I being paranoid or was she really onto something here?
Even so, I suppressed my curiosity of her. If I reacted wrongly, it would only prove her suspicion.
I chuckled softly upon her latter question and swept my hand across the room.
"Have you seen my humble shop, my lady? I tailor and sell dresses. My building is one of the oldest and modest in the Merchant Street. What power could I possibly have?"
This time the woman turned from the mannequin and faced me.
She reached under her cloak and pulled out a clear bluish crystal.
My eyes almost twitched in surprise of the object.
But I would not get where I was as a merchant if I could not control my expression.
"My! What beautiful diamond you have there, my lady!"
I said with the most delightful tone.
Let her know I was oblivious of the object by regarding it incorrectly.
The woman smiled at my words.
She was amused. But somehow I did not think it was because she thought of me foolish for not knowing the crystal's true name,
"This is Mannalite, Miss Caramille. A newly discovered material. A mage found great use for Mannalite a couple of years ago. Now, it is the most sought crystal in the entire world."
My contact in the Tower of Circle wrote to me about it.
Saying this crystal could make an airship goes faster and even heal people.
You could buy a whole manor with only the chunk this woman was holding.
How did she come upon such precious item?
Moreover, that was the exact one I purchased from my contact and gifted it to a noble ally through my puppet company.
That noble did not even know about me. So how did this woman walk in here with it?
Maybe it was just a coincidence?
But I had become a merchant for so long that I knew it was too hard to believe.
Still, I had to play the innocent for now.
Maybe she did not really know where the Mannalite was from.
"That's incredible, my lady. But, if I may ask, why are you showing such beautiful and precious rock to me?"
I asked her in the meekest tone I could muster.
The woman smiled again and walked closer to me. She raised the crystal closer to my face.
"You may stop pretending, Miss Caramille. It's a waste of both of our precious time. I know you're the one who sold this Mannalite to Baron Elgar."
Goodness!
There was no way she actually knew, did she?
No! She had to be bluffing.
"Baron Elgar. I believe I have heard the name before. Isn't he a lord in the Taga region?"
The woman softly chuckled this time.
"The Mannalite has such strong magical properties that it leaves residues. Harmless. But the residues linger for more than two weeks nonetheless."
She said while raising her other hand.
A ball of gentle fire suddenly appeared and hovered above her palm.
She was a mage!
Interesting.
I did my best to temper my expression as I watched her continued.
"On naked eyes, the residues are invisible. But within close proximity of open fire, the residues glowed in bluish hue."
The woman hovered the fire nearer to my hands. The flame almost brushed my skin.
At that moment, my palms immediately turned as blue as my silks I was selling.
The woman was smiling with an amused sense as ever while speaking to me again.
"How did you obtain this Mannalite, Miss Caramille?"
It was very hard to keep my face expressionless.
But by then, it was pointless.
Unbelievable.
I was played once more.