Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Only Fernando Leo, the old man Dan Ora, and herself remained in the hall.

"Speak," Lady Navarre lifted the porcelain cup, her expression turning cold: "What dissatisfaction do you have with me—both of you?"

"No one is dissatisfied, Madam," Mr. Leo stood solemnly: "It's just that some things are unclear. His Excellency Montane's interests in Vineta need representation, even if we serve as his agents, sooner or later other commerce houses will seek His Excellency.

And in the competition for this role, Navarre Commerce has an unshakable advantage. So we want to know why you insist on severing ties with His Excellency Montane? Why are you handing over what could easily be yours to others?"

"One 'Excellency' here, another 'Excellency' there, you're calling him with such familiarity," Lady Navarre sarcastically retorted.

She frowned deeply, speaking sternly: "Don't forget what he did, he brought disgrace to my family, turning the name Navarre into a laughingstock, isn't that enough?"

"Don't forget, Madam, we are businessmen," Fernando Leo straightened the rod, at this moment, he was not pleading with Lady Navarre, but "looking her in the eye":

"Don't forget, Madam, we are businessmen. Even if someone asks to buy our lives, we should first inquire about the price."

He said sincerely: "Everything has a price, reputation can also be weighed on a scale. Your resolute decision to sever ties with His Excellency Montane, this reason is far from sufficient."

Lady Navarre briefly lost her composure, she picked up the cup, sipped a small amount of the drink, and said coldly: "Even if ties are severed and business is handled formally, no one can take away Navarre Commerce's rightful share of wool. So what's the difference?"

"That's precisely the problem!" Mr. Leo glanced at the old man Dan Ora, lowered his shoulders, and his posture became humble again.

Mr. Leo spoke earnestly, yet his tone was firmly unyielding: "Originally, I shared the same view as Madam, but the trip to the Newly Reclaimed Land made me realize one thing—the wool is merely the most insignificant thing we can obtain from His Excellency Montane. Only focusing on the monopoly of wool trade is akin to entering a treasure vault but taking away just a handful of dust."

The light in Fernando Leo's eyes was distinctly the exhilaration of an archer foreseeing the feathered arrows would hit the bull's-eye.

He told the two in front of him, word by word: "The truly valuable thing! Is the man Winters Montagne!"

Lady Navarre's brow twitched momentarily. She looked at her father but received no response.

So she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and when she spoke again, it was more weak than angry: "Do you really know what kind of business you want to do?"

"Transporting wheat and olive oil across the Inner Sea could yield a thirty percent profit; bringing back cotton cloth and wool from Paratu could earn double the profit; obtaining pepper and cinnamon from the Far East could yield tenfold or even twentyfold profit." Mr. Leo's expression was sincere: "But compared to the speculation of power, what is spice trade?"

"Hearing you say 'Excellency' at every turn, surprisingly, you underestimate him more than I do," Lady Navarre laughed without anger: "Do you think that young lad would willingly be controlled by others? No, he absolutely won't be manipulated by others! We have no way to control him whatsoever."

"Precisely because His Excellency Winters Montagne is determined and strong-willed, we must support him," Mr. Leo seriously suggested: "And we must support him without considering the cost or expecting returns. Not only do we need to support him ourselves, but we must leverage our influence to rally other families to support him. Personnel, resources, finances, whatever he wants, we must give him; what he hasn't thought of, we must give him even more. Give him so much, that he can't bargain with us, that he can't refuse, and give much more than he could ever want!"

Lady Navarre's expression was as if watching an absurd play unfolding in her life: "No regard for the expense? No expectation of return? And then wait to be used and kicked out?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Leo directly picked up the leftover soup from across him, poured it into his own plate, not leaving a drop, and then placed the plate in front of Lady Navarre, asking:

"Madam, you can pick out the dish; but can you distinguish this soup?"

Lady Navarre instantly understood her partner's true intent, she looked at her father in shock, then angrily stood up and furiously questioned Leo: "How dare you! Just because you went to Paratu once, I'm supposed to hand over the family business?"

"Money and power are the two sides of the ship, this you know better than anyone," Leo bowed to Lady Navarre, but spoke to the old man Dan Ora instead: "Throughout Sea Blue's history, no family has been able to grasp power without money, nor has any family been able to safeguard money without power. Navarre Commerce is already on the crest of the wave, it can either advance further or be swallowed by the sea, there's no other path to take."

With that said, Leo looked at Lady Navarre again, asking: "Family business? Madam, isn't it also Miss Anna's family business? When His Excellency Ora handed his family business to you and your husband back then, how is it any different now?"

Lady Navarre was struck at her weak spot and was unable to retort for a moment, she fell back to her seat, shook her head, and said bitterly: "Winters Montagne is not like my deceased husband, you don't understand... you don't understand what kind of river you're leading us into."