She Is Not a Witch

While Loranhil was discussing with the Ruluna mages, an interrogation began in the study of the Tisphone family.

“Vic, was it you who gave the order?” 

Edric looked at his adoptive brother, frowning slightly. The assassination attempt a few days ago had quickly spread throughout the city, and after much thought, he realized only the Tisphone family, specifically his adoptive brother, could have accomplished it.

“Yes, it was.”

“Huh, since when did it become your job to make decisions for me?”

“I just didn’t want you to be seduced by beauty.”

“So, you think you can make decisions for me on a whim? And then throw the entire family into the fire? You’ve got some nerve, my brother.”

He emphasized the words “my brother.” Vic was not a blood relative of the Tisphone family; he was only adopted by the old family head and raised with Tisphone education. Although his position in the family was not low, he was ultimately not of the direct bloodline.

Usually, it wasn’t an issue. Vic had his own capabilities and often handled family affairs with his own group of subordinates. But this time, his actions had touched on something Edric could not tolerate. It wasn’t that he had sent people to assassinate Loranhil, but that he had done so without discussing it with Edric first.

A knife in hand is just a knife, but if it develops its own ideas and doesn’t follow orders, then that knife no longer has any value.

If not for the deep brotherly bond of many years, and the fact that Vic was indeed loyal, Edric would have had him dealt with long ago.

“I’ll tell you one more time, I am the heir to the Tisphone family. Any action requires my permission before it’s allowed, not just because you think it should be done. This will only bring enormous danger and conflict.”

“Do you understand, my brother?” He emphasized “brother” once again.

“I hope there won’t come a day when we can no longer be brothers.” Edric tapped his fingers on the solid wood desk, warning Vic, before storming out of the room.

Vic leaned back in the sofa chair, staring at the ceiling with his hand covering his eyes, silent.

After leaving the study, Edric had the servants bring out his carriage.

“Young Master Edric, where are you going?”

“To that alchemy workshop on Daffodil Street.”

“Very well.”

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“I’m sorry, but the agreement your country has proposed is too harsh. We cannot accept it,” Loranhil said, putting down the contract paper in her hand, her ethereal voice echoing through the quiet hall.

“Why not? Don’t you realize how excellent this technology is? If you cooperate with us, it can guarantee that your Carithes family will lead the shipbuilding industry for at least a hundred years.”

“But that doesn’t mean you can claim 70% of the profits based on that alone.”

“But, the merchant associations capable of shipbuilding aren’t just you, while only we in Ruluna possess such advanced technology,” Mage Brontón said, dissatisfied with Loranhil’s rebuttal. He merely thought this young merchant lady lacked experience and hadn’t grasped the key points.

“We at Carithes provide all the raw materials, labor, facilities, and manufacturing costs, while you dispatch a small number of personnel for technical guidance, yet you want to obtain 70% of the net profit without bearing any risks and taking the lion’s share. Isn’t this asking for too much?”

“Miss Loranhil, please mind your words. Currently, the Verdant Empire shows signs of war again, and the Snow Flower Seven Countries must unite and work together to overcome difficulties. Why are you still so greedy, indulging in immediate profits while disregarding the bigger picture?” a middle-aged male mage spoke up.

“Once the Verdant Empire conquers Ruluna, Vegar will have no defenses and could fall into enemy hands at any time. What use would millions in assets be then?” Another mage beside him chimed in.

“If it weren’t for the Verdant’s intention to wage war, you wouldn’t have access to Ruluna’s advanced technology and design concepts for twenty years. You should be grateful.”

Loranhil laughed bitterly. What could she say? These were indeed mages without any business acumen. How dare they speak like this during negotiations? What kind of confidence did they have, looking down on the other party so much? How could they expect the other party to agree after such insults?

“Then I’d rather not take advantage of you. Go find whoever you like, see which merchant association is lucky enough to catch your fancy.”

She stood up, walked through the aisle between the seats, and left the conference hall. The hundreds of people from the Carithes Merchant Association also followed this young lady, leaving the venue in an orderly manner.

Looking at the suddenly quiet conference hall, Brontón’s old face couldn’t hide his embarrassment. His previous good impression of the Carithes young lady had completely vanished. How dare she? How could she just leave so directly? It’s just earning a bit less money, yet she acted as if she was so noble. Simply unreasonable. Indeed, women, regardless of age, are animals without rationality.

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An unexpected turn of events occurred. The Ruluna delegation only stayed in Hopland for two days before leaving. They headed to Green Water Port, the headquarters of the Dayas Merchant Association, which had once competed and lost in the shipbuilding industry against Carithes. Although their market share had significantly decreased, they still persisted tenaciously.

Three days later, the Dayas Merchant Association gladly accepted the Ruluna delegation, and then began to mock the Carithes family for their shortsightedness and irrationality.

Loranhil didn’t regret it at all. Although she hadn’t seen the actual product, judging from the blueprints introduced by Ruluna, their so-called new technology was nothing more than replacing wooden ships with iron ships. They didn’t realize that after changing from wind power to propeller propulsion, the entire ship structure would need a major overhaul.

Moreover, their design ideas were too conservative. The ship length was no more than 80 meters, and the weaponry was still the old-fashioned fixed side-arranged cannons, without much innovation.

If Loranhil were to design it, the Iowa-class battleship, culminating the achievements of World War II, was 270 meters long with a displacement of about 50,000 tons. Its 406mm 50-caliber main guns could split Ruluna’s small ships in half with a single salvo.

Although the current craftsmanship in the Ivar world wasn’t precise enough, with the existence of supernatural magic, the power of explosions and shells would only be greater than in her previous life.

With the current technology, Loranhil estimated that it would take Dayas at least a year to produce a prototype ship, and probably three years before they would have a mature design. And three years was enough time for her to do many things. Besides, the Mage Countries didn’t just refer to Ruluna, did they?