Two months later.

"How goes the harvest, Countess?" the Reh Duke asked, a smile on his face, just like the one he wore when he helped her in the council meeting. Althea had trouble thinking of him similarly after learning of his deeds.

"The harvest goes well." Althea replied. “Is there anything I can help you with, Duke Reh?"

"I would think you would know." Duke Reh replied. “I am sure your subordinates have shared at least some of the challenges I have faced of late.”

"If you speak of the policy changes your duchy has been making, I am aware of them." Althea said, taking up her teacup and sipping from it. The teacup had become her weapon in recent meetings, A little thing she had learned from the Aer. Drinking tea would give her a few more moments of time to think of her answer, and that could prove quite valuable in a negotiation.

"But I would think that such a thing would not stand between the relationship between our two houses. After all, we have been allied for centuries." she continued. “Have my subordinates perhaps done something to trouble you?”

"Well, I do not wish to whine, but it seems there has been some resistance to my orders." Duke Reh answered. “I am aware that the ports were bought by your ancestors, Countess, but I cannot help but feel slighted that you would go so far as to overrule my orders.”

Althea knew what he was thinking. The Reh family was of the opinion that the Diery family had taken advantage of them by buying up the ports. The Duke shared that opinion, and wanted them back.

"What is it that troubles you so?" she said, putting down the teacup. "I shall see what I can do.”

"The Reh ports." the Duke began.

This guy was quite shameless. The Duke had gone far too far in the recent months with his ‘policies’, a silly name for what was basically him trying to monopolize his duchy’s entire economy. But since the Empire had some very strange economic laws that seemed to contradict each other every other sentence, the Duke had taken some roundabout routes to take her ports.

Althea had almost raised his actions to the royal council, but she was sure the Reh Duke would call upon the Zerolian Duke and pressure her using their influence. That was exactly what they wanted. And she would not be playing into their hands. Having him come to her was a far better idea.

"There have been some concerning developments" The Duke continued when she did not reply.

Althea picked up the teacup again, much to the Duke's irritation. The teacup was particularly effective against people like the Duke who were impatient. Waiting made them angry, and angry people did not make the best negotiators.

"What about them? Are the taxes not in order?" she asked, feigning ignorance.

"I fear I must buy them back, Countess." the Reh Duke said. "Please, name your price."

"Oh my!" Althea raised her hand to her mouth, acting the surprised lady. "That is unpleasant to hear. But I suppose if there is no alternative, I shall only have to acquiesce.”

The Duke was barely able to hide his shock when she accepted his offer. After all, the ports were her second-largest source of income, and vital to her future plans. The Zerolian Duke had surely informed Duke Reh of her agreement with Empress Elara.

“Of course, Countess.” the Duke said, unable to hide the giddiness in his voice. Althea wondered if he knew how big a mistake he was making. The Reh duchy had few products other than their ports, and he would soon find that once she withdrew, the ports would have a huge fall in income.

After all, the Diery county would not be using them anymore. The Duke’s own prejudice would have him ignore the possibility of a port near ‘half-breeds’.

"Then, what is your offer?" Althea asked.

"Please, Countess, name your price." the Duke repeated. The idiot had bought her foolish act.

Althea smiled. "Fifty million gold."

"What?" the Duke nearly stood up in outrage. That idiot. Of course, she was going to start the negotiation as high as she could.

"That is preposterous!" the Duke said.

"But my advisors say that it is a fair price." Althea replied, acting naive. Tenebre did agree. So she wasn't even lying!

"What-you!" The Duke said, spluttering, clearly taking her for a fool. That was what Althea wanted to show him. A fool that believed whatever her advisors said, and that was how she would scam this joker some more.

"I can at most give you twenty." the Duke said after several attempts.

That wasn't even in the lower edge of the price. Thirty to fifty million. That was her range.

"Then we can't have a deal, Duke." Althea said.

In truth, it was still worth it. The Duke's harassment and laws were making it hard to trade in Reh, and they were shifting to the Eastern Isles either way. This was just spare change, so they didn't have to worry about money. The Diery county’s wealth was in jewels, but the jewelry market was quite unfavorable at the moment.

That was the biggest trouble, jewel prices fluctuated too much because nobles were the only ones that bought them. And these comfort obsessed idiots had taken to importing foreign goods during a continental war at a massive loss.

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"What do you want to do?" the Duke asked.

"I am not the one making things hard for you, Duke Reh. But I simply can't accept your prices. Perhaps we can discuss it again when you have more capital?" she said.

Althea’s bluff was too hard to call. The Duke did not know of their plans to build a port. That meant that he would think that his plan with the ports had failed. After all, she had been acting the ignorant fool that wasn't aware of his activities.

"Thirty million." the Duke literally gritted his teeth, barely saying the words. "That is my final offer."

"In gold?" Althea asked. That was better than nothing. Or what she would get in a year.

"In gems!" the Reh Duke practically shouted. Althea sighed. The Diery county really did not need more jewelry. There wasn’t space anymore.

But she expected this, the Empire only had one gold mine after all. There was no way the Duke had enough gold on hand. Even she didn't.

"I have plenty of jewelry, Duke. I don't need any more." Althea replied.

"Countess, you are being impolite." the Duke said.

Althea nearly dropped her teacup. How in the world was she being impolite? Had the Duke finally lost his mind?

"Oh really? I apologize. But I still can't take your offer, Duke Reh." she said. "Perhaps next year."

The Duke clenched his fist.

"Please wait a moment."

The Duke went outside, probably calling the Zerolian duchy. The Zerolian Duke would lend him the money. The Zerolian duchy had owned the largest gold mine on the continent, and only gold mine in Soleria, for the last thousand years, after all. The Zerolian Duke was irritatingly rich.

The Zerolian Duke would wait until the Reh duchy went bankrupt. And then he would try to take the duchy. Or perhaps make a puppet of them while they were still around. That would give him some power to counter Althea's faction even more.

Althea planned for that. The trick was to make the Reh duchy a money sink. The trade war would consume money like a leaking vase, and she would take advantage of that. The Reh duchy would become a gaping hole that would force Duke Zerolian to use the Zerolian foundation. And she would be lounging around without touching hers.

The Reh Duke entered back in, making her pause her train of thought.

"Twenty five million. That is as far as I can go." he replied. That was less than she had expected. Did Duke Zerolian have less confidence in the Reh duchy than she had expected?

"Then we don't have a deal." Althea said. The Duke had overplayed his hand, there was no way he was just backing off at this point. There had to be something else he could give.

The Duke breathed a heavy sigh, looking at her like he wanted to kill her. But the current Diery county was no longer the county of before. The Garron family and the half-Elves ensured that she could utterly crush the Reh duchy in less than half an hour if they went to war.

"The Reh duchy has land." the Reh duke said.

Althea raised an eyebrow at that. Was he offering her more islands?

"In other Empires. And kingdoms. The Countess is trying to form trade relations with foreign countries. Having a title in those nations could aid you greatly."

Althea hid her smile. This was unexpected. The good kind of unexpected.

"Holding a foreign title disqualifies you from the royal council." Althea frowned outwardly, trying to hide her glee. "I am not sure if it is a good idea at all."

Of course, it was, she could give it to Isa. Or Vanessa. Or, heck, to anyone! That person could serve as ambassador and help set up her information agency.

The royals of that nation would be sure to suspect her, but just having that person there would increase their information massively. Not to mention the balls and other functions they would attend. And the opportunity to trade.

A noble would surely have far more freedom to trade than a foreigner. And unless the local royal family wanted to break their own laws, they wouldn’t interfere too much. And if she could build a good relationship with the local royals, then… Oh, she wanted to jump in glee.

How the Reh duchy got their hands on these she had no idea, but now she was happy that she had taken to scamming this Duke.

"I am sure you can give it to someone else. The noble titles hold a lot of privileges that could help you greatly." the Reh Duke tempted. "I am sure having someone in their aristocratic council will open a lot of doors for you."

"Hmm." Althea acted unwilling. "I suppose it could be helpful…but for five million gold…"

The Reh Duke gritted his teeth. "I can offer a Barony in Relmia Kingdom, a baronet in Solmer Confederacy," the Reh Duke stared at her like he wanted to eat her, hesitant to say the next words. "And a county in the Senset kingdom."

A splash of cold water seemed to splash across Althea's face. Of course, the Duke wouldn't offer something this valuable even if he was stupid.

"The Senset kingdom fell a month ago." she said. And the other nations weren't in a good condition either. The Solmer Confederacy was perhaps a decent offer as an Empire grade power with a half-step Grandmaster, but it was involved in far too many wars.

"What?" The Duke said, his irritation disappearing as his face twisted into a strange mixture of horror and shock.

"Yes, Empress Enara confirmed it to me. Didn't you hear?" she answered.

"Oh, oh." The Duke said, looking scared for the first time. The Senset Kingdom was older than the Reh duchy, and far more powerful. Althea supposed she should be privileged, the kingdom didn't look that scary to her, but to the Duke it was a huge shock.

The news not having spread was a surprise in itself, but she supposed that they were still months off from any ships arriving from that part of the continent. The only people that knew it now were those that had learned it through the orbs.

"Do you have anything else to offer?" Althea asked.

"Y-yes." the Duke stuttered. "A barony in the Serfa Empire, a baronet in the Gerlan kingdom and a Viscounty in Zun Empire."

Althea felt her heart thud against her chest. The three were far more stable in the wars. The Zun especially. There wasn't anything explicitly stating that a noble couldn't have a subordinate that was a Zun noble…but it was frowned upon. A public enemy like that?

"Do you have any…alternatives to the Zun viscounty?" Althea said. The viscounty wasn't much use anyway. The only useful lands in the Zun Empire were in the hands of powerful sects or the royal family. The rest of it was literally baren. Not even cacti grew there.

The last time that Empire had rain was before the burning. Althea had a feeling the cause of this was magical, but she didn't have any way to investigate. Or any reason to. The people of Diery hated the Zun Empire to the bone.

"The titles aren't candies, countess. I can't just hand them out to you." the Reh Duke replied. "But I can give you a barony in Merlen if you wish."

Oh, that was actively being invaded by the Solmer Confederacy, it would be conquered in two months at most. And that was if the half-step Grandmaster did not act. But she could probably reach it in a month, it was quite literally next door. Perhaps she could take refugees or something. The county had plenty of farmland.

The value was certainly less than the viscounty…but it was safer.