Herald of Steel

Chapter 1020

After Alexander had finished his meeting with Lady Miranda and Lord Cassius that morning, he had spent much of the post time trying to think of an offer he could offer to Miss Linda that would satisfy both sides.

And this was the best he could come up with- letting the infant Quentin become the head of the family while Lady Miranda acted as his regent while he came of age.

Thus the plan was to basically replace Marcus with his cousin.

This way, Miss Linda would be able to at last gain the throne that she had oh so desired, while Lady Miranda would still be able to run the family as she had been for the last four years, letting things keep spinning as they were.

As for what happens when Quentin comes of age, that was a problem for then.

But Alexander suspected Lady Miranda would be able to cement her power within that time to kick Quentin off the ladder.

"Snort! Ridiculous!" And perhaps it was exactly recognizing this danger that Miss Linda spat out this domineering snort and that single word, wrinkling her nose as if she had smelled something foul and putrid.

Her face told all that she thought about Alexander's 'grand plan'.

But that was still not the extent of her disgust, as the lady was also not at all shy of letting everyone know the full extent of her thoughts, as turning her beautiful face to Alexander, she almost jeered,

"Is the heat getting to you my lord? Or is it the wine? Because other than the excuse that you have gone blind drunk and delirious, I cannot think of a single reason why you would ask me to accept such a dumb deal?"

"Do I have the face of a donkey…. that you thought I would agree to such foolish plan? Or does my head look like it's been kicked by stupid?" The lady then even pointed to her face while saying, making no attempt to hide her distaste and even livid anger at this mere proposal.

It was as if she was offended by the mere insinuation that Alexander thought she would even consider this.

While facing this enraged tigress, Alexander's lips twitched.

It had been a long, long time since ago had talked to him such rudely.

Usually, even if he stepped on somebody, the other side would just smile and ask him to step again.

Thus for a mere young countess to wring him like that, Alexander felt like really putting her in her place.

(Author note: Apparently there is no feminine form for earl… who knew!!!)

But Alexander was ultimately not that type of man.

Being mild mannered and patient, he thus put a warm, placid facade and bore through the storm, which had yet to dissipate, as Miss Linda was still continuing in her tirade,

"And why would I ever hand my son to that tart shrew? How can you even suggest that, my lord? Do you honestly believe he will be safe with her? That witch will strangle him to death the moment she gets the chance!"

Miss Linda had no problem in painting her sister like a hunched back hag who ate children for lunch, in quite a similar tactic to how Lady Miranda had tried to show Miss Linda as immoral and incompetent.

And thus in keeping with that strategy, Lady Linda then turned to address the second part of Alexander's proposal, as clenching her fair fists tightly she cried with incredulity,

"And how can that 'washed-up has been' possibly be allowed to rule, my lord? We are in this mess because of her! If Miranda can do this in just four years, just imagine what she will be able to do in the next sixteen! By the gods, she will be able to sink the entire island with her incompetence!"

Miss Linda was extremely aggravated at the mere thought of her sister even possessing the slightest bit of power, thus she imperiously flashed her palms to indicate this was not going to happen, not while she was still alive.

Then, having concluded her fervent diatribe against her sister, Miss Linda underwent a sudden transformation- akin to the capricious whims of a midsummer's noon.

Like a tempestuous storm yielding to the gentle caress of a zephyr, she seamlessly transitioned from a flush, enraged, ominous demeanor to a radiant, sunlit countenance in the mere flutter of an eyelash, as she flashed Alexander a very flirtatious smile,

"Lord Alexander, forget my sister! Remember who you are! Look all around. Everything we the Margraves have was brought from you." Saying this, she then spun her arms, drawing Alexander's attention to the surroundings,

"The chair we are sitting on is made from iron imported from Zanzan. The glass table we have in front of us, worth its weight in gold was from Zanzan. The clothes I'm wearing in from Zanzan. Even the sweet wine we are drinking is one of yours."

"So why is it that when you have so much you are lamenting over my sister and those tiny words? She can give you nothing, while I am offering you everything."

"Everybody in the family supports me. Everyone in my family is with me. So no one will even put it to heart that you chose me over her. They will only see it as something any man would have done. Come! Join me!"

Finishing her long speech, Miss Linda then once again held out her arm, as if waiting for Alexander to gently take it.

While Alexander rolled his eyes in his head, wondering if they gave out any prizes for extraordinary speeches.

Because this one could definitely be up there with the best of the best.

Perhaps not due to its words, but certainly by how animatedly the lady had managed to deliver it.

Miss Linda's expressions were so crisp and refreshing that Alexander even temporarily forgot the tongue lashing she had given him just now.

The lady's oratory aptitude was simply sublime.

And if not for her instance in making Alexander join her as quickly as possible was a giant red flag, Alexander might have been actually tempted.

But since he was not, Alexander very stealthily discarded this topic, and then in one smooth motion moved on the next one, which involved trade.

Particularly, the trade the Margraves family had with him.

Deftly ignoring Miss Linda's immaculate, snowy white hands, Alexander turned to meet her eyes and stated with a smile,

"I will admit you have made some mighty convincing points my lady. I must say I am tempted.But before I accept, I am a bit embarrassed to confess I have doubts regarding your promise to continue offer me free access to your market."

"Particularly how will you deal with the rampant piracy that's been threatening us? Even if the Heeat family is behind you, I have been told they lack the fleet to protect my products. Are you not afraid this will hamper your ability to prevent disruptions to our trade?"

Alexander said this mainly because he wanted to know what exactly the Heeat family had offered the Margraves to ensure the fish took the bait.

"Let us worry about your products, Lord Alexander. All you will have to do is produce it and place it in your docks. We will handle the rest." However, much to Alexander's disappointment, Miss Linda was not interested in divulging any of the secret negotiations.

Instead, in her usual curt manner she very confidently blew Alexander's fear away, as if they were immaterial.

But her absolute confidence did provide Alexander with some clues, as he could not help but thoughtfully suspect that either the Heeat family had reached some kind of deal with the Sybarian council regarding the rates and would get access to their safe routes.

Or that they were going to use the Margraves family's expertise in shipbuilding to build a brand new fleet to escort Alexander's cargo in large convoys, like the type used during World War 2.

Most likely both.

Having made an educated enough guess and sensing he was not going to get any more intel, Alexander thus made an understanding nod,

"I see. The Heeat family is more powerful than I would have thought. That is reassuring," before commenting with an intrigued tone,

"It seems that your husband, Lord Parker is an extremely capable man… to be able to deploy the Heeat family's resources all the way here. I was told he was just a distant child of the duke… not much favored."

"Clearly, that was wrong. Duke Heeat must favor him immensely to let him wield such power. My lady is truly lucky to have such a powerful husband. Heh heh."

Alexander here was trying to play the same card Miss Linda had played on him- applying copious amounts of oil and butter.

"Oh! My lord has no idea," And it seemed that even though Miss Linda was adept at handing out blandishments, she was not very adept at resisting its effect, as the mention of her husband brought immense pride to her heart, her eyes twinkling and her lips curved into a succubus like grin.

Very few understood just how powerful her husband was and even fewer knew how she had managed to snag this fat cat.

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