An Offer You Can't Refuse

"Cough cough"

The shock nearly made me choke. Elza rubbed my back. I deserved credit for not spraying the tea in my mouth all over the room.

The furnishings and carpet in here were top-quality. If I'd had to pay for damages, the bill would have made my eyes pop out.

No, that wasn't the point right now.

"What are you saying all of a sudden?"

"It seems I startled you."

"… Naturally. He is simply overwhelmed by Your Highness's generosity."

She was lying. Even she had faltered for a split second at Princess Tianis's declaration. Apparently her loyalty went so far that she had no intention of offering a word of caution.

I wasn't sure what to make of that.

"I've got plenty of land already. I'll pass."

Ramiza-san said, then looked my way. She was clearly intent on dumping this on me.

As an alchemist, she needed all sorts of plants, including herbs.

She used things in her formulations that couldn't be sourced locally, which was why she'd secured a dedicated plot of land behind her shop.

Entry was strictly prohibited, by the way. Mandrakes and the like could be lethal if an amateur got involved.

"There's a proper reason behind this, you know?"

A cute voice, like the chime of a bell. It had a pleasant quality that slipped smoothly into your ears.

"Luido is a satellite city meant to secure the kingdom's food self-sufficiency, you're aware of that, yes? That's precisely why certain things were overlooked, so long as the necessary food was being produced. Including a handful of powerful figures monopolizing the farmland."

"Yes, I've heard as much in my capacity as a merchant."

A tenant farming system built on monopolized land.

It wasn't illegal in itself, and there were benefits to producing crops in stable quantities and quality.

If exploitation went too far, that was another matter… but it was more decent than using serfs, and it at least provided jobs.

"But poppy seed smuggling, drug refining, attempted trafficking. When they pull something like that, the entire clan gets executed. And the people who remain? Hard to say if they can be trusted."

She said it breezily, but it sounded like the masterminds had all been sentenced to death. Their entire families, too.

I see. That fierce side of hers, so at odds with her appearance, made sense now. That mercilessness was unmistakably that of a royal.

"Fortunately, it seems they left most of the management to others, so if someone takes over the seized farmland, it can be run much the same as before."

"And what does that have to do with offering us land?"

"You aren't nobility, so I can't give you the land outright. But as a merchant or alchemist, you might find it useful. Formally, it would be a lease from me."

"… I see."

I felt a small measure of relief. Now it was starting to make sense.

The drug incident had taken out Luido's major landowners. Their managed lands were now in limbo. The scope was apparently considerable, and jurisdiction had fallen to the Second Princess, who had led the operation.

Since Luido was a satellite city dedicated to food production, the uses for the land were limited.

Normally, the land would be redistributed to Luido's remaining residents, but given the nature of the incident, that was deemed unwise. Punishment might also have been a factor.

Then why not just hand it off to one of her own people?

"Surely there's no need to bring this to us? You must have people skilled at managing land."

"Are you rejecting Her Highness's goodwill?"

Kanon interjected.

I could understand her sentiment, but right now it was just annoying.

"It's not that there aren't such people… But I'd rather entrust it to you. I'd like to ask someone who can actually produce results."

"I'm a merchant. I know nothing about farming."

"Yes, I know. I also know you participated in the Triwright Auction. And that you met with the duke, my oji-sama, afterward."

Princess Tianis's beautiful eyes locked onto mine.

My heart lurched, and a chill ran down my spine.

"You're well-informed."

"I did my research. And Anatia-onee-sama and I are close. We chat from time to time."

The intelligence network of royalty. Terrifying.

Even the fragment of the Earth Elemental Stone couldn't be hidden from them.

"Aah… so I really was the afterthought."

"That's not true at all. Hehe."

Ramiza-san said that, then drained her tea and stood up.

"You don't need me for what comes next. I'll be taking my leave."

"Wait, Ramiza-san!"

"By all means. Let's talk again. And please do start on the candies."

"I know."

And just like that, she left.

Having her next to me had made things slightly more bearable, and she'd abandoned me without a second thought. I'd give her an earful later. Assuming I got out alive.

"Let me tell you not so much my personal opinion, but the kingdom's consensus. As long as Luido's crop production remains stable, anyone can manage the land. On the condition they serve the kingdom, of course. Jurisdiction has shifted from my brother to me."

Her brother. The First Prince, presumably. The Crown Prince, first in line for succession. It seemed Luido had been under the First Prince's purview, but this incident had shifted it to Princess Tianis.

Another move in the game of power. If so, it was only natural she'd want swift and favorable results.

And here came a merchant who happened to possess a fragment of the Earth Elemental Stone, strolling right in. I wanted to clutch my head.

I was boxed in. If I'd wanted to refuse, I should have found a way to avoid meeting Kanon in the first place. No small-fry merchant could refuse a royal command.

The offer was phrased as a yes-or-no question, but the subtext was unmistakable: You're not actually going to say no, right? And since you said yes, it's not like I forced you. She meant to bind me so I couldn't wriggle out of it.

"I'll charge ten percent on all profits from the leased land. No matter how much you earn, that number will never increase. I swear it on my name."

"That's quite generous… Yes, truly."

"That sounded loaded."

"Not at all."

It was genuinely generous. Renting land through normal channels would cost considerably more.

That was precisely why I'd been putting off leasing as an option.

The terms were favorable, but accepting would brand me as part of the Second Princess's faction, with a bell around my neck. I had no ties to any other royal faction, so that wasn't necessarily a problem, but…

No good. No matter how I turned it over, I couldn't find a reason to refuse. The benefits as a merchant were simply too great.