Rosie's Games

Chapter 333: Reputation

The Kingdom of Rakha

"That one" Lucas pointed at another colorful food. "And that That one too include that."

"Is Is there anything else?" King Emrys could not understand why the Duke would suddenly come here to demand food. Why Rakha?

Wugari and the other Northern kingdoms and towns should have colorful desserts like this one too!

King Emrys tried to recall the Duke's information that he read in the past. Not one of those lists included the fact that the Duke liked sweets.

"Send it to my estate. Those two, I am going to bring them." Lucas pointed at the candied food that he could easily bring in his spatial bag.

"Of course, Your Grace. Also, the two crates of gold are already here," King Emrys said. "Send them in."

Until now, he could not understand why the Duke would only ask for something so trivial. He expected the man to come here to ask him for something huge like an increase in taxes for the relics or complete access to the Howling Mountains. He knew that he would be helpless against the Duke if he wanted to make some changes in their previous terms so he was already prepared for this outcome.

To his surprise the Duke did not even mention anything about the Howling Mountains.

For some reason, this only made him suspicious.

Was this a trap after all?

He watched as two soldiers walked inside his study with Isadora following behind them. Of course, he was the one who told his aide to inform Isadora about the Duke because of the new business venture that she had in mind.

"Your Grace," Isadora curtsied. She was wearing a red dress that emphasized her pale white skin. It was flowy and long and its neckline revealed a rather attractive bosom that could immediately attract the attention of men.

"Your Highness," the Duke lifted an eyebrow before he casually touched the crates of gold, immediately storing them in his spatial bag.

"Ah, Your Grace, I really hope you do not mind. I called Princess Isadora because of something very important that she would like to talk about. I know that you value your time, but I am confident that Isadora's proposition is going to interest you. Shall we go ahead and visit the gardens for the rest of the conversation?"

"No need," Lucas immediately refused. "If it was so important then I believe the princess can say it despite the location. A garden or a study or even in the middle of a war."

"I I would like to apologize for what happened back then." Isadora immediately acknowledged her wrongdoings. She had seen the things that the Duke could do. She knew that the man had the right to be arrogant. To Isadora, arrogant men were the easiest to handle. They had an enormous ego and once that ego was satisfied, it would be very easy to make them do one's bidding.

"Apology accepted," the Duke said. "I do not think this is something interesting, Your Highness." Duke Lucas's bland words came as a surprise to Isadora.

As a man with a huge ego, she expected him to demand something on top of the apology. She was prepared to give him something else. In fact, she had prepared a relic that would have been the perfect gift for His Grace.

"Thank you. I There is something else that I wanted to discuss." Since the Duke was showing impatience, she decided to just be more direct. Perhaps, her previous assessment of the man was wrong.

When the Duke just responded with a blank gaze, she gave an awkward laugh and continued. "After the incident, I believe it would be better to establish a stronger connection between Rakha and Wugari. Something that runs deeper than a mere contract." Isadora sat opposite him. She smiled. "I would like to establish a portal, a teleportation contract to be exact, for merchants to visit Wugari. I believe this is the perfect opportunity to make Wugari more accessible to the merchants in the South."

Lucas said nothing.

"What do you think of this idea, Your Grace?" Isadora spoke. "I think, if we could establish a portal that could connect Wugari to Kingdoms of the South, we could create a system that would not need the approval of the empires."

"So, you wanted to create portals not just in Rakha but in other Kingdom as well?" Lucas asked.

When Isadora heard the question, the smile on her face looked even more beautiful. "Yes, Your Grace. I think"

"I do not think I am the right person that you wanted to talk to," Lucas said.

"Eh?"

"I am no king, Your Highness," Lucas said. "I am just a mere Duke."

"No. I"

"If you want to establish the portal in the estate of the Rothley Family then you have to have the permission of the king of Wugari. I would tell him to invite you for an enjoyable dinner."

"Your Grace, I think you have gotten this wrong. This initiative was between you and the Rakha Kingdom. We want to build strong connections to the Rothley estate and not just to the Wugari Kingdom," Isadora respectfully said. On the outside, she was still smiling. However, Lucas's answer really confused her. Why would he decline an opportunity like this?

Wugari was the northernmost Kingdom. They had excellent products that they could use for trading and this portal would allow them to earn more.

Yet, it seemed that he had no interest in it.

Isadora was almost sure that this would make him more interested in Rakha. She could not seem to accept that she made a mistake this time.

"Then you have to talk to the King of Wugari about that," Lucas suddenly got up. "I believe our conversation is done here."

"Your Grace wait" Isadora got up too. "I I have a question."

"What is it?"

"This will earn you money and reputation. This opportunity will make Wugari more accessible and prosperous. Yet, you seem to dislike it. May I know why?"

For a few seconds Lucas said nothing. Then he looked at her, the depth of his blue eyes surprised her. "If the Rothley Family wanted that it would have happened a long time ago, Your Highness."