'As long as she doesn't suddenly pull out a dagger and stab me in the heart, this is all rather wonderful.'
Unlike the amateurish Lian, Alex Pool was a formally trained diplomat. He keenly identified the sore spots of the Rose Territory's foreign affairs officers and, seizing the opportunity, interjected himself into the conversation.
"Lord Lian merely wants to take back what is rightfully his. What's there to discuss? Is this the hospitality of the Rose Territory? Don't you think it would be more beneficial to win Lord Lian as a friend than to make an adversary over a dispute of interests?"
"Oh, or perhaps the Rose Territory doesn't need friends and looks down on the rising star of the Moria Clan? Had we known you would mistreat Lord Lian like this, we should have invited Lord George to accompany us. Lord George adores his nephew and would never let him suffer the slightest grievance."
