"No."
"But just now you clearly—"
"It was nothing," Lappland cut her off. She turned and walked বাইরে. "You've seen the room. Come on, I'll show you around outside too—let you get familiar with the Saluzzo family's territory."
Texas remained where she was, watching her back.
Something was off.
But she didn't press the issue yet. She simply lifted a foot and followed.
Su An floated beside Lappland and leaned in to whisper:
"Why hide it? It's not like she'd necessarily believe you anyway. You should've just admitted it and gone with the flow. Then later, when you talk to me, you wouldn't even have to avoid other people. Wouldn't that be great?"
When Lappland ignored him, Su An decided he ought to explain himself.
"I really did go listen in on your so-called biological father's meeting."
He drifted to Lappland's other side, blocking her view of the path. "He said he wants to set up Originium trade with Salvadore. That's why Texas is here."
Lappland didn't slow down, but her ears twitched.
Su An continued:
"But it looks like the Texas family is playing both sides. Her father, Giuseppe, has been doing brisk business with the Moretti family—your Saluzzo family's sworn enemies."
"Meanwhile, Salvadore sends his own granddaughter here to oversee the Originium trade as a show of sincerity. Who knows whether these three families have some other agenda in mind."
When he finished, he looked at Lappland with smug satisfaction, waiting for an astonished expression.
Instead, she simply kept walking, her face unchanged.
"Wait, don't tell me—you already knew?"
Lappland flicked him a glance, then casually tilted her head in confirmation.
"Ugh... how boring..."
Su An flopped into an aimless, lazy sprawl in midair again.
"Texas, how long are you staying in Siracusa this time?"
"It depends," Texas answered as she walked beside Lappland, the two of them crossing the courtyard and leaving the Saluzzo estate.
"Grandfather told me to stay for a while and get familiar with the people and affairs here."
"And... I also wanted to see for myself what kind of place this Siracusa is—the one Grandfather never stopped thinking about."
"How long can you stay?"
"I'm not sure," Texas answered honestly. "Grandfather wants me to establish the Originium trade routes, so I'll probably stay until they're completed."
"And how long will that take?" Lappland tilted her head to look at her.
"I don't know. Maybe a few months. Maybe a few years."
Su An whistled from the side.
"Oh? So you're moving in for the long haul. What do you think? Happy? You'll get to wake up every day and see your old friend."
Lappland's ears twitched, and she pretended not to hear him.
"Which way?" Texas asked, standing on the stone road outside the estate gates and looking left and right.
To the left was the main road leading toward the center of Brunello City. To the right was the smaller path leading toward the vineyard.
Ahead of them, the Emperor had concealed his figure almost completely, making himself nearly invisible. He shot Su An another throat-slitting gesture, gave him one last warning, and left.
Oh? That damn penguin still dares threaten me? Fine, I'll go keep him awake tonight, Su An muttered inwardly.
After thinking for a moment, Lappland turned right.
Texas followed.
Su An floated above their heads like a dedicated tour guide.
"Dear visitors, we have now arrived at the Saluzzo family's proud and glorious vineyard district—"
"Shut up," Lappland said without even turning around.
Texas glanced at her. "I didn't say anything."
"...I know."
Texas was silent for two seconds. "Were you just telling me to shut up?"
"No."
"Then who were you talking to?"
Su An floated down and leaned close to Lappland's ear.
"See? I told you, you should've just admitted it. She was going to notice sooner or later anyway. And from the looks of it, you weren't really trying that hard to hide me."
Lappland's ears twitched, but she ignored him and kept walking.
Texas watched her back, her brows faintly furrowing, but she didn't ask again.
The vineyard was larger than it had been six years ago. The places that had once held saplings were now thick with orderly rows of trellised vines.
"All of this belongs to the Saluzzo family?"
"Mm." Lappland casually plucked a grape, tossed it into her mouth, and chewed without expression.
Texas looked at her.
"Is it sour?"
"...Why don't you try one and find out?"
Texas picked a grape as well and put it into her mouth.
A sharp wave of sourness shot straight through her skull. Her expression twisted for an instant before she forcibly smoothed it back into calm and swallowed.
"Hahahaha—"
Lappland burst out laughing, exactly like she had six years ago.
Texas looked at her. "Did you do that on purpose?"
"What?"
"Making me eat a sour grape."
"No," Lappland said, her eyes curved in laughter. "I just wanted to see whether your expression control had improved after six years."
"...And?"
"It has."
Texas was speechless.
Beyond the vineyard lay a broad training ground.
Several wooden practice dummies stood planted across the field. Training equipment was piled in one corner, and the sandy ground was densely marked with footprints and sword cuts.
"This is where you usually train?" Texas asked.
"Mm."
"By yourself?"
"Most of the time." Lappland paused. "Sometimes someone keeps me company."
"Who?"
Lappland didn't answer.
Watching from the side, Su An felt increasingly strange. Why did it seem like... Lappland wanted to tell Texas about him, but couldn't quite bear to?
Or was that just his imagination?
Beyond the training ground was a cluster of low buildings.
"This is the Saluzzo family's warehouse district."
Lappland pointed at the buildings. "Grain, supplies, and some trade goods are all stored here."
"Can we go inside?"
"We can, but there's nothing much worth seeing."
Lappland pushed open one of the doors. Inside, the room was stacked with wooden crates marked with all kinds of symbols—some from Siracusa, some from other countries.
Texas swept her gaze across them and stopped on one group of crates.
They bore Columbian markings.
"This is...?"
"The first batch of sample goods for the Originium trade. Your grandfather had them sent over."
"This shipment will go through Saluzzo channels, be processed again, and then distributed throughout Siracusa."
"Once you finish building the full route, Originium from Columbia will be able to flow in continuously."
Texas looked at the Originium crates in silence for a while.
"My grandfather told me that Originium trade will be the future foundation of the Texas family."
"Mm."
"But if this route is really established, the Saluzzo family will profit quite a lot from it too."
"Mm."
"So this is a business deal."
Lappland looked at her, then suddenly smiled.
"Yes. A business deal."
From the side, Su An muttered:
"What are you two smiling about? If you're short on money, you can just tell me. All you have to do is make a wish. Gold takes a bit more to make, sure, but if it's paper bills, I can print as much as I like."
"We're done here. Let's go."
"We're not looking anymore?"
"What is there to look at in a warehouse?" Lappland said flatly. "It's not mine anyway."
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