Off to the side, Su An was practically vibrating with excitement.
"Fight, fight, fight!"
The representative who had stood up pressed a hand down on the shoulder of the man beside him, who had been about to draw his blade, signaling for him to calm down.
Then he looked at Alberto. The smile had already vanished from his face.
"Lord Alberto, affairs in Siracusa have never been decided by a single family. The Moretti family is determined to have a share of the Originium trade."
He rose to his feet and straightened his clothes.
"We'll take our leave for today. However..."
His gaze shifted to Lappland, and there was something else in his eyes now.
"Your daughter truly is impressive. I hope we'll have another chance to meet."
With that, the two men turned and left. The doors of the council chamber closed behind them, and the room fell silent for a few seconds.
"Boring," Su An muttered. To him, it had been nothing more than dogs growling and cats hissing—utterly pointless except for making people want to kill them.
"You did well just now."
Lappland nodded without speaking.
Alberto stood and walked to the window, turning his back to them.
"Miss Texas, it seems we may need to speed up matters regarding the Originium trade."
Texas nodded. "I'll communicate with my grandfather."
Alberto signaled for Texas to leave first. He had a few things he wanted to say to his daughter alone.
Texas glanced at Lappland, then rose and left.
The door closed behind her. Now the council chamber held only Alberto, Lappland—
and one ghost.
Alberto was silent for a few seconds.
"You handled yourself well today."
"...Mm."
"But you were impulsive."
"The Moretti people didn't come today to seriously discuss the Originium trade. They came to probe us."
Alberto turned around and looked at her. "To test my bottom line. To test your reaction. To test the relationship between you and that Texas girl."
"When you put your hand on your sword, you gave them exactly what they wanted."
Lappland said nothing.
Su An floated down and leaned close to her ear. "Don't listen to his bullshit. If you'd just cut those two down on the spot, they wouldn't know anything anymore. And in the end, the one stuck cleaning up the mess would've been your old man."
Lappland's ears twitched, but she ignored him.
Alberto walked over and stopped in front of her, looking down at her.
"Lappland, do you know why that Moretti man looked at you like that before he left?"
"...No."
"Because in their eyes, you are the point of breakthrough."
"You are the Saluzzo heir—but you are also my only daughter. If they can't get to me directly, they'll look for a way through you."
"Today they saw your reaction. Now they know you can be impulsive. They know you'll draw your sword. They know you and the Texas girl get along well."
"From here on, they'll make use of all of that."
Lappland lifted her head and looked at her father.
"So what? I'm supposed to endure it? I'm supposed to stand there in front of them pretending to be some spineless waste?"
Alberto looked at her, then suddenly smiled.
Was it the smile of a father satisfied that his daughter had finally grown up?
Or the smile of a man pleased that his tool was finally becoming useful?
"No."
Alberto reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder, firm but not rough.
"You must let them believe you are impulsive. That you will draw your sword. That you will risk yourself for your friends."
"And then, when they think they've found your weakness..."
His voice dropped, and his eyes sharpened.
"Make them understand that it was never your weakness."
"It was your bait."
Lappland froze.
From the side, Su An gave a whistle and translated, "Oooh—look at that. Sweet on the surface, dirty underneath."
Alberto withdrew his hand and walked back to the window.
"In the coming days, the Moretti family will do everything they can to approach you, test you, perhaps even strike at you."
"How you respond is up to you. But remember one thing—don't let the Texas girl die on Saluzzo ground."
At her ear, Su An muttered, "I've noticed something about your old man. He really likes framing people."
Lappland was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.
"I understand."
After saying that, she turned to leave.
"Wait."
Alberto's voice came from behind her, as though he had just made up his mind about something. Lappland stopped, but did not turn around.
"In ten days, a shipment will be entering through the border."
"The first batch of Columbian Originium samples. It will come by land, entering from the direction of Cesena. I will deliberately leak the transport route. The Moretti family will absolutely receive word of it."
"Twelve crates in total. High-purity raw Originium, along with three processed Originium samples."
Alberto turned to face her.
"This shipment is important."
"How important?" Lappland finally turned her head.
"Important enough that the Moretti family will stop at nothing to intercept it."
He walked toward her, close enough now that Lappland could clearly see the blood vessels in his eyes.
"I had originally intended to make the trip myself."
"But the Moretti people came today to test the waters. If I leave Brunello now, they'll grow suspicious."
"So I need you to go in my place. You may bring no more than twenty people. Too many, and they'll notice something is off."
Lappland said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
"Three conditions."
Alberto raised three fingers.
"First: all twelve crates of Originium must arrive intact. Not a single piece missing. Not a single piece damaged."
"Second: before sunset on the tenth day, the shipment must be inside a Saluzzo warehouse."
"Third..."
He paused, the corners of his mouth rising slightly.
"Blame it on the Moretti family."
"From the border to Brunello, the route passes through three stretches of wasteland, two canyons, and an abandoned mining zone."
Alberto lowered his hand and clasped both behind his back.
"The Moretti family will never let an opportunity like this pass. They will join forces with several smaller families and set an ambush in the wilderness."
"Mercenaries, Originium traps, beast packs—anything they can use, they will use."
From the side, Su An clicked his tongue. "How kind of him. He's even telling you what the enemy is likely to bring. Isn't this just his way of saying, 'Lappland, go die for me'?"
"Your task is not merely to bring the shipment back."
"It is to turn this ambush into evidence that the Moretti family is plotting treason."
Lappland looked at him without speaking.
"At the scene, you will leave behind things that point toward the Moretti family. Weapons. Tokens. Survivors. At least one witness capable of speaking."
"After the battle, you will arrange the scene properly."
"Then you will return to Brunello and tell everyone that the Moretti family attempted to hijack smuggled Originium at the border, attacked a Saluzzo escort convoy, maintained private mercenaries, manipulated beast packs, and employed forbidden Originium traps."
When he finished, Alberto looked at her.
"Do you understand?"
Lappland was silent for a few seconds. Then she nodded.
"I understand."
Alberto nodded in satisfaction.
"Very good. These next few days are your time to prepare. Go."
Lappland nodded and left the council chamber.
She was planning to return to her room and discuss things with Su An.
But the moment she turned the corner in the corridor, she found Texas already there, leaning against the doorframe of her room, waiting for her.
-------
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