Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king

Chapter 185: The claw of an eagle(3)

In the dimly lit chamber, Jasmine paced back and forth, her brow furrowed with frustration. "Why the hell would the Empire send an envoy here," she snapped, "when they're tangled up in a three-sided civil war?Do they have time to fucking daze around?" Her voice echoed off the stone walls.

Alpheo, seated in a cushioned chair, calmly sipped his drink before answering. "They're obviously interested in our products," he said, his tone measured. "The timing might be odd, but the demand speaks for itself, anyone with any bit of brain understand their value ."

Shahab, standing near the window with arms crossed, nodded thoughtfully. "They're likely trying to buy out our market," he mused. "Get a monopoly on the goods and control their distribution back in Romelia at least ."

Jasmine stopped pacing, turning sharply to face them both. "Well, they can go fuck themselves," she said with an acidic edge to her voice.

Alpheo nearly choked, his drink shooting from his nose as he coughed and chuckled simultaneously.

Through fits of laughter, he finally managed, "It... it might be better not to be so rash, Jasmine." He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, still grinning. 

Jasmine slammed her hand on the edge of the table, her eyes ablaze. "Those products are mi-ours," she declared firmly. "Why should we hand them over so easily?"

Alpheo leaned back in his chair, wiping the last of his laughter from his lips. "Refusing them outright could lead to unforeseen consequences'' he warned, his tone now serious. "We don't know what doors we might be closing. It may seem like a small thing now, but in the future, it could cost us more than we expect.Too much greed only lead to one downfall"

Jasmine scoffed, crossing her arms. "Their backyard is on fire," she countered sharply. "They're in the middle of a civil war. They shouldn't have time to worry about how green the grass is over here."

Shahab, ever the voice of reason, uncrossed his arms and stepped forward. "That may be true," he agreed. "But we don't know how long this chaos will last. The tides of war can change swiftly, and the Empire, even in conflict, is still a force to be reckoned with, they would have no trouble raising an army of 10,000 ."