Chapter 35

“The young lady’s demands, is it?”

At Diana’s words, one of Curtis’s eyebrows twitched upward.

Let alone Royal Uncle Alan, what could a mere ducal daughter possibly want to say… his expression spoke volumes.

“We merely wish to borrow the port to establish a base and gain a foothold for trade. Surely you see no loss for your side in agreeing to that, do you?”

“If you seize hegemony over the seas, we won’t be able to say the same. I reside within the Kingdom of Rutledge, and I cannot simply turn a blind eye to my own country’s losses.”

Beneath his blazing red hair, Curtis’s eyes narrowed into slits.

The gaze that had previously looked down on her with a hint of condescension finally fixed directly upon Diana for the first time.

“We may permit the establishment of a base in the port town of Angus. However, the creation of sea charts for the new routes shall be spearheaded by our nation.”

“Sea charts…?”

At Diana’s words, Curtis’s voice wavered.

That hesitation made it seem as though he had been caught entirely off guard by someone he had presumed to be far beneath him in stature.

“I have heard such words before: *He who controls the sea charts, controls the seas. *Now, whose words were those, I wonder?”

“How is it that a young lady knows that…?”

“You can copy a ship, but you cannot steal a maritime route. Those who do not know the path will simply sink, no matter how vast a fleet they possess.”

Curtis’s eyes widened in astonishment.

There were no prior sayings or sources for those words—they were lines spoken by Naval Admiral Curtis McBride himself in her past life.

Operating under that very philosophy, he had heavily favored Lady Miriam Quilter for her exceptional spatial awareness.

Together with her, he had toured the major ports of the coastal nations and established safe navigational routes that extended far beyond the Kingdom of Rutledge.

A stable trade route meant, quite simply, stable commerce.

“Furthermore, we demand the establishment of a joint shipyard with your country right here in the port town of Angus. Such a facility will be essential to ensure continuous maritime transit.”

“You expect us to provide our technology? That is quite a greedy proposition…”

Curtis’s voice remained calm, yet deep beneath the surface lurked the heat of a beast sizing up the throat of its prey.

From their perspective, it undoubtedly was.

Yet, unless she forced them to concede here, the Kingdom of Rutledge had no future.

“If we establish diplomatic relations without that, our Kingdom of Rutledge will see its trade distribution channels entirely monopolized, reducing our relationship to one of unilateral exploitation. I cannot simply overlook such a future.”

The corners of Curtis’s mouth curved upward in a slight arc.

She had steeled herself for him to scoff at her audacity, wondering what a mere girl thought she was doing talking back…

Instead, he did nothing of the sort.

Just as he had recognized Miriam’s talent in her past life, he was the sort of man who would pay fitting respect to someone showing genuine promise.

“If you desire the port, we shall lend it to you. In exchange, however, we expect you to carve out a path for us to venture safely into the open seas.”

The ambitions of the Kingdom of Fieran did not stop with the Kingdom of Rutledge alone.

Using this port as a vital hub, they undoubtedly intended to extend their reach to neighboring nations as well.

“As for overland distribution channels, you may safely leave them to the House of Gazard.”

“Hah, you talk a big game. Doesn’t that mean your side bears no loss at all?”

Curtis chuckled, narrowing his eyes.

The light dwelling within his eyes differed vastly from the look he had worn when he first laid eyes on Diana.

“Naturally, the best negotiations are settled where both parties find mutual benefit… that is how I believe it should be done.”

“I like you.”

Curtis struck his knee with his hand.

A hearty, open smile spread across his handsome face.

“Very well, I will accept your proposal. However, in order to do so, there are several matters we must clear up first.”

“You are referring to the subjugation of the pirate bands infesting the open seas, are you not?”

“Ah.”

One could read plainly from his expression just how intensely he despised those pirates.

“Please allow me to lend my assistance to that subjugation as well.”

“Diana!?”

The one who sprang up in shock at Diana’s proposal was her husband, Alan.

“Ho, the young lady fancies herself skilled in combat, do you?”

“I have no experience fighting aboard a ship, but… my specialty lies in ice magic.”

The eyes with which Curtis looked at Diana flickered with a sharp, curious light.

“Ah, just one thing.”

“What is it?”

At Diana’s somewhat composed and aloof demeanor, Curtis cast an intrigued gaze her way.

“Please refrain from calling me ‘young lady.’ Despite appearances, I am already a married woman.”

“Hah…?”

At Diana’s words, Curtis’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second.

That green gaze slowly shifted over to Alan, seated right beside her.

“I see… a madam, then.”

“Yes, I would appreciate it if you addressed me as such from now on.”

Nodding in satisfaction, Diana remained completely oblivious to the combative, sharpening glazes flashing back and forth between Curtis and Alan.

Following the negotiations, the warships of the Kingdom of Fieran were permitted to enter port, and the port town was now bustling with a banquet thrown in their honor.

Though Diana and Alan continued to lodge at Baron Quilter’s estate as before, the commotion and revelry of the town drifted all the way up to the mansion on the hill.

“He seemed quite taken with you, did he not?”

Amidst it all, Alan sat before his wife, pouting his lips in a solitary huff.

“Taken with me? Whatever are you talking about?”

“With that man, of course.”

Diana blinked her eyes in bewilderment.

“Taken with me? If anything, I felt he looked at me as if to say, Imagine a mere brat talking big like that…”

“It amounts to the very same thing.”

To Diana, it had felt like nothing more or less than a man who had initially underestimated a brat, only to realize she offered proposals exceeding expectations.

She thought she had merely proven herself worthy of being treated as an equal partner by a man who had once looked down on her… or so she believed.

“You think so?”

Wondering if Alan had somehow picked up on something else entirely beneath the surface… she tilted her head in quiet puzzlement.

It was no exaggeration to say that Curtis McBride in her past life had seized control of the Kingdom of Rutledge’s economy through sheer, domineering force.

Countless women had vied for his attention and favor.

She had heard that he, too, never settled down with a single partner and instead sampled attractive women left and right.

To Diana, Curtis McBride was precisely that kind of man.

While he posed no problem as a negotiating partner or collaborator, she had no desire whatsoever to associate with him in her private life.

“I have heard that men of the sea keep a woman waiting in every port, after all. If he is that sort of person, his curiosity toward women is likely quite strong.”

He must have caught a whiff of that particular scent—she thus reassured herself, successfully convincing her own mind.

“If only that were all.”

Alan, on the other hand, remained thoroughly unconvinced.

The look in Curtis’s eyes whenever he gazed at Diana.

Every single time he recalled it, a restless ripple stirred deep within his chest.

(My wife is hopelessly oblivious to just how utterly captivating a woman she is, which is the real trouble…)

That man was the type who did not merely exploit, but sought to “make his own.”

Alan was utterly at his wits’ end over his wife’s oblivious nature.

“I haven’t an ounce of interest in any man other than Lord Alan. You have no need to worry over such things at all.”

“You certainly know just what to say to melt my heart.”

With a wry, fond smile, Alan pulled Diana close into his arms, though a lingering trace of unease still stubbornly clung to his chest.