“I have one request to make, which is that the trade treaty not come into effect until the war is over. We’re in no position to spare resources until we defeat the Shadow.”
“Absolutely right, Andysse Kayah. I wouldn’t have dreamed of asking otherwise.”
After that, Rucion seemed eager to publish the treaty without delay. An esquire was summoned to draft the articles, and scribes were assigned to write two identical contracts—one for the dynast, the other for her.
The negotiations dragged on, Keriya muttering agreements when clauses were announced for both parties to discuss. The esquire used phrases outside her Jidaelni vocabulary, and she couldn’t ask him to explain every sentence in layman’s terms. If she revealed how little she knew of politics, money, and royalty itself, the delicate
