The Tyrant Empress is Obsessed with Me

18 – The Golden Fish Tomb

“Vacation… is over…?”

Seated in the office chair, looking up at the ceiling, Ascal murmured to himself. Today, my world came crashing down.

“Today, I’ve prepared a mood-boosting peppermint tea.”

Lia brought out the tea.

It was the first time seeing her face in ten days.

As unbelievable as it was, it was somewhat pleasing.

Ascal, drinking the peppermint tea that had been warmed just enough not to be too hot, squinted his eyes. It tasted like toothpaste. Was this a poisoning attempt? In another sense, it certainly woke him up.

“Did you put toothpaste in it?”

“It seems you didn’t like the taste. I’ll bring something else.”

While Lia prepared another drink, Ascal checked his accumulated work. Surprisingly, there was almost no work piled up during the ten days.

There were two reasons for this.

Firstly, the head of Department 1, Cain, had been handling most of the tasks from the start, so the department head only needed to casually stamp approvals after enjoying his hobby and socializing with higher-ups outside.

Secondly, the administrators of the “Evaluation Department” were still workaholics. Some people even had dark circles under their eyes, as if zombies were walking around. There was a reason for the late-night frights.

‘Is it that the only work I have to deal with on my end is this?’

Negotiating with Count Luderone.

To summarize, the country needed to use some land, and it slightly overlapped with Count Luderone’s territory.

According to Count Luderone, as long as the dirt didn’t get into his eyes, not even a single speck of his land could be used.

In other words, this could be interpreted as ‘please pay me a generous compensation’.

In this era without professional surveying techniques, such disputes were common and could be resolved with money or force.

However, since Count Luderone was not of the Emperor’s faction, the empire decided to close its coffers, telling the Evaluation Department, “You’re good at your job, so resolve this smoothly.” That was an outline of the current situation.

And to negotiate with a figure like a count, one had to be at least at the department head level.

‘But why am I so reluctant to do this work…’

Ascal stared blankly out of the window.

Before he could succeed or fail at the job, he simply didn’t want to work at all.

People are, after all, creatures of habit.

The vacation had turned Ascal into a sluggish person.

“I’ve made a new drink for you.”

“Thank you.”

Ascal, with his eyes closed in idleness, gulped down the tea Lia had brought.

It was sweet, sticky, and tasted wonderful.

It had been a long time since he’d had something so well-suited to his palate. She should have brought this from the start.

“What kind of tea is this?”

“It’s baby cocoa.”

“……”

Somehow, it tasted seriously sweet.

The back alley of the government office was geographically in a very exquisite location.

Hidden between buildings, it wasn’t visible at a glance, and as you entered the alley, the cozy atmosphere you felt somehow made it perfect for taking a puff from a pipe while looking at the sky.

It meant an idling place.

Ascal was looking for the alley with his pipe again today. But today, there was an early visitor.

“Devan, you still think poorly of Director Ascal?”

“Of course I do.”

In such an alley, backbiting occurred frequently. The victims were usually bosses, colleagues, and subordinates at work.

There was one etiquette not to do in a backbiting place. Suddenly, the person being the target of the gossip should not appear.

“He’s just a lucky lightning-fast rise who succeeded in a row. As time passes, his true nature will be revealed.”

“I will respect your opinion. It’s not because you’re the son of an earl that I’m pretending to listen to you plausibly.”

“Hmph. In time, you’ll see that I was right all along.”

Ascal, who was faithful to the etiquette of backbiting, was surprised to hear Devan’s story.

Devan’s image within Ascal was vague. He was simply a former second department manager and was of noble origin.

However, at this moment when he heard the gossip, Ascal’s evaluation of Devan had changed greatly.

He’s lucky.

That’s true.

He’s a lightning-fast rise who has succeeded in a row.

It’s a fact.

As time passes, his true nature is revealed.

I would be glad if it were revealed.

‘There’s a talented individual who has excellent judgment, is well-versed in logic, and can see through the truth.’

From No ble mt L dot c om

Ascal thought.

This talent should be cherished.

“Did you tell me to negotiate with Earl Luderon?”

“You are the successor. You need noble blood to negotiate with difficult characters like Earl Luderon. Just like you.”

“It’s not the wrong thing to say…uh-huh.”

Devan, who was called to the director’s office, was stiffly listening to Ascal’s story. Although the difference in rank between the two was enormous, Devan had the background of an earl family.

Just as a Pokémon might occasionally ignore commands without a trainer badge, a rank as high as a viscount required a position of at least a vice-minister.

In any case, nominally Ascal was Devan’s superior officer, so he silently listened to the conversation.

Seeing Devan’s hesitancy, Ascal decided now was the time to make a decisive move.

“A capable person like you is needed for this task.”

Ascal used the technique of flattery!

The effect was excellent!

For the next 5 minutes, Devan was more likely to listen to Ascal’s commands!

“Well, if you insist, I’ll take on this job.”

Ascal, who successfully eased the situation, looked at Devan with satisfaction.

He then took out three leather pouches.

“I’ve prepared these just in case. If negotiations with the viscount become difficult, take out one of them.”

“Hmph, I doubt I’ll need to use these. But I’ll accept them as a token of your goodwill.”

Devan confidently left the director’s office.

Ascal looked after him with a pleased expression.

He had always wanted to try this cunning scheme since the old days. The three pouches strategy that was given to Jo-wun in the old Three Kingdoms tale, to be used in difficult times.

The difference was that instead of letters, objects were inside.

‘Somehow, I feel like writing letters would lead to trouble…’

For reference, there was unrelated miscellaneous stuff inside the pouches which had nothing to do with negotiations.

After all, talent needs to be fostered with strength.

The Viscount of Luderone.

As soon as Devan met Viscount Luderone, he realized that something was off.

From the first meeting, Viscount Luderone had one leg propped up on the table in the parlor.

“You have 3 minutes. Speak.”

A very undignified display.

The Luderone family made their fortune in commerce. From the start, they had a different disposition from Devan, who inherited noble bloodlines.

“I’ve come to negotiate.”

“Negotiate? Negoti-wha-tion? Look here, boy.”

Viscount Luderone took a puff of his pipe, then spat phlegm into a bowl.

“Negotiations are only possible between equals. When acquiring my precious land, what can you give me? What you’re doing isn’t negotiation. It’s begging.”

Devan unwittingly wiped the sweat that had formed on his forehead.

From the beginning, Count Ludron had no intention of listening to him. Completely overwhelmed. The way this man and he had lived were different from the very beginning.

‘The pouch that Ascal gave…’

At that time, the pouch given to Devan by Ascal flashed through his mind. To be honest, when he first received the pouch, Devan had laughed. He had thought he could easily succeed in the negotiation even without it.

Devan took out the first pouch.

What came out was a net containing peppermint. The type used when brewing tea. What was he supposed to do with this? Devan panicked.

Count Ludron, in the middle of negotiations, suddenly cast a sidelong glance at Devan and was about to scold him, but then stopped.

The room became quiet all of a sudden.

“…Is it peppermint? Bring it here.”

Count Ludron broke the silence. Devan handed the peppermint over to him in a state of panic.

And he brewed the tea, and the strong smell of peppermint filled the room.

“High-quality peppermint, indeed. Some people abhor the smell of peppermint, but in my eyes, they’re all ignorant fools. They don’t know how refreshing this smell can be.”

Count Ludron savored the peppermint tea.

His expression softened considerably.

“Yes. Quite a sincere friend you are. I’ll listen to you a little more. Go ahead.”

Somehow, Count Ludron’s attitude changed. Before he could be whimsical again, Devan began presenting the prepared negotiation.

“We plan to build a watchtower next to Your Excellency’s lands. Your territory is a strategic military point, bordering the territory of the immigrants. If the watchtower is built, not only will it help monitor the immigrants, but it will also ensure the safety of Your Excellency’s lands.”

Bang!

Count Ludron slammed the table.

“My lands are safe even without such a watchtower! Do I look so weak that I have to rely on something like that?”

To some extent, the negotiation that Devan had prepared brought out the worst outcome. Count Ludron was so excited that he even tried to leave his seat.

‘The… the second pouch…’

Devan hurriedly opened the second pouch that Ascal had given him. Inside, there was a toy doll.

‘What… what the hell is this?!’

He was so excited that even the provincial dialect he had erased when he went to the Capital came out.

“Isn’t that a limited-edition doll from the Devon Workshop? Moreover, a collection I don’t even have. How did you know I collected these?”

Greed flickered in Count Ludron’s eyes.

Devan was flustered. He never imagined that the Count would collect these dolls.

He couldn’t have imagined it.

And what was even more surprising, was Ascal’s incredible foresight of the count’s tastes.

Once again, sweat ran down Devan’s forehead.

Devan couldn’t tell if the sweat was due to Count Lurderon or Chief Ascal.

“Of course, I couldn’t come empty-handed to meet the Count.”

“Ho! A knowledgeable youngster. Did you calculate the timing of the gift on purpose? You seem to know how to negotiate.”

Count Lurderon, who received the limited-edition doll, nodded in satisfaction.

“But still, it’s difficult. Building a watchtower next to my territory is no different from our territory being monitored, right? Let me speak frankly. It was an unreasonable negotiation from the beginning. The real purpose of building the watchtower is to monitor our territory. Isn’t it?”

“Uh… that’s…”

“What did you do wrong? It’s just the fault of the trashy spies. You’ve just been used, that’s all.”

Devan couldn’t respond properly to the new information.

“Just go back. Make sure to convey my words well. You almost succeeded in negotiating, but failed by a narrow margin. This way, you won’t lose face, will you?”

There was such fatherly consideration in the words that Devan unconsciously almost nodded his head.

‘No. I can’t give in here.’

However, the result was still a failure.

Devan untied his last pocket.

There was a shabby coin inside – an amount far too little for a bribe.

‘Chief Ascal! Where on earth am I supposed to use this pathetic coin!’

Devan screamed inwardly.

“That coin!”

But then, Count Lurderon took an interest in the coin. He even snatched the coin from Devan’s hand and scrutinized it carefully.

“This is the commemorative coin for the founding of the empire, isn’t it?”

“Yes… that’s correct.”

Honestly, he had no idea.

But he couldn’t say no here.

Count Lurderon looked at the shabby coin and gazed far away, like an old man lost in memories.

“Back then, I wasn’t a noble or anything. I was an incompetent fool who couldn’t even secure a piece of bread. When I went near the bakery where the smell of bread wafted, I always swore that I would be the bakery owner in the future. Back then, that was enough hope for me.”

“I see.”

From experience, Devan knew that simply nodding and empathizing was the best response in situations like this.

“And I worked insanely hard to get to this position. But if it weren’t for Emperor Sunje’s help back then, I wouldn’t be here.”

Count Lurderon’s eyes reddened.

“It was a really… difficult time, but the happiest… “

‘Why is he like this?’

Devan couldn’t follow the flow.

Count Luderone smiled faintly.

“You cunning bastard, offering me this. Reminding me of my beginnings, aren’t you?”

Damn it, I don’t know.

Devan decided to play along.

“You’ve figured it all out.”

“Honestly, I don’t like the current state of the empire, but your predecessor would’ve wanted a watchtower built here. They’ve always worried about the country.”

Devan nodded his head.

It was a reflexive biological response.

“Very well, Devan, son of Hrundel. You have succeeded in persuading this stubborn old man. I’ll grant you permission.”

Count Luderone took out a parchment and stamped it.

It was a permit allowing the use of land.

“Thank you, my lord.”

“No, I should be grateful.”

Honestly, Devan still didn’t understand how things came about.

He could only think of one person.

‘Really, from where to where did you calculate all this… Ascal Debre. You terrify me.’

Ascal heard the news that Devan had successfully negotiated.

‘A capable talent with a keen eye, indeed. Such a person should have been the head of the department, not me.’

But it’s not too late.

＜Congratulations! Devan has been promoted to a Section 3 Manager!＞

‘Let’s ride this train together. The special train of promotion… hehehehe.’

The destination is hell.