After saying goodbye to Theresa, Astrid went to the palace council hall as planned. Count Tristian, the main representative of the Velmont family, had asked to discuss further cooperation details between the crown and the great mercantile house, and had been waiting there for some time.
As the son of Cedric Velmont, Tristian had clearly inherited his father's talent for business. In one evening he'd already worked out where the gains lay.
With Amalia pushing through the reform of magical devices, beyond the shortage of skilled hands there will certainly be shortages of funds and materials.
For a great noble family that had done business in those areas for years, Velmont had every reason to take a slice of the pie.
And speed mattered. Tristian had seen Astrid's methods before; the sooner the details were locked down, the more each party could maximize their interests.
