The atmosphere inside Lord Lucas' office became solemn.
Gone were the polite introductions.
Now, everyone present sat around the large oak table, discussing the true reason behind the secret meeting.
Lucas folded his hands together.
"So then... shall we begin?"
The Enician Company manager adjusted her spectacles before opening a leather-bound ledger.
"Our purpose is simple."
"We wish to establish a long-term trade agreement regarding the agricultural products produced within Lord Ascirick's fief."
She looked directly at Bereshith.
"More specifically..."
"The produce from your farms."
Everyone's eyes turned toward the young farmer.
Bereshith remained standing beside Lucas.
Calm.
Respectful.
Yet thoughtful.
Princess Alesh, the Fifth Princess, immediately leaned forward.
"We'll buy everything!"
"Every fruit."
"Every vegetable."
"Everything your farms produce."
"We'll pay well."
Bereshith politely shook his head.
"...No."
The answer was immediate.
Everyone blinked.
Even Lucas glanced toward him with curiosity.
The First Prince smiled.
"And why is that?"
Bereshith answered without hesitation.
"Because food is not a luxury."
"It is something people need to live."
"If I sell everything away..."
"What will become of the people living here?"
Silence followed.
No one argued.
He continued.
"I have no intention of making food scarce simply because someone offers more money."
Princess Inoha slowly nodded.
"...A reasonable concern."
The Enician manager interjected.
"Then perhaps..."
"We could obtain exclusive distribution rights?"
"Your farms would continue producing as normal."
"Our company would simply handle transportation and sales."
Again...
Bereshith shook his head.
"...No."
This time the manager frowned slightly.
"May I ask why?"
Bereshith's voice remained calm.
"Because the moment someone controls food..."
"They control hunger."
"And the moment they control hunger..."
"They control people."
Silence filled the room.
The First Prince rested his chin upon his folded hands.
A faint smile appeared.
"You've thought this through."
Bereshith nodded.
"I have."
Lucas quietly watched his adopted son.
Pride subtly appeared in his eyes.
Bereshith continued.
"I am willing to trade."
"I am willing to sell."
"But only under my conditions."
The Enician manager closed her ledger.
"...We're listening."
Bereshith finally took a seat.
He folded his hands together.
"The food from our farms will always be sold at a low price."
"We do not seek enormous profit."
"We seek full stomachs."
Princess Inoha smiled.
"A noble goal."
Bereshith nodded.
"There will only be a single increase."
"One bronze coin."
"No matter the fruit."
"No matter the vegetable."
"No matter the harvest."
"The price may only increase by one bronze coin from the amount we sell it for."
Princess Alesh blinked.
"...Only one?"
"That's barely any profit."
Bereshith looked toward her.
"It is enough."
"The farmer earns."
"The merchant earns."
"And the people eat."
"Everyone benefits."
The room fell quiet once more.
Then Bereshith spoke again.
"There is another condition."
Everyone's attention sharpened.
"The Enician Company will not receive exclusive selling rights."
The manager's expression froze.
"The trading rights shall remain with me."
"If another nation wishes to purchase from our farms..."
"They negotiate with us."
"Not through another merchant."
The First Prince slowly nodded.
"...Interesting."
Bereshith continued.
"And lastly..."
"The agreement shall be bound by a Soul Contract."
The room instantly became still.
Even Lucas turned toward him.
The Enician manager's eyes widened.
"A Soul Contract?"
Bereshith nodded.
"If anyone intentionally violates the agreement..."
"If anyone purchases our produce only to exploit the people through excessive prices..."
"Then every fruit."
"Every vegetable."
"Every grain."
"Every piece of food originating from our farms..."
"...will instantly rot."
No one spoke.
Bereshith's voice remained gentle.
"But that is not all."
"The offender."
"And every organization directly responsible..."
"Will forever lose the right to enter our territory."
Even the usually composed First Prince raised an eyebrow.
"...Permanent exile."
Bereshith nodded once.
"I do not wish to punish."
"I merely wish to protect those who cannot protect themselves."
Silence lingered for several long moments.
Then...
Unexpectedly...
Prince Rayryn smiled.
"...Excellent."
He leaned back.
"That solves another problem."
Everyone looked toward him.
The prince calmly explained.
"If the government regulates distribution instead of merchants..."
"Corruption becomes far easier to detect."
He looked directly at Bereshith.
"So your suggestion is..."
"The Royal Family purchases directly."
"And the Crown itself supervises pricing."
Bereshith nodded.
"Exactly."
"The people should never wonder whether they'll eat tomorrow."
Lucas quietly smiled.
"...Well said."
The Enician manager sighed before closing her ledger.
"I admit..."
"I expected a difficult negotiation."
"I didn't expect a lesson in governance."
Princess Inoha giggled softly.
"I rather like his proposal."
Princess Alesh folded her arms.
"...It's annoying."
"...But I can't find anything wrong with it."
The agreement was reached.
Without argument.
Without hostility.
Without greed.
Only mutual understanding.
For a brief moment...
Peace truly seemed possible.
Then...
The First Prince noticed something.
Princess Alesh...
Who had been energetic only moments ago...
Had suddenly become unusually quiet.
She stared absentmindedly at the tabletop.
Her cheerful expression had vanished.
Rayryn noticed immediately.
"...Alesh."
The young princess slowly looked up.
"Hm?"
"You've been silent."
"...Is something bothering you?"
The room turned toward her.
For the first time since the meeting began...
The usually outspoken princess hesitated.
Princess Inoha quietly lowered her gaze.
She already knew what was coming.
Alesh took a slow breath.
"...Actually..."
"There is something."
The room immediately grew serious.
She looked toward Lucas.
Then Bereshith.
Then everyone else.
"...The trade caravan wasn't delayed because of broken wagons."
"...Nor bad weather."
She swallowed.
"It was because..."
"...an entire village disappeared."
Silence.
Not destroyed.
Not burned.
Not attacked.
Disappeared.
The single word alone sent a chill through the room.
Lucas narrowed his eyes.
"...Explain."
Princess Alesh nodded slowly.
"The village lies near the southern frontier."
"When our scouts arrived..."
"...there were houses."
"There were wells."
"There were farms."
"There were cooking fires still burning."
"But..."
She hesitated.
"...There wasn't a single person."
No bodies.
No blood.
No signs of battle.
No footprints leaving the village.
Nothing.
"It was..."
"...as though every living person simply ceased to exist."
The room remained utterly silent.
Even the usually fearless Princess Inoha unconsciously hugged her own arms.
Bereshith noticed.
She was trembling.
Only slightly.
But enough.
Alesh continued.
"And then..."
"...the mist appeared."
She lowered her voice.
"A black mist."
"It doesn't move with the wind."
"It ignores rivers."
"It crawls..."
"...like it's alive."
The office suddenly felt colder.
"Our soldiers entered it."
"One hundred men."
She looked down.
"...Only twelve came back."
Lucas' face hardened.
"What happened inside?"
Princess Alesh slowly shook her head.
"They don't know."
"They remember entering."
"They remember hearing voices..."
"...calling their names."
"Then..."
"...nothing."
"They woke up three days later."
"Outside the mist."
"They had forgotten everything."
She clenched her fists.
"...Except one thing."
The room waited.
Her voice became almost a whisper.
"They all said..."
"...someone was smiling inside the mist."
No one spoke.
Not even the crackling fireplace seemed to make a sound anymore.
Princess Inoha closed her eyes briefly before speaking for the first time since the story began.
"...I've heard my sister tell this report many times."
She forced a weak smile.
"...Yet every single time..."
"...it still makes me shiver."
The warmth that had filled Lucas' office only moments before...
Had completely vanished.
Outside...
The harvest season continued peacefully.
Inside...
Those gathered around the table realized that somewhere beyond the southern border...
Something unknown...
Something unseen...
Was waiting in the darkness.
From that moment on...
Silence lingered inside Lord Lucas' office.
No one immediately responded to Princess Alesh's report.
The crackling fireplace had become the only sound filling the room.
Then...
Princess Inoha slowly lowered her eyes.
Her hands, which had been resting neatly upon her lap, quietly tightened around the fabric of her robe.
"...There is..."
She hesitated.
"...Something else."
Everyone looked toward her.
Even Princess Alesh glanced at her older sister with concern.
"Sister..."
Inoha forced a faint smile.
"...I never wanted to tell anyone this."
Her voice trembled ever so slightly.
"I was afraid no one would believe me."
The room remained silent, allowing her to continue.
"This began..."
"...Three months ago."
She took a slow breath.
"Every night..."
"I have the same dream."
Another pause.
"But..."
"It is never exactly the same."
Lucas folded his hands together.
"What do you see?"
Princess Inoha slowly closed her eyes.
"I hear voices."
"So many voices..."
"They're crying."
"They're screaming."
"They're begging."
Her breathing gradually became uneven as though merely remembering the dream frightened her.
"I can hear children..."
"Mothers..."
"Old men..."
"Soldiers..."
"They're all calling for help."
She unconsciously covered one of her ears.
"They keep shouting..."
'Please...'
'Help us...'
'Save us...'
'Don't leave us here...'
Her voice cracked.
"I run toward them."
"I always run."
"I never stop."
"I don't care how tired I become."
"I only want to help them."
Tears slowly gathered in the corners of her eyes.
"But..."
Her body shivered.
"Every single time..."
"Someone stands in my way."
The room became noticeably colder.
"A man."
"I... I don't know who he is."
"I've never seen him before."
"I can't even remember what clothes he wears."
"I can't remember the color of his hair."
"I can't even remember his face..."
She slowly raised her trembling hand.
"But..."
"I always remember..."
"...his smile."
Her words caused Princess Alesh to instinctively grip her sister's sleeve.
"It wasn't a joyful smile."
"It wasn't kind."
"It wasn't angry."
"It was..."
She struggled to find the proper word.
"...Empty."
"As though he was smiling because everyone else was suffering."
Lucas narrowed his eyes.
Inoha continued.
"He never attacks me."
"He never speaks."
"He simply stands there..."
"...blocking my path."
"No matter how many times I run around him..."
"He appears in front of me again."
"No matter how loudly I shout..."
"He only smiles."
Then...
Her breathing became shaky.
"The voices behind him..."
"They become quieter."
"They slowly disappear."
"One after another."
"Until..."
She lowered her head.
"There is only silence."
A tear finally escaped her eye.
"And that's when I wake up."
She wiped her tears away.
"My clothes are soaked with sweat."
"My heart races so fast I can barely breathe."
"I'm always crying."
"I don't even realize it until I touch my face."
The room remained perfectly still.
Princess Alesh gently held her sister's hand.
"I've tried everything."
"I've changed bedrooms."
"I've slept during the day."
"I've asked priests to bless my room."
"I've tried medicines."
"I've stayed awake until morning."
"I've prayed."
"I've done everything I could think of."
Her voice slowly broke.
"But every time I fall asleep..."
"The dream returns."
"The people change."
"The place changes."
"The cries become different."
"But..."
"The smiling man..."
"...never changes."
She looked toward everyone gathered around the table.
"I have not slept peacefully for three months."
For the first time since arriving at Eirene...
Princess Inoha openly cried.
"...Then..."
"...I heard a rumor."
She smiled weakly through her tears.
"They said..."
"There was a place in the Kingdom of Heirora where crops were unlike any other."
"They said the harvest was pure."
"They said the fruits restored the sick."
"They said the vegetables healed strange illnesses."
"They even whispered..."
"...that curses could not remain where those crops were grown."
She looked toward Bereshith.
"I begged Father."
"I begged him every day."
"'Please let me go.'"
"'Please let me accompany the trade delegation.'"
"I didn't care about politics."
"I didn't care about negotiations."
"I only wanted..."
"...one peaceful night's sleep."
Her tears continued falling.
"And then..."
"We crossed into the lands of Eirene."
She smiled.
A genuine smile.
"The moment our carriage entered this fief..."
"My chest..."
"...became lighter."
"I could breathe again."
"The constant pressure..."
"The fear..."
"The pain..."
"It was as though something heavy had finally been lifted from my shoulders."
She placed a trembling hand over her heart.
"I..."
"I don't know why."
"But for the first time in months..."
"I wasn't afraid."
The office fell silent.
Even the Fifth pricesss looked thoughtfully towards her sister.
She had watched her suffer every night.
She knew she wasn't exaggerating.
Lucas remained quiet.
The Enician Company manager lowered her gaze.
Even Princess Alesh, who usually acted proud and outspoken, silently wiped away tears from her sister's cheeks.
Bereshith looked at Princess Inoha for a long moment.
There was no pity in his eyes.
Only kindness.
Then he smiled warmly.
"Princess Inoha."
She slowly looked toward him.
"If that's the case..."
"Then please stay for dinner."
Everyone looked at Bereshith.
He continued with the same gentle smile.
"Not only you."
"Prince Rayryn."
"Princess Alesh."
"Miss Manager."
"And everyone else."
"I'll prepare tonight's meal myself."
Princess Inoha blinked.
"...You?"
Bereshith nodded.
"Yes."
"I may not know how to take away nightmares."
"I may not know how to explain your dreams."
"But..."
He smiled a little wider.
"I do know that no one should carry such burdens on an empty stomach."
"If my family's harvest can bring even a little comfort..."
"Then allow me to share it with all of you."
The warmth in his words spread quietly throughout the room.
For the first time since speaking of her nightmares...
Princess Inoha let out a small, relieved laugh.
"...Thank you."
It was a simple meal he offered.
Yet somehow...
To the exhausted princess who had forgotten what peaceful sleep felt like...
It sounded like the greatest kindness she had received in months.