Angelina looked at me and in a somewhat irritated manner, reminded me, "Remember, this was Lucia's fault, not mine. I hope that you understand that. This has nothing to do with me. I can let you in, but how you negotiate it has nothing to do with me. Furthermore, I won't get involved with this. I am not your side. Are we clear? Do not say that this had to do with me, understood?"
Angelina repeated the same thing over and over again. I comprehended how important it was to Angelina. It must be very important for the chapel. I guess that the chapel was facing major finance issues, and therefore had to find a way to resolve it. The huge asset had be an integral part of their income. Plus, they must have a way to evade high city taxes, as that would increase their earnings.
The chapel didn't want their deal to be exposed, hence why they didn't come to the town for religious matters, but solely to acquire the elven flavouring. Subsequently, they didn't care about the heretics. Perhaps I should say that the chapel was safer at the town, since the place was home to heretics. They should be where heretics were. As long as heretics didn't leave, the chapel was safe at the town. Furthermore, the chapel signed an agreement with me to not interfere with each other's lives. We wouldn't get involved in their affairs. As such, it was hard for us to find out anything.
The chapel had been making preparations for a long time for the trade, which proved that they were definitely short on finances. If they were short on finances, they couldn't lose a single penny. Consequently, they definitely didn't want to split their earnings with me. That was why Angelina was so reluctant to let the chapel know that I used her to get myself into the deal. The chapel will definitely mete out punishment to her, otherwise.
The agreement was useless to me, but it was a very important agreement for the chapel. It was because we signed such an agreement and what initially transpired that nobody in the town was willing to get involved with the chapel now and in the future.
I even suspect that the chapel deliberately provoked us right from the outset to provoke me into signing the agreement, since they could use it to stop me even if we noticed their flavour trade. I must admit that if that was the case, then it proved that the chapel was planning it from the start.
I thought I resolved the problem last time, but in reality, I had fallen for their trap. I was dancing to their tune from the very start. If I didn't notice the problem with Lucia, I might never have noticed the flavouring, not even when they began to trade it.
Even if I hypothetically did notice it, I couldn't get involved, as the agreement was in effect. By then, the chapel would get the merchant to export the flavouring, while I'd only get twenty percent of their earnings in taxes, by that I mean twenty percent after taxes. In any case, it wouldn't have been much for me, and that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted an even cut of the money. I wanted at least twenty five percent.
'You want to have the meat and give us the stew? Get real. If you don't want to give me what you ought to give me, do you think that you can export your stuff with Veirya here?'
The three of us got dressed. We didn't fully finish dinner, but I wasn't willing to wait any longer. I could see that Lucia didn't seem to realise what she did. She still looked at us happily, while Angelina wore a gloomy look.
We wore on the same clothes. The back of our cloaks had different emblems on them; but nonetheless, people probably wouldn't notice at night. I pulled my hood over, then turned to look at Leah. Leah looked at us, feeling confused. I gave her a smile, "Leah, Papa will be back very soon. Once you're finished eating, leave it to Anna to pack up."
"Mm, Papa, where are you going so late at night?"
Leah looked at us, feeling bewildered. I looked back at her and smiled, "Papa is going to get something you want to eat. Papa promises that your life will be much better than it is from now on."
Leah looked at me with glee and gave me a firm nod, "Leah will be a good girl, then! But Papa, you must come back soon."
"Don't worry, it shouldn't take long."
I had an overwhelming advantage this time. They were conducting business on our land. Veirya was the lord of this place; we determined the taxes here. As long as we didn't permit it, the chapel and merchant could forget about leaving. I had every means of doing that this time. The gold in their hands at the moment was as thin as cicada wings. I just needed to settle this, and I'd be able to do business with Lucia, alone, henceforth. I'd have income even if the taxes were high. I could gradually lower the taxes later on.
I had an unfair advantage. Since I discovered their dealings, they had to let me join them. The chapel would have to pay an exorbitant amount of taxes even if I did let them leave, because it'd just take a letter from me to Queen Sisi. It was Queen Sisi's taxes; there was no way she wouldn't want money that was supposed to belong to her. They, therefore, had to agree to my request.
"All right, let's get going. Remember what I said, all right? This has nothing to do with me. As for whether or not you can get what you want, that'll depend on you," reminded Angelina, one last time before pulling her hood down.
I revealed a faint smile, "I know. Don't worry about me."
"Let's go."
The three of us exited the house and arrived outside. The cold wind in the darkness gently brushed my face. It wasn't cold; to the contrary, I felt as though it was spurring me on. I headed to the tavern with confident strides.
'The moment I step inside, the future will completely change. I never considered the future, but I'm thinking about it this time.'
'We might get to live in a warm house in the South, where I'll get to see Leah's smile that's brighter than the sun, in the future.'
'This thin-as-cicada's wings' gold is my insurance. I must obtain the flavouring. My future lies with them. Money may not be able to purchase time, but I can buy time that's different to what others have. I can buy a future that's different to the one prepared for me in the past. And now, it's time for me to go and grab the key to open the door to that future. I must get it no matter what.'