Chapter 179: ¹⁷⁹: sustainable solution

Chapter 179: 1??: sustainable solution

I could only wonder what was going through his mind. "Have I not solved the problems correctly?" I asked, still unable to understand what he had found faulty in my assignment. If there was anything besides my wolf that I took pride in, it was the knowledge and skills my dad had personally taught me.

There was no way I would believe that I had done anything wrong while resolving the diplomatic crisis of Garis.

Kael shook his head, his gaze remaining fixed on me. "No. It’s that you’ve done too good of a job." He paused, tapping his fingers against the file. "A student at your level would normally look at this problem and suggest something straightforward, like removing the tariffs on Salen’s exports so they wouldn’t stop the grain shipments into Garis. Or perhaps a similar arrangement with another neighbouring kingdom. Either solution would address the immediate threat of food shortages in Garis following the floods."

He lowered his gaze to the pages before looking at me again. "But that’s not what you’ve done. You’ve found a way to ensure that Garis receives the grain it needs to avert the impending crisis while addressing the underlying problem instead of merely treating the symptoms. You’ve identified something buried beneath the obvious conflict, something most people wouldn’t even think to look for. That kind of analysis requires considerable experience."

I cleared my throat as his words sank in, my fingers curling slightly into the quilt. It wasn’t until Kael pointed it out that I realised just how much of a mistake I might have made while completing this assignment.

I had approached the problem without considering the level of knowledge expected of someone like Athena Moonvel, a student who was only beginning to establish herself. Instead, I had solved it as Athena Roosevelt, drawing upon everything my dad had taught me over the years.

Of course, the two weren’t entirely different people. But there was a difference between possessing knowledge and having a reasonable explanation for how I had acquired it. And I had completely forgotten to account for that.

Perhaps having my mind occupied by the very man sitting in front of me had contributed to my carelessness. After all, Kael Dreven had been taking up far too much space in my thoughts lately, leaving me distracted at the most inconvenient moments.

Still, I couldn’t blame everything on him. I should have been more careful. I should have remembered who I was pretending to be in this place and what people would reasonably expect from me.

But what was done was done. I had to present this assignment to my teachers in just a few hours, and there was no way I could rewrite the entire thing now. Even if I somehow managed to make the necessary changes, I would risk compromising the quality of my work simply to make it appear less impressive.

All I could do was hope that my teachers would dismiss the sophistication of my solution as a coincidence or a stroke of unusual insight rather than start questioning me the way Kael was doing now.

Because, honestly, I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep coming up with convincing answers.

For now, though, I needed to give Kael a believable explanation before he decided to examine me any further with that unnerving gaze of his. The last thing I needed was for him to start treating me like some fascinating test subject in one of his eccentric experiments.

"I... I solved it without thinking too much about my level or anything," I said, swallowing nervously as I searched for the right words. "Maybe it’s just how my brain works. I tend to think a little differently from what people expect, and I guess I naturally look for solutions outside the box."

The words came out more smoothly than I had anticipated, which was both reassuring and slightly alarming. Apparently, I was really getting better at lying after all.

"Really?" Kael asked, raising his brows as though he were some officer interrogating me a petty criminal. "Are you sure?"

"I am completely sure," I replied matter-of-factly, my confidence returning now that I had found an explanation I could actually defend. "Why? I am the current Dravera holder. Don’t you think I would have the capabilities to do something like this?"

Kael suddenly chuckled at my words, as though he had found them amusing. "Dravera..." He said taking a pause as if tasting the word on his tongue "Yeah, you do have that as well." He placed the file back on my desk before turning his chair fully towards me. "I just think recognising and addressing a kingdom’s internal struggles is pretty impressive for a freshman. By the way, how did you do it? Take me through your thought process."

I narrowed my eyes at him. What exactly was that tone supposed to mean? The way Kael was questioning me made it feel as though he were mocking me again. Was he genuinely surprised that someone at my level could have come up with such a solution, or was he entertaining the possibility that I hadn’t done the assignment myself?

I could understand the first possibility, even if it bruised my pride a little. But the second?

That was considerably harder to swallow. Was Kael Dreven actually looking down on me?

The more I thought about it, the more my irritation grew. I had never been someone who took kindly to having my abilities questioned, especially when it came to something my dad had personally taught me.

Those lessons weren’t merely things I had memorised from books; they were a part of me, shaped by years of his guidance and the countless hours I had spent learning from him. And now, the very man who had managed to turn my emotions upside down with nothing more than his presence was sitting before me, examining my work as though he had discovered some unbelievable mystery. Fine. If Kael wanted to know how I had arrived at my conclusions, I would explain every last detail until he had no choice but to acknowledge my abilities.

"It is quite simple how I did it. I will gladly walk you through my process, Mr. Dreven!" I replied, my voice growing sharper as I sat up straighter.

Honestly, the audacity of this man! Who did he think I was? Someone who would ask another person to do her assignment for her? And, more importantly, who exactly would I even ask to solve a diplomatic crisis of Garis on my behalf?

I crossed my arms in front of my chest, settling myself more firmly on the bed as I prepared to explain every single step of my reasoning. If Kael wanted answers, I would give him answers. And if he had somehow managed to doubt my abilities, then I would make sure he understood precisely why he shouldn’t have.

"When I started working as the representative for Garis, the first thing I considered was the state of its royal treasury. Because of the floods, the kingdom’s funds were depleting by the second. The cost of rescue operations, relief efforts, and the losses the kingdom had suffered were putting enormous pressure on its finances. I knew I had to come up with a plan as quickly as possible to mitigate the damage."

I paused briefly, gathering my thoughts before continuing. "But I didn’t stop there. I also studied the kingdom’s overall political, financial, and business situation. As you said, the most immediate solution would have been to remove the tariffs on grain imports from Salen so that the kingdom could resume its shipments to Garis."

I glanced at Kael, making sure he was following my explanation before proceeding. "But that solution would have created another problem. Even if removing the tariffs made it easier for grain to enter Garis, it wouldn’t necessarily make the trade profitable for the merchants. They would still have to deal with the other taxes and expenses involved in transporting and selling the grain. Without the tariffs, their profit margins could become too small to justify the risks, especially under the circumstances."

I uncrossed one arm to gesture towards the file on my desk. "And if the merchants weren’t willing to bring in the grain, the royal treasury would have to shoulder even more of the burden. The government would have to spend its already dwindling reserves to secure supplies, compensate for the shortfall, or find other ways to persuade the merchants to continue trading. That would put even more pressure on a treasury that was already struggling to keep the kingdom afloat."

I leaned back slightly, my gaze fixed on Kael’s face. "So, while removing the tariffs might have solved the immediate problem of getting grain into Garis, it would have risked creating an even bigger financial problem in the process. I couldn’t simply focus on getting the grain through the borders. I had to make sure the solution was sustainable for the kingdom as a whole."