Chapter 917: Alternate Timeline: At Celestra (5)

"Does your store have any new types of weapons that have not yet been revealed to the public?"

Prime Minister Philip asked the question in a tone so casual that it might have sounded harmless to an ordinary listener, but to Kiara, it felt like watching a fisherman gently cast a line into still water. The hook was hidden beneath the bait, and the only question was whether she would bite.

Kiara had not expected him to steer the conversation in that direction so quickly, yet she answered with a calm nod while keeping her expression relaxed and her fingers loosely wrapped around the stem of the wine glass.

"Yes," she said. "There are a few. But firearms are still something new to most people. If I put everything on display at once, it would only confuse my customers. When a child first learns numbers, you do not begin with a book of advanced calculations. You place one pebble in his hand, then another, and let his mind grow at its own pace."

The answer immediately drew a spark of excitement from Jacob Crescent.

The young prince, who had been listening with increasing interest, leaned forward as if someone had opened a treasure chest in front of him.

"Can I see them?"

His voice carried the eagerness of a boy hearing that there were still hidden toys left in the box.

Kiara was just about to decline. New weapons were not sweetmeats to be shown to every curious noble.

But before she could answer, Edward Crescent cut in sharply.

"This is not the time for games, Jacob."

The rebuke landed with enough force to make the prince straighten in his seat.

"Sit quietly and let us talk."

Jacob’s shoulders sank, and disappointment passed openly across his face, though he wisely held his tongue.

Edward then turned his gaze toward Philip and gave a slight nod.

The Prime Minister resumed.

"Among the weapons you sell," he asked, folding his hands atop the table, "which is the most expensive, and which is the most popular?"

Kiara did not answer immediately.

She let the question settle in her mind and considered what it revealed.

A merchant asking such things wished to understand supply and demand.

A statesman asking such things wished to understand how to build an industry.

And a schemer asking such things wished to understand how to profit from both.

After a brief pause, she answered truthfully.

"The costliest weapon I currently offer is called the Chimera SGM. As for the most popular, that would be the single-shot pistol."

Philip nodded slowly.

"I see."

The words were simple, but Kiara could almost hear the gears turning in his mind.

He continued with one question after another.

Which days saw the highest sales?

What kind of buyers visited the store most often?

Were they civilians, Spirit Warriors, nobles, wealthy merchants, or scholars?

He did not ask for precise figures, only broad trends, but Kiara understood that broad questions often revealed more than narrow ones. A hunter who studies footprints does not need to see the animal to know what passed by.

Since Philip would investigate the matter later, regardless, Kiara answered openly.

When he was finally satisfied, the Prime Minister turned toward Edward Crescent, who had remained silent throughout the exchange like a spider waiting motionless at the center of its web.

"Your Majesty," Philip said, inclining his head, "I am done."

Edward leaned forward, placing both hands upon the polished table.

The candlelight flickered across his features, and his expression sharpened.

"Miss Kiara," he said, his voice losing all pretense of idle conversation, "let us speak of the real matter then."

Kiara set down her glass.

The crystal touched the table with a soft click.

"What is it that Your Majesty wishes to discuss with me personally?"

Edward held her gaze for a moment, then asked a question that seemed to come from nowhere.

"What do you think of the Desmont bandits?"

For the span of a single heartbeat, Kiara said nothing.

The question was like a curtain suddenly being pulled aside.

So this was the true purpose of the invitation.

Not dinner.

Not trade.

Not a new store.

Perhaps about the impending War.

Her mind moved swiftly.

The Kingdom of Celestra and the Phoenix Empire had maintained an uneasy relationship for years.

Open interference in Western Phoenix would violate ancient treaties and could ignite a chain reaction involving the Leon Empire. One spark dropped into dry grass could become a fire that devoured an entire forest.

Yet the man sitting before her was not the true king.

He was an impostor wearing his brother’s crown.

And impostors were often more dangerous than kings, because they ruled not for duty, but for survival.

Kiara knew she had to answer carefully.

One careless word could expose too much.

After a measured pause, she spoke.

"To be honest, I do not care about Western Phoenix itself," she said evenly. "I am a businesswoman. I follow profit, just as rivers follow the slope of the land. At present, the greater profit lies with the Imperial Palace. That is why I delayed Prince Icarus Veyne’s order."

Edward’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Your words and your actions do not seem to walk the same road, Miss Kiara."

The statement caught her attention.

He continued.

"According to information we have received, the Desmont bandits possess several metal puppets resembling a smaller version of the one used to destroy House Silver."

For the briefest instant, Kiara’s heart stumbled.

The wine in her hand nearly trembled.

But years of self-control held her steady.

Inside, her thoughts snapped into focus.

So it was true.

These people were connected to Icarus Veyne.

She cleared her throat softly.

"Then allow me to repeat what I said," she replied. "I made an agreement with Emperor Alexander and delayed Prince Icarus’s order. But if a stranger enters my store and pays the price for a weapon, I do not investigate his ancestry like a priest tracing bloodlines in an old temple. I sell the item. What happens afterward is beyond my concern."

Edward’s expression revealed a flicker of disappointment before smoothing over once more.

"I see."

Kiara noticed the restraint.

No anger.

No surprise.

No attempt to press further.

A man who heard his fishing line snap and calmly reeled it back in.

She lifted her glass and took another slow sip while thinking.

If Edward revealed more, she would learn how deep his alliance with Icarus Veyne ran.

If he remained silent, that silence itself would be an answer.

Either way, she lost nothing.

So she decided to push.

She looked directly at him.

"What do you think of them, Your Majesty? Do you believe the Desmont bandits should reclaim their homeland?"

Before Edward could answer, Philip spoke at once, as though he had been waiting for the question.

"Western Phoenix is our neighbor," he said. "Border issues existed even before its annexation into the Phoenix Empire. Whatever happens there will affect our kingdom. For us, stability is the best outcome."

Kiara gave a slight nod, but her eyes remained thoughtful. "Your words suggest sympathy for their cause, Prime Minister."

Philip said nothing.

Kiara continued.

"But your difficulties will not disappear simply because they seize power."

She set her glass down again, speaking now with the calm clarity of someone laying out pieces on a chessboard.

"If a land is taken by force, resentment remains beneath the surface like roots under stone. Even if the Desmont bandits are destroyed, another group will rise. One may cut down weeds, but unless the soil is changed, more will grow."

Jacob Crescent stared at her, completely absorbed.

Kiara went on.

"A common citizen does not spend his nights dreaming of crowns and banners. He wants freedom to move, three meals a day, decent clothes to wear, and a roof that does not leak in the rain. If those needs are met, he rarely cares whose seal is stamped on the tax papers."

She paused, allowing the words to sink in.

"If the Desmont bandits somehow reclaim Western Phoenix, they will immediately face shortages of food, resources, and trade. Due to the enmity with the Phoenix Empire, they will turn to you for support. If you refuse, the Leon Empire might step in. And when two giant trees lean over a small garden, the flowers beneath them receive no sunlight."

Her gaze shifted from Philip to Edward.

"Western Phoenix would become the battleground of larger powers. Refugees would flood into your kingdom. Your border problems would grow worse, not better."

She leaned back slightly.

"The wiser path is the one your ancestors followed. Maintain balance. Keep relations with both empires steady. Ensure that your voice carries weight in regional matters."

Her tone remained calm, but there was steel beneath it.

"That is the peaceful solution."

She took a breath.

"Of course, there is another method. One can slaughter thousands and terrify the rest into silence. Fear can quiet a land, just as winter buries a field beneath snow."

Her eyes hardened.

"But spring always comes, and what is buried is not always dead."

The room fell silent.

Edward Crescent’s jaw tightened slightly.

Being lectured by an outsider in his own palace was not something he enjoyed.

Philip, however, nodded with visible admiration. "Miss Kiara is indeed a jewel of both visage and wisdom."

Jacob Crescent, who had been listening with widening eyes, suddenly blurted out,

"How is that possible? Wow..."

His astonishment broke the stillness, drawing every eye in the room toward him.

Kiara turned and looked at the prince.

"Hm?"