Please Answer Me - Chapter 71
It was Fertan, the son of the Basque chief, who identified himself as the head of the envoy.
He flinched as soon as he saw Rashid walk through the door. His frightened gaze flickered between Rashid’s sturdy frame and the sword at his waist.
“A pleasure to meet you. I am the chief of the Quat tribe.
“I, I am from the Basque tribe, Fe- Fertan….”
“Have a seat.”
The man was visibly startled by the mere mention of sitting down and immediately plopped down on the chair. As Rashid sat down in front of him, Calante approached.
“I was dealing with this gentleman for a moment while you came in, Riga.”
Rashid nodded simply, then looked at Fertan.
“What is the purpose of your visit here?”
The tone was rude. To cut to the chase without even exchanging a light greeting was not the way to speak to an equal. Although this was not a meeting between chiefs, Fertan was the next chief and represented the Basque tribe.
But Fertan had no desire to argue such details. In fact, he was lucky if he didn’t slice his own throat in two with that sword right now.
‘Even this old man was that woman’s father!’
It was a gray-haired old man who had led Fertan from the outer castle to this place. At first, Fertan had dismissed him as just one of the elders, but when he introduced himself as the maternal grandfather of the Quat chief, Fertan felt a cold sweat run down his spine.
He had walked right into a den of gnashing teeth. He never knew when those sharp teeth would tear him apart.
“I, I, I came here to get my sister back!”
The chief’s face changed for the first time as he spoke. He, who had remained stoic in the face of his enemy’s son, looked at him with eyes slightly wider.
He spoke in a low voice. “…Your sister?”
“Yes. I want my sister back, the one you kidnapped. Of course, I promise you that my sister will never get involved with the Croa chief.”
He pulled out the envelope he had prepared and held it out. Inside was a single sheet of paper. It was blank, with the Basque chief’s signature pre-scribbled underneath.
“State your terms. I am prepared to grant them, whatever they may be. This is where you can write down your wishes.”
Rashid laughed.
“Is anything I want really possible? Any of it?”
“No, within reasonable limits, of course. I trust you to act rationally.”
Fertan hastened to add, afraid he might ask him to give his head. “How about land? If it’s Dahlia region, we’re willing to give….”
The merchants would have been deeply mortified if they had heard him. What he just said didn’t even have the basics of negotiation. Negotiation is all about hiding your hand and revealing the other person’s hand in order to turn the situation in your favor, and this man was just blatantly revealing his. Rashid was used to dealing directly with seasoned merchants from each region, and this was just too ridiculous.
“…Why are you asking for your sister back now?”
Fertan blinked at the question.
“Well, she’s my family, so it’s only natural, right?”
“Family, family….”
Rashid muttered the word over and over. You didn’t even go after her when she was kidnapped, and now you want her back? A woman who isn’t even your real sister?
Rashid threw the paper in his hand. Fertan caught the fluttering paper quickly.
“Your offer is rejected. Your sister will remain here as my wife.”
“What!”
“I will give you one day to move your entire envoy away from Edirne, or we will think you intend to attack us and take your lives.”
“B- But….”
“In case you didn’t understand, that means we’re done talking, and you can get the hell out of here.”
Fertan sucked in his breath as Rashid was unwilling to compromise. He grabbed the paper and stormed out of the room.
“Why did you do that?”
Calante’s question came as soon as Fertan was out of sight. Rashid answered with a slant of his gaze.
“I find it suspicious that he would ask for the bride back now. We need to find out more about what’s going on.”
“What does it matter if it’s suspicious? We were going to send her back anyway, and it’s in our best interest to do what’s in our best interest.”
“We don’t know what the best interest is yet, and I don’t want to make a move that’s uncertain.”
“You don’t move on uncertainty? Isn’t that because you have a thing for her?”
Rashid’s eyes widened sharply as the words fell.
“I understand your anger, but I suggest you keep your words to yourself, grandfather.”
Calante’s face hardened for a moment. It was no exaggeration to say that he had saved, protected, and nurtured Rashid up to this point. He was the only one to whom Rashid owed a debt of gratitude. As such, Rashid had never once antagonized him.
But now, the look in his eyes was clearly warning him. He was warning him not to cross the line anymore, and Calante realized it.
“After all, she is my wife now, and to look down on her is to look down on me.”
“…I apologize. I made a slip of the tongue.”
Calante took a step back. There was no need to get on his nerves with terminology right now.
“But think again about what you just said. You said you’d send Rigaina back, and it’s best to do so with a modest gain at this point, from the outside perspective. Wouldn’t it look a bit odd if you sent them away, only to send her back later?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll never make the same mistake as my father.”
Rashid looked out the window. He could see Fertan running away, panting.
“I’m not going to take the bait they’re throwing at me out of the blue. They’re the same people who went behind my father’s back and pulled that stunt. There’s no reason they won’t do something similar this time. It doesn’t make sense to me that they’d just give away the Dahlia land.”
“Me neither, but….”
Dahlia is a region that straddles Lysa, Basque, and Quat, and was originally the land of the Quats. Twenty years ago, the Basques pushed into the Quat and claimed Dahlia, and now they’re saying they’re giving it away.
Calante didn’t understand their intentions; there had to be something behind their willingness to give away land they had fought so hard to take.
“You’re right, Rashid, we need to be careful. I’ll be on the lookout.”
Rashid smiled softly and asked, “When will he be arriving?”
“He should be here in a few days. I’ve already told him to come to the castle and see you, Rashid, as soon as he arrives.”
With that, Calante left the room. After taking a few steps, he turned back, his brow furrowing as he stared at the firmly closed door.
‘Something’s up.’
Rashid had said he’d turned down the offer because he suspected their motives, but he had a strong suspicion that wasn’t the whole story.
“Where is Thelma?”
Asking a passing maid where Thelma was, he headed straight for her. Then he remembered what he had seen with his own eyes at the last banquet. How Rashid’s face had turned pale as the woman had suddenly collapsed in the banquet hall.
Could it be, had he really set his heart on her, the daughter of the Basque chief?
“Thelma.”
Thelma stiffened at the voice behind her as she checked the goods coming into the castle. She slowly turned to face him.
“Elder Calante.”
“I need to speak with you for a moment.”
He took a quick step forward. After watching his back for a moment, Thelma handed the notebook she was holding to the maid beside her.
“I need you to organize the rest of the list.”
“Yes, Thelma.”
Thelma followed Calante down the hall. It was only when they were out of sight that he spoke.
“What the hell have you been doing all this time!”
“I don’t know what you mean….”
“You said there wasn’t anything special about that woman! That she’s just a woman who listens well!”
Thelma instantly understood that he was talking about Rigaina.
“Has something happened to Rigaina?”
“The Basque tribe sent an envoy. They want the bride back, but Riga has refused. He told them to leave immediately if they don’t want to die!”
Thelma gulped in surprise. It was one thing for the Basques to send an envoy, but it was quite another for Rashid to threaten them and send them away.
“Why did he refuse?”
“He said he was suspicious of them because he thought they had ulterior motives, but I’m sure that’s not all. He must have that woman on his mind!”
So you’ve made up your mind after all….
It was no secret to anyone in the castle that he cared deeply for Rigaina, Thelma thought to herself. Calante had only realized it late, since he didn’t live there.
“In that case, isn’t there anything we can do about it?”
“…What?”
“If that’s what Master Rashid has decided, then we must abide by it….”
Slap!
Calante’s hand flew to her cheek. Thelma took a deep breath and looked at him, her face still calm.
“I’m just saying there’s no other way.”
“She’s not some other bitch, she’s the daughter of the Basque chief. You’re going to let a bitch like that stay by Riga’s side? I see, you’re finally showing your true colors!”
He shouted in anger, “It was Elysia’s favor that kept you, ungrateful wench, by Riga’s side all these years. But now I realize that you were the problem; not only did you kill my daughter, but you were also ruining Riga! I will tell Riga right now what you did in the past….”
“Then I will tell Riga, too.”
Thelma said, looking him straight in the eye.
“That it was you who ordered Elysia to die.”
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Oluwaseun
Lmao get that old man!