A few days later… Embre Viscounty.

Dorian was seated on the couch. Right behind him stood Maria, Seraphina, and Lili, who had a rather suspicious look on her face.

Ciel was unable to join them since Dorian knew not where her whereabouts were.

Opposite them was the Viscount, with Ishtar standing right behind him as well.

The room was awkward and silent, with both sides obviously wary of the others.

For the past few days, Dorian had been waiting for the Viscount to make some kind of move, but alas, nothing had happened.

Well, that was until the second day, when the Viscount suddenly sent a letter, issuing a meet-up to speak about peace and the release of his men under Aurelian custody.

Just as planned. Dorian knew at some point the Viscount would understand there was nothing he could do but strike a deal with his enemy—exactly what Dorian needed.

His eyes glanced at Ishtar, noticing how she was waving at him rather freely.

'After what happened with the pact I made with the dragon, it's safe to say my pact with her has probably been destroyed as well. Not that I am sure. Well, if that's the case, there is nothing stopping her from turning on me.'

Dorian turned his gaze back to Embre. 'Which means I need to make sure every decision I make serves me in the long term.'

"Good evening to you, Lord Dorian," Embre voiced out, shaking in shame with his gaze facing the ground.

'Lord Dorian?'

Dorian was astounded to see the Viscount call him with respect. It wasn't only him; even the ladies at the back had the same reaction.

"Good evening to you, Lord Embre."

Silence took over again, bringing back the awkwardness.

Then—

With his eyes closed and gaze lowered, the Viscount said something that further shocked everyone.

"I apologize for starting a war with you. I should have understood that your family did everything they could to get to where they are now. I let my jealousy and ego get in the way of things. I should have acknowledged that even an idi—"

"Uhm, uhmm!" Ishtar suddenly cleared her throat, while gripping her father's shoulder with a warm smile on her face.

The pain was etched on Embre's face for a second, and it cleared the very next.

"I-I should have acknowledged that even someone like you is capable of great things. I hope you can forgive me."

Dorian had his brows raised throughout Embre's entire speech.

'What the fuck? I expected him to be embarrassed but not like this. How am I supposed to use his anger against him if he is this calm? And i was just about to mention how he wanted to assassinate me. Dammit, I have no doubt in my mind Ishtar is behind this, you sneaky woman.'

He looked up at her for a while before sighing, thinking of what words to say to the man.

"As you have heard, my father is truly sorry for what he did and promises it would never happen again. In fact, to show how honest we are, we are planning to sign a peace treaty, something that is sure to benefit both parties," Ishtar finally spoke.

But she was quickly countered by Seraphina.

"Your territory has nothing to offer my lord, so why should he sign it? Especially one already made by you with your own terms and conditions."

Ishtar turned her focus on Seraphina. "Pretty girl, I know you don't like me, but you have to understand, you are really hurting me here with your lack of trust. Do I seem like the kind of person to use Lord Aurelian for my own gain?"

"Yes."

"And you would be right. Which is why we would love to hear what he wants, and whether we can fulfill it or not."

Seraphina glared for a while, then turned to Dorian. "My Lord…"

Dorian had his fist right under his jaw, his eyes fixed on both Ishtar and Embre.

"If they are ready to comply with it, then hand it to them."

"As you wish."

Seraphina walked over to the desk at the far end of the room and then slowly walked back with multiple papers stacked in her hand.

Once she was close to the center table, she gently placed them there, right in front of the Forane family.

Embre glanced at them. "What is this?"

"A contract."

"A… what?!" Embre's jaw dropped. "What the hell does this contract contain that makes it so big?"

"Haha, you're so funny, Viscount Embre. It's just minor things; you need not worry about it. It's nothing compared to trying to kill someone's family in secret, right?" Dorian waved a bit, a teasing look on his face. "Go on, read it. Don't be shy."

Maria looked away, already feeling pity for the poor man.

Viscount Embre hesitantly opened the first page.

Ownership of Volcanic Ash.

This was the first thing that the man saw, and it left him speechless. Still, he controlled himself and made sure to read the other rules underneath.

From what he read, he understood that while Dorian was free to take and control the entire field of Volcanic Ash in the Viscount's territory, any product made from the material would be split 12% to him as payment.

That settled Embre's mind for a while, then he opened the next page.

Contract of Silence.

This meant if he were to speak to anyone about anything that happens with the volcanic ash or anything relating to it, he would be fined 50,000 gold pieces monthly for 90 years.

Embre gulped his saliva as he opened the next page.

Creativity Control.

This meant Dorian was free to build infrastructures, roads, and so on, as long as they were all linked to the benefit of the volcano ash.

There was no way in hell Embre was going to allow that, especially after knowing how quickly Dorian could steal his land at this rate.

If anything, in that moment, he understood Dorian to be a demon sent from hell and nothing else.

Just as he was about to reject the contract and ask for a better offer, Ishtar closed the contract shut and then smiled…

"Please be rest assured, my father is willing to sign everything inside this contract. It is nothing to worry about."

"What?!!!" Embre shouted, his voice cut short by Ishtar's next words.

"But in addition, we would like you to free the men you have under your custody, and at the same time…"

There was a brief silence.

"At the same time, I want you to take my hand in marriage."

...

[A/n]

Thank you for reading, do be patient, i am building up the volume.

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