Interlude: Brother in the East

Interlude:
Brother in the East

Souen Litbeit was bored.

In the office, his superior glared at him. Souen had been his secretary for years. Today, the man was in the worst mood since Souen started working for him.

“Souen.”

“Yes, Your Excellency?”

“That horned girl hasn’t gone home yet. It’s been days. I can’t stand that her scales are tainting our house.”

“Your Excellency, the Draconess is staying here to expand trade with us. She won’t leave without your approval. If you go against the other Statesmen’s opinions, then you—”

“What a joke. Trading with western beasts.”

Souen’s superior, Duke Auchraw, was a stout, middle-aged man. He was one of the elder statesman who served as advisors to the emperor of the human regions.

Souen was a merchant and would one day succeed his father as master of the Litbeit house. He already did business with the western monsters through Lindworm. When it came to trade, monsters had many strengths. The lamia were skilled at creating medicine, the arachne made silk and clothing, and the cyclops made blades and steel goods. They were all supported by the centaurs, who provided much more reliable transport than humans, and by the harpies, who flew through the air delivering letters and small packages.

Now wasn’t the time to refuse to trade with monsters. They were necessary to develop the human regions further.

“Souen, what is the horned woman doing?”

“Eating breakfast, as you instructed.”

“Good. I’ll make her suffer.”

Duke Auchraw, a typical human supremacist, hated the monsters’ mere presence in the senate. He planned to pay the Draconess a visit as she ate breakfast, but that was a terrible idea. Did Auchraw really think he could control a dragon just by mixing a little arsenic into her food? He clearly knew nothing about monsters.

“I will join you.”

Souen knew the Duke was all talk. In the end, he was a courtier, and a coward to boot. Even so, Souen wouldn’t dare to go against his wishes.

He sighed in his heart so the Duke couldn’t hear him.

***

The Draconess was small, like a child.

“Good morning, Duke. It’s a pleasure to see you so early.”

Appearances could be deceiving, though. The Draconess, Skadi Dragenfelt, might look like a little girl, but she was quite powerful. Right now, she was in the middle of a luxurious breakfast. She filled her mouth with steak as she spoke to the Duke.

Duke Auchraw sat across from her with clammy hands. The whole affair disgusted Souen. If Duke Auchraw did manage to poison the Draconess, it would be an international issue. Arsenic, however, couldn’t kill a dragon in the first place. Souen’s brother had told him it had something to do with the metal inside dragons’ bodies.

“How is your breakfast?” the Duke asked, smirking.

“It’s delicious! There’s arsenic mixed in. It’s a famous seasoning among us dragons. How did you know? Kunai, would you like some?”

“Yes, please!”

Skadi’s guard also ate the steak without flinching.

Kunai’s pale skin was a patchwork of flesh. She clearly wasn’t of the living. Poison would be useless on her, too.

“You’ve saved me the trouble of coming to see you, Duke. Will you sign the new trade agreement? All the other elder statesmen have signed.”

The agreement—a formal convention to expand trade between the east and west —was inscribed on sheepskin. For the eastern merchants, it would mean access to more goods, and would stimulate the economy. Charging duty on goods passing through Lindworm would benefit the west as well.

“Oh, Miss Draconess. Of course I want to sign, but according to Souen here, the tariff is too high. It won’t allow us any profit.”

This was a huge lie.

Souen had calculated that the trade agreement was an opportunity to profit hugely. It was why the other statesmen signed. Souen had told the Duke that, but the Duke called him a pathetic merchant who only cared about making money.

The last part was true.

“I see.”

Souen thought the Draconess would persist, but instead, she accepted the agreement. She finished eating and wiped her mouth.

“Let’s leave that topic for now.”

“Did you have another topic in mind?”

“Yes. This morning, I received a letter from Lindworm. Yesterday, a rare Barometz tree, also known as a ‘sheep tree,’ was found growing in the entertainment district. That tree’s seeds, shaped like sheep, overran the entire city, putting my citizens to sleep. Thankfully, the people I left in charge were able to avoid catastrophe.”

The Duke’s expression didn’t change. “And?”

“Bandits from the human regions brought the Barometz to Lindworm. They admitted that they were under Duke Auchraw’s orders to cause confusion in the city.”

“Hahaha! Oh, Miss Draconess. Do you really believe the words of bandits? It’s common for criminals to name someone—anyone—with power when trying to shift blame.”

“True. But why would mere bandits want to cause chaos in Lindworm? The Barometz tree sounds more like the work of someone who wanted to chase out a certain dragon they saw as an obstruction. Of course, that is only my suspicion.”

The patchwork guard stifled a laugh.

Duke Auchraw’s face didn’t show it, but he was clearly humiliated.

The Duke had arranged the Barometz tree. He purchased it through third parties so that it couldn’t be traced back to him. Of course, however, the Duke’s subordinates had hired and paid the bandits.

“Never mind that,” said the Draconess. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“There’s more?” The Duke, ready to finish this conversation, looked bored again.

“Yes. Actually, this is what I really wanted to talk about. Duke, you were dealing harpy eggs, correct?”

“What?” His startled reaction was unbefitting of a statesman.

Souen clicked his tongue.

“Harpy…what?”

“Harpy eggs. A better way to put it would be…illegally trafficking the harpy species, then selling the eggs to aristocrats in the human regions. If you have a rebuttal, I’d be happy to hear it.”

“Uhhh… Uhhh…”

Skadi stared into the Duke’s blue eyes, completely detached. There was no encouragement or discouragement in her expression. Her gaze was that of a god contemplating a mere mortal. Perhaps she had already decided the Duke’s sentence. All that was left was to drop the gavel.

The Draconess lived in a realm beyond humans’ reach. The earthly Duke Auchraw was no match for her.

“What are you talking about…? Harpy eggs? Why would anyone sell those?”

“I don’t know their use. I just know that I have an eye on the aristocrats who purchased them, and the chefs who cooked them. There are people with unusual tastes everywhere in the world.” Skadi narrowed her eyes.

“You’re making false accusations.”

“My accusations are based on information from former slave traders now hiding in Lindworm. They repented of their sins and are helping the City Council patrol. They are reliable.”

“It’s outrageous that you would believe such despicable beings!”

“I would be happy to go to the eggs’ buyers and ask them myself. Even if you hired mercenaries for procurement, I know you were directly involved with the sales. Otherwise, no one would have believed they were real harpy eggs.”

The Duke glanced at Souen as if asking him to do something—or perhaps he was considering how to shift the blame. Either way, Souen didn’t have much choice.

He flipped back his long black hair.

“With all due respect, Miss Draconess…”

“What?”

“I am Souen, the Duke’s secretary. I am also on the Eastern Merchant Union’s board of directors. I can assure you that there are no records of such illegal goods.”

“I know that. The Duke sold the harpy eggs through his personal associates. If he used public markets, it would have been too easy to trace.”

It seemed she’d done her research.

Souen shrugged.

The patchwork guard showed the Duke several documents. Souen didn’t need to look at them. He knew they contained decisive evidence.

“Did you really say they were like bird eggs?” the patchwork guard said. “That’s vile.”

The Duke’s face flushed with anger.

“Guards!”

Senate guards rushed into the dining room. For a fleeting moment, they reminded Souen of his sister, who used to be such a guard.

“This horned woman has slandered the elder statesmen with false accusations!” Duke Auchraw bellowed. “Arrest her immediately!”

Skadi didn’t flinch.

The guards moved as soon as the Duke barked his orders. However, they pointed their spears at the Duke himself.

Auchraw sputtered, trying to figure out what was going on. “Wh-what are you doing?! I-I’m an elder statesman! I’m a Duke!”

“Former Duke,” Souen responded.

This was Souen’s last day of service. Even if he were to take a new position with another elder statesmen tomorrow, he felt relieved knowing that he no longer had to work under this ill-tempered man.

“Dealing harpy eggs directly violates treaties with the monster regions. We will have to investigate this further.”

“Souen, was it you who betrayed me?”

“Betrayed? You seem to misunderstand something, former Duke,” Souen scoffed. “I am a merchant. I act based on profit and loss. It was far more profitable for me to side with the horned woman than with you. Nothing more.”

The guards forced the deposed Duke toward the door with their spear tips. Auchraw was still shouting as he disappeared from sight.

“I’m sorry for the commotion,” Souen said.

“I wish you’d picked a better time to entrap the Duke,” Skadi replied. “I was trying to enjoy my breakfast.”

“I was stuck listening to him, too! If it’s any consolation, I brought you some jelly desserts.”

“Desserts…” Skadi’s eyes shone.

The dragon girl the eastern regions feared really did look just like a child.

***

Skadi and Souen had been in contact for a long time.

At first, they worked together to enrich trade between the east and west. At some point, though, Souen realized that Duke Auchraw was trading in harpy eggs and decided to oust him from power.

“Wasn’t he your superior?” asked the patchwork guard, who seemed to have a strong sense of loyalty.

“I weighed the pros and cons. A merchant watches how the scale tips. That’s all.”

The truth was that Auchraw had participated in illegal trafficking. He’d all but said that he wanted another massive war with the monsters. For those reasons alone, he deserved punishment. Souen merely took the initiative to sell him out. He didn’t want to be blamed later for something he had nothing to do with.

Of course, as a defensive measure to avoid getting caught up in the affair, Souen had refrained from participating in the harpy egg dealing. At most, he’d given tacit consent.

“It’s fine, Kunai.”

The jelly desserts were cooled white mochi balls with molasses on top. They were rare, even in the human regions. Skadi smacked her lips, made “Mmmm!” noises, and flapped her wings, making it clear how much she enjoyed the sweets.

“If you’re purely motivated by profit, you can be trusted,” Skadi said. “The problem arises when you let other things influence your decisions. The Duke dealt in harpy eggs, but that was based on his hatred of monsters.”

This was true.

The Duke had lost private property in a previous war. It was unfortunate, but it didn’t justify capturing harpies and forcing them to lay eggs.

“But…why?”

“Why what?” asked Souen.

“The Duke probably arranged the Barometz crisis in Lindworm as well. Once your sister got Demonitis, she was relieved of her position as a senate guard—or at least, you made it look that way—and you sent her after the Barometz tree. Isn’t that right?”

“You knew that, too?” Letters really did travel quickly by harpy.

“Why didn’t you just ask Dr. Glenn, since he’s already in Lindworm? Why did you need to give Sioux a secret mission?”

“The truth is…I’m not a great big brother. It’s also true that Sioux left on her own.”

Skadi cocked her head, confused.

Souen searched for the right words.

“I told her there was a chance that the Duke’s minions might be causing a commotion in Lindworm. However, she left before I had a chance to finish the whole story. I don’t think she even knew that the Barometz tree spread the sleeping disease.”

“Still, Aluloona’s letter said that it was all resolved without issue.”

“Yes, but it was touch-and-go for a bit. If the Duke had realized what I was up to, it all would have been for naught.”

“Is that why you wrote the letter to Dr. Glenn?”

“Harpy delivery is extremely fast and convenient.” Souen chewed his lip. “There is one more issue regarding Glenn… But it’s strictly confidential. I can’t even tell my family.”

“What is it?”

“I’m sorry, but I’d rather not discuss such personal matters.”

“Hmm.”

Skadi didn’t really seem interested. Souen realized she’d been staring in another direction the entire time.

“Was it the Duke who made your sister leave?”

Souen flinched at Skadi’s words.

“When Sioux was human, the Duke liked her so much that he gave her a famous sword,” Skadi continued. “That’s why you started working for him, too. But the second your sister started growing horns, the Duke probably changed his tune. Did that make you feel angry, and want to overthrow him?”

“I’m just an ambitious businessman. I have to eliminate the people in my way if I want to be on top.”

“I see. Well then, I look forward to working with you. I’ll be careful not to be eliminated.” Skadi chuckled, although her eyes weren’t laughing.

Expanded trade between east and west would benefit both sides. As a merchant, Souen was in a position to maximize his profits, and of course, he wanted to do business with Skadi. However, he knew that if he displeased her, he would end up just like Duke Auchraw.

“We are but humble humans. Please don’t abandon us, Dragon Goddess.”

“Don’t call me such things. I am not divine. I live how I want to live.” Skadi licked syrup off her spoon. “And I will always root for my residents’ success. Lindworm accepts all who come there.”

“I’m sorry?”

“You should think about your siblings. More jelly, please.”

She pushed her empty glass forward.

Souen couldn’t help but laugh. He hadn’t actually thought this great dragon could be bought with sweets. But she was serious.

“If the Draconess requests a bribe, I am not in a position to refuse. I will prepare enough for everyone in your party.”

“Yes, please. Speaking of which, where is Cthulhy?”

“The sea doctor is in the hot springs.”

“Kunai, go get her. Once she’s boiled, chop her up and make takoyaki.”

The Draconess’s guard swiftly left the room. Souen didn’t actually believe that Skadi would chop up her companion, but he couldn’t tell from her expression whether she was joking.

“Thank you for all your help.” Souen bowed his head.

As a merchant—or as a politician, he supposed—Souen spent his days amidst lies and schemes, but in that moment, his bow was genuine.

“Delicious.”

He didn’t know if Skadi was listening.

She was eating her second helping of dessert and flapping her wings.