A Wonderful Misunderstanding

Baron Miro had a thoroughly detestable face, and every word and gesture of his bore the standard expression of an old politician. Blackbeard was old and crafty himself, making him the perfect match to play against Miro in a fine performance. The two had their arms around each other's shoulders like a pair of close brothers, their smiles dazzlingly bright.

Only Baron Miro remained at the mayoral residence. His wife had already taken their son and daughter back to the ancestral home to visit relatives. After all, Baron Miro was not a man without family. He had a large number of relatives and clansmen in Blackstone City to look after. Every winter, his wife would take the children and other relatives back there to make arrangements for the family's affairs once spring arrived.

Perhaps because the mistress of the house was absent, the tea and refreshments Baron Miro had ordered for his guests were somewhat unsatisfactory. The tea was a poor color, and the pastries clearly had not been freshly made in the kitchen. They had been prepared in advance—perhaps stored for several days—then lightly reheated and served.

By the rules of social etiquette, Baron Miro had undoubtedly been discourteous. But could one really be too demanding of a seventy-year-old man whose lady of the house was away? Especially when one had come to ask him for a favor? Lin Qi held a cup of black tea and chewed on a muffin that kept getting stuck in his teeth, shaking his head faintly in disgruntlement.

As expected of the "incorruptible" mayor—never mind the wretched tea and snacks, even the reception room itself was miserably shabby. The vast room was cold and empty. A few pieces of scrap wood burned weakly in the tiny fireplace, but such wood gave off little heat, leaving the room freezing.

As for the furnishings, let alone those of the mayoral residence of mighty Dunkirk Port, even the reception room of a moderately wealthy small landowner in the Imperial countryside would have been more splendid. Look at that blackened wallpaper: much of it had already peeled away and hung from the walls like dangling corpses. Lin Qi's impression of Baron Miro's "incorruptibility" deepened by several degrees.

The group sat around a round table in the reception room. Baron Miro smiled as he took a sip of slightly cold black tea, then narrowed his eyes at Lin Qi. "Tigger, this is the child you sent to Berely to study, isn't it? Hmm, truly one of the Empire's finest!"

Lin Qi set down his teacup, forcibly swallowed the dry muffin in his mouth, then rose and bowed to Baron Miro with a smile. "Honorable Mayor, I am Lin Qi, a student in the Accounting program at Berely Fifth University."

Baron Miro narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Ah, the Accounting program at Fifth University?"

With a meaningful look, Baron Miro winked at Blackbeard. "Tigger, you found Mr. Lin Qi an excellent field of study. Hmm, if Lin Qi can enter the Imperial Ministry of Finance in the future, then your family's prospects will be boundless—truly boundless!"

Blackbeard laughed heartily, stroked the beard on his face, and nodded smugly.

After praising Lin Qi a few more times, Baron Miro turned curiously toward Enzo. "And this gentleman is?"

Enzo rose to his feet, standing ramrod-straight like a spear as he answered in a ringing voice, "Honorable Mayor, I am Lin Qi's friend, Enzo, a cadet in the Joint Infantry Command program at the Imperial Army Academy. I hold the rank of reserve second lieutenant in the Empire!"

Baron Miro looked at Enzo in surprise. A student of the Army Academy was nothing unusual, since its students were generally reserve officers of the Empire. But for a student still attending the academy to hold the rank of reserve second lieutenant, it proved that Enzo was first-rate in both academic performance and personal ability. Otherwise, he could never have received such a high military rank.

Baron Miro blinked, and for a moment his thoughts ran wild as he imagined all sorts of things.

Blackbeard's son was a student in the Accounting program at Fifth University. It was common knowledge that graduates of Fifth University's Accounting program were highly sought after by every Imperial administrative department. In particular, nobles great and small took pride in hiring a graduate of that program as their household financial director. So long as Lin Qi graduated successfully, he could find a very respectable position in the Imperial capital.

Then there was Enzo, an outstanding student at the Imperial Army Academy. With his rank as a reserve second lieutenant, once he graduated and joined the Imperial regular army, he would at minimum receive an appointment as a warrant officer, perhaps even a second lieutenant. If Blackbeard used his family's immense wealth to pull some strings for Enzo, keeping him out of frontline combat units and instead sending him to gain experience at Imperial Army Headquarters, then perhaps in three to five years, Enzo could join the army as a field-grade officer and become the garrison commander of an entire region.

Take Dunkirk Port, for example. The garrison commander of the Empire's third-largest seaport, commanding a thousand-man infantry regiment, was only a lieutenant colonel!

Baron Miro had made a mistake in his assumptions. He had imagined Enzo as Blackbeard's intended military representative in the Imperial capital! Just imagine it: once Lin Qi graduated and joined some great noble family, clinging to the thigh of a powerful noble, Blackbeard would have a formidable patron in the capital.

Then, after Enzo gained a few years of experience in the capital, he could be sent out to Dunkirk or Yasen Province to become a regional garrison commander. At that point, the authority in Blackbeard's hands would be far too great. Both administrative and military power would be under his control, and combined with the immense strength of his own family, he would possess the influence and splendor of a great noble house.

At that thought, the last trace of reserve vanished from Baron Miro's face. He suddenly slammed his teacup down on the round table and shouted sternly, "What are you doing? Don't you know that Mr. Tigger is my honored guest? How can you serve such coarse tea and refreshments to guests? You lazy fools, hurry up and replace them!"

Within only a few breaths, exquisitely crafted pure silver tea ware was brought in, the teapot filled with the finest fragrant tea, rich and mellow in aroma. New pastries arrived one after another, both meat and vegetarian, more than twenty varieties in all, each crafted with the utmost exquisite care.

Baron Miro's smile grew even brighter. He cheerfully took Blackbeard's hand. "My dear Tigger, we are friends, aren't we?"

Blackbeard narrowed his eyes and nodded repeatedly with an unfathomable smile. "Of course. We are certainly friends!"

Baron Miro glanced at Enzo, who sat perfectly upright on the sofa, and smiled. "I will recommend to the province that you succeed me in my position. So long as you can persuade the leaders of Dunkirk's various merchant guilds, you will be the new mayor. Of course, I have one small request as well!"

Blackbeard and Lin Qi both looked toward Enzo at the same time. They both understood something.

Lin Qi smiled and nodded repeatedly, while Blackbeard declared with grand confidence, "Since we are friends, what more is there to say? Go ahead. Whatever it is, so long as it does not violate Imperial law or the teachings of the gods, I will see it done for you."

Baron Miro smiled with narrowed eyes. "My youngest son, Aaron, is only eighteen this year. He has another two years before graduating from the Military Academy established in Yasen Province." Baron Miro gave Blackbeard a meaningful look; the implication was that he believed Blackbeard should be able to read between the lines.

Blackbeard's eyes widened. He seized Baron Miro's hand in a firm grip. "Then it's a deal. The mayor's position is mine, and as for your Aaron, I will take good care of him."

Baron Miro smiled in satisfaction. Holding Blackbeard's hand, he gave it several vigorous shakes.