Half a month later, Deckerwell finally received an audience with Rama IV.
Bangkok afternoons were always swelteringly hot, yet a thread of chill permeated the great hall. It was not some supernatural power emanating from a person, but the power of Austrian Empire technology.
Several enormous and expensive air conditioners were gifts Franz had given Rama IV, once symbols of friendship between the two nations. Rama IV had considered throwing them into the sea, but in the end he abandoned the idea. He truly could not do without these miraculous machines.
Rama IV had in fact tried to reproduce them, but such complex machinery was still far too advanced for Siam's blacksmiths and carpenters at the time.
Thanks to the air conditioners, Deckerwell, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, did not seem so out of place here.
"Your Majesty, forgive my bluntness. There are still twenty-five years remaining on the rubber monopoly agreement our two nations signed. Why has your country openly sold to other nations a commodity that was meant to be exclusively ours?"
With a golden outer robe draped over his left shoulder, Rama IV slowly approached, clad in a white robe beneath it and a red pha nung wrap skirt.
This was the special attire of Siam's royal family. Their bare right shoulders symbolized that they, too, possessed mortal flesh, meant to embody their nature as half men, half gods.
Unhurriedly, he said, "Mr. Deckerwell, have you not read The Wealth of Nations? It is all merely business. Why quibble so over every last detail?
"I had always thought Austrians were quite well-mannered. I have met your emperor once before. Though young, he was a refined and graceful youth. I imagine he would certainly approve of what I have done."
Rama IV's words contained many hidden