629
"Ileana, have you sent the letters?"
Hearing the knock and the question, Ileana looked up from her intensive study of the revised Holy Bible, revealing eyes that looked as though they had been cast from pure gold. Standing casually outside the door with his arms folded, Clovis immediately pretended to be dazzled and asked with an easy smile:
"You seem to have adjusted well to your advancement. How have things been lately?"
Ileana smiled with reserved pride, put down her pen, and leaned back against the cushion of her high-backed chair, speaking in a good mood:
"I've sent all the letters to those distant relatives of ours. I contacted their daughters and nieces as a pen pal. They're all noblewomen around my age. Women in Loen have a little more freedom than we do here, and they're a little cleverer, too. Probably acting on instructions from their elders, they've mostly talked about Loen's current situation and their own businesses in their letters to me."
"Any results?"
"One viscount has already discreetly expressed his willingness to offer family assets and companies worth two hundred thousand gold louis, in the hope of retaining a baron's title in Intis under the Montemar Family's protection."
"Heh, that's a little short." Clovis smiled. "The Republic of Intis has no authority to ennoble anyone. There's no way to gain noble status except through the great nobles! If he wants to keep a title, have him produce another two hundred thousand gold louis."
Ileana agreed:
"The others haven't expressed any clear intentions yet, but I hear there's been movement in the Amanda Mountains. We should receive more letters over the coming days. There's nothing much besides that-but one of these ladies caught my attention. An earl's daughter is rather interesting. She seems deeply interested in charity