City Lord Chapter 299

Dahlia leaned back against the chair, stretching her curvaceous figure as she gazed at Lucas, who was lost in thought.

She didn’t understand why her father wanted to cooperate with this somewhat handsome noble, but if he was this reckless with money, she wasn’t too optimistic about their partnership.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

The sound of knocking interrupted Lucas’s thoughts. He turned his head and called out, "Come in!"

"Creak!"

The study door swung open, and Mina stepped inside, followed closely by Joe, Annie, and Freya.

The fox-eared girl pouted—her chosen team had lost, and she had bet three lollipops on them. Worse yet, they were limited-edition lollipops from her personal stash.

Freya, on the other hand, had a small smile on her lips. It was obvious at a glance who had won and who had lost this bet.

"What now? Lost another bet?" Lucas smirked. He knew Annie’s habits well. If it was a game of intelligence, she might win occasionally, but when it came to luck-based bets, she almost always lost.

"Yeah..." Annie nodded dejectedly. She never expected that one team would get overturned at the last moment. The same thing happened during the last boxing match.

"Alright, I'll make you tomato and scrambled eggs for dinner." Lucas said with a hint of sympathy. The fox-eared girl’s luck was even worse than Ayesha. She clearly relied on her intelligence, yet she loved playing these gambling games.

"Yay! Young Master is the best!" Annie’s  eyes curved into crescent moons as she bounced up, her previously drooping fox ears perking up, and her tail wagging happily.

"Go sit down and get ready to report the data." Lucas chuckled, waving his hand. Beastkin girls were sometimes easy to please—tomato and scrambled eggs were already on tonight’s menu anyway.

"Mhm, mhm!" Annie nodded obediently and dragged the still-bewildered Freya with her, grinning as she sat at the desk.

What kind of situation is this? Freya blinked in confusion, looking between Lucas and Annie. She felt like she couldn’t keep up with the rhythm of this interaction.

Mina’s lips curved into a subtle smile. She understood Annie’s behavior—this was her way of acting spoiled, seeking even the smallest bit of attention from Lucas, even if it was just a few words of care.

The cat-eared girl tiptoed gracefully, perching herself on the edge of the desk. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small slip of paper, handing it to Lucas. It was a new intelligence report she had picked up from Drunken Night Restaurant while fetching Joe.

Lucas took the paper and glanced at it, his black eyes flashing momentarily before his lips pressed into a thin line. Without a word, he slipped the paper into his notebook.

"Father, you've arrived."

Dahlia stood up, smiling warmly at Joe as she spoke gently. "I got caught up with some matters and didn’t come to greet you sooner."

"Uh... it's nothing, as long as everything is fine." Joe forced a bitter smile. He could tell that Dahlia was somewhat displeased with him—otherwise, she wouldn't be speaking so formally.

Besides, Mina had already informed him of what had happened. He hadn't expected the Duke’s daughter, Catherine, to be here, let alone fall seriously ill. If something had gone wrong, he might have had to pack up immediately and take his family north to escape.

"Greetings, Lord of the City." Joe gave Lucas a noble’s salute.

"Take a seat."

Lucas gestured casually, his tone calm. "The reason I called you here today is to continue discussing our previous cooperation."

"Understood." Joe straightened his expression, realizing that this was the crucial moment. Whether his family could expand their business and influence depended on this negotiation.

Dahlia sat quietly to the side, acting as a listener. She had gathered too little information from the letters, so for now, she could only observe without speaking.

"Last time, I mentioned entrusting you with the transportation and sale of burlap cloth, and you only requested a one percent profit." Lucas spoke lightly, his black eyes flickering toward Dahlia, whose expression had completely changed.

"..." Dahlia stared at Joe in shock. Is this really my father? How could he have agreed to such a foolish deal?

"Yes," Joe nodded, his eyes flashing as he maintained a faint smile. "Based on the burlap quantity Lord Lucas mentioned last time, the annual trade volume should reach around a thousand gold coins."

"..." Dahlia gritted her teeth. The sheer amount of gold coins involved did startle her, but the profit her family would make was far too little. Were they just earning a small service fee? If something happened to their fleet, they might even end up losing money.

Could it be… her father was getting senile? But he wasn’t even fifty yet! How could he make such a ridiculous deal?

"Mr. Joe, I heard that a major reform is taking place in the north. Is it true?" Lucas leaned forward slightly, a glimmer of curiosity flashing in his eyes as he recalled the information from the paper slip.

"Uh… Lord Lucas? You know about that too?"

Joe's eyes widened in surprise, then he let out a bitter laugh and nodded. "It's true. The new Queen of the Atheon Kingdom has ascended the throne and is currently sweeping away some of the old systems."

"..."

Dahlia frowned, her mind processing their conversation. She had heard about the Atheon Kingdom’s reforms—it had started about a year ago.

However, Atheon was quite far from the Siacan Kingdom, so she hadn't paid much attention to it. A round trip would take nearly two months, which made it feel too distant to matter.

But now, why did Lucas and her father seem so surprised? Dahlia was puzzled. She began replaying the conversation in her head, trying to piece together what she had overlooked…

"Could it be..." Dahlia’s eyes narrowed sharply, and she suddenly turned her head to look at Joe. Comparing the intelligence she had received in the capital with her father’s strange behavior, she quickly realized where the key point lay.

"I only found out recently as well. Mr. Joe truly is a skilled businessman." Lucas said lightly.

"I’m ashamed, I’m ashamed..." Joe chuckled awkwardly. He hadn’t expected the distant region here to have received news about the northern Atheon Kingdom's reforms. This development had already ruined his plan to resell the cloth.

Yes, Joe had planned to acquire the cloth from Lucas at the market price in the capital—or possibly even at a slightly higher price. But he didn’t intend to sell the cloth in the capital. Instead, he had planned to transport it to the Atheon Kingdom, where there was a severe shortage of cloth due to the ongoing reforms. The price for clothes there could easily double what it would go for in the capital.

The reselling process would have allowed Joe to earn two-thirds of the original profit from this batch of cloth, only needing to cover the travel and labor costs.

The northern Atheon Kingdom's reforms were part of the conspiracy, the story spreading from the northern merchants who had accused Joe of taking advantage of contract loopholes.

So, when Joe saw Lucas's cloth stock, he had intended to send it to the Atheon Kingdom and use the opportunity to reopen trade routes to the north.

However, he didn’t expect that things would leak at such a crucial moment, leaving him now waiting to see what Lucas would do about it.