Far East Maritime Province Special Tourism Zone Development Project (4) ****
On the desolate plains of the Far East Maritime Province, a rather respectable-looking stage was erected for today.
Below it, the laborers who would pioneer the vast site destined to become the empire's paradise, and the influential figures of the region who had come to witness this historic moment, were gathered and murmuring.
Mikhail, standing in the center of the stage, touched his collar as if the ornate formal attire he wore for the first time in a while was quite cumbersome, and opened his mouth languidly.
"Well, thank you all for coming."
"We're going to build something cool here, so look forward to it. That is all."
It was the shortest and most insincere groundbreaking speech in history, but no one complained.
Not only because they didn't dare to, but also because they too wished for such a bothersome formality to be over quickly.
After finishing his speech, Mikhail called Laura and Josefina to stand beside him to perform the first shoveling, the final part of the ceremony.
The merchant with golden hair and the official with silver hair.
They were the grand duke's competent subordinates, and in the eyes of others, women who were regarded as nothing less than office wives.
'Even though His Highness has no interest in such things….'
As Laura stood in her spot next to Mikhail, she inadvertently glanced sideways at Josefina, who stood parallel to her, barely a hand's breadth away.
A stiff, expressionless face.
Her presence was grating.
The one responsible for all the practical work and financial management of this project was her, Laura Valeriano.
But why?
Why was that silver-haired girl standing on the same level as her?
A mere official who had been dispatched just a few days ago.
She couldn't really be an office wife, but for some reason, she was annoyed.
"Now, smile. It's a good day, isn't it?"
Mikhail's mischievous whisper reached her ear.
Laura reflexively pulled up the corners of her mouth.
It was the perfect business smile unique to a merchant, one she had practiced to death in front of numerous clients.
Unlike her, Josefina didn't change her expression one bit.
Puk!
At the same time as the gleaming shovel dug into the dry earth, ceremonial cannons fired and the cheers of the people rang out.
Kwaaang!
In the modest banquet hall that opened after the groundbreaking ceremony.
Mikhail, avoiding the influential figures who were endlessly spouting flattery, took the two of them to a quiet corner of a tent.
He handed each of them a glass of Mikhail Blue Label mixed with sparkling water and lemon syrup, and got to the point.
"Now it really begins. Shall we talk about the first agenda item? How is the labor issue coming along?"
Laura answered confidently, as if she had been waiting.
"We have already secured half of the necessary manpower."
Her voice was overflowing with confidence.
"And we have completed preliminary negotiations with the guilds and manpower offices in each city. If we get Your Highness's permission, we can secure the other half of the remaining manpower within a fortnight."
"Hmm, is that so?"
Mikhail nodded his head as if satisfied.
As expected of Laura.
She was moving much faster and more accurately than he had thought.
He looked at Josefina.
"What do you think, Josefina?"
"It is not possible."
A firm voice, as if cutting with a knife.
Laura's eyebrow twitched.
Josefina, paying no heed to Laura's gaze, continued to speak while looking only at Mikhail.
"Recruitment that ignores procedure is illegal. All personnel must undergo a background check and then a formal contract. This is a national project, after all."
There was no emotion in her voice.
"Therefore, securing the manpower within a fortnight, the method of the Valeriano Guildmaster is clearly illegal."
At that one phrase, the smile completely vanished from Laura's face.
"Miss Jughashvili. Did you just say my method is illegal?"
"I was merely stating a fact, Guildmaster."
Josefina did not back down in the slightest.
"Rushing things by breaking the law may seem efficient in the short term, but in the long term, it will only cause bigger problems. What if, by some chance, the central government decides to find fault? There is a high chance the project will be stranded."
"By some chance, you say."
Laura snorted.
"To a merchant, there is nothing more foolish than the assumption of 'by some chance'. Risks are to be managed, not feared. All contracts are accompanied by corresponding responsibilities and collateral. If you're worried about the central government finding fault, we can just hand over some bribes and be done with it."
"Bribes? Did you just say bribes!"
"As an official, you should know, shouldn't you? That power and money are what stand above law and principle. The top has its policies, and the bottom has its countermeasures. I heard you were the top of your academy class, did you not learn that?"
"Do you really think you can run this huge project by relying on such countermeasures? Really?"
A tense strain filled the space under the tent.
Invisible sparks flew from the eyes of the two women.
'Keuu, this is it!'
Mikhail cheered inwardly.
This was exactly the picture he had wanted.
If he just pitted some smart people against each other, he could work comfortably by just mediating and choosing the conclusion.
But it seemed the dispute was getting a bit too heated.
They wouldn't grab each other by the hair and fight, but if feelings were hurt, it could become a problem later, so Mikhail took a gulp and stepped between the two of them.
"Now, now. Let's not get too heated. Let's finish the glasses in our hands first. It's a groundbreaking ceremony, after all."
At his action, the momentum of both women subsided at once.
Laura and Josefina silently looked down at the glasses in their hands for a moment.
"…"
"…"
The first to empty the glass was Josefina.
As if his words were a command, she downed the glass in one go as soon as he finished speaking.
It seemed she had judged it to be the most rational way to end this strange situation.
But there was one thing she hadn't calculated.
"Cough! Keck, keck keck!"
The stinging sensation of carbonation, which she was tasting for the first time in her life.
As the sharp carbonated bubbles mercilessly stabbed her throat, her expressionless face contorted in a rare sight.
The way she struggled to suppress the bursting coughs looked somewhat pitiful.
'…A novice.'
Laura snorted inwardly and leisurely raised her glass to take a sip.
The refreshing lemon scent, the sweet syrup, and the clean flavor of the Blue Label achieved a perfect harmony.
She glanced at Josefina.
Top of her academy class, whatever, in the end, she was just a bookish brat who couldn't even drink a glass of alcohol properly.
She was nothing more, nothing less.
"Oh dear, be more careful."
Just then, Mikhail's languid voice was heard.
He took a white handkerchief from his breast pocket and handed it to Josefina, who couldn't stop coughing.
In one corner of the pure white silk handkerchief, his initials were delicately embroidered in gold thread.
"...!"
Josefina's blue eyes widened, ever so faintly, for a moment.
She hesitated for a moment, then cautiously accepted the handkerchief and carefully wiped her mouth.
The soft touch of the silk felt unfamiliar.
"Thank you, Your Highness. I will be sure to return it after it has been washed."
"Ah, ah, it's fine. Well, do as you please."
Mikhail waved his hand as if it were no big deal.
His attention was already directed elsewhere.
It was at that moment.
The gentle smile that Laura had put on for business vanished from her face as if by a lie.
She was annoyed.
At that girl coughing and spluttering, and at that good-for-nothing prince showing kindness to such a girl.
She didn't like any of it.
She tipped the glass in her hand straight into her mouth.
One shot.
The sensation of the cold, sweet liquid going down her throat seemed to extinguish the fire boiling inside her.
"Another glass?"
Mikhail looked at her and grinned.
"I'm fine."
Laura answered, as if snapping at him.
"Oh yeah? Then back to the main topic."
Mikhail placed the empty glass on the table and said.
"Both of you are right."
His voice was still light.
Like an adult stopping a children's fight.
"The law is important, and time is important. But you see."
He paused for a moment, looking at the two women alternately.
"As long as it's not illegal, it's fine, right? Am I wrong?"
"…"
"And I don't like bribes. It pisses me off. A prince, giving bribes to some mere central government official? And once you give a bribe, once you form a rapport, you have to keep giving them things, it's a pain in the ass."
It was a reason very much like him.
"So."
Mikhail leaned his back against the sofa and concluded languidly.
"You two figure it out on your own, find a suitable middle ground somewhere between a loophole and an evasion of the law. Got it? Since I'm a prince anyway, they'll probably let it slide if I just pretend to follow the law moderately."
He let out a long yawn and got up from his seat.
"I'm tired, so I'm going to lie down. You all enjoy the banquet as you see fit. I'm out."
Mikhail really did just leave the tent without looking back.
What was left was an awkward, cold silence.
And only the two women.
It was Laura who broke the silence first.
She looked at Josefina, who was still standing there tightly gripping the handkerchief, with eyes that had grown cold.
"Miss Jughashvili."
Her voice was as cold as ice.
"Come to my office tomorrow morning, as soon as the sun rises."
"Understood, Guildmaster."
Josefina answered calmly, not intimidated in the slightest.
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