As the Head Maid of the Lady Saintess, Yarandale truly wished she could draw her longsword and slash at that loose woman’s heels.
She wanted to yell at her to stay away from the Saintess!
The surrounding people were also somewhat surprised.
However, considering the Lady Saintess’s benevolence, it did not seem strange for her to allow a commoner to go to the estate for healing.
After all, she had already saved tens of thousands of people from the slums; what was one more person?
Aililan watched the group prepare to depart and gave her final instructions.
“Grace, as the Finance Chief, you must oversee both the Sewing Workshop and the Blacksmith Workshop. These are projects I am personally supervising, so I hope you will put more heart into them. Do you understand?”
Softening her tone, Aililan reached out and patted Grace’s shoulder, speaking with profound earnestness. “You must keep your eyes on the future. Atalante’s economy is developing rapidly right now, which provides us with extremely valuable experience. If things go well, there will be opportunities to promote this model throughout the Fifth Lake Region in the future.”
Aililan habitually painted a grand vision for her subordinates.
They swallowed it greedily because they knew that being by Aililan’s side as her inner circle was their greatest advantage.
If Aililan found them useful, she would eventually give them more responsibility, which meant a promotion to a high-ranking position in the outside world.
Grace’s eyes burned with fervor and her fighting spirit soared. “Please rest assured, Saintess. I will personally keep a close watch on these matters.”
In fact, it was not just Grace who felt this way. After six months of governance and restructuring, the corrupt had been punished and the incompetent had been forced out.
Those who remained were Aililan’s steadfast followers, dedicated to achieving a brighter future.
The most significant change was the promulgation of the Civil Law. Even the nobles had agreed to abide by it, and various families had become much more restrained in their actions.
At the very least, cases of bullying and harassment had become rare. It felt as though the area under the Saintess’s feet had truly become a capital of commerce.
The carriage made its way back to the estate.
The maids, led by Yarandale, knew the truth of the situation. They were somewhat on edge, watching that wretched Succubus like hawks.
Aililan waved her hand. “Yarandale, go prepare two cups of red tea. And… there is no need to be so nervous.”
The maids had no choice but to prepare tea for the guest. Before long, the tea was served.
Ginea, on the other hand, was being excessively cautious at the moment. She picked up the red tea, put it down, and picked it up again. After repeating this for a while, she finally said with a forced smile, “Lady Saintess, I truly have no ill intentions. It’s just that you didn’t leave me any way to contact you before, so I had to approach you like this.”
Aililan nodded slightly and took a sip of her tea. “Mhm, this was indeed an oversight on my part.”
As soon as Aililan spoke, Ginea felt a surge of murderous intent from behind her. The highly skilled maids looked as if they wanted to skin her alive.
‘In their eyes, how could the Lady Saintess be wrong? The one at fault isn’t the Saintess, but this wretched woman!’
*Gulp—*
Ginea swallowed hard.
Aililan glanced at her. “No need to be nervous. You didn’t look like this when you were in the dungeon.”
Ginea forced another smile. “Ha, haha…” She wiped away her cold sweat, thinking to herself, ‘How can it be the same? In the dungeon, my “heat” was because we were on opposite sides.’
Now, she was the one asking for a favor.
According to the information Ginea had gathered, if the Saintess before her announced she wanted to do business with demons, even the Archdemons in the depths of the Demon Lands would likely want a piece of the action.
She took a deep breath. “Lady Saintess, regarding the matter you mentioned before… about doing business with demons…”
“Miss Ginea, let me remind you of one thing. It is not me trading with demons, but the Orcs… Do not make me emphasize this again. Understood?”
“Yes, I know. I meant to ask, is the trade between the Orcs and demons real?”
“Do I look like someone who tells lies?”
“Then, in what manner will this trade be conducted?”
Aililan fell silent for a moment before speaking. “First, we must secure an iron mine.”
Ginea was stunned for a moment. “You only want an iron mine in exchange for giving us a vast amount of beef and mutton?”
Aililan chuckled. “Let me remind you, the iron mine is a gift to us. It is your way of expressing sincerity.”
“What? A gift? If you need sincerity, Your Ladyship, look at me…” Ginea’s eyes suddenly became flirtatious.
Aililan gave a cold snort. “Keep your act to yourself, woman. A demon’s sincerity is more than just climbing into someone’s bed.”
Ginea asked properly this time, “Then how exactly will the trade be conducted?”
Aililan stood up, paced for a moment, and said, “You must ensure that no major demon clan interferes with that mine. At the same time, the Succubus Clan, which needs the meat, will provide various materials in exchange. This includes, but is not limited to, various mineral ores as well as previous contraband.”
Ginea said with some difficulty, “Is this… isn’t this a bit too unfair?”
Aililan looked deeply at her. “It seems Miss Ginea still hasn’t grasped the situation. This trade isn’t meant to benefit all demons, but there will always be a few great demon clans that can benefit from it. Do you understand what I’m saying, Ginea?”
Ginea trembled. She realized Aililan was right. She wasn’t an Angel; why should she seek welfare for all demons? In this kind of trade, if one party ate a little less, another would eat a little more. The price was that others would grow even stronger than you.
If possible, she wanted the Succubus Clan to take it all. But she knew that would be difficult, so she could only work harder and get closer to the Lady Saintess in front of her. She hoped to have more say in future transactions.
The two discussed more matters regarding their interests. After a long time, Ginea asked tentatively, “I wonder if we Succubi will end up like the Gnoll-kin, eventually being wiped out by you, Lady Saintess?”
Aililan took a sip of the now-cooled tea and shrugged. “We can’t wipe you out. At least, the Church won’t want to provoke those Archdemons in the deepest part of the Demon Lands for a long time.”
“Because once a war starts, even if we can wipe out the Demon Lands —”
“I don’t know how many of my sisters, or even myself, would fall because of it.”
Demons were a race older than humans. When this land was still a wilderness, demons already existed in the world. Humans had given birth to many deities who either vanished or were driven away, but the Archdemons of the Demon Lands had remained throughout the ages.
The Secret Records of the Church noted that a Hero once led an army of 600,000 to subjugate them, but not a single soul returned. Compared to those ancient beings, the contemporary Beast God and Elf Goddess were easier targets.
The Church also had deities. They did not fear the gods of this era.
Ginea gave a rare, genuine laugh. “Heh, haha.”
Aililan turned around and stared at her. “So, Miss Ginea, have you made your decision?”
“I… Lady Saintess, could I return and discuss it first?”
“Of course, but please be as quick as possible. After all, I wouldn’t mind contacting other great demon clans. I’m sure many demons would be interested in this.”
Ginea clicked her tongue inwardly. This Lady Saintess’s aura was terrifying. But… she also liked it quite a bit. She really wanted Aililan to lock the door one night so she could climb into her bed.