Satrius Bermont and Vivian's eyes met for a short time. Then he suddenly gave Vivian a small nod before revealing his decision.
"The Pendragons are as Southern as people get around here... So I don't think it's reasonable to expel them..." Bermont stated in a calm manner devoid of the laziness his voice once had.
"I choose to not expel them" Bermont decided, causing the different Noble-Merchants to stir in a discussion.
"Satrius' going against the Medici? I thought he was on our side?! The Bermonts also took the bribe didn't they?!" A Noble-Merchant in the Medici's faction whispered to the Merchant next to him.
"What is going on here?" Another Merchant asked himself.
"Bermont! What is the meaning of this?!" Silvan's calm facade cracked. Throughout the meeting, even when Philipe, a small local Noble opposed his family's entry into the Consulate, Silvan remained calm and level headed. But even Bermont's betrayal was a completely unexpected variable to Silvan.
"Yeah!! You can't just let a woman in the Consulate! It's absolutely ridiculous!" Deacon complained.
"Women can't be trusted with remembering things! What if she makes a mistake with computations?! Or decide to forgive a large debt?! We'll be bankrupt if you let her in!" Darius commented, filled with prejudice.
"Forgive a large debt? Ah, you mean like what the Previous Countess of Maine did for your family?" Bermont dropped a large bombshell that made Darius silent.
"And a woman inside the Consulate is ridiculous you say? Much like how ridiculous it was how much the Benoit's sucked up to the Pendragons and especially to the Countess when she was still active?..." Bermont asked with a serious voice making Deacon and the rest of misogynistic Nobles who protested against Vivian's gender shut silent.
The Noble-Merchants on Deacon's misogynistic side could no longer keep their dignity if they still kept talking, knowing what they knew...
Who among the Businessmen of Brune did now know Duke's Mother, the Countess of Maine?
The Neidraig (Snake Dragon), she was commonly referred to during her reign as the secret queen of Brune's economy.
Duke's mother might not have been as famous as Gwaine, but her influence was without a doubt as strong if not stronger, especially in the field of money.
And you know what they say, money makes the world go round... And the Neidraig made sure to spin the world on her fingertips.
This was why anyone deep enough in the mercantile trade, namely everyone in the room who were considered as the Southern Region's Grain Moguls, knew the Countess of Maine.
In truth, not everyone supporting Deacon and the Medicis were misogynistic pigs, some of the wiser and older ones were just careful and wary of the past.
Even though the Pendragons have without a doubt fallen into hopeless disrepair, the smarter Noble's under the Medicis were still wary of Vivian, who was obviously without a doubt the Countess' heir. That and they were also afraid of her... being a woman.
The last time they let a woman inside the consulate, she basically dominated them all!
[No way are we going to let another one in!] An older Noble in the Medici's party thought to himself gulping at thought of how the Countess once spun her under her web... That and the older Noble also couldn't forget her nice ass... [Hehehe... she was a cutie]
The Countess was apparently popular with the men of the Consulate back in the day.
[Huhh... if only I could go back in time I would've proposed to her instead of the sly little Wael!] The Noble thought to himself in regret.
The younger Nobles: Darius, Deacon, and Silvan who were still quite inept in the arts of trade and commerce were the only ones who really believed in the outdated thought that women were less capable than men. And who could blame them? During their time in the Academy, since women were part of different curriculums than men, the younger boys never had an opportunity to form rivalries with the girls, who were also only allowed to study etiquette and "Lady-Like" subjects.
But the older men of the Consulate were afraid. Even though it is generally true that men were much more successful than women in Trade because men had more opportunities in the somewhat misogynistic society of Brune, the older Grain Moguls still had an unconscious and almost illogical fear of Women in the Consulate due to the Countess' sheer talent and skill with trade. A testament to the fact that Genius chooses no age, gender, nor social class to form.
This was why the men of the Consulate were afraid... and maybe, in this case, they were rightfully justified to as so. As Vivian was obviously not an incompetent person when they heard speak so fluently.
"Bermont!" Silvan repeated his previous shout, unable to refute nor discredit Bermont's words.
[So what if everybody owed money to some old hag in the past?!] Silvan angrily thought to himself.
"I regret to say the decision has been made... I have fulfilled my end of the bargain by letting the Medicis in... I am sure the Medicis wouldn't want to kick out a whole Southern Family just because of their representative's gender... right? This is the South after all..." Bermont noticeably became tired again when dealing with the Silvan who represented the Medicis. Unlike how he brutally dealt with Darius and Deacon, his tone with Silvan was more respectful of sorts.
But this did not stop him from blocking Silvan's obvious display of abusing power. For some reason, Silvan didn't want Vivian in the Consulate...
Bermont knew the Medici family didn't really care much for the Pendragons, in truth, they were quite frequent partners in Trade back when the Countess was still alive.
It was obviously just Silvan, their representative who disliked Vivian...
And so, with the words "This is the South after all" and "I have fulfilled my end of the bargain" Bermont was basically telling Silvan: "Be careful where you tread boy... this isn't the East where you family has Monopoly over trade!"
After the whole debacle of Vivian's entry into the Consulate ended, which was lengthened way too long than it should've had, the Consulate's official business finally began.
Its topics was surprisingly mundane business pitches for a meeting that occurred only once a month...
[Maybe the South doesn't have as many problems as I initially thought... apart from the corruption and the surprising lack of brains of the people up top] Vivian thought to herself as she awkwardly laughed at the situation unfolding in front of her...
If Vivian could describe it in one sentence she would say:
"A group of bumbling greedy idiots put into the same room as they steal from each other..." Vivian mistakenly blurted out...
The topics might've been mundane, but the reaction of the people around her sure wasn't...