"How can I enjoy victory, if I can't even gloat at the losers? Isn't that right?"
Vivian laughed at the surprisingly simple-minded Silvan...
[I overestimated this idiot... I thought he'd bring more of a fight] Vivian sighed in her head.
"Y-You BITCH!!!" Silvan, feeling unfairly duped lashed out with brute force as he couldn't fight her using words.
*Shwiiinngggg!* A majestic and golden spear that symbolized the Medici family, Silvan had always carried with him flew towards Vivian, making her flinch in fear. But before the spearhead could pierce through Vivian's neck, Silvan's arms suddenly crumpled in pain while his face deformed and his mouth was shattered as teeth and blood flew everywhere.
"Wrah?" Bloodied, Silvan groggily wondered what had just happened to him as he laid on the floor.
On the floor, he realized it was Jugurtta who crushed his arm and it was Bermont who brutally punched him on the face.
Although Silvan was a genius spearman of his generation, his skill and physical strength still lacked compared to grizzled veterans such as Jugurtta and Bermont.
You see, depending on which school, monastery, academy, or trainer you learned to train your body from, warriors who trained their Physique longer generally grew stronger outliving the effects of aging.
This was why despite Silvan being at the prime of his physical youth, the aged Bermont was still a lot stronger than him. And when I say a lot, I mean by a lot. A single punch broke Silvan's slick face.
"D-Dih yug jygh hih meh?!" (Did you just hit me?!) Silvan shouted in anger.
But his anger went to one ear and through the next as Bermont was still savoring that nice punch he gave as he thought to himself:
[Ahhh that felt good! I've always wanted to punch this spoiled lil' prick from the moment I met him!]
Bermont had been holding down his pride when he dealt with Silvan from the beginning as he couldn't antagonize the Medicis. But now that Vivian, or more specifically the Pendragons, gave him a way out, buttering up to the Medicis was no longer needed.
*GrrGRAHHHH* Then, after the anger in Silvan's mind slightly faded, the intense pain from his crushed arm and bloodied mouth came rushing in.
"Guards! Take this fool to the infirmary then imprison him for attacking the Countess of Maine!" Bermont ordered in a loud and authoritative voice.
*Phew...* Vivian sighed after the stressful yet cathartic meeting, then she looked at Nuir and the two men and lightly giggled at their facial expressions.
[Silvan got off easy I guess] Vivian thought to herself seeing the murderous facial expressions the three had...
That night, Nuir stood on a balcony inside Bermont's mansion where she and Jugurtta were staying for the night.
The wind swayed Nuir's hair messing it up, but it was soon combed by Jugurtta as he hugged her from behind.
"What are you thinking about?" Jugurtta gently asked the dazed Nuir.
"I was thinking of the past... and our past exploits. All that money, hehe" Nuir couldn't hide her love for money giggling while she salivated for that sweet sweet gold.
"I was also thinking of Countess... I... I miss her" Nuir continued as she rested her head on Jugurtta.
"Haha... you and her had a deep bond! Maybe that's why you're so attached to Vivian, eh? It was rare for you to show your emotions like that haha..." Jugurtta smiled at Nuir.
"When did I ever show my emotions? I'm a businesswoman, ya know!" Nuir pouted, but even her pouting was filled with affection for the man behind her.
"Your smile every time you meet with that Silvan bastard could kill a man ya know! Ha Ha Ha" Jugurtta teased Nuir for the insidious smile she couldn't help releasing during their meetings with Silvan.
"Ehh? I'm sure I was making my sincere smile in front of him, like this see" Nuir smiled cutely at Jugurtta. The smile looked so sincere that it looked as if there were flowers blooming behind her.
"Yeah, no... Though that smile is cute, the smile you gave to Silvan was like this" Jugurta copied Nuir's insidious smile that she normally made when she was about to murder someone.
"Hey, it was you who looked more likely to kill that brat! You even broke his arm! If he sues us, you're on your own, mister!" Nuir pouted.
"Well whatever, every one of your smiles are beautiful, my love~" Jugurtta began smooching Nuir's cheek like a duck.
"Hey, stop that!" Nuir pushed Jugurtta's face away.
"Well, at least you're energetic again..." Jugurtta smiled now that Nuir was no longer depressed.
"And... I too think finding Vivian was a good choice... I, we, the Mugundudutzu always pay our debts" Jugurtta tried to look stoic and cool in front of Nuir as he looked to the sky, remembering all of the Countess' deeds for him and Nuir.
"Yeah yeah... She's very cute. She reminds me a lot of Countess" Nuir giggled.
"The Countess, cute? Hiiik" Jugurtta squealed as he reminded himself of his interactions with the Countess... and her scarily divisive plans.
"Well... inviting the enemy to humiliate them does sound a lot like what Countess would do... Plus if Vivian was only cute you would have never let her do her own thing, a control freak like ya' would've taken every one of Maine's businesses! Hahaha" Jugurta laughed.
"Ughh, well I did plan to do that... I mean, do you really think cute little Duke can take care of himself?! Just imagine my poor chubby Duke living inside a box stuck in the rain after being forced to sell his land and title!" Nuir imagined a timeline where Duke didn't have Vivian to handle the estate's expenses...
"What? Come on, he would have been very fine! I mean, he's not all stupi... hmmm" Jugurtta tried to stand up for Duke by finding any signs of intelligence from his past interactions with Duke as a child... Sadly, even Jugurta couldn't justify his statement this time.
"Well, we wouldn't have to worry about Maine or Duke now... Vivian isn't just cute, she's also incredibly intelligent, that child... How do I say it, her ideas were... revolutionary" Nuir smiled as she remembered Vivian's plans she showed Nuir inside the restaurant that day.
Vivian might've attained a way to monopolize Grain, but Maine was far from becoming strong enough to fend itself from the wolf-like Nobles surrounding them.
The battle for economic supremacy was still underway!
"What was that thing she called it? Free trade was it?... I'm excited to see where Vivian takes Maine" Nuir genuinely smiled, kissing Jugurtta on the forehead.
The next day, after bidding Nuir, Jugurtta, Bermont, and the Merchant association farewell,
Vivian began her journey back home... to Maine.