Chapter 82

"No pig iron?"

Aristine asked in disbelief.

No, how could there be no iron of all things?

"I'm sorry. I couldn't find any at all..."

Littren answered with a dejected look, his invisible tail and ears drooping.

Aristine shook her head quickly.

"No, Littren, you don't need to apologize."

She opened the door to the warehouse connected to the forge.

Boxes of scalpels were piled up like mountains, but they were far from enough to meet the order volume.

"So this is all the production?"

"We could make more with the remaining iron, but at the current production rate, tomorrow is the limit."

"Tomorrow?"

Aristine sighed and crossed her arms.

Tap, tap, her fingers drummed anxiously on her elbow.

'I never expected this!'

Who would have thought that they wouldn't be able to get iron?

"Have you contacted the merchant guild?"

I thought they would have tried, but I had to ask.

"Yes, they said that the supply suddenly stopped, and they are in a difficult situation."

Since the supply of iron ingots was consistent, they had a contract with the Pink Pink Nyang Jelly merchant guild to receive pig iron every week.

But today, the delivery day, the iron ingots didn't arrive.

"The supplier said they had no stock and unilaterally canceled the deal. The merchant guild apologized several times, saying they were really sorry."

"From the supplier?"

"It seems someone else took the stock."

"Even though we already have a contract, they just gave it to someone else?"

"I heard that the responsible employee went to negotiate with the supplier..."

"It won't work. If they were going to give it away so easily, they wouldn't have said they had no stock."

Aristine blew out a breath.

'...If they knew Pink Pink Nyang Jelly was Tarcan's merchant guild, they wouldn't have done this.'

Currently, Pink Pink Nyang Jelly is a merchant guild without any significant backing.

While it has some prestige as Tarcan's main trading partner, that's all.

There's a clear difference between being owned by Tarcan and being favored by Tarcan.

'Besides, there must be a mastermind behind this.'

The queen.

From the iron supplier's perspective, it was a natural choice.

"Other iron suppliers?"

"The situation is the same. They all say they have no stock and are on hiatus."

"Someone must have bought up all the pig iron and is holding it for monopoly."

"What should we do? Orders are piling up..."

The blacksmiths said with serious faces.

Aristine spoke as if organizing the chaotic situation.

"Things have become difficult now that the queen has set her mind on it."

The blacksmiths were startled and looked at her.

They all suspected that the queen's faction, including Duke Skyeila, was behind this, but they hesitated to say it first.

This was why their discussions often went in circles.

However, now that Aristine brought up the queen, they could speak more freely.

"The Duke of Skyeila's family owns the world's largest iron mine."

Aristine frowned at the blacksmith's words.

"So they bought up all the pig iron in circulation and stopped releasing the iron they mined, monopolizing the pig iron market easily."

'From the supplier's perspective, it was the word of a super client.'

If the Skyeila family, the owner of the iron mine, cut off the deal, the supplier would lose their livelihood.

They must have used both persuasion and pressure, so a merchant guild without backing would have given up.

Selling the already contracted pig iron to someone else is a fatal mistake.

Of course, their credibility would be damaged, but they must have thought it was worth it.

Since all the other iron suppliers made the same decision, they wouldn't be the only ones losing credibility.

If everyone's credibility was damaged, it would be the same as not being damaged at all.

'Besides, they might have calculated that they could establish connections with the queen's side.'

Aristine smiled.

'It was a pretty smart strategy.'

The queen and Duke Skyeila had such sharp tactics prepared.

I thought they could only stir up medical lawsuits related to scalpels.

'I was too complacent.'

In fact, Aristine's thinking was correct, and the direction changed due to Hamir's involvement, but she didn't know that.

"Even if it costs more, we could import iron ore from other countries..."

"No, we can't."

Aristine shook her head at the blacksmith's suggestion.

"They'll think we're preparing for war."

"War?"

The heavy word made people's faces turn in shock.

Iron is the most important material in war.

If it became known that Ailugo was buying large amounts of iron, it would shatter the fragile peace and tense the international situation.

Under the leadership of the Sylvanus Empire, other countries would criticize Ailugo.

'They'll say that the barbarians, who haven't seen blood in a while, are trying to see it again.'

There would be official diplomatic pressure.

'And everything will come back to me, who caused this.'

The queen's side would know that too.

They knew it and deliberately caused this.

'Really a seasoned move.'

Although it was a silent move, it was impressive.

'Besides,'

The queen's faction doesn't know, but Aristine has one more thing.

'This could give the emperor a reason to start a war.'

If Ailugo is preparing for war, the emperor might launch a preemptive strike.

'Even if not immediately, it could be useful later.'

Aristine's mind was working hard.

"Then..."

Aristine looked at the anxious blacksmiths and smiled.

As if to reassure them.

"Such a pig iron monopoly can't last long."

It was a brilliant move that abruptly stopped Aristine's unstoppable momentum.

'But it's also a dangerous strategy for the queen.'

Which ruler would like the monopoly of such an important material, especially one related to military power?

Not only the king, but other nobles would also feel a sense of crisis.

'So, they must have...'

First, the effect must have been worth the risk.

Didn't it stop Aristine's dominance immediately?

And second,

'It means they preemptively silenced the nobles who would raise issues or complaints.'

They must have already negotiated with several major nobles.

There might be some major nobles who didn't agree, but they would be in the minority.

Even so,

'The monopoly can't last long.'

They must have set a time limit during the negotiations with the major nobles.

They probably accepted a few days of tolerance.

No matter what, they wouldn't have accepted an indefinite monopoly.

It's natural for people to talk if someone monopolizes other goods and disrupts the market.

Iron is a military material.

The longer the monopoly lasts, the worse it is for the queen.

The king of Ailugo, Nefter, won't just sit by and watch.

"The problem is that even a short supply disruption is fatal for us."

There are already dates set for delivering scalpels to various hospitals.

Given the current situation, it's impossible to meet those dates.

Trust is the foundation of business.

Especially since Aristine's business is a new company just starting.

If all the trading partners have issues at once,

It will naturally become an issue.

'The queen's faction won't miss this opportunity.'

They might say that she overestimated her capabilities, took on orders she couldn't handle, or tortured people.

Any kind of talk will follow.

The hospitals using Aristine's scalpels have seen a significant reduction in infection-related deaths, up to 87%.

It's natural for patients and their families to have high expectations for the new scalpels.

If we say, "Since the new scalpels aren't ready, let's use the old ones for surgery," no patient would accept that.

'They'll feel like it was taken away after being given.'

The more desperate they are, the more likely they are to find someone to blame.

'Naturally, the conclusion will be that Aristine's side failed to supply the scalpels properly.'

"If we expose that the queen's side deliberately monopolized the iron ore... wouldn't that work?"

"By the time we find the evidence, it will be too late."

By then, the queen's side will have already released the monopoly.

Public opinion might turn around later, but what about in the meantime?

Once public opinion starts to turn negative, there's a high possibility of criticism for other things besides scalpels.

Once public opinion turns bad, it's hard to turn it around.

"Then what should we do..."

"Trust me and give me a little time to think."

Aristine smiled at the blacksmiths.

In this despair, her smile was as beautiful as a flower blooming in the snow.

The blacksmiths, including Littren, stared at Aristine blankly.

Aristine should be the most frustrated and angry person here.

Littren worked hard, but everything came from the soil Aristine planned and created.

Everything she thought about, cultivated, and nurtured is collapsing in front of power.

Yet, Aristine is calmly examining each issue and looking for solutions.

She doesn't yell, scream, or vent her frustration.

In contrast, they were furious and rampaging when they saw the pig iron didn't arrive today, contacting the merchant guild.

They spewed foul language that they couldn't even say in front of Aristine.

The blacksmiths in the forge looked at Aristine with awe.

This small, delicate person was stronger than them.

* * *

"Aristine."

Tarcan quickly entered the room, taking off his shoulder guard.

Aristine, who was sitting at the table and summarizing the current situation on paper, looked up.

"Tarcan?"

Seeing his shoulder guard still on, it seemed he came in a hurry during training.

"Is something wrong?"

Seeing Aristine's worried face as she quickly approached him, Tarcan frowned.

Is something wrong?

That's what he should be asking her.

"They say someone else has taken all the pig iron."

"Yeah, that's what happened."

Tarcan grabbed Aristine's shoulder tightly.

"Then we shouldn't release the monster corpses we have into the market."

His face was quite distorted, so Aristine smiled slightly.

"Yeah, that would make it quite difficult for them."

If the Duke of Skyeila's family has the world's largest iron mine, this side is the world's largest supplier of monster corpses.

"But didn't they expect that?"

Aristine shrugged.

"Since they're pressuring me with resources, they must have thought you could counter with the resources you have as my husband."

Aristine smirked, "Since the opponent seems quite smart."

"Then."

"Yeah, they must have prepared for it. They'll probably hold out for about two weeks."

Two weeks.

A short time.

Since iron isn't a necessity, it won't have a significant impact on people's lives.

But.

"Two weeks is enough to bring me down."

The scalpel supply is already far behind the order volume.

Even if we don't consider the uncontracted orders, we need to fulfill the contracted ones.

'If I had seen this scene with the imperial eye beforehand...'

"Ah, if I had known earlier, I would have prepared."

It's useless to regret it now.

After looking at her for a moment, Tarcan turned around.

"Where are you going?"

"For a walk."

A short answer came back.

Aristine blinked a few times and grabbed Tarcan's arm.

"Going to the queen?"

There was no answer, but it was as good as a yes.

Aristine stood in front of him, blocking his way.

"Don't go."

The purple eyes looking up at Tarcan were calm and firm.

"It's my business, and I can handle it."

At this, Tarcan gritted his teeth, a groan escaping through his teeth.

"I am."

Your husband.

".....Your business partner."

Tarcan spat out the words.

"Yeah, but this is, strictly speaking, a separate business from yours."

Aristine smiled.

That smile.

The first time she saw Aristine, she felt it was somewhat artificial.

Tarcan laughed.

That statement was particularly vivid.

It was true.

"I can handle this on my own."

"Yeah, you can handle it."

Tarcan's voice was low and growling.

He knew best how capable Aristine was, having watched her closely.

"But you can rely on me a little more—"

Trust me a little more.

The vivid desire in his heart made Tarcan close his mouth.

"Tarcan."

Aristine smiled at him. This time, it was a genuine smile.

"I'm always grateful to you."

Did a thank you feel like drawing a line?

Tarcan laughed savagely.

I'm her husband, not just a business partner.