The World Dragon's Heir

Chapter 466: Favourite Foods

Dominic examined his outfit, still somewhat uncomfortable in the finery suitable to his station.

He spent so much time in the forge, or with artisans in the factories that he just never had to actually dress to impress, only well enough that he wouldn’t be mistaken for a commoner.

And what awaited him was most definitely a formal event.

From the moment that he entered the room, everyone was at their formal best, and the Envoys even stood to bow and greet him.

He was quickly beginning to remember why he avoided these events.

"Greetings, Envoys. I do hope that the accommodations have been to your satisfaction."

"Of course, Your Grace. Her Highness has been most gracious in the arrangement of accommodations for each of our delegations. It has led to most productive discussions." The Envoy from Axbridge announced.

The man representing Cygnia nodded his approval.

"Indeed. A few smaller details, and we will have the formal trade agreement finalized."

Prince Fahad and Prince George entered at the same time with a polite handshake for Dominic while the envoys bowed more deeply for the Royal guests.

Perhaps being a Royal wasn’t all bad when it came with that level of ass kissing.

Alexis entered with the servers right behind her, made entirely of the veiled maids, not the regular domestic staff that they had hired to do the actual cleaning in the main house while the Princess’ force was busy.

Not that they didn’t work as maids, they definitely did. But there was too much for them to do when they had so many guests, and there weren’t enough fully trained staff, as Alexis had hired mostly young girls starting their apprenticeship.

They would cycle through the house every few years, as they were married and settled into domestic life, but the job paid well, and it earned them not just experience with domestic tasks, but respect.

"Please, everyone take a seat. I have a surprise for you today." She announced as the staff brought in carts laden with food.

The guests all took their seats, and the maids placed a small covered dish in front of everyone.

"Today is Envoy McMillan’s birthday, and as he cannot be home for the event, we have arranged a little something for him. First, we have a classic Mitfield comfort dish, chicken and dumpling.

His wife assures me that this is his absolute favourite, even if we weren’t able to get her personal recipe for the dish."

At Alexis’ announcement, the covers were removed, revealing bowls of rich and creamy stew with soft dough dumplings on top. The smile on the envoy’s face said that not only had she gotten his favourite dish right, this soup held a special significance for him.

"I don’t know whose recipe this is, but it is incredible. Thank you, Princess." Envoy McMillan, an elderly man with wispy white hair, informed her with tears in his eyes.

They ate in silence, and the staff brought him out an entire pot of the soup to offer him a refill.

"I would like some of that saved for later. I do enjoy a late night snack, if you don’t mind."

The maid bowed silently and took the entire pot away to his villa, while the main course was served.

"Lord Dominic, how is the new project coming? We heard that Wistover is getting into the airship construction industry, as well as the trade hub endeavour." The Axbridge Envoy asked.

"Indeed. We have a design finalized, and the first prototype has just been started for a next-generation airship. It’s being designed with lightweight materials and magical assistance, for maximum cargo capacity.

The Guild has been quite receptive during their consultation visits, and once we have the first version constructed, we will present it to the entire trade alliance, so that arrangements can be made, should someone wish to place an order.

They are significantly faster than the average airship, and should be well worth the money."

The Envoys’ attention was fully on him, with an air of "don’t leave us hanging."

"If the design performs to the expected standard, we expect sustained speeds over seventy kilometres an hour, with a possibility of triple digit cruising speeds on future models," he added.

"Seriously?"

Dominic nodded. "We planned to make a special edition for the Cygnia military that would be capable of running down anything that we have currently seen in combat. Higher altitude operation and higher top speeds.

But the first models will be cargo vessels suitable to the needs of the trade alliance that I have high hopes will be signed and sealed by the time that we can make the vessels to implement it."

The Envoys chuckled at his leading comment. They fully intended to have the deal done soon.

If they finished too quickly, the leadership would think that they had left potential benefits on the table. If they took too long, they would seem incompetent, unable to come up with a deal.

They weren’t negotiating with hostile forces here, everyone was an ally already.

So, they would have it finished soon, strategically timed to coincide with the Merchant Guild announcements that Wistover was a new cargo transfer station, and now the announcement of a new generation of high-speed cargo airships.

That would be absolutely perfect.

The only thing that could make the announcement of the airships better than a free trade agreement would be the end of the war in Dagos, but that was unlikely to happen.

However, the airships would also be a point of hope to resupply siege exhausted and starving cities that were waiting desperately for supplies.

"How fast will you be able to make the airships once the prototype is built?" Envoy McMillan asked, mentally calculating when to make the announcement of their deal being finalized.

"Unless we run into supply issues, we should be able to produce at least one a month. Keep in mind that they are rated for fifty tonnes of cargo maximum and thirty for general use, so they can fully replace a caravan of trucks with better speed.

We won’t need to send out multiple to each destination to fill an order.

At least, not often."