I would assume they had countermeasures in place already. The fact Gallahan managed to negotiate things, in a way that is still somewhat mutually beneficial proves it. At the same time, this is far from the end of possible business fuckery.So they made an absolutely huge investment, that's wholly dependent on some third party they know nothing about save that he's allied with their enemies? Wasn't Gallahan supposed to have grown? Wasn't Clerivan supposed to be actually good at this shit?
I would assume they had countermeasures in place already. The fact Gallahan managed to negotiate things, in a way that is still somewhat mutually beneficial proves it. At the same time, this is far from the end of possible business fuckery.
They could still find ways to prioritise their own ships, in a lot of ways besides the loading order. Like, priority for certain goods, so only Lombardy/Pellet Co. ships can transport them. Hell, they can even use the entire East as a pressure point. "Sershaw is making trade difficult" would be a surefire way to strong-arm the entire East into supporting Lombardy in this manner, since we have established how important trade is for the east.
Fuck, they could even get the Emperor on their side in this matter. He was forced to give trading subsidies to the East, so that they would integrate better with the rest of the Empire. So if you tell him "Hey man, I have this neat little river-trade project going on that would mean you get to keep all that subsidy money to yourself... B U T this fellow is making some harsh demands about the trade and what-not, so we might not even open " you could sick him on Sershaw's ass rather quickly.
He doesn't do that, the old man alone would rebel agains tthe emperor for the pos's head if he even tried protecting him, if you want spoiler's on lorraine's future...I'm sweating with each mention of Lorraine happiness since we saw the first prince having pulsion about her. I really hope he won't violent her.
Her pos parents engage her to the first prince, ignoring her will, tia, grandpa and a few others in the family smuggle her to the east with the man she's in love with, by the time her parents find out it's too late to do anything about it.
Nothing is more important than Tia and Perez getting together after the childhood arc, so the politics and masterminding (y'know, what we came and stayed for) take a complete nosedive. I don't even remember Chanton Sershaw because I was simply skimming by the time I got to these chapters in the novel.My problem is that, even in his thoughts, Clerivan seemed to be completely winging it. That he didn't expect Sershaw and barely knew who he was.
There’s someone studying at the academy whom Tia’s been lending her books to since they were kidsYou know what I just noticed I hadn't asked before? Tia's aiming for the head of Lombardi, but if Perez gets his way, she'll get to Crown Princess and then Queen.
So how's that gonna be solved? We better be shown who's gonna be head of Lombardi after all. Because for sure without her Perez won't accept being king, but the 1st prince sucks, so i doubt we'll get him crowned.
There's gotta be someone showing good judgement among the rest of the Lombardis
Interesting argument, although do you think Tia’s character would permit losing the Lombardi over a marriage with a royal even if she is in love with him? Her pride wouldnt allow her, besides, there is no one in her generation capable enough to take over… unless, the aunt and Gallahan take over until Tia gives birth for a successor.You know what I just noticed I hadn't asked before? Tia's aiming for the head of Lombardi, but if Perez gets his way, she'll get to Crown Princess and then Queen.
So how's that gonna be solved? We better be shown who's gonna be head of Lombardi after all. Because for sure without her Perez won't accept being king, but the 1st prince sucks, so i doubt we'll get him crowned.
There's gotta be someone showing good judgement among the rest of the Lombardis
You know what I just noticed I hadn't asked before? Tia's aiming for the head of Lombardi, but if Perez gets his way, she'll get to Crown Princess and then Queen.
So how's that gonna be solved? We better be shown who's gonna be head of Lombardi after all. Because for sure without her Perez won't accept being king, but the 1st prince sucks, so i doubt we'll get him crowned.
There's gotta be someone showing good judgement among the rest of the Lombardis
You know what I just noticed I hadn't asked before? Tia's aiming for the head of Lombardi, but if Perez gets his way, she'll get to Crown Princess and then Queen.
So how's that gonna be solved? We better be shown who's gonna be head of Lombardi after all. Because for sure without her Perez won't accept being king, but the 1st prince sucks, so i doubt we'll get him crowned.
There's gotta be someone showing good judgement among the rest of the Lombardis
We were shown in the Prologue that Tia actually did become the Matriarch of the Lombardi before Perez became king. Unless the official translation made a mistake :/
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Here's the spoilers from NovelUpdates:Yeah, we know for sure she is gonna be head of Lombardy, that much is a given. The story is more about the journey and all the other character payoffs than Tia's outcome, in that sense.
What I AM curious about, is the question of succession. Just think for a sec. Since the married couple are the respective heads for their families, not people from collateral lines or some-such (as is the case with Lulac (gramps) who married a Sershaw, or with the Empress who is technically not the head of her family), the primary heirs for both families will be among their kid(s), and cousins (like Crawny, lil bro who is a Perez fan from Academy) or their cousins' children would only be considered if there was no one at all suitable within the primary line.
But even assuming they avoid a situation where 1 of their kids inherits both families (which is to be avoided AT ALL COSTS given politics), now there will, at least for the foreseeable future be a line of Emperors with a direct claim to the head of the most powerful and well-known aristocratic family in the whole empire, which does not bode well.
Also, how would they establish which of their kids is eligible for which family head position? Do they draw lots? Have a very high-stakes game of rock-paper-scissors? Go by even & uneven numbers? What if there's one that wants both, or even worse what if that happens among their grandchildren, given hey would be weaker, possibly less able to quell those ambitions.