Joseph was summoned to the Palace to have his final meeting with the higher-ups of the kingdom. The nobles and Joseph would be discussing what actions they would take regarding the proposed alliance with the Bernard Empire. Joseph was facing all the higher-ups, all of whom had serious faces. Queen Maria, who was watching everything, started to speak, "Okay, we may now begin the meeting between the representative of Bernard and the higher-ranking nobles of the Britannia Kingdom."
Farl started to speak, "After trying the wonderful products you have brought here, Imperial Diplomat Joseph, we, the higher-ups, have decided to proceed with the cultural exchange that will be presented to the nobles and the royal family of your country."
Joseph said, "Thank you for your decision; I will be sure that our country will definitely be of great help to each other. I also would like to let you know that our ruler has been very happy with this kingdom. So our ruler would like to give Queen Maria a present."
Maria was surprised by this, so she immediately asked, "Is your emperor with you, Imperial Diplomat Joseph? I would very much like to meet him personally."
Joseph replied, "Sorry, but he is not here. I only sent my situation here through messages. But I immediately received his response even though he was very far away."
Queen Maria then spoke, "Your emperor has already surprised me, so I am hoping to meet him personally. But I want to tell him my thanks for the gift."
One of the nobles asked Joseph, "Imperial Diplomat, can you tell us about what your Emperor gifted to our Queen?"
Joseph spoke to the noble, "Sure, our ruler has gifted Queen Maria with 10 tons of canned foods, 500 barrels of different kinds of wine, two thousand bicycles, and 10 tons of medicine. He also gifted Queen Maria one of our finest diamond wristwatches."
The nobles did not understand what Joseph was talking about. They did not know what a wristwatch was, and because of this, all of the nobles were intrigued.
Joseph walked towards Maria; he then pulled something out of his pocket. The box was beautifully designed, and there was a ribbon tied to it. A card was also attached to the ribbon. Queen Maria took the box, where she saw the card. She looked carefully at the card and noticed letters with the same proportion and design, which were very identical. Maria immediately read the card quietly.
Maria smiled and looked at Joseph and said, "Well, I am sure your Emperor really takes good care of you. Giving me a gift because of how I treated you."
Queen Maria opened the box and was surprised. She saw the smallest clock she had ever seen. She looked carefully at it; she noticed the small writing and an emblem, which made it look even more luxurious. The nobles were also surprised when Maria pulled out the wristwatch; all of them started to become noisy as they began to comment on the unusual gift.
One noble said, "How dare they give our Queen such a small gift? It's not even made by a famous craftsman." His voice tinged with a mixture of annoyance
Another noble suddenly commented, "Don't judge that thing easily. Look carefully at it. Don't you think it's kind of weird? I thought it was a bracelet at first glance, but now I look closely, it looks like a miniature watch." He tilted his head, his expression thoughtful, as if he were trying to decipher a puzzle.
The first noble who commented spoke, "Impossible! No one can make a watch that small; we all know how big the pieces of a clock are."
Joseph told Maria to strap the wristwatch on her wrist.
Maria was very happy with her gift; she immediately asked Joseph, "How are you able to create something ? I can only imagine this wristwatch would surely increase the productivity of my people. Most of them only rely upon the position of the sun to tell time. Your country sure is full of surprises, Imperial Diplomat."
After a few minutes, the meeting continued, and now they started talking about the cultural exchange.
The merchant noble spoke, "Imperial Diplomat, after confirming the capabilities of your military to protect the nobles, we have finally agreed on who will be sent to the Bernard Empire."
"The nobles who have been chosen are Duchess Milana, Marquess Aqua, Marquis Sam, and me. We, one of the five high-ranking nobles, will be going to your country, where we will also present our own cultural exchange event. We will also be bringing slaves with us to help with the manual labor. We have also prepared four ships and two warships of the royal navy as escorts; we are also expecting to receive escorts from your country," Duke Gorge said.
Joseph then said, "Well actually, our ruler has already prepared a ship for you to travel. He sent that ship to decrease your travel time. If we do use the Royal Navy ships, it might take a week or several days before we reach Bernard. But if we use our ships, it will take only two days of travel. Also, that ship has many destroyers and other escort vessels, increasing our safety when traveling."
Marquis Worthington stood up, his face flushed with indignation, "Fool! How dare you mock the fleet of the royal family of this country? Our country is the best in the shipping industry on the continent of Ostra. Also, our navy is the strongest navy on this continent. I can't believe that you also told a lie in broad daylight and in front of Her Majesty. No ship can travel that fast, as the wind and water current can't be predicted when traveling."
Joseph sighed, maintaining his composure,"Who said we would travel with boats using sails? If you do not believe me, then see it for yourself when we leave at the port of Java."
Worthington sneered, his lips curling into a mocking smile, "Very well, I am sure that you will just embarrass yourself. I can't wait to see it myself and laugh at your embarrassment. I will prepare my best-kept wine while looking at your pitiful ships in the port."