Salute To The General (Nathan Cross) novel Chapter 2160

A diplomatic smile lit up Simone's face as he tried to calm everyone down. “Duchess Catherine, you may rest assured that we're not here for a war. You must have misunderstood our intention. We stand by our promise to make peace among nations. We will not tolerate anyone going against our calling.”

Simone turned toward Nakajima and gestured him to stop the act. “Marquis Nakajima, I hope it's clear to you that we're here for peace, not conflict. As the host country, it is your responsibility to cater to the needs of all your guests. Yes, Nathan defeated two of your men, but you miscounted the seats in the first place, so you're only receiving your due for your mistake. It's totally reasonable for him to take your seat. Why not we add another chair to the table and have a candid discussion instead of dwelling on these negative feelings?”

Despite being known for his short temper and indignation toward the authority, Nakajima caved in and did as Simone said.

“Of course, let it be done as you've said,” he replied.

He looked at Nathan from the corner of his eyes before asking his men to bring a chair. “Just you wait and see. I'll make sure you pay for what you did,” Nakajima whispered.

Across the table, Simone called out to Nathan politely, “General Cross, why not put this unhappy encounter behind us and start anew? Shall we proceed with our agenda today and carry on with the military exercise?”

Nathan nodded and swept his gaze across the attendees of the meeting. “Sure thing. Eurasia is always ready to work and learn together with our counterparts. We hope to gain more friends than foes from this meeting. I extend the warmest welcome on behalf of Eurasia to any country that is keen on working with us, but of course, we will also not hesitate to push back on any form of aggression from any side. We will readily stand up for what we believe in and defend our country.”

Nathan's words cut through the audience like a double-edged sword.

To Catherine, it sounded as if Nathan was trying to win her over to his side to strike a friendly collaboration between the two nations.

To Simone, Nakajima, and the others, Nathan's words sounded like a threat.

“That's an uplifting introduction. Let's kick start the discussion on the arrangement of the military exercise, shall we?” Simone cut him short uneasily.

With that, everyone dived into an open discussion about how the military exercise would take place tomorrow. After the meeting, everyone took a break to get ready for the evening banquet.

Nathan was uninterested in socializing with the others. After all, they were all enemies in the guise of friends.

“In that case, I'll excuse myself first.”

Nathan was about to turn and leave when Catherine called out again.

“Hold on!” Her voice sounded surprised and

angry.

“It seems like there's something you want to talk about, after all,” Nathan replied lightly, with a small smile on his lips.

“Didn't you say you're keen on making friends earlier on?” Catherine reminded him, “Why do I feel like you're not interested now?”