The air in the advisory council room was thick with a tense, uncomfortable silence, broken only by the rhythmic thud… thud… thud of Duke Philip's cane on the polished wood floor. Eric stood in the doorway, a calm, commanding presence that immediately shifted the room's entire dynamic.
An attendant, sensing the gravity of the moment, silently appeared at Eric's side and took his coat. Eric's gaze swept across the long table, over the anxious, seated figures of the council.
"As one of your advisors said earlier," he began, his voice calm and clear, cutting through the tension, "my company provides a quality that is unmatched in the entire kingdom. Therefore, there cannot be any mistakes or any significant issues with our quality control. We wouldn't want to take such a foolish risk with a partner as important as the Carson Textile Establishment."
