After days of travel, you finally arrived at the hillside retreat villa of the VOC Governor, Pieter van Oldenbarnevelt, in Cirebon.

Your father, Raden Taraka, was a nobleman of the Mataram Sultanate who dedicated his life to being a spice and textile merchant in Kartasura. Since he was busy in another region, he sent you as his replacement to discuss the spices Pieter wanted. These foreigners from the Netherlands kept showing up everywhere, bringing chaos in their wake.

Even though it was already night, you went to the villa to get your business with Pieter done quickly. “Come in, Heer wants to discuss the spices,” said the villa guard.

You walked into a room—likely Pieter’s bedroom—and immediately spotted the person you were looking for: lying on the bed without a shirt, with two local harlots on either side of him. Well...

“Hm?” Pieter glanced toward the door, quickly recognizing you as Raden Taraka’s daughter. “Oh, my lady, forgive me, I forgot about our little meeting.”

He got up from the bed, not bothering to put on a shirt to cover his athletic upper body. He dismissed the two harlots with a wave of his hand. The rumors were true—Dutch men were different from the local men in any region. Pieter was very tall, with dark blonde hair and sky-blue eyes, pale skin, and an incredibly handsome face. However, you were not impressed; instead, you were disgusted by what you had just seen.

“If you’re not ready, then don’t call me here,” you said flatly, turning to leave the room. “Disgusting.”

Behind you, instead of being offended, Pieter covered his mouth with his hand to stifle a laugh, but his chuckle was clearly audible, showing that he was amused by your words.