I Only Want Your Loyalty

After listening to Lynn's explanation, Leon's eyes suddenly cleared.

"My lord, I understand. If the old King passes away, the Marsh Duke, who has long coveted the throne, will surely lead his army into the Crown Territory to seize the title of King of the North, and the other two dukes will certainly not let such an opportunity slip by.

Not only that, the forces of the Southern Border will inevitably get involved. The old King's eldest daughter is married to the King of the Southern Border; would his ambitious son-in-law really abandon such an ownerless crown?

This is destined to be a protracted war that could reorganize the entire political landscape of the North. Who would care about a little salt smuggling then?"

Leon's shrewd eyes became lively once more. He felt as if he could see countless Kings of the North beckoning and winking at him.

Money could move mountains.

There was a saying in the North: the crisp clinking of gold coins would make even the devils of hell look twice.

Only a massive amount of gold could allow Leon to achieve his personal ambitions.

Despite his polished appearance, he was essentially just a dog for the City Hall of Three Rivers City, handling the dirty business for the big shots there.

Most of the money he earned every year had to be handed over in exchange for the City Hall's protection.

After all, the big shots at City Hall had ties to the Marsh Duke.

Leon's fate was truly in their hands; they could let him live, and they could just as easily let him die.

In the coming chaotic times, only money could provide Leon with a sense of security.

In the North, money could buy armies; every large city had no shortage of mercenary legions that would do anything for coin.

If he had enough money, he might even be able to bribe the City Defense Militia of Three Rivers City.

Beyond the ambition to rise above his station, Leon harbored an even greater desire deep down.

Current commodity trade suffered from severe regional restrictions.

Both Leon and Lynn knew that a single white Demon Bear pelt could easily sell for two hundred gold coins in the Southern Border.

With a little packaging, it could potentially fetch three hundred or more.

Yet in the White Bear Territory, the purchase price for such an item topped out at one hundred.

The main reason lay in the tax checkpoints scattered along trade routes and the trade protection policies of various cities.

Suppose Leon successfully purchased this pelt from Lynn and managed to transport it back to Three Rivers City.

He would be forced to sell it right there in Three Rivers City, where earning twenty or thirty gold coins would be the limit.

He could not touch the trade routes east of Three Rivers City, and neither could the City Hall big shots behind him.

A wall, invisible yet tangible, stood across the Quiet River, telling them they could go no further.

Goods circulated between cities, and merchants in each city could only earn a slice of the profit.

This was why the purchase price of Rye in the White Bear Territory was shockingly low, while the selling price of salt was shockingly high.

They had to pass through the hands of several merchants before reaching the final consumer.

Every merchant who handled the goods had to make a profit, and the nobles behind those merchants extracted high tariffs and protection fees.

Leon had a grand dream.

He dreamed that one day he could break through this wall. If he could sell grain and pelts from the White River Basin directly to the Southern Border, how much profit would he make?

But in the end, it was just a fantasy.

Trade barriers were the underlying logic of the entire Continent of Diavas.

Even the Salt Field Family, which monopolized the salt trade in the North, was forced to share their salt profits with all the nobles and merchants of the North.

Lynn had been observing the changes in Leon's expression while simultaneously checking the change in his loyalty via the panel.

Sure enough, Leon's loyalty had increased.

[Loyalty: 1→42 (Cannot be recruited as a follower)] The surge in loyalty proved that Leon was moved by Lynn's proposal.

He only needed to add a little more fuel to the fire to raise the loyalty to fifty points and recruit him as a follower.

"Leon, you have the ability. With the connections you've built over the years, I believe you can quietly sell salt from the White Bear Territory to every territory in the North. You know the current situation in the North; the Marsh Duke is about to be mired in a war.

You have seen my sincerity. I took a huge risk to show you this precious salt ore. The only thing you lack now is courage. Do you want to be a coward for the rest of your life, living forever in the shadows of others? This stone is the only chance you have to take control of your own destiny! I don't need much, only your loyalty!"

Lynn used a goading tactic, aiming to draw out the ambition Leon had carefully hidden in his heart.

Leon stood before Lynn, staring at the salt ore in his hand for a long time before finally looking up and asking, "My lord, may I see that salt mine in person?"

"Of course, once you bring your sister here."

A smile touched the corners of Lynn's mouth; he knew the matter was more than half-done.

The loyalty on Leon's panel jumped again.

[Loyalty: 42→51 (Recruited as a follower)]

When Lynn and Leon walked out of the warehouse containing the Demon Bear skeleton and pelts, the sun had already quietly slanted to the west.

The afterglow spilled wantonly, paving the road before them with a layer of dazzling gold.

"It's getting late today. Why not rest for the night at my castle and return to Three Rivers City tomorrow?"

Lynn had already ordered the servants in the castle to prepare dinner and tidy up the guest rooms.

"I would like to know, how far is that salt mine from the pier?" Having decided to join in, Leon naturally thought about the mining process.

His commercial sense was extremely sharp, and he was well aware of the biggest hurdle in commodity trade these days—poor logistics.

Wasn't the reason the Salt Field Family made their fortune on sea salt because it was easy to transport?

If the transportation to this salt mine in the White Bear Territory was inconvenient, the price of the smuggled salt would lose its competitive edge.

Leon knew he couldn't visit the mine this time, so he wanted to probe the mining environment and transportation conditions first.

"My friend, I suggest you save that question for your next visit. You only need to know that there is a salt mine on my territory; that is enough." Lynn gave Leon a polite but firm rebuff.

As the two mounted their horses to return to Riverside Castle, Leon suddenly asked, "My lord, may I ask if you have a wife?"

Lynn countered, "Which answer do you want to hear?"

"I hope you do."

"Unfortunately, I am not yet married."

"Then why doesn't my lord simply take my sister as your wife? Our alliance would be stronger than steel, and my loyalty to you would reach the heavens without the slightest wavering."

Leon didn't understand; what exactly was lacking in his sister that made her unworthy of Lynn?

If Lynn were truly a baron, perhaps his sister would be slightly lacking.

But at the end of the day, wasn't Lynn just a Horse Bandit? Did he really think of himself as a noble second son of the Cold Wind Family?

However, one of the reasons Leon was willing to trust Lynn was precisely because Lynn had asked for his sister.

For a noble to pair with a merchant, there had to be a blood connection.

A merchant wouldn't feel secure without sending a woman to a noble.

Lynn just smiled and did not answer.

Leon was not the first person to ask this question, and he certainly wouldn't be the last.

Perhaps he and Yagna would have a lot in common?