I Only Want Your Loyalty

After listening to Lynn's explanation, Leon suddenly saw the light.

"My lord, I understand. If the old King passes away, the Marsh Duke, who has coveted the throne for so long, will surely personally lead an army into the Crown Territory to fight for the title of King of the North. The other two dukes certainly won't let this opportunity slip by either.

"Not only that, the Southern Border forces will inevitably get involved. The old King's eldest daughter married the King of the Southern Border. How could that ambitious son-in-law possibly give up an ownerless crown?

"This is destined to become a protracted war. The entire political landscape of the Northern Border may be reshuffled. Who would still care about a little salt smuggling?"

The shrewd gleam returned to Leon's eyes. It was as though he could see countless Kings of the North waving and blinking at him.

Money could make even the gods obey.

There was a saying in the Northern Border: Even the demons of hell would turn their heads at the crisp clink of gold coins.

Only an ocean of gold could fulfill Leon's personal ambitions.

Despite his respectable appearance, he was really just a dog of Three Rivers City Hall, handling shady business for several of City Hall's big shots.

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

After all, City Hall's big shots had connections with the Marsh Duke.

Leon's fate was, in truth, held in those big shots' hands. They could let him live, and naturally, they could make him die.

In the coming troubled times, only money could give Leon a sense of security.

Money could buy armies in the Northern Border. Every large city had no shortage of mercenary groups willing to kill for coin.

If he had enough money, he might even be able to buy off Three Rivers City's City Defense Militia.

Beyond his ambition to become his own master, Leon harbored an even greater aspiration deep in his heart.

The current trade in goods was subject to severe regional restrictions.

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

With a little packaging, it might even fetch three hundred or more.

But in the White Bear Territory, its purchase price would top out at only one hundred.

The main reason was the tax checkpoints spread across the trade routes, as well as the trade protection policies of cities everywhere.

Suppose Leon successfully bought the pelt from Lynn and transported it back to Three Rivers City.

Even then, he would be forced to sell it in Three Rivers City. Earning twenty or thirty gold coins would already be the limit.

He could not touch the trade route east of Three Rivers City. Even the City Hall big shots behind him could not.

An apparently invisible yet very real "wall" stood across the Quiet River, telling them that they could go no farther.

Goods actually circulated between one city after another, and merchants in each city could only earn the profit from a single link in the chain.

That was why Rye was bought at frighteningly low prices in the White Bear Territory, while salt was sold at frighteningly high prices.

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

Every merchant who handled the goods needed to make money, while the nobles behind them extracted exorbitant tariffs and protection fees.

Leon had a grand dream.

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

But it was ultimately only a fantasy.

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

Even the Salt Field Family, which monopolized the Northern Border's salt trade, had no choice but to share its salt profits with nobles and merchants across the Northern Border.

Lynn had been watching the changes in Leon's expression while using the panel to examine the changes in his loyalty.

Sure enough, Leon's loyalty had risen.

[Loyalty: 1→42 (Cannot be recruited as a follower)]

The sharp rise in loyalty proved that Leon was already tempted by Lynn's proposal.

All he needed was another push. Once his loyalty rose to fifty, he could be recruited as a follower.

"Leon, you have the ability. With the connections you've built over the years, I believe you can quietly sell the White Bear Territory's salt throughout the Northern Border. You know the current situation there as well—the Marsh Duke is about to sink into the mire of war.

"You have seen my sincerity. I took a tremendous risk by bringing you to see this precious salt ore. The only thing you lack now is courage. Are you going to remain a coward for the rest of your life, forever living in someone else's shadow? This stone is your only chance to seize your own fate! I do not ask for much. I only want your loyalty!"

Lynn directly used provocation. He wanted to completely hook the ambition Leon had so cautiously buried in his heart.

Leon stood before Lynn, staring at the salt ore in his hand for a long while. Finally, he looked up and asked, "My lord, may I inspect that salt mine in person?"

"Of course. Once you bring your sister here."

A smile touched Lynn's lips. He knew the matter was more than halfway settled.

The loyalty on Leon's panel jumped again.

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

By the time Lynn and Leon emerged from the warehouse storing the Demon Bear skeleton and pelt, the sun had quietly begun to sink westward.

The afterglow spilled freely across the road before them, laying down a dazzling layer of gold.

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

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

"I want to know roughly how far that salt mine is from the docks." Since Leon had decided to join him, he naturally began thinking about salt extraction.

His business instincts were exceptionally sharp, and he knew full well that the greatest obstacle to commodity trade in this era was terrible transport conditions.

Wasn't the Salt Field Family able to prosper from sea salt because it was convenient to transport?

If the salt mine in the White Bear Territory was difficult to access, then illicit salt would have no price advantage.

Leon knew he could not inspect the salt mine in person this time, so he wanted to first learn about its mining environment and transport conditions.

"My friend, I suggest you save that question for your next visit. You only need to know that my Territory has a salt mine. That is enough." Lynn directly gave Leon a polite rebuff.

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

Lynn asked in return, "Which answer do you want to hear?"

"I hope you do."

"Unfortunately, I am not 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 remain undiminished even at the ends of the earth."

Leon simply could not understand what about his sister was unworthy of Lynn.

If Lynn truly were a baron, then his sister might indeed be somewhat lacking.

But when all was said and done, wasn't Lynn just a horse bandit? Did he really think of himself as the noble second son of the Cold Wind Family?

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

When a noble allied with a merchant, there really had to be a bond of blood.

If a merchant did not offer a woman to a noble, he would never feel at ease.

Lynn merely smiled and did not answer.

Leon was not the first person to ask that question, and he certainly would not be the last.

Perhaps he and Yagna would have much to talk about?