Testing It Out

Around 4 PM each day, Sean usually returned to Baron Horton's villa. Today was no different, except that Sean brought several bottles of his homemade perfume. As gifts for his uncle's family, he also had his own plans; the best way to open up sales for these perfumes was to let people experience them firsthand.

No one was more suited for this task than his uncle, Baron Lex Horton, and his family. His uncle and aunt were typical nobles—one dignified and imposing, the other noble and elegant—and Sean's perfume could add a touch of unique charm to them.

As for Sean's 19-year-old cousin, Lust Horton, he was clearly in a "special" period; eager to "sweat it out" everywhere, whether he wanted to use it himself to boost his charm or gift it to a young lady to win her heart, Sean's perfume was a very fitting present. In his view, the power of these perfumes was probably only slightly less than the allure of jewelry to women.

At the same time, Sean had to carefully create the illusion that he couldn't mass-produce the perfume due to material limitations. In his estimation, the great nobles in the Imperial Capital would "accidentally hear" about perfume in about half a year, "roughly understand" its uses in a year, and "urgently need" to obtain it in two years.

By then, two years later, Sean would have basically become a Formal Knight and set out for the Imperial Capital to seek opportunities. Coupled with his deliberately feigned low production output, he figured no one would target him; after all, no farmers specifically grew large fields of fragrant plants like flowers.

This way, he could greatly reduce the likelihood of the great nobles in the Imperial Capital pressuring him. After all, the perfume Sean made was a slow-consumption luxury item. Though expensive, a single bottle could generally be used continuously for one to two months. For counts and higher nobles, the annual cost of perfume for themselves and their families wasn't enough to draw their attention. Without the ability to mass-produce, pressuring a Formal Knight from a Viscount Family to obtain the production method, even if easily done, would feel rather pointless. As for nobles below the rank of count, Sean believed that by then he would have the strength to make them think twice.

Sean soon returned to the baron's villa. After entering, he went straight to find his aunt, Lady Angelina.

At that moment, Aunt Angelina was having tea on the balcony before the garden. Seeing Sean approach, she immediately broke into a happy smile. Sean also smiled as he stepped forward and said, "Dear aunt, I'm back. Ah, what lovely weather—warm and perfect for tea and flowers..."

"Hehe... Little Sean, come have tea with your aunt." Lady Angelina laughed cheerfully, then invited him.

"It's my honor..." Sean gave a slight bow and then slowly sat down across from Aunt Angelina. After Lady Angelina personally poured him some milk tea, Sean smiled and said, "Thank you, aunt... Today, I've prepared a special gift for you. I hope you'll like it..." With that, he took out a bottle of his homemade perfume from a wooden box he carried with him.

It was a Subtle Fragrance Type ladies' perfume with a light pink sheen. The bottle was just the right size to be easily held in one hand; through the slightly cloudy Crystal Bottle, a translucent light pink liquid was visible.

Sean gently shook the Crystal Bottle in his hand, waited a moment, then reached out and unscrewed the cap. He lightly placed the bottle in the center of the table, and a faint, subtle fragrance immediately wafted out from within.

Lady Angelina looked very pleased at Sean's words. Her eyes fixed intently on Sean before him until he carefully brought out a Crystal Bottle containing some unknown liquid; this immediately sparked her curiosity. When the fragrance drifted out, she gasped in surprise, covering her mouth, and exclaimed softly, "Oh my... what a lovely scent..."

"Little Sean, dear... is this a gift for your aunt?" Lady Angelina then asked Sean with a smile. After speaking, she took a deep sniff and asked happily, "What is this? It smells wonderful."

Satisfied with Lady Angelina's reaction, Sean smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Of course... this is naturally a gift for you, my beautiful and noble aunt." He paused after speaking, then asked with a smile, "Do you like it?"

"I love it. Your aunt loves it very much. Thank you, little Sean." Lady Angelina replied happily at once. She then reached out, picked up the Crystal Bottle from the table, brought it to her eyes to look at, and asked, "It's so pretty. Is this for placing in the room?"

"Haha, aunt. This is called perfume." Sean knew Lady Angelina had mistakenly thought of the perfume as an air freshener and found it a bit amusing. Then, under her puzzled gaze, he continued with a smile, "It's for applying on the body, to cover... uh..."

Sean stopped awkwardly, needing to organize his words. His previous phrasing was a bit rude; fortunately, the person before him was family.

After a pause, Sean leaned forward slightly and apologized, "Dear aunt, I'm very sorry. Please forgive my crude words..." He glanced at Lady Angelina, who showed no unusual expression, and then continued his introduction, "This perfume can give the user a captivating fragrance that lasts for an entire day. Whether you attend noble banquets, tea parties, or balls afterward, it can highlight your beautiful and noble status and position..." As he spoke, he added a few enthusiastic gestures.

"Oh, that's truly wonderful. Perfume? Hmm... a lovely name." After hearing Sean's introduction, Lady Angelina's eyes suddenly brightened, and her expression lit up with surprise. Then, half-seriously and half-jokingly, she said, "Little Sean, you need to be careful... Next time, don't use such unrefined words in front of ladies..." She finished with a playful, threatening expression.

"Yes, I'll be sure to remember... Thank you very much for not holding my rudeness against me." Sean replied with a serious expression.

"Enough of that, little Sean. Tell me quickly... how do you use this perfume?" Lady Angelina asked impatiently after seeing Sean's solemn promise. Then, before Sean could answer, she suddenly asked, "Where is this perfume bought?"

"Hehe, aunt. I made this perfume myself; you can't buy it outside." Sean said with a smile. Seeing Lady Angelina's surprised expression, he smiled and added, "Aunt, it's made from Fragrant Grass. Please rest assured, it's completely safe."

"Little Sean, you're truly remarkable. Of course, your aunt trusts you." Lady Angelina smiled and reached out to pinch Sean's cheek, but missed, looking a bit regretful. Sean broke out in a cold sweat dodging Lady Angelina's grasp and breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Afterward, Sean explained the usage of the perfume in detail and personally guided Lady Angelina in applying it for the first time.

Soon, it was dinner time. Sean followed an unusually cheerful Lady Angelina, carrying the wooden box, into the dining room.

"Darling, what's gotten into you?" Baron Lex asked, sitting at the dining table, looking at his excited wife with confusion.

Lady Angelina came to Baron Lex's side like a joyful young girl, leaned down, and kissed him on the cheek. Then she sat down to his right and laughed, "Darling, you'll never guess what little Sean gave me as a gift..."

"Uncle, good evening." Sean first greeted Baron Lex. Then, seeing Baron Lex's puzzled expression, he smiled and said, "It's some perfume I made myself... nothing special..."

"Cousin Lust, good evening." Sean smiled and greeted his cousin Lust, who was seated at the upper left of him. Lust smiled back. Then Sean also greeted his younger cousin Jim, who sat across from him.

Just then, Baron Lex asked in confusion, "Perfume? What's that... hmm, what a nice scent..." Suddenly, a subtle fragrance hit his nose.

"Darling, perfume is..." Before Baron Lex could finish, Lady Angelina cheerfully rattled off a detailed explanation of the perfume's purpose and usage. Finally, she had Baron Lex confirm that the fragrance was coming from her.

After understanding the perfume's use and smelling the captivating fragrance emanating from Lady Angelina, Baron Lex and Cousin Lust exchanged a glance, a knowing glint flashing in their eyes. They then immediately turned to stare intently at Sean, making his scalp tingle.

He then looked toward Aunt Angelina for help, only to see her smiling at them with a very amused expression. She ignored Sean's pleading look and even gave him a playful wink.

"Alright, I have gifts prepared for everyone..." Sean gave up on seeking help and opened the wooden box directly. He handed a bottle of amber-colored Crisp Type perfume to Baron Lex and said, "Uncle, this one is for you."

Then he handed two bottles of light green Fresh Type perfume to Lust and Jim respectively, saying, "This type is suitable for passionate, lively young people. Cousin Lust, Cousin Jim. I hope you like it..."

"Sean, does your uncle look that old?" Baron Lex asked, feigning anger at Sean's words.

"No, no, uncle. The one I prepared for you is a men's perfume suited for mature, dignified, and charismatic men." Sean quickly explained, and sure enough, Baron Lex then showed a satisfied and proud expression. Sean breathed a sigh of relief and then said to Baron Lex, "Uncle, I still have some perfume on hand, and I'd like to ask for your and aunt's help. And Cousin Lust's too..."

"Oh... Sean, tell me, how do you want your uncle and aunt to help you?" Baron Lex looked at Sean gently. Beside him, Aunt Angelina, Cousin Lust, and Jim also turned their attention to Sean.

"Uncle, I want to sell the perfume in your shop." Sean said with a smile. After a pause, he continued, "You, aunt, and Cousin Lust often attend noble gatherings, banquets, balls, and such. When other nobles ask about it, you can also introduce the perfume's effects and usage for me. Rest assured, the perfume is completely safe."

"Also, because making perfume requires a large amount of fragrant flowers and plants, I'd like to ask your permission to use your name and channels to purchase them." Sean added with a smile, not waiting for Baron Lex to speak.

"I thought you were going to ask for something more difficult..." Baron Lex said to Sean with a smile, then continued, "As for your other requests, I can agree to them all. But, Sean, tell your uncle—what's the production volume of this perfume?"

Hearing Baron Lex's question, Sean thought for a moment and replied, "Uncle, a bottle like the one in your hand requires concentrating a lot of raw plant materials. So the yield is very low..." He shrugged, putting on a helpless expression.

"That's a shame..." Baron Lex thought for a moment, shook his head, and said with a somewhat disappointed tone.

"You know, I recently hired a few servants, so I wanted to earn some pocket money..." Sean deliberately put on a helpless expression. Then he added, "I only accidentally made the perfume by chance..."

After that, Sean discussed the sales price and profit distribution in detail with Baron Lex's family, and dinner soon ended.

After dinner, Sean rested for a while, then went to the training room to carry out his daily knightly cultivation.

After finishing, Sean's attributes were: Strength: 2.559 Constitution: 2.567 Agility: 2.800