Chapter 24

The Saint Airo Empire and the Anas Empire were the two most powerful nations on the Western Continent.

The status of one king was not the same as another's.

For example, Bass Riches was a distinguished duke in Gadayat, but in the Anas Empire, he might carry only the weight of a marquis or count.

In both the Saint Airo Empire and the Anas Empire, there were grand dukes above dukes.

The power held by a grand duke could fully rival that of a king in a small country.

As the largest merchant guild in the Anas Empire, the Nagabi Merchant Guild sold countless goods and held a firm grip over the flow of wealth.

It also occupied a considerable position within the Saint Airo Empire, commanding innumerable gold coins.

Moreover, the Nagabi Merchant Guild's connections and influence were not to be underestimated.

Boris Abel had come to Gadayat as a representative of the guild.

They had not deliberately concealed their tracks along the way. A flag bearing the Nagabi Merchant Guild's emblem fluttered in the wind atop their carriage.

The convoy passed through Komoy Fort and entered Visas.

Vincent immediately sent someone to find the soldiers patrolling the city. After revealing their identity, he requested a meeting with Desinia.

The knight leading the patrol at the time happened to be Taylor.

After confirming that they truly were from the Nagabi Merchant Guild, he took the guild emblem and went ahead to notify Lord Ferdinand and Lord Walker.

Before long.

The news reached Xia Zuoyi's ears.

"The Nagabi Merchant Guild actually came to Visas?"

After pondering briefly, Xia Zuoyi understood that they most likely had ill intentions.

They were probably here because of the sales of Rose Salt.

After all, Rose Salt had now completely seized the market shares of Gadayat and even Gaina, squeezing Nagabi Salt's coarse salt sales routes almost entirely out of the market.

The consequence of this would directly cause the Nagabi Merchant Guild to lose a considerable sum of money.

No wonder they could no longer sit still.

Xia Zuoyi said, "Invite the people from the Nagabi Merchant Guild to the castle for a discussion."

"Yes, my lord."

The knight who had come to report accepted the order and left.

Judith looked somewhat worried. "My lord, if the people from the Nagabi Merchant Guild intend to make things difficult for you..."

Xia Zuoyi said, "I think they should be making things difficult for the king instead. After all, I gave up sixty percent of the profits. Most of the gold coins actually went into the king's pocket."

"The Nagabi Merchant Guild only came looking for me because I was the one who presented the Seawater Solar Salt-Making Method. Although the steps for drying salt are plain to see, the method for refining pure salt has not been made public."

What they had come for was obvious.

The Nagabi Merchant Guild truly liked picking on the weak, but they would have to see whether they could actually handle him.

Still, refining pure salt was actually quite simple.

Before the people from the Nagabi Merchant Guild arrived, Xia Zuoyi sat quietly and thought.

Judith silently stood by his side and waited.

After a while.

Xia Zuoyi said, "Judith, I remember you once mentioned that there was an enormous salt lake in the Anas Empire—Betara Lake, right?"

Judith nodded. "Yes, my lord."

Xia Zuoyi hummed in acknowledgment.

The Seawater Solar Salt-Making Method could not be concealed. Anyone who came here and looked would understand it.

Betara Lake could also produce salt crystals through solar evaporation. As for the method of refining pure salt, it could be figured out after a little research.

Not to mention that the commoners and slaves who worked on the pure salt production line understood it as well.

Promise anyone money as temptation, and they might reveal it.

Besides, Xia Zuoyi had never intended to hide it from the start.

In that case, he needed to find a new bargaining chip for a friendly "discussion" with the Nagabi Merchant Guild.

Boris and Vincent were led all the way to Desinia's study.

A maid respectfully opened the door, then retreated a few steps and stood to one side.

Boris and Vincent walked in.

Boris saw a broad, long table in the study, with four people seated facing the door.

Two men clearly dressed as knights stood at the back. The man standing a little to the left was probably the castle's steward.

As for the boy seated upright in the middle, he was the person Boris had come to bully—Xia Zuoyi Desinia.

Boris's gaze fell on Xia Zuoyi, and he could not help examining him closely. His nearly dark green eyes grew brighter and brighter.

He said, "I never expected Lord Xia Zuoyi to be so exquisite and beautiful, like a carefully baked soufflé—white and tender as a cloud on the outside, yet light and delicate on the tongue within, filled with rich, sweet milk fragrance."

Soufflé was an extremely expensive dessert in the Anas Empire.

Only chefs with exceptional skill could make it.

It was made from fresh milk and egg whites, then baked in a water bath after processes such as heating the milk and whipping the egg whites.

Once the egg whites expanded, it would become soft and white like a cloud. But if it was not eaten quickly, it would completely collapse before long, and the taste would become awful.

Usually, only kings and great nobles could enjoy it.

Some lesser nobles, commoners, and slaves had never even heard of it.

Taking it as a compliment, Xia Zuoyi lifted his small chin expressionlessly. "Please sit, Mr. Abel."

When the knight had come to report at the castle earlier, he had already explained Boris Abel's identity—the vice president of the Nagabi Merchant Guild.

Boris Abel's charming green eyes caught the sunlight, seeming to glitter with fine specks of light. "There is no need for such formality, my lord. You may call me Boris."

Xia Zuoyi said, "Sorry, but we are not familiar enough for that, and I do not want to call you that. I'm a little shy around strangers."

Boris did not seem embarrassed in the slightest by the merciless rebuff.

He said, "I merely wanted to become closer to you. After all, you are so adorable, and at such a young age, you have managed Visas and Komoy Fort in such an orderly fashion..."

"Oh, that's right, and the Thorn Merchant Guild as well. The Rose Salt you dried from the Cogit Sea is truly very popular."

Xia Zuoyi nodded even more calmly. "You flatter me. Once such fine salt was produced, I had already anticipated how well it would sell in the future."

"After all, every household needs salt. Who would not want pure salt that is cheaper in price yet better in quality?"

"Mr. Abel, don't you agree?"

"Oh, I forgot to say it—you are especially adorable too."

At those words, the atmosphere in the room inevitably shifted from quiet to dead silent.

Vincent secretly glanced at Young Master Boris's expression without leaving a trace, only to discover that the corners of his mouth had stiffened ever so slightly, the curve pausing in place.

Vincent could not help lowering his head and tightly pressing his lips together.

Boris gave a light cough. "...My lord truly knows how to joke."

He went straight to the point. "The Rose Salt sold by the Thorn Merchant Guild has severely affected the sales of Nagabi Salt. Although selling salt is only one source of profit for the Nagabi Merchant Guild, being..."

Boris suddenly frowned, pressing his clenched right fist against his lips as though suppressing something.

Afterward, he continued, "But Nagabi Salt has been forced out of Gadayat, causing us to directly lose nearly forty percent of our profits."

"Does my lord have nothing to say about this?"

Xia Zuoyi said, "It is merely fair commercial competition."

"The choices of nobles, commoners, or slaves are not something I can control. What do you think of Rose Salt? After obtaining Rose Salt, could they still use coarse... Nagabi Salt to cook their meals?"

Gadayat had even begun to believe that dishes prepared with Rose Salt were the most exquisite and delicious.

Boris smiled without being moved. "I do not deny that, compared to Nagabi Salt, most people currently choose Rose Salt for cooking."

"But once Nagabi Salt can also be produced in large quantities and refined and purified... I believe it should not be inferior to Rose Salt."

His right hand remained against his mouth, moving away only slightly whenever he spoke.

Xia Zuoyi stared at his face, forming a few thoughts in his mind.

When Boris saw that he did not answer, the boy's beautiful caramel-colored eyes only gazed at him with great seriousness. He could not help leaning back in his chair, light flowing through his eyes as he said, "Why is my lord not speaking?"

Xia Zuoyi withdrew his little gaze and asked, "How many days will you stay in Visas?"

Boris said, "Perhaps one day, perhaps two, or perhaps longer. We will leave once we obtain what we want. It all depends on what my lord wishes to do."

After watching the little count think for a moment, Boris saw him suddenly turn his head and whisper to the steward beside him.

"Judith, go to my alchemy laboratory and bring the medicine Toby drank before."

"Yes, my lord."

Separated by the long table, Boris could not hear clearly.

Judith bowed slightly and left the study.

Only then did Xia Zuoyi say to Boris, "Wait a moment. I have something good for you."

Boris said, "...?"

He realized that not only had he failed to bully the little count into crying, but his own heart was somehow beginning to feel choked.

After a while.

Judith walked back into the room.

Xia Zuoyi said, "Judith, give the item to Mr. Abel."

At his words, Judith placed a medium-sized sealed jar on the table before Boris.

He then returned to Xia Zuoyi's side.

"What is this?"

Boris raised a brow, curiously picked up the jar, and gently shook it. The sound of liquid sloshing came from within.

He tried to guess. "Wine? Is it for me to drink?"

Xia Zuoyi said, "It is not wine. It is a medicine for treating coughs and fevers, and it is for you to drink."

Toby had only just recovered from his illness.

Xia Zuoyi had made this jar of medicine and kept it in reserve in case Toby's illness relapsed.

The medicine had a fairly long shelf life.

He could tell that Mr. Boris Abel was suppressing a cough. His nasal voice was also slightly obvious, his complexion was somewhat poor, and his brows often furrowed unintentionally. He should have been feeling unwell.

Boris's smile faded slightly as he put the medicine back onto the table. "Is my lord so kind-hearted toward everyone he meets for the first time?"

The number of times he had fallen ill since childhood could be counted on one hand.

Whenever he was sick, he never saw a physician and always endured it himself. Mild illnesses would improve after a few days, while even serious conditions meant little to him.

Boris hated physicians.

Xia Zuoyi glanced at him and said, "Not really."

"But illnesses should be treated early. What if you become stupid while you are still so young?"

Boris said, "..."

He felt there was something rather off about those words.

Boris said, "May I open it and take a look?"

"Yes."

Boris pulled out the stopper blocking the mouth of the jar.

In an instant, an indescribably strange smell wafted out, making one feel slightly nauseated.

Vincent, standing behind him, nearly could not stop himself from covering his nose. Fortunately, his good manners made him lower his hand.

Boris endured the unpleasant odor and peered into the jar.

"..."

Inside the jar was a pitch-black liquid full of residue.

Boris's expression changed several times, becoming impossible to describe.

The look he gave Xia Zuoyi seemed to say—"Are you trying to poison me behind my back?"

Vincent could not help speaking. "My lord, you are still young, after all. There are some matters... you may not have considered thoroughly enough."

"Though the Nagabi Merchant Guild is far away in the Anas Empire, the guild's connections and influence are beyond what you can imagine. Young Master Boris also holds an extremely important position within the guild... I hope you will carefully consider the consequences before acting."

He feared that the little count before him might fail to understand the gravity of the situation and attempt something... he likely could not bear the Nagabi Merchant Guild's wrath.

Clearly, Vincent and Boris shared the same thought.

Furthermore, he warily glanced at the two tall, imposing knights standing behind Desinia, afraid they might suddenly rush forward and restrain them.

Xia Zuoyi said, "..."

You two really know how to imagine things.

He said, "This is simply an ordinary herbal medicine. It is extremely effective for treating runny noses, nasal congestion, coughs, fevers, and similar symptoms."

Boris and Vincent clearly did not believe him.

Xia Zuoyi said, "You may ask around the castle as you please. A few days ago, a boy named Toby caught a chill and developed those symptoms. He recovered only after taking this medicine."

"It took effect in three days, and he has already fully recovered."

Boris could not help frowning. "How could he possibly recover so quickly?!"

Xia Zuoyi said, "But that is the truth. I would not be foolish enough to harm someone who is not my enemy. After you have asked around, you might as well try drinking it."

"Once you have recovered, we can have another friendly discussion."

I need to take the initiative.

Xia Zuoyi gave Boris a very "friendly" smile. :)