The Saint Airo Empire and the Anas Empire were the two most powerful countries on the Western Continent.
The status of one king differed from that of another.
For example, Bass Riches was a noble 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 wholly 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 firmly controlled the flow of wealth.
It also occupied a significant position in the Saint Airo Empire, overseeing innumerable gold coins.
Furthermore, the connections and influence held by the Nagabi Merchant Guild could not be underestimated.
Boris Yabo had come to Gadayat on behalf of the merchant guild.
They had not deliberately concealed their movements along the way. Flags bearing the Nagabi Merchant Guild's emblem fluttered atop their carriages in the wind.
The convoy passed through Komoy Fort and entered Visas.
Vincent immediately sent someone to find the soldiers patrolling the city. After identifying himself, he requested to speak with Desinia.
The knight leading the patrol at the time happened to be Taylor.
After confirming that they were indeed from the Nagabi Merchant Guild, he took the merchant guild's emblem and went ahead to inform Lord Ferdinand and Lord Walker.
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Not long after.
The news reached Cyrus's ears.
"The Nagabi Merchant Guild actually came to Visas?"
After thinking for a moment, Cyrus understood that they had probably come with ill intent.
They were likely here because of the sales of Rose Salt.
After all, Rose Salt had now completely seized the market share in Gadayat and even Gaina, almost entirely squeezing out the Nagabi Merchant Guild's coarse salt sales routes.
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.
Cyrus 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.
Judas looked somewhat worried. "My lord, what if the Nagabi Merchant Guild's people intend to make things difficult for you..."
Cyrus said, "I think they should be making things difficult for the king instead. After all, I gave up sixty percent of the profits, and most of the gold coins actually went into the king's pocket."
"The reason the Nagabi Merchant Guild came to find me is nothing more than because I was the one who presented the Seawater Solar Salt-Making Method. Although the salt-drying process is obvious at a glance, the method of refining fine salt was never made public."
What they had come for was self-evident.
The Nagabi Merchant Guild really did pick on the weak, but they still had to see whether they could actually handle him.
Still, refining fine salt was actually quite simple.
Cyrus quietly pondered before the people from the Nagabi Merchant Guild arrived.
Judas stood silently beside him and waited.
After a while.
Cyrus said, "Judas, I recall you once mentioning that there is a very large salt lake in the Anas Empire—Betara Lake, right?"
Judas nodded. "Yes, my lord."
Cyrus 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 likewise produce crystals using the salt-drying method. As for the method of refining fine salt, it could also be discovered after a little research.
Not to mention that the commoners and slaves working on the fine salt production line knew about it as well.
Promise anyone money as an incentive, and they might reveal it.
Besides, Cyrus had never intended to keep it hidden 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.
The maid respectfully opened the door, then stepped back and stood to one side.
Boris and Vincent entered.
Boris saw a broad, long table in the study. Four people were seated facing the door.
Two men clearly dressed as knights stood at the back, while the man standing slightly to the left was probably the castle's steward.
As for the boy seated in the center, he was the person Boris had come to bully—Cyrus Desinia.
Boris's gaze fell upon Cyrus, and he could not help examining him closely. His nearly dark green eyes grew brighter and brighter.
He said, "I never expected Lord Cyrus to be so exquisitely beautiful, like a carefully baked soufflé—white and tender as a cloud on the outside, light and delicate on the tongue within, full of sweet, mellow milk fragrance."
Soufflé was a very expensive dessert in the Anas Empire.
Only highly skilled chefs could make it.
It was made with fresh milk and egg whites. After boiling the milk and beating the egg whites, it was baked in a water bath.
Once the egg whites expanded, it would become white, tender, and soft like a cloud. But if it was not eaten quickly, it would collapse completely before long and taste terrible.
Usually, only kings and great nobles could enjoy it.
Some lesser nobles, commoners, and slaves had never even heard of it.
Cyrus simply took it as a compliment. Expressionlessly, he lifted his small chin. "Please sit, Mr. Abel."
When the knight had come to the castle to report earlier, he had already explained Boris Yabo's identity—the vice president of the Nagabi Merchant Guild.
Boris Yabo's charming green eyes caught the sunlight, as though tiny fragments of light glittered within them. "Lord Cyrus needn't be so formal. You may call me Boris."
Cyrus said, "Sorry, we aren't familiar, so I don't want to. I'm a little shy around strangers."
Boris showed no embarrassment whatsoever at being ruthlessly rebuffed.
He said, "I merely wanted to become closer to Lord Cyrus. After all, you are so adorable, yet at such a young age, you have managed Visas and Komoy Fort in such an orderly manner..."
"Oh, right, and the Thorn Merchant Guild as well. The Rose Salt you dried at the Cogit Sea is truly very popular."
Cyrus nodded even more calmly. "You're too kind. Once I produced such good salt, I had already anticipated how well it would sell in the future."
"After all, every household needs salt, and who would not want fine salt that was cheaper yet of better quality?"
"Mr. Abel, don't you agree?"
"Oh, I forgot to mention that you look especially adorable too."
The moment those words were spoken, 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. He found that the corner of Boris's mouth had stiffened ever so slightly, its curve frozen in place.
Vincent could not help lowering his head and pressing his lips together tightly.
Boris gave a light cough. "...Lord Cyrus truly knows how to joke."
He went straight to the point. "The Rose Salt sold by the Thorn Merchant Guild has seriously affected the sale of Nagabi Salt. Although selling salt is only one source of profit for the Nagabi Merchant Guild, being..."
Boris suddenly frowned, raising his right fist to his lips as though suppressing something.
Afterward, he continued, "But being forced out of Gadayat by Rose Salt has directly cost us nearly forty percent of our profits."
"Does Lord Cyrus have nothing to say about this?"
Cyrus said, "It is merely fair commercial competition."
"The choices of nobles, commoners, and 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 regard meals prepared with Rose Salt as the most refined 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 on a large scale and refined into pure salt... I believe it should be no worse than Rose Salt."
His right hand remained pressed to his mouth, moving away only slightly when he spoke.
Cyrus stared at his face, coming to a conclusion in his heart.
Seeing that he did not answer, Boris leaned back against his chair. The beautiful caramel-colored eyes fixed seriously on him shone with flowing light as he asked, "Why is Lord Cyrus not speaking?"
Cyrus withdrew his gaze and asked, "How many days will you remain in Visas?"
Boris said, "Perhaps one day, perhaps two, or even longer. We will leave once we obtain what we want. It all depends on what Lord Cyrus intends to do."
After watching the young count think for a while, he suddenly saw him turn and whisper something softly to the steward beside him.
"Judas, go to my alchemy laboratory and bring the medicine I gave Toby to drink before."
"Yes, my lord."
Across the long table, Boris could not hear clearly.
Judas bowed slightly and left the study.
Only then did Cyrus 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 young count into crying, but he himself was somehow beginning to feel choked up.
After a while.
Judas entered the room again.
Cyrus said, "Judas, give it to Mr. Abel."
Upon hearing this, Judas placed a small, stoppered jar on the table in front of Boris.
Then he returned to Cyrus's side.
"What is this?"
Boris raised his brows and curiously picked up the jar, giving it a gentle shake. The sound of liquid sloshing came from within.
He tried to guess. "Wine? Is it for me to drink?"
Cyrus said, "It isn't wine. It is a medicine for treating coughs and fevers. It is for you."
Toby had only just recovered from his illness.
Cyrus had made this jar of medicine as a 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 somewhat obvious, his complexion slightly poor, and his brows often furrowed inadvertently. He was probably feeling unwell.
Boris's smile faded slightly as he set the medicine back on the table. "Is Lord Cyrus this kind-hearted to everyone he meets for the first time?"
He could count the number of times he had been sick since childhood on one hand.
Whenever he fell ill, he never saw a physician. He simply endured it himself. Mild illnesses would improve within a few days, while even serious illnesses meant nothing to him.
Boris hated physicians.
Cyrus glanced at him and said, "Not exactly."
"But illnesses should be treated early. What if you become stupid while you're still young?"
Boris said, "..."
He felt that there was something rather off about that statement.
Boris said, "May I open it and take a look?"
"You may."
Boris pulled out the stopper sealing the jar.
In an instant, an indescribably strange smell that made one feel somewhat nauseated wafted out.
Vincent, standing behind him, nearly failed to stop himself from covering his nose. Fortunately, his good manners made him lower his hand.
Boris endured the unpleasant smell and peered into the jar.
"..."
A pitch-black liquid full of residue flowed inside the jar.
Boris's expression changed several times, becoming impossible to describe.
The look he gave Cyrus seemed to say, "Are you trying to poison me?"
Vincent could not help speaking up. "Lord Cyrus, you are still young. There are some matters... that you may not have considered thoroughly."
"Although the Nagabi Merchant Guild is far away in the Anas Empire, its connections and influence are beyond your imagination. Young Master Boris's status within the merchant guild is also extremely important... I hope you will consider the consequences before acting."
He feared that the young count before him might fail to grasp the seriousness of the matter and attempt something... the wrath of the Nagabi Merchant Guild was likely more than he could bear.
Clearly, Vincent and Boris had the same thought.
Moreover, he warily glanced at the two tall, imposing knights standing behind Desinia, afraid they might suddenly rush over and restrain them.
Cyrus said, "..."
You two really know how to imagine things.
He said, "This is merely an ordinary herbal medicine. It is highly effective in treating runny noses, nasal congestion, coughs, fevers, and similar symptoms."
Boris and Vincent clearly did not believe him.
Cyrus said, "You may ask around the castle as much as you like. A few days ago, a boy named Toby caught a chill and developed the symptoms I mentioned. 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?!"
Cyrus said, "But that is the truth. I would not be foolish enough to harm someone who is not my enemy. After asking around, you may as well try drinking it."
"Once you are well, we can have another friendly discussion."
I need to take the initiative.
Cyrus gave Boris a very "friendly" smile. :)