Chapter 74
May is the month when roses bloom.
The cities of Visas and Komoy Fort have been known as "the cities of roses" by the people of the Desinia Territory for over a year.
As May arrives, the fragrance of roses can be smelled almost everywhere in the city: the flowerbeds around the clock tower, the cloisters outside the church, and the castle of Cyrus.
Judas once said that he wanted to personally plant a romantic and beautiful Rose Garden for Cyrus.
That beautiful wish has long since been fulfilled.
Vast fields of roses bloom in the garden, with rose walls, rose-decorated walkways, and rose paths... The air is filled with a rich, fragrant scent that permeates the area around the castle, attracting swarms of butterflies and bees that constantly hover among the roses.
Egg Yolk followed Cyrus into the flower garden to pick roses.
On either side of the lion's back hangs a basket filled with neatly trimmed roses, clustered together to attract the attention of bees and butterflies, only to be immediately chased away by the lion's long tail.
Cyrus wore a simple white top with a tie at the neckline and rolled-up sleeves. There were strips of fabric sewn inside the sleeves that could be tied to the buttons a little above the sleeves. She wore black overalls shorts, which only reached her knees because of the increasingly warm weather, and a pair of black leather shoes.
He was holding pruning shears, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the lion shake its thick, bushy head, then lie down on the path in the flowerbed and wipe its nose with its large, thick paws. But as soon as it put its paws down, it was suddenly stimulated by the strong fragrance of the flowers and sneezed.
Cyrus suppressed a laugh, "Egg Yolk and Rose have been picked; you can go out now."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the golden lion, unable to bear it any longer, burst out of the flowerbed like a gust of wind and quickly ran out of the Rose Garden.
Cyrus finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, and followed behind with her hands behind her back.
Egg Yolk ran out of the Rose Garden and waited for him at the entrance. Two roses fell from his basket to the ground. The lion looked at them and roared.
As Cyrus walked over, she picked up the two roses, trimmed some of the stems and leaves with scissors, and placed one on each side of Egg Yolk's ear.
When the wind blew through her hair, even the roses by her ears trembled slightly.
Cyrus couldn't help but exclaim, "Our Egg Yolk is so beautiful!"
"Ouch."
Egg Yolk affectionately snuggled up to Cyrus and circled him twice, completely oblivious to the "malicious intentions" of humans.
"Hmm, maybe I can use rose petals to make some rose sugar and rose pastries..." Cyrus murmured, looking at the Egg Yolk, when the idea suddenly popped into her head.
In the past few days, he has also been thinking about plans to put white sugar and fruit candy into the market.
He led the large golden lion back, muttering to himself, "The candy shop is about to open, and we can't just have fruit candies."
"In this era of sugar scarcity, who knows what kind of sensation this candy shop will cause? Hopefully... first, we should have Ferdinand and Walker strengthen the defenses at the border..."
Egg Yolk let Cyrus walk beside it quietly, stroking its sideburns. Two roses were firmly embedded in the sideburns on its head, quite eye-catching.
The servants in the castle couldn't help but stifle their laughter; their lord was being unusually mischievous again.
Sugar is expensive, its value even equivalent to gold coins.
Even ordinary nobles couldn't eat it all the time, let alone commoners and slaves of lowly status.
As mentioned before, the commoners and slaves who originally lived in Visas had never even seen white sugar.
Things are valued for their rarity.
It's perfectly normal for white sugar to be sought after by the nobility, and white sugar was indeed associated with noble status.
Boris investigated all the information about Malediz for Cyrus, which included Malediz's preference for sweet things.
Malediz was born in the Saint Airo Empire.
He had also followed a noble young master since childhood and had the privilege of tasting sweet treats made from white sugar.
That taste is the most unforgettable thing for a child who is tasting sweetness for the first time.
But such opportunities became extremely rare afterward.
Malediz probably born with an extreme sweet tooth; if he couldn't eat sugar or anything sweet for a while, he would crave it.
He never mentioned his sweet tooth to anyone, but it could be observed through his daily habits.
For example, Malediz spends most of his monthly income on a very expensive sweet from the Saint Airo Empire —made exclusively from white sugar.
Now that she knew Malediz's preferences, Cyrus made corresponding plans.
The most abundant fruit in the Desinia Territory is lemon. Lemon juice is added to the boiled syrup, then the syrup is poured into molds, stirred and stretched repeatedly... until hard fruit candy is formed.
These sweet and sour candies are bound to be more expensive than white sugar, after all, the cost of production and labor must be taken into account first.
With white sugar as the main ingredient, one can easily deduce the appropriate price point for Lemon Candy.
Otherwise, Malediz and Paul wouldn't have had such solemn expressions on their faces before they left.
Cyrus had previously read about the history of the real Middle Ages, which mentioned a war caused by sugar.
This does not refer to mere plunder.
Whether in the real medieval world or on the Western Continent, white sugar was an extremely rare resource.
Sugar replenishes the body's energy, and eating sugar unconsciously brings feelings of happiness and joy—a feeling that is hard to resist.
There are huge commercial interests behind white sugar.
Once the price of something reaches an extremely high level, capital will inevitably pursue it, attempting to control and possess it.
And for all of this, they would do anything, such as colonial plunder, the slave trade...
Fortunately, the situation in the Western Continent is different from that in the real Middle Ages. At least in the most remote areas, sugarcane is produced... Although white sugar is extremely rare, it can be owned by the great nobles in the two great empires.
Because the areas where sugarcane is produced are simultaneously controlled by the Saint Airo Empire and the Anas Empire, with each side occupying half, disputes frequently arise, but neither side can do anything about the other.
Once the white sugar and rare fruit candies produced by Cyrus appeared on the market and subsequently entered other small countries and empires...
That will inevitably disrupt the current established situation.
A steady stream of gold coins will flow into Desinia's coffers like a tidal wave, but along with it come covetousness, prying eyes, and danger...
The idea of sugar production from beets came to him three years ago.
Because of the Pope's words, Cyrus abandoned the idea again.
Three years have passed.
Since Cyrus had successfully developed the sugar-making process from beets, it meant he was fully prepared for anything, and the fact that he had Malediz and Paul take a box of fruit candies back was a signal of this.
Two days later.
A shop bearing the Thorn Merchant Guild Guild's logo quietly opened on the busiest street in Visas City; its name was Desinia Candy Shop.
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Despite the lack of extensive advertising, the shop's name is so eye-catching that it's impossible to ignore, and everyone who passes by can't help but stop and look at it.
"Candy... candy shop?! It can't be... selling candy, can it...?" The man's tone was filled with uncertainty.
Someone nearby peeked into the shop. "The door's closed, but there's someone moving inside..."
Moreover, the closed door was locked from the inside.
"What's going on? Does this store really sell candy?!"
"Well... even though it's a shop run by the lord, I'd still buy from them even if all they had were sugarcane and honey..." muttered a passing nobleman.
At this time, Judas and Gibran were both stationed at the candy shop.
Toby squatted by the window, staring outside. He would occasionally report what was happening outside to the butler and his brother, and now he was speaking up again with great interest.
"Judas Yudit, brother, the crowd outside is growing larger and larger. I don't think the candy we prepared today will be enough for them to buy!"
Judas took a slow sip of her flower tea.
He wore a fitted butler's uniform, with white gloves on his hands as usual. The family crest representing Desinia was pinned to his chest. His hair was combed back, revealing a calm and composed face that had been etched with the marks of time.
He has reached the age where he should be getting married and having children, but no matter who tries to persuade him, including Cyrus, they still haven't gotten married.
Judas placed the herbal tea back on the table, walked to the window, and said, "Most of the people outside the shop are commoners. White sugar and fruit candies are quite expensive; they might not be able to afford them..."
The price of a single piece of candy is already expensive enough.
"However, as long as some nobles make a purchase, according to the lord's estimate, the shop's sugar will definitely be sold out by evening."
Gibran nodded. "After all, we're only selling a small amount of white sugar and fruit candy today, and our main task is to spread the word about the candy shop until it reaches the entire territory."
He has now fully taken over the financial situation of the Thorn Merchant Guild within the territory.
Every seven days, they would report the guild's situation to Cyrus, and every month they would compile the Thorn Merchant Guild's financial statements for Cyrus to review.
Long-term training and continuous learning made Gibran much more mature.
--The Desinia Candy Shop is only open from noon until sunset, and sells limited quantities of white sugar and fruit candies, in the form of large, medium and small jars of white sugar and single fruit candies.
This is the message Cyrus wants to convey on the first day of Desinia Candy Shop.
Once the shop assistants remove the locks from the inside, an unstoppable "wind" will whip up a tornado across the entire Desinia Territory.