Chapter 89
The fact that Cyrus had fallen into the water again made the servants in the castle extremely nervous, especially Judas.
Although Cyrus changed out of her soaked clothes and shoes as soon as she returned to the Windrider, and only sneezed a few times on her way back to the castle, it still made Judas very nervous. Upon returning to the castle, Yudit immediately asked Yadai to fetch a packet of herbal medicine for treating colds and to brew it.
After finishing her drink, Cyrus returned to her study and ordered Walker to thoroughly investigate the matter.
The shipyard is currently in its initial stage, and the shipyard is constantly hiring new workers, often lacking manpower. In the two months since he returned from the Anas Empire, the shipyard has hired three times, all because the construction of the Windrider is becoming increasingly urgent, requiring a large number of helpers.
The last recruitment was a month ago, which shows that this group of people had infiltrated the shipyard and remained undetected for a whole month until the first sea trial of the Windrider was exposed.
What better opportunity is there than to take action on the vast, boundless sea?
If it weren't for the unexpectedly high combat prowess of His Holiness the Pope, the Grand Duke, and the Leader, the ship's crew, with their limited defensive capabilities, would have been far from capable, and the outcome would have been truly dire.
Even if he jumps into the sea, it's only to ensure Cyrus's safety.
Shipyards require employees to fill out forms—name, age, address, etc. This is a rule that Cyrus established long ago, precisely to avoid a lack of detailed and clear investigation into the background of employees if anything goes wrong.
Under such circumstances, the fact that these thugs managed to infiltrate the shipyard suggests that some individuals were undoubtedly involved, possibly including nobles or officials connected to the shipyard.
Most importantly, there were three other people, including Segalot, on board at the time.
Samuel later told Cyrus that he saw almost half of the group rushing towards the Duke and the leader, and judging from their ferocity, they definitely wanted to kill them.
After receiving the order, Walker dared not delay and began interrogating, investigating, and arresting relevant suspects. Three days later, the detailed account of the events was laid out on Cyrus's desk, and Segalot and the other two were also sitting in the study.
This incident can be summarized as follows: the remaining members of the Anas Empire's royal family secretly colluded with nobles in the Desinia Territory who were greedy for the enormous profits generated by sugar.
They were looking for an opportunity, firstly to deal with Cyrus, and secondly to seize the chance to kill Orville and Archibald.
Surprisingly, a spy from the Saint Airo Empire was also involved. Before Walker could interrogate him properly, the spy committed suicide one night.
The remaining members of the Anas Empire's royal family had nowhere to go after the empire's collapse, and they had noticed that no one could leave when the capital was in turmoil.
However, this Desinia lord was quite special, and he was quickly remembered by those with ulterior motives. After finally managing to escape the Anas Empire by concealing his name and appearance, they chose to come to the Desinia Territory and made a deal with this treacherous nobleman.
The original terms of the deal were that their people, with the help of the nobles, would infiltrate the shipyard, wait for the right moment to kidnap Cyrus, and force him to reveal the secret recipe for white sugar, by any means necessary.
If they resist, it's okay if they lose their lives.
This ambitious nobleman was the mayor of a city; he not only coveted the secret recipe for white sugar but also dreamed of ascending to a higher position...
Unexpectedly, Grand Duke Achiyoli and Archibald Cavendish also arrived in the Desinia Territory. With such a good opportunity to set sail and test the sea right in front of them, and all three of them on the ship, they could no longer resist making their move.
However, this group underestimated Orville and Archibald's skills; dealing with them, including His Holiness the Pope, would be no problem at all.
Some of the boatmen were injured in the incident, but none of the injuries were fatal.
Overall, apart from Cyrus jumping back into the sea on her own initiative, nothing major went wrong.
As for how this disloyal nobleman got in touch with the people of the Saint Airo Empire —according to the investigation, it was because one of his brothers was the lover of a powerful widow in the empire. This widow was also shrewd; she not only kept this lover but also had entanglements with a marquis. The details are complicated and unclear, but it is true that this marquis coveted Cyrus's White Sugar Formula.
When Cyrus asked the nobleman's name, he was sitting on the sofa grooming Black Sugar's soft fur. He was still a little confused after hearing what Walker said until 098 reminded him in the system.
Walker: "The marquis's name is Gary Phoebe."
Cyrus nodded calmly.
098, tilting its stick figure head, noticed its host's lack of reaction and couldn't help but remind it: [Host, Gary Phoebe is Shamir Phoebe's father.]
Shamir Phoebe?
This name sounds familiar...
Cyrus frowned in thought, then heard 098 say—[Shamir Phoebe is the female lead, host.]
Cyrus suddenly realized and almost clapped his hands. So much time had passed that he had forgotten there was a Mary Sue heroine growing up in the distant Saint Airo Empire.
The female protagonist in the novel is described as having shimmering silver-white hair, rare pink eyes, an innocent and romantic nature, and a lively and adorable personality. Her voice is incredibly beautiful, like the song of a nimble bird, and her face is exceptionally fair, like the delicate petals of the pure white Divine Flower Belanka...
Cyrus saw this and said, "..."
He couldn't imagine what pink eyes looked like—was it conjunctivitis?
He couldn't help but marvel at how this world truly evolved from books, with the "Shamate" hairstyle and eye color being synonymous with beauty and prettiness.
Orville noticed that he stopped touching the Black Sugar and seemed distracted, so he asked him a question.
Cyrus looked in the direction of the sound, his gaze falling on the Grand Duke's silver hair and light gray eyes. Before the Grand Duke could ask a question, his gaze swept over His Holiness the Pope and the leaders of the merchant guild.
Well, Archibald's blond hair and green eyes are relatively normal.
Black Sugar's thick paw pads pressed against Cyrus's hand, letting out a soft yelp and tilting its head as if asking, "Why did you stop?"
Cyrus lowered her head and pinched Black Sugar's round little ears, then combed down the fur on its head and neck... Black Sugar's fur was as smooth and beautiful as black satin, and when you touched it, you could feel strong muscles underneath. After enjoying herself enough, Black Sugar lazily got up and crawled to lie down next to Coalball.
Cyrus tucked a few tufts of black fur into a square wooden box. This box was filled with the fur of Black Sugar. There were also four other boxes containing the fur and feathers of Coalball, Snowball, Egg Yolk, and Qing Tuan, respectively.
He collected them since he was a child and has already made several felt toys by pricking them with needles using the lint that had fallen from the fur.
The feathers that fell from the Qing Tuan were made into beautiful ornaments, which now hang on his bedside table and on the large wooden frame that the Qing Tuan sleeps on.
Cyrus glanced again at the little green dot swimming in the system's ocean map, wondering what Rice Ball could help him collect.
The whole incident has been sorted out and dealt with, but there are still people who are beyond our reach, such as the Marquis of the Saint Airo Empire, the heroine's father, Cary Phoebe.
Cyrus believed in revenge. Although the marquis had only sent a spy to gather information, he had still been involved. Cyrus was very unhappy if he were to let it go so easily.
He recalled his plans in the Anas Empire to fight against the king and the nobles, and said to Orville and Archibald, "After the Anas Empire split, the two great empires became one. The Saint Airo Empire also has great ambitions. Before, they were at peace because of the existence of the Anas Empire, but now..."
Cyrus slowly said, "Aren't you afraid that the Saint Airo Empire will annex the Achiyoli Territory and the Anas Kingdom one by one?"
A divided empire will inevitably suffer a significant reduction in strength.
Segalot, unconcerned, remained silent.
Just now, when Cyrus was putting away Black Sugar's fur, Orville asked curiously what she was doing, and Cyrus then asked Judas to bring over the box containing the felt toys.
He is now picking them up one by one to look at them.
Orville was the same, but after Cyrus spoke, he focused his attention, holding a small black and white cat in his hand, and said, "An alliance?"
As expected of a young duke who wields great power, he immediately discerned the purpose of Cyrus's question.
That's right, it's an alliance.
With the alliance between the Desinia Territory, Achiyoli, and the Anas Kingdom, even if the Saint Airo Empire harbored any restless intentions, it would have no choice but to remain dormant for the time being.
Most importantly, for the foreseeable future, Cyrus didn't want to cause any more trouble. He needed a peaceful environment to continue developing his territory. He had a premonition that after the female lead came of age, which was when the story unfolded in the novel, he would definitely meet her Shamir Phoebe, and then...
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Cyrus looked at the Plot Deviation Value in the upper right corner of the system interface; it was already 45%.
But this is not a guarantee.
He needed to accelerate the progress, and Samuel's voyage to find New Continent and high-yield crops was also inevitable...
Furthermore, if beet sugar production were to be carried out on a large scale, and a large number of laborers were introduced, it would be impossible to maintain strict control over the secret recipe. Therefore, the method of making white sugar would certainly no longer be a secret.
Cyrus never intended to possess the sugar; sugar, like salt, should be a necessity in people's lives, and a price decrease is an inevitable trend.
But at least before that, he had a bold plan to implement.
Cyrus: Tricking people makes me happy.