Chapter 90

The aftermath of the first sea trial lasted for almost a month. Fortunately, the remaining members of the Anas Empire's royal family have now all been captured and executed.

Cyrus also took this opportunity to purge and rectify some disloyal and greedy parasitic nobles or officials in his territory, prosecuting and removing them, and then appointing the talented people selected over the past few years to take their places.

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These people were almost all trusted confidants whom Cyrus had personally promoted.

Cyrus specifically summoned the mayor of Komoy Fort, namely Vina Lauren, to discuss the changes in officials within his territory.

Vina was one of the first people to take the exam and even got first place, so he was appointed mayor of Komoy Fort by Cyrus.

In fact, he did a very good job, possessing a clever mind and effective methods for governing the city.

Vina's father was a nobleman with the title of viscount, but his family had fallen on hard times and no longer owned any land.

Their residence was nothing more than a small, dilapidated manor, employing very few servants and barely maintaining a semblance of aristocratic dignity.

But things are different now.

Vina has done a very good job as mayor, and in recent years, following Cyrus's instructions, he has developed Komoy Fort into the second largest city after Visas.

After Vina had accumulated enough merit and inherited the family title, Cyrus promoted Vina to a higher rank—from viscount to earl.

Vina and Nat had a good relationship.

Today, Ferdinand and Walker are Cyrus's trusted military commanders, and they are also Cyrus's trustworthy civilian officials.

After the noble official who betrayed his lord out of greed for the White Sugar Formula was dealt with, Cyrus summoned Vina for a long discussion that lasted all afternoon, until nearly evening when Vina finally left the castle.

Three days later, he and the diplomat Nat boarded a ship to the Bia Kingdom.

--The Bia Kingdom is not too small in size, and its national strength is much stronger than that of Gaina in the past, but it is still a vassal state of the Saint Airo Empire and is adjacent to it.

Meanwhile, Vincent, the head steward of the Nagabi Merchant Guild, and Robert, a subordinate of the Grand Duke, were also ordered to travel to the Saint Airo Empire separately, one after the other, without interfering with the other.

This time, Qing Tuan followed behind the fleet of Steward Vincent and his party to the Saint Airo Empire to find their way.

While these three groups were acting separately, the rose perfume that Cyrus had ordered to be mass-produced after returning from the Anas Empire was finally officially released and sold in the Thorn Merchant Guild.

He had already launched his campaign for the rose perfume long ago—using the stunning appearance of Queen Minina of the Anas Empire, now the Queen of the Anas Kingdom, on the night of the imperial coup.

The division of the Anas Empire was all due to this night.

That night happened to be Queen Minina's birthday—the queen, who had been neglected by King Puli and had not appeared in public for a long time, was so beautiful and elegant after dressing up, it was as if she had become a completely new person.

She not only attracted the attention of all the men at the banquet, but also became the most honored queen of the Anas Kingdom after the coup.

Although Archibald Cavendish abdicated the throne, it was still an unprecedented event—a woman, a widow who had lost her husband, ascended the throne and became queen—something that made all the noble ladies and women in the empire envious and resentful.

Not to mention the subsequent descriptions and widespread circulation of the Queen's stunning appearance at the banquet.

Her hair was jet black and silky, cascading down her back in beautiful waves; her skin was fair, and her lips were rosy and alluring, like the most vibrant flower petals... She seemed to carry the fragrance of roses, a magnificent cloak for her ascension to the throne...

This apt description was first placed by Cyrus in the Achiyoli Territory and the Anas Kingdom, and recently it has been slowly spread to the Desinia Territory through the Thorn Merchant Guild.

People's inner desires need a process of fermentation.

The promotional brochures that Cyrus commissioned the Thorn Merchant Guild to produce were the triggering factor. At the time, the rose perfume had not yet been produced at all, as the brochures were being personally delivered to the hands of the noble ladies by their servants and shop assistants.

The few bottles that were left had already been given to Minina as a birthday gift by Cyrus.

Oh, right, and the first bottle he tested was eventually taken by His Holiness the Pope.

In short, the product is advertised before it is even produced—this is called "scarcity marketing" in modern times.

Once the interest and desire of potential customers are fully aroused, the product will naturally become a hot seller once it goes on sale.

Of course, the initial purchasing power will be strong, but subsequent performance will depend on factors such as product quality to attract more customers.

The only drawback of rose perfume is its relatively short shelf life; it doesn't stay on the body as long as modern perfumes, which contain chemical agents.

For example, adding a stabilizer can reduce the evaporation of alcohol in the perfume, thereby prolonging the duration of the fragrance on the body.

However, the raw materials for stabilizers were easy to find. Cyrus Zuoyi ordered Yadai and the alchemists in the Alchemy Tower to further study the duration of perfume. In addition to rose perfume, they planned to launch other scents and perfumes with mixed fragrances.

Queen Minina gained considerable fame at the banquet on the night of the coup, and even the Lord of Desinia heard her name among the noble ladies and young women who had heard of the event.

This is because the Queen's makeup and clothing at the time were all a birthday gift from Desinia.

This gift is exactly what women want.

Cyrus's goal was thus achieved.

--The sales of rose perfume were, as expected, phenomenal.

From the initial Rose Salt, to the rebuilt Visas being hailed as the Rose City, to the rumored beautiful rose gardens surrounding the Lord of Desinia's castle, to the later appearance of rose sugar, and now rose perfume...

When people think of the Desinia family crest, the word "rose" inevitably leaves a very deep impression on them.

At this moment, Cyrus Desinia is undoubtedly connected with Rose.

In the Bia Kingdom, Vina and Nat, representing the mayor and diplomat of the Desinia Territory, met with the Kingdom's Minister of Finance.

In the Saint Airo Empire, Robert, a subordinate of the Grand Duke, went to see the Ed Merchant Guild Nagabi Merchant Guild, while Vincent, the head steward of the Nagabi Merchant Guild, went to see the noble Marquis Gary Phoebe.

The Qing Tuan learned about the routes between the Desinia Territory and the Saint Airo Empire, which were fast and convenient for transmitting information. It was precisely because of the Qing Tuan that these three groups of people were able to seize the opportunity to act simultaneously.

More than half a month later, when the three groups of Vina, Nat, Steward Vincent, Robert returned to the Desinia Territory by ship with countless gold coins, White Sugar Formula suddenly broke out in the Bia Kingdom. Papers recording how to make white sugar were scattered on the roads people usually walked on, making them very conspicuous.

Although no one knows who went mad and spilled the White Sugar Formula, it was as if the Creator God himself had bestowed a blessing upon us.

It is said that on that day, even the nobles in the Bia Kingdom abandoned their reserve and came to the streets to pick up the paper that recorded the White Sugar Formula.

When this astonishing news reached the Saint Airo Empire and was heard by Marquis Phoebe and the Ed Merchant Guild, both sides changed their expressions simultaneously.

They stared at the White Sugar Formula they had just bought at a high price, their minds practically screaming "Damn it!"

They were completely taken aback; they'd been tricked!

Cyrus devised a plan with Orville and Archibald. He gave the White Sugar Formula to the two men for free, and they needed Orville and Archibald to send their men to cooperate with him— Robert and Vincent, the head steward, each took the White Sugar Formula to the Saint Airo Empire.

One option was for Robert to contact the Ed Merchant Guild, leveraging the Grand Duke's adversarial relationship with the Nagabi Merchant Guild, and sell them the White Sugar Formula.

Secondly, Vincent, the head steward, approached Gary Phoebe and offered to sell him the White Sugar Formula at a price the latter could afford.

This not only requires concealing each other's whereabouts, but also necessitates precise timing.

At this moment, His Holiness the Pope suggested that since the Bia Kingdom was growing stronger and had always wanted to break away from its relationship as a vassal state of the Saint Airo Empire, it would be better to include the Bia Kingdom in the scheme, and that king would willingly fall into the trap.

Cyrus was somewhat puzzled, but then he thought that if the vassal state was no longer willing to submit, it must also be planning something, which would be more helpful to his plans.

Therefore, Vina and Nat were sent to the Bia Kingdom, where they first met with the kingdom's finance minister, and then secretly met with the King of Bia.

Segalot meant that instead of hiding their plans from His Majesty the King, they should tell the truth to get the results they wanted.

Cyrus then instructed Vina and Nat to convey his message to them.

Sure enough, His Majesty the King of Biya not only bought the White Sugar Formula at the original price, but also threw it into the streets at the most opportune moment.

At the same time, Gary Phoebe and the Ed Merchant Guild, who had spent an even larger sum to buy the White Sugar Formula, were so angry they nearly vomited blood and collapsed to the ground, dizzy and weak.

After hearing that Marquis Cary Phoebe had fallen ill from anger, Cyrus felt much better.

He watched the small green dot on the ocean map rapidly approaching the nearshore waters, feeling the waves of longing that Rice Ball was sending his way. He then called Judas to pack his things; he was heading to Cogit Sea Port.

I wonder if Rice Ball has successfully found its tribe during this time.