Chapter 41
Diana saw this tone from Vlad for the first in many months . He usually only applied this tone for his comrades or Duke himself when he was talking about his past .
From Diana's point of view, John had already become one of Vlad's favorites . It might be because of his abilities or talent or business, or it could be a combination of everything .
Meanwhile, after some time, Diana's maid Maurice prepared a grilled jerk chicken with salads, this was one of the recipes which John had shared at Steve's house earlier and from there they got it over here .
"Who knew we could use these spices in another way and make our food more tasteful . Good food Maurice . "
"Well John really is an interesting guy, we got to see a lot of new things after making his acquaintance,"
Maurice was quite happy after perfecting the recipe and getting praised by Diana,
"That's certainly true princess, we even got to learn so many new recipes and make food in new ways . "
While Vlad only nodded a bit, which couldn't even be seen . Vlad did so instinctively as he always liked to maintain his composure . But Diana's still noticed it, she only smiled and didn't ruin it for Vlad . While Vlad could only see her act haughtily .
"Okay, send this recipe to dad and others in the family, I think they will certainly like it . what do you guys think?"
Maurice, "I am sure Sire and Madam would love it, we should send them this recipe without wasting any moment . "
Vlad replied, " Well, it depends, but I think it is an okay dish . "
Usually, Vlad wouldn't comment on the dish and simply shake his head in disappointment when he was not satisfied with a certain dish . However, today it was quite surprising that Vlad had a good opinion on food .
It was only during royal banquets or the chief chef of their mansion who got face from Vlad when it came to an appraisal of food .
Meanwhile, Vlad bought a sketch of John's Mansion from one of his documents and showed it to Diana's, he showed this sketch as he found this architecture quite interesting, this sketch was made by one of the traveling artists who recently visited the North-frontier town . Initially, the artist wanted to make a sketch of animals and birds in the wild but after he saw the Mansion, he changed his mind and decided to make a sketch of John's Mansion . Vlad got this sketch via one of his informants as he had decided to get full information on John and hence he got to know about John's mansion .
"Young Miss, as you had requested earlier we investigated John a bit more and got to know about his recently built mansion, what do you think about this architecture? From our information, this mansion was personally designed by John and implemented by one of the Woodworkers from North-frontier town . Recently, they have also started selling various types of new furniture which have become famous among merchants of North-frontier town and their nearby villages . "
Diana thought for a while and gave her thoughts about the mansion after looking at the sketch, "quite unique, I think we made a good investment this time around, Just from looking at this sketch I can imagine the amount of effort required to make this mansion possible, maybe he wouldn't have required a lot of effort because of his talents but this is nonetheless a very good work of art . "
Vlad smiled and said in a teasing tone to Diana, "Sure enough, top architects from around the world would have charged humongous prices for this type of palace to be built . It seems your instinct really got us lucky this time around", this time Vlad was really complimenting her but he still had his sadist smile on his face .
In the Royal Heavenly Palace of the Imperial City,
One of the servants of the Royal Palace was waiting for her Majesty as he was going to be rewarded by her .
"You did quite well in finding these Rose soaps, nowadays his majesty is quite happy and I feel it is because of these soaps which are having a good effect on my skin as well as it creates a good atmosphere because of smell . "
As the women were always competing for his majesty Lionheart's attention, all of her wives competed with each other and tried a lot of things .
This time it was Cecilia who was rewarding a servant for his work .
Cecilia asked the servant, "before going, tell me, from where did you get these soaps . "
After getting his bag full of gold, Servant answered her hastily "Her Majesty, it was one of the caravans of Morgan family which reached capital to trade their goods, as I was pretty close to one of the dealers, I got this soap earlier than others, it is rumored that Marquis Ray is one of the backers of Rose soap in the southern domain . "
This servant knew that it was inside information which mattered when he was dealing with her and hence answered her questions .
"He also told me that it was Joseph Morgan who stuck the deal with the creator these soaps and this didn't lack truth as recently Joseph got more attention and resources for his trade in the north from his family . "
Cecilia thought and made a decision while she gave her orders to the servant, "Make sure you delay this news as much as possible in the palace, if that guy from Morgan family wants to sell all of his goods, then tell him to contact us, we can anyway resell them if we bought them in plenty . "
The servant then saluted and took her orders, "As you wish her highness . "
Inside a very luxurious room, his highness Lionheart as well was pretty much pleased with Rose soaps he used after bathing for a few days,
Today before going to the courtroom, he asked his butler, "What do you think about these new soaps which are quite popular among the aristocratic circles nowadays . "
Chapter 42
Inside a very luxurious room, his highness Lionheart as well was pretty much pleased with Rose soaps he used after bathing for a few days,
Today before going to the courtroom, he asked his butler, "What do you think about these new soaps which are quite popular among the aristocratic circles nowadays . "
Butler replied, "Quite unique and they are of better quality from the previous ones which were made by other nobles and merchants . From our information, it is being made by a commoner of the North-frontier town in the northern Domain of Baron Mendez . "
King thought and remarked after hearing about some of the information relating to these soaps, "North-frontier town, hmm . . . so that's the case, anyway keep a watch on them and try to keep a neutral position of the royal family in the front and if there is a chance to snatch the soap making techniques then do it covertly, we are anyway running low on finances because of all the yearly wars and maintenance of all our industries and priorities .
Meanwhile, on John's end, Today they were preparing to leave Pearl city and visit Dolores, while Tom the slave dealer was preparing to send all the slaves to the port for their transportation .
Transportation of Slaves this time was handled by Eric . Joseph had already given him explicit instructions about the treatment and lodging of slaves which would be required at North-Frontier Town .
John, Joseph, and others meanwhile headed North of Pearl City by Land and decided to travel towards Dolores city for their Negotiations with Baron Mendez for the sale of North-frontier town .
One of the Guard Order of Marquis Ray had also escorted them to Dolores city of which some 50 odd people would follow John to North-frontier town to help and train other people for the protection of his domain while others would leave after reaching Dolores .
The knight order was headed by a man named Alan Lopez .
During these Five Days of travel, they bypassed the Imperial City where they only stayed for a day before leaving for Dolores in the northern domain . During their stay at the Imperial city, Sally was quite upset and had an irritating mood . While Eva too didn't like Imperial City because she would have to face her relatives here if she stayed any longer and that was also one of the reasons, why they didn't stay for long at the Imperial City .
After a few days, they reached Dolores without any problems, This time Baron Mendez knew that Joseph and others were going to visit him and talk about the agreement on the sale of North-frontier town, which the Morgan family talked about earlier . As a noble, he couldn't lower himself to visit John and others even if he knew that a big piece of meat was coming his way . So this time it was one of the servants who went to receive them .
The servant was quite surprised after watching the 50 knights of Marquis Ray which were traveling with John and Joseph . The remaining knights already left after reaching Dolores .
This was also one of the moves by which Marquis Ray intended to show his support for John to Baron Mendez and others who were aiming for John and his business .
From this, he intended to show everyone, that, anyone moving against John was as good as moving against him as it would harm his interests .
Most of the people in the political circles would have already come to the conclusion that John and Marquis Ray have reached an agreement that would benefit both sides . Because most people tracking those soaps and John already knew about Joseph and John's meeting with Marquis Ray when they visited Pearl city . They also got hints from the behavior of Tom on how he treated John after his meeting with Marquis .
The scene of Knights marching in the city was quite a sight for most of the people in Dolores, many people thought some noble had arrived today but after watching Baron Mendez's servant, everyone concluded that some rich merchant or son of a noble arrived here today .
After some shock, the servant headed towards John and others, after some talk, they decided to head towards the mansion prepared by Baron Mendez .
After waiting for an hour, Baron Mendez came to the room where Joseph and John were staying . Joseph and John had already expected to wait for a long time when they arrived today to seal the deal between them . As Baron Mendez was in a superior position of the negotiation table so they already expected such an outcome because they were the ones who proposed to buy the town .
Baron Mendez was a middle-aged man who looked in his 40's-50's, he had Brown hair, a Burly body, and a height of 5 feet 9 inches, he was wearing luxurious and imposing clothes . He wore imposing clothes intentionally for their meeting today so that he could squeeze as much as possible from John and Joseph .
Meanwhile, Diana and her entourage headed towards North-frontier city after they finished their business and Tour in Pearl City .
During her Journey, she got various reports from Vlad and Maurice, during this time she was quite accustomed to food recipes of John which was always by prepared Maurice, Vlad too took a liking towards these recipes .
Vlad meanwhile always gave her reports from her domain and all the matters which concerned her, one of the reasons Diana was traveling Aelius kingdom was because she was fleeing the various suitors who were pursuing her in Fire Abyss kingdom, this included one of the princes of Fire Abyss Kingdom . To keep the face of the royal family she always kept traveling whenever she got reports that the prince was coming to the place she was staying . And so fleeing to other countries was always the best option for Diana as princes cant travel to other countries easily as they would require very high security which would cost a lot of money and their lives would still be in danger . Because of this she also became to be known for her adventurous and exploring spirit .
Chapter 43
However, this time around it was because of her curiosity in John and his companions that she decided to visit North-frontier town and see how things changed first hand in North-Frontier town .
This Time at Baron Francis Mendez's Manor,
Baron Mendez came along with Antonio's butler James and his second son Antonio, Baron Mendez had spent quite a sum to recuperate his son earlier so that he could become a better knight in the future and there are injuries which could affect him later on, while also for their meeting with John and Joseph which was going to take place today .
As soon as both Antonio and John met, their eyes only had cold looks for each other . Both Joseph and Baron Francis were watching the show from the sidelines, meanwhile, the butler James was keeping a watch on Joseph .
John greeted Antonio with a sarcastic tone and a smiling face, "Nice meeting you again, Lord Antonio, it seems you have recovered quite well from your injuries . I hope we can have a Blood pumping duel like the one we had in east sea city again in the future . "
Antonio didn't reply but stared at him with an angry expression, to remove the awkwardness of the conversation, Joseph came forward and suggested that everyone relax a bit .
"Why don't we relax a bit and have a taste of some unique cuisines which were specially prepared by our chefs this time, they have also been praised by Marquis Ray and Marchioness Aine, so how about everyone grabs a bite of it?"
Joseph knew that such a type of situation would arise and he had already planned a lot to complete this deal, and he also had expected John to react in the same way . Additionally, he didn't want John to bend in front of Baron as this would totally mean that John was not cut off for handling a domain later on if he can't even handle such matters .
From this encounter, it could be seen that Baron had prepared quite a lot when it came to confronting them and handling their business matters .
After watching this encounter, Baron had decided to move towards the main business .
"That's quite true Joseph, okay, let's head towards the dining room first and discuss business while we have dinner . "
James led everyone to the dining hall while Joseph ordered one of his men to bring the dishes which were already prepared .
While Eva and others were busy touring the city today and she also didn't want to interact more with Antonio, so they had decided to go to a hotel to avoid him and later watch the city at their own leisure .
Dolores was quite a beautiful city compared to North-frontier town in a sense that there were more merchants and this place was one of the transit hubs as it interconnected a lot of other cities in the northern domain . This was also one of the reasons why it was the main capital of Ancestors of Baron Mendez .
While they were traveling today, Eva and her group today saw George, who was conversing with one of the blacksmiths in Dolores, Today he had come to deliver one of the batches of his Weapons which were made recently, every time, he was the one who escorted the weapons and armor made by his shop to Baron Mendez as this would ensure that no one steals them and he would also get a chance to get acquainted with other nobles for bigger business if they visited Baron on any given day .
"Hey, isn't that George from our town? What's he doing here today" Josephine recognized him and asked others with a curious tone . Like most of the time, she was always ignorant when it came to nobility .
Jay then explained to her, "Well, from what I know, he always personally supplies Baron with his weapons and armors produced in his shop for their Knight order . You should know that the nobles always try to earn more merits in war and hence raise their social position by achieving merits in war . And the same is the case for other sons of nobles who at least try to get a chance to become important officials in the Imperial city . And so weapon makers are always important to nobles and so are nobles important to weapon makers . You might have known about the Lorr family who became aristocrats a long time ago and now they are personal weapon makers of The Royal Family . So most of the Blacksmiths try to emulate the achievements of the Lorr family . "
Eva also added bits of her own information when the topic of blacksmiths and the Lorr Family came up, "That's true, also from what I heard from Grandma, they are said to be providing weapons for the spies of the Royal Family so they have earned quite an important position in the imperial palace . As far as rumors go by in the Imperial Palace, it is believed that the Royal Family gave the Lorr family two choices after they became famous and too strong because of their weapon making . 1: They become personal Weaponmakers of the Royal Family, or
2: The Royal family would forcefully extract their weapon making techniques and silence them if necessary . However 2nd option was not said but was only implied by many in their family after the Royal family tried to hire them .
After considering the pros and cons, their elders had decided to become personal Weaponmakers of the Royal Family as this would improve their social status but they could also avoid a disaster . For their family, it was a joyous occasion as most people didn't know the cost of declining the Royal Family's offer . Although the Lorr family was quite strong during those times as well however they may not have enough strength if it came to a rebellion and they already made quite a lot of enemies internally while their dominion wasn't close to any border . However, my grandma only heard it from the gossip of those old men in the court which usually took place . So this can't be confirmed yet . My grandma is one of those believers of this story while there is a group that says it is a rumor to malign to the royal family . However, this Gossip only takes place between those strong men privately in court and most of the time there is a gag order when it comes to this gossip . Additionally, Lorr family always said privately that they were never forced by the royal family so not many can confirm this gossip even if it is true . "
All of the people here knew about Grandma Melanie being a court official in her day so they weren't shocked by this revelation However all of them got a new perspective on the royal family and understood one of the reasons why Grandma Melanie lived here away from the politics of the Imperial Palace and was spending her days in rest, experimentation and leisure here in North-frontier town . While guiding Eva in potion making but as she found her interest as a fire magician she started finding a capable disciple who can inherit her legacy in potion making and now she can see that exactly in John or maybe he would go even higher than her and make a bigger name than her in the future .
Chapter 44
All of the people here knew about Grandma Melanie being a court official in her day so they weren't shocked by this revelation However all of them got a new perspective on the royal family and understood one of the reasons why Grandma Melanie lived here away from the politics of the Imperial Palace and was spending her days in rest, experimentation and leisure here in North-frontier town . While guiding Eva in potion making but as she found her interest as a fire magician she started finding a capable disciple who can inherit her legacy in potion making and now she can see that exactly in John or maybe he would go even higher than her and make a bigger name than her in the future .
Meanwhile, during the dinner at the Mansion of Baron Mendez, Joseph was the one kept the mood alive of all the people in the dining room .
Baron Mendez was quite surprised with the food he tasted this time around, he had heard a lot of rumors that about the food served by servants of John and Joseph, but he thought they were nothing special, it was only now that he felt that food today was quite good compared to the ones made by chefs at his mansion . He had thought of taking a shot at them if the food wasn't good enough but it seemed that the rumors among aristocratic circles were quite right and earlier thought that Marquis Ray was only giving them face because of their deal . So after tasting the dishes, he decided against ridiculing them but genuinely praised their dishes .
"It seems that the rumors were quite true about your dishes and chefs among the aristocratic circles," Baron remarked after eating the dishes .
While it seemed that Antonio also toned down his cold stare quite a bit after eating some delicious food . It was because he was quite surprised after making his first bite on the food . As a noble, he had eaten quite a variety of delicacies in Aelius kingdom so he thought it would be just like those normal dishes he often ate but this time he was quite surprised and hence the surprised reaction .
Watching that the mood of both Antonio and Baron Mendez softened a bit, he decided to start the main topic this time around after a bit of light talk .
"haha, no no, we were just lucky to across these new dishes and so we decided to share it with others . Actually, it was John who made this dish and told their recipes to his servants which were also transferred to my chefs . " Joseph replied while laughing .
Baron was skeptical a bit and smiled but he neither agreed nor did he disagree with Joseph .
While Antonio and James were watching the show from the sidelines .
"Last time I heard, you guys pretty much injured Antonio in the duel for 2 months . If it wasn't for the doctors or using precious herbs, Antonio still would be on his bed . How do you plan to explain to me about the previous incident?"
As expected, Baron had intended to use the previous incident to Jack up the prices and put pressure on them .
"Well, I think it was only a duel and as you know, in most of the duels some will get injured and some won't . How about this, we will pay for the road maintenance charges which would incur to us as compensation for the previous incident . " John and Joseph were already prepared for the jacking up of prices and hence they decided to use road maintenance as one of the chips . The thing was they were anyways going to unilaterally maintain the roads and hence John proposed this idea to Joseph earlier who in turn proposed to baron here .
Baron thought this would be better for his dominion as this would reduce his costs . he also made sure that John pays for Road maintenance later on even if John doesn't own the land later on,
"However you have to make sure that you pay for road maintenance in the future even if you don't own North-frontier town later on and if you fail to do so then your soap factory will become collateral against it . " This was Baron's main aim the time during their negotiations .
Joseph thought for a bit and didn't agree to it but later made a counter-proposal, the new proposal included, "As long as John owned north-frontier town he would maintain maintenance for free but in case he loses the land then he will only pay for 10 years worth of road maintenance in the future and if he fails to do so then his soap factory can be used as a collateral against it . "
"Ok, these terms are fine as well . "
After some thought Baron agreed to these terms as it was anyway a bonus for him since he got a buffer which would save his costs later on even if they managed to survive the Beast attack, Later on, it was Joseph who handled the negotiations for buying North-frontier and an honorary noble title of Baron .
The negotiations were quite hard and it seemed that Baron knew that John was willing to pay a big price for the town and hence he betted on playing hard during the negotiations . It was also because he knew that John wanted to finish the deal as fast as possible so that he can increase the defenses of North-frontier town for preparations later on and save as many people as possible . Baron didn't try to push his luck much later on but he knew this year's invasion of magic beasts would be more ferocious than the previous years . It was only when Baron reached their bottom line that he agreed to sell North-frontier town at a price of 25,000 gold coins with an honorary noble title .
Both the Baron and Antonio were quite happy with today's result as they got a buffer zone and this decreased their defense costs for the current year without any blame for the North-frontier town . And if anything happens later on, it will be their responsibility . While they successfully managed to hide the fact that this year it was going to be harsher than any other years for North-frontier town they thanked their fortunes gleefully however they still didn't know that John was already prepared and knew about the attack, that's why he made a big risky bet this time to get a dominion .
Meanwhile, Eric, on the other hand, reached East seaport in the north and arranged all the lodgings and required supplies for all the slaves and proceeded to transport the soaps which were newly ordered from the Rose Factory .
He already had orders from both Joseph and Frank about their treatment of slaves, mobilization of fleet and importance of this trade route since a lot of people will try to target them later on .
That was also why he got a bigger fleet and crew this time when they made their journey north this time around .
After completing all the tasks, Eric was going to wait for Joseph and John for further instructions .
During their journey this time around, he found Jake to be the most interesting person in the whole group of slaves . When he watched Jake, his eyes reflected deep sorrow and pain from his past .
One of his mates Sean saw this and understood what he saw in Jake . He didn't bother Eric and let him be on his own . he was one of the guys who traveled with Eric from a long time ago and he understood him the most .
Chapter 45
Eric approached Jake and said to him with a smile and kind tone when Jake was training alone among the slaves, "If you hate your weakness, become strong enough to protect yourself and your loved ones . " This was unlike Eric's unusual behavior previously and it was the same old carefree and happy mood . However, these words were deep and contained practical experiences .
While smoking in the bar, Eric was chatting with one of his mates,
"This Time young master made quite a good deal and a friend . Our internal problems this time are also fixed by reports we are getting directly from one of those men and this has decreased our cost on manpower and resources . "
"That's true but our problems have increased as well this time . But Captain I bet you miss those beauties on board this time around . " replied one of his mates after joking and laughing .
Eric laughed and replied sheepishly in his usual carefree and joking tone, "Sure enough, but I am still a gentleman when it comes to treating women, I only peek at them for their safety so others don't have other malicious thoughts . "
After some lighthearted talk, Eric came to the main point and said in a serious tone .
"From now on, all of you guys have to be more focused when we travel down south and up north . As far as compensation and wages go, you guys will be receiving 3 times more from now on so there is something to cheer about . And for those who want to leave they can leave as well . "
"What are you talking about captain, since we have followed you on our journey in seas from a long time, there will always be problems of pirates when we travel in seas, its good now that we can increase our base of operations and fleet . Let's enjoy ourselves since we will be getting paid 3 times more from now on . " Said his right-hand man, Sean, as he drank beer and said in a drunk mood, while others laughed and agree to Sean . He was not a guy with a big build but he was the one who always organized people during Eric's absence, The crew respected him because he had already proved himself in the past because of his firm decisions which changed a lot of outcomes for them .
The serious talk ended in a happy mood because, as sailors, they always knew there will be problems when it comes to pirate attacks so their lives were always in danger and hence increase in wages was better for them anyway .
Eric's aim was achieved as there was no commotion about the problems that were mentioned and an increase in wages cheered up the mood for everyone .
'It seems I made a good set of companions during the time we traveled the seas . ' Eric thought after watching their reaction .
During this time Diana arrived at North-frontier town, the first thing Diana did was to go to John's Mansion and made her lodging at his mansion . The other problems were handled by Vlad as he met Eric and told him to explain the servants of the mansion as Eric was familiar with people in Mansion and Factory . Eric knew about Vlad from Joseph before traveling so he helped him explain the servants of the Mansion about their identity .
The servants in the mansion were quite nervous but they still believed Eric as they already knew that he was Joseph's, right-hand man .
During this time, Vlad arranged the security of the mansion and guided Servants for their work . he was also quite amazed by the ice house which was made with the help of saltpeter as it was present in the mansion but he didn't pry further for more details as he understood that they already crossed a lot of boundaries because of Diana's willfulness earlier and so he hoped John and others ignore their behavior this time around .
Meanwhile, at Baron's Mansion,
Baron used this opportunity to get as many recipes from Joseph's chef as he can get, he knew that Joseph and John are unable to reject him unless and until the deal was finalized and sealed . After dealing with the Baron for the whole day and giving him 25,000 gold coins, they signed the contract and planned to head on their way to North-frontier town in the north after some rest . After signing their deal, John made a sigh of relief as he can now aggressively continue his plans after laying low for such a long time after arriving at Arkon .
After they left, they went to meet their companions and tell them about the good news .
After they left Baron's mansion, one of Prince Hector's men came to Baron's mansion and sent them a letter . This letter was a reply to their request for the elite assassins which Antonio had asked for earlier . This letter was read by both Antonio and Baron Mendez . He already concluded that this letter was a positive one since Prince Hector had replied to them . If they weren't interested then they would have not even bothered to write a reply letter to them .
While George, who was in Dolores, he had already heard about the rumors of John buying North-Frontier town from the servants of the mansion after he delivered his weapons to Baron Mendez . Baron Mendez this time had asked him a lot about John and his factory this time around . From Baron's words, he understood that there was something going on behind the scenes but he still remained cautious with his words as he understood that John also got backing of some nobles and had earned an honorary baron's noble status . He also got to know that Baron had earlier planned to abandon North-Frontier town and had only told him about it so he doesn't get inflicted . Although George is quite selfish about some things but he still clung to North-Frontier town because of his past and ancestors or else he would have long ago settled in Dolores or some other big city but he was still living in North-Frontier town because he felt free here and it reminded him of his past but he still cared about life . His past had also changed him a lot and that is why he became selfish as he got more experiences interacting with other people . Hearing this he was quite mad, usually, he wouldn't be mad unless a question of North-frontier town's survival came into question but he still hid it well when this was mentioned .
he always tried to be sincere with people who were sincere with him but when he was forced to choose a decision he would always take decisions that harmed him the least and wait for an opportunity and hence he was perceived as a selfish person many times by people .
In the Market at Dolores,
John and Joseph met with their companions and told them about the good news that Baron Mendez had agreed to sell the Town to them and they got both the deeds,
1 . North-frontier Towns deed .
2 . Deed of Honorary Baron .
Sally was quite skeptical about how the Baron so easily gave up the land but she still understood that there were many benefits for him in throwing responsibility on John's head about the magic beast attacks and successfully creating a buffer between forest and his Domain while lowering his costs at the same time .