Road to the Crown

Chapter 24: Elia's offer

Just like both the ancient, current and future sages would say, sleep is a remedy for the most problems related to the man's soul. After a good night of rest in a surprisingly comfortable bed, all the worries from the last day were gone, with new challenges of the current day already taking all my attention.

With my butler scheduled to come to fetch me when the time would be ripe to get to the meeting I set up yesterday with the innkeepers from my area, I had nothing better to do than just stay in my bed and think about the future.

And it wasn't as bright as I initially thought it would be. From common problems that I never realised how dire they were before actually experiencing them on my own skin like lack of a proper plumbing system including bathrooms and washrooms or lack of proper education, all the way to burning problems like a weak military I had access to and overall powerless state of my lands against any invasion from more adventurous noble.

Sure, I had an almost impregnable castle that could protect me and my most loyal retainers, and the city that was the backbone of the power of my household just finished renovating its walls under the guidance of my great ancestor But that was basically everything.

Without a mobile, even if the small, army, I was unable to project my own influence outside of the borders of my privately owned land. Even if I would be capable of creating an insanely popular product like the beer I hoped to infuse in all shops around my own area, as long as other nobles decided to ban it, no matter how much merchants would like to buy it and trade with it, I would be forced to abandon the idea!

Before I even realised, my thoughts got interrupted by the knock on the doors leading to my chamber, before someone pushed them open, letting themselves in.

"It's time, my lord."

Just as I expected, it was the butler coming to alert me of the time. If I wanted for the shop owners to actually take me seriously, I couldn't allow myself to be late for the meeting I scheduled myself!

Dragging myself from a surprisingly comfortable bed, I pointed at the barrels standing on the floor of the chamber.

"Fetch some servants to bring those barrels down. I will get someone to organise the carriage, as I need them for the meeting."

With how I didn't bother to change my clothes before going to sleep, I only patted the cloth a few times before I got satisfied with the results and stepped through the doors with the intention of rushing to deal with the matters at hand, only to be stopped right beside my doors.

"Good morning, my lord."

Resting her back against the wall of the corridor, Elia greeted me with a slight bow while trying to hide her mischievous smile. From the way she attempted to lower her head in order to hide the curvature on her lips, I could guess what was her aim in waiting for me.

"Let me guess You want to come with me?"

Instantly straightening her back, Elia no longer hid her smile as she sprung her arms forward and hanged herself on my neck, bringing her body closer to mine in a light hug.

"How thoughtful of you, my lord!"

After gracing me with this slight amount of skinship, she distanced herself from me for a far enough to let me actually through the corridor. With no time to waste, I just shook my head before grabbing her hand and walking towards the staircase.

"What's so interesting in meeting with some jews? It's not like you didn't attend this kind of meetings back when you were still living in Pilzno."

I was the only one who knows the implications that this meeting could bring. If not for simple curiosity, I couldn't really wrap my head around her intention of accompanying me. From what I remembered from the history classes, this sort of meetings would either be boring or as long as pointless with how merchants and overall middle class considered the nobility the leechers living off their profits! Especially with how generous my lord ancestor was towards them - something almost unimaginable for anyone else from the nobles slowly turning into a proper, thoughtless aristocracy.

"Calling for this meeting was the first thing you did after freeing ourselves from that annoying envoy. You don't need to be a genius to see how much of importance did you attach to it, my lord!"

Did I mention how smart she was? Once again, she managed to derive information from the stuff I didn't pay any attention to! But there wasn't actually any problem with bringing her along for the meeting. If we wanted to appear as a proper couple, if my retainers were to see her sticking to my side at all times, especially with how young our relationship was, the rumours about how close we actually were, could turn into an usefull tool in my struggle against her family!

"Well, you got me there! I want to offer them the chance to partake in the new model of trading beer in my lands. I just need some of them to see the potential profits of my plan, to actually go forward with it. While it would be for the best for all of them to be as enthusiastic about it as I am, with how it will limit their freedom a bit, I don't think it will go as easily as I would want it to."

No matter the times, changes were abhorred by the majority of the people. If I wanted a tool to project my power in the trade and get real profits from it, while taking some freedom away from them, I had to make sure to offer them something equal in value in exchange. With that said, I could already tell who would be for and who would be against the idea.

If I were to just sell the beer at the high price it deserved, no one would bat an eye, nor would anything change in the long term. If I really wanted to bring a change to my lands, I had to sell the beer for the similar price to what was offered already, while limiting any potential profit-making into the better quality drinks that I would export along the way.

"If that's the case, how about letting me convince them? Considering the trading rights you asked me about during our first meeting, I think I can assume that this beer matter was something you already considered back then? Flaunting the potential profits from trading it to the east could work as a nice charm!"

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