Chapter 219 A New Understanding Of Roisen Boys
Back in the old wing of Grandchester Castle, Baron Jilbafuchs confirmed that Crown Prince Gerhart had not yet returned from dinner and hurried to take a bath.
'First, I must tell His Highness about what happened today and think of a plan.'
After washing away the unpleasantly sweet smell that lingered on his body, Baron Jilbafuchs changed his clothes and, while sipping a refreshing mint herbal tea, recalled the chaotic events of the day.
'Sophia Merchant Guild, huh? Rather than being a merchant guild connected to the Grandchester family, it might be a guild created to prevent the Grandchester family from being taken advantage of by dirty merchants. They probably noticed the collusion, but if the merchants join forces, it will be hard to fight back.'
As a merchant himself, Baron Jilbafuchs saw that the Sophia Merchant Guild's direct challenge to the big merchants seemed like a very reckless fight. No matter how wealthy the Grandchester family was, it was hard to believe they could go without cashing in 70% of this year's income.
'And to think that such a beautiful woman would stand at the forefront of battle.'
Recalling the graceful figure of Sophia, Baron Jilbafuchs felt deeply ashamed of the inappropriate feelings he had experienced during the day.
'However, it is quite appealing that there is a merchant guild holding a large amount of wheat with no buyers lined up. Among those merchants, there might be some who pretend to be kind while buying wheat from the Sophia Merchant Guild. Some might even approach Sophia with a friendly face, only to make inappropriate demands in return for their purchases.'
As Baron Jilbafuchs thought about this, he suddenly felt a surge of anger.
'Could it be that the Grandchester family appointed Sophia as the guild master of the merchant guild with this in mind? How ruthless!'
Baron Jilbafuchs imagined the disgusting laughter of the merchants who were enchanted by Sophia's charm, but this was a big misunderstanding. If anyone were to make such an inappropriate proposal to Sophia, Robert would surely crush them without mercy.
In fact, it was Baron Jilbafuchs who was getting lost in cheap heroism, enchanted by Sophia's charm.
'Then, wouldn't it be better for Roisen to buy wheat from the Sophia Merchant Guild? If there's no way for the Sophia Merchant Guild to cash in on mineral resources, they could also trade through other merchants. This way, they could protect Sophia from the Grandchester family and those unscrupulous merchants.'
Suddenly, he sensed movement outside the door as the servants began to stir. It seemed that Crown Prince Gerhart had returned. Baron Jilbafuchs also prepared himself and made his way to the corridor connecting the main castle and the old building to greet him.
"Baron Jilbafuchs, you're back."
"Yes. Actually, there is something urgent I need to report."
"I see. Then let's talk in my room."
Moving to a different location, Crown Prince Gerhart received the report from Baron Jilbafuchs and closed his eyes, hesitating. He felt a desire to avoid getting involved in other countries' troubles, but at the same time, he understood that this was a good opportunity to prioritize buying wheat.
"This is troublesome. Merchant collusion can happen in any country, but I didn't expect it to be this large-scale."
In fact, Avalon does not have proper laws against collusion. There are laws to regulate it, but proving that collusion occurred is very difficult. Simply gathering merchants to discuss things does not make them guilty. However, since it's not good to upset royalty or nobles, there are not many cases where collusion is done so boldly.
"Still, Kojimo... it doesn't sound very Avalon-like."
"That's true. It seems more like a name you would find around Florence."
"Is it just a coincidence?"
"Right now, we have little information, so I can't say much."
However, considering the recent riots using the name Roisen and the organized embezzlement that had been happening before that, it seems like these incidents might be connected.
"In any case, we should do a favor for Grandchester now. Given that Grandchester openly challenged the merchants through the Sophia Merchant Guild, it's better to assume that Baron Jilbafuchs's participation in the collusion meeting is already known."
"Yes. I was careless. I apologize."
"No, we should take advantage of this situation and get Grandchester on our side. I will send a secret letter to Marquis Grandchester now. I'll write that 'one of my subordinates was present at the meeting' and 'Roisen is ready to buy wheat at a fair price.'."
Baron Jilbafuchs smirked.
"Actually, I was thinking the same thing. It seems like hiding things won't do us any good, so I plan to share what I heard last night with the Sophia Merchant Guild. I was thinking of asking for permission to buy wheat openly from the Sophia Merchant Guild. If the Sophia Merchant Guild doesn't have a distribution route for mineral resources, we could use a merchant guild that can cash in."
"Heh... ahahaha. Ulrich... are you really that into the merchant named Sophia?"
"No, that's not my intention... I'm just doing this for Roisen..."
"I don't doubt that you're working for Roisen. But when it comes to the Sophia Merchant Guild, your expression changes so much."
Crown Prince Gerhart laughed loudly and teased Baron Jilbafuchs.
"But Ulrich, make sure you don't get involved with that Sophia."
"May I ask why?"
"Because we shouldn't anger the Grandchester family any further. Have you forgotten the warning from Sir Robert earlier today?"
"Isn't it because the Sophia Merchant Guild is standing at the forefront for the merchants? They probably didn't want any issues with their key players at such an important moment."
"But Sophia is very similar to Lady Sara, right? The Grandchester family seems to value their own surprisingly well. Sophia must be cherished too."
"But she's a woman."
Baron Jilbafuchs replied to Crown Prince Gerhart with a frustrated expression.
"Perhaps that's the part where we Roisen men need to change our thinking. I feel like I just got scolded sharply by the Lady of Duke Arbal."
"What do you mean by that?"
"It means to stop doing unnecessary things to Lady Sara. I wanted to make her value known to the world and hoped she could be happy without being tied down by the Grandchester family. But Lady Sara looked genuinely fed up. Well, she was polite on the surface, but the Lady Duke Arbal could read the atmosphere well enough to interrupt my actions."
"How rude!"
"No, from their perspective, we are the ones being rude. The women of Avalon are stronger and have their own will more than we realize. The men of Roisen think that protecting women from outside threats and spoiling them with what they like is love."
"Women are weak beings, so it's only natural to protect them, isn't it?"
Baron Jilbafuchs insisted to his lord.
"However, Lady Arbal is a strong woman who chose her own husband to be Duke. And Lady Sara, despite having such amazing skills, says she doesn't want to be a performer. It's a shame, but I understand that this is Lady Sara's true feeling. The men of the Grandchester family are trying to protect Lady Sara's wishes. Looking back, it seems that Lady Rebecca also rejected Adolf until the very end, so in Avalon, women probably decide their own paths. If that's the case, it makes sense to think that Sophia also chose the path of a merchant for herself. If you try to push your noble status on someone like that, you'll just end up thrown out of the shop, you know?"
"Is that so...?"
"I want to support my friend Ulrich's love, but right now, it seems difficult. Well, I hope you can deepen this relationship through wheat trading."
Baron Jilbafuchs slumped his shoulders in disappointment. He looked truly sorrowful.
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