Chapter 99: The Mentor's Secret Care (23)

Lady Agneth did not have Selena's dazzling beauty, but her eyes were kind and bright, her features delicate, her posture graceful, like a quietly blooming white tulip.

No matter who she stood beside, she neither seemed out of place nor went unnoticed.

Now her mana had advanced to the Four-ring, this quality became even more pronounced.

When she entered the official's study wearing a light purple dress, Luosen immediately set down the bracelet sample in his hand, raised his hand to his chest in an apprentice's salute, and said, "Guide Master's respects."

The Count, who had been made dizzy by Luosen's pressure, also let out a great sigh of relief, as if meeting a savior: "Sister, you've returned just in time. This little apprentice is full of tricks—I truly am no match for him."

Lady Agneth walked toward the desk to examine the bracelet Luosen had brought.

Luosen immediately stepped aside, making room for the mentor.

She picked up the light, exquisite bracelet, examined it closely, even infused it with mana to inspect its internal structure.

As she looked, a hint of surprise appeared on Lady Agneth's face.

"Luosen, for such a small thing, you've set up such a complex magical lock?"

For a moment, she could not break it.

Luosen narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Mentor, don't look down on small things, but it does collect ordinary people's 'expectation power.' Please allow me to name this subtle force that has long been overlooked—it refers to the faint mana naturally present in every ordinary person's soul; when an ordinary person deliberately focuses on an object, this very weak mana follows and entwines with it."

Lady Agneth looked interested: "Continue."

"For example, this bracelet is named 'Lovely Maiden'; that name is a hint."

"When the buyer takes it home and wears it daily, they naturally imbue the bracelet with the expectation of 'Lovely Maiden.' Once the bracelet is stimulated, it can produce a 'minor spell' that grants the wearer the moistening of the water element, thus creating a beautiful effect."

"It's truly interesting and indeed effective, although the effect is very weak, but given enough time, it becomes noticeable to the wearer, right?"

Luosen nodded: "If the expectation is strong, wearing it for ten days will produce a noticeable effect."

Lady Agneth lowered her gaze to the bracelet: "The craftsmanship is exquisite, on par with Aaron's imported magical devices, and the materials are unique—I've never seen anything like it."

She lifted her head to look at Luosen, her bright violet eyes once again shining with inquiry.

"Luosen, it seems you've done a great deal of pioneering research in the Magic Method Laboratory that I know nothing about."

Luosen readily nodded: "Yes, Mentor, I've done quite a bit."

"I have no doubt about its huge market, but since we plan to sell it in Shire County, how do you and my brother intend to split the profits?"

"There are two ways: one is three Ogres per unit with a six‑four profit split; or the Count sets his own price, buying from me at twenty Kyrens each."

"Both sound good. You just mentioned other types of minor magical devices?"

"Yes, many. I'm still developing them, following the same approach as this bracelet—targeting ordinary people's daily needs so that every ordinary person can afford magical devices."

"Excellent idea. What output can you reach?"

"I've been training artificers similar to bracelet makers; within three months, output can reach at least ten thousand per month."

"Not bad."

Lady Agneth praised sincerely, then turned to look at the Count.

"Brother, I think this is a very promising path; if it develops well, monthly income could reach tens of thousands of Ogres, meaning yearly revenue of hundreds of thousands of Ogres."

This made Luosen inwardly startled: 'Mentor, you're being overly optimistic, which doesn't match your usual cautious nature.'

He also realized that her saying this directly lowered the difficulty of reaching cooperation by an order of magnitude.

Sure enough, the Count exclaimed excitedly: "Sister, since even you find it reliable, this truly is a good business!"

The young sister's promotion to Arcane Master is the family's pride; perhaps in other matters the Count won't heed her, but in the field of magic he trusts her completely.

So when she said this, the Count immediately decided to cooperate with Luosen.

Since this is such a major deal, the affair of the Flame War Brigade naturally passes.

But there is still one matter he needs to clarify with this young baron.

Thus he cleared his throat, sat back in the leather chair, and said: "Luosen, my nephew, the smuggling activity at Broken Gold Dock has recently become quite rampant. What do you think?"

If they followed the normal route, these smuggled goods ought to have paid him taxes, but now they slip past without payment—this is taking advantage of him.

Although the current amount is not large, over the past month or more it has at least deprived his dock of several thousand Ogres in income.

The harbor tax at Broken Gold Dock is the largest source of income for Shire County, an inexhaustible family gold mine, and cannot be neglected in the slightest.

Speaking of this, Luosen's expression turned solemn; after obtaining the mentor's consent, he released a sealing barrier toward the study and the window.

Then he whispered: "Uncle, Mentor, I and the Princess have found a group of hidden supporters in the south."

Upon hearing this, the Robert siblings were both startled.

Lady Agneth felt her apprentice's sealing barrier was too weak, so she immediately added a four‑ring arcane spell she had just learned, the Wall of Secrets, enveloping the entire study.

She then said: "Supporters. Support what?"

Luosen whispered: "Support the Princess, oppose the current Duke."

Hearing this, the Count jumped up from his chair in shock: "This is rebellion. Well, this news is truly shocking!"

He wanted to say rebellion, but upon reflection, the Princess is also a member of the Adrian family, her natural divine blood is no thinner than the current Duke's, possibly even richer.

Because the Adrian lineage began with the Saintess Weilan, and the Saintess Weilan's bloodline manifests more fully in women.

The Princess's astonishingly pure emerald eyes perfectly illustrate this.

In fact, had the Princess not been too young back then, the ducal position would surely have gone to Laid. Aideli'an.

If Laid had done well, that would have been fine, and no one would have objected, but Laid is a weakling; the northern county barons all look down on him.

Shire is also a northern county; all goods from the White Continent must be scoured at Dawnstorm Harbor.

Although it had always been scoured before, after the new Duke took office, the scouring became even harsher.

The problem is, Dawn City raises taxes, but Shire County cannot follow suit recklessly, because it is geographically connected to the other northern counties.

Northerners have fiery tempers; if taxes rise too much, Shire County will suffer retaliation.

Thus, this northern trade hub ends up being scoured the hardest. For this, the Count Robert has long been deeply dissatisfied.

This new voyage affair has made him even more furious! Lady Agneth thought much more, she said nothing, but her gentle, large eyes fixed on her young apprentice.

This new route matter, he was even more furious! Lady Agneth, however, thought even more; she didn't speak, those soft, beautiful large eyes, however, stared at her young apprentice.

After looking for a while, she said, "Luosen, Selena cannot be a good Duke; although her character is steadfast, her mind is too shallow."

She and Selena have a very good relationship, are very familiar with each other, and know Selena's character well.

Luosen naturally knows this cannot be hidden from the instructor, and he does not intend to hide it.

"I will assist her; if things succeed, I will become Regent Minister."

Lady Agneth nodded: "That actually sounds somewhat reliable."

Returning to Shire County these days, she heard many rumors about White Sturgeon Island, and she also deliberately inquired, discovering that this young apprentice of hers is actually an exceptionally outstanding lord.

In the matter of being a lord, no one else in his position could do better than him.

Count Robert was initially somewhat shocked, but after careful thought, he also agreed with this.

He thought a lot.

First, Luosen's ability and insight are beyond doubt.

Second, Luosen is a northerner; he and his wife have a very good relationship with their own family.

Especially, Luosen is the first apprentice of the sister; he respects the sister greatly, and when the sister sent a letter, he came the next day.

Once he becomes Regent Minister, he will surely greatly look after the interests of Shire County.

Once he and the princess have a child, that child will have half northerner bloodline; his father is still a northern Baron, and when this child succeeds as the new Duke, thereafter they will definitely not neglect the north.

But he also has worries.

"The vampire counts of the southern counties will certainly not agree, but our northern county's warriors can beat them to a pulp. What about the Aaron people?"

Although unwilling, everyone knows that the current Duke of Weilan is actually supported by the Aaron people; even if not a puppet, he greatly favors the Aaron people's interests.

The Aaron people will absolutely not stand by and watch him be overthrown.

Once Dawn City changes, the lion fleet sailing the gilded strait will immediately head north.

Perhaps on land they and the Aaron people still have some clashes, but the strait will definitely be blockaded, cutting off all maritime trade routes of Weilan and the White Continent, even preventing grain imports.

High-end arcane goods are just a minor matter; it's merely enduring hard days, but grain is the lifeline—missing a meal makes one anxious.

Our northern county doesn't really worry about lacking grain, but those short-sighted fools in the southern county have planted cotton, sugarcane, tobacco, and all sorts of nonsense in their fields.

Without grain supply from the White Continent, it would practically be a human tragedy! Moreover, southerners are numerous; even if the north wanted to help, there wouldn't be enough grain to save them.

Thus the two words "Aaron" are a huge stone weighing on the heart of every Weilan Count.

Regarding this, Luosen actually has a countermeasure, but now is not the time to propose implementing it.

He whispered: "So, we must accumulate strength year by year, both storing more grain and developing our own Weilan arcane industry to achieve self-reliance."

"Self-reliance?"

The Robert siblings savored this word slowly, their faces showing complex expressions.

Weilan has never achieved true self-reliance.

Even during the era of the Saintess Weilan, it was only because of strong support from the Aaron people that they managed to establish a foothold on Weilan Giant Island.

After a long while, Count Robert finally came to his senses and asked: "So, what is the purpose of this smuggling?"

"White Sturgeon Island needs to develop strength to prove that Princess Selena has sufficient ability to lead Weilan. At the same time, I will later become Regent Minister and also need some of my own economic sources."

"But the Duke has a trade ban, so we have no choice but to smuggle."

"Ban?"

Count Robert wanted to say let the ban go to hell, but he quickly recalled the administration department of Shialin City.

Shire County is the wealthiest county among the northern counties, naturally also the county the Duke watches most closely; thus his autonomy is far smaller than that of other counties.

Here, even a slight stir will reach the Duke's ears in no time.

At this moment, Lady Agneth spoke.

"Brother, the trade between other northern counties and White Sturgeon Island is merely an extra addition; it won't affect the current trade volume of Shattergold Dock—just close your eyes and it'll be fine."

Count Robert thought it over and felt it was not wrong; moreover, even if this batch of smuggling were brought under jurisdiction, it would only bring in an extra ten or twenty thousand Ogre per year, and his magical tool cooperation with Luosen has long since compensated for this loss.

"Alright, but Luosen, keep the movement small; best not to go via Shattergold River. The magistrate of Shialin County is a loyal hound of Leid, he watches closely."

Luosen nodded: "I will develop more covert smuggling routes, uncle."

Shattergold River is the largest river in the north; not using it will greatly increase transportation costs.

He secretly thought: "Looks like we need to develop dedicated smuggling ships."

"Then it's settled."

All that needed to be discussed has been settled, and the three people's tense nerves have relaxed considerably.

The Count asked with a relaxed expression: "How many days do you plan to stay this time?"

"I want to go back tomorrow; Princess Selena is quite lonely on the island alone."

Upon hearing this, Lady Agneth immediately felt heartbroken: "Oh~ my poor princess. Brother, I want to spend the Winter Veil Festival on White Sturgeon Island this year."

The Count shrugged: "That's fine too."

He is pleased to see his sister and the princess on good terms.

Luosen also said: "Uncle, I want to go to your library to look up information related to fish-people, because the fish-people outside the island are really annoying. Your look."

"Go ahead and check, sister; you're familiar with this, take Luosen there."

Lady Agneth smiled faintly: "I was just thinking of doing that."

(End of chapter)