Chapter 184: Adams's Dilemma!

"Black Dragon! Set sail!"

At dusk, at Gervas's command, the sails of the Black Dragon unfurled rapidly.

Driven by the sea breeze, the streamlined warship shot out of the harbor like a sharp arrow, racing northward.

Sugar, due to its high value, was something Gervas did not wish to sell with the same fanfare as the telescopes.

After all, although the market for telescopes was also broad, one could be used for several years, even a dozen.

Sales volume was basically fixed.

But sugar was different.

It was something that could become a daily necessity, like salt, tea, or spices, with consumption that never ended.

Thus, to avoid being targeted by those with ulterior motives, Gervas hoped to hide his identity as much as possible.

Although such concealment obviously would not last long, he would hide for as long as he could, giving himself more time to grow!

"How is it? Is there any news?"

"Young Master Adams, the messengers sent to the Diaz, Henderson, and Tucker families have all returned; they all stated they have no surplus honey reserves."

"I know they have no surplus honey reserves; I hope they will sell me all their existing honey. I am willing to buy at double the price and owe them a favor!"

That night, in the luxurious study of Marquis Marquis Aosiding Castle, Adams, the eldest son, had bloodshot eyes; he had not rested for three days.

Originally, he wanted to seize this opportunity to hold a grand birthday celebration for his Hou Jue father, showcase his talents as the eldest son, and express his love and devotion to his father.

For this, he had started preparing half a year in advance; although he encountered many difficulties over the months, he resolved them one by one.

With the celebration time drawing near, he had thought everything would proceed smoothly.

But then, the most fatal news appeared.

The honey reserved half a year in advance had actually been hijacked by pirates during transport!

Even though he dispatched the family fleet to wipe out several suspicious pirate gangs, they failed to recover the hijacked honey.

That honey seemed to have vanished into thin air, completely gone without a trace.

And without honey, all the sweet cakes and desserts for tomorrow's banquet would be affected.

Thus, tomorrow's birthday celebration was destined to be ruined.

"Young Master Adams, the messengers also conveyed this request... but the several families all stated that if they sold their self-use honey to you, they would have no honey to eat for the next half year."

"This is something they cannot endure, so they truly cannot sell to you; please understand!"

Adams's face shifted between green and white, but in the end, he could not complain about anything.

Nobles indeed could not endure days without honey.

One or two days would be fine, but if there was no honey for half a year, eating only those sour and astringent jams every day, that would absolutely kill a noble.

"Then, what about the merchant houses?"

"Eldest Young Master, we have asked the merchant houses several times; they still state they have no honey inventory."

"Impossible! These fellows always had honey for sale anytime, anywhere in previous years; how coincidentally, when I need it, they are all out of stock! They must have been warned!"

"Spread the word: I am willing to buy honey at triple the price... no, I am willing to buy at five times the price!"

"Five times?" The subordinate was startled.

Honey is something that costs twenty silver coins per kilogram; multiplied by five, wouldn't that be one gold coin per kilogram?

Given the consumption volume for this banquet, at least seven or eight hundred kilograms of honey would be needed; that would be seven or eight hundred gold coins.

The annual income of a Viscount's fief is not much more than that.

Of course, this is not the main point; the main point is that these gold coins, the 'people with ulterior motives' in the castle would certainly not let Young Master Adams withdraw them all from the treasury.

So, the extra premium would most likely have to be paid out of Young Master Adams's own pocket.

"As long as there is honey, I will immediately pay the full five times the price, and similarly, I, Adams, will owe a favor!"

"Yes, Young Master Adams!"

The subordinate no longer hesitated, quickly left the study, and headed toward the city of Odin.

However, if the merchant houses in the city were truly willing to sell honey, they wouldn't have had to wait until now.

After all, they all conducted business under the nose of the Marquis Marquis Aosiding family.

Thus, when the first ray of sunlight rose from the horizon the next day, the subordinate returned again.

The news brought had not changed.

"Young Master Adams!"

"How is it?"

Adams stood by the window, looking at the Hou Jue castle which had already begun to grow noisy.

"I apologize, Young Master; I am incompetent..."

The subordinate's face was full of guilt; he had knocked on the doors of all the merchant house managers overnight, persuading and promising no matter what, but they all insisted they had no honey!

"Enough, you may go down!"

Adams's voice became calmer than ever before.

"Young Master..."

"I told you to go down!"

As the subordinate retreated, a trace of desolation finally appeared on Adams's face.

"In the end, I have lost! Evan, you have won!"

Evan was Adams's younger brother, the second son of Hou Jue Marquis Marquis Aosiding.

However, it is worth mentioning that the two were half-brothers, sharing the same father but different mothers.

Adams's birth mother died in childbirth when he was born; thus, in the second year, Hou Jue Marquis Marquis Aosiding married again, taking a daughter from a Duke's family as his wife.

Evan was the son born to this duke's daughter.

And with the arrival of this stepmother, plus the birth of Evan, this younger brother, Adams' life was as one could imagine.

To avoid his early death, his maternal grandfather took him away from the Marquis Marquis Aosiding family from a young age and brought him back to the Earl's domain.

Not until he was fourteen, and it was confirmed he could stand on his own, was he sent back from his grandfather's house to the Marquis Marquis Aosiding family castle.

After all, no matter what, he was the eldest son of the Marquis Marquis Aosiding family.

In a land with a system of primogeniture, this identity was the foundation for his future counterattack.

Of course, the stepmother, the duke's daughter, certainly would not sit idly by while the title was obtained by Adams.

Thus, for seven or eight years, both sides had been secretly fighting and struggling against each other.

But in the end, the duke's daughter, utilizing her arrangements over these years, defeated Adams, the eldest son.

Actually, no need to think too much; this honey incident was certainly the work of the stepmother and her younger brother.

Otherwise, which pirate would be sick in the brain, to offend the Marquis Marquis Aosiding family for a mere few hundred gold coins' worth of honey?

Thinking that the matter of the missing honey would soon reach his father's ears, Adams simply walked out of the study silently, then rode out of the castle alone.

And once outside the castle, he found he had nowhere to go, nor anyone to whom he could pour out all his bitterness and sorrow.

So, he went straight toward the coast outside Odin City.

"My lord, ahead is Odin City; that magnificent castle on the mountain peak to the side of the city is Hou Jue's Marquis Marquis Aosiding Castle!"

"Wood, then find a suitable spot to land!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Pirate Wood... no, now he should be called Captain Wood of the Black Dragon!

After receiving Gervas's orders, he immediately commanded the sailors to begin landing.

Because the Black Dragon was a warship with a shallow draft, it did not require a dedicated port to dock.

Finding a suitable bay, a few minutes later, the Black Dragon finished docking.

The wooden bridge was lowered, and Gervas stepped onto the soft sand.

"Knight Mi Gen, you stay and guard the Black Dragon; the rest, follow me!"

"Yes, my lord!"