Chapter 267

"Your Excellencies, since I've brought out this magic fan, I intend to gift it to you—how could I possibly charge you gold coins for it!"

"Really? Then we thank you, Your Highness, the First Prince of the Griffon!" The envoys' faces darkened, then instantly lit up with joy.

"But Your Excellencies, I must clarify one point: although this magic fan will be gifted to you, you must wait a short while before receiving it in hand."

"After all, you surely know this magic fan is a newly invented magical device!"

"This… Your Highness, how long must we wait?" The envoys' joy dimmed—they were desperate to possess it.

The First Prince of the Griffon said nothing, but turned to Mories, "This question requires Mories Hou Jue to answer, for this gift was recommended to me by Mories Hou Jue himself!"

Swish!

All the nobles in the hall turned their gazes sharply toward Mories.

Mories froze—he hadn't expected the First Prince to directly name him.

And now, besides the nobles' astonished stares, he could feel the cold gaze of the Second Prince.

He sighed; he knew he couldn't avoid it.

Of course, the First Prince didn't do this to harm him.

He did it because he truly valued Mories and intended to push him forward.

After this, everyone would know Mories was the First Prince's most steadfast supporter—and had aided him.

And if, afterward, the First Prince failed to reward or protect this 'subordinate,' who else would dare ally with him?

Clearly, no one would.

So, he would surely gain benefits from the First Prince soon—but at the cost of utterly alienating the Second Prince.

Of course, Mories wasn't foolish.

Having taken this step, he wouldn't hesitate—he stood up straight.

"Your Highness, and Your Excellencies, the earliest we can receive the second batch of magic fans for you is one and a half months from now!"

"One and a half months? That's rather long!"

"Your Highness, this magic fan originates from the Stormhold in the Southern Marches, so a round trip takes considerable time!"

"Stormhold? That sounds familiar…"

The First Prince of the Griffon frowned.

Mories and Adrie exchanged strange glances.

The Prince had reacted the same way before.

And now the First Prince reacted the same way.

One couldn't tell if this was luck or misfortune—Gervas, merely a minor border noble, had now been noticed twice by the kingdom's power elite.

And after this, the First Prince would surely never forget Stormhold or Gervas.

"Your Highness, Lord Gervas of Stormhold was one of the top contributors in this year's defense against western tribal invasions—after Countess Violet, he was the most deserving!"

"Also, the single-lens telescope now popular in the capital was produced in his territory!"

"Him? No wonder it sounded familiar! But Gervas is only a Viscount—first the telescope, now the magic fan—how did he manage this?"

At this reminder, the First Prince of the Griffon suddenly recalled.

After all, he himself had signed the noble titles awarded for the western campaign months ago.

He remembered Countess Catherine more vividly, and had unconsciously overlooked Gervas.

After all, Catherine was of the Hernade bloodline, while Gervas was just an ordinary noble.

But now, it seemed this minor noble wasn't so ordinary after all.

Not just the First Prince—many nobles in the hall were already familiar with the single-lens telescope.

When they learned both the magic fan and the telescope came from the same noble house, everyone firmly memorized Stormhold and Gervas.

"Your Highness, I don't know how Viscount Gervas achieved this! I've never even visited Stormhold myself!"

Seeing Mories was genuinely unaware, and since they were at a banquet, the First Prince dropped the line of questioning.

He returned to the topic of the magic fan.

"Mories, how much does this magic fan cost? Immediately place an order with Stormhold—I need to deliver it to the envoys as quickly as possible!"

"This… Your Highness, let me pay for it myself! The magic fan isn't expensive at all!" Mories hesitated.

He didn't mind promoting Gervas—but feared the envoys would think the gift too cheap.

He planned to privately promote it after the banquet.

The First Prince of the Griffon knew none of this.

And as the First Prince of the Griffon, he could never let a subordinate spend his own money to fulfill his duty.

Especially when gifting the envoys.

"Mories, if you bought a magic fan and gave it to me, I'd gladly accept it—but this is for the envoys, so I'll pay for it myself!"

"Tell me, how many gold coins? I'll have my servant deliver them to your estate right away!"

Mories had no choice but to speak plainly.

He understood the logic—since things had come this far, there was no point hiding anything.

"Your Highness, the magic fan costs thirty gold coins total."

Swish!

"What? Only thirty gold coins?"

"Yes! That's far too cheap! A low-quality magical ornament costs seventy or eighty gold coins!"

"Mories, are you sure it's really that cheap?" Hearing the murmurs, the First Prince felt the same disbelief.

Mories' expression was strange.

He noticed the envoys showed no surprise.

Clearly, they needed the magic fan so badly they didn't care about its value.

"Your Highness, the thirty gold coins I mentioned include not just the magic fan, but also the silver stand it comes with!"

"What?! Did we mishear? The stand is included too? Then… does that mean the fan itself costs only ten or so gold coins? How is this different from getting a magical device for free?"

Mories' words were like a stone dropped into a pond.

The nobles in the hall sat frozen.

"Gervas, you'd better send me a more luxurious magic fan next time—or you won't deserve how hard I'm promoting you now…"

Mories took a deep breath. "Your Highness, and all noble lords, you heard correctly—the silver stand was custom-made by my order, costing twenty-two gold coins!"

"And the magic fan itself? Only eight gold coins!"

"Eight gold coins? Good heavens…"

"But I haven't finished—of those eight gold coins, most go toward the mana crystal: this pea-sized wind-attribute crystal, which can power the fan for roughly two years!"

"Of course, in the hot western regions, usage intensity will shorten its lifespan."

"But regardless, this is extremely mana-efficient—if you supply your own wind-attribute mana crystal, the fan's true cost drops to just three gold coins!"

"Whether or not to bring your own wind-attribute crystal is entirely up to you!"

"Three… three gold coins?!"