Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 851: The Self-Aggrandizing Outlander

Chapter 851 -851: The Self-Aggrandizing Outlander

“Yes, very satisfied. I must admit, this is the most satisfying wine I have ever tasted. The New World, who knew it was so suitable for cultivating vineyards?”

She looked inquisitively at Shard, who smiled and began talking about his business secrets:

“Yes, we have the best black soil, the best family fertilizer ‘Golden Fertilizer’, the best sunlight conditions, the most diligent warehouse orange cat, and cheap labor. Your Highness, I bet our wine is the best in the entire continent!”

In reality, the grapes used for brewing the wine were leftovers from Miss Galina’s manor, and Shard had heard from Tifa about these and decided to make wine to prevent waste.

Princess Margaret offered Shard a understanding smile at his “self-praise”:

“Sir, would you be interested in supplying wine to the nobility of Velindale City? I can offer you some minor tax advantages.”

She stated while pinching her fingers, Shard’s gaze passing over her red nails, responding smoothly according to the dialogue prepared with Mr. Benhart:

“Sorry, Your Highness, my winery doesn’t produce much annually. We have fixed partners at Coldwater Port and Midshire Fort in Draleon.”

“That’s truly unfortunate.”

The Princess replied, though her face showed no sign of regret. Instead, with her back to the window, the sunlight made the ring on her casually draped fingers on the sofa shine, making her slender, fair neck look quite alluring:

“I’m not a vampire kind, what am I thinking?”

Shard thought to himself amidst “her” laughter.

Princess Margaret continued:

“I heard you are friends with Viscount Benhart? I brought some red wine this time for him to taste and evaluate. Do you have more stock?”

This was her true intention—to gift this kind of “high-class wine” provided by Shard to Draleon’s nobles, undoubtedly the best personal gift.

“The quantity of wine?”

Shard showed a distressed expression, then glanced at Mr. Benhart, who nodded slightly.

This was a performance, indicating that they were discussing this matter.

“Your Highness, it’s an honor that you enjoy the red wine produced by our winery. But this time, I came to Huntington as a friend visiting, so I didn’t bring much luggage, and excessive wine would be taxed upon entering Draleon. Otherwise, I would have transported it in large barrels. Sorry, Your Highness, I need to keep some for visiting old friends in Velindale City next week. Therefore, if you want, I can gift you 8 bottles personally.”

“Oh, Mr. Holmes, maybe you should reconsider.”

Without the Princess speaking, Mr. Benhart proactively “persuaded” his friend, his tone even somewhat exaggerated:

“With Her Highness’s noble status, she won’t let you do it for free. Haven’t you always wanted to expand into the Carsonrick market? This is a good opportunity. You often face obstacles doing business with Draleon people, so why not come and do business here?”

Shard hesitated and said:

“Yes, those Draleon nobles are all blood…”

Initially wanting to use “vampire” as a term to mock, he remembered Mr. Benhart was of the vampire kind, so he corrected:

“…are all blood-sucking parasites. I contacted a noble with royal ties, and she actually threatened my cat by saying, ‘Young gentleman, you wouldn’t want your cat to lose its owner, would you?’ So I complied with her unreasonable demands.”

In the end, Shard agreed to Lecia, as Her Highness the Princess was mimicking plotlines from operas.

“How about 10 bottles? Your Highness, these wines are not valuable. I’m willing to gift them to you, but I especially brought them from the New World by ship to express my feelings towards old friends.”

“Mr. Holmes, these wines will be given as gifts to the Draleon Royal Family. I think this might help your business since Northern Country’s noble ladies are quite rude.”

Princess Margaret Anjou said with a smile, Shard thought for a moment and nodded:

“Then you may take 12 bottles. I wish you a successful visit to Draleon. The wine is currently stored in Viscount Benhart’s manor, where I am temporarily staying. I can deliver them tomorrow, will that be timely?”

“Before ten o’clock tomorrow will be fine.”

The Princess spoke, then reached out her hand backward. The maid standing behind her handed a bank draft to Shard:

“A small token of appreciation. Your wine is worth this price. I hope that after I return from Draleon, we can discuss the customs of the New World and the art of winemaking.”

“No, no, I can’t accept your money.”

Shard hurriedly declined, so Mr. Benhart accepted the bank draft on his behalf:

“Mr. Holmes, how can you refuse the Princess?”

Then he pushed Shard’s hand aside and stuffed the bank draft into Shard’s pocket.

Princess Margaret Anjou was very pleased with Mr. Benhart’s behavior, Mr. Benhart was very pleased with Shard’s behavior, and Shard was also very pleased with the Princess’s behavior—he had just noticed the number “75” on the bank draft.

“Fifteen bottles, five pounds each?”

Although five pounds is already a high number for the poor, for the high-end red wine consumed by nobles, such a price is paltry. For instance, the 1803 Midro Wine Estate bottle that Mr. Benhart offered Shard during lunch, had a single-bottle price absolutely close to triple-digit gold pounds.

The gift that Princess Margaret Anjou wanted to give to the Draleon Royal Family, although not necessarily of such high-grade, a price of five pounds per bottle was indeed somewhat too meager.

[It’s krone.]

“She” gently reminded him.

Shard then remembered that this was Carsonrick, and the Princess’s bank draft had no reason to use “gold pounds” as the unit. At the current exchange rate, it would take 11 to 12 gold pounds to convert into one krone.

He raised an eyebrow and smiled more sincerely as he thanked Princess Margaret Anjou. Without fame as a boost, no matter how excellent his wine was, such a high price was inflated. It seemed that the Anjou Family’s Princess, like the Cavendish Family’s Princess, had substantial savings.

Thinking like this, if not for the difficulty in explaining the source of the wine, and the fact that private brewing was illegal, he could indeed earn a lot through mass production of Blood Brew.

“But, I wonder if this Blood Brew is addictive…”

This was also something he needed to consider.

Although Princess Margaret Anjou also had the power of a witch, since that power was quite negligible, her aversion to men was not very strong. The Princess was not busy today and was tired of the local noble youths’ visits, so she stayed with Shard and Mr. Benhart for a conversation.

The specific topic was the customs of the Old Continent and the New World. But Shard had never been to the New World, so, with Mr. Benhart’s cooperation, he focused on discussing Draleon’s situation. Coincidentally, Princess Margaret was due to depart for the Northern Pearl the day after tomorrow, Saturday night, and thus inquired about Tobesk City from Shard.

Tobesk was considered Shard’s base, and because he had contact with people from different social strata, his detective work often led him to entering the Lower District. Thus, he was well-versed in the lives of the nobles, middle-class, clergy, and ordinary poor of Tobesk City, and he was also well-informed about Tobesk’s social gossips… especially those about himself.

Princess Margaret was very interested in these matters, especially those about the Northern Country’s nobles. Shard maintained his character setting as much as possible, so he was unaware of too many noble secrets, did not know the interior decoration of the King’s Study in Yordle Palace, was unaware of the private hobbies of the Royal Family members, did not know the location of MI6’s stations, and had not seen the kingdom’s military document folders at the Duchess’s place.

Although he could not speak in too much detail, considering that in the coming weeks, he would again meet this Princess as “Rejed’s Hamilton,” he spoke favorably of this “young knight” when the topic came up, paving the way for the interaction of his real identity later on.

“Contact the Guiding Moon,” “Obtain the book Immortality Magic lent by the Princess,” and “Search for the grey-headed eagle”—all three tasks were related to her.

“Speaking of Rejed’s Hamilton, I think Your Highness should have heard of him too. I once had the honor of meeting that young gentleman at the Prophet’s Society on Tobesk Silver Cross Avenue, and even played Roder Card with him, the 1853 Big City Player champion. I must admit, he is truly very handsome, kind to others, speaks elegantly, and is quite shrewd.”

As Shard spoke, Mr. Benhart, holding a teacup, glanced sideways at him with a stern face. This vampire kind knew Shard’s real identity.

“I have also heard related rumors. It is said that the knight, knight is Duke Galina Cavendish’s lover?”

This Princess with pale golden hair asked softly.

Shard did not expect such strange rumors to spread among Carsonrick’s nobles as well. He wanted to refute this statement, as he could currently only be considered Miss Galina’s close maid and nephew’s lover, not the lover of the Duchess. But rashly refuting would arouse suspicion about his identity, so he explained:

“Yes, this saying is widely spread in Tobesk. There are also many unfounded claims in tabloid news. But in such a big city, such rumors are as common as snowflakes in winter, so the actual situation is unclear to me as well.”

Princess Margaret nodded lightly, but Mr. Benhart subconsciously thought it was true. He did not understand why he had such a thought, as, in his eyes, Shard Hamilton was so righteous and helpful. Just vaguely, the vampire kind felt that even if Shard had any emotional relationship with a humanoid relic, he would not be surprised:

“Why do I think this way? Am I normal?”

Mr. Benhart, while listening to Shard and the Princess’s conversation, pondered, feeling baffled by his own thoughts.