Capítulo 54: The Blueprint of an Udorian Mafia
Aden's study.
Later that evening.
...
Aden sat at his desk with an exhausted expression.
Glancing at Iris's cold expression and the bored look in Levi's eyes he felt that he had shot himself in the foot.
"So you bought fifteen blue-tipped falcons?" He asked.
Levi yawned with a glazed expression in his eyes. He didn't even bother to hide the disregard in his eyes anymore.
Aden sighed, leaning into his seat.
"Does it have anything to do with your plan against Hera?" Aden ventured.
Levi glanced at Aden without saying anything.
"It is, isn't it?"
"..."
"Can I at least get a response?" Aden said shutting his eyes in annoyance.
"So what if it is?" Levi asked.
"Well, then you would be doing a favour if you could carry us along."
Iris sat by the side still staring coldly at Levi. Her arms were crossed defensively across her chest.
Levi glanced at the two in the room before letting out a resigned sigh.
"What do you think would happen if the duke realises that he can't win, in the scenario that we succeed in defeating him?" Levi asked leaning against his favourite spot by the windowsill, the cold autumn wind ruffling his hair.
Aden frowned in thought before speaking.
"He would attempt to inform his allies of the situation, preferably by messenger pigeon or falcon to prevent the chances of this message being intercepted."
"And what do blue-tipped falcons feed on?" Levi asked turning towards the princess.
"Me?"
"Obviously."
Iris frowned but seeing Aden's placating gaze she retrained her anger, replying.
"Small animals mostly. Mice, rabbits and likes."
"Oh, you are quite knowledgeable, princess," Levi said with a crooked brow.
She smiled sarcastically.
"But is that all?"
She frowned speaking.
"They also sometimes feed on fishes and smaller birds like pheasants, sparrows and pigeons."
"..."
It took a few brief seconds but Levi watched as they put the clues together.
"You want to use the birds to hunt down any messenger pigeons that might be released?"
"..."
Levi didn't respond but his dull gaze explained it all.
"But how do you plan on training blue-tipped falcons to specifically hunt messenger pigeons and not just fly away," Iris asked pointing out a major flaw in Levi's plan.
"Blue-tips are notoriously fierce and in no way subservient. It would probably be impossible to train them to do anything even if you had all year talk less of just this winter."
Aden also looked towards Levi with a questioning gaze.
"I never said anything about training them."
"What do you mean?"
"Why would I need to do that?" Levi responded indifferently.
"Just keep the animals on the edge of starvation with a diet of strictly messenger pigeons. They would probably be grateful to even have enough to eat every day and would not need much persuasion to attack when they see food. I call it restrictive conditioning."
"This..." Iris's eyes were full of shock.
"What? You thought I bought those birds just to admire them. They have only one purpose to fulfil and that is making sure no news is leaked if we ever succeed."
"And don't ask why I chose this specific breed, It is popular knowledge that blue-tipped falcons are the fastest birds in Udorian skies. I am just taking extra care to make sure that there is no chance for a mistake to occur."
"But?"
"But what? Is saving a little gold worth more than making sure Greenfields remains safe from prying eyes?"
Levi turned to look outside the window. His favourite squirrels were no longer frequenting the tree outside, probably already hiding away from the bordering winter.
"I know you are all worried about the rate at which I am spending resources but remember gold is as useless as dirt if it's locked away in a safe doing nothing. Only through expenditure can its value truly be realised."
He turned to face the two and sighed in annoyance.
"I really didn't want to bring this to light until I was done but you leave me no choice. Wait here, I will be back in a while."
Aden stared blankly as Levi walked out of the study.
He was lost in thought and didn't try to stop him.
'Only through expenditure can value be realised.' He shut his eyes with a sigh, repeating those words in his mind.
Turning to Iris he saw she was also lost in thought.
"Maybe he is right." She spoke. "I should apologise later."
Aden glanced at her without saying anything.
A short while later Levi returned with two Ale bottles.
"Taste it." He said passing the bottles to the two.
Aden and Iris both took a sip.
*Cough* *cough*
Choking on the contents Iris frowned.
"Isn't this just spirit liquor?" She asked coughing.
"Quite knowledgeable, princess," Levi said again with a dead smile but she just shut her eyes and ignored him.
"Did you make this?" Aden asked.
His expression was slightly strange.
"I did."
"But isn't the production process a secret held only by a certain merchant guild backed by the Scymaster royal family?" Iris asked. "Father once mentioned how hard it was for a normal noble to purchase these."
"It is," Levi said with a faint smile.
"And you made it?" Iris asked with a whisper.
"Yes."
Iris and Aden glanced at each other. They could see the shock present in the eyes of the other.
"I am sure you understand what this means, father. A bottle can cost as high as fifteen gold Trites due to limited production and its inert rarity."
"Imagine producing thousands of these and selling them cheap to freelance merchants to retail to the nobles of Udoris, I am sure you will never have to worry about me spending too much on my little ideas anymore."
Silently, Aden leaned forward to rest his chin in his palm as he shut his eyes in thought.
"At first I was planning on selling it in large batches to a few selective merchants. Although there was the risk of exposure, I estimated there would still have been enough time for Greenfields to become truly self-dependent before the rest of the world realises what is going on here."
"But since you said you had friends in the church, I had a minor change of plans. With their networks and connections, I think proposing a mutually beneficial partnership would be a very lucrative choice for all of us."
Aden's eyes opened to meet Levi's. Outside the first winter flakes fell, quickly coating the orange forests a shade of pristine white.
"Or don't you think so?"
"Father."
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