章 119: A Trade Agreement
Ezra and Hestia went to the banquet together, the nobles who visited just to see the Princess were worried that the fiasco would cause Hestia to leave for her quarters but they were relieved that she didn't. She continued toward the Nobles area and shrugged it off, she was met by an Erela whose eyes were full of pity but she said nothing and continued to do what she deemed her duty, and stood beside chaperoning the princess as if nothing happened.
Hestia ignored Erela and walked toward those who greeted her with smiles, the first ones of which were the viscounts of Fulmen. She nodded and immediately conversed with them and she soon began to be surrounded.
Ezra, on the other hand, was immediately surrounded by his parents and his retinue.
Reitz furrowed his brows and slowly paced and Aerwyna ran toward him and hugged him.
"Ezra, are you sure you can handle the upcoming challenge," asked Aerwyna.
"I have a few plans on what to do," Ezra nodded, looked up at his mom who had hugged him from the back.
"I don't think you should continue with the duel," Reitz finally opened his mouth, "I should just consider getting whipped."
"What? Why, dad?" Ezra said with an incredulous tone
"I have a feeling that witch has something up her sleeve, something is not right," Reitz said still with furrowed brows.
"Don't worry, I think I can handle her father," Ezra replied.
"I'll send our agents to investigate, just in case," nodded Reitz.
Ezra nodded.
In the distance, Ulric and Heinrich observed the commotion.
"I think this is our chance," Heinrich smiled slyly.
"What do you mean? The princess is still surrounded," Ulric replied.
"Not her, the Earl."
"We're getting close?"
"Of course, my senses tell me that in the next few years Bren is going to be a second Rexasticus, it's best if we have a good relation with them. Through them, we can get closer to the princess too."
Ulric nodded, "Two birds with one stone."
Reitz went back to socialize with the nobles when he was intercepted by Heinrich. Heinrich saw the opportunity he didn't want to miss this golden goose. It was common practice to get to socialize and acquaint with the ones you would do big business with, but since he thought the Earl was different, he decided to take a different approach.
"Earl Blackfyre," Heinrich bowed," I am Heinrich Astoria, of House Astoria."
"Well met, what brings you here to our humble domain," Reitz courteously responded.
"Oh, I doubt that it would be humble for much longer" Heinrich chortled.
"Oh, you are too kind," Reitz bobbed his head in acknowledgement.
"I laud, your policies milord, your foresight is amazing,"
"Oh, it's just a trial, it could very much go south Lord Heinrich, it requires a lot of time and gold, but if Bren can pull this off it will be indeed lucrative,"
"That is why I have come to converse with you my liege, you see I am from the chamber of trade, Sylph Altum, we would like to speak about a few trade opportunities we could have with Bren," Heinrich bowed.
"Oh, that would be marvellous Lord Heinrich, I'll set you an appointment with my son,"
"Err, your son milord? I was hoping that I would get to discuss terms with you directly," Heinrich was bewildered to be passed on to the lordling, he thought it was a subtle way to deny him.
Reitz chuckled. "My son is my heir, he can speak for me in any trade decision, his decision is my decision."
"But this will require terms with the bank, my liege." Heinrich looked lost.
"Then even better, he's the one who is in management of the Imperial Bank of Blackfyre,"
"My lord?" Heinrich was perplexed.
"Yes, he was one of the primary contributors for its establishment," Reitz lied. Ezra was the only brainchild of the Bank, he didn't want to over-attribute it to Ezra, this was a way of protecting him. In Arcanium it was not out of the norm that children ran some establishments, they matured faster, especially those had exceptional magical potential. However, they were by no means capable to handle the complexities of a bank.
Heinrich was shocked he didn't expect this information. "Very well milord, can I speak with him right now?"
"Well that would depend on his mood," smiled Reitz, "you did see the incident a while ago, did you not?"
"Yes, yes, of course, Lord Blackfyre, pardon me," Heinrich bowed in apology.
Ezra then came up to his father in the middle of the discussion, "Lord Father I just thought, I think I will need more land and edifices east, there will be two more buildings in the university campus, one is for research and the other should be for the student's laboratory experiments. Also, I propose a dock connected to the university, I'm going to implement a fix to the siltation that has happened in the area so that we can build it. It will give us better access to the inland rivers, where we can set up more trade routes,"
Heinrich was now utterly dumbfounded, he had his mouth askew, it was a good thing that both people did not notice this. He was impressed initially with Ezra, however, since Erela mentioned that an address could indeed be memorized he had some doubts about him. This incident showed that Ezra was really capable of bargaining with him the terms of trade.
"As long as the bank can handle it, then why not?" smiled Reitz and patted his son he then quickly directed his hands to Heinrich to introduce him, "By the way, this is Lord Heinrich Astoria, he wishes to conduct trade with Bren, won't you discuss terms with him for me? I should be attending to the princess."
"Well met, Lord Ezra," Heinrich bowed.
"Well met, Lord Heinrich, what did you want to discuss about?" Ezra was actually quite surprised, this merchant was too straightforward, normally the merchants liked to dine and socialize for four or five days before they sat down and negotiated terms, it was a way of trying to get the best price whilst getting to know the subtle eccentricities of the lord.
"I would like to assist you with spreading your bank, we help you erect establishments all over the empire and we can help you put your bank in every domain of note," Heinrich smiled.
"Oh? What makes you think that I wouldn't rather go to the emperor for help?" Ezra was astonished by the actual proposition. This man knew that it would be a lucrative enterprise to spread the bank over the whole Empire, he had no interest in making a trade agreement with him, however since he was a forward thinker, a breath of fresh air among the merchants that he had dealt with the past few months, he was willing to hear what he had to say.
Heinrich was tense, but he didn't show it, he was immediately pushed back in the negotiation, he had assumed that he had already read the Blackfyres. From his sources, he knew that the bank was lucrative, but his agents fell short of estimating the actual earnings from the bank. He showed a calm smile in the face of this set back.
"Well, Lord Ezra, the obvious fact I'd like to point out is that, your betrothal is in jeopardy, and if you find that you fall from His Imperial Majesty's graces you can turn to us for aid," Heinrich smiled, this was a rather offensive statement, but he had a hunch that Ezra would take it differently.
Ezra was surprised, this merchant was indeed too forward, it was really different from what he was used to. He chuckled. "Tell you what, Lord Heinrich, we will be producing more new products in the future, I haven't had any chamber of trade that I have spoken about this, I'll give you some products and present them to you and you sell them over the empire, we'll see what happens from there."
Heinrich was happy yet uneasy he felt like he was dealing with someone who had a lot of experience in the field. "Of course, Lord Ezra, that won't be a problem I assure you Sylph Altum will not disappoint,"
"Then let's discuss the details of the contract tomorrow, I'll schedule an appointment with you. For now, let us enjoy the banquet."
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