episode_0056

A few weeks later.

Leona rented a room in the imperial palace and decorated it in an oriental style. The paintings, decorations, and furniture were decorated in an oriental style.

It feels like an entire room has returned to the Joseon Dynasty. The room was beautiful. Of course, I have seen this scene a few times, but it was an eye-opening sight for people who have only seen Western-style scenery their whole lives.

Leona called her subordinates to a room that had been remodeled in an oriental style. It was Clemens, Haakon, Garcia, Adelheit and me.

It could be said that all of them, without exception, were meritorious subjects. The senior officials leading Kruzenstein. Masters of the world.

When the ministers entered the room, they could not help but be surprised.

“This is… ”

“I decorated it in an Eastern Continental style. Here, with the help of interest.”

Leona introduced one person. He was a rare middle-aged Asian man, but at first glance he had a dignified appearance, making him look like a person of great stature from the Eastern Continent.

“The name of the interest is this issue. As a member of the imperial family of the Eastern Continent, he is tired of the imperial life and is currently wandering the world.”

Judging from his behavior, it seems true that he is a member of the royal family, but he probably fled after losing a political fight.

“Alright, everyone, please sit down.”

“Yes? but… There are no chairs, so where should I sit?”

“Isn’t there a cushion there?”

“Above this?”

When Clemens asked with a puzzled expression, Leona answered.

“In the Eastern Continent, everyone does this. Aren’t I sitting on the floor too? Don’t talk nonsense and sit down.”

“Yes? yes… ”

Soon, as the ministers sat down one by one on cushions, Lee Ho’s maids each brought a saucer and a ceramic cup and placed them in front of the ministers. Each of the officials was surprised when they heard the pottery.

“It’s a mysterious color.”

“This is my first time seeing something like this.”

As the military officers looked at the ceramic teacups for a while, Lee Ho, who had been making tea, brought a teapot and began pouring tea into the teacups to see if the tea was ready.

“Can I drink this?”

“Hot.”

“Wow!”

Clemens, who had a burnt mouth, blew and drank without even realizing it, and the other soldiers also started blowing. I sighed and laughed.

Soon the tea cooled down and the soldiers started drinking tea. The military officers looked surprised.

“Hoo, this is my first taste… ”

“Clemens, please smell the scent. The scent is really good.”

“It’s true!”

The military officers drank the tea, smelled it, and looked surprised. I also tried drinking tea.

‘This… !’

I couldn’t help but be surprised.

‘It’s green tea!’

However, the taste was a little different from the green tea I had in Korea. Is it because it’s a fantasy world? The scent was stronger and had a unique, light taste.

“Lee Ho. Let’s have another drink.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Soon the Asian man made another cup of tea.

This time, the military commanders slowly began to listen, enjoying the scent. Little by little, they also began to learn how to drink tea.

“Delicious… ”

“It has to be that way. A can of tea leaves costs 10,000 ducats.”

“Do you mean two, two, ten thousand ducats?”

For the average person, this is enough money to eat and play for two. And even by noble standards, it is a fairly large amount of money, enough to arm hundreds of people.

“Is it okay for us to eat that?”

“That’s why you should eat it. Who are you? Aren’t they the world’s greatest warriors who supported His Majesty the Emperor and took control of the central region?”

“Well, Your Highness… ”

Clemens shed tears. Hakon and Garcia didn’t really cry, but they seemed to be moved, as their eyes turned slightly red. Meanwhile, I was enjoying the scent of green tea.

‘It’s delicious…’ ‘

This is definitely a good business. Leona will spend money.

“Everyone, listen.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

“Reduce your voice during multi-party gatherings. I will give you a gift.”

“What is it?”

“The teacup I’m holding right now.”

Leona lifted her teacup and grinned.

“The teacups each of you are holding are yours. It’s not worth much now, but in about 10 years it will be worth a lot of money, so keep it safe so it doesn’t break.”

“Yes.”

Leona has a political score of 98. Even though he received a negative score in conduct and diplomacy, 98 literally means that his basic base is enormous.

Let’s take a look at Leona’s money-making skills.

—–

The next day, Leona served tea to the ministers and then to the emperor. Each and every action of the new emperor, who came to the throne for the first time in about 60 years, attracted attention, and the oriental tea ceremony that Leona served to the emperor also became a hot topic in Chang’an.

At that time, it was the middle officials who stepped forward. Clemens and other officials made a fuss, saying, ‘We were treated to an oriental tea ceremony just like His Majesty the Emperor.’ People began to ask the officials what kind of tea ceremony it was.

The ministers began to explain the tea ceremony. First of all, there were a lot of oriental decorations in the oriental room, which I had never heard of before, and the tea was very delicious.

People envied that tea ceremony. A tea party enjoyed immediately after the emperor, who had been on the throne for 60 years, ascended to the throne. I was curious about what kind of tea ceremony Leona, the loser of the world, served to the emperor, the lord of the world.

This is where the central officials put a wedge in.

Each of them started showing off to people the teacup they had received from Leona.

In an instant, the demand for oriental tea cups began to increase. However, Leona is in control of the supply of oriental tea cups. There was demand, but Leona blocked the supply, so the price skyrocketed.

Accordingly, Leona released her supply of teacups little by little and sold them at auction to the highest bidder.

As a result, the leadership of Leona and the commercial city of Hexia immediately benefited greatly. So much so that I don’t even care about things like 10,000 ducats.

Lee Ho, the royal family of the East, was surprised by Leona’s resourcefulness. He looks stupid on the outside, but I never thought he would be so good at making money.

People who bought oriental tea cups and tea cups began to imitate Leona and enjoy tea ceremonies, and tea ceremonies began to take root among the upper class as a culture.

And this culture was completely driven by Leona. This is because Hexia controlled all imported goods from the East, and it was Leona who received supplies from Hexia.

—–

During this period, the performance of two capable commoners stood out in the Kruzenstein camp.

One is Felix. This person was in charge of supply in the rear, and he was very good at calculating numbers. He was said to be able to calculate complex numbers in his head in an instant.

The other one is Onora. This person is a former engineer corps soldier, but he doesn’t look like much on the outside. For a man, he is quite short and weighs less. However, contrary to his appearance, he was quite smart and had excellent military command and fortification skills, so he was immediately recommended as an officer.

As someone who knows the future, I knew both of these people. First of all, let me explain Felix. Felix is a very capable and cool-headed person. Even though there were only bad guys around him, he was an innocent person who did not do anything particularly controversial.

Onora… What a strange bastard. His ability is certain, but strangely he often throws out unreasonable moves and is an emotional person. Contrary to Felix, he is also a troublemaker who causes all kinds of incidents.

Above all, the reason Oh No-ra cannot be looked upon favorably is because she is close to Gamo. Of course, she may not have met Gamo yet, but after Onora becomes successful, she will make Gamo her right hand man. Just by looking at it, you can tell that Onora is not a person with a kind heart.

‘Well, both of them are of great help to Kruzenstein. In particular, Onora is outstanding in many areas.’

Aside from Oh No-ra’s mentality, Oh No-ra is quite a capable person. An all-purpose weapon that can’t do anything like Leona or Adelheit.

Therefore, the appearance of these two would be of great help to us in the future. With that in mind, I was supervising the maintenance of the castle walls.

Then one day.

“Brother.”

I turned around at the sound of a familiar voice. Lucille was there.

“Ah, Lucille! hi. What are you doing in a place like this?”

“The paperwork is all done. I went out for a walk.”

“You? Going for a walk?”

“Is it strange when I go for a walk?”

“Well, that’s not true… ”

I wonder if Lucille comes here for a walk, but that’s probably the case.

“Would you like to do maintenance or inspection together?”

“Yes.”

Lucille and I inspected the repair work on the castle walls together. Then, there was someone who caught my eye.

There was a person in the distance, carrying a shovel, walking around and supervising various places.

I thought he must be the person in charge of this place, so I approached him and tried to talk to him. But something about it looked familiar.

‘This man…’ ‘

Even though he is a man, his height is maybe 160. I weigh a little, maybe 40 kg. And a face that looks a bit like a rat.

This man was none other than Onora.

But at that moment.

“Brother.”

Lucille tugged on my collar.

“Huh? Why?”

“It is said that in the Eastern Continent, there is astrology that predicts a person’s future based on their face. Brother, do you believe in astrology?”

Oh, you mean physiognomy?

“I don’t believe it. Your face can’t decide your fate, right? Of course, it may have an impact on how we live.”

Statistically, good-looking people will be more successful. It is undeniable that there are many benefits to being good-looking. That’s it.

“I believe it.”

“En? Lucille? Are you?”

“Yes. And that man is a person who will betray others.”

“… So?”

“If possible, stay away from that man. I pretend not to see it and pass by.”

I decided to listen to Lucille. This is because I do not believe in physiognomy, but I did believe in Lucille. If possible, try not to get involved with Onora.