Chapter 723 — New Things, New Trade Routes

The negative fallout from that border contest had not spread beyond the walls of the Obsidian Palace in the slightest; the noble circles of Aldernan remained utterly calm. That calm had held to this very day—so still that no one dared raise the faintest ripple.

Gao Yang had once considered whether this border contest might be used to strike at Typhon's Wendell family—at the very least, to create some domestic pressure for that young wolf general guarding the frontier, and to loosen, just slightly, Typhon's vast military bloc. But the facts had proven that, before any of this could happen, Luoyan had already shielded every detail that might have cracked.

In his control over the upper nobility, the performance of that Typhon emperor left Gao Yang with nothing to do but admire it.

"I previously cut the import price of textiles by thirty percent," Gao Rong said with a shake of his head after a brief silence. "Of course that is unrealistic. We are merely making a statement of attitude; I never expected Luoyan to actually agree. But as for replying... it is better to wait a little longer. It has barely been a week. I trust that, with Luoyan's patience, he can wait even one or two months."

Hetty looked at Gao Yang with some curiosity. "Is there something in particular you are waiting for?"

"Exactly," Gao Yan nodded. "I am waiting for word from Duke Baiyu."

...

A week earlier, Baiyu Franklin had returned to the Western Province.

The situation in Saint Sunil had now stabilized, and every function of the former royal capital was shifting southward. He no longer needed to remain there for long stretches. Moreover, the Western Province, the least damaged of the Empire's four provinces after the Southern, was now about to shoulder the heavy burden of "transfusing blood" to the other regions—a great mass of affairs demanded his personal attention—and so he had returned ahead of the rest to Shilin City, the seat his family had ruled for generations.

Today, special visitors had come to this great border city known as the "Capital of Trade," and Baiyu Franklin, one of the Empire's Grand Consuls, would receive them in person.

Within the ancient and solemn family castle, Baiyu, clad in his ducal cloak and accompanied by attendants, walked down a long corridor. Outside, a howling north wind raged, as if it could seep threads of chill into the very interior of the Xuanque Castle. Listening to the wind's wail beyond the windows, Duke Baiyu could not help muttering softly, "Spend long enough with Victoria, and a wind like that makes you feel cold."

The close attendant beside him answered at once, "There is no need for concern, my lord. The castle's constant-temperature array will keep every bit of the cold outside."

Temperature-regulation arrays...

At the attendant's words, Bai Yu's thoughts could not help but drift.

He wondered whether Shilin City might have the "heating system" of the Southern Region installed by next winter. The technical documents were all in hand, but adapting them to the Western Region's particular conditions would be no easy matter.

If it could be put to use, far fewer people would freeze to death each winter.

He shook his head and reined in his wandering thoughts. The door to the reception hall had already opened before him.

As the attendant announced him in a ringing voice, Bai Yu stepped into the reception hall, his gaze already fixed on the several figures seated around the tea table.

There were two dwarves, squat of frame yet remarkably powerful; a refined-looking human who appeared rather shrewd, like a scribe or a scholarly advisor; and a Red Valley man of dark crimson complexion and expressionless face. Bai Yu's eyes swept over each of them, until at last they came to rest on a petite figure standing nearby who had not taken a seat.

The latter was studying, with great seriousness, a crystal thaumaturgical ornament that served to decorate the room on the shelf.

The figure wore a dark blue cloak and looked quite small of build, with long grey hair falling down the back. Between the strands of hair peeked a pair of pointed ears. Seen from behind, the face could not be made out; only from a partial glimpse of the profile and the figure could one judge that this was likely a lady.

She seemed wholly absorbed in that ingenious thaumaturgical ornament, so much so that she showed no reaction at all to the Duke of the Western Region entering the room, until Bai Yu could not help speaking first: "Lady Wenna, are you very interested in that thaumaturgical ornament?"

Only then did the cloaked figure turn around, and a rather delicate face appeared before Bai Yu.

Greyish-white skin, pupils of extremely pale hue, ears with the pointed features of an elf—this was a grey elf, a grey elf from the Augustule Tribal Kingdom.

"Human craftsmanship is not as exquisite as that of the silver elves, but it possesses a creativity that no silver-elven artisan can match. However many times I look, I find myself admiring your people's inventiveness in the arts," said the grey elf addressed as "Lady Wenna." Her voice, elegant and mature, was utterly at odds with that petite frame. "Duke Bai Yu, I am glad to see you still in good health. For a grey elf, there is nothing more pleasing than to see one's business partner still in good health."

"And I feel the same," Bai Yu Francolin said with a faint, genuine smile. "Only a healthy body can sustain healthy business dealings, is that not so?"

"Frankly, after hearing those rumors about the Ansul civil war and the Calamity, I truly worried for a long while."

"It should be called the Cecil Empire now, Lady Wenna."

"Ah, the Cecil Empire... that legendary surname. If I had the chance, I would dearly like to meet that pioneer. When he was at the height of his activities, I was still a child," the grey elf Wenna said with a shake of her head. "But let us discuss these matters later, my friend. Today we have come to see the 'new business' you mentioned."

"Of course," Bai Yu said, smiling as he clapped his hands. At once attendants carried several chests into the room. "I have prepared both the samples and my sincerity."

"We are most eager. The alchemical potions you showed us last time were impressive indeed. What will it be this time?"

"Some even more indispensable necessities of life," Bai Yu said, his smile and words brimming with warmth and affability. "From the distant Typhon Empire—for the western part of the continent, this is true exotic charm."