Duke Kenmaise burst into hearty laughter. "You've got it wrong, Locke. The station tax doesn't refer to these shops and trading houses opened here. It targets guilds that have established their main headquarters in the Imperial Capital. His Majesty the King wants to collect thirty percent of their annual gross sales in taxes, which is what forced those guilds to relocate their headquarters to Vanandas City.
As for the shops and trading houses along this Royal Avenue, every one of them has a territorial noble backing it. Their only tax is a ten-percent consumption tax — nothing else. After all, the King can't very well reach directly into the pockets of his subordinate territorial nobles, can he? Willingly paying ten percent in consumption tax is already a show of respect for our King.
Furthermore, the King frequently invents all sorts of new excuses to demand tribute payments from us shops as a demonstration of loyalty to the Kelsen Imperial Family. If it weren't for the fact that the Royal Avenue is the busiest and most commercially prosperous street in the Imperial Capital, and setting up shop here is genuinely profitable, everyone would barely be able to tolerate the King's constant fleecing. We just treat it as tossing a few bones to stray dogs — spend a little wealth to ward off disaster, and as long as we can still drink a few mouthfuls of meat broth, that's enough."
Lorist shook his head. He had to admit the
The result was that merchants felt both resentment and contempt toward the Second Prince, viewing him as a greedy king and a vampire latched onto their backs. Lorist could hardly imagine how the Second Prince had come up with the thirty-percent station tax on a whim. It had practically driven every guild with headquarters in the Imperial Capital out of the city, and now he didn't even get the original ten-percent station tax anymore.
Stupid to this degree was practically brain-dead. Lorist once again confirmed that the Second Prince's commercial knowledge was still stuck at the most elementary stage — watching merchants do business, exchanging cash for goods, and then going to collect taxes. That level was truly pathetic. No wonder he had come up with the so-called station tax, losing far more than he gained. It was only natural that the more money he needed, the less he had on hand.
The carriage finally came to a stop before a shop with the four gilded characters "Snow Salt Trading Company" carved into the lintel in a wedge-shaped script. Given Duke Kenmaise's tastes and temperament, these five adjoining shops were naturally decorated with extravagant opulence. The Snow Salt Trading Company was, however, essentially a large general store. Its main products were mostly goods produced from
Lorist, Duke Kenmaise, and Tiger Ross all stepped out of the carriage and entered the shop. While Duke Kenmaise chattered away with the shop's steward, Lorist took the opportunity to look over the entire Snow Salt Trading Company and couldn't help but give Duke Kenmaise a mental thumbs-up for his commercial talent in managing such a hodgepodge general store into a business that still brought in over a million gold Fordes in annual profit.
Duke Kenmaise soon finished chatting with the shop steward, then led Lorist and Tiger Ross toward the back of the store. Behind the shop was a two-courtyard compound. Duke Kenmaise introduced it as the trading company's material warehouse and the dormitory where the company's guards stayed for their night watches. Currently, the Snow Salt Trading Company's imperial capital branch had eighteen guards of Silver Battle Force rank, more than enough to protect the warehouse in the courtyard and ensure the company's safety at night.
"Safety at night?" Tiger Ross found it somewhat strange that Duke Kenmaise emphasized this point.
"Yes," Duke Kenmaise nodded. He said that at the end of last year, three trading companies on Imperial Avenue had been raided by a band of thieves in the dead of night. The thieves had made off with all the goods on display in the shops as well as the materials stored in the rear warehouses, and the cases remained unsolved to this day.
The only fortunate thing was that the thieves hadn't killed anyone. They had knocked out the guards before ransacking the companies, and had even brazenly used carts to haul away all the valuables stored in the warehouses. The Second Prince had already dismissed two patrol officials responsible for maintaining order and security in the imperial capital because of these three incidents, and it seemed the third official overseeing the cases wouldn't be long in stepping down either, since he still hadn't found any clues about the thieves.
Upon hearing the news, Duke Kenmaise had immediately dispatched this batch of Silver-rank guards to the capital, which was what allowed the Snow Salt Trading Company to remain unscathed.
"So foolish. Obviously those thieves have already left the imperial capital after their success. How could they possibly still be in the city to be caught now..." Tiger Ross commented.
Duke Kenmaise nodded: "I think that's likely the case. Those three raided companies weren't large-scale, and their night defenses were lax. Perhaps they never imagined thieves would target them in the capital, where security had always been good, which is why they suffered so badly."
"What kind of businesses did those three trading companies operate?" Lorist asked.
"The Lemando Trading Company dealt in gemstones and jade. The Pistachio Trading Company handled gold and silver wares. The White Rose Trading Company specialized in high-end crystal jewelry..." A sudden insight struck Duke Kenmaise: "I understand now. Those thieves were clearly after money, which is why they targeted those three companies. All of them dealt in expensive goods that were easy to liquidate..."
A narrow path led to a large courtyard with a small side gate standing open. Upon entering, they discovered it was a lavishly decorated mansion.
"This is where I always stay when I come to the Imperial Capital. The main gate over there leads directly onto the avenue in the noble district. Normally I don't come in through the Snow Salt Trading Company's side, though. This time, I'm just showing you the way around." Duke Kenmaise said to Tiger Ross, "How about we host a celebration ball here tonight to mark your promotion to Great Swordmaster? I'll find you a few lovely dance partners, and you can stay here for the night..."
Tiger Ross grinned broadly, looking very pleased. "Sure, you're the boss."
Lorist was quite put out. As the National Sword Saint, every move he made had to befit his station. Obviously, he couldn't attend and make merry at a ball hosted by Duke Kenmaise tonight, especially since he had brought his entire family along, making it inconvenient.
"You only needed Tiger Ross here to show him around the mansion. Why drag me along just to keep you company?" Lorist complained that Duke Kenmaise was wasting his precious reading time.
"Don't forget that your Norton Family holds a ten percent share in the Snow Salt Trading Company. As one of the owners, you really shouldn't be unaware of where your own company is located in the capital, now should you?" Duke Kenmaise replied.
Mm, that was said with such righteous justification that Lorist was momentarily speechless.
Next, Duke Kenmaise began ordering his servants to prepare for the evening ball, while simultaneously introducing and selecting eligible ladies and misses to attend. The two discussed the arrangements with great enthusiasm, while Lorist stood there, bored. After greeting them, he returned to the Snow Salt Trading Company's shop out front.
The foot traffic in the store was quite decent, bustling with people coming and going. However, Lorist noticed that while many browsed, very few actually purchased anything. After watching for a while, he stepped out of the shop and stood on the steps at the entrance, observing the lively crowd and street scenes along the royal avenue.
Had he known it would be like this, he shouldn't have agreed to come with that fellow Kenmaise. Now Lorist felt a touch of regret, wondering if he should just call for a carriage to send himself back first.
Huh? What was going on over there? It seemed something had happened. A crowd had gathered in a large circle, as if there was some spectacle to see. Lorist's interest was piqued, and he began walking toward the nearby crowd.
"Esteemed and beautiful ladies, my master sincerely invites you to attend the ball he is hosting this evening. Please accept this invitation and these gifts. The Count will be most delighted to welcome your gracious presence..."
This was probably just another nobleman's scheme to pursue women, much like Duke Kenmaise's style — using grand balls and whatnot to lure ladies. But when Lorist glanced into the crowd, he flew into a rage. He parted both hands, and the crowd before him surged aside like waves, revealing a narrow path through the middle.
Standing in the center of the gathered crowd were none other than Princess Siliweia and Lorist's four concubines, along with four guards draped head to toe with gift bags large and small. Hmm, their hands were also stuffed full of packages. The four guards stood in front of Princess Siliweia and the others with furious expressions, eyes blazing at a politely mannered middle-aged man who looked like a steward, along with two servants behind him carrying gift boxes.
It seemed this middle-aged steward had been presenting Princess Siliweia and the others with some kind of ball invitation, but they had ignored him. They had wanted to leave but were blocked by the surrounding crowd. Seizing the opportunity, the middle-aged steward bowed and held the invitation high above his head with both hands, putting on an air of refusing to rise unless they accepted. The situation had reached a standoff.
Lorist walked through the gap the crowd had opened, took the invitation from the middle-aged steward's hands, and without so much as a glance tore it to shreds. He then waved at the four guards who were about to bow in greeting and said, "That's enough. You're already loaded down — no need to stand on ceremony."
"Locke, what are you doing here?" Princess Siliweia and the four maids immediately perked up, crowding around him and chattering excitedly about all the good things they had bought.
What a headache — these five spendthrift women. Lorist asked, "Where are the children?"
"They're playing by the sand pit and the pond up ahead. My godmother and Pat are watching them — it's fine," Princess Siliweia said. "Oh, right, Locke! I just bought you a new-style deerskin cloak. It's very soft and lightweight, and the style is gorgeous. How about we go back to that shop so you can try it on first..."
"You — how dare you tear up my master's invitation! You — are you insulting our Count?!" A hoarse voice rang out from the side. The middle-aged steward who had just been presenting the invitation stood with a flushed face and fiery eyes, glaring at Lorist.
"Get lost!" Lorist snapped coldly. "While I still have a shred of patience, disappear from my sight immediately. Otherwise, I won't hesitate to wipe out your precious Count's entire family!"
"How dare you!" What Lorist hadn't expected was for the middle-aged steward to raise his voice even louder in rebuke: "You dare speak such treasonous words in public — are you plotting rebellion?! Do you even know who our Count is?! Killing our Count's entire family — even if you had the guts you wouldn't dare! So many people have already heard what you said! Just you wait — you'll be thrown in a cell, your lands confiscated, and your title stripped!"
Oh my... Lorist truly hadn't anticipated that this middle-aged steward with his honest-looking face would turn out to be such a sharp-tongued scoundrel, seizing on a single remark to spin it on the spot, painting Lorist as a traitorous rebel, and blustering on about how he'd be thrown in prison and have his lands and title confiscated. That was quite the level of audacity...
"You don't even know who your precious Count is, and killing his whole family automatically means rebellion? What utter nonsense!" Lorist sneered.
"Of course! My master is Count Viksas! Everyone knows his father is His Majesty the King! If killing his entire family isn't rebellion, then what is?" the middle-aged steward proclaimed with undisguised smugness. He was eager to see a look of deep remorse spread across Lorist's face, after which the man would presumably fall to his knees and beg forgiveness for his careless words...
"Heh. And here I was wondering who it might be. Nothing more than a bastard. You think your Count represents the Klesen Imperial Family? You have no idea how far above your station you are. I'll give you one more chance — get lost!" Lorist waved his hand with an almost casual air, as though swatting at a fly.
"What happened? How did you end up tangled up with this kind of person?" Lorist turned to ask Princess Siliweia and her companions.
"Your Highness, we don't know either. We were just going into the shop to browse when this man suddenly ran up saying his Count wanted to invite us to a ball. We ignored him, but he's been pestering us for ages..." Fennagali whispered to Lorist, lodging her complaint.
"You — you dare be this insolent?! And you dare slander the Klesen Imperial Family — the crime is beyond unforgivable..." The middle-aged steward was still mindlessly piling accusations onto Lorist.
"Your Highness, we're here! What happened?" Pat barreled through the crowd with a dozen-odd guards in tow. One of the guards who had been accompanying Princess Siliweia's group had rushed off to summon them.
"Nothing much. Kill this man for me." Lorist pointed at the middle-aged steward. Being a Sword Saint really had its downsides — Lorist felt that actually going to kill the steward personally would be doing the man far too great an honor. To think he'd have to trouble a Sword Saint to do it with his own hands — the steward had truly lived eight lifetimes of accumulated luck! Thank goodness Pat and the others had arrived.
"Yes, Your Highness." Pat drew his sword, a cruel grin spreading across his face as he strode toward the middle-aged steward...
"You— you still dare to commit murder in public?!" The steward suddenly realized he might have kicked an iron plate and turned to flee. Unfortunately, the onlookers were packed so tightly together, he had no way out.
Pat took a great step forward, his left hand grabbing the steward by the front of his tunic. With a twist of his wrist, he hurled the man to the ground, then raised the longsword in his right hand.
This was getting serious. The steward, sprawled on the ground, trembled violently: "Mercy..."
"Stop! Who dares cause violence in the Imperial Capital?!" An angry shout rang out from beyond the crowd, and it sounded like a squad of city patrol guards was charging over, though they were being blocked by the outer layer of onlookers.
Pat acted as if he hadn't heard a thing. Of course, even if those guards were right in front of him, he would still ignore them. Unless Lorist gave the order to stop, he wouldn't pay attention to anyone else's shouts. The sword gleamed once, and the steward's head separated from his body on the ground. The foul blood spurting from his neck stained a large patch of the street red...
A flurry of movement and cries of alarm erupted. The crowd of onlookers retreated as if the tide were going out. None of them had truly expected someone to be killed. The sight of the beheading frightened them into fleeing backward, which finally brought the patrol guards from the outer edge to the forefront.
The leading guard was a man with a bushy beard. Upon seeing the corpse on the ground, he roared in fury: "Seize them! Kill any who resist without mercy!"
More than a dozen patrol guards blew the bamboo whistles held in their mouths, brandishing their longswords and various weapons as they charged toward Lorist and the others...
...