123 – War Preparation (2)

The Count, hearing me, looked at me with amazement and said:

“No, it’s not enough that you’ve already given us one of the Baronies for free. Do you intend to share even the earnings of His Excellency the Count?”

“Yes that’s right. All the wines I intend to export to the north will be sold through the count’s estate.”

“You mean wine? Then you intend to sell Architel’s wine through Kreutel.”

Even so, the count and I will be able to reap huge profits.

Because the demand for wine has increased among the nobles of the Northern Alliance, who are intoxicated with the taste of fortress culture, they will be able to sell a huge amount of wine just by securing a distribution channel.

However, in order to conquer Akitel, we must weaken its economic power as much as possible…

If the distribution is carried out as the Count said, it will be like opening up a market for the Duke of Architel.

Then, on that foundation, it will grow rapidly again, making it difficult for us to attack.

“No, we will sell the wine made in our estate to the north.”

Hearing that, Count Vladimir slightly wrinkled his expression and said,

“… . No matter how well your Excellency is versed in cooking, it seems difficult to make wine as good as Aquitel’s… ”

As the saying goes, unless a special method is used, it is impossible to use the grapes grown in Creutel to produce alcohol with as good taste and flavor as Aquitel wine.

First, when making wine, the most important thing is the process of decomposing the sugar of grapes, which is used as the main ingredient, into alcohol.

And the grapes of the region, except for Akitel, are too low in sugar content to be used for making wine.

So, wine made in most provinces… Compared to Akitel Mountain, it is treated as inferior quality, but…

Wine made in our region has succeeded in matching the required sugar content during fermentation by adding about 10% sugar to supplement the sugar content of the grapes.

By adjusting the sugar level, the process of decomposing the sugar of grapes into alcohol is artificially generated, and the flavor of alcohol is increased as much as that of Aquitel wine…

For those who don’t know how to drink it, it’s just the finest wine made from the finest grapes.

That’s why I was confident.

“It is better to taste once than to hear a hundred times. All right, count, let’s bet.”

“If it’s a bet, what bet?”

“It’s simple. First I’ll give you two bottles of wine. And one of them is Mount Akitel, and the other is Mount Kreutel. If you find Mount Akitel among these two, the Count wins.”

To those words, the count replied in a playful voice.

“Okay, what will you give me if I win?”

“We will give you 100 boxes of the finest snacks made by the patissier of our estate. Instead, if the Count orders it, you will have to buy all the wine I have prepared for you.”

The Count heard that and nodded.

“good.”

As soon as the Count had finished speaking, I took out two wine bottles lying in the corner of the study and poured them into each glass.

The bright purple wine had a charm that made people happy just by looking at it.

“Count, let’s try it.”

“I will drink well.”

Having said that, the Count tilted the two glasses of wine little by little, savoring the taste.

After a while, the count began to make a deep voice with a serious expression on his face.

Obviously, it’s hard to tell which of the two is Akitel’s acid, so you’re probably struggling.

Read at noblemtl.com

Judging by the Count’s reaction, it has already been proven that the wine I made is of the same quality as the wine made from grapes made in Akitel.

So, as well as saving the Count’s pride, I have to tell him that whichever option he chooses is the correct answer.

“Sir, Count, I think the first wine you gave me was from Akitel.”

Actually, the wine I poured for the second time was from Akitel, but I said with a natural smile.

“I lost. But how did you know?”

“At least the Akitel must have matured more on the way here, so I just picked the one with a stronger scent. It’s amazing anyway… I thought you could make wine of the same quality using grapes other than those of Architel.

“It is overrated. If so, are you willing to import wine from our estates?”

“Yes, of course. They buy everything. Is the contract over now? Aren’t His Excellency’s suggestions so far purely beneficial to us? I will return as much as I received, so please tell me what you want soon.”

If we interpret what Count Vladimir said, it goes like this.

“A person who does only what is good for us and takes nothing away cannot be trusted. Now that it seems like you’ve given us enough, tell us what you want too.”

“good. Then, please spread some rumors first.”

Hearing that, the Count pricked up his ears and began to listen to me.

“What kind of rumors can I spread?”

“Two months later, rumors that Irina Romanova became pregnant and at the same time became jealous and began to distance herself from Ella… No, even though Ella gave birth to my son, spread rumors that she is wearing a maid outfit and making her work. It is said that I am fed up with Irina.”

“If you hear that rumor, there will be people who mistakenly believe that there will be a division inside.”

“Perhaps other territories will think like this. The vassals will now be divided into a faction that supports the son born by Ella, who has been by my side, and a faction that supports Irina, who has a little flaw in character but has legitimacy and cause.”

And if this happens, the lords who covet our territory, or the forces with dissatisfaction, can think like this while drinking kimchi soup.

Since the factions were divided, the authority of Count Kreutel would surely fall to some extent.

Therefore, Count Creutel’s army would not be able to show the same fighting ability as before.

No, if the head of the headquarters abused the concubine to such an extent and said that I supported the concubine, one could assume that this would trigger a civil war.

“But, if nobles aren’t fools… Hearing rumors like that, he wouldn’t try to move the soldiers. In particular, the duke of Architel that His Excellency is targeting… Isn’t that a funny thing to see?”

As Vladimir said, the current Duke of Akitel, Brumund von Akitel, has a reputation for being extremely wise and courageous.

Especially 20 years ago, when the allied forces of Duke Sigismund and Duke Maxburg of the Romanian Empire came with three times their own troops…

He is a great general who won a great victory without giving away even an inch of territory against them.

I don’t think such a person would be fooled by rumors and deceit to this extent.

“I also don’t think Brumund von Akitel would be moved by rumors like this. So, I’m going to move the guys under it so the duke can’t help but move. And what to use as that tool… This is the wine I was going to sell to the Count.”

“What are you thinking?”

“Isn’t a ton of wine made in Architel worth about 90 gold coins? We will claim a ton of wine of the same quality as ours and sell it for 50 gold coins.”

“Won’t you notice?”

“Since the quality of the wine is the same, you only need to buy the seal that certifies the authenticity used by the Akitel guys. Also, I just went bankrupt from the Brewing Guild in Architel and bought a seal from a nerd who sells seals. So, as long as the Count remains silent, no one will find out that we are disguising the origin of our wine.”

Even in modern Korea, where computers and barcodes rule, people cheat on the country of origin if they want to, but it’s a piece of cake here, where such a management system doesn’t exist.

“but… Will that cause a war?”

When I heard that, I smiled evilly and said,

“The Duchy of Architel is enjoying great wealth with the money from selling the best wine in Europe. Conversely, if you can’t sell quality wine at a fair price… I can no longer lead a prosperous life like I do now.”

The Count, as if realizing what I was about to say, said with the same wicked grin and laugh.

“If the wine cannot be sold at the right price, the vassals who maintain a luxurious life through bribes from the merchants will be dissatisfied. And if they spread rumors that it was Count Kreuttel who lowered the price of wine… Even Duke Architel, whose nose was pierced by the nobles under his command, will have no choice but to move.”

“And it would be easier for them to believe it if it was not us spies leaking this information, but spies from the north.”

“Okay, Your Excellency. We will spread the rumors as you please.”

“I will give you 100 boxes, no, 1000 boxes of sweets, so please distribute them to all the nobles under your command. This is my little sincerity.”

At that, the count bowed his head slightly to express his gratitude.

“Then what more questions do you have?”

The fact that he said this at the meeting is a celebration guest order meaning to go home without asking any more questions.

But the count looked at me and asked me.

“But are Countess Irina and Miss Ella really on bad terms? then… It would have a very bad effect on our relationship… ”

“While Ella was pregnant, I baked Irina’s favorite snack first. And while eating it, we became close by talking about my heroic feat. From the side, it seems like Irina considers Ella like a sister and follows her.”

Hearing that, the count seemed relieved, sighed, and said:

“thank you for telling me. Thanks to you, I was relieved.”

“Then enter carefully.”

**

The day after my meeting with the count, I headed to the restaurant for breakfast before the wedding ceremony.

When I entered the restaurant, Ella was waiting for me there.

“Ella, are you here for dinner?”

“Yes, Master.”

“I am hungry… How is Ella these days? Are you eating well?”

“Yeah… Because the master’s child will eat it. I’m eating well, to the point where I’m worried that I might be getting too plump… ”

Ella said that, but there was no unnecessary flab anywhere on her body.

It’s just that, due to the influence of pregnancy, her breasts have grown slightly and her stomach has bulged out.

“Yeah, but let me know whenever you want something to eat. I’ll bring you anything I can get from Europia.”

“Yes, Master.”

“And… Ella.”

After saying that, I was speechless for a while, but then I opened my mouth.

“I want you to always be happy. For the happiness of you and our baby, I would do anything. I love you.”

For the sake of my beloved Ella and Irina, I was prepared to wear even the skin of a devil.