Rose Empire

Chapter 30: Words and Meetings

After finishing breakfast at the inn's dining hall, Charlotte and Renee were soon joined by Robin Mancini, who returned with freshly inked rubbings. Not long after, the seller of supernatural materials also arrived to inform Charlotte that the materials she had requested were ready.

Renee directed the servants to load all the goods onto the carriage. Meanwhile, Eric and his attendants brought the fifty-three slaves they had purchased from the slave traders. The group then prepared to return to the territory of the Viscount of Lan Bay.

As they left Ambratu, they encountered a group of guards rigorously inspecting travelers entering and exiting the city. Charlotte's group, nearly a hundred strong, naturally drew attention and was stopped. Charlotte initially worried that the escalating tensions between the Aye Alliance and the Delmore Alliance had led to heightened security in Ambratu, fearing that their slaves and goods might be confiscated.

However, the guards did not take any action. Instead, two priests dressed in the attire of the Inquisition, protected by the guards, inspected the convoy briefly before allowing them to proceed.

By midday, Charlotte's group arrived smoothly at the checkpoint located in the middle of the Lan Bay Isthmus.

"Please, let me pass! I really need to get to the Kingdom of Lesare!"

"I've already told you, where you're going is none of my business!"

"..."

Charlotte heard a familiar voice not only was Jarod Garcia's voice recognizable, but even the voice of the man trying to get to the Kingdom of Lesare sounded somewhat familiar. It was hoarse and slightly stuttering, leaving a faint impression on Charlotte.

It was as if the scene from two days ago was repeating itself.

The checkpoint soldiers moved the barricades aside, opening a path for Charlotte's convoy to pass.

Curious, Charlotte lifted the carriage curtain and saw the same traveler dressed in the attire of the Kingdom of Lesare, standing beyond the barricades, negotiating with Jarod Garcia.

Had he been stuck here for two days? This man certainly had perseverance, Charlotte thought to herself.

Noticing Charlotte lifting the curtain, Jarod Garcia gave a slight bow toward the carriage.

"You said no one could pass! So why are they allowed through?" the traveler angrily pointed at the convoy and demanded.

"None of your business," Jarod Garcia replied with his usual poor service attitude.

The traveler's face turned red with anger. He stormed off, glaring at Jarod Garcia and shouting, "You'll regret this!"

Jarod Garcia scoffed dismissively, completely unfazed. He waved his hand, signaling a prepared soldier to mount a horse and head toward Ambratu.

By the time the convoy arrived at the castle of the Viscount of Lan Bay, it was nearly evening again.

Upon returning to the castle, Charlotte found Lilith sitting alone in the dining hall, about to have dinner. The petite girl, standing at just 1.3 meters tall, sat in Charlotte's usual seat. In front of her was a finely set table with lavish dishes, and two maids stood on either side, attending to her. She looked completely at ease, thoroughly enjoying herself.

"Tsk, it looks like you're the master of this castle now," Charlotte teased with a smile.

"I've been watching over your home for you. What's wrong with eating a little of your food?" Lilith retorted confidently.

Charlotte had no intention of scolding Lilith. Instead, she reached over and snatched a delicious-looking dessert from Lilith's plate. Before the petite girl could explode in anger, Charlotte shoved a large roll of papers into her arms.

"This is..."

Lilith's attention was successfully diverted as she took the papers with a puzzled expression.

Charlotte took a bite of the cake. "It's something I found in Ambratu. The locals worship it as an ancestral relic. Well, not exactly worship they let donkeys pee on it."

Lilith unfolded the papers and began flipping through them. Her expression shifted from confusion to surprise, and finally to seriousness. Her slender fingers traced over certain patterns on the rubbings. "Is this... Luyang script?"

"Luyang script" was the term Charlotte and Lilith used to refer to the ancient writing they had discovered in the Luyang ruins. It was a unique script that combined phonetic and ideographic elements, bearing some connection to the phonetic script used in the Oran Empire but also displaying significant differences.

"I can't be sure, but it does look very similar. Especially here..." Charlotte pointed to a specific spot on one of the rubbings. "I'm certain I've seen these characters in the Luyang ruins before. Unfortunately, we still don't know what they mean."

"If it really is Luyang script, why would it appear in a city-state on the Sokya Peninsula?" Lilith pondered.

The Luyang ruins were located in the Dajis Basin in the central part of the Kanpei Mountains, while Ambratu was situated further south, beyond the southern end of the Kanpei Mountains. The two locations were separated by nearly half a continent! The Oran Empire and the Sokya Peninsula were only separated by a bay, yet they had developed completely different ethnic groups and languages. So why would the people of Sokya from a hundred thousand years ago use the script of the Luyang people, who lived beyond countless mountains?

"How should I know? Maybe it's just a coincidence?" Charlotte shrugged. "Many people in Ambratu also speak Oranian."

"Could it be that thriving trade brought fragments of Luyang script to the Sokya people?" Lilith speculated, following Charlotte's line of thought.

"Very possible," Charlotte agreed.

Lilith stared at the rubbings in her hands for a long time before suddenly hopping off her chair. "I need to study this carefully!" she declared, running off to her bedroom.

"Alright, study away."

Charlotte took Lilith's seat and naturally claimed the lavish dinner that the petite girl hadn't even touched.

Meanwhile, at a manor on the coast of Ambratu...

Martin Kramer, the youngest elder of Ambratu, was discussing household matters with his steward.

"Is the Lan Bay Isthmus still impassable?" Martin asked as he fed his parrot.

"Yes, the Viscount of Lan Bay's territory is still blocking the road," the steward replied.

Martin frowned. "It's been two days already. How long are they going to keep the road closed?"

"I don't know," the steward shook his head. "They only said that the Viscount of Lan Bay's territory needs to restore order, but they didn't specify how long it would take."

Martin thought for a moment. "If we offer a bribe to the checkpoint commander, could we get through? Our cargo isn't that large."

Unlike most Sokya merchants who primarily traded in timber, wool, and grain along the Lan Bay Isthmus route, Martin's business focused on pearls, followed by coral, and then a small amount of grain. The Sokya Peninsula was rich in high-quality pearls, but they had little market value on the peninsula itself coastal city-states didn't value them, and mountainous city-states couldn't afford them.

Only wealthy nations like the Oran Empire and the Kingdom of Lesare, with their affluent nobility, were ideal customers for Sokya pearls.

As long as they could be sold there, pearls and coral typically yielded high profits. That's why Martin wasn't opposed to using a bit of bribery to secure passage through the checkpoint.

"The checkpoint knight seems like a difficult man to negotiate with. Bribing him might not work. Perhaps we should take a risk and bypass the Viscount of Lan Bay's territory by sea, heading directly to the Duchy of Greenfield."

The steward's suggestion carried a hint of personal bias. He had visited the Lan Bay Isthmus several times over the past two days and had been thoroughly disgusted by Jarod Garcia's poor service attitude. He secretly hoped his master wouldn't give that man any satisfaction.

Martin shook his head. "If we try to bypass the Viscount of Lan Bay's territory by sea, we'd have to pass through the coast controlled by Little Saxony. The Little Saxony people would never allow one of our ships to pass through there."

Little Saxony was a city-state west of Ambratu, also part of the Aye Alliance. However, the relationship between the two city-states was extremely hostile.

The Little Saxony people had only moved there in the last century or two. They originally belonged to a larger city-state called Saxony. Before their arrival, Ambratu was the only city-state along the Lan Bay coast. After the Little Saxony people settled, they not only shared the coastline with Ambratu but also blocked Ambratu's access to the eastern sea routes. This infuriated the Ambratu people, leading to multiple wars between the two city-states.

Just as Martin was at a loss, a servant hurried in.

"Elder Kramer, the council's messenger has come to summon all elders for a meeting," the servant reported.

"A meeting? At this hour?" Martin was puzzled but quickly changed into formal attire and headed to the council chamber. Before leaving, he made sure to bring his parrot.

The parrot was Martin's secret to winning the favor of the citizens. Whenever he spoke at citizen assemblies or other public gatherings, Martin would have the parrot perched on his shoulder. At the height of his speeches, the specially trained parrot would often repeat the last few words Martin had spoken, amusing the audience.

This comedic performance had not only helped Martin secure his position as an elder at a young age but also made him one of the few democratic elders beloved by the lower-class citizens.

As Martin walked through the streets of Ambratu, people frequently greeted him: "Mr. Kramer." They also smiled and greeted his parrot: "Little Mr. Kramer."

Martin didn't feel insulted by this; on the contrary, he was delighted, as it proved his popularity among the Ambratu populace.

However, as soon as he entered the council chamber, Martin immediately sensed a serious atmosphere. His cheerful mood quickly turned somber.

"What's going on?" Martin whispered to his friend and fellow democratic elder, Jürgen Woller, as he took his seat.

Before Jürgen could explain, Olivier Capino, the leader of the democratic faction and the presiding elder for the day, handed Martin a finely crafted letter with purple patterns. "Little Martin, you're here. Take a look at this. Today, we'll discuss this matter together."

The letter was from the Viscount of Lan Bay, addressed to the elders of the Ambratu council...

Martin read through the letter, his mood growing heavier with each line.

The letter conveyed one simple message: the Viscount of Lan Bay would now be imposing tariffs both new and old!

To be honest, Martin wasn't entirely opposed to the idea of the Viscount of Lan Bay collecting some tolls. For one, their merchants had always secretly paid off the southern knights when passing through Lan Bay. Secondly, even with tariffs, Martin's business would still be profitable. It was better than being stuck with a blocked route.

What truly weighed on Martin's mind was...

"No! I absolutely oppose paying taxes to the Viscount of Lan Bay!" a burly elder slammed the table and shouted in a gruff voice.

As expected, there were those in the council who would oppose this.

The elder, known for his hardline stance, was Antanas, the leader of the oligarchic faction.

"This is extortion! For hundreds of years, we've never paid taxes to pass through the Lan Bay Isthmus!" Antanas declared.

"Actually, we did pay, about thirty or forty years ago," a democratic elder reminded Antanas, though his voice was much softer compared to Antanas's booming tone.

Thirty or forty years ago was when Basilic's father, the second Viscount of Lan Bay, ruled the territory.

The Oran Empire had never imposed tariffs on the Lan Bay Isthmus before, primarily because the land didn't belong to the Duchy of Greenfield. However, with the Duchy of Greenfield acting as a buffer, the imperial court had little direct control over the area, making effective governance difficult.

During the reign of Basilic's father, the empire briefly established control over Lan Bay. However, the tariffs were only collected for a few years before Basilic's father passed away. When Basilic took over, the tariffs were abandoned.

Because the period of taxation was so short, it was easy for the people of Ambratu to forget and mistakenly believe that the Viscount of Lan Bay had never collected tolls.

"So what if we paid before? We were extorted once; are we going to let it happen again?" another oligarchic elder, Sarius, slammed the table in rebuttal.

"Collecting tariffs is within the Viscount of Lan Bay's rights. How can that be considered extortion? Doesn't Ambratu also collect city gate taxes?"

Martin heard Jürgen Woller speak up beside him.

As expected, the democratic elders were generally open to paying some tariffs in exchange for passage through the Lan Bay Isthmus.

"How is this not extortion? This Viscount of Lan Bay is demanding back taxes for the past five years! What else would you call that?" Antanas slammed the table again.

"The Viscount of Lan Bay hasn't specified how much the back taxes would amount to. This is something that can be negotiated. As long as the price is reasonable..." Martin couldn't help but interject.

"Negotiate what? There's no room for negotiation! Every coin in Ambratu's treasury belongs to the citizens of Ambratu!" Antanas cut Martin off. "You wealthy landowners and merchants just want to use the citizens' money to bribe the Viscount of Lan Bay and secure your own profitable trade routes. As long as I'm an elder, I won't allow this to happen!"

"Elder Antanas," Olivier Capino frowned, "it's extremely rude to interrupt another elder's speech."

Antanas sneered. "Olivier, don't think I don't know that you're also profiting from the Lan Bay Isthmus trade route. If you wealthy folks really want to pay this so-called extortion money, then dig into your own pockets. Otherwise, even if you force a resolution through the council, I'll call for a vote by the entire citizen assembly."

At this, the democratic elders' faces darkened. They all knew Antanas's influence in the citizen assembly. Whenever a proposal was put to a vote by the entire citizenry, Antanas had never lost.

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