Chapter 114 Spoils of War
Lanwan Viscountcy, Elm Tree Town.
"Cecilia, breakfast is ready."
In the early morning, Cecilia was awakened by her sister's gentle voice. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she lifted the blanket, wanting to get out of bed. However, Cecilia found her body was incredibly heavy, completely unable to move. She helplessly lowered her gaze and saw a naked, vibrant beauty clinging to her like an octopus. This beauty, her fair skin seemingly still carrying the passion of last night, was naturally Charlotte, who had returned triumphantly from the battlefield.
Charlotte had been back for three days. As soon as she returned, she had burrowed into Cecilia and Adela's home, righteously declaring she needed to give herself a vacation.
Cecilia was very grateful to Charlotte for bringing her sister over and even gifting her this small house. It made Cecilia feel like she had her own home in this remote Lanwan Viscountcy. After receiving the house, Cecilia and her sister had spent a great deal of effort meticulously decorating their new home. But after Charlotte returned, she pulled Cecilia and Adela into three full days of frolicking, leaving traces of their perfumed, intimate encounters everywhere—in the sisters' bedroom, the rarely used kitchen, the living room with its beautiful carpet, and even Cecilia's beloved study.
Thinking of this, Cecilia couldn't help but want to raise her hand and give this person a sharp knock on the head, but in the end, she refrained. Cecilia knew that if she did, this person would definitely go and complain to Adela later.
"How am I supposed to get up like this?" Cecilia pointed at the person on her and asked her sister, who had just entered, with a playful reproach.
"Well..." Adela saw Charlotte still sound asleep and said hesitantly, "Otherwise, Cecilia, why don't you sleep a little longer with Miss Charlotte? Miss Charlotte was probably a bit tired last night."
"Sister, you really are..." Cecilia was speechless. Her own sister was a typical commoner girl, with an innate awe for nobles. Since Charlotte had bought her, she completely considered herself Charlotte's person. Her temperament was too soft; she didn't dare to go against Charlotte's wishes in the slightest.
Why was Charlotte tired last night? Cecilia had been busy all day yesterday inventorying the spoils of war Charlotte had brought back and was already very tired when she got home. As soon as Cecilia walked in, Charlotte, full and satisfied, wanted to pull her into the bath together. Cecilia refused without a second thought. Charlotte immediately turned around to complain to Adela, and then Adela came to find Cecilia.
With her own sister, Cecilia truly had no way out. Their parents favored their younger brother, so Cecilia was practically raised by her sister, who was just two years older. Their bond was the deepest. When Adela looked at Cecilia with watery eyes and pleaded a little, Cecilia couldn't help but agree to anything.
Thus, Charlotte ultimately achieved her goal of bathing with Cecilia, and even pulled Adela in. The three of them bathed until the early hours of the morning, changing the bathwater three times, and the floor tiles were wet all the way from the bathroom to the kitchen. That's why Charlotte was so tired she was still fast asleep.
"I have so many things to do this morning, I don't want to waste time in bed with her..." Cecilia grumbled as she tried to push off the octopus on her.
Adela quickly held her sister's hand and whispered persuasively, "Let me also sleep with Miss for a while. We sisters can talk for a bit." Saying this, Adela also climbed onto Charlotte's left side and lay down, the two sisters sandwiching Charlotte between them.
Cecilia was helpless and had to lie back down, chatting quietly face-to-face with her sister, "Sister, you don't have to listen to this lecher so much. She just doesn't have good intentions..." Sometimes, Cecilia even suspected that Charlotte had deliberately brought her sister from Platinum City just to make her obey in those embarrassing matters. Otherwise, it was simply inexplicable why Charlotte was so skilled at using her sister.
"If the master needs it, these are things a handmaiden should do anyway..." Adela, blushing, shared with Cecilia the "little knowledge" she had heard about being a handmaiden in a noble household. As she spoke, she didn't forget to lower her voice as much as possible to admonish her sister, "Cecilia, don't always be so rude to Miss. What if Miss Charlotte gets angry with you? She'll punish you and even drive you away."
Cecilia understood her sister was worried about her, but Cecilia didn't know how to explain to her sister that she felt Charlotte definitely wouldn't get angry with her over such a minor offense. Although it might sound a bit narcissistic, Cecilia felt that even if she were a little more willful, Charlotte might not have the heart to drive her away, or even punish her. This unspoken cherishing moved Cecilia, and it was also the reason why Cecilia genuinely worked hard for Charlotte's territory and tolerated this lecher's advances time and time again. But she couldn't say these things to her sister, and Cecilia herself was too embarrassed to say them out loud, so she just responded vaguely, "I know..."
Adela thought her sister had heeded her advice, so she started chatting with Cecilia about household trifles. When she mentioned that the curtains on the attic balcony also needed to be taken down and washed again, Adela blushed from her cheeks to her neck. Cecilia couldn't help but silently roast her sister for bringing trouble upon herself...
The two sisters lay in bed talking for over an hour when suddenly Cecilia felt a mischievous hand snaking along her waist, groping towards her hip. Cecilia tensed up and quickly pressed down on the small hand, "If you're awake, get up!"
Charlotte opened her eyes and smiled, "Give me a good morning kiss, and I'll get up."
"Then you might as well continue lazing in bed." Cecilia showed no courtesy, pried Charlotte's hand away, and went to wash up.
Charlotte turned to Adela and opened her arms. Adela didn't dare to refuse Charlotte. She lowered her head and kissed Charlotte on the lips, then said shyly, "I'll go prepare hot water for Miss's bath."
Cecilia had finished washing up and was sitting at the dining table eating her slightly cool breakfast when Charlotte, freshly bathed and wearing only a shirt that barely covered her small bottom, also entered the dining room. As she walked, a glimpse of the dark tuft could occasionally be seen from under the hem of her shirt. However, Cecilia felt no ripples in her heart; she had seen this scene too many times. In fact, Charlotte's attire today was already considered "conservative." For the past three days, Charlotte had often worn nothing at all.
While enjoying the breakfast Adela served, Charlotte asked Cecilia, "Is the inventory of the spoils of war finished?"
"I'm very glad to hear that your mind contains something other than amorous affairs." Cecilia crunched the sausage in her mouth, as if she were biting someone to vent her emotions.
However, after her sarcastic remark, Cecilia still answered Charlotte's question seriously, "It's almost done. Only some miscellaneous items are left. Everything should be fully accounted for today."
"Then tell me about the general situation," Charlotte said.
"The bulk of the spoils this time falls into roughly three categories: first is cash, second is fabric, and third is alcohol," Cecilia said, counting on her fingers.
"Eh? I don't remember bringing back any alcohol," Charlotte said strangely.
"No, you did bring a batch back. They were packed in old wooden boxes and crystal bottles, placed together with the gold coins. I also discovered them by chance while counting the cash," Cecilia explained. "I had a merchant knowledgeable in wines appraise this batch. This wine is called 'Sea Serpent'; it's a specialty of the Badan City-State. And this batch of 'Sea Serpent' you brought back is the last batch brewed by the Badan wine master Manai before he passed away, about two hundred years ago. Only two thousand bottles of this batch of 'Sea Serpent' were ever made, each one priceless, and this time you brought back a full forty-two bottles!"
As she spoke, Cecilia's face flushed with excitement. These weren't just bottles of wine; they were practically piles of gold and silver treasures! Cecilia was already imagining how many things could be done if all this wine was converted into money: build roads from Ambratu to the Lanwan Viscountcy to the Quake Forest Earldom, then build a dock, a shipyard, and some new ships...
But Charlotte wasn't as excited. She asked doubtfully, "Why would the treasured wine of the Badan City-State be in Dolrcocha's public treasury?" All these spoils of hers were plundered from Dolrcocha.
"Well..." Cecilia suddenly showed a gossipy smile. "I heard that fifty years ago, the royal family of the Gangtu Empire ordered one hundred bottles of 'Sea Serpent' brewed by Master Manai before his death from Badan. But the merchant ship carrying that batch of Sea Serpent was robbed by pirates shortly after setting sail. Neither the Gangtu royal family nor Badan ever found those pirates. And this batch of wine you brought back, their outermost boxes bear the Gangtu royal family's crest..."
"Tsk, robbing their ally's merchant ship for some wine, that really sounds like something those mercenaries would do," Charlotte clicked her tongue and remarked.
"Unfortunately, the remaining fifty-eight bottles were probably drunk by the people of Dolrcocha." Cecilia felt a pang of heartache.
"It's no great loss. These were just icing on the cake anyway. Although precious, it's not easy to actually sell them for money," Charlotte said indifferently. "Besides the wine, how much money and fabric did we get?"
"As for money, this time you brought back approximately four hundred fifty thousand Fuso, three hundred thousand As, two million Dir, and four million Pinke." Cecilia counted on her fingers as if listing family treasures. After finishing, she couldn't help but sigh with a smile, "In terms of cash alone, you've truly returned fully loaded this time."
As is the currency of the Lesalei Kingdom, and its exchange rate with the Oran Empire's Fuso is roughly one point five to one. So, three hundred thousand As is equivalent to about two hundred thousand Fuso. The value of Dir has been rising recently, but the increase isn't yet large enough to affect its exchange rate with Fuso. After all, the issuance volume of the Oran Fuso is astonishingly large—this millennial empire probably doesn't even know itself how many Fuso it has minted in total. Therefore, currently, two million Dir can still be roughly converted to five hundred thousand Fuso, though this is likely temporary. As for the astonishing four million Pinke, that's the currency of the Dolrcocha city-state itself. It's a traditional specialty of the Sokea city-states; this kind of currency, independently issued by each city-state, is rarely used even by the city-state's own people. The only city-state currency in the Sokea region that is recognized throughout the entire peninsula is the Dir issued by Feidi.
"Pinke can be melted down and cast into copper ingots," Charlotte said immediately.
"You're thinking too optimistically," Cecilia retorted. "Although Pinke looks golden and shiny, when craftsmen cut it open, they found that these coins are mostly iron."
Hearing this answer, Charlotte was quite speechless, "I shouldn't have transported this scrap metal back."
"Including the two million Dir from this time, the Dir accumulated in our currency exchange should have exceeded five million. Should we start offering Dir to Fuso exchange services at the currency exchange?" Cecilia asked. "Many Sokea merchants, or merchants wanting to do business in the Sokea Peninsula, have been asking at the exchange if they can convert to Dir."
"No, no need," Charlotte shook her head without thinking. "The currency exchange will continue to operate according to the original plan: only allow Dir to be exchanged for Fuso, not Fuso for Dir." "Hmm..." Charlotte paused for a moment, then added, "However, the currency exchange can add two services: mutual exchange between Fuso and As, and also Dir can be exchanged for As."
"Still not allowing As to be exchanged for Dir?" Cecilia asked again.
"Yes, not allowed." Charlotte shook her head again.
Cecilia didn't quite understand why Charlotte wanted to hoard so much Dir, but since Charlotte was so insistent, she would just carry out the orders.
"The fabrics you transported back are mainly linen and woolen cloth. Twenty-five hundred thousand she'er of linen, and seventy thousand she'er of woolen cloth. Additionally, there's some cotton cloth, furs, and silk," Cecilia continued with the main topic. She'er is a unit of length, one she'er is approximately the length from an adult's shoulder to their fingertips.
"However, fabric prices have been relatively low this year. Whether it's linen or woolen cloth, I'm afraid it will be difficult to sell them at a good price," Cecilia asked with some concern.
"Then don't worry about making a profit," Charlotte said. "Sell these linen and woolen cloths at a relatively preferential price in the market of Elm Tree Town, only allowing residents of the Lanwan Viscountcy and Ambratu County to purchase them. Consider it a way for my people to get new clothes."
"Alright." Cecilia noted it down.
"How much silk is there?" Charlotte asked again.
"About ten thousand she'er," Cecilia said.
"Take out all the silk," Charlotte said further. "Also, get ten bottles of that 'Sea Serpent'. Each bottle of 'Sea Serpent' must be well-packed in a wooden box imprinted with the Gangtu Empire's royal crest. I want to use them to reward the officers and soldiers who performed meritorious service this time."
"Mm." Cecilia nodded again.