Chapter 74 - Negotiating with the Iron Bank.

[Chapter Size: 2500 Words.]

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Third Person POV

Sea, 105 AC.

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And so, for the first time in that world, Jon was aboard a ship. Jon, Rickon, Rickard Stark, Lord Donnel Manderly, his heir, Donnel Manderly, and even the twins, Orys Manderly and Yara Manderly, were aboard the vessel.

Jon had already produced the perfume he had told Lord Stark he would offer in Braavos, and explained his business plan with the people of Essos. Lord Stark was impressed by the fragrance, asking when he had made it. Jon had waited for the response from Braavos before beginning to produce it and, in only two or three days, he had already finished everything.

He possessed all the necessary plants and, now, he no longer even needed seeds. He could produce any plant directly from the ground using his magic, having in his memories a gigantic list of every kind of plant, herb, flower, and tree, fruit-bearing or otherwise, from his past life. It was all the fauna and flora of this world in another reality, and it was available in his memories.

In recent years, he no longer needed to import plants and had managed to produce much better body-development potions.

He no longer even thought about hiding his strength, which had already surpassed that of an adult man by that point. Even so, he still found himself somewhat behind where he had been in his past life.

Lord Stark was even more impressed by the business Jon had built on his own, but in his other life, at fourteen years old, he had already been taking care of an entire kingdom and, in this life, he was still traveling to conduct his first major business deal.

But he couldn't demand too much of himself either, right?

He was still satisfied with his progress. He had plenty of time ahead of him and, most importantly, he didn't have to be responsible for things now, with the weight of a kingdom on his shoulders. He didn't have to take care of more than a hundred thousand people, manage businesses, and develop them so that all of them could prosper as well.

Here, he was just Jon, a boy trying to live his life starting from the bottom, spending his days in Winterfell between games, training, studies, and time beside his friends and his possible second family.

A knock at the door made Jon look toward the entrance of his cabin in surprise. Each of them had been given a private cabin, with the exception of the ship's sailors. When Jon opened the door, he found Yara staring at him.

"Jon, may I come in?" she said.

Jon raised an eyebrow, but stepped aside to let her enter.

"I know it's inappropriate for a woman to come to a man's room in the middle of the night, but there's something I need to discuss with you," she said, looking at him with some uncertainty.

"And what would that be, my lady?" Jon asked.

"You don't need to call me that when we're alone," she said before continuing. "I... I wanted to say that I heard some things. My brother, I mean... heard that you've become betrothed to Lyra Stark..." she said, staring at him in search of an answer.

Jon nodded, unable to deny it. Rickon had probably opened his mouth about it when he shouldn't have. "Yes, it's true," he replied.

The girl lowered her eyes to the floor before looking back at him, now with tears in her eyes. "I... I thought we could be together," she confessed.

Jon couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, my lady?"

"You really didn't notice it, did you? I wanted to marry you, Jon."

That left him surprised for a moment before he sighed, finally understanding the situation.

He and Yara were friends, after all, always laughing and having fun, and they had known each other since they were 8 namedays old. Her brother also used to be with them. Jon had already heard some jokes about Yara liking him, especially when her brother started shouting such things around, but he had always taken it all as a joke. It seemed, however, that the girl truly had feelings for him.

"I spoke with my father about it some time ago. He certainly didn't seem very pleased, but he became more open to it after Lord Stark said that you yourself would personally discuss some matter with a representative of the Iron Bank, even though we still don't know what it is. He even asked me to get closer to you. I thought that finally we could, you know... get married. But it seems that's not going to happen," she said.

Jon simply stared at her with a calm and even understanding expression. "I'm sorry, Yara, but I've already given Lord Stark my consent. You're a good friend and I like you, but I don't think that's going to happen, not now," Jon said.

She nodded, confirming that he really was betrothed to Lyra.

"It's a shame... Well, all I can say is that Lyra is a lucky girl. I'm going back to my room," she said sadly, about to leave Jon alone.

Would he have a few more broken hearts when the news of his marriage to Lyra spread? Most lords had certainly already considered their daughters as a possible match for Jon, mainly because he was extremely favored in appearance and could make maidens blush, even those of the North. But most of them probably only saw him as a boy with little to offer, when there were much better options than a farmer's son...

Not that he was belittling himself, but he had to be realistic. At first glance, Jon wasn't the heir to a castle or vast lands, which made it difficult to gain the consent of those lords.

His origins had always been the greatest obstacle for them. Otherwise, if he were a son of Lord Stark, the lord himself would certainly have problems with several lords making proposals involving their daughters or granddaughters, demanding a marriage with the "Prince of Winterfell," as Jon was often called.

"I'm sorry, Yara," Jon said as she was leaving, somewhat cautiously.

The girl nodded. "It's all right. It's a shame because my brother never lied about it. I loved you... and I still do. But I'll get over it... I wish you and Lyra a happy marriage."

"It still won't happen for another five years, so we have plenty of time. I also want her to have the freedom to call off the marriage if she wants to."

That made Yara scoff. "Jon, that girl loves you, just like many others do. And they don't care about your low birth status. Some would probably even agree to run away with you. Maybe they wouldn't mind not having castles, at least some of them."

'Well, it seems you still don't know about Lord Stark's plans for Dragon Point. Rickon kept his mouth shut about that, at least.'

Jon watched her leave his cabin some time later. There was nothing he could do about it. He realized that Yara had cried a lot that night, with her looking tired the next day, but the rest of the journey was peaceful. Yara also went back to behaving with him as she always had after that day, talking and laughing. After all, they were still good company for each other.

Braavos finally appeared in the distance, while the younger ones were fascinated by the city as soon as they arrived. The enormous Titan of Braavos appeared before them, growing larger and larger as the ship approached, until they finally passed beneath it.

Jon had already seen it in his memories, but certainly beholding it in person was much better than merely remembering it. And so, they docked at one of the ports and made their way through the city, having to take some boats to travel through the canals, which were the fastest routes. After all, much of the city was spread across islands within the enormous bay.

When they arrived at the Iron Bank, Lord Manderly entered the place alongside Jon. Rickard and even Rickon were with them, though the latter was there only to observe.

"My name is Shyros Munnhoch. I'm here to hear your proposal, since my superior told me that Lord Stark had something interesting to show," he said.

Lord Manderly nodded. "Yes. But it isn't me, it's that one over there. It's up to you now, boy," he said, surprising the representative of the Iron Bank when he saw that it was only a young boy.

Shyros looked at Rickard Stark, the elder Stark, in silence, seeming surprised that it really was the boy who would be conducting the negotiation.

"So it's the boy...? I think I've heard about you. Taken from a farm to become a ward of the Starks. It seems they hold you in very high regard. You remind me a little of myself. I also came from a common family and got where I am thanks to my competence. Well, it's certainly strange to hear a proposal from one of the youngest people here, but can you tell me exactly what you've come to show me?" he said with a smile.

Jon nodded, unsurprised that the man knew about him. The Iron Bank was always seeking information, and Jon should have been known to them from the moment his wolf became publicly known... Then he took the box they had brought and placed it on the table separating the two groups.

He opened it in front of the man, taking out several small wooden bottles. It wasn't ordinary wood. Jon had altered the material so that it could even replace glass. Despite not having the same aesthetic appeal, it perfectly preserved the product inside.

Lord Stark had also been surprised when he saw those containers for the first time and had asked Jon how he had produced them. Jon had merely said that he had created them himself, although, in truth, he had done everything with magic. The bottles even had screw caps, something unusual at that time, as even bottles of drink were sealed with corks.

"Open the cap and see for yourself. It's threaded, just twist the top," Jon explained.

Shyros frowned. He wasn't used to such a thing. There was nothing similar to that type of threading in his daily life, only corks. He found it strange, but became fascinated when he began twisting it and noticed the small cap rising little by little, until it finally came loose.

A pleasant aroma spread through the air soon afterward.

"Is this a fragrance? What is this?" he asked, smelling the contents before looking at Jon, fascinated.

"This is a perfume. A perfume that was developed in the North," Jon explained. "I intend to sell it in Braavos."

The man continued taking in the fragrance while staring at him with evident fascination.

"This is unexpected... But, of course, of course. We can discuss this immediately," he said excitedly, though still surprised.

The next part of the negotiation was the price Jon was asking for. Obviously, that wouldn't be the final price. They would make a counteroffer and, from there, Jon would try to reach the amount he actually wanted.

Jon also handed over the plant itself without any problem so that the men could study it. Its main ingredient was a plant that he claimed grew only in the North. They would certainly try to cultivate it in Braavos, but they would soon discover that they couldn't. Because of that, Jon wasn't worried about the risk of the Iron Bank trying to cheat him. In the end, they would have to accept his terms if they wanted to sell the perfume, since its fragrance was better than any other available at that time and would certainly become successful throughout Essos.

He also handed over a box containing more than twenty bottles so that the keyholders could take them home, try the product, and discuss the proposal over the following days.

And so, they left the Iron Bank and traveled back by boat through the canals, discussing what they would do as they headed toward an inn in the middle of the city.

"You should have seen him! Jon was incredible negotiating the perfume with that man from the Iron Bank!" Rickon said in the middle of dinner at the inn.

Even Lord Manderly seemed impressed as he ate in a corner alongside his children, the Starks, and Jon.

"Let me try that perfume, Jon!" Yara demanded immediately.

Jon still had a few bottles with him and handed one to her. "Here. It smells nice, although I believe Essos will like it more than Westeros," Jon explained.

She opened the bottle and smelled the fragrance. "Ah! It's so... so fragrant! Did you make it yourself?"

Jon ignored Lord Manderly's cautious look. The man seemed to have lost something important at that moment. Perhaps he had truly been serious when he had thought about a possible marriage between Jon and Yara, but he should also have already heard from Lord Stark about the possible betrothal between Jon and Lyra.

Either way, they went out the next day to explore Braavos. Jon couldn't say that he knew much about the city in that era and was certainly fascinated by all kinds of products he found. There were even other tigers and animals similar to those he had seen at the tournament at Harrenhal, only much cheaper, making it clear just how inflated the prices had been on that occasion.

Not that Jon regretted buying his animals. They had become a wonderful addition to his enormous collection and his dear friends.

At the end of the afternoon, a messenger from the Iron Bank appeared requesting another audience. This time, Jon would meet directly with the keyholders.

Even Lord Manderly seemed somewhat worried and nervous. Not even he had personally met with the most important people of the Iron Bank. Jon, however, showed no concern and maintained a very calm demeanor, surprising even the adults.

And so, at the beginning of the evening, they entered the room where all twelve keyholders were already waiting for them.

Unlike the others, Jon still maintained the same calm expression, looking at each of them. He knew none of those men, but they all watched him with curiosity and even a certain degree of surprise upon seeing his composure.

The previous representative should have already passed along some information about the boy, and Jon certainly wouldn't back down under the pressure of some of the most powerful merchants in Essos. After all, he had something to offer that could make everyone there a great deal of money. They wouldn't be there to try to make money off him; it was Jon who would begin a game between them, to secure as much profit as possible.

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