Chapter 311: Magnus Fletcher

"Who?" Simon asked.

"A man from the Fletcher family, the richest clan in Bristol City. They came to the Chamber of Commerce to buy glass mirrors, and plan to visit you next. Why not meet them now?"

"Fletcher family?" Simon raised an eyebrow.

He’d been producing valuable goods for over a year now, but the Fletcher family had remained passive, never showing interest.

"They’ve finally taken the bait?" He murmured.

After a pause, he said. "Fine. Let them in."

Soon, Percival returned with a man in white silk robes.

"Magnus Fletcher greets Your Highness."

The man was well-mannered, confident, and composed.

"Magnus? A concubine-born son?"

Simon’s voice turned cold.

"Sending a secondary son to see me? Seems the Fletcher family still doesn’t take me seriously."

He was clearly testing the visitor.

Magnus, who had left Bristol City seven days ago, was sent directly by the family to Brambleford.

Without flinching, he replied:

"They say Your Highness is a man of vision, a model for the entire Eldorian Empire. I didn’t expect you to care about birth status. Pity, I thought you were different."

"How dare you!"

Percival snapped.

"How can you speak to His Highness like that? If I had known, we’d never have sold you the mirrors!"

Simon raised a hand to stop him.

"In Brambleford, I don’t care about status. But in the Eldorian Empire, noble families only respect the legitimate sons. You think flattery will trick me?"

Magnus hesitated briefly, then explained: "It’s not that the Fletcher family looks down on you. My father admires Your Highness’s wisdom. My older brother is sick in bed, so I was sent in his place."

"Why didn’t you say so to begin with?"

Simon stood up.

"I don’t like games. Tell me straight, what do you want?"

"Very well," Magnus said.

"As Your Highness knows, the Fletcher family has long supported Prince Vaelric."

"Isn’t that still the case?" Simon asked.

"Your Highness, merchants have no borders. We don’t serve kings; we follow profit. Please don’t treat us like Prince Vaelric’s lapdogs."

That response made Simon frown.

A merchant of the Eldorian Empire wasn’t supposed to talk like that.

"In this empire, merchants are servants of the nobility. What else could they be?"

"True," Magnus admitted.

"But Your Highness is different. You want to rebuild the country through commerce. Maybe you can create a land where merchants are free."

---

"Hahaha..."

Laughter echoed from the president’s office of the Chamber of Commerce.

Many merchants nearby turned toward the sound in surprise.

They recognized the voice; it was unmistakably Prince Simon himself.

This stirred excitement throughout the building.

The prince rarely visited the Chamber of Commerce. Usually, only Percival managed affairs from the president’s office.

Now, inside the office bearing the Chamber’s nameplate, Magnus looked confused as Simon laughed loudly and without restraint. He was starting to doubt whether he could fulfill the task his father had given him.

"May I ask why Your Highness is laughing?" He finally asked.

Simon stopped laughing and said coldly,

"I’m laughing at your audacity. If Prince Vaelric finds out you’re standing here saying this to me, your entire family could be wiped out overnight. Do you really think that just because you’re rich, Prince Vaelric wouldn’t dare touch you? Wrong. Your fortune is only being held temporarily; it ultimately belongs to the prince. A pig is fattened for slaughter."

"Your Highness speaks with sharp insight," Magnus replied calmly.

"But perhaps you underestimate the Fletcher family. We never put all our eggs in one basket. Our assets are spread across the empire and beyond. Even if we must flee the Eldorian Empire, we have places to go. But our roots are here. If there is a stable corner to anchor ourselves, we would rather stay."

After a pause, he added. "Your Highness, there’s another reason I’ve come. Our trading ships encountered your fleet at sea. Do you know a man named Desmond?"

"What?!"

Simon stood up abruptly.

His expression turned dangerous.

Sensing his fury, Thomas and William immediately drew their swords, ready to strike.

"So it is your man," Magnus said calmly.

"It’s unfortunate, the three galleons were shot to pieces. You’ve probably lost more than a million caps in that battle."

Simon calmed himself.

He hadn’t heard from Desmond in months and had feared the worst.

But now it seemed something had happened.

"What’s your point?" He asked coldly.

"The Fletcher family is helping Desmond repair his ships. Within a month, Your Highness should see your fleet return. That’s our show of goodwill, our sincerity in proposing an alliance."

"And what does your family want in return?"

Simon sneered.

"Your fleet proves your strength, and that’s what we need. My father believes Your Highness can offer the Fletcher family a different future. Of course, if you were willing to allow us to open banks in Brambleford, we’d be even more enthusiastic."

Simon was no fool.

Politics is the art of exchanging interests.

He asked. "That’s your condition?"

"Yes. We know Your Highness is planning a Brambleford state bank, but you lack capital and talent in this industry. Progress has been slow. If you allow the Fletcher family to take over the banking operation, we guarantee that in three months, we’ll establish branches in every county of your domain."

Simon hesitated.

The Fletcher family was asking for a lot.

Banking was essentially the financial industry, and anyone from modern times knew how powerful that could be.

Had it been anyone else from the empire, they’d have been completely fooled.

But the Fletcher family had misjudged Simon.

Now it made sense why they were suddenly so eager:

His plan to build a state-run bank had threatened them.

Right now, Desmond and the fleet were in their hands.

According to Magnus, without their help, the fleet wouldn’t make it back.

And so far, they hadn’t told Prince Vaelric anything.

This was leverage.

They were raising the price.

If Simon didn’t offer a good deal, the Fletcher family might walk away.

Coming from modern times, Simon knew full well the power of capital.

The Fletcher family had clearly evolved beyond your typical Eldorian Empire merchant house.

They were looking for fertile ground for capital, and he was it.

That’s why they dared to approach him.

After a moment’s thought, Simon said:

"I will not abandon my Brambleford bank. But I won’t stop the Fletcher family from opening their own banks in my territory. That’s my bottom line."

"You are indeed as clever as rumored. That’s exactly what my father predicted. We accept." Magnus replied.

Simon gave a small snort.

This outcome was a win-win for both sides.

Originally, he had hoped to monopolize finance, but in this era, that wasn’t realistic.

To grow quickly, he needed to ride the wave of capital and build a coalition of aligned interests.

Only when merchants consistently profited from working with him would they continue to invest in his ventures.

That’s how the Eastern Company had risen, through aligned profits and political power.

From this moment, Simon would begin building an economic alliance around himself, drawing merchants into his orbit, suppliers of materials, money, and wartime funding.

He didn’t care whose territory they came from.

If they could supply goods and funds, he could use them.

After all, business was mutual exploitation, and backstabbing was part of the game.

With Magnus agreeing, Simon shifted gears.

He dropped a bold proposal.

"I have a business opportunity. One with even higher returns. Interested?"

"Please go on."

"I plan to march north against the reavers and reclaim West Ham. You may have heard, the Emperor already agreed: any land I conquer becomes mine. But I lack supplies. So I plan to crowdfund this war. In return, investors will share in the war profits, based on how much they contribute. Does the Fletcher family want in?"

"War profits?"

Magnus raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of profits?"

"Land, reaver livestock, horses, captives, control of their trade routes. You’ve heard of the Sixteen cities; imagine the wealth in that land. If I conquer it, there will be tons of property... fields, slaves, flocks, and trade rights. Just give me money, and I’ll be your front-line investment."

Magnus stared, stunned.

This prince... Truly thought differently from the rest.