"This is...?" Feeling the smoke coming out of his mouth with a delicious aroma, Count Hertha savored it carefully while looking at the beautifully constructed plant by the window-this is Oman The mansion of the Earl of West Asia.

Right after that banquet, he was invited to be a guest at the home of the Count of Omansia-even though it has fallen, the Count of Omansia is still one of the most influential nobles in the Kružn Region, the Count of Hertha thought. Moreover, the Earl of Amancia seems to be doing a gem and fur-related business that is very similar to him. It is probably because of this that he will specially invite himself separately to discuss some business matters. With this thought to dispel the little doubt in his heart, Count Hertha walked into the mansion of the Count of Amancia.

The two are like very close friends-they talked about the changes in market prices, and the secrets of dealing with the merchants and intelligence dealers; together they used the feast and the delicious food prepared by the court chef. Desserts; enjoy the famous "opera" in the history of the empire together.

Just after this very pleasant meeting was about to end, the Earl of Amancia suddenly thought of something. From a beautifully packaged box, he took out a cigarette-like thing and said a little apologetically: "Oh... you Look at my memory. I specially invited you here, but almost forgot the most important thing. Come, you taste this."

"Is this... a cigar?" Earl Hertha guessed seeing this somewhat round, long strip. He himself did not have the habit of smoking and drinking, because his father believed that it was not the work of the nobles. It is not elegant enough to make a noise in public places through the vigour of alcohol, or to linger in the smoke of cigarettes. Count Hertha has also adhered to his father's request-until this day.

"Yeah... this is a special cigarette like a cigar brought by a friend from the Eastern Continent-it tastes better than the best cigars on the market." said the Earl of Omancia , I also took out a cigar from the box and lit it, "Unfortunately... this kind of cigar can only be hand-made in individual hand-crafted workshops in that eastern country, and there is no way to mass-produce it."

"That's it... Indeed, this taste is very fragrant." Unlike tobacco cigarettes-cigars are not considered as harmful as tobacco, and the use of cigars is regarded as elegant by many nobles. Symbol, surely my father would not be too opposed? As he thought, he slightly greedily inhaled the sweetness in the air.

"It seems... you really like it." The Earl of Amancia keenly caught the small movements of the Earl of Hertha, and smiled, "Sure enough, it is not what I expected...Let it be. This box of cigars, you will get it back. Go to your own house. If you think it’s really good, you can come to me again. I still have a lot of stock here-or we can just join forces and take the master who can make this delicious cigar from far away It’s not impossible for the East to invite you here."

"You are too polite." Count Hertha smiled awkwardly, his little movements were so carefully watched, he was still a little uncomfortable, "Since this is your kindness-then I will take the liberty to accept it. ."

My own etiquette taught by my father-in the face of friends worthy of making, don't reject the polite gift of the other person at will, but accept it gracefully and give it back with a gift of equal value afterwards. Although this sounds like a box of cigars with a good background, it must be offset by one or two beautiful ruby ​​jewelry, right? Next time I think of a way to find some rewards in the new business. Therefore, he thanked the Earl of Amancia, carefully packed the box of cigars, and brought them back to his home.

——————————————————————

"Oh..." Count Hertha sighed long as he looked at the dense documents in front of him. Beginning this winter, the fur output from Northumbria suddenly began to drop significantly.

As early as about thirty years ago, when the present Northumbria Autonomous Prefecture was the "Grand Duchy of Northumbria" where trade was prosperous, a large number of fur trade products from the northern forests were imported into the empire via sea and land. However, when the "pile of salt" that was said to have directly destroyed nearly 40% of the land of the former Grand Duchy appeared, the original prosperous country was turned into ruins overnight. Subsequently, despite the help of the Qiyao Church, the government formed by the formation of a new democratic council established the "Northumbria Autonomous Prefecture" sheltered by the church and began an attempt to rebuild the hometown, but it has always been Northumbria before. The Ereponia Empire, a close neighbor of the Asian Trade Covenant, said that it would not recognize the new autonomous state. “Only the bloodline of the former Grand Duchy of Northumbria is qualified to claim to be the successor of this land.”

Generally speaking, such a statement is not a big deal—because originally, a country with hereditary monarchy like the Grand Duchy should be the case. However, when the country was faced with a disaster, the grand duke immediately chose to leave the people to flee, and later strongly denied his responsibility after the incident, the prestige of the grand duke had already fallen to the bottom among the people who had survived the ruins. There is no possibility of taking power again. It is precisely because of the public opinion that the Qiyao Church, which knows its unshakable, can only choose a similar policy against the Kalvard revolution before and recognize the legitimacy of this newly formed parliamentary government. In this case, not only did the empire's abnormal behavior fail to win any praise, but it also pushed the empire to the forefront once again. Although there was no "iron-blooded prime minister" at that time, the supreme head of the empire, the emperor himself, still refused to recognize the sovereignty of the Northumbria Autonomous State, and instead supported those who left their damaged hometown and fought for **** money. Hunters of the North". The Kalvard Republic used this to attack the political stance of the empire, and the noble forces repeatedly attacked this matter, and the aftermath of the matter also lasted for a long time before it subsided.

In any case, Northumbria, which has a vast fur producing area-taiga, was destroyed. Since then, the production of natural animal fur has declined sharply and has become a luxury. In this case, the family of Count Hertha was the first to see the changes, and took the initiative to change the original business strategy to seize the market-only this winter, things seemed to suddenly decline, and suppliers from various channels appeared. Count Hertha had to solve all kinds of problems personally.

Now, looking at the pile of documents on the table that will definitely make me feel distraught next, the irritable Earl Hertha suddenly remembered what he had obtained from the Earl of Omansia about a month ago.