78 – Blueport trade hub plan started (1)
The people of Europe define the Northern Union as follows.
It is an extreme land where even the sea freezes due to the severe cold that blows from the north all year round, a shabby land without culture where looters and humble serfs who worship reckless and barbaric traditions live together.
However, as a result of my research from the time I was in Creutel, the Northern Alliance was not necessarily a land dominated by extreme cold.
On the contrary, in some places there were so many rich and wide plains that even serfs had villages where they could eat meat once a month, and there were even places where their breath did not turn white even in winter.
Instead, their culture was barbaric from the point of view of the aristocrats because they were far away from developed countries such as Eline, France, Romania, and Italy, which boast a splendid culture.
That’s why, I headed to Narcella, the northern capital of the Northern Alliance, with the conviction that if I conveyed the culture of ‘Eline’ and new things to them, I would definitely be able to hit it.
And as soon as I got there and got off the boat, I heard the joyous voice of a nobleman who knew I was coming.
“Are you Sir Ciel von Kreuttel? I am Court Baron Nikolai Shelyevnovsky. Your Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said to serve you well.”
When I was a baron, even if I had come here, a knight under the direction of a viscount at the court would have come, let alone the foreign minister…
Now that my status has risen, even if I come to a foreign country, someone like a court baron will come to serve me… I feel new.
“I am Ciel von Kreuttel, the rightful lord of the Earl of Kreuttel. i look forward to. baron.”
“It’s an honor, come this way. Your Excellency, Foreign Minister, has arranged a lodging for Your Excellency Kreutel. Whatever you want…”
I told you these gentlemen wanted it, but I’m sure you’ll be offering something you’ll have to pay more for if you get it.
I’m not a human being if I’m caught by this, but if I don’t catch it at all, it’ll be something that damages the other person’s honor…
“Actually, I came with a girl named Ella, so please bring me something delicious that she and I will like.”
Hearing that, the baron seemed to be overcome with anxiety that he would not be able to carry out the order that he must have been given by the Foreign Minister.
“I will serve you borscht and shashlik. Since you said you’re eating with a woman, I’ll bake the shashlik as lightly as possible.”
“thank you. baron”
And then, I handed the baron something and said in a whisper.
“Baron, please read this letter and pass it on to the high-ranking person in your faction. There must be something written that will satisfy him.”
Hearing those words, the baron answered with a loud breath that made his mustache, which he had purposely grown long, shake.
“It is an honour! dismissal.”
“It is done. Hurry up. Because I am too tired.”
**
After the trip, Ella and I woke up around noon, no, around noon.
I woke up, straightened my hair and clothes, and went into the dining room for us.
Inside, the floor, ceiling, and walls were covered with snow-white marble, and the pillars supporting the ceiling were engraved with a small gold symbol of the Northern Alliance, a black eagle snatching prey.
The desks on which Ella and I sat were also luxurious in jet-black marble, and all the vessels were inlaid with gold patterns.
On top of that, precious dishes from the Northern Alliance such as borscht and shashlik are on the table.
Ella looked around with a slightly embarrassed expression, as if it was uncomfortable to eat at such a fancy place, no, just to be there.
So I called Ella lightly to calm her down.
“Ella, calm down.”
After hearing that, Ella stopped shaking and focused on my words.
“You said you wanted to be of help to me since you were little, right?”
“Yes, master… I really want to be of help to you.”
Ella looked cute when she said that, so I casually stroked her hair lightly and whispered in her ear.
“Ella is always helpful to me, thank you as always. But today I need Ella’s help. Can you help me?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Okay then, Ella. Don’t pay attention to the people next to you, just show me how you eat with dignity, just like when you had a meal with your father. Even if you just do that, I think it can be of great help to me.”
At that, Ella smiled and nodded her head.
“Can I look forward to it tonight instead?”
That slight smile was a little scary, but I nodded and said to achieve my goal.
“Of course.”
And I applauded and let in the conductors, musicians, and painters I had brought with me.
The painters sat around us, placing their canvases and various painting tools, and the conductor ordered all the instruments to be positioned and moved.
As soon as the commander’s instructions came out, the workers of the Northern Alliance began to move carefully as if carrying various musical instruments.
And after about 30 minutes, a magnificent performance began with the thin sound of the violin.
Along with that sound, Ella and I ate with a little more dignity than usual.
We scooped up the borscht with a small ladle and put it in each person’s bowl to eat, then cut the borscht bigger than our mouth into small pieces with a knife placed in front of us and ate with our mouths slightly open.
The way Ella, who was originally cute, was eating the borscht with her mouth wide open was as cute as a squirrel with acorns in her mouth.
Even when eating shashlik, I used a small knife to remove the meat from the lamb bone, then cut it into small pieces and put it in my mouth.
When Ella and I were almost done eating, I said to the butler standing next to me.
“Bring me ice cream, meringue cookies, and marshmallows.”
“all right.”
Then I touched Ella’s foot, signaling that she no longer had to be dignified.
After a while, the butler brought ice cream, meringue cookies, and marshmallows in a very luxurious bowl.
It was really beautiful to see pure white ice cream, pink, yellow, and white meringue cookies and pure white marshmallows placed neatly.
Ella and I ate first the marshmallows, then the different colored meringue cookies.
Ella in front of me ate marshmallows and meringue cookies while munching with a really happy face.
And I ate ice cream together, and the taste was amazing.
Because it was made with really fresh milk, eggs, and sugar, it was so delicious that it melted in your mouth and made you feel like your head was going to be sweet.
In particular, Ella, who has loved sweets since she was a child…
He smiled as brightly as the sun, moving the corners of his lips up and down.
The painters moved the pencils they were holding at a frantic speed, as if to capture the image even a little more.
And after I finished eating with Ella, I stroked her cheek and said,
“Well done, Ella is the best.”
The words made her cheeks glow like red apples.
And I went to sleep separately today to wait for a guest to come at night.
**
Around the time when I was lying on a luxurious bed and staring blankly at the ceiling of my room to pass the time.
I heard someone calling me from outside the door.
“Your Excellency, Your Excellency the Foreign Minister has arrived.”
I thought I would have a practical talk with a high-ranking person in the Foreign Ministry first, but I never thought the Foreign Minister would come right away…
“Come in and tell me.”
After that, the Foreign Minister opened the door and entered.
I was shocked to see a man in his 60s with a long Santa-like beard coming in wearing a black fur suit with long sleeves.
However, he tried hard not to reveal his feelings and said with his head down.
“Ciel von Creutel, Countess who has rightful control of Nantes, sees His Excellency Foreign Minister of the preying eagle.”
At those words, the foreign minister who looked like Santa in front of me smiled like a nice old man and said,
“I am Alexiekov Rollsroy, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Northern Alliance and the rightful owner of the Earl of Rollsroy. Even though I am a minister of the empire, the title is the same, so it’s okay to speak casually.”
“Even though I share the same title as Your Excellency, Your Excellency is the Minister of a country. How can I speak comfortably? And I came to sell the goods and culture of the territory to the Empire rather than as the Count of Creutel.”
The foreign minister listened to my words and spoke in a relaxed voice while stroking his beard.
“Then do it. By the way, you came here to sell not only goods, but also culture… What are you talking about?”
“Your Excellency, it is as I said. We will bring the refined culture of Spain, Italy, Romania, Elaine and France to the Imperial Court of the Northern Alliance. Use that culture to show off the dignity of the imperial family.”
After hearing my words, the Foreign Minister opened his eyes wide and asked.
“What do you mean by that?”
“It is as I said. The dignity of the united imperial family can be expressed in military, economic, and diplomatic power, but true dignity is shown in what they follow from the heart. The best way for him is culture.”
In fact, culture sometimes exerts unimaginable power.
An example of this is the Philippines, although people don’t know it well.
They had been colonized by Spain for hundreds of years and had been exploited.
However, unlike Korea, they do not have any national ill-feeling towards Spain, and rather, they view it favorably enough to erect a monument to Lapu-Lapu, their independence activist, and Magellan, the spearhead of the invasion, side by side.
What made this possible was not because their rule was kind but economically developed, but because it made them follow the Filipinos with a purely Catholic culture.
A culture with such power would be an attractive condition for the United Kingdom, which is made up of various alliances and has weak imperial authority.
After hearing my words, the foreign minister asked me with a slightly convinced expression.
“I don’t think that’s very wrong, but it’s not enough.”
In the first place, I only understood this much and said, “Wow! Advanced culture! That’s so cool!!” I never thought that I would be accepted like this.
Rather, it’s a huge achievement just by attracting a little curiosity.
So I opened my mouth to persuade him and made a proposal.
“We will pay the money, so please help us with the place, the servants, and the cook. I will personally show you a result that will satisfy His Excellency, or His Majesty the Emperor.”