Returning to the day before yesterday, after Daisy left the tavern, she headed straight for the palace to see her father.
"Princess Daisy."
Everyone she encountered along the way stopped to bow.
"Is Father inside?" Daisy asked the dwarf knight at the door as she arrived at the main hall.
"The King is inside, but he has an important guest. Princess Daisy, would you like to rest in the side hall for a moment?" The dwarf knight replied.
"A guest? Who is it?" Princess Daisy furrowed her brows. Her father usually took his afternoon nap at this time; why would someone visit now?
"It's Lord Makro," The dwarf knight said softly.
"Makro? Why is that old geezer here again?" Daisy's expression changed, and she gritted her teeth.
Makro was the King of the Maner Principality, one of the three duchies in the Chaotic Lands. Clearly, this wasn't King Makro's first visit.
"Forget it, I'll come find Father tomorrow." Daisy hesitated. She really didn't want to see Makro, so she turned and left.
Inside the palace's reception hall, two elderly men with greying hair were arguing about something.
One of them was a dwarf, appearing to be in his sixties. His face was gloomy. Naturally, he was the King of the Deepstone Dwarf Kingdom, Daisy's father, Roberson.
Sitting opposite him was a man in his fifties, the King of the Maner Principality. Hailing from a war-torn place like the Chaotic Lands, he carried an aura of oppression.
"If you don't agree to my demands, then my Maner Principality will no longer export wheat and linen to your dwarves. And of course, that includes Roma Wine."
Makro smirked, picked up the wine glass on the table, and downed it in one gulp. He said coldly, "Roberson, I hope you consider my suggestion."
Makro stood up, looking at the gloomy Roberson. He had the dwarves dead to rights—who told the dwarves' country to be unsuitable for growing wheat?
He looked at the silent Dwarf King, turned around, and walked out, leaving behind one last sentence: "Think it over carefully."
"Hmph!" Watching Makro leave, Roberson sat in a daze for a long time. Then, he suddenly roared angrily, "Don't even think about it! Dwarves will never submit!"
It turned out that Makro had repeatedly come to Roberson for iron ore, but a large part of it was for weapons.
The Maner Principality was located in the Chaotic Lands, a place plagued by constant warfare and chaos all year round. The three principalities there were constantly on guard against one another.
With the autumn wheat harvest approaching, the Duchy of Mulin and the Duchy of Chama were preparing to attack the Maner Principality to plunder their wheat. The Maner Principality was the weakest among the three, which was why Makro had repeatedly visited the Deepstone Dwarf Kingdom: he wanted weapons and iron ore to boost his knights' combat prowess.
After all, if you wanted invincible knights, weapons and armor were a crucial factor.
"Damn it, how dare he threaten me! Does he think I have no other options?" Roberson yelled angrily. He closed his eyes and massaged his temples to soothe a severe headache. Then, he picked up the wine jug beside him and took two gulps before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
The three principalities in the Chaotic Lands maintained a mutual balance of power. If he carelessly sold weapons to any one side, it would shatter that balance and trigger a massive war. That would not be a good thing for the Dwarf Kingdom.
After all, if a massive war broke out among the three duchies and one emerged victorious—annexing the other two to form a unified kingdom—it would pose a massive threat to the Deepstone Dwarf Kingdom.
Their current three-way stalemate, constantly keeping each other in check, was exactly what Roberson preferred to see.
"As for linen and wheat, worst comes to worst, I'll import them from other kingdoms. But the Roma Wine... what a pity," Roberson sighed, feeling utterly helpless.
The Maner Principality was the only neighboring country with an abundance of wheat and linen. Because of this, nearly half of the wheat and linen in the Deepstone Dwarf Kingdom was imported from them.
And now, because of the weapon issue, the Maner Kingdom was unilaterally terminating this cooperation and simultaneously refusing to sell Roma Wine to the Deepstone Dwarf Kingdom.
Roma Wine was a specialty of the Maner Principality, famous for its spicy and fragrant flavor. It was terribly expensive, and its annual production was pitifully low. Yet, this exact liquor was Roberson's absolute favorite.
Now, due to the broken cooperation, he was going to lose his favorite drink. This made him feel deeply helpless. The Fragrant Wheat Ale he was drinking now tasted fine, but compared to Roma Wine, it was still lacking.
"Sigh..." Roberson sighed heavily and took a few large gulps of ale.
.........
The next day, Daisy, who hadn't even eaten yet, grabbed the items Dahlia had given her and charged straight into Roberson's bedchamber.
No one dared stop her along the way. After all, Princess Daisy was Roberson's precious jewel; very few could afford to offend her.
Bang, bang, bang...
"Father, are you awake?" Daisy knocked on the door and shouted.
"Come in!"
Creak...
Receiving a response, Daisy entered the room.
"Daisy, why are you up so early today?" Roberson looked at his daughter and asked with a smile. "Is something the matter?"
"Father, I have something to discuss with you," Daisy said softly, glancing at the maids in the room.
Roberson glanced at his daughter and waved his hand, dismissing all the servants from the bedchamber.
"What is it? You look so anxious." Roberson affectionately patted Daisy's head.
"Father, yesterday I bought a bottle of Bamboo Tube Wine for you from a foreign merchant," Daisy said, taking the bottle of Bamboo Tube Wine from the box she had brought and placing it on the table.
"Oh? Bamboo Tube Wine? I've really never heard of it." Roberson picked up the bamboo tube curiously and examined it. A very faint bamboo fragrance wafted from it.
"This is much better than your Roma Wine," Daisy declared with utmost confidence.
One had to know that even the second-tier Whispering Dawn tasted far better than the so-called Roma Wine, let alone this Bamboo Tube Wine.
"Hm? Then I'll have to taste it." Roberson raised an eyebrow. For his daughter to make such a bold claim, this Bamboo Tube Wine must not be simple.
Pop...
Roberson slowly unstoppered the bottle. The next moment, a rich, mellow aroma filled the entire room, laced with a faint bamboo scent that was intoxicating to smell.
"Eh?" Roberson was stunned. Just smelling the aroma made him swallow saliva frantically.
Unable to resist, he poured himself a cup, took a deep whiff of the fragrance, and then directly took a massive gulp.
"Good wine! This is the best wine I've ever had! Roma Wine is nothing but dog shit in comparison," Roberson marveled. His nose and mouth were filled with the fresh scent of bamboo, while his throat burned with the spicy, exhilarating sensation brought by the fine liquor. It packed a real punch.
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