Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 372 Carlo Ed
[Republic of Monta, Steel Castle]
Two days until the Blacksmiths' Guild election ceremony.
In the afternoon, two carriages adorned with white eagle emblems drove into the lakeside hotel one after the other and stopped outside the detached house that Baron Granah had booked.

An elderly man dressed in fine clothes stepped off the carriage and entered the small building without looking to the side.

The head waiter recognized the old man from afar as Carlo Ed, a partner in the Navarre Trading Company, and went to greet him courteously. However, the head waiter was unable to see Mr. Ed; the baron's guards sent him away.

Mr. Ed came specifically to pick up Winters and Anna.

Although the White Eagle family's gathering didn't begin until evening, the hospitable hosts, worried that the Baron, who was visiting Steel Castle for the first time, might get lost, specially asked Mr. Ed to guide him and even sent a carriage from the Esther family.

"Am I going too?" Anna asked anxiously.

“The White Eagle would especially like to invite you, my lady,” Mr. Ed explained with a straight face. “This is a private gathering, and other guests will be bringing their families.”

Anna looked at Winters.

Winters felt inexplicably nervous, but he pretended to be calm: "Mr. Esther invited you, so it's up to you whether you go or not."

Anna leaned forward, teasingly scrutinizing Winters' expression up close.

Winters felt uncomfortable being stared at, so he pretended to be nonchalant and turned to look out the window.

Anna sat up contentedly and resumed her dignified posture, a mischievous smile appearing on her face: "Okay, I'll go too."

As soon as she finished speaking, Anna looked troubled again: "But I didn't bring any suitable clothes."

“White Eagle has already thought of that.” Mr. Ed tapped the floor tiles with his cane. “He asked me to bring you the dress.”

"But how did he know about mine..." Anna asked shyly, "mine..."

"Clothing size?" Winters interjected.

“He didn’t know,” Mr. Ed explained casually. “So he prepared twenty-four sets in total, and you can choose whichever you like.”

The door opened, and two maids dressed in black entered the living room, supporting a roller clothes rack. The rack held twenty-four identical long dresses of women, made of the same material and in the same color, along with matching petticoats.

Even Anna was shocked by the White Eagle's grand gesture, and Winters' expression became quite subtle.

Father Kaman, standing to the side, still had a stern face, but his lips and cheeks were twitching slightly.

Winters stood up and politely said to Carlo Ed, "Please thank Mr. Esther for me."

“I was also entrusted by White Eagle.” Mr. Ed’s eyes revealed a hint of helplessness: “After all, you still need his help, so it would be better if you thanked him in person.”

Mr. Ed also stood up: "I will wait in the side hall so as not to disturb the lady in choosing her clothes. The carriage is already prepared outside the courtyard and can depart at any time."

"Leave now?" Winters asked, puzzled. "It shouldn't be dark for several more hours."

Mr. Ed explained, "Right now, we can only travel by land. Getting to the Ester residence involves going around most of the city, so we need to set off as soon as possible."

After speaking, Carlo Ed bowed slightly to Winters and Anna, then turned and walked out of the reception room.

Kaman was also about to leave when he coughed lightly, "Then I'll excuse myself too."

“Priest Kaman,” Windestra said solemnly, “you must attend with me.”

"Me too?" Kaman asked, puzzled. "Monta Territory was the stronghold of the Antichrist twenty years ago, and it is now even more so. It might not be appropriate for me to make a public appearance in a place like this."

"If even I'm not worried, what are you worried about?"

Kaman realized what he meant and laughed angrily: "How can you be so vengeful?"

"What retaliation?" Winters asked innocently. "You tell me yourself, who else but you could be my translator?"

Kaman stormed off in a huff.

Anna gestured for the maids of the Estée family to leave as well, so only the Baron and Baroness remained in the living room for the time being.

Winters jokingly asked, "Should I avoid this too?"

With no one else present, Anna no longer tried to maintain a dignified and composed image.

She circled Winters once, then suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, and said in a coquettish, drawn-out tone, "So you can be jealous too, Mr. M."

Such intimate and bold actions would never have been possible for the azure-blue Navarre. To some extent, the wilderness journey not only greatly expanded Anna's painting subjects but also imbued her with a touch of the wild beauty of the wilderness.

Winters was momentarily caught off guard, his cheeks and ears suddenly turning red and burning. He wanted to say something witty to defuse the awkwardness, but couldn't think of anything to say.

He gritted his teeth, said nothing, and hugged Anna, kissing her. Anna was startled and immediately became flustered.

“It’s less about jealousy… and more about guilt…” Winters said, holding Anna close, “I… owe you so much…”

“Don’t say that.” Anna patted Winters on the back, as if coaxing a child. “These days have been the freest and happiest time of my life. If it weren’t for you, I might never have left Venetta, and I wouldn’t have so many precious memories. So don’t apologize in such a heavy tone anymore.”

"it is good."

“But you must remember this,” Anna whispered in Winters’ ear, her breath sweet as orchids, “You will be jealous, and so will I. I’ve always kept that sword you gave me with me…”

"……it is good."

……

……

Steelburg was originally just a small village at the mouth of the Rose River. Most of the land that now belongs to the city of Steelburg was formerly the property of the [Elin Abbey].

The discovery of iron ore led to the gradual prosperity of the once small village. With the continuous influx of outsiders and the multiplication of local residents, the village developed into a town, and the town into a city.

Monta Territory has no large plains, only small plots of farmland divided by mountains. As the population grows, Steel Fortress becomes increasingly crowded.

As the land on both sides of the river estuary became increasingly insufficient, settlements naturally expanded outwards, eventually occupying various flat areas along the shores of Lake Rose.

What is now known as "Steel Castle City" is actually a ring-shaped human settlement surrounding Lake Rose.

Because various workshops required water power, they were concentrated in the original land of Steel Castle—along the Rose River. Therefore, the urban area along the Rose River is usually called the "Blacksmith District" or the "Old Town".

The old town was not only the handicraft center of Steel Castle, but also its administrative and religious center.

Most citizens, as well as the poor without citizenship rights, lived in the labyrinthine streets and alleys of the old city.

From a distance, the three tall stone buildings—the City Palace, the Parish General Guild, and the Eindhoven Cathedral—are surrounded by rows of low wooden houses, standing out like cranes among chickens, extremely eye-catching.

The hydraulic workshop was extremely noisy, and maintaining the forging furnace produced a large amount of smoke. Surrounded by mountains, the smoke was difficult to dissipate, and at its worst, the entire Rose Lake would be shrouded in thick smoke.

Therefore, wealthy upper-class citizens of Steelburg built residences on the north bank of Rose Lake.

Although the north bank is small and land is extremely valuable, it boasts beautiful scenery and is located upwind.

It avoids annoying noise and eliminates the disturbance from the thick smoke billowing from the factory chimneys.

As for those who want to improve their living conditions but don't have enough money to buy land and build houses on the North Shore, most of them will move to the new urban areas on the South Shore.

Winters stayed at a hotel located on the south bank of Lake Rose.

But whether they are residents of the South Bank or the North Bank, their businesses and workplaces are still located in the old city.

Therefore, the most common mode of transportation in Steel Castle is actually by boat. After Lake Rose freezes over in winter, you can even walk directly on the lake.

However, with winter drawing to a close, the ice is too thin, making it too dangerous to walk on the lake.

Therefore, if Winters wanted to get to Ester's Palace, he could only travel by land, circling most of the lake.

That's why Carlo Ed said "start early".

……

……

[Steel Castle, Old Town]
A carriage adorned with a white eagle emblem rumbled through the street, and the men gathered around the fire for warmth quickly moved aside, only to numbly return to the fire once the carriage had driven away.

“I had imagined that the famous Steel Castle would be a city of wealth,” Winters said to Mr. Ed, lowering the carriage curtain. “But what I saw was a slum even lower and dirtier than Ghevorden, and poorer people living even more miserable lives than the poor in Ghevorden.”

Mr. Ed replied, “What you said is not contradictory. Steel Castle is indeed a city full of wealth, and the people at the bottom of the city do live worse than serfs. The Republic of Monta has not much arable land, so even if you want to be a serf, you can’t. That’s why there are so many Monta laborers at Blue Harbor, and that’s why the emperor recruits soldiers in Monta.”

Winters sighed.

"What are they doing?" Anna asked, looking with pity at the ragged people standing on both sides of the road. "Why are they standing by the roadside?"

"What are you doing?" Mr. Ed glanced out the window and replied casually, "Waiting for work."

Winters asked, puzzled: "Waiting for work?"

“If someone hires them, they can do manual labor in the workshop to earn bread; if no one hires them, they can only wait by the roadside.” Mr. Ed squinted slightly and asked Winters, “Sir, did you hear that?”

"What did you hear?"

"The sound of a forging hammer."

Winters strained his ears but heard no metallic clanging, so he answered truthfully, "I didn't hear anything."

“Yes, it would be strange if we couldn’t hear anything!” Mr. Ed drew back the curtains and pointed to the rows of wooden houses in the old town: “This is the blacksmith’s district, where the sound of hammers should be constant, day and night. But listen, you can’t hear anything.”

Winters immediately understood what Mr. Ed meant and asked, "Have all the workshops in Steel Castle stopped operating?"

“Most of the forges are shut down,” Mr. Ed said casually. “That’s why these laborers have come out into the streets, hoping that a workshop owner will hire them; they are not apprentices, nor are they blacksmiths, just laborers. As long as the workshop is running, they have bread for their families for a day; as long as the forges are shut down, they will go hungry for a day.”

Winters was somewhat uncomfortable with Carlo Ed's condescending tone. He frowned and asked, "Doesn't Steel Castle have any laws for the poor?"

"Poverty relief? The church might give out some thin porridge," Mr. Ed retorted matter-of-factly. "Those people don't have citizenship rights, so why should the council provide them with relief?"

Winters' brow furrowed even more: "Isn't the Steel Castle government afraid of causing trouble?"

“The situation isn’t that serious yet,” Mr. Ed replied calmly. “If it really comes to that, the Steel Fortress Council should provide some relief. In any case, it’s a matter for the people of Steel Fortress, so you don’t need to worry about it too much.”

Winters said nothing more, turning his attention to another matter Mr. Ed had revealed: "The Steel Fortress workshops have stopped operating?"

"Yes."

"why?"

Why do you think so?

Winters' mind raced: "...trade embargo."

“Yes.” Carlo Ed nodded approvingly.

However, Winters became increasingly puzzled as he thought about it: "The ban only prohibits the export of weapons to Palatour, so why should it shut down the furnaces and silence the forging hammers in Steel Castle? Does Steel Castle not function without the sale of weapons?"

Mr. Ed smiled and looked at Anna.

Anna took Winters' hand and explained softly, "It's not what you think. Merchants aren't cogs in a machine; they don't produce as much as they sell. If wool production decreases, wool merchants will hoard wool; if a neighboring country is at war, blacksmiths will..."

Winters provided the answer: "Accelerate the production of weapons."

“That’s exactly right,” Mr. Ed said with a hint of mockery. “From the day the news of the Blood Night at Kingsburg reached Steelburg, the owners of all the forges in Steelburg, big and small, have been working day and night to produce weapons and armor. They are eager to make a fortune, and every warehouse has stockpiled a large amount of stock.”

The moment the embargo was issued, the stockpiled goods instantly turned into a massive backlog—a backlog that could crush them. Moreover, Steelburg's ironware was mainly sold to the south and north. The embargo on the southern route not only prevented them from profiting from the war, but also halted even normal exports of bar iron, so… they were in a panic.”

Winters listened carefully, and after thinking for a moment, humbly asked, "Are you suggesting that I shouldn't appear too eager when negotiating the price, but rather be more assertive and try to lower the price as much as possible?"

"We just talked about some well-known current events in Steel Fortress, and I didn't offer any suggestions." Old Mr. Ed lowered his eyelids, his eyes like a deep, dark pool: "Your Excellency Granashi, please remember that neither I nor the White Eagle are third parties who have nothing to do with you."

[“I’ll take a nap and write when I wake up” is the most shameful self-deception in the world!! (slams table)] [Thank you to all the readers for your collections, reading, subscriptions, recommendations, monthly tickets, rewards, and comments. Thank you everyone!]


(End of this chapter)