Epic Of The Demonic Sage

Lucius's train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Asher?" Kiana called out. "I've brought you tea."

'Since I do not think that I can convince Asher to sleep early, the best I can do is provide him a drink.' Kiana thought.

"Ah, thank you. Please bring it in." Lucius replied.

Kiana stepped inside and carried the tray filled with the brew of tea. The scent was different from what she usually brought him, which made Lucius pause for a moment.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Ah, this is one of the blends that Baron Hugh's wife gave to Countess Lita. It's said to promote good and relaxing sleep." Kiana said with a smile.

"I see," Lucius nodded and took a small sip of the tea. It was palatable and easy to drink, which was actually quite nice. "This is well-done. The Baroness has good taste… I can speculate that she's probably the one who created this perhaps."

"You think so too, Asher?" Kiana asked.

"Based on how enthusiastic she was when she learned that Alessa was the owner of Dionsyia Brewery and invited her to talk separately away from all of us, it's hard to not make that conclusion," Lucius said. "Of course, we might be wrong, but it's not too far fetched of an idea."

"It truly isn't… perhaps she also wishes to grow a business as successful as Dionsyia," Kiana nodded thoughtfully.

"If she does seek out advice, then I think Alessa will come to approach us. For now though, I am checking on the sales of Humble Blaze and also how the merchants are acting. I've chosen to raise the price again by 30%."

"We raised the price from ten silver to twenty silver before… do you think they'll make a fuss about it?" Kiana asked.

"I presume that there will be some complaints with us raising the price again, but compared to 100% increase from ten to twenty silver, they can't really say much," Lucius said.

He jotted down the new price and other necessary details that he wanted to inform Alessa about and then enclosed it in an envelope.

"It'll be good to deliver this to Alessa tomorrow." Lucius said.

"Of course, I will do just that," Kiana replied as she accepted the letter.

Lucius nodded and thought about his decision.

The increase was minor enough that merchants wouldn't find any reason to stop buying, and it would bring the Inanis Family even more wealth.

"Do you think this will discourage them from raising the price?"

"Hardly. They can simply raise the price again if they're finding it difficult to remain satisfied with their current profit margins which are already at 100%. Still, in the long run, it would be best to maintain the affordability of Humble Blaze to keep it a favorite of nobility."

"Indeed. It's more affordable than others and is quite good."

"… And in fact, there are also other ways to obtain profits from these merchants."

Kiana blinked and stared at him unsurely. "There is?"

Lucius smiled deviously and nodded.

'In the past, we've already committed tax evasion by choosing Alessa as the owner of the brewery to avoid getting taxed by the royal family, but now there is another option that will bring in more money without necessarily having to raise the price again.'

"I will be suggesting to Father to increase the tax on alcohol that is traded within this territory of ours."

"But didn't we wish to avoid… no, if we tax Dionysia Brewery, then they will be paying us and not the other way around," Kiana said in understanding.

"There might be some protests, but they cannot do anything about it and it will not really be suspicious. The Inanis Family and the Dionysia Brewery are unrelated. In fact, this will avoid too much security from others. I am sure that many others must have already noticed the amount of money they're bringing in." Lucius explained.

"Still… won't the others simply think that the Inanis family is being greedy?"

"On the contrary, as long as others benefit from this as well, they will be most lenient with the taxation. And so we will also include a 2% tithe from our newly extracted tax to each of the three churches," Lucius said.

'Some churches may have opinions about drunkenness and imbibing too much alcohol, others may find the price too much, or they'll find some other reason to complain and nitpick… but with this way, they will not protest or stand in the Inanis family's way as long as they get a portion.' Lucius thought.

"Incredible." Kiana said. She realized that once again, Asher was able to find a way to benefit from the law and bring in more wealth for the Inanis family.

Lucius grabbed another set of paper and made the tax plan. Satisfied with the outcome, he placed it aside and then focused on the next letter.

"Who is it from?" Kiana asked.

"This one… this one is from Leif." Lucius said as he sipped from his teacup again and scanned the letter.

Kiana's eyes widened slightly in worry. "Leif? He sent a letter to the mansion while we were gone."

"I am sure that Neta is the one who received the letter, Kiana." Lucius said, noticing her concern and worry.

"Of course, he knows what to do." Kiana sighed softly and nodded.

There were some things that Asher and Kiana hid from the Count and Countess like the full extent of how the Masked Legion was made and this.

Although Kiana was mostly on board with everything, she still sometimes had reservations with their dealings, even if she was the one who brought Asher to Blind Crow Tavern in the first place.

"What does it say?" Kiana said, choosing to focus on the present.

"We have ourselves some few new criminals," Lucius said. "Already, one is spotted in the city and according to Leif, two will be arriving in the city soon enough."

"Criminals?" Kiana's eyes widened. "Why would they come here to Inanis city when it's known that we're reducing the crime and capturing criminals left and right?"

"That's a good question, Kiana."