Herald of Steel

Alexander would decide to start restricting the maids regardless of his wives’ wishes some time later.

But for now….

“Ahhh.. Alas! I wanted to treat you to some of my new sweet wine honey ice cream, my lady! It is quite the treat… Hehe, well I promise to have it next time.”

Having lunch till he felt like bursting, Alexander decided to announce its conclusion in such a way, by giving the two guests an invitation for next time.

This was the Adhanian culture.

Lady Parthia took it graciously, elegantly moving her long eyelashes, “Then I will look forward to it, my lord.”

While Lady Nanazin appeared far more casual, making a soft chuckle,

“Hehe, yes. I hope my lord will have even more food tasters by then. The former king used to have twenty food tasters, with silver needles to detect poison. I hope you will have forty… hahaha.”

Lady Nanazin’s significant bosoms visibly bounced at the jocking sentence, while Alexander could not produce a light grin.

The Adhanian queen’s words could have been really read in two ways- one was the most straightforward one- here, she was simply expressing her desire to have that ice cream while teasing him over his tasters denying it to him.

However, Lady Nanazin’s mention of needles, poisons, and doubling the food tasters could also be construed as her subtly threatening Alexander, such as something bad happening to him if he did not get her the ice cream next time.

It was a double pun.

….

Finally finished with lunch, Alexander and the two queens decided to take a small one hour nap as was customary at the time, before once again converging in his study to finish what they were discussing.

The matter about the bank and how to run was yet to be decided.

So taking his seat across the table, Alexander clasped his hands and opened the conversation with a bang, very clearly stating his mind,

“Your Highnesses, I have listened to what both of had to say and thought about it long and hard. And I feel that although you made some great points, I still like my idea better.”

The words instantly caused Lady Parthia and Lady Nanazin to jolt with unease, and they were just about to speak up when Alexander imperiously flashed his hands to cut them off,

“I understand that you might feel disappointed or even angry, but I say this because I do not think either of you really really how money works. Take Lady Nanazin for instance… she definitely knows how to keep track of the money, but I feel she does not understand how it was generated or circulated.”

“The same goes for Lady Parthia. Because if you understood how to develop an economy, you would never support things like price fixing by the guilds!”

The two queens were predictably visibly offended by Alexander’s words, their slight frown from before now turning into a full fledged scowl.

However Alexander appeared to be oblivious to this, and even added fuel to the fire by finishing with a chuckle,

“But to be fair, I do not think there is anyone in this whole world who really understood how the markets worked. So it is not your fault, hahaha.”

If before the two were only peeved, now both of their face faces had turned livid, with Alexander’s low chortle sounding more like the gloating of the hyena.

They certainly did not appreciate him insulting them like this.

“….” In fact, they were so angry that for a while, they did not even know what to say, as an oppressive silence descended onto the room.

“Hehe, brat! I always knew you were shameless,” Until…. Lady Parthia let out a low, menacing smirk, “but I never knew you were this arrogant as well. Hehehe, this truly opened my eyes! Good! Good! Good!”

Alexander had never heard Lady Parthia sound so cold and icy, with the chill in her voice being only surpassed by her piercing eyes.

“Well, then if you know so much then do please do tell this old hag why I am so wrong? Please educate us oh divine son of Gaia!” She turned to demand, a red aura of anger and indignation seeming to envelop her.

And if Alexander could not give her a good reply….

‘Well, the brat can forget getting my coochie for the next year!’ Lady Parthia roared inside.

And this time, the Tibian queen was also eagerly joined by the lady next to her, with Lady Nanazin deftly nodding her head in similarly justified anger,

“Mmmm that’s right, Lord Alexander. You cannot say such outrageous things and expect us to simply take it! We are nobles! And here as at your invitation! If you do not want us here, then just say so!”

Lady Nanazin thus made sure to let Alexander know that although she was in love with him, that did not mean he could just walk over her like a rug.

She had her own pride and dignity and demanded to be treated according to her status as a noble lady and more importantly a guest. Because in Adhania, a host insulting a guest like this was the same as him slapping them in the face.

No one with an ounce of self respect would ever stand for this.

….

Facing such an intense reaction, Alexander’s facade finally cracked a bit as he realized he had let his tongue wag out a bit out of control.

So quickly flashing a small smile, he innocently waved his hands,

“Calm down! Calm down! Both Your Highness, please… before you hit me and then storm off, calm down… at least give me a chance to explain. When have I ever spoken without cause?”

“…….” It was only due to being reminded of Alexander’s past immaculate performance that the boiling queens finally simmered down a bit.

And he quickly grasped this chance because Lady Parthia was still sending him deadly glares.

“Your Highness, I said what I said because of what I read in some books. Take for example this book I found in the Tibian Royal Library, ‘Market, Taxes, and Prices in Tibias’ written by a famous finance minister of his time. I believe this is now considered a must read for every magistrate working in the finance department. And as a whole, it is not a bad book per se.”

“There the minister writes about the many observations he has made during his decades long time as Tibias’s chief treasurer and no doubt the experiences he recorded are very valuable to all of us. The only peeve I have with it is that I feel many of the conclusions he draws are often flawed.”

“Take the extract where he speaks about the price of goods for example. He says…and I am paraphrasing here-

‘In any market, the seller asks for a high price and the buyers quote a low price. Then after some back and forth, they reach a suitable middle price. This is how prices are determined.’

Alexander sounded almost incredulous as he recited the memorable quote, pausing to recall just how surprised he was to read such an obvious thing.

He had almost found it hilarious.

And it was also something he let the two queens know, although in a much more somber and respectful manner in order to pay due respect to Lady Parthia’s culture-

“Forgive me for saying this Your Highness, but I feel there is nothing profound in this. He is just describing haggling here, nothing more. Even a fishmonger can tell you this.”

“No, what I wanted to know from the book was exactly why the seller asks for a high price and then settles for something lower. Why doesn’t he always demand a high price and refuse to sell if it is any lower? We know the seller has a certain point below which he will not sell… but what determines that low point?”

“In the same way, customers have a certain point above which they will not buy… but what determines that high low point? Do you understand my query, my ladies?”

“…” Alexander’s question was able to quickly make the angry ladies pause to give thought as they quickly began to maul over the problem.

While the man, sensing they were becoming a bit confused, added an example to make his question more clear,

“For example, take the price of wheat. Why is wheat 2 ropals in the market yet the same wheat is 1 or 1.5 ropal when I buy from the farmer directly? And why does it become 20, 30, or even 50 ropals when there is a famine?”

“If a customer can buy wheat at 1 ropal, then why does he buy it at 2 ropal from the market? Does he not want to save money?”

“And similarly, if a farmer can sell it 50 ropals a kilo during a drought, why does he not sell it for the same price now? He of course wants to… because then he would be able to make enormous profits. So why does he not?”

“….” As Alexander finished, he turned to gaze at the two ladies for an answer and found Lady Parthia especially stressed.

Clearly she took this as something of a personal challenge, but unfortunately was having a hard time finding the exact answer.

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