Chương 219: 216. Young Master Lanidas

"I'm a small merchant coming from Tiranat," Feroy answered smoothly.

"The other three men with me are guards I hired for the journey."

"Your wagons seem to be quite full..." Lanidas remarked.

"What do you deal in?" Feroy immediately pulled back the oilcloth covering one of the wagons.

"I've come here to sell coal, of course."

"Good, good, we needed that coal. Did you pay the entry taxes at the gates?"

"Of course, milord," Feroy answered.

"We paid the full tax of four silvers and two coppers, with a promise to pay the double of it as the exit taxes when we leave." Lanidas paused for a moment as he smoothed his lustrous hair.

"Four silvers and two coppers... you say?" Without waiting for a reply, he added with a smirk, "Didn't the gate guards tell you that the taxes were tripled recently for those who aren't locals? That means you need to pay twelve silvers for entry in Kirnos, and just above twenty four silvers for exiting, for a total of thirty-six silvers. You must have already heard from others that I am a very generous man, so I'll gladly waive off the coppers from the tax."

Feroy's face showed a mix of surprise and anger, but it lasted for such a short moment that even Tesyb wasn't sure if he had just imagined it. The ex-mercenary gave a big smile.

"Your generosity knows no bounds, milord! The residents of Kirnos are lucky to have you as their Lord." Tesyb bristled in anger at the greedy noble, while somehow managing to keep his hand away from his scabbard. Wouldn't paying that amount wipe out all of their coins? How could Feroy agree to it that easily? What's even the point of the wagons being accompanied by trained guards if they had to give into the predatory whims of others! Then he remembered just where he was standing.

He wasn't in Tiranat anymore with the benevolent Lord Kivamus as its ruler. This was Lanidas' own village, or his father's anyway, and they couldn't possibly win in a battle against the local guards and escape with their wagons. If they tried anything which went against this bastard's orders, most likely they would either be killed or put in a prison permanently. So it was probably a smart move by Feroy not to protest their treatment, no matter how unfair it was.

"They are indeed lucky," Lanidas grinned.

"It still means that you are short on taxes and I can't let you leave my village before you pay the full amount. In fact, it's better if you provide the full amount right now including the exit tax, just to prevent any issues later. The gate guards seem to be quite forgetful these days..." He added, "Don't worry, I'll provide you an escort free of cost when you leave Kirnos to confirm to the gate guards that you have paid your taxes. Feroy gave a dejected sigh.

"As much as I'd love to pay your generous taxes, I just don't have that much coin on me, milord. We have just arrived and I haven't even been able to sell my stock of coal yet." By now, a lot of locals including many merchants had gathered around them to see what was happening, with Lanidas seemingly enjoying everyone's attention to his honeyed words. Lanidas smirked with a pointed gaze at their wagons.

"We had bought a few wagon loads of coal from Tiranat before the winter, but we are running low on it these days, so you have come to Kirnos at the right time." The young master smirked at the gathered people from atop his horse, gesturing more locals to come closer.

"Don't you see, my dear villagers, just how generous I am!" He looked back at Feroy.

"That's why, I'll accept payment in kind too."

"Of course you will," Feroy muttered in a barely audible voice.

"Well, in that case, I am willing to pay the taxes with my coal."

"Perfect!" Young master Lanidas grinned.

"Like I said, our manor needs a lot of coal for the rest of winter, so I'll buy all of your stock. I'll make the payment for it after deducting what you owe as taxes. If you manage to travel to Kirnos again in the future, especially before the winter ends, I will gladly buy all the coal you can bring to me." Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Tesyb was furious now.

The son of the baron had publicly claimed that he would buy coal from them in the future, which meant while they would be ensured to sell at least a few more wagon loads of coal in Kirnos in future trips, they would likely remain at a loss after paying these ridiculous taxes, and there was nothing they could do about it.

He hadn't really travelled outside Tiranat in his life, apart from the trips to Cinran before the winter, so until now, he didn't have a first hand idea of just how greedy and ruthless nobles could be in this kingdom. It only emphasised just how unique Lord Kivamus and his viewpoints were, that he had been so generous with the villagers of Tiranat. Feroy nodded slowly.

"That works for me. This time I can sell a single wagon load for twenty-four gold, so it will be forty-eight gold for all our coal."

"What?" Lanidas exclaimed.

"That's preposterous! I had paid twelve gold for a wagon load of coal last time!" Tesyb was staring at Feroy, wondering what game he was playing this time. He was hardly up-to-date with the prices of everything, but from what he remembered, Pydaso hadn't even paid twelve gold for a single wagon load. Feroy had seemingly just doubled their selling price to deal with the absurd tripling of taxes. Feroy gave a shrug.

"Can't help it, milord. The prices of everything are high these days. I bought my stock of coal at twenty-two gold per wagon load. I have to sell it at twenty-five gold just to break even after paying these taxes, although I have sadly accepted that I simply won't be making any profit on this trip." The ex-mercenary gestured to one of the guards.

"Tie up the oil cloth again, we have to travel to the manor of Lord Lanidas' father." Lanidas glared at Feroy, his nose flaring in anger, at the blatant mention that it wasn't his own manor just yet. It was still his father Farodas who was the baron of Kirnos, not him. Some of the nearby viewers seemed to be smirking, although a single glare by Lanidas was enough to make them look downwards again. Feroy looked at the young master again.

"However, you have been so generous with us so far, so to return the favour, I'll waive off five silvers from the price of each wagon load of coal." Tesyb looked at the ex-mercenary in wonder. The man had guts, there was no doubt about it now, if there ever was.

By giving a discount of five silvers per wagon - which would add up to one gold coin, or a hundred coppers for both the wagons - he had also shown the people around them that he could afford to give a much bigger discount than the one Lanidas had given them on taxes, which was worth just a few coppers. This was another way he had managed to show himself, and by extension Tiranat, as being a lot more generous than the greedy nobles of Kirnos.

Lanidas had also made a mistake in telling everyone gathered here that their manor needed to buy all of their coal, which meant he couldn't back away now which would risk showing him, and by extension the baron of Kirnos, as being too poor to afford to purchase coal from a small merchant after already promising to buy all their stock. Tesyb realised that it was a dangerous game which Feroy was playing here, but short of confiscating all their cargo, there wasn't much this plump young master could do about it.

A merchant was free to set his own prices in this kingdom, although the rates were always kept close to what his competitors were selling at, just to remain competitive. However it wasn't like there was any other coal merchant here to provide the much needed fuel to Lanidas' manor in this winter, nor would it be a good idea to confiscate their wagons in front of every merchant in the village for basically no good reason.

It wasn't hard to see the anger on Lanidas' face by now, however, if this tactic worked and they returned unharmed back to their homes, Feroy wouldn't just manage to break even after paying these absurd taxes, he would even be able to generate a decent profit from this trip! That would go a long way to buy the smoked fish they needed to feed Tiranat.

"Fine!" Lanidas spat out, while glaring at everyone around him.

"That'll be forty-three gold for all your coal. Your due taxes are just above three gold, but I'll be generous once again and round it down to exactly three gold. That means you are owed forty gold for all your coal." Feroy gave a pleasant smile.

"Of course, milord. You are so brilliant, making the calculations that fast without even writing anything down!" He looked at the people surrounding them.

"Let's give a round of applause to the generous young master Lanidas, the brilliant son of the Baron of Kirnos." While the locals started clapping hesitantly, Tesyb's heart was beating loudly, fearing the ex-mercenary had gone too far in insulting the young master. He exchanged a quick look with the other two guards, and slowly shifted his hand towards his scabbard, just in case it came to the worst, with the other two doing the same.