(IN) Chapter 046 - The Port City of Lyons

Vivian arrived at the entrance of Lyons, the Southernmost City within Brune.

Unlike the medium-sized city of Milan where she and Duke had to wait for 10 minutes, Vivian only had to wait for 5 minutes before her carriage was inspected and allowed entry within the city, despite the line being 5 times longer than the number of carriages entering Milan.

A testament to Lyons' seamless system, unlike Milan's system that was riddled with corruption thanks to a certain retard named Darius.

The City's walls were large and overbearing, slightly even more so than the Capital's walls, signifying the great economic wealth the City had.

Lyons, also known as the Empire's Southern Capital due to its vast economic wealth, was the closest Port City to the Musani Khaliphate ship trade routes.

This gave Lyons an advantage when it came to trading with the Musani, effectively getting the sought after Gharibian goods such as cheap Salt, Gold, Ivory, and even more rare yet precious textiles from the Gharib Deserts.

Another particular product to note that the Gharibians sell for cheap was a tar-like black substance that was easily flammable and wouldn't burn out so easily, the Gharibs say the tar-like substance flowed in abundance when Earthen Spirits were disturbed enough and the Black liquid flowed like a geyser if one dug deep enough within the sandy dunes.

Sadly many people didn't seem to see the black liquid's usefulness other than using it to keep lamps from burning out, and people usually used it as a last resort due to the strong musky smell it produced when burned.

And so the black liquid or Al-Ghassul (Ghassul for short) as the Musani called it wasn't selling for much, only being occasionally bought when other oils or fats were out of stock, and no other alternative could be used for lamp fuel.

A particular piece of information Vivian kept note deep within her mind as her carriage passed through the lively markets of Lyons.

Vivian could see the different Gharibian merchants shouting in their native tongue selling a myriad of goods to other Merchant also shouting in their own native tongues whilst bartering for prices, even if by just one measly gold coin.

"My friend! Come buy! Cheap and easy sell!" A Gharibian merchant shouted in broken Brunish.

The Port towns of the Southern region were once the richest economic powerhouses within Brune, making the South the richest region of the Empire... until Maine fell that is.

Now that Maine, one of the two largest cities within the South fell from its once illustrious position of Great City and became into a medium-sized town instead, the total economic value of the South also fell, making it slightly inferior to the Eastern Regions of Brune.

The South was known for its perfect climate for farming Wheat and other agriculture-based products, Dairy and Poultry included. But that wasn't the only thing the South was known for. The South was also the closest to the other Empire besides Brune over yonder the Crimson Sea...

The Musani Khaliphates...

While the South traded with the Musani, the Eastern region of Brune once traded with the Caspricians to the east of Brune. But after the Empire of Brune had fully annexed every Casprician City, Venicia included, Brune's economic power reached further East to the Thracian Islands of the Macedonoi to whom Brune was now trading with. This was where Brune now obtained most of their Papyrus, Glass, Tin, Copper, Silver, and even a special textile that was smooth to the touch that nobles especially valued. A special textile the Macedonoi called Silc or simply called silk that came from another mythical and great Empire further East at the edge of the world. The Macedonoi called this mysterious Empire the Tsang, or the Xang, or the Song, or even the Bulofrofroi... yes... the Bulofrofroi... depending on which Macedonoi dialect you trusted...

[Hmmm... I guess you can really only get it in the East, huh...]

This was why Vivian was somewhat disappointed when she didn't see any "Silc" within the Markets of Lyons, as Lyons' main trade partners were the Musani, not the Thracian Macedonoi.

Even if Vivian was quite the thrifty Princess, she was still without a doubt, a girl. A what girl wouldn't love clothes made from the smoothest and most comfortable material they had ever touched.

When Vivian was still young, she remembered that time the Emperor, her father, obtained a silk robe as a gift, sadly the Emperor didn't take well to the gift as he thought he was being mocked by the presenter as the silk robes were "Too colorful" for the past Emperor's tastes.

Stating: "Do you wish to make me look like a clown?! Only jesters wear colorful robes like that!" And since most of Brune's Nobility based their fashion on the Emperor's taste, no one ended up buying from the Merchant who presented the silk robe. Immediately ending the poor merchant's career. His plan to introduce Silc to Brune's central region might've been a failure, but it was still successful in the East and over time seeped its way into Central Brune again, even Vivian's hypocritical father ended up wearing silk clothes in the end due to its comfortable nature.

While the robe was being thrown out, the young Vivian had the opportunity to touch and inspect the robe, and to her young mind at the time, she had thought she touched the clouds or the sky due to its softness.

During the night, when no one was looking, she managed to secretly grab the robe as the little Vivian ran like a cute little madwoman as she giggled like crazy so no one would notice her secretly getting the thrown out piece of clothing.

The silk robe was the softest and most comfortable thing Vivian had ever had. It was also the most valuable, in fact it was the only thing valuable Vivian had due to her poor background.

Sadly, over time the robe deteriorated and was eventually thrown out by an insensitive maid who thought it was a dirty old rag, even though the robe was still pretty ok.

[But who can blame her...] Vivian sighed, the Palace maids were Nobles in their own right, and the faded out robe of Silc was indeed a dirty old rag when compared to the other clothes the Princesses kept in their wardrobe.

But Vivian still liked that robe, she had an emotional attachment to it...

And so Vivian swore to herself:

[When I get enough money one day. I'm going to buy my own Robe!] Vivian promised herself.

[Not with the Money from Duke's household or from the loan, but with my own money, that I earned!] Vivian wanted to become a merchant one day and buy herself a nice old comfy robe that she could call her own...