Scientific Wizard

In the opulent council chamber of Hadralata, the royal capital, the handsome second prince, Hatar, after listening to the reports from his subordinates, erupted in fury, sweeping off the flowerpots and oak goblets from the table in a fit of anger.

"Damn it... Damn it. That cursed Harold, that damned William."

The attendants present all bowed their heads, trembling in fear, none daring to speak. Only one elderly man, Anthony, with a white beard, remained composed, calmly examining the glass goblet in his hand, waiting for the prince's outburst to subside before speaking indifferently.

"No need to worry so much, Hatar. Things aren't as bad as you think."

"But, Master Anthony, Harold nearly gained favor with all the nobles at that banquet, including my dear father, King Bazeel..."

At this point, Hatar's expression contorted.

To surpass his brother Harold at this birthday banquet, he had spared no effort. He had obtained a highly rare crystal and employed a master sculptor to craft a vivid depiction of his father's most glorious moments in battle.

However, just when he thought he'd shine at the banquet, that cursed Harold presented a peculiar treasure called a glass mirror, instantly diverting everyone's attention.

Throughout the entire event, he felt like a ludicrous clown, left aside with no one's attention.

How could this not humiliate him.

"Hatar, you must remember why those who support you do so. They won't deviate from their interests for a so-called rare treasure," Anthony said, placing the glass on the table calmly.

"As for your father, King Bazeel, I believe Harold presenting that round mirror will backfire..."

Hatar looked puzzled at Anthony.

"Because Harold did something foolish. Even before the banquet, he eagerly gave another round mirror to the Archbishop Losak of the kingdom. How do you think your dear father will react?" Anthony calmly reminded him.

After a moment's pause, Hatar quickly grasped Anthony's meaning. His father, King Bazeel, had dedicated his life to consolidating the royal power.

Harold's act of presenting the round mirror to Archbishop Losak undoubtedly pricked that sore spot in King Bazeel's heart once again.

And those nobles, nominal controllers of their respective territories, were actually far more subject to the words of the high bishops, causing much discontent among the major nobles, though they dared not voice it out.

Yet, Hatar's brother, Harold, was ensuring even greater favor with that Archbishop. It was clear to anyone that if Harold became king, the influence of the clergy would only grow.

The nobles supporting Hatar hoped that once he became king, he would be able to limit the privileges of the clergy to some extent.

Thinking of this, Hatar calmed down again, but worry still lingered on his face. "Master Anthony, what if the Archbishop clearly supports Harold? What then?"

This was his most pressing concern. Even with their innate extraordinary powers derived from the royal bloodline, they couldn't match up to an Archbishop, not even his father, King Bazeel.

The only one in the entire capital who could match the Archbishop was the grand wizard, Anthony, but he obviously couldn't easily intervene, lest it provoke the wrath of the church.

"That would indeed be the worst-case scenario," Anthony's expression also grew grave.

While the church always preached that spirit and faith belonged to the gods and worldly affairs belonged to the king, it was merely a comforting phrase for the nobles.

"What do we do now?" Hatar asked, quite distressed.

"I've heard that those two round mirrors and the recent appearance of glass products on the market are the work of Viscount William. Perhaps we can start investigating from there to find out where he obtained these rare minerals," Anthony pondered aloud.

He was also very interested in these glass products. During his research, he unexpectedly discovered that under specific curved structures, these items could magnify or shrink an object, useful in creating many useful alchemical instruments.

"Good, I'll immediately dispatch someone to investigate," Hatar nodded in agreement.

Although William was just a viscount, he controlled a huge fleet and was a renowned merchant in the kingdom, one of the staunch supporters of the eldest prince, Harold.

Removing him would naturally weaken Harold's crucial support.

***

At the same time, in the office of the Dean of Iyeta Academy, Lynn, having heard the report from Laut, lightly tapped the desk with his index finger and said calmly,

"So, William hasn't been very restrained lately, even considering a redistribution of profit shares?"

"That's right. William mentioned that these novel glass products easily attract envy, and he needs to spend a lot of effort and energy dealing with the church and the Kingdom's nobles. The benefits we provided aren't enough; he hopes for an equal split..." the laborer reported truthfully.

Lynn sneered. William was simply asking for the moon, completely oblivious to the situation.

While the other party indeed faced some additional pressure, in contrast, the most dangerous shipping work was entirely undertaken by them. William needn't interfere; all he had to do was leverage his influence, bribe the superiors, and offer a thirty percent share of the profit, which was already considered remarkably generous.

According to Laut's investigation, William flawlessly executed his hunger marketing and product grading system, selling those glass products for a fortune. In just two or three days, he earned thousands of imperial coins, equivalent to the trade volume of an entire year.

But human greed seemed boundless. It appeared that upon learning of Herlram's death, William had grown a bit inflated.

"Let Laut delay him, negotiate slowly. My bottom line is to each yield a layer of benefits to pacify those priests and major nobles," Lynn pondered for a while, then made a decision.

William was now a viscount in the Hadralata Kingdom, and Laut had only been in the capital for a week, barely scratching the surface of the situation. It would be difficult for them to take over the opponent's entire influence in a short period. It's better to stall for now and re-calculate the accounts slowly.

What Lynn needed at the moment were various mineral resources and scarce alchemical materials; pure gold coins had little significance to him.