🌻 🌻 🌻
MEANWHILE, Lucas was at the counter of a bar in a corner of the white-walled city erected on the cliffs. It gave him a splendid view of the cove. The afternoon sunshine beat down upon the window of the building in front, and the reflected light illuminated his surroundings beautifully.
He was having a pint with a trader of Lapisasther, who had just declared he’d no longer do business with Lucas. The trader was smiling and slapping Lucas’s back, his face red from the alcohol.
“Listen, I’m really glad you came here, buddy,” the trader said. His short, canary-yellow hair, tanned face, and amber eyes greatly resembled Lucas. Perhaps the only striking difference was his plump stomach that tested the tensile strength of his shirt. No doubt his clothes were on the verge of popping. “Ha ha ha! I’m sure my abrupt decision troubled you!”
“It sure did,” Lucas replied. “I’m glad you understand now, though.”
Cano was stunned, unable to hide his surprise, as he stood beside Lucas and watched the trader chug down more liquor. “I didn’t know what you were up to, but I didn’t expect you to start drinking with him.”
“Men of the sea can resolve almost all issues with drinking and gambling,” Lucas replied simply.
“Hey, you! Butler-in-training over there!” the trader called. “Why not have a drink with us, sonny?”
“I-I’m still in the middle of work!”
“Ha ha ha!”
Lucas poured more beer into the trader’s mug, and the trader happily put his lips on the chilled stein to chug down the liquor. He gazed at Lucas pensively.
“You really look like you originate from here,” the trader said. “I’m honestly a little surprised.”
“Well, my father’s from here,” Lucas confessed. “Partly why I’m here is to find traces of my father.”
“Yeah? I really hope you can find your dad.”
Cano muttered under his breath, “I didn’t think simply drinking and laughing while talking would make one reverse their decision to quit doing business with us.”
Lucas visited each and every firm to personally speak with the person in charge in hopes of having them reconsider their decision to cut Lucas’s company off. This trader was the last person on the list.
The merchants of Lapisasther detested Eizerian nobles. However, the former couldn’t cut off the latter as the profits the island kingdom raked in were astronomical. And so, the Lapisasthans had begrudgingly continued business with Eizeria. However, when faced with the choice of siding with an Eizerian merchant favored by its nobles and demanding the Lapisasthans to stop doing business with others, or a young merchant with Lapisasthan blood who was being harassed by Eizerian nobles, many would naturally side with the latter. Who could blame the Lapisasthan merchants for thinking so? Furthermore, the company president had personally visited each client to drink and converse in hopes of continuing their relationship. Indeed, many viewed this earnest and honest president rather favorably.
After all was said and done, merchants required a network and needed to be likable people. They may chase after profits without regard for anything else, but they generally tend to favor those close to them and exercise nepotism as they see fit. Lucas was valuable in that sense, for he could sneak his way into being “one of us,” a fellow Lapisasthan. In any case, Lucas was used to negotiating under harsh circumstances.
The trader had a foam mustache from the beer as he shrugged wearily. “To tell you the truth, I also thought suddenly cutting all ties with you was a bit unreasonable. But I can’t outwardly clash against them, y’know? I only reluctantly followed their orders.”
“Did people from the Bearbrooks Trading Company order you around?” Lucas asked.
“Yep. We’re all scared, man. It’s easy to get thrown into the slammer by fighting Eizerian nobles.”
“Because you’re a Lapisasthan.”
“Mhm. So, if you’re willing to protect us on that end, I don’t mind keeping our relationship. We do want to continue trading with you.”
“I’m happy to hear that.” Lucas gave a friendly smile. “I don’t want you to get the short end of the stick. I’ll make sure the Eizerian nobles can’t lay a finger on you. We can do that, right, Cano?”
The butler-in-training stammered in shock. “O-Of course! Yes!”
“Bwa ha ha!” the trader laughed boisterously. “I’m grateful to hear it!”
Cano was an agent dispatched by the third prince. The hunting dog could accurately relay all the information he received from Lapisasther to His Highness. And so, Lucas continued to cram Cano’s head with information regarding the third prince’s faction uncovered in Lapisasther. Even the Bearbrooks Trading Company of the first prince’s faction wouldn’t expect its harassment of Lucas to be relayed so quickly to the third prince.
Their meeting came to an end, and the two men walked back from the bar to the trader’s company. The ocean breeze felt nice, and the two drunk men sobered as they walked. Both the trader and Lucas walked steadily as they descended a steep staircase to discuss business matters seriously.
“They’re both so good at holding their liquor that I don’t get it…” Cano muttered under his breath.
“Things were rough way back when,” the trader said, the sea breeze brushing against his cheek. “We used to handle marine products, but when fishing was banned, it all went up in smoke. The guys working in the warehouse in the back all used to be fishermen. Most of them almost got executed or imprisoned, so I can’t have them work out front. I wouldn’t want Eizeria to go after them.”
“And what about you? Are you safe sheltering all these people?” Lucas asked.
The corners of the trader’s lips curled up. “His Majesty has given his tacit approval. In truth, we must be subservient toward them.”
“Must’ve been tough for you. Thanks to your efforts, I can do business with you, so I hope I can somehow help you get rewarded for your struggles.”
“Heh. Don’t sound too laudable.”
As they engaged in small talk, they headed for the warehouse by the port. Lucas wanted to check on the silk threads he’d been importing through Lapisasther. The brick building had its usual scent of dust combined with the musky sweat of the workers who were toiling away. When Lucas and the trader walked inside, many employees loudly greeted the two men, their voices reverberating throughout the structure.
“These threads are from the Orient, but there was a bit of a fuss as they made their way here,” the trader said. “We don’t have enough indigo thread, but in exchange, we’ve got a few test products.”
“Test products? Have you seen them yourself?” Lucas inquired.
“Well…”
The two continued to converse as Lucas scanned for his items among the stacked wooden boxes. Just then, a man entered his peripheral vision. He looked around fifty, his skin tanned by long years in the sun. His canary-yellow hair was tied back, and he was wearing thick gloves and a shirt filthy from his work. He looked flabbergasted, his amber eyes wide as he stood stupefied while staring at Lucas. The trader also noticed the man frozen in place.
“What’s wrong?” the trader asked.
But the man completely ignored his employer, his eyes fixated on the baron. “Lucas…” the man murmured. “You were all right?”
The trader made a quizzical expression. “You know the owner of the Stock Trading Company?”
“Huh? N-No…”
The man gasped and snapped back to his senses upon hearing the company name. He blinked several times, rubbed his eyes, sized Lucas up once more, and hastily bowed. “I’m terribly sorry for my insolence,” he apologized. “He bears a striking resemblance to a friend.”
The trader shrugged and gave a forced laugh. “Ha ha ha, I’m sure he isn’t your acquaintance. Mr. Stock here is visiting Lapisasther for the first time. He hails from Eizeria.”
“Eizeria…”
“That’s right. He’s a nouveau riche who’s half Lapisasthan, and he’s quite the guy.” The trader chuckled and clapped Lucas’s shoulder, introducing the baron as one of his own. But he was surprised by Lucas’s reaction. “Mr. Stock? What’s wrong? You look white as a sheet,” he remarked.
Lucas didn’t move a muscle, his heart racing at the older worker’s words. He approached the man. “Hey, can you tell me something?” Lucas asked. “Were you a fisherman? Does your friend, who also looks like me, have the name ‘Lucas’ too?”
The man was surprised by the baron’s curiosity but stammered, “Y-Yeah. You’re the spitting image of one of my fisherman buddies, so I couldn’t help but be shocked. But on second thought, you can’t be him. You’re much younger than him, and he wasn’t a company president. What’s more, he’s—”
“Lucas!” a dignified voice of a lady called out. She seemed out of place for a warehouse like this.
When the baron turned around, he saw Iris rushing toward him, gasping for air—a rather unusual sight for the normally composed noblewoman. Leik followed the lady, and Cano bowed to them.
“There you are,” she said.
The trader couldn’t hide his surprise. “Madam, there’s no need for you to be in here. You’ll get sullied with dust.”
“I’m terribly sorry for rushing into your warehouse. But this is an emergency,” Iris said. She gave a small curtsy to the trader as she handed Lucas a bundle of papers, her face pale. “Lucas, I need you to calm down and listen to my words. We found your father.”
For a moment, Lucas felt his body grow numb. His heart pounded louder than ever, and he didn’t feel grounded in reality. He felt sucked into Iris’s intense eyes. Encouraged by her, he gazed down at the papers. It was written on new parchment, stamped with the word “copy.” It was a replica of the records.
“His name is Lucas Sara Wotel,” Iris continued. “It means the son of a fisherman from Sara Village. He received a life sentence and is currently imprisoned.”
“That’s right,” the man from earlier said in a trembling voice. “I thought you resembled that Lucas. Despite the maritime ban, he insisted on going out to Eizeria and was arrested. He was Lucas from Sara Village.”
Lucas’s mind grew numb, his eyes scanning across the copy of the documents. He read the name, origin, and current situation of his father.
The trader placed an exasperated hand on his head. “You’ve gotta be kidding me… Tell me this isn’t true!” he said. “You’re saying Mr. Stock’s father is…”
Everyone around them fell silent as they gazed at Lucas and Iris.
“Are you…certain about this?” Lucas asked. He couldn’t suppress the trembling of his voice.
His wife placed her hand over his and nodded firmly. “I am. Without a doubt, Lucas. The man you’ve been searching for your entire life, your father, is Lucas Sara Wotel.”
A myriad of emotions flooded Lucas’s mind. His expression changed from shock to confusion to resolve. He gripped the stack of papers tightly, slowly placed them on a table, and took a deep breath.
“Where is he imprisoned?” Lucas asked.
Iris gave an immediate reply. “He’s in Levino County Jail, in the eastern region of Lapisasther.”