“May the peace of God be with you. Alchini, how have you been?”
As soon as Alchini saw me, he clasped his hands together and responded.
“Thanks to you, sir, no, Lord Baron, I’ve been doing quite well. The coffee sales have been quite profitable.”
“I’m glad to hear that business is going well.”
“You, Lord Baron, were just a young member of the Medici family two years ago, and now look at you, you’ve achieved so much. It’s truly surprising how things unfold. Though, as we know, the world is shaped by the actions of the unique few, and us mere humans cannot predict it...”
While this might be hard to grasp in the context of the Middle Ages, what I’ve done is akin to a fresh graduate in university winning a seat in parliament and building a major corporation in just two years.
No, it’s probably even harder than that.
It would be more bizarre if I weren’t surprised.
Honestly, even I think this was more about luck than anything else.
‘My effort was important, but the timing made it perfect for me to strike.’
“Thank you for your compliments, Alchini. By the way, I’d like to buy some beautiful flowers, do you have any recommendations?”
When he heard the word “flowers,” Alchini tilted his head in confusion.
After all, flowers aren’t typically a profitable business.
It’s common to see flowers everywhere on the Albanian continent, and they carry the image of being sold by poor women trying to make a living, especially in Sultanates or on the Albanian continent.
‘Flowers are the domain of gardeners in the horticulture guild.’
But that’s the common perception.
“You’ve come all the way here, so I assume you’ve found a way to make money by selling flowers?”
“Well, according to the information I’ve gathered, in the Holy Empire, there’s a trend among noblewomen to grow flowers.”
In some countries, there are high-ranking individuals who dress up in character costumes for events or promote games, and it might get a good response among young men, but...
In an era without the concept of democracy, if a noble were to visit a common inn, their political life would be cut short for losing their dignity.
Let alone growing flowers, a hobby like that would harm their reputation.
But noblewomen are now watering flowers together?
‘The nobles in the Holy Empire are clearly obsessed with flowers.’
Alchini grinned as if intrigued.
“If the noblewomen in the Holy Empire really love flowers, wouldn’t it be a huge deal if you brought them rare foreign flowers?”
When the tulip craze swept through the Netherlands, the price of a rare tulip skyrocketed to the cost of an apartment in Gangnam.
Nobles probably had dozens, even hundreds of those.
The middle class also stretched themselves financially to buy tulips, just to avoid being looked down upon.
I plan to create a similar trend.
“You’re absolutely right.”
Alchini signaled to his servant with a gesture.
Before long, the servant brought a vase with tulips.
“What do you think of this flower? It’s brightly colored and has a graceful shape. It’s a popular flower in our Sultanate. I’m sure you don’t have anything like this in the Albanian continent?”
The way Alchini spoke made it clear that he wanted to show off, as if to say, “We have this, don’t you envy us?”
But I’m not the kind of person who will only react based on superficial things.
On the contrary, I’m thankful that he brought us such a rare flower, especially one that shows his pride in it.
“This is certainly not something we have here. This flower could easily capture the hearts of the noblewomen and aristocrats in the Holy Empire. What’s its name?”
“It’s called a tulip.”
How is it that the name is exactly what I expected?
“It’s truly beautiful. I think it would be perfect for noblewomen.”
Beautiful women and flowers always go hand in hand, just like how needles and thread follow each other.
It’s very simple.
When you combine something delicious with something delicious, it makes for an even more delicious dish. Likewise, when you place something beautiful with something beautiful, it makes it even more stunning.
That’s the relationship between beautiful women and flowers.
‘And that’s why it makes money.’
“There are also tulips with more vibrant colors, like those with stripes on the petals or multi-colored varieties.”
If tulips are not only beautiful but also rare, the nobles will go wild, trying to buy them like boars in heat.
When someone else has something rare, and you don’t, your reputation plummets.
A drop in reputation is essentially being distanced from power, so it makes sense why they’d go crazy over it.
“Can you supply me with those too?”
“As long as you pay well.”
“For the plain tulips, 20 stems for one silver coin. For the rare tulips, one stem for one gold coin. Depending on how beautiful they are, I might even raise the price.”
Alchini looked at me as though I were crazy.
“Are you really going to buy them at those prices? They’re just tulips, aren’t they?”
“Just tulips. But to me, they’re worth that much. And I won’t be buying them at that price forever.”
If I continued buying tulips at that price, I’d go bankrupt.
I need to make a profit and pull out at the right time.
Selling something cheap for an absurd price is a merchant’s skill.
And that’s why I respect the legend of Bongi Kim Seon-dal.
Look at his ability to sell the dirty water of the Daedong River for an exorbitant price, it’s truly impressive.
He’d be the perfect candidate for recruitment in the British East India Company’s multicultural program.
“I see. Then, please wait for a week, no, ten days. I’ll fill the ship with the finest tulips and deliver them to you.”
After concluding the deal with Alchini, I called Sebastian, who had been following me.
"Sebastian, there’s something I need you to do."
"Yes, my lord."
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"I need you to immediately return to our homeland and find a beautiful woman, as pretty as Chloe."
Sebastian tilted his head in confusion.
Well, to be honest, asking a high-ranking person to find a beautiful woman could only be interpreted as asking for someone to take a mistress.
But I’m fine with the three women I have now.
Actually, three is even too much. Once Erica turns 20, I’m really going to be in trouble.
I was thinking of sending her to Hong Kong, but then I’d end up flying to America instead.
Chloe, after having a child, keeps looking at me saying her child needs a sibling.
Sometimes it feels so creepy, it’s almost like a weight pressing down on me.
When I return home, should I ask my father-in-law for military-style physical training?
"And take the tulips with you, create jewelry using them, and have the beautiful woman wear it. Set up a place in Café Medici, and put some tulips around the area."
Honestly, I’d like to spread the tulips to the Holy Empire right away.
Imagine an unknown person in the Holy Empire suddenly selling "tulips."
Would that suddenly catch the attention of the nobles?
‘Why is this exotic flower here?’
They might just think that and ignore it.
But if I tell them there’s a beautiful flower trending in the Tuscan Empire and they should see it, they’ll all want to take a look at least once.
"Actually, now that I think about it, that alone might not be enough."
When I was just a young member of the Medici family, I created Café Medici.
I’d like to rename it Café Rothschild, but the reason I didn’t is...
This name has already become a symbol of setting trends.
But to only use one beautiful woman as a promotional model and call it a day?
That doesn’t feel right to me.
After thinking about it, it seems too small-scale.
"We can keep just one beautiful woman, but fill the café in Florence with tulips."
Café Medici is still the symbol of setting trends in high society today.
If a foreign flower, undeniably beautiful, is placed there?
There’s no doubt the tulips will begin to trend among the nobility.
Sebastian, after hearing my words, clapped his chest.
"Understood, I will do my best to find the most suitable woman to represent the Rothschild family."
A representative of the Rothschild family? Well, we’re famous for having many beautiful women...
I guess I don’t really need to find one for that.
‘But Chloe or Kris could wear the tulip jewelry as promotional models...’
In modern society, having your wife as a celebrity in commercials is a sure way to boost a man’s chest with pride. But here, doing such things would be seen as something only a courtesan would do.
So, if I want to promote beautiful clothes or jewelry, it’s better to find a pretty girl from a nearby rural village, give her some makeup, and have her model it.
If I used an ambiguous woman, it could harm our family’s reputation.
Why does that sound a bit unsettling to me?
"Alright then. I’ll return in 10 days with the tulips. Sebastian, you go back immediately and prepare a ship."
"Yes, my lord."
A week later, after finishing the deal with Alchini, I returned home safely.