"My Lord, it seems you’re quite drunk," Ysabeau said, nudging Joan. "Let’s have His Highness rest."

Joan nodded and went to help Simon to his feet.

Earlier, Simon hadn’t felt too drunk, but the lingering effects of the alcohol had caught up with him. After talking for a while, he began to feel dizzy and had to lean on Joan as they returned to his chambers.

Ysabeau also went downstairs. Seeing that Joan had taken Simon back, she called over the servant responsible for transporting the wine and spoke. "Don’t rush to send the batch of Brambleford’s Finest this time and the previous batch to the Chandlier family. We need to inscribe His Highness’s poem on the wine bottles first."

"Yes, Miss Ysabeau." The servant replied.

Ysabeau then went to prepare brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. Coincidentally, Joan returned at that moment. Ysabeau said. "The Chandlier family is leaving for Eldora tomorrow, and His Highness is drunk. It seems we’ll have to copy the poem ourselves and paste it onto the wine bottles."

"Alright, since your handwriting is so beautiful, you write, and I’ll handle the pasting," Joan said with a playful smile.

Ysabeau shot her a look. "You’re always so good at slacking off."

With that, she handed Joan a sheet of paper. "This paper was brought from Eldora by Her Majesty. It’s extremely precious, so be careful when cutting it. His Highness said that pairing this paper with Brambleford’s Finest adds a certain... Elegance."

Joan carefully took the paper. The paper was the most renowned in the empire, known for its smooth, jade-like texture and fine, glossy surface. Scholars and artists often used it for their most prized works.

With a look of concern, Joan said. "His Highness is really something. How can such precious paper be pasted onto wine bottles? It would be better to frame the poem written on it. And what does ’elegance’ even mean?"

"I don’t know either. It’s probably just his nonsense. I tried to persuade him not to waste it, but His Highness said we’ll have plenty of paper to use in the future." Ysabeau said, shaking her head.

"True. The current His Highness certainly has a lot of ideas."

The two shared a laugh, one cutting and pasting the paper while the other copied the poem.

By noon, they had finished pasting the poem onto all the wine bottles and had Gius deliver them to the Chandlier family. By then, Simon had also woken up.

He hadn’t been too drunk, just a little tipsy, and after a short nap, he had sobered up.

After asking about the wine and confirming that it had all been delivered to the Chandlier family, he felt reassured. Gius could set off for Eldora the next day.

In the afternoon, he discussed with Ysabeau and Joan what items Gius should purchase from Eldora.

Vegetable oil was at the top of the list. Recently, he had been eating animal fat, and sometimes, due to shortages, he had gone without. He couldn’t stand it anymore. With vegetable oil, he could at least stir-fry some dishes.

Next on the list were preserved meats, malt sugar, pastries, and other snacks. Unlike modern times, during winter, fresh vegetables were scarce. Radishes hadn’t yet been introduced to the Eldorian Empire.

Cabbage, however, was a native crop, and during the depths of winter, it could still be found for sale in Brambleford’s East and West markets.

Thinking of a modern winter dish, cabbage and pork stew with soup, Simon’s mouth watered like the river overflowing. But then he remembered that sweet potatoes, the main ingredient for noodles, were also an imported crop and not available in the empire.

"What a place of scarcity," Simon muttered, finally giving up on the idea of making a shopping list. There were only a handful of items he could think of anyway.

However, this scarcity also presented an opportunity. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, chilli peppers, none of these modern staples were available in the Eldorian Empire. If he could introduce and cultivate these crops in his domain.

With the high yields of potatoes and sweet potatoes, would he still need to worry about his people going hungry?

At this thought, Simon remembered Harlan. He had kept him around precisely for shipbuilding and not just any ships, but large ones.

The Eldorian Empire was like a frog trapped in a well, complacent and ignorant of the outside world. If history hadn’t been disrupted, this would have been the glorious Age of Exploration.

The nation he had once loved had lost out during the era of maritime dominance, and he couldn’t let that happen again.

Of course, he understood that the upper echelons of the Eldorian Empire, lost in their dream of being the ’Celestial Empire’, would never agree with him. But he didn’t need their approval. With his own domain, he could be the pioneer, using his own resources.

Leaving Ysabeau and Joan to excitedly continue discussing the shopping list, Simon went alone to the third floor of the main hall. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

From there, he could see all of Brambleford City. Taking out a fresh sheet of paper, he began to sketch the most famous ocean-going ship of the Age of Exploration. The Galleon.

This three-masted ship had a lifespan of nearly a century, undergoing numerous modifications until it was eventually replaced by ironclads.

The Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean was modelled after a galleon.

Of course, Simon was also familiar with the structures of treasure ships and haulier ships. However, compared to galleons, treasure ships were too large and not suitable for later modifications into warships.

The galleon, which had dominated the seas for centuries, had a long, narrow hull, low freeboard, and square sails, giving it superior seaworthiness among sailing ships of its time.

Most importantly, it was well-suited for naval warfare. Galleons with cannons mounted on both sides became the prototype for later ships of the line.

The design Simon was sketching wasn’t the original galleon but a later, optimised version with improved seaworthiness, faster construction, and more efficient use of materials.

He also left space for gunports on both sides of the ship, allowing for future modifications into a warship.

However, his current goal in building a galleon wasn’t for naval warfare but for food transportation.

Compared to an assembly line for steel production, the structure of a galleon was far more complex. After an afternoon of work, Simon had only completed about one-twentieth of the design.

Since he had slept in the morning, he wasn’t tired at night. Seizing the opportunity, he worked through the night and by early the next morning, he had completed another portion.

At that moment, Gius came to pay his respects and discuss the trip to Eldora.

"On this trip to Eldora, you must be cautious and avoid causing any trouble. Do you understand?" Simon sternly reminded him.

Gius’s mission was to secure the silver, and Simon didn’t want any mishaps.

"Yes, My Lord," Gius said, startled, and quickly nodded.

Taking Gius with him, Simon made a special trip to the dock. This matter was of great importance to him.

"Your Highness, I’ll accompany Gius to Eldora this time. You can rest assured." Alfred said, standing on the merchant ship.

Simon nodded. Lothair was a bit of a sly old fox, but with Alfred going along, he felt slightly more at ease. "Then I’ll leave this matter in your hands, Alfred."

Alfred nodded, ordered the boatmen to set sail, and clasped his hands in farewell to Simon.

Simon returned the gesture, watching as the grey merchant ship slowly departed.