Howard's words explaining the most flourishing business of Earl Blaise were accepted by Yvonne with a prompt nod.

"Earl Blaise has been overly dependent on his soap business over the last few months.

" The little girl added as per the information she had obtained from her tutor.

Since she had asked Marquess Samed to even teach her about the business sector of Rosenhyde, he had done an excellent job in doing so.

From that man, she was able to obtain valuable information about the Blaise family's endeavors.

"Ever since the King's commands, their sales have soared.

" Rutherford chipped in his thoughts while shaking his head.

Using soap to cleanse oneself was something that people deemed mandatory after they had been educated through those opera plays.

However, the greedy man that Earl Blaise was, hiked the prices of his products.

While the rich nobles did not feel anything wrong with the price as they could afford it, the commoners were the ones left in the dust.

Soap was already considered to be a luxury product among them and they could only afford to buy smaller pieces of soaps sold by the caravans.

The caravans' main distributor was Earl Blaise whose actions had a chain reaction.

The Earl hiked his prices which meant that the caravans had to buy at a higher price, then they would have to travel to other places to sell it.

Implying that they would add their own costs into the price of the soap which made it even more expensive than what it was before.

Thus, now with the prices being increased in this crucial moment, the poor commoners were beginning to feel the pinch.

"What do you think about Earl Blaise's way of doing business, Papa?

" Yvonne inquired while tilting her head as she wished to hear his opinion in this matter.

"Greedy and unethical.

" Rutherford used two simple words to describe the other Earl's business methods.

During this time of need, instead of slashing prices to let his product be available to everybody, he was doing the exact opposite.

As the usage of soap was made mandatory by the King, people had to follow this rule under any circumstances.

Thus, they had no other choice but to purchase the overpriced product sold pushed into the market by the Earl.

Howard felt enraged that Earl Blaise was exploiting people in broad daylight and there was no action being taken against him.

"Is there something we can do?

" He voiced his concern for the commoners who were suffering the most in this situation.

Yvonne too shared the same thought as she had heard from Marquess Samed that people were finally beginning to suffer from the lack of soap.

"No. The Blaises hold the sole ownership to manufacture soap. Anyone else making them for commercial purposes will be penalized by the law.

" Rutherford revealed the reason why the Blaises were being so bold.

Yvonne had an idea about this matter but Howard was clueless so the father decided to explain things to help him understand better.

"Just like how Baron MacIntyre signed a binding agreement with Vonna in exchange for using her recipe for commercial purposes, Earl Blaise had done the same with a man who had the recipe for bar soap in our Kingdom.

" He began his narration about the success story of Earl Blaise and his soap.

The Blaise family was the poorest among the three Earls in the Kingdom and their wealth was even comparable to those of the lower level in the noble society.

However, all of this changed one day when the Earl found a valuable person who could aid in building up a new empire for him.

Through lots of struggles and many negotiations, Earl Blaise finally managed to get the rights of manufacturing soap on a commercial basis from a man hailing from a neighboring Viscount's fief.

Once the formal documents were signed, the Earl and his men began to prepare everything to make their soap the best and the only one sold in the entire land.

The cunning Earl's documents which the man signed held a clause which forfeited the man from all rights to the entire process of soap making in exchange for a huge sum of money.

At that time, the commoner who had signed the document had no clue about what he had just handed over to the Earl but he soon realized what he had done when he was forbidden from ever making the soap that his family had created.

Though disgruntled at what had happened, that commoner could do nothing against the powerful Earl and could only leave the fief to settle down in someplace quiet with the money he had received at the beginning.

'Fool! He did not read the documents nor did he demand royalties for every sale of the product.' Yvonne pitied the man who had lost a large sum of perennial passive income for what he had sold to the Earl.

"That is the reason why Earl Blaise is being so impudent with his prices. He has the sole rights of making and selling his product in the entire kingdom.

" Rutherford sighed after concluding his explanation.

Yvonne nodded her head in approval of his explanation as this was exactly the same as what she had heard from Marques Samed.

'And I need Papa's help precisely in this matter.' She surmised as this was why she had approached him today.

Rutherford was still mulling over the things of the past and had failed to notice his daughter's eyes glowing with excitement.

While most of the noblemen knew of the treacherous means that the Earl had used to sign the binding contract with the commoner and also cheated him out of a large sum of money, no one voiced out against his deceitful actions.

"But that is wrong!

" Howard exclaimed, feeling pity for the man who was cheated out of his hard-earned money.

Unfortunately, Rutherford did not share the same opinion as his son.

"He got what he deserved.

" The Earl muttered in a low voice but his daughter had caught it.

Tilting her head to the side, she looked at him with curious eyes and brought out her best smile.

"Papa, is there something that you would like to share with us?

" She inquired and blinked her innocent amethyst eyes at him.

'Even Marquess Samed did not know much about this.' She recalled but that was only because the man was least bothered about business.

His real interest lay in the gossip surrounding the families so he was also not too sure about the innermost secrets concerning this incident.

However, her father had displayed evidence of having knowledge about it so she decided to obtain more information from him.

Facing his daughter's curious eyes, the father, though reluctant to speak about this matter, nodded his head.

"Cheaters will get cheated, Vonna. Always remember that what goes around, comes around.

" He stated with confidence, further confusing his children.

Though Yvonne was on board with his way of thinking that cheaters get what they deserve, she was wondering what exactly he was trying to imply here.

"The man who signed the contract with Earl Blaise was not the man who created the process of soap making.

" He revealed and watched as his children's eyes widened in shock.

'Won't that be against the law?' Yvonne wondered as selling the rights for something that he did not own was a crime according to her.

The father had noticed her annoyed expression and decided to reveal something that most people did not know about.

"Most people think that it was the man who created the soap recipe but it wasn't his in the first place.

" He began recounting what he had learned in the past.

According to what he had heard, a family in a small town situated in a certain Viscount's fief was said to be the makers of soap and they sold it to their neighbors for cheap prices.

These were times when the Previous King was still alive and the rules were more lax and archaic of sorts.

The family had three sons, the first and last were talented in the skill of making soap that their father taught them but the middle son was a wastrel.

He traveled through the land with the money he received from his father and brothers' hard work but was never appreciative of everything they did for him.

When the father died of old age, the middle son returned to demand a piece of the property his father owned.

Since they were selling soap for many years, this family was considered well to do when compared to the others.

However, the middle son was greedy and wanted the biggest share in the property even though he contributed nothing to amass it over the years.

When the two brothers decided not to fulfill his demands, he acquiesced begrudgingly as he was outnumbered.

He remained with his family until the last rites of the father were performed and left early the next morning with the small sum of money that the brothers had handed over to him as his share from the property.

"What they did not know was their greedy brother had stolen the secret recipe of their father while everyone was fast asleep.

" Rutherford scoffed at the greed of men which turned them into animals without a conscience.

Yvonne gasped at this revelation and Howard's eyes darkened.

"By a stroke of wicked luck, that man met Earl Blaise who was in search of a new piece of land to purchase for his business.

" The father continued but the children had already surmised what took place next.