"How is it? The taste is pretty good, right?" Lucas said calmly. This grape wine indeed had a naturally sweet flavor.
Unlike other types of alcohol, the quality of grape wine mainly depended on the grapes used. Wines from different regions all had distinct flavors.
"It's amazing! A hundred times better than the wine in the royal palace!" Catherine exclaimed, raising her hand excitedly. If all wine tasted like this, she would definitely enjoy drinking it.
"This is indeed top-quality wine." Dahlia nodded. She had tasted the wine from the royal palace before—Catherine had even brought her a bottle.
She normally didn't like alcohol, believing it would cloud her thoughts. But if it was this kind of wine, she figured drinking a little wouldn't be a problem.
"So, what do you think about auctioning it?" Lucas rested his chin on one hand. "Just give me a rough estimate of its value."
"Just the bottle alone… if I had the gold, I'd pay a hundred gold coins for it." Catherine said, tapping her chin with her index finger.
"A hundred gold coins?" Lucas nodded, then turned to Dahlia, waiting for her answer.
"Lord Lucas, at the auction, will you let people taste the wine?" Dahlia asked with a frown.
"No, I won't. I'm only bringing three bottles." Lucas shook his head. He wasn't planning to sell too many—too much supply would lower its value.
"That…" Dahlia hesitated before saying, "If people can't taste it, the wine's value won't increase as much."
"That doesn't really matter." Lucas said indifferently. He had plenty of ways to make this wine famous even before the auction started. A little hype could go a long way.
"From my personal judgment, at auction, a single bottle of this wine would fetch at least 150 gold coins."
Dahlia's eyes narrowed slightly as she spoke seriously, "If this were auctioned in the royal capital, it could even go for 200 gold coins."
Although Pentos City was a major city, it was still a few levels below the royal capital. Every time an auction was held in Pentos City, the highest-ranking attendees were usually counts—marquises and dukes wouldn't even bother showing up.
Dahlia estimated that at best, a few counts from nearby territories would attend this auction. Their wealth wasn't an issue, but the bidding might not be as intense.
"150 gold coins, huh?" Lucas nodded. This price was higher than he had expected—his initial estimate had been closer to Catherine's.
But if he hyped up the auction properly, the price could easily reach 200 gold coins. Selling just three bottles at that price would be enough to cover the cost of buying warhorses.
"Um… Lord Lucas, this…" Dahlia hesitated, glancing at the wine glass in her hand. Drinking just one sip of this wine felt like swallowing gold coins.
"Oh, right! What if we include the wine glass?" Lucas raised an eyebrow. "How much would the price increase?"
"200 gold coins." Dahlia answered without hesitation.
Adding the crystal glass to the wine wasn't just a simple 1+1 equation. If auctioned separately, the glass might only fetch around 30 gold coins at most. However, paired with the wine, it could drive up the total price by an extra 20 gold coins.
"Excellent." Lucas chuckled. Three bottles of wine, costing only a few dollars on Earth, along with a glass worth a few dozen cents, could be exchanged for hundreds of gold coins. If people from Earth knew about this, they'd probably faint from shock.
However, Lucas had no intention of mass-selling grape wine. Not only would flooding the market devalue them, but it could also attract unnecessary trouble.
This world wasn't as simple as it appeared. From bits of daily intelligence, Lucas had gathered that many hidden forces operated in the shadows—one of them being the Black Iris Organization.
As Sedona City grew stronger, they would inevitably cross paths with such groups. But now wasn't the time to provoke them too soon. Even a reckless king could end up falling into a trap.
"Lord Lucas, about this wine... we..." Catherine glanced at the opened bottle on the table, looking a little embarrassed. She hesitated before saying, "I'll buy this bottle. Next year, I'll bring the gold coins to pay for it."
She felt that if she hadn't doubted the wine earlier, Lucas wouldn't have opened it in the first place. And this bottle was worth 200 gold coins—that was enough to buy several lute instruments.
Did Catherine have 200 gold coins? Of course not. But she could find a way to get them—by performing at the theater more often or selling some of her lute.
"I'll cover half the cost." Dahlia quickly added. After all, she had also drunk some, and as Catherine's friend, how could she not help?
"It's fine. It's just a bottle of wine. If you want to drink more, we can open another," Lucas raised an eyebrow, seeing that the two still wanted to argue. He waved his hand dismissively and said, "As for the gold coins, don't worry about it. You're my guests, after all."
"Uh..." Catherine and Dahlia stared blankly at Lucas after hearing his words. That's 200 gold coins! And he was just giving it away so casually? Even offering to open another bottle?
"Young Master, can I have a little taste?" Annie gently tugged at Lucas's sleeve with two fingers, her voice soft. "Just a tiny bit."
Lucas turned his head and saw the eager eyes of Nicole, Annie, and Mina. He chuckled and said, "There are more glasses inside. Go ahead and pour yourselves some."
"Yay!" Annie cheered, bouncing excitedly as she turned to Nicole with anticipation.
"Alright, I'll pour." Nicole said with a laugh. She reached into the box and pulled out five more glasses, pouring a drink for everyone present.
These glasses were part of a matching set Lucas had bought. He had taken care to remove any Earth-based logos or trademarks before bringing them over.
Lucas looked at the expectant gaze of the fox-eared girl and sighed inwardly. Well, if she gets drunk, at least she'll go to bed early.
His real concern was Mina. If the cat-eared girl got drunk, she'd start acting wild—clinging onto people and refusing to let go.
"I'll drink just a little," Mina giggled near Lucas's ear, then playfully added, "Young Master, you should keep an eye on Annie instead."
"Uh…" Lucas's eyes twitched as he turned to look at the fox-eared girl, who was eagerly about to take a sip. After all, she was the type to get drunk from just a little alcohol.
"Mmm! It's delicious!" Annie took a small sip, her eyes lighting up in delight before she took another.
Before long, a rosy blush spread across her cheeks, and her eyes grew misty. Yep… She's definitely getting drunk.
"So good..." Annie swayed her head slightly, feeling the drunkenness creeping in. Without hesitation, she downed the rest of her wine in one go. The moment she set the glass down, she collapsed straight into Nicole's arms.
"…" Catherine and Dahlia stared blankly at Annie. Three sips… and she's already drunk?
"Sigh… She knows she can't handle alcohol, but she still drinks it," Mina shook her head. Stepping forward, she carefully scooped Annie out of Nicole's arms and carried her toward the door. "Might as well let her sleep it off in her room."
Lucas covered his face with his hand. Well… now I really know how bad Annie's alcohol tolerance is. She truly gets drunk the moment she touches alcohol…
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