In reality, while a baron might be comparable to a congressman in terms of status, they often appear as minor characters in fantasy novels. A duke, on the other hand, is always depicted as a high-ranking figure in such stories.

That’s understandable—dukes in this world are akin to party leaders or prime ministers in the 21st century. They wield enormous power.

After spending nearly 20 years in the Tosca Empire, I felt a strange mixture of awe and anxiety about whether I should humble myself accordingly.

"Thank you very much for sparing the time to see me, Your Grace."

Bow too low before powerful people, and it’s the wrong answer.

It’s not that one should eat humility with a spoon, but one must show modesty tempered with confidence to avoid being looked down upon.

“If you had trembled like those other ordinary men, I would have been disappointed. I quite like your confidence—proud but not arrogant.”

The duke offered a faint smile.

He raised an eyebrow and asked, “Do I not scare you?”

Fear, after all, directly correlates with authority.

Saying I wasn’t scared might suggest I looked down on him, which could easily provoke his anger.

By Korean standards, this would be an incredibly uncivilized reaction, but in our empire, for a lower-status individual to act unafraid of someone powerful is considered extremely rude.

You could get your head bashed in with no one to blame but yourself.

“How could I not be, Your Grace?”

“And yet you seem quite bold.”

“I fear nothing more than failing to earn your trust. That’s why I remain calm and composed in the presence of your esteemed authority.”

The Duke of Visconti, listening to my words, tapped his fingers on the desk before him.

“Then let’s talk a bit longer. Have a seat.”

I was relieved that my strategy of modest yet assertive behavior had paid off.

But this was only the beginning of the real battle.

The duke gestured to have the tea set cleared away and then produced a fresh pot made of gold.

Normally, you’d have to bring a teacup close to your nose to smell the tea’s aroma. But here, the fruity scent hit me even before I tasted it.

“What do you think of the tea’s aroma?”

“I’ve never had such fine tea before.”

“It’s Royal Grey, personally bestowed upon me by the Imperial Family.”

At first glance, this conversation seemed trivial.

But beneath the surface, there was significant meaning.

A duke of his stature probably has several crates of such tea leaves in storage. After all, the Imperial Family often gives out these gifts.

Even so, tea like this—fit only for royalty—is priceless beyond imagination.

It’s not something one can buy just by amassing wealth.

This indicated he had high expectations for me.

“My hopes for you are high.”

If I didn’t live up to those hopes, it would undoubtedly be a disappointment and a threat.

“I can offer you a chance to put the Sforza family in its place.”

In the Tosca Empire, there are two ducal families.

The Visconti family is the weaker of the two, while the Sforza family is the strongest.

Thus, Visconti dukes have historically always aimed to surpass the Sforzas.

“If you’re lying or making exaggerated claims, I’ll have your head for insulting me.”

In Korea, when a politician says, “I’ll end you,” they typically resort to using their connections and lawyers to brand you a criminal through legal procedures.

In the Tosca Empire, however, it’s common for people to face the guillotine for blasphemy.

Some nobles even kill peasants for simply touching them.

“I’ve devised a new method of steel production. Using this method, we can easily obtain vast quantities of steel.”

As soon as I mentioned steel, the duke’s eyes lit up.

“Steel? You mean you can easily obtain steel? Surely, you’re not lying to me—not here, not before me.”

For a man of his status to react so strongly meant that mass steel production was a monumental proposition.

Currently, training a knight costs around 120 gold coins, with over half of that spent on equipment.

And steel manufacturing comprises 80% of equipment costs, most of which go to labor.

Why? Because the Empire’s method of steel production involves endlessly hammering pig iron to transform it into steel—a brutish process.

“You need visuals for this, don’t you? May I show you with a drawing?”

I produced a sketch from my pocket.

“I haven’t shown this to anyone else—not even to the Baron Medici, my father. I’m showing this to Your Grace alone.”

The duke looked at the drawing, unable to take his eyes off it.

“This is a reverberatory furnace. It easily converts pig iron into steel.”

“Explain the principles to me.”

“You add charcoal through the vent at the bottom right and ignite it. Hot air rises, melting the pig iron in the center.”

“Would melting iron mixed with impurities really make any difference?”

“Iron melts at extremely high temperatures, so the impurities burn away.”

The differences between pig iron, wrought iron, and steel are numerous, but they mostly boil down to this: the fewer impurities, the higher the strength.

So this reverberatory furnace works by burning off impurities.

“Once the impurities are burnt away, what remains inside is pure steel.”

The duke looked at me, his eyes filled with astonishment.

“It’s remarkably simple and efficient. Of course, building it would involve trial and error.”

A reverberatory furnace isn’t that complicated. With some exaggeration, I could say that a group of middle schoolers could build one with the right guidance.

However, the idea wasn’t invented until the 1830s.

Building it may be simple, but conceiving it is quite difficult.

“If you add a bit of animal bone, the strength increases.”

The phosphorus in the bones plays a critical role.

“There aren’t any other techniques, are there?”

In truth, there are.

There are even more advanced methods, like a blast furnace to convert iron ore into pig iron, or a Bessemer converter capable of producing tons of steel—each one revolutionary.

But building these now would cost too much.

A reverberatory furnace might be the size of a house, but a blast furnace would need to be at least 20 meters high.

Creating a Bessemer converter would be a nightmare with its ventilation requirements.

“I’ll keep it a secret.”

“You’ve got guts, boy. A secret from me?”

My worth had already skyrocketed with just this one reveal.

Why would I share more?

Let him imagine things on his own and boost my value.

“I’m a merchant. It’s my daily routine to risk my life for profit. So, how much will you pay?”

The duke leaned back, smiling as if his lips were about to touch his ears.

“I hear you’re currently tangled with the church. Without a powerful backer, you’ll be unable to fend off Christian’s attacks.”

Does he plan to lower my price in exchange for saving my life?

In any case, it’s common in games to lower prices in return for sparing a life.

I’ll give him that much credit.

“I’ll have the Archbishop of Florence move. He’ll be at your service, like a dog to my command. Furthermore, I’ll strip Christian of his clerical position.”

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

“If you give me 30% of your revenue and control over product distribution, I’ll invest fully. Isn’t that a fair deal?”

To be honest, yes.

Other places often take almost 40% in protection fees without any initial investment.

But if I give in now?

Then I’ll be a pushover forever.

For someone like me, aiming to be a hidden force in this world, that’s unacceptable.

“Thank you for your precious time, Your Grace.”

With that, I stood up to leave.

It was outrageously rude, but he couldn’t kill me now.

If he kills me here, he’ll be branded as a political pariah for murdering the son of his vassal without cause.

And if I leave?

I could sell the steel mass-production recipe to the Sforza family.

The duke scrambled to his feet and stopped me.

“Wait!”

He shook his head.

“20% of revenue, with full protection and initial capital for new ventures. I’ll even apply this to future contracts. How’s that?”

This is why monopolies are troublesome.

The competitive landscape allows someone like me to maximize my worth.

“I pledge my loyalty to Your Grace. Now, let’s discuss our investment in detail.”

And so, using the “new steelmaking process” as leverage, I secured an incredibly favorable contract.

The duke, looking as though his soul had left his body, saw me off, but…

I can guarantee this.

Ten minutes after I leave, he’ll realize the value of the steel distribution rights and start dancing with joy.