Chapter 73: The Price of Sincerity

The plump Tim reached out and pinched me. A wide, fawning smile spread across his face as he addressed Rodd, who sat at the head of the table.

“Hahahaha, you must be Lord Rodd, correct? Though this is our first meeting, you are even more handsome and imposing than the legends suggest.”

Rodd cast an impatient glance his way, his response curt.

“State your business.”

Seeing this, Tim let out a dry chuckle. He then pointed at me, his demeanor suddenly haughty and critical.

“Then I shall speak plainly. Just now, a few of us envoys from Bluewater Port were conversing, but this little maid of yours is utterly foolish. Not only does she lack the etiquette to serve guests, but she also vomited all over me…”

He paused, feigning immense grievance.

“Let me state upfront, I am not some petty, stingy merchant who quibbles over every coin. I handle thousands of gold dragons on a daily basis. However, this formal attire is exceedingly expensive. If I were to simply pretend nothing happened, I would find it utterly unacceptable.”

“So?” Rodd asked.

“Ahem, ahem… I hope that as the Lord, you can preside over this matter and make this little girl compensate me! This is for her own good, you see; she needs to learn to take responsibility when she causes trouble!” Tim declared, his face betraying no hint of shame.

Rodd glanced at me, then back at Tim, a cold sneer on his lips.

“Do you think she can afford to compensate you?”

“Then let’s find another way, shall we?” Tim rubbed his palms together, a smug expression spreading across his face. “As I said, I’m not some petty, stingy merchant. If that little girl and the red-haired one next to her are willing to keep me company for a night, then I might just waive the compensation.”

Aisha and I exchanged glances, both seeing the shock mirrored in the other’s eyes.

‘Just moments ago, he was merely…’

‘How could this fellow say such a thing? His shamelessness truly knows no bounds!’

Just as I was lost in this thought, hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the door.

Turning my head, I saw a young man in armor rush in.

It was Young Master Allen.

“Ha… ha… I apologize.”

He gasped, bracing his knees. “I failed to keep an eye on that woman, and she… came…”

‘That woman… Oh, he’s probably talking about Aisha.’

‘Was she sneaking out to come here?’

I stole a glance at her, noticing her rather grim expression. Indeed, she had snuck away.

“Take her away,” Rodd instructed Allen.

Allen nodded, rushing to Aisha’s side and grabbing her hand, ready to leave.

“Wait…” Aisha seemed extremely reluctant.

“Wait for what? Is this a place for a foolish woman like you to be? Get back and take your medicine!” Allen glared at her, his face stern.

“But ahem, ahem…”

“Why are you worried about that fellow? Isn’t there…”

Allen’s words trailed off as he cast a glance at me.

“You should help persuade her too.”

“Uh…”

I considered it, and truly, it seemed better for Aisha to take this opportunity to go back and rest. After all, while her courageous act of standing up for me was touching, it seemed useless against these shameless merchants. It would only make them more excited, wanting to have their way with both of us.

So, I also tried to persuade her.

“That’s right, Aisha, you should… Eh?”

To my surprise, I was only halfway through my sentence when Allen, seizing the moment Aisha turned to look at me, spun around and knocked her unconscious.

“Hmph.”

He gave me a slight chin lift, a triumphant expression on his face, before hoisting Aisha onto his back.

He must be at a growth spurt. Though not much time had passed, I vaguely felt that the boy’s height had increased since our first meeting. His current height was just right for what he did.

Wait!

Tim reached out again, this time blocking Allen.

“Who are you, you little brat, appearing out of nowhere? Didn’t you see that I’m discussing important matters with your Lord? Quickly put that woman down, I still need to… Oh, oh—”

Allen simply kicked the man to the ground, then wiped the sole of his shoe on Tim’s clothes.

“And you, where did you crawl out from, you ugly fiend?”

Having done all this, Allen swaggered away.

The events unfolded so quickly that the remaining three guests from Bluewater Port seemed to freeze for a few seconds. Then, they looked at Rodd with disbelief.

“Lord, that young man is your subordinate, isn’t he?”

The man named Mr. d*ck slowly rose, pointing at the rather dazed, plump man on the ground.

“Mr. Tim is a representative of Bluewater Port’s transport industry. He accompanied us today to discuss serious matters! Will you simply allow your subordinate to treat him this way!?”

As he spoke, Mr. d*ck appeared quite enraged.

“Discuss serious matters… What serious matters? Matters concerning women?” Rodd sneered. “If it were such trivialities, there would be no need to trouble esteemed guests to travel all the way from the extravagant Bluewater Port to my impoverished countryside, would there?”

Seeming to sense the ill intent in Rodd’s words, the remaining three guests exchanged glances. Then, the man who appeared to be their leader waved a hand at his companions.

As if on cue, Mr. d*ck, who had just been about to accuse Rodd, suddenly changed his demeanor, bowing and scraping.

“Hahahaha, Lord Rodd, your subordinate struck well, very well indeed! I always knew that stingy miser Tim would eventually stumble.

“It’s just a suit of clothes, yet he’s quibbling with a maid over it like this. It’s a damn disgrace to us merchants of Bluewater Port!

“Let’s put aside the recent unpleasantness for now. We have truly come to your esteemed domain to discuss important matters, and… we have brought ample sincerity!”

As he spoke, he patted an iron box that had been sitting on the table since they entered. It was a shoebox-sized container, adorned with elaborate patterns, and its casing alone appeared to be quite valuable.

Something precious seemed to be inside, as a faint, metallic clinking sound could be heard when it was tapped.

“Oh… that contains this year’s taxes from Bluewater Port, does it not?” Rodd stated, as if he had anticipated it all along.

“Precisely!”

Tim, who had been slowly rubbing his stomach on the ground, now gradually stood up. The shameless nature of a merchant came into play as he put on an extremely friendly smile, as if nothing had happened.

“According to Moonbird custom, Bluewater Port’s taxes are usually submitted at the end of the year. However, Governor Sherlock learned that Lord Rodd, having just assumed the title of Lord, is soon to marry the daughter of the Lord of Coldwind, a time when funds are scarce.”

“Therefore, the Governor made a special exception, submitting the second half of the year’s taxes in advance. He even dipped into his own pockets, adding a portion to present his goodwill early. The gold dragons in this box total a full 1000!”

1000 gold dragons!

My heart gave a sudden jolt as that number reached my ears.

What did 1000 gold dragons signify? It was enough to purchase a medium-sized estate or a large tract of fertile farmland, allowing one to live a stable and prosperous life as a farm owner.

It could also recruit a small army of dozens or even hundreds of soldiers, enough to establish one’s own territory and protect a region.

It could even finance a caravan or a fleet, much like the Longwind Fleet did in its early days, building immense wealth from nothing.

Just as I was somewhat lost in this fantasy…

“So, what is the price?”

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