Chapter 426 Auction trap (3)
When I came out, there were many different whispers coming from around me.
But the gist of it was…
"He's so young…I never thought that there would be a count this young."
Most of the crowd was surprised by my age.
There were some that doubted that I was a count, there were some that were wondering where I had come from, and there were some that…
"I wonder if he has a wife or a concubine. If he doesn't, I would volunteer."
"Psh, a skinny girl like you? He needs a real woman like me."
"None of you will be able to satisfy him. Only someone as thick as me would be able to satisfy him."
The last comment sent a chill running down my spine.
It wasn't because I was turned on by it…it was because the one who had said it was a muscular man who acted in a feminine manner.
The way that he looked at me sent a powerful chill down my spine.
One that made me want to leave this place as soon as possible.
But I forced down that feeling and slowly walked towards the auction house.
I could have made my way through quickly, but the point of all of this was to draw attention. So I made my way slowly through the crowd and to the entrance of the auction house.
Before I could make it, one of the people who had gone in before me suddenly turned around and walked over to me.
It seemed like he wanted to talk to me with the way that he was walking over, but I didn't know this person at all.
I only knew that he must be some kind of noble to be walking through the crowd like this, but I didn't know who he was or what his rank was.
When he came over, this man revealed a wide smile and said, "Count Zwein, I've been wanting to meet you for a long time now."
I had no choice but to reveal a smile as I said, "Um, I don't believe that we have met before. May I ask who you are?"
The man didn't seem offended since it was true that we had never met before. He just reached a hand out and said, "I am Viscount Teomold, I have some territory near your territory. I was planning on visiting you when you became a viscount to greet you, but I was told that you were making a trip to the Dwarven Kingdom. I can see now that you were there on some important business."
I was surprised to hear that he was someone that had territory near mine.
Since I left most of the management of my territory to Rose, I didn't actually know much about the surrounding area of my territory.
I peeked at Shaka and he gave a nod to confirm this.
Seeing this, I looked at Viscount Teomold with a smile and said, "Sir Viscount, it is an honour to meet you. I'm sorry that we never had a chance to meet before, but I've been busy with my work."
Viscount Teomold said with the same smile, "Not a problem, not a problem. I've already heard of all your accomplishments, so I don't blame you at all. I'm just glad that you were able to make this auction, or else I really might not have had the chance to meet you."
Just like this, the two of us exchanged a few simple greetings.
Then, Viscount Teomold suddenly changed the topic.
The topic that he chose made me understand why he had approached me in the first place.
"I've heard that you've secured a trade deal with the dwarves." He said in a slow and deliberate voice.
After I heard him say this, I gave a secret cold laugh.
As I had expected, this noble wouldn't approach me unless he had a reason for approaching me.
And his reason was that he wanted a slice of the ore trade with the dwarves.
But I didn't mind this.
If he was anyone else, I might deflect this to the king.
But since he was someone that had territory near mine, it was inevitable that we would have contact with each other.
He was someone that I had to deal with regardless of how I felt.
So it was a good idea to build a good relationship with him now…
Well, a good relationship was a stretch.
What I really wanted to do was make him dependent on me.
Once he was dependent on me, no matter what happened in the future, he would be on my side. If he didn't stick with me, he would lose out on all the benefits that he gained from me.
My ultimate goal was to make him so dependent on me that his territory would collapse if he tried to separate from me.
This was the goal for all of the territory around me and it was possible because of the trade deal with the dwarves.
So I said with a sly smile, "Yes, that is the case."
When he heard this, Viscount Teomold's eyes suddenly lit up before he forced himself to calm down. He gave a cough as if he was calming himself down before saying, "That is quite the impressive feat. I've heard that the dwarves are quite isolationists, I never thought that anyone would be able to crack that shell."
He was just beating around the bush at this point.
It was clear what his goal was, but he didn't know how to jump into it.
It was hard for him just to say that he wanted the ore.
But my plan hinged on him wanting a piece of this trade, so I decided to throw him a little bone.
"The ore trade will be bringing quite a few ores to my territory, much more than we can digest by ourselves." I said in a deliberate manner.
Viscount Teomold's eyes lit up when he heard this.
"If that's the case, I think I can help you with that." He said with a smile on his face.
I revealed a faint smile when I heard this.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om