"Uh … Excuse me. There's an urgent letter from Hollier City. Lord Duke, you'd better take a look at it."
"Huh?"
There was an uproar. This was not a situation that anyone could interfere in. Whoever spoiled Sienna's plans would have to bear the brunt of his wrath. However, when the nobles saw who it was, they were collectively stunned …
Because it was Roddy who interrupted Sienna.
Sally did not feel relieved because of this. On the contrary, she was worried that Roddy had taken the initiative to "attract the attention". However, Roddy did not seem to care about this at all. He ignored the nobles around him and went straight to Sally before handing her a piece of parchment. "Knight Titus just brought this over. He said it's an emergency."
In fact, this was what Roddy had written on the spot based on Natha's report.
"Got it."
Sally lowered her head to take a look and frowned. Her expression turned serious. Viscount Sienna, on the other hand, no longer had the smile on his face. He knew that he wouldn't be able to get anything out of pressuring her.
"I'm sorry, I still have some matters to attend to."
The reason that Sally gave this time made it impossible for Sienna to continue pestering her. Hence, he took a step back and smiled. "Lord Duke is very busy every day. It's rare for you to have time to attend to such matters … You're really our role model."
Seeing Sienna's attitude, the surrounding nobles understood his intentions. After that, no one brought up the matter of letting Sally lead the dance again. Everyone naturally began to look for partners to dance with. The atmosphere of the banquet also gradually calmed down as the music played.
Sally took the opportunity to take the letter to the side to read it. As expected, Sienna called out to Roddy who was about to leave.
"You must be the famous Baron Roddy of the Kingdom of Karen, right? Seeing is believing. I'm very interested in your deeds. "
Sienna walked towards Roddy. He was slightly taller than Roddy, and his eyes were level when he spoke. He did not focus on Roddy at all.
"Oh."
Roddy nodded. "Viscount Sienna is very famous. I'm honored that you know my name."
"I've always heard that you have a close relationship with Sally and Duke. Now it seems that it's not a lie."
Sienna's voice was no longer as polite as before. It sounded more like an interrogation.
Roddy calmed himself down and looked around casually — all the gazes around him were filled with schadenfreude. In their eyes, this unknown Baron and the famous Sienna were worlds apart …
"I don't know if it's a lie or not. It all depends on Sally and Duke himself."
"Heh … You don't want to admit defeat verbally. Who doesn't know about such matters in the kingdom? Do you really think you're a noble just because you're guarding a ruin? "
Sienna had no qualms about mocking Roddy. The other party had no backing or allies. The only person he had to worry about was Sally, and she was about to fall into an irrecoverable state. Yet, Sienna dared to talk back to him. He was really courting death.
"Is the meaning of being a noble … only determined by the size of your territory?"
Roddy asked unhurriedly.
"Heh, I know what you're going to say. You'd better keep those empty words about 'for the people' and 'for the kingdom' to deceive women."
Sienna shook his head. He suddenly felt that there was no point in continuing the conversation — after all, people wouldn't think that he was impressive if they saw him stepping on ants, right?
That was why he did not wait for Rody to say anything. He chuckled, turned around and walked away surrounded by a group of people.
Roddy, who was ignored, pursed his lips and returned to his corner as though nothing had happened. While the others were chatting with each other about the dance, he began to gorge himself on the food …
"Hey, Catherine, look at that country bumpkin … I bet he hasn't had any delicious food in his territory."
"Why? Since you're so interested in him, why don't you ask him out for a dance? "
"Come on, I don't want to be laughed at, hahaha —"
The laughing girls went to invite others for a dance, while Catherine, who had just finished a dance, was about to take a break. She glanced at the "country bumpkin", feeling disdainful and amused at the same time. How did such a guy who didn't fit in with the circle of nobles become a baron of the kingdom?
In terms of "looks", he's no match for those little fresh meats, let alone in terms of power. I really can't figure it out …
Then, she felt a little angry. This "trash" that everyone shunned actually despised her just now. Damn it!
The banquet proceeded slowly with the music. After an hour, the number of people on the dance floor gradually decreased. Not long after, a group of servants slowly pushed a huge sand table over. On the wooden table that was more than six meters in length and width, the external appearance of the Cohen Mountain Range was drawn according to the scale. There were nearly 20 mines marked on it, and it was displayed in front of everyone under the illumination of six magical crystals.
The "Fuser Silver Mine Auction", which was organized by the 13 Lords of Eifta, thus kicked off in a hurry and ostentatious manner.
Baron Panini was the first to appear. After explaining the contents of the auction, he went straight to the point and showed more than 50 pieces of "rare thorium" to the nobles present. Of course, this was more to show off.
Viscount Sienna did not participate in the auction. He found an excellent vantage point and sat down. He squinted at Sally from afar, an unfathomable smile on his lips.
There were always noble ladies who surrounded him to strike up a conversation, and he would talk to them politely. However, anyone with a discerning eye could see that this viscount was obviously more interested in the Lord of Eifta …
"Why, are you just going to watch?"
Roddy was lowering his head to taste the special caviar from Meer River. Upon hearing the voice, he raised his head and found that it was the enchanting Miss Catherine who spoke.
"The auction does not require me to participate in the first place. Of course, I can only watch."
He replied casually and continued to eat.
Catherine originally did not want to pay attention to Roddy, but when she saw his calm expression, she felt a little impatient. She had the urge to jab at him. "Tsk tsk, seeing that the princess is in trouble, shouldn't a knight stand up for her? Is it really good for you to be a coward here …? "
As she spoke, the first round of the auction had already begun. Obviously, these united nobles did not intend to give Sally any time to react …
"The starting price of the first batch of ten silver mines is 50,000 gold coins. You can use the land title deed or other items to offset the price. Mining time …"
The guy who looked like a butler read out the rules of the auction. The lonely Sally looked pale among the nobles, and her eyes flickered.
"65,000 gold coins!"
"72,000!"
"Baron Dyke has obtained the ownership rights of the first silver mine. I hope you can dig out more wealth here …"
"The second mine …"
Accompanied by the exclamations of the surrounding nobles, the silver mine was sold at a very low price. Those with a bit of brain would know that this was actually a buyer who had planned this long ago. As for the one who had been schemed against the most, Duke Sally, she was already trembling with anger, and her face turned pale …
"She's only 18 years old. What's the point of bullying a little girl?"
Catherine gently swirled the red wine in her glass and continued to provoke Roddy. She wanted to see how this calm guy could hold on.
But to her surprise, Roddy did not react at all. He put down the caviar and began to taste a freshly opened bottle of fruit wine. His eyes were unusually calm as he looked at the auction house.
Even … interesting.
Not far away, Sally lost the bid for the first Fuser silver mine due to Viscount An Ru's extremely high bid. Duke's loss caused a chorus of boos. Of course, the boos were not much different from cheers. It seemed that everyone wanted to see her lose face in front of everyone.
"Panini and the others have planned this long ago. No matter how high the bid is, they will still be the ones to profit in the end. This Duke is still too young …"
"As a feudal lord, he actually ended up in such a lonely state. He's really digging his own grave."
By now, it was not just Catherine. The nobles around them who were whispering to each other had also begun to speak openly. Their voices were so loud that it was almost as if they were purposely letting Roddy hear them. Not far away, Viscount Sienna politely asked Sally if she needed any financial help. However, Sally coldly waved her hand and rejected him.
"Tsk, tsk. I think it's not a bad thing for her to marry Viscount Sienna directly if she's smart. At the very least, she can keep her status as a feudal lord and stabilize her power …"
Catherine seemed to be arguing with Roddy. She waved her fan and asked, "Do you think she's stupid? Why would she invest so much money and manpower at the border every day? What's the point of doing something so strenuous and unrewarding?"
"Oh, you're right. Miss Catherine. "
Roddy finally seemed to be in the mood to talk. He picked up a cherry and stuffed it into his mouth. He said softly, "Indeed, no one wants to do something so strenuous and unrewarding. But … what if something unimaginable happens? "
"What a joke. I'm already tired of hearing such alarmist talk from the bards. You might be able to fool those farmers with that kind of argument … Hehehehe."
Catherine did not even try to hide her mockery. Her close friends who had been secretly watching them also laughed out loud. However, as they laughed, they found it hard to continue laughing — because Roddy was still eating the cherry. Furthermore, his gaze towards them was clearly … filled with pity.
"Congratulations, Duke, Sally. Although no thorium was found in this silver mine, it still has the highest yield of all the mines …"
The nobles in the distance clapped. However, they only managed to obtain two of the most unremarkable ordinary silver mines out of the twenty or so mines. To a Duke, this kind of harvest could only be considered a "humiliation".
In other words, Viscount An Ru and the others' plan was very successful — the result was even better than what they had expected.
Sally's face was filled with undisguised shame and anger. Her gloomy expression made her look like she was about to explode at any moment. After all the mines were announced to have been auctioned off, the duke stood up and left. She left the venue under the mocking gazes of Panini and the others, as if she was fleeing.
"What else do you have to say now?"
Catherine said with a cold smile. However, she did not expect Roddy to lower his head and continue to eat a piece of cold steak. He replied softly, "Me? All I want to say is … everyone has to pay the price for their own choices. "
He smiled, then got up and left the hall. It seemed that he had left with that Duke.
"Still putting on an act at a time like this, tsk!"
Catherine pouted and left. She returned to the circle of her close friends with the attitude of a "winner" and continued to chat about those useless topics of gossip …
The nobles at the banquet did not seem to care about the departure of their highest lord. On the contrary, their party had only just begun.
[Thank you for the monthly votes: An egret crossing the river, Solitary under the moonlight, Beloved Uncle. I remembered that Sword Emperor Lionhaken had also voted a few days ago. Quickly add them.]
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