The afternoon sun shone through the window and into a side hall of the Half Elven Palace.
The colorful spots of light formed a complicated and disorderly pattern on the white glazed rock floor. These patterns attracted Javier's attention. He stared at the ground seriously, as if he was trying to figure out some profound truth from these light shadows.
Of course, although Javier was a legendary half-elf merchant in Silvermoon City, he didn't know much about the principles of geometry. The only reason he was staring at these patterns was because he was too bored.
After the rebellion of the Silvermoon Guards was quelled, the half-elven merchants who had set fire to the granary were naturally 'invited' to the palace one by one.
They had been sitting here for half a day, but Queen Aisha and Count Angele still did not ask for them.
This caused the half-elf merchants to be in a state of anxiety and fear.
However, as time passed, their emotions gradually became numb. They began to calm down and think hard about what they should do next to obtain the Queen's forgiveness.
"Cough … Excuse me, can we have some water?"
A half-elf merchant could not help but ask the guards in the hall with a hoarse voice.
However, it was as if the armored guards did not hear him at all. They did not even respond to his request.
Havel was about to open his mouth, but he saw a handsome young man walking into the hall.
"Count Angele!"
The half-elves stood up and bowed to him.
Colin walked to the main seat and sat down. He waved his hand and asked the others to sit down as well.
The young half-elf maids walked into the hall quietly and served wine to everyone.
The overflowing aroma of the wine made the half-elf merchants who had been thirsty for half a day swallow their saliva. However, they didn't dare to touch the red wine before Colin raised his glass.
Colin glanced at the half-elves. Perhaps they were feeling guilty, but none of the half-elves dared to look him in the eyes.
"Gentlemen, I invited you here because I want to ask you a question on behalf of the queen." Colin opened his mouth. It was hard to tell whether he was happy or angry. "Why did you set the granary on fire?"
It was a difficult question to answer.
The hall fell into an awkward silence.
The half-elf merchants wanted nothing more than to bury their heads in their chests. They didn't even dare to breathe loudly for fear of attracting Colin's attention and being called out by him.
Colin didn't seem to be in a hurry. He lifted the goblet in front of him and spun it gently in his hand. The dark red wine collided back and forth in the goblet, forming a small vortex. The fragrance of the wine spread out and constantly stimulated the sensitive nerves of the half-elf merchants.
Javier glanced at Colin from the corner of his eye. The young Count of the Empire was observing the swirls in the wine cup with great interest. There was a faint smile on his handsome face, as if he were an ordinary young man who was gentle and curious.
However, he didn't dare to treat Colin as a harmless young noble. This Count of the Empire was an old acquaintance of the half-elf merchant, and he knew Colin's rise like the back of his hand.
That was a path of advancement paved with corpses and blood!
"Javier."
Colin didn't know if he had noticed Javier's gaze, but he directly called out the half-elf legendary merchant's name.
"M-Sir Count!" Javier stood up abruptly, as if he was a naughty student who was called out by the teacher in class.
The rest of the half-elf merchants saw this and heaved a sigh of relief.
Only Javier stood there stiffly. Cold sweat poured out like spring water, instantly drenching the front of his robe.
Colin smiled faintly and asked, "Mr. Javier, please answer Her Majesty's question."
If he could turn back time, Javier swore to God that he wouldn't have peeked.
But now, he could only bite the bullet and answer, "Sir Count, it's … it's because … Marquis Vincent from the Eastern Region forced us to do this …"
Colin's expression didn't change. He was still gentle and refined, but in Javier's eyes, that face was no different from the devil's.
Before Colin could continue asking, Javier hurriedly added, "But Sir Count, don't worry. We were already prepared. Before burning the granary, we secretly replaced most of the food with hay. So, even if the granary is burned, most of the food is still there!
As long as you don't hold us accountable, I'm willing to sell the food to you at the lowest price! "
After Javier finished speaking, the rest of the half-elf merchants started to clamor.
"Yes, Sir Count, I also hid the food in advance!"
"Me too, Sir Count, and I'm also willing to sell it to you at a low price!"
"My Lord Count, me too …"
… …
Colin heard this and instantly laughed.
He didn't know if he was happy that there was still food in stock, or if he was laughing at how crafty these half-elf merchants were.
Of course, this wasn't surprising. If these half-elf merchants really burned the food that they had painstakingly stored, it would be worse than killing them.
"Very good." Colin nodded in satisfaction, and the hall instantly quietened down.
When the half-elf merchants saw the smile on Colin's face, the huge rock in their hearts finally fell.
But just as they were rejoicing that they had escaped a calamity, Colin suddenly retracted his smile and coldly said, "However, your actions are in fact treason!"
"Sir Count, we were also forced …" The merchants were still crying.
"Forced?" Colin sneered. "Then why didn't you report it? Instead, you chose to follow the orders of the rebel army? "
The half-elf merchants were instantly speechless.
Javier hurriedly took the initiative to say, "Sir Count, we were indeed muddle-headed and made a foolish choice. If you're willing to forgive our mistakes, I'm willing to give you all the food for free! "
As soon as this was said, the other half-elf merchants felt their hearts bleeding, but they had no choice but to quickly agree and express their willingness to give up their food for free.
Colin's expression softened a little, and he said calmly, "That's not enough."
Javier endured the pain in his heart and respectfully asked, "Sir Count, if you have any other orders, please feel free to speak."
"Do you know the Northern Frontier Foreign Trade Company?"
"Yes." Javier nodded. He already understood that Colin was preparing to forcefully integrate the half-elf business.
Indeed, in the next moment, he heard Colin say, "Her Majesty and I have discussed for a long time, and we have decided to establish a half-elf foreign trade company …"
Hearing this, the half-elf merchants immediately felt anxious. They knew that what was coming would come in the end.
But before they could say anything, they saw an attendant rush into the hall and report, "Sir Count, Marquis Vincent has been assassinated!"
"What?" Colin stood up with a whoosh. He no longer cared about these half-elf merchants and immediately walked out with large strides.
Only when his figure disappeared outside the hall did the half-elf merchants react. At the same time, they were inexplicably shocked.
Something big had happened!
If the first successor to the House of Saint Prospero died in Silverymoon City …
The half-elf merchants looked at each other, using their eyes to communicate their thoughts. However, no one dared to break the oppressive silence.
For a moment, they didn't know whether to rejoice in the misfortune of others or worry about the storm that was about to engulf Silverymoon City.
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