Chapter 94 Was That Today? (4)
Claude screamed, his anger radiating from every pore.
“Don’t mess with me! You’re toying with people like this? Do you have that much time to waste!”
But Ghislaine’s response remained unchanged.
“Why are you so upset? I was just surprised because the amount is less than I expected.”
He had heard this from Claude a few times in his previous life, so he was certain. Back then, it had definitely been 5,000 gold.
‘Well, a lot of time has passed. The price might be different.’
“Is the amount small? If this is the end…”
Claude gritted his teeth and glared at Ghislaine.
He couldn’t understand what was going through his mind to pull such a stunt.
“Alright, you’re quite confident. Then hand it over right now.”
Claude sneered, but Ghislaine nodded lightly without showing any signs of being offended.
“That’s not hard. Is this enough?”
‘He just doesn’t get it. What a persistent guy.’
Claude chuckled inside and played along with Ghislaine’s antics.
“Is 2,000 gold too little? Then just give me another 500 gold. That’s a bargain for the work I’ll do.”
Belinda stepped forward, frowning at the increasingly shameless demands.
“Absolutely no manners or conscience. You’d think he’d be fine just having his wrist cut off, it wouldn’t even be fair to kill him!”
She actually looked like she could stab Claude in the neck with a dagger. Ghislaine raised his hand to stop her.
“Stop it, Belinda. He’s someone we’ll need for our territory.”
“No, Young Master! You can’t just let someone like him go!”
Belinda was seething as if perplexed by Ghislaine’s words.
“Enough.”
At Ghislaine’s heavy voice, Belinda pursed her lips and glared at Claude.
With Belinda so furious, sending someone on an errand seemed impossible.
Ghislaine sighed and called Gillian over.
“Gillian, go to the biggest merchant group in Austin and bring someone back. Tell them we’ll issue a credit note.”
“Are you really okay with this?”
Gillian asked cautiously.
His eyes were questioning whether it was okay to give such a large amount of money to someone like that.
Until now, Gillian had followed Ghislaine’s every command without question, but this time it truly worried him.
However, Ghislaine just smiled as if it was no big deal.
“Gillian, how were we when we first met? Was there any difference between this guy and you?”
At that remark, both of them were left speechless.
In a way, Gillian’s situation was even more serious.
While Claude was out gambling, Gillian had been cooped up indoors the whole time.
He hadn’t even stepped outside before.
But now, what about this? Ghislaine had become his greatest strength and an indispensable follower.
Gillian, understanding the meaning behind those words, immediately lowered his head and stepped outside.
From what he had observed up to now, his lord never acted carelessly.
Surely, he must have seen something in that gambler that they couldn’t.
Belinda, though displeased, retreated.
‘At least that guy had a good build. What on earth is the Young Master seeing in that guy to trust him so much?’
Claude crossed his arms and surveyed the now chaotic surroundings.
He was far beyond angry; he was baffled.
With things having gone this far, he felt that properly shaming Ghislaine would relieve some of his frustration.
Not long after, Gillian returned with someone in tow.
Claude was taken aback when he recognized the man entering the tavern.
‘Huh? That guy is…’
The man was the Deputy Manager of the largest merchant group in Austin.
Given the amount involved, it was no small matter for a Deputy Manager to take action.
‘What the hell are these guys playing at…?’
If this was some kind of joke, it was huge. To bring in a guy like that?
‘How are they going to deal with the aftermath?’
If Ghislaine were a noble of the Seiron Kingdom, he could obtain credit without any conditions.
There was little risk of defaulting on loans from the merchant group due to face-saving reasons.
However, matters were different for a noble from another country.
A merchant group wasn’t so easygoing as to issue a credit note without collateral.
‘What are they planning to entrust? Even a decent jewel isn’t worth less than 2,500 gold.’
To Claude’s eyes, Ghislaine didn’t seem that wealthy.
The clothes he wore were neat but not of luxurious material, and there were no signs of expensive jewelry.
If the noble looked that way, there was nothing worth seeing in his followers.
The Deputy Manager would probably leave empty-handed, insisting on having collateral.
Claude chortled inwardly as he envisioned Ghislaine’s humiliation.
At that moment.
‘Huh?’
A mercenary rummaged through his bag and plopped a stone onto the table.
The stone emitted a faint blue glow.
Claude found himself agape, captivated by the blue light.
The Deputy Manager picked up the Runestone and inspected it from different angles, a greedy grin spreading across his face as he bent forward.
“Oooh, this is indeed a high-grade Runestone. Do you have any more? I assure you we’ll offer a better price than the market rate. In Austin, our group is the best around.”
‘Huh?’
Claude was flabbergasted by the unexpected turn of events.
The Deputy Manager’s eyes were filled with greed.
For someone who had handled all sorts of items, to be that tempted meant that the quality of the Runestone Ghislaine had presented was top-notch.
‘Is this… for real?’
At that moment, Ghislaine waved his hand dismissively, his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.
“I don’t plan on selling any more, so just wrap up what you need to do quickly.”
“Wait! Please… I assure you I’ll give you a fantastic price. You won’t find anyone willing to buy as high as we will. How much have you looked around for?”
The Deputy Manager, desperate and persistent, finally opened his bag when the mercenaries drew their weapons, clicking his tongue.
The disappointment dripped from his face as he began to write the credit note.
It fell with a thud.
Seeing that expression, Claude shouted, “Wait, just a second!”
Everyone present looked back at him in confusion.
Claude swallowed nervously and said in a shaking voice, “If we’re going to do this, make it two bills, 2,000 gold and 500 gold. Is that possible?”
Belinda pouted her lips, and the Deputy Manager stared blankly at Ghislaine.
It was a question of whether that could be done.
Ghislaine casually nodded his head. “Sure, let’s do that.”
“Usually, this is supposed to be done differently since it’s magically treated paper… But since you’re dealing with such a large amount, I’ll do it without any extra charge.”
The Deputy Manager quickly agreed to Claude’s request, hoping he might snag a deal with Ghislaine too.
He didn’t forget to bask in the glory either. “Please do visit our merchant group next time. We’ll do our best to serve you.”
He continued to bow to Ghislaine, buttering him up until the mercenaries finally glared at him, making the Deputy Manager leave the spot.
He left behind a staggering 2,500 gold in credit notes.
“Take it,” Ghislaine lightly gestured towards the notes on the table.
Claude’s eyes widened as he looked back and forth between Ghislaine and the credit note.
He had asked for money, but he never thought he would actually get it.
Moreover, Ghislaine didn’t even bother to ask why he needed such a large sum or how he intended to repay it.
Claude’s hands trembled.
‘Is this real? Is my long-desired dream finally coming true this easily?’
He couldn’t believe it.
It just seemed impossible that even the Deputy Manager was in on this joke at his expense.
2,000 gold was enough for a regular person to live off for a lifetime without working.
Even for a wealthy noble, it was an enormous sum that couldn’t be handed out easily.
Yet, this punk in front of him casually handed over that kind of money to a mere gambler.
Claude had spent years living in gambling dens trying to scrape together this amount.
How could something that took him years to fail at come so easily to someone else?
His heart, once filled with shock, gradually filled with emptiness.
As Claude stood there dazed, he suddenly shook his head and snapped out of his thoughts.
His pride didn’t matter.
He finally secured the money he had risked his life for—pride be damned.
“Wait here for a second.”
Claude snatched the credit note and stuffed it into his pocket, quickly hurrying away.
When he reached the door, he glanced back at Ghislaine, then bolted out of the tavern.
It was as if he were fleeing.
The mercenaries, who were watching him with skepticism, sprang up.
“Get that guy! He’s a thief!”
Belinda gasped and tried to follow, but Ghislaine grabbed her arm to stop her.
“Why are you stopping me? He’s just running off with the money!”
“It’s fine. I know where he’s going.”
Belinda and the mercenaries halted in surprise at Ghislaine’s confident voice.
“You know where he went? Oh, to the gambling den?”
“No, this time it’s somewhere else.”
Ghislaine leisurely got up from his seat.
“But he can’t handle this alone, so let’s follow him.”
Claude was filled with the thought of having achieved his goal, making it hard for him to think straight.
It would be.
I bet the defenseless wouldn’t even think about the danger of having such a large amount of money.
Ghislaine led the mercenaries out of the tavern.
Claude’s figure had already disappeared from the street.
However, Ghislaine didn’t hesitate for a moment and walked calmly.
Before long, the group came to a halt in front of Lord Austin’s castle.
“Young Master, where is this?”
“Yes, this is Baron Austin’s castle.”
As Ghislaine had anticipated, Claude was in a tussle with the guards stationed in front of the castle.
“I brought the money as promised! Let me meet the Lord!”
“No, is the Lord your friend? Do you think you can just barge in like that?”
“The Lord made a promise! Let me in immediately!”
“Alright, just wait quietly.”
The Lord isn’t someone one can just walk in to meet whenever they want.
But perhaps there had been some prior communication, as Claude was stubbornly throwing a fit.
Even after one of the guards went inside to convey the news, Claude was anxious and peering around.
Then, spotting Ghislaine, he shrank back and yelled.
“What are you doing here! I told you to wait a moment!”
“I was just curious about what you were up to.”
“It’s my business! I was going to find you as soon as I handled my work, so why did you follow me!”
Instead of Ghislaine, Belinda answered with irritation.
“What do you expect me to trust a gambler like you to wait? If you don’t explain right now, I’ll take it back!”
“Who’s running away? Just wait!”
The guard watching the two bickering turned to Ghislaine and asked.
“And you are…?”
Ghislaine placed an arm around Claude’s shoulder and smiled.
“Oh, I’m this guy’s friend. We came to see the Lord together.”
“What kind of friend…?”
Before Claude could argue, Ghislaine whispered in his ear.
“Are you out of your mind? You want to just waltz in there with that huge sum of money? Baron Austin is famous for being greedy.”
Only then did Claude look like he’d been splashed with cold water, snapping back to reality.
He was so excited thinking he achieved the goal of his life.
It seemed the years living in a haze of alcohol and gambling had completely dulled his mind.
In a way, it was a miracle he’d made it this far with such a large amount of money.
He had been under surveillance after all.
Claude shook his head vigorously to clear his thoughts and bit his lip.
“I’ve been living like a loser for too long. Still, at least if I go in with a noble, it might be a bit better.”
Claude forced his expression to look calm and said.
“Yes, we’re friends. I plan to go in together.”
The guard looked at him skeptically, but he called someone over to relay the message to Claude that there was a party waiting.
Before long, permission to come in was granted.
Of course, the mercenaries who had left their weapons behind had to wait in the lounge.
Only Claude and Ghislaine were allowed to meet the Lord.
Baron Austin’s appearance seemed to reflect his greedy nature.
His gaze was dull, and his cheeks were chubby.
As soon as the two stepped into the grand hall, he spoke in a dry voice.
“Did you really manage to bring the money?”
Claude, who had been acting stiff in front of Ghislaine like a metal skewer, lowered his head and pleaded pitifully.
“I really did manage to bring the money. Please, just give it back!”
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