Free Web NovelChapter 44: 44: The Evaluation (2)
Celia looked at Lucard.
"That is all," she said. "I cannot offer more."
Lucard reached forward, picked up the four pages, and began wrapping them again.
Jenny’s face changed.
Peter looked stunned.
Celia’s smile froze.
Lucard stood up.
"Then I must leave," he said. "I do not want to do business with you."
The room became silent.
Jenny stared at him like he had lost his mind.
Peter also looked at him in disbelief.
Jake whispered, "Brother is leaving with the very many gold coins not taken."
Jenny whispered back, "Yes."
"Why?"
"I do not know."
Peter leaned slightly toward Jenny and whispered, "Lady Jenny, should we stop him?"
Jenny’s heart was beating fast. She wanted to stop Lucard. Three hundred thousand gold coins was too much to walk away from. With that, they could begin rebuilding the family. They could buy time. They could protect Jake. They could move away from Gravehold and hide properly. But if she stopped Lucard now in front of Celia, she would make him look weak. Also, a part of her had started to understand that Lucard’s actions usually had meaning, even when they looked insane.
She swallowed her fear.
"No," Jenny whispered. "Wait."
Peter looked at her.
Jenny’s face was tense, but she did not speak.
Jake looked at Lucard with blind trust. "Maybe Big Brother has a bigger plan."
Peter sighed quietly. "I hope his bigger plan includes eating."
Celia heard enough of their whispers to know they were shocked too.
That offended her.
She had offered three hundred thousand gold coins. For a baron family, that was an enormous amount. A fallen family like House Vardros should be happy. They should bow, thank her, and perhaps even beg for a continuing relationship. They had no house, no army, no stable backing, and no protection. Their only visible assets were a proud young lady, an injured knight, a small boy, and a handsome black haired young man with strange confidence.
And now that young man was walking away from three hundred thousand gold coins as if she had offered him stale bread.
Celia’s pride was touched.
She was from House Marovain’s main line. People did not walk away from her offers so easily. Nobles smiled when she offered money. Merchants lowered their heads. Branch managers trembled before her. Even young heirs from count families treated her carefully because Marovain gold could lift families or bury them.
Yet Lucard looked bored.
That was not normal.
Celia’s eyes became colder.
"Do you think another buyer in Gravehold can pay more than House Marovain?"
Lucard stopped near the door and looked back.
"No."
"Then why leave?"
Lucard’s voice remained calm. "Because I am not selling paper. I am selling value. You know the difference, but you offered me the price of paper."
Celia’s lips pressed together.
Lucard continued, "A Fifth Rank trap spell that uses surrounding mana can be placed by weaker mages after preparation. It can defend gates, roads, treasuries, warehouses, manor entrances, tomb passages, and caravan routes. For a merchant family, that is not only a spell. It is protection for profit."
Celia said nothing.
Jenny’s eyes slowly widened.
Peter looked at Lucard with new understanding.
Lucard went on, "House Marovain can test it, copy it, sell limited versions, keep the full one for your own estates, and rent trap placements to smaller noble families. You can earn back three hundred thousand gold coins from one wealthy count family who fears assassination. You can earn ten times more in one year if you handle it properly."
Celia’s face did not change much, but her fingers slowly tightened around her teacup.
Lucard smiled faintly.
"You know this. That is why your offer was insulting."
Jake whispered to Jenny, "Brother sounds like a merchant now."
Jenny whispered back, "A very dangerous one."
Peter whispered, "A merchant who kicks first and negotiates later."
Jake nodded. "That is a strong business style."
Jenny closed her eyes for a moment because this was not the time, but the boy was not wrong.
Celia placed the teacup down.
"You speak as if the spell has already been tested."
Lucard said, "Then test it."
"We would need time."
"You have time. You do not have ownership."
Celia’s expression became colder.
Lucard looked at the wrapped pages in his hand. "I can leave Gravehold. I can reach another city. I can sell it to someone who understands that a rare spell is worth more than a frightened discount."
Celia stood up slowly.
"House Marovain does not like threats."
Lucard looked at her calmly.
"Then do not mistake price correction for a threat."
The room became tense again. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Jenny became worried. She could feel the pressure between Lucard and Celia. This was different from dealing with Ravencroft. Celia was not shouting. She was not foolish. She was dangerous in a quieter way. If Lucard pushed too much, House Marovain might not attack immediately, but they could create problems that would follow them for years.
Peter seemed to think the same. His injured body became tense, but he remained silent.
Jake looked between Lucard and Celia. He did not understand business, but he understood that both of them wanted to win. It reminded him of two cats staring at each other before one of them knocked a cup from the table. He hoped Lucard was the cat who knocked the cup, not the cup.
Celia looked at Lucard’s face.
For a moment, her anger mixed with curiosity. He was too calm. Too confident. Too sharp for a fallen baron’s bastard. His clothes were new, but his eyes looked old. She had noticed that yesterday in the shop. Today, she noticed it even more.
Who was Lucard Vardros?
Before she could speak again, the door of the VIP room opened.
An old man walked in.
He looked to be in his forties, but his eyes made him seem older. His hair was dark with some gray near the temples. He wore an expensive black and silver coat, and a silver coin ring rested on his finger. His face was calm, but his presence was heavier than Galen’s and sharper than the guards. The moment he entered, Celia’s two female guards straightened.
Celia turned her head.
"Uncle."
The old man looked at her, then at Jenny, Jake, Peter, and finally Lucard.
His eyes stopped on the wrapped papers in Lucard’s hand.
Then he smiled slightly.
"It seems I arrived at an interesting moment."
