Yang Jing returned, bringing with her an invitation to an auction, and…
"Uh, can you introduce this guy?"
A man who looked like a wealthy merchant lay at Yang Jing's feet. He was covered in wounds, his lower body especially mangled and bloody. He was barely breathing, clearly dying.
Yang Jing said calmly and expressionlessly:
"I went to him for an invitation. He said he'd give it to me if I spent the night with him. Then this happened."
Yang Jing's concise summary of an adventure that could easily be expanded into four thousand words made even Siegfried's eyes twitch.
"Oh… I see…"
Siegfried glanced at the merchant's lower body, his heart pounding.
(I'm never messing with this woman again…)
He bent down, reaching out to pat the merchant's face.
"Hey, buddy. Answer me one question before you die."
The merchant opened his eyes hazily, whispering weakly:
"Leg… leg… white… hurts…"
So that was the murder weapon.
"Buddy, where's your vault?"
"You… you are…"
"I'm your cousin! You promised to leave your property to me, you forgot?"
"Cousin… oh right… right…"
The merchant's eyes regained some light, a clear sign of a deathbed lucidity. He grabbed Siegfried's hand, his expression full of regret:
"Brother…"
"Yes, brother."
"Careful… careful of women…"
With that, the merchant kicked his legs and passed away.
Siegfried was stunned. He grabbed the merchant's collar and lifted him from the ground.
"Hey! The money! The money! Where's the damn money?! Call a priest! Make him cough up the money before he dies!"
Siegfried was heartbroken. It felt like he hadn't gotten all the rewards in a game, leaving him incredibly frustrated.
...
That evening, the company's executive meeting was held as scheduled at a dinner table.
Yang Jing, the intelligence chief and one of the shareholders, spoke first: "This is an invitation to an auction."
However, her statement was abrupt; she stood up, said that one sentence, and sat down again, confident that someone else would explain.
Everyone instinctively looked at the major shareholder, waiting for him to speak.
Siegfried picked up the invitation and flicked it in the air.
"This is an underground auction, understand?"
Krinhild: "No."
"Those attending are wealthy merchants and affluent nobles, understand?"
Roland: "No."
Katarina, the deputy security captain, suddenly jumped up, looking enlightened: "I get it, you're going to sell the teacher's sword!"
Roland's Durandal was currently the most valuable item in the company; selling it could buy an entire county.
Roland slapped his foolish apprentice on the head, scolding: "Is this something you can just sell?!"
Katarina sat back down with a wronged and pitiful expression, covering her head.
Siegfried ignored the pair, continuing:
"The items at this auction are things that can't be brought to the surface. Judging from the attached list, there are even slaves."
The air in the restaurant suddenly froze.
Twenty years ago, a woman named Vivian was crowned queen in the capital.
At the age of twenty-three, she consolidated most of the power within five years, completely sidelining the incompetent old king, and then launched sweeping reforms in the kingdom, the first of which was the complete abolition of the slave trade.
The reforms naturally faced fierce resistance from vested interests, but they were all brutally suppressed by the Rose Knights directly under the queen.
This queen, with her iron fist, forcibly revived the dying Moen Kingdom, but it also wore her down, causing her to die prematurely.
Having said this, everyone probably guessed that this woman, later known as the "Rose Queen," was the mother of Roderick and Krinhild, the former regent of the Moen Kingdom.
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the queen's death. The slave trade, which had been suppressed in the past, has made a comeback.
A tinge of anger appeared on Krinhild's usually gentle face, and Roland slammed his fist on the table, nearly knocking over the dishes.
"Those bastards, we didn't kill enough of them back then!"
He was one of the last members of the Rose Knights, and the knight's shield engraved with a crimson rose still hung in his room.
Krinhild was furious; the abolition of the slave trade was one of her mother's proudest achievements. To this day, she still remembered her mother, ungracefully akimbo, boasting to her four- or five-year-old self.
"Little Hilde, Mommy did a great job this time, maybe I saved thousands of people. Don't suck your fingers! Quick, clap for Mommy!"
She was a gentle, strict, yet humorous mother, like sunshine, and the last backbone bestowed upon this decaying country by heaven.
(It's only been five years, only five years since Mother passed away…)
Krinhild's knuckles turned white as she clenched her fists. She looked at Siegfried, trying her best to use the surrounding light spirits to see this man's intentions, but found nothing. She could only tentatively ask:
"Mr. Siegfried, you must have a reason for bringing this up."
Siegfried waved his hand, signaling everyone to calm down, before slowly saying:
"We'll attend this auction and buy slaves…"
Bang!
Roland slammed his fist on the table again, roaring angrily:
"Are you kidding me?! Do you know what you're saying?!"
Katarina quickly pulled Roland, "Teacher, there must be a reason for Sir Merlin to say this."
"What reason could there be?!"
Krinhild said nothing, but her gloomy expression clearly showed her displeasure.
"Uh… don't fight, everyone…" The cute half-elf boy, Darren, tearfully tried to mediate, but his voice was too soft and was easily drowned out by the furious Roland.
Siegfried coldly watched this scene, his gaze sweeping across everyone, his expert cold reading skills in full swing.
(Krinhild and Roland will oppose my opinion. Katarina has begun to unconditionally trust me, good. Darren… still neutral, but worth winning over… hm? Why is Bobo so quiet?)
Analyzing the internal power distribution was the reason he spoke in this fragmented way.
In the future, some of his methods would inevitably be questioned. To avoid this, preparations must be made from now on.
"Are you finished?" A cold voice rang out perfectly, like a bucket of ice water instantly extinguishing the boiling restaurant. "Once you're done, let's continue."
Yang Jing expressionlessly scanned everyone. She now understood why these people were easily defeated by Roderick—they were a rabble.
Siegfried gave Yang Jing a grateful wink, receiving a look of disdain…
He coughed and continued to calmly narrate his plan:
"...…"
"...…"
"...…"
"Understand?"
A strange atmosphere began to permeate the restaurant.
If this atmosphere were to be named, it would undoubtedly be called "conspiracy."
"Sir Merlin, you're so insidious… but I like it!" Katarina continued to flatter Siegfried.
Krinhild lowered her head, but her shoulders trembled slightly as she suppressed her laughter.
"This isn't appropriate… this completely violates the knightly spirit…" Roland, the model knight who loved ambushes, said these righteous words with a look of eagerness.
A cold smile bloomed on Siegfried's face. Everyone realized that whenever this man showed this expression, someone was about to suffer.
"I believe this auction will be very exciting!"