Chapter 194 A Game with No Losers

Steam was wafting out of the white ceramic teapot, and the temperature in the room was rising rapidly.

At the same time, in the conference hall downstairs, the same thing happened. An invisible bloody war was turning from a contest of drums and gongs to hand-to-hand combat.

The faces in the conference hall were like red-hot charcoal fires, even replacing the blazing fireplace, making the air in the entire conference hall hot.

At first, the wealthy people on Queen Street were still participating in the bidding competition, but as the price gradually approached the 100,000 mark, even those who were wealthy couldn't help but feel uneasy and wondered whether it was worth it.

At the same time, the nobles sitting on the second floor were just the opposite. The increasingly high prices did not calm them down, but made them even more fanatical.

As the servant of the Earl of South Valley raised the price to three hundred thousand, the atmosphere at the scene reached a climax.

Andor, who was sitting at the edge of the venue, had his eyes wide open, almost bulging out, and his neck was as red as a pig's liver. His daughter Lucy, who was holding his arm, couldn't catch her breath and fainted with her head tilted back.

And it was not just their family that experienced a similar situation. The entire venue was filled with sounds of exclamations.

"Three hundred thousand each time!"

The host took the towel from the waiter and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Before he could shout out the next sentence, another shout came from the audience, making his heart leap into his throat.

“Three hundred and fifty thousand!!”

A servant in a satin gown held up a sign.

Judging from the gold-rimmed embroidery of a sword and spear on his shoulder, he was a servant of Granston, Earl of North Dale, in the Duchy of Campbell.

When he shouted out the offer, the servant glanced around casually, and finally looked at the dumbfounded host, signaling him to do what he should do.

The host, who had just woken up from a dream, hurriedly threw away his towel and picked up the gavel, while Earl Winkdon of South Valley, who was sitting on the second floor, frowned heavily.

The two people started to compete with each other.

Looking at the irrational price, Andes rubbed the ring on his index finger. Although his expression remained calm, hot sweat still seeped out of his forehead.

It seemed that both he and the respected Mr. Colin were still too conservative and completely underestimated the wealth and vanity of the nobles of the Duchy of Campbell.

350,000 gold coins! For a city like Leiming City with a population of one million, with an annual income of 2.4 gold coins (24,000 copper coins) per capita and a tax rate of nearly 30%, excluding import and export taxes, commercial taxes, and consumption taxes, the annual income tax is only 720,000 gold coins! The income of the earldom ruled by the feudal lord is often not that high. For example, the villages around Leiming City only have an income of several thousand or tens of thousands of gold coins a year.

If we let them continue bidding, they might even spend several years' income of their own earldom in one go!

After repeatedly weighing the pros and cons, Andes finally made up his mind and raised the sign in his hand.

"Five hundred thousand gold coins!"

"Five hundred thousand gold coins! One, once! Praise to the generous Mr. Andes... Saint Siss!" The host trembled and knocked down the gavel in his hand. He almost lost his grip on the sweat-soaked handle of the gavel, causing it to fly out of his hand.

At the same time, he couldn't help shouting in his heart.

Saint Sith! Its value is already expensive enough, it can't continue to expand. Anyone can stop these crazy guys! The atmosphere at the scene was boiling, Punk clenched his fists, stared with wide eyes, looking at this absurd world he had never seen before.

In the corner of the venue, Andor stood up excitedly and almost threw his daughter who was holding his arm out.

Ten Morning Embrace hotels!

He thought he was rich enough to get the invitation to the dinner, but he didn't expect that he was still more than a dozen Queen Streets away from the real heaven.

If the pocket watch worth 10,000 gold coins was still within his cognition, then these 500,000 gold coins completely made him lose his mind.

Even if he and his deceased father worked hard for ten lifetimes, they would never be able to earn so much money!

Standing in the middle of the boiling crowd, the servants of the Earl of North Valley and South Valley almost in unison cast their glances towards Andes.

Their eyes narrowed slightly, with a dangerous look flashing in surprise, like hungry wolves in the Silver Pine Forest.

But they didn't have an attack.

Because their master hasn't let them do that yet.

Andes stood up calmly, turned around and bowed slightly to the guests behind him, then cleared his throat and spoke.

"Please forgive my gaffe. When I saw this diamond, my mind went blank. I had only one thought: only a true crown and an eternal legend are worthy of this shining light."

"Mr. Colin presented it as a gift to Her Royal Highness the Princess and the Principality of Campbell. As an ordinary citizen of Thunder City, I would like to present it as a gift to the honorable Grand Duke Edward to congratulate him on his ascension to the throne and the future prosperity of the Principality of Campbell!"

As soon as he finished speaking, thunderous applause broke out in the conference hall.

The applause also calmed down the two nobles sitting in the box on the second floor, resolving the conflict invisibly.

Looking at Mr. Andes sitting down elegantly and the two servants returning to their seats, Punk, who was sitting at the table and applauding, could only feel admiration in his heart.

This speech not only gave the two earls enough face, but also implicitly pointed out that it would be an act of usurpation for the two earls to continue fighting. At the same time, it also took advantage of the situation to do a favor for the Campbell family.

Sure enough, no one continued to bid.

certainly.

The person he admired most was his master, Mr. Colin.

The distinguished gentleman played with the diamond in a variety of ways. He not only won the heart of Her Royal Highness the Princess, but also used the prestige of the Campbell family to invisibly raise the price of the diamond. In the end, it was the Andes family's money that was spent, and the latter was willing to pay.

The most important thing is that there is no loser in this game in the end. A diamond changes hands several times, and everyone gets what they want. No one hates his master because of it.

Amidst applause, the host standing on the stage struck the gavel for the third time, and finally threw away the hammer that had long been soaked with sweat with a sense of relief, and announced the winner of this precious item.

Saint Sith above——

It was finally over! After all these years in the industry, this was the first time he was so eager to end it that he couldn't even say anything to inspire others until the very last moment.

The auction is still going on.

One after another, there appeared manuscripts of famous musicians, marble busts of unknown people, lifelike oil paintings, or jewelry donated by a noble lady.

Although these things were sold at good prices, they were still overshadowed by the shining "Eye of Irene" and were not as good as the pocket watch that first appeared.

Punk did not stay at the auction the whole time. Instead, he went to the balcony on the second floor at the agreed time and handed the pocket watch to Mr. Colin.

"Mr. Andes asked me to say hello to you on his behalf. Also... he wants to make an appointment with you to discuss future cooperation."

Luo Yan took the golden pocket watch in his hand and looked at it for a moment. He used the "Alchemy Eye" to see through its internal structure, and at the same time confirmed his guess.

This so-called dwarven craft is no different from the common mechanical watches on Earth. The core is the tourbillon and long mainspring, which recover and store power.

The first relevant technology on Earth was born in the 18th century, and the level of civilization on the continent of Os was around this time.

In addition, the dwarf who made this thing was quite clever. He set up a locking structure on the tourbillon. Violent dismantling would cause the metal parts inside to twist into a ball.

This is of little use to magic, but most magicians don't delve into this kind of thing.

For example, he is too lazy to study.

"Let's do it now." After closing the watch cover, Luo Yan put the pocket watch into his pocket and said to Punk who was waiting on the side.

Punk hesitated slightly.

"But Her Royal Highness the Princess..."

Luo Yan said casually.

"She needs to calm down for a while. Go there for me in five minutes and tell her that Mr. Andes is so kind and I can't leave for a while. I hope Her Royal Highness will understand. I will apologize to her in person later."

The wine that has been brewed needs to be sealed and left for a while so that it will taste better.

Although it is fun to appreciate her helpless look, it will make her lose face over time and ultimately backfire.

At this time, taking a step back would be more meaningful than taking a step forward, and this is why he chose to come out for some fresh air at this time.

As for striking while the iron is hot, that is a quick way to get by.

But what Luo Yan needed was not something so superficial, but that after she calmed down, her mind would be filled with random thoughts about him.

Punk didn't ask any more questions. He carefully wrote down Mr. Colin's instructions, stood on the balcony, looked at his watch and started counting the time.

As for Luo Yan himself, he left the balcony and walked towards the other side of the corridor.

Mr. Andes' servant was already waiting there.

The gentleman in formal attire bowed respectfully to him and then took him to a box not far away.

The two parties still need to discuss in depth the details of the cooperation on "Colin Mining Company", especially the proportion of capital contribution and shareholding of both parties.

Luo Yan believed that Mr. Andes had already prepared a satisfactory plan for the idea of ​​selling standards that he had proposed earlier.

Otherwise, he would not have spent a huge sum of 500,000 gold coins to show his sincerity.

…

On the other side, Punk, looking at his watch, came to the door of Princess Irene's box and knocked on the door. It was exactly five minutes.

The door was opened by the princess's female guard.

Punk did not dare to be careless and conveyed Mr. Colin's meaning exactly as he had instructed, and then hurriedly left.

Knowing that Colin would not be able to come back for a while, Irene Campbell was relieved, but she couldn't help feeling a little lost.

Honestly, she had no idea what he was thinking.

At first she thought that he was attracted to her, but before she began to feel troubled, he walked away and made her unsure.

Maybe it was just his own wishful thinking? Maybe he didn't think that much.

She could feel the admiration in those eyes, but she couldn't see what kind of emotion was hidden behind that admiration.

That ambiguous feeling made her mood unable to completely calm down, just like the restless chirping of cicadas in summer.

"Theresa, do you think there is really someone in this world who would give away such a precious treasure just out of appreciation?"

Hearing the princess' question, Theresa closed the door and returned to the tea table, stunned for a few seconds, then gave her answer hesitantly.

"I'm sorry, Princess, I have no experience in this area... but I don't think so."

"So it really is 'like'?" Irene sighed softly, holding her chin with both hands, and said in a joking tone, "It's really puzzling. I didn't expect that I would become the sinful woman in the story."

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After being together for such a long time, Theresa could of course tell that Her Royal Highness was joking, but the slightly upturned corners of her lips made her undecided.

After considering for a long time, she spoke cautiously.

"Your Highness, I don't know much about Mr. Colin. We can't find out much information about him, but I think if he is the same kind of person as your brother, Archduke Edward, they probably don't have feelings of 'liking' each other."

"I know, replacing the word 'like' with 'want to get' might be more accurate. Don't think I don't understand anything. I just don't like expressions that don't understand romance..."

Irene sighed slowly, her bright eyes sparkling with wisdom.

"But don't you think that no matter what his purpose is in approaching me, it's not a loss for us?"

The funds raised from this charity gala have far exceeded her expectations. Not only can they accommodate the refugees outside Thunder City, but they can also do more.

In contrast, she didn't really give anything, and Mr. Colin didn't ask her to do anything using the power of the Campbell family.

In that case, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with me playing the role of a little girl who admired him, not to mention that his manners and manners were quite pleasing.

Although Irene did not show her emotions on her face, the slightly raised corners of her lips still revealed her pride.

It was like solving a difficult problem that no one knew how to solve in the palace course.

Theresa admitted that Her Royal Highness the Princess was very smart. She even commissioned her to do field research to understand the different prices in different areas of Thunder City, which was something many nobles were unwilling to do.

However, this is also what worries her.

She remembered her father once said that the reason their family had been able to last for so long was not because the successive heads of the family were so smart, but precisely because they were not smart.

They will always be loyal to the Campbell family and will always be the sword in the hand of Grand Duke Campbell, and will not be so smart as to bet between the two princes.

However, seeing the princess's enthusiastic and stubborn look, she couldn't bear to disturb her enjoyment.

At least for now, the mysterious imperial nobleman did not show any blatant ambitions. He simply expressed his admiration for Her Royal Highness the Princess and behaved in a gentlemanly and proper manner.

If he really had any bad intentions, it wouldn't be too late for her to warn him or advise him...

…

As time went by, the auction gradually came to an end, but Mr. Colin, who had left in the middle, had not returned yet.

Irene didn't take it too seriously at first. She just drank her tea gracefully, enjoying the tranquility of being alone, and chatting with Theresa from time to time.

However, the two of them were too familiar with each other, and Theresa couldn't say anything new, let alone relax and talk freely with her.

Gradually feeling a little bored, Irene's thoughts flew to the distant north, to the academy located on the tundra.

Mr. Colin had just mentioned the willow trees that strike people, and the Thestrals that can only be seen by those who have had a brush with death.

I really wonder what else is out there on that vast land.

Just when the bored Irene was about to ask Theresa to go and see what was going on and how long the presumptuous Mr. Andes would take up his time, there was finally a knock on the door.

Almost at the moment when the knock on the door sounded, Princess Irene, who had been distracted the second before, immediately sat up straight, adjusted the teacup on the tray, and put on the appearance of a dignified lady again.

Seeing Her Royal Highness the Princess perking up in an instant, Theresa smiled helplessly in her heart, walked to the door of the room and opened it.

"...I am truly sorry, Your Highness, for keeping you waiting for so long." Looking at Princess Irene who was sitting at the table, Luo Yan made an apologetic expression and nodded slightly.

Seeing Mr. Colin apologizing sincerely, Irene, who was not angry at all, smiled and said in a joking voice.

"So how are you going to compensate me?"

Luo Yan said respectfully.

"But at your command."

Irene said with a smile.

"What if I want you to bring me the head of the devil?"

"I have to admit that this is a challenging task for me," Luo Yan showed a troubled expression on his face, "but if it is your wish, I will work hard in this direction and try to hone my skills."

"I'm kidding, dear Mr. Colin. You've already done so much for me. How can I ask you to do more? Besides, defeating the Demon King is the duty of the Campbell royal family. I have no intention of giving this glorious mission to others."

Looking at Mr. Colin who seemed to take her words seriously, Irene blinked playfully, feeling a little proud in her heart.

It seems that he cares about me more than I care about him.

Her previous anxiety and Theresa's reminder made her feel a little uneasy and even suspicious, but now it seems completely unnecessary.

The initiative is always in your hands.

She could easily control him if she wanted to.

However, Princess Irene did not realize at this moment that the reason she thought so was because someone deliberately made her think so.

Looking at Irene with a confident smile on her face, Luo Yan also showed a gentle smile on his face and said respectfully.

"If that's the case, then I should hone my skills even more so that I can be relied upon by you one day."

That sincere smile was like warm sunshine, which made Irene's heart beat faster subconsciously and she almost lost her way.

But she quickly came to her senses, maintained her dignified demeanor, and gracefully invited Mr. Colin to sit opposite her.

The two spent the rest of the time in a friendly atmosphere.

It's enough that you have said dirty words that make people think too much. It would be impolite to say more.

Luo Yan did not add any more unnecessary details, but continued to talk about his campus life which had been artistically processed and things about the "Kao Continent".

Especially the second half, he had just told it to Mr. Andes, and now was a good time to repeat it before he forgot it.

To avoid inconsistencies.

And Irene acted as a listener and asked questions that curious her from time to time.

But it is obvious that the little girl is more curious about Xuebang’s wizard tower than the New World.

In this way, tonight's banquet came to an end in a friendly atmosphere, and the satisfied guests left one after another.

Before leaving, Irene put on a robe and, accompanied by Theresa, sent Luo Yan to the gate of the manor.

Looking at Mr. Colin standing next to the carriage, she spoke with sincerity in her eyes in a clear and pleasant voice.

"Thank you for your gift. Although my time with you was brief, it was a pleasure. I look forward to seeing you again."

Luo Yan said with a smile.

"Me too. This is the most enjoyable night I've had since I left home. I wish you a good dream tonight. Also, maybe you misunderstood something. I was just about to give you that mysterious gift..."

Just about to?

Irene was slightly stunned.

"Isn't it the diamond——"

Before she finished her words, someone had already grasped her right hand.

A warm, familiar touch soaked into her palm.

When she came to her senses, the kind and considerate gentleman had already sat in the carriage, and there was a golden pocket watch in her palm.

"It's just a pocket watch to me, but it's priceless to you. I'd rather have it by your side than possess it."

"Remember to write to me if you encounter difficulties next time. Don't lose it again."

(End of this chapter)