July, the air in Brags seemed to be filled with a kind of heat that made people restless.
Beneath the calm surface, dark currents surged. It was foreseeable that the nobles, big and small, had been in a state of panic for the past half month. In their circles, the signs of the war ending were becoming increasingly apparent. Although the lives of the lower-class citizens remained as usual, those who wanted to take advantage of the situation were gradually becoming anxious and restless.
The citizens often saw one messenger horse after another entering the city. Those who were unaware thought that the war was urgent, but these letters one after another conveyed the progress of the negotiations inside Winter Rose Castle.
As a result, the civilians were anxious all day long, and the nobles were also anxious all day long.
But all of this had nothing to do with Brand. The young man was steadily following his schedule. He had spent three days pulling strings to get a Pioneer Knight registration certificate. It was a document that recorded the mutual loyalty and responsibilities between knights and monarchs, stamped with a seal.
This thin parchment was as valuable as gold a few years ago, but as Erune gradually declined, the knight class fell into local Dead Hard forces, and adventurers turned to illegal businesses. No one was passionate about expanding the territory for this ancient kingdom, which resulted in the ’Pioneer Knight’ title gradually becoming obscure.
Since the Ancestor King took the throne, the nobles who had earlier profited from their Pioneer Knight status began to openly sell this title. Since then, the value of this paper had increasingly diminished.
To obtain this identity, Brand did exactly what he used to do in games. All it took was for Batom to buy a pretty dress for the wife of a local official.
He received the document on the eleventh. On this day, the Limp Man brought him another piece of good news— the underground trading fair he had been waiting for had finally arrived.
Just like the markets that periodically appeared in some regions, the grey domain of Brags held an underground trading fair at the beginning and middle of each month. However, the goods sold at this fair were mostly stolen items, contraband, and even human trafficking. There was no need to be surprised because, apart from mercenaries and adventurers, and illegal merchants, the most involved participants were none other than the rule-makers of Brags.
Undoubtedly, the underground market was controlled by local underground forces, but it was also an open secret that some nobles had their hands in it.
And all that was needed was to conceal this from the ordinary citizens who needed a peaceful and stable facade.
The underground trading fair of Brags was regularly held at Maria Market in the Hude District or Shepherd Market in the East District. The organizers intentionally chose densely populated areas to better cover their tracks. But observant individuals would often notice that these two places would see a large number of unfamiliar faces, talking and mingling, only to hurriedly leave the next morning.
Especially since these two markets included small rental auction houses—obviously, this was just a surface excuse. In reality, these auction houses were built almost exclusively for the regular fair.
If you were to investigate their owners, you’d find they were listed under some unremarkable nearby merchant. But if you dug deeper, you’d discover that these two buildings were actually funded by the local Noble Council.
Of course, all of that is beside the point.
When Batom led Brand off the carriage, the sunset in Brags was like an orange-red fireball in the namesake painting, hanging on the horizon, dyeing the surrounding clouds red.
Facing this fiery sunset light, the young man wore a knight uniform, pressed neatly. Wizard Apprentice Char stood by his side to help them disguise themselves as the identity on their invitation—a Highland Knight from Karasu and his servant apprentice.
Of course, there was also Brand’s sister, whom he led off the carriage, disguised as Titi, and his fiancée, Miss Roman.
As soon as Titi got off the carriage, she discreetly withdrew her hand from Brand’s. She wore a black veil and a black gown, her eyes reflecting a layer of indifferent light as she gazed at the people coming and going outside the small auction hall.
The girl lightly pressed her lips together, her disposition now completely different from a few days ago. If the first time she met Brand gave him the impression of a delicate and pitiable girl, now she had become cold, exuding an aura that kept strangers at a distance.