"Hello! I am Hadrian from Tiriel, and I am immensely grateful to Mr. Laine for giving me this opportunity. I have brought the gift I promised to Mr. Laine. May I come in?" At the door, a tall middle-aged man lightly tipped his hat in greeting, his attitude very sincere.
Thus, the door was opened.
A handsome, tall man walked in. He was dressed in luxurious silk clothes, with every detail of his attire refined enough, yet the excessive opulence adorning him appeared quite jarring, creating a strange discord and a sense of absurdity. Follow current novels on N0veI.Fiɾe.net
This alone revealed he was not truly of noble birth, as it only takes one generation to produce a nouveau riche, but three generations to cultivate a noble. Genuine noble temperament is forged through long-term refinement.
Clearly, this person was Hadrian.
"Hello, Mr. Hadrian!" Laine stood up, observing basic courtesy: "Pleasure to meet you!"
That morning, this wealthy merchant from the Southern Realm first promised to send him that Dark Elf and then single-handedly challenged the entire Lower House of Marinburg, which left a deep impression on Laine. Perhaps everyone regarded him as an absolute fool, but as the beneficiary, Laine did not share that sentiment.
"It is a great honor to meet you, Mr. Laine! I've long heard of your great name! You faced thousands of barbarians alone in the championship battle, exposed the Aesthetic Society's scandal, and killed the Blood God champion. I have always been your admirer. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to meet." Hadrian eagerly extended his hand to shake with Laine.
"Ha~ When a merchant spends over ten thousand Gold Marks just to meet me once, I have no reason to refuse his request to meet." Laine's tone held a hint of sarcasm and disbelief as he motioned for Hadrian to sit down. Amelia served two cups of hot milk for them, while the slaves and subordinates the merchant brought with him were not as fortunate, left waiting at the mansion's entrance in the heavy snow.
"Thank you." Hadrian gently sat across from Laine, holding the hot milk in both hands and somewhat impatiently said, "I merely wish to gain your friendship."
"No rush. It's a rare leisurely afternoon, and I've nothing pressing on my schedule. You can take your time to speak, no need to repeatedly stress this point." Laine could see that Hadrian seemed eager to clarify his intentions, so he gestured for Hadrian to take his time and speak freely.
"Thank you very much!" Seeing Laine not in a hurry, Hadrian was overjoyed. This big merchant from the Southern Realm paused to organize his words before bitterly smiling and saying, "I admit I was a bit impulsive at that time, Mr. Laine."
"You realize your impulsiveness? At that time, you practically faced all the major merchants and trade guilds of both Upper and Lower Houses alone. Anyone could see you were determined to acquire that Dark Elf, so the people behind kept maliciously inflating the price. Let me tell you, if it weren't for you, that Dark Elf would fetch at most six thousand Gold Marks, tops. Yet you spent twelve thousand Gold Marks." Laine smirked as he spoke, "You made it too obvious."
"But I just had to compete for that breath! Mr. Laine, I must let them understand, let those arrogant and conceited guys know that even merchants from the South don't lack wealth and power compared to them!" Hadrian said indignantly, making it clear he had accumulated a lot of grievances and anger.
After chatting for a while, Laine gradually understood why this merchant from the Southern Realm suddenly acted like a madman, crazily bidding against him, then spending several times the cost to buy a Dark Elf to gift as a favor. Honestly, Hadrian's behavior was a brainless act; twelve thousand Gold Coins was an astonishing sum, even in Marinburg. Not many merchants could spend such an amount at once.
Even if he wanted to associate with Laine, he shouldn't use such an extreme method. If Laine were a hot-headed fellow, he might have just blacklisted him first. This approach was gambling, and it was extremely foolish.
But Hadrian was fighting for that breath. Since coming to Marinburg, he had been oppressed for too long and too deeply.
This super-wealthy merchant from the Southern Realm encountered numerous troubles since arriving in Marinburg.
He was never able to blend into high society, nor could he ever receive equal treatment. Because he was from the Southern Realm, the merchants and nobles of Marinburg always treated him like a monkey. Several business deals led not only to financial losses, but his business partners repeatedly tormented him, guilds were constantly disengaged and demanding more benefits, almost everyone treated him as a fool.
The nobles' arrogance and disdain were blatantly clear in their words, and many merchants couldn't even bother to remember his name, dismissing him simply as a 'Southern Man.'
The trade caravans were repeatedly attacked, and the guards had poor attitudes too.
Hadrian had enough. He knew he had to do something.
"Uh... So you spent over twelve thousand Gold Marks just to complain to me about the injustices you faced? Hmm... I have to say, I'm not the best listener." Seeing Hadrian spill his heart's contents, Laine was truly at his wit's end. Although he was indeed renowned in Marinburg, it's a stretch to say he could help Hadrian open doors. People respected him because Laine was powerful, but that was only for one personally.