Speak of Cao Cao, and he appears.
Lord of Castrellero had just been looking for him!
“Boss.”
“The goods you mentioned—could it be this one I snatched back from the bandits?”
Lord of Castrellero asked knowingly.
Upon hearing this.
The boss was stunned.
He stared at the cage on the carriage and the horses pulling it.
The boss’s eyes widened in shock.
“Y-yes, yes!”
“That’s it!”
“Oh my!”
“I never thought I’d actually get it back!”
“Thank you so much, thank you!”
The boss was so excited he was practically dancing.
It took a while for him to calm down.
He reached out his hand, aiming to take the reins of the carriage from Lord of Castrellero.
“Hey!”
“Boss, you want to just take it back like that?”
Seeing the man try to claim the goods in the carriage after a few words of thanks, Lord of Castrellero was instantly displeased.
Upon hearing this.
The boss was dumbfounded.
Was this blond kid really so bold?
No matter how good-looking you are, you can’t just rob people in broad daylight, can you?
“Are you asking for a reward… or do you just want to keep my goods for yourself?”
The boss spoke as he looked pleadingly at the Captain of the Gendarmerie.
Facing the boss’s plea.
Captain David cleared his throat.
From a moral standpoint—
Helping someone recover stolen goods, it’s entirely reasonable and normal for the owner to offer a reward.
But usually, the owner is eager to give it!
This was the first time he had seen the helper ask for it themselves!
Especially someone like Lord of Castrellero—a noble!
Is he really that stingy?
Though he was a bit speechless inside,
In all fairness, he still chose to speak up for Lord of Castrellero.
“Those bandits weren’t ordinary people—their strength was nothing to scoff at.”
“They put in quite a bit of effort to get your goods back.”
“Whether by sentiment or reason, some reward is due, right?”
Upon hearing this.
The stall owner finally, though reluctantly, took out his money pouch.
“Uh, how much do you want?”
He had thought he could save the money by playing dumb.
Who would have thought that, dressed so luxuriously, Lord of Castrellero would be even more shameless than him!
Facing the reluctant boss.
Lord of Castrellero shook his head.
“No need for a reward.”
“I just happen to have my eye on your goods.”
“Name your price—if it’s reasonable, I’ll just take it.”
Upon hearing this.
The boss, who had been a hundred times unwilling, suddenly brightened up!
“Now that’s more like it!”
“Since you helped me recover these goods,”
“I’ll give you a special price—this much!”
As he spoke, the boss held up five fingers!
Seeing those five fingers.
Lord of Castrellero’s eyes widened.
“Still five hundred gold coins?!”
“That’s your special price?!”
Upon hearing this.
The boss was dumbfounded.
Wasn’t this his first time meeting Lord of Castrellero?
How did this guy know he had previously quoted five hundred gold coins?
Suspicious, he hesitantly added:
“And you’ll also need to add five hundred bags of magic crystals with purity over thirty.”
Upon hearing this.
Lord of Castrellero couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation.
He held up a single finger.
“This much.”
“Otherwise, we’ll just return the goods.”
Upon hearing this.
The stall owner gaped.
“Just one hundred bags of magic crystals?!”
Lord of Castrellero sneered:
“One hundred gold coins!”
Upon hearing this.
The stall owner’s face darkened.
“Y-you’re robbing me!”
Lord of Castrellero shook his head.
“How is this robbing you?”
He reached out and pointed to the two people tied up behind him.
“They are the ones who were robbing you.”
“If we hadn’t helped you recover these goods,”
“You wouldn’t have gotten a single coin!”
The boss was instantly put in a tough spot.
David chimed in from the side:
“Harsh words, but true.”
“You can choose not to give them any discount,”
“But you should be prepared—no one will ever help you recover your goods again!”
“Not to mention, this is our lord—Lord of Castrellero!”
“If he wanted to keep your goods, he wouldn’t even have to give you notice!”
“Now—”
Now that the previous misunderstanding was cleared up,
David’s impression of Lord of Castrellero was quite good.
No matter how petty this man was, at least he was a reasonable noble.
If you ran into an unreasonable one, it would be your good fortune if a noble lord took your property!
Hearing David’s stern persuasion,
The boss sighed.
“Fine, fine—one hundred gold coins it is!”
“You’re right—if you hadn’t recovered them, I wouldn’t have even gotten that much!”
“A loss is a loss.”
“Consider it my thanks to my benefactor!”
Knowing he was in the wrong, the boss could only swallow his complaints and accept the silent loss.
After closing the deal,
A smile finally appeared on Lord of Castrellero’s face.
“That’s more like it!”
He paid cheerfully, buying this Rare Magical Beast at a price that was nearly a steal!
On the way back.
Perika, who had witnessed the whole exchange, let out a soft sigh.
“My lord really is terrible.”
“Sending people to rob, then going himself to snatch the goods back.”
Hearing her helpless complaint,
Lord of Castrellero chuckled softly:
“What, do you think I’m terrible?”
Perika covered her mouth and giggled softly in response:
“No.”
“On the contrary,”
“I’m glad you have such methods and determination in this perilous world.”
As she spoke,
A wave of sadness flickered across Perika’s face.
“If only you had been like this earlier…”
“Your first half of life wouldn’t have been so forced.”
“No, that’s not right.”
“This isn’t the master’s fault!”
“It’s Perika who failed to fulfill her duties as a maid and protect you.”
Seeing Perika’s guilty expression, Lord of Castrellero felt helpless.
Although Perika had been put under house arrest after standing up for him, and Lord of Castrellero had intentionally hidden what happened that night,
But…
Even though Perika’s expressions rarely changed, her heart was anything but dull.
She had learned the truth from the Dark Guard, and even found the poison bottle in Lord of Castrellero’s bedroom trash bin.
As his personal maid, Perika’s heart was breaking.
Having grown up with Lord of Castrellero since childhood,
Perika knew all too well how kind he was.
Yet such a kind person was slandered for wanting to use Krexis, targeted by multiple assassination attempts, and she had been completely unaware…
Perika was deeply distressed.
But since Lord of Castrellero had hidden everything, she could only play along and pretend not to know.
Today, as the topic came up, Perika couldn’t help but grow sorrowful.
Seeing Perika suddenly become dejected,
Lord of Castrellero was at a loss.
“It’s not your fault…”
Unsure how to comfort her, Lord of Castrellero tentatively reached out and gently placed his hand on Perika’s head.
“Eh?!”
The moment Lord of Castrellero’s hand touched her, Perika jumped up like a startled rabbit.
“S-sorry, I just…”
Just as the atmosphere grew awkward,
Outside the carriage, a guard suddenly rushed over in a panic!