Miconia frowned, clenched her teeth, and angrily scolded: “Don’t think you’ll start being arrogant after just a few minutes.”
“I say that because I respect you and think you are a genius. You should know, I am the owner here.”
“I don’t care if you are a genius, a dragon, or a tiger. If you are a tiger, keep your tail down; if you are a dragon, you must also lie still.”
“If you are a genius, then… you must obey the rules of this place.”
Hearing that, the old butler sighed and patted Miconia’s shoulder. She also knew what the housekeeper wanted to say, but she was too angry and didn’t want to continue pretending.
However, Lathel was not angry at all; he laughed loudly: “Hahahaha… that’s right, this is exactly the Miconia I used to know.”
“You…” Miconia gritted her teeth and wanted to say something.
However, Lathel continued speaking, interrupting her words: “Okay, I didn’t come here to cause trouble; I want to cooperate with you.”
“Cooperate with me? Hahahaha…” Miconia covered her mouth and smiled contemptuously: “Lathel, I know you are a genius, but you are a magician; I am a businessman; there is nothing in common between us to cooperate.”
“Well then, I hope you won’t regret today’s decision.”
After Lathel finished speaking, he turned around and left without explaining or continuing to persuade Miconia.
Seeing that, she opened her mouth and felt even more angry: ‘Oy! Are you crazy? I just said something to tease you, but you just left?’
‘Are you a man? At least explain a bit about how you want to cooperate.’
Miconia felt like crying. She had met countless people, but… only Lathel made her feel confused.
It seems that his way of thinking and acting is completely different from that of normal people.
“Miss, you…”
“AAA!!” Miconia shouted, interrupting the old housekeeper’s words. She shouted: “I understand; stop talking.”
“Oy! Lathel, what do you want to cooperate on?”
Lathel did not stop walking; he held Akna’s hand and continued to walk towards the main gate of the auction centre.
Miconia saw Lathel not paying attention to her and gritted her teeth; however, she was also very interested in the cooperation he mentioned.
In the end, she decided to put aside her arrogance, so she hastily chased after Lathel.
She reached out and grabbed his arm. Lathel felt the softness of Miconia’s hands and felt happy because his plan had succeeded.
“Hm?! I thought you didn’t want to cooperate with me. After all, you are the owner of the largest auction centre in Karol; how can you pay attention to a small noble like me?”
Miconia: ( ＃ `Д′)
“You… Lathel, don’t think you’re a genius or that I’m afraid of you.”
“Hahahaha… okay, I won’t joke with you anymore. Let’s find another place to talk, okay?”
Miconia frowned and looked around, then nodded slightly.
…
In the reception room, Lathel sat on the sofa. Akna was now sitting next to him and no longer standing behind him.
Miconia frowned at Lathel, then looked at Akna, feeling a bit confused.
“You are a noble, yet you like maids?”
Hearing Miconia’s question, Lathel just smiled and asked: “Is that a violation of this empire’s rules?”
“That… doesn’t violate any rules; it’s just… If you do that, you will easily be looked down upon by others and become a fool in everyone’s eyes.”
“Miconia” Lathel said in an extremely cold voice: “I came here to cooperate, not for you to insult my woman; do you understand?”
Miconia took a deep breath, feeling that Lathel was completely different from the person she had first met.
She clearly remembered the first time she met him; he seemed to be a coward, afraid of trouble, and a little interesting.
But now he is extremely confident, cold, and full of murderous intent. It was as if the Lathel now and the Lathel she first met were two completely different people.
“I… I just wanted to remind you.”
“Thank you for your good intentions; however, even if my woman is a maid, I will still make her happy.” Lathel spoke as he held Akna’s hand tightly, making Akna feel extremely happy.
“Besides… would a giant listen to ants saying bad things? As long as my status is high enough and I am strong enough, what I do is not wrong.”
Miconia frowned. She understood what Lathel was talking about. However, he was right.
If he is someone with unfathomable power, then what he said is true.
At that time, the fact that he is love with a maid would be respected by everyone, and it would be said that he does not discriminate between classes.
But if he is not strong enough, then falling in love with a maid would tarnish his noble status.
Status, authority, strength… as long as he has all three of those things, any of his words or actions will become the truth.
“Besides… Miconia…” Lathel suddenly frowned and said: “Iritellis is a gift that I really like; should I thank you?”
Miconia was startled when she heard that, silently complaining in her heart: ‘Tsk! This bastard… did he come for revenge?’
“That… hahahaha…” Miconia forced a smile: “I feel like you really like that girl, so I deliberately did that so you could own her.”
“What’s wrong? Is there anything special about her that makes you like her? Or is…”
“Okay, stop pretending to be stupid.” Lathel smiled and said: “I don’t care about your stupid jokes either. I came here to discuss our cooperation.”
“What do you want to cooperate about? This place only has the function of auctioning and selling a few normal items.” Miconia crossed her arms and shrugged.
“Do you want to let the auction centre forever stand still without developing?” Lathel was not in a hurry. He took out a pot of tea that he had prepared and poured it into two wooden glasses.
He gave a cup of tea to Akna, and he held one. When Miconia saw this scene, she was so angry that she wanted to stand up and scold him in the face.
‘Damn it! In what way am I inferior to that little maid?’
‘I have beauty, a noble position, great power, and I am also very rich.’
‘Are you willing to give her tea but not give me a cup of tea?’
‘You are blind!’
Miconia said angrily: “The smell of the tea is very fragrant; can I have a cup?”
“Sorry, I’m not in the habit of sharing glasses with others.” Lathel said, smiling.
“You…” Miconia was about to say that she could drink from the same glass as Akna.
However, she remembered that Akna was just a servant and if she did so, her honour would be lowered.
In the end, Miconia could only swallow her anger.
“What do you mean?” Miconia returned to the main topic: “Currently, Karol Auction Centre’s business is very good; why do you say I am stagnating?”
Lathel smiled: “Miconia, you don’t have to hide it, you know this place better than anyone.”
“The Karol Auction Centre, although named Karol, is not under the control of the laws of the Karol Empire.”
“On the contrary, this place is like an autonomous region, which is why adventurers and criminals alike consider this place a paradise.”
“Banned substances, tax evasion, arrest warrant evasion… Miconia, do you think a place like this can develop?”
“Besides… do you think the Empire would let a knife lying at their side grow strong?”
Miconia gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with surprise. She didn’t think Lathel could identify the problems here.
Just as Lathel said, this place is filled with criminals, tax-
evasion goods, and banned substances.
For the Karol empire, this place was like a thorn that needed to be removed. But the Dorrack Mainland Commercial Association was like a giant monster; that’s why Catheryne couldn’t touch this place.
However, even though Catheryne cannot remove this thorn, she still has a way to limit its growth.
Criminals, tax evasion goods, and banned substances can only be consumed within this area and cannot be brought into Karol.
In the end, this place was like a giant cage holding a bunch of criminals. The Karol Empire’s job is to prevent the criminals in this area from entering Karol.
Miconia still maintained her arrogance, frowned, and said: “Have you said enough? Are you blind? Haven’t you seen how many nobles this place attracts to an auction?”
“Hahahaha…” Lathel suddenly laughed loudly: “Miconia, do you really not know, or are you pretending not to know?”
“What is the profit from the auction? I think you know best.”
“Do you think you can survive and thrive with just that little money? As we see from the outside, it’s chaotic, smelly, and full of darkness.”
“If you can’t even guarantee something as basic as security, how can you develop this place?”
“That’s why, Miconia, I guess you can only maintain this place for a few more years.”
“What?!” Miconia angrily stood up, her eyes filled with annoyance, and said: “What the hell are you talking about? I have existed here for more than 60 years, and I… I will continue to grow stronger.”
Lathel looked at Miconia and did not rush to refute. He took a sip of tea, then exhaled as if he were enjoying tea.
“Miconia, I don’t know if you’re naive, stupid, or overconfident.” Lathel sighed and said: “Do you think the Queen is a fool to let you operate freely here?”
Hearing Lathel’s words, Miconia frowned. She slowly sat down, tried to calm down, and asked: “What do you mean?” After all, I have been doing business in this place for more than 60 years, and there have never been any problems.”
“That’s why what you just said is hard to believe. If the Queen of this Empire did not want me here, she would have used every means to destroy me long ago.”
Lathel shook his head and said: “You have the right to stay here because the Queen wants it.”
“You…”
“There are two things you should know.” Lathel immediately interrupted Miconia’s words: “First of all, Catheryne let you do business here because at that time she was worried about the organisation behind you, the Dorrack mainland merchant association.”
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