In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 83

A small space in a corner of the Imperial Economic Department.
The room contained nothing but a platform at the front and about ten chairs lined up.
Here, today, like any other day, a public auction was held.
“Public auction” was mainly used when nobles or wealthy merchants wanted to safely sell their assets.
It was a preferred method because, by paying a small commission on the sale price of the item, the entire process was placed under the authority of the imperial family, preventing unnecessary gossip.
The government official, with a bored expression, flipped through the documents of the auction he had to conduct.
“Some noble from the Northwest has put up an unused coal mine because of debt.
What a good life they have.
If they have a lot of things and run out of money, they can just dispose of them one by one like this.”
It was an ordinary day, with boring thoughts passing by.
Especially today’s auction was a simple bidding method where one just wrote the bid price on an envelope and submitted it, so there was nothing more to prepare.
“I hope it doesn’t get canceled…”
Since public auctions were held so frequently, there were occasional cases where no bidders appeared and the auction was canceled.
And an old coal mine at that.
The item up for auction was not very promising, which caused more concern.
If it was canceled, they would have to hold the auction one more time, increasing the workload.
Click.
Just then, as if to quell that worry, someone opened the door and entered.
“You can sit at the front here…”
The auctioneer, who was mechanically guiding, stopped speaking.
“Ah, Angenas…”
“That’s right. I’m from the Dyurak Merchant Guild.”
It was Croyton Angenas, the head of the Angenas family’s merchant guild.
He had become very famous after the “Coroi” business, which was a huge success throughout the empire, so there was no one living in the capital who didn’t know him.
How rich he seemed.
His skin seemed to glow, and the quality of his clothes was different from that of ordinary people.
“Please, please sit here.”
“Thank you.”
The auctioneer quickly offered the front-most chair, still bewildered.
Behind him were a few representatives from small and medium-sized merchant guilds, but they all reacted the same way as the auctioneer.
“Why is Angenas here…?”
They all whispered from afar, unable to even come closer.
A conversation ensued, suggesting that since Angenas participated, there might be more coal left in the Lyra Mine than they thought.
The head of the Dyurak Merchant Guild, as if enjoying their reactions, sat with his arms crossed, a satisfied smile on his face, and simply closed his eyes.
Just then, the door opened again.
The auctioneer, who had been staring blankly at the head of the Angenas Merchant Guild, unconsciously turned his head in that direction, and his eyes widened as if they would pop out.
“Gasp!”
He was so surprised that he couldn’t even speak and swallowed his breath.
And the same reaction came from the other people in the auction house.
“Am I dreaming in broad daylight?”
“No, no, I’m seeing it too.”
A commotion broke out in the small auction house.
The head of the Dyurak Merchant Guild, who had been enjoying the attention of everyone, quietly opened his closed eyes.
“Hmm. They’ve arrived.”
Those who had just entered the auction house were people from Lombardi.
Romassie Dillard, the head of the Lombardi Merchant Guild, and Vestian Schulz of the Mining Company.
The attention that had been on the head of the Dyurak Merchant Guild instantly shifted to them.
The head of the Dyurak Merchant Guild felt a little regretful, but he didn’t care much, as he would gain a greater profit shortly.
He simply stood up and greeted the two.
“Greetings, both of you.”
“Oh, we meet here.”
“Long time no see, Head of Dyurak Merchant Guild.”
Romassie Dillard laughed heartily and shook hands.
Meanwhile, Croyton and Vestian exchanged subtle glances.
It was a sign to proceed with the plan as they had discussed beforehand.
Vestian nodded, pretending to greet.
A few days ago, their conspiracy was almost exposed, but Vestian did not change his plan.
Judging by Florentia’s reaction, he believed she hadn’t heard anything.
Otherwise, a child with something to hide couldn’t smile so brightly.
“Oh, I don’t know what’s going on…”
“Indeed. Angenas and Lombardi.
It seems the Lyra Mine is a much bigger deal than we thought.”
“Damn, today’s auction is a bust.”
After Lombardi appeared, everyone gave up on bidding in the auction itself.
They might have been able to compete with the Angenas Merchant Guild, but Lombardi was on a different level.
They knew their way of doing things: if they wanted something, they would call out a price several times higher and take it no matter what.
Similarly, the auctioneer, who had been staring blankly at Lombardi and Angenas sitting side by side, stood up.
There were still a few minutes left until the auction started, but there was no point in waiting any longer with Lombardi even present.
As the auction showed signs of starting, the murmuring inside the room quieted down.
Clunk.
It was then that the sound of the door opening again was heard.
The person who entered the auction house alone was a tall, handsome man.
The man, after glancing around the interior, stepped inside with a leisurely stride.
Unlike when they saw the famous figures from the two families, people were indifferent.
But then an unexpected reaction burst out.
It was from the people of Lombardi and Angenas.
“No, no!”
“How could you…”
“Clerivan Pellet?”
Unlike the three, who were startled and fidgeting in their seats, Clerivan remained calm.
He nodded in greeting, then sat down casually in an unoccupied middle seat and crossed his legs.
“Huh?…”
Romassie Dillard, in particular, was so surprised by his son’s sudden appearance that he half-stood up.
The head of the Dyurak Merchant Guild and Vestian exchanged silent glances, then frowned.
“Th-then, let’s… start the auction.”
The auctioneer, who had been watching them, checked the time and announced in a trembling voice.
“The minimum bid price is 700 gold.”
Each person attending the auction was given a blank piece of paper and an envelope.
It was a simple method where one wrote their bid amount on the paper, sealed it in the envelope, and submitted it, and the auctioneer would check it and the item would be awarded to the person who wrote the highest bid.
Neither the Dyurak Merchant Guild, nor Lombardi, nor Clerivan hesitated about how much to write.
As soon as they received the paper and pen, they immediately wrote down the number and sealed the envelope.
The people of Angenas and Lombardi, especially Vestian, kept glancing at Clerivan, but he, the recipient of their gaze, simply stared straight ahead with an air of nobility.
A moment later.
The auctioneer collected all the envelopes.
Only the rustling sound of envelopes being opened was heard, and a strange tension filled the auction room with silence.
“I will… announce the results.”
The auctioneer, following the procedure, announced the three bids that were closest to winning.
“First, the Dyurak Merchant Guild… 2000 gold.”
Vestian, with a smiling face, only rolled his eyes to look at the head of the Dyurak Merchant Guild.
He had clearly told him that 1800 gold would be enough.
The timid head of the Dyurak Merchant Guild, who didn’t trust Vestian, had ended up writing 200 gold more.
“And second, the Lombardi Merchant Guild is 1600 gold.”
The auction room became noisy again.
“So Angenas won?”
“That’s right. They bid 400 gold more.”
“Lombardi lost the property to Angenas…!”
Since everyone knew the subtle rivalry between Angenas and Lombardi, the repercussions were even greater.
Romassie Dillard, with a flushed face, looked at Vestian and asked in a low voice.
“What happened, Vestian?”
“Well…”
Vestian merely shook his head, as if troubled and not knowing the reason himself, and acted nonchalantly.
“1600 gold was more than enough…”
“For now, let’s talk later.”
Romassie Dillard was clearly angry, but he simply suppressed his boiling emotions in front of others.
“The announcement is not over yet.
Finally…”
The auctioneer raised his voice.
“Finally, Pellet Merchant Guild.”
The auctioneer swallowed hard as he looked at the number written on the paper.
“Pellet Merchant Guild… 2050 gold.”
The auction house was enveloped in shock and silence.
“Th-therefore, I… declare that the Lyra Mine has been awarded to the Pellet Merchant Guild.”
Thump, thump!
The cheerful sound of the wooden gavel echoed, but no one spoke.
Time seemed to freeze.
“Th-this is…”
The head of the Dyurak Merchant Guild, in particular, gasped for air like a goldfish out of water, shocked.
Creak.
Just then, Clerivan stood up, and his chair scraped against the floor.
The startled eyes of Vestian, the head of the Dyurak Merchant Guild, and his father, Romassie Dillard, looked at Clerivan in turn.
Clerivan, who had stood up and casually brushed off his clothes, finally looked at them.
One corner of his mouth subtly curled upwards.
“Well then.”
Clerivan nodded again, then moved his long legs and strode out of the auction room.
“No!”
The head of the Dyurak Merchant Guild screamed and clutched his head.
No one easily left their seats until the auctioneer followed Clerivan and quickly returned to his office with the documents.
***

The jewelry business was sailing smoothly.
Exactly two months after winning the bid for the Lyra Mine, the first raw gem came into the world.
Clerivan personally took it to Croyley of “Ivan,” and as I had said, the craftsman, who had “never seen a raw gem like it in his life,” almost knelt down, begging, “Please let me cut it.”
But the polishing was not easy.
How high was the hardness of the gem?
The tools Croyley had used until then were useless in front of the new raw gem.
However, the more that happened, the craftsman’s obsession grew stronger.
And two more months later.
The Pellet Merchant Guild’s jewelry store opened in Sedacuna.
“The gem doesn’t have a name yet. What would you like to name it, Lady Florentia?”
I answered Violet, who asked me that.
“Diamond. From now on, let’s call it diamond.”
Of course, as soon as the diamonds were unveiled, they sold like hotcakes.
Despite being ten times more expensive than ordinary jewels, pre-orders to Croyley continued endlessly.
It couldn’t be helped.
The beauty of diamonds was something that had never existed in the world before.
When the largest and most beautiful diamond among the first gems cut by Croyley was presented to the Emperor, the sound of Jovanes’s laughter could be heard even outside the central palace, which said it all.
“Ah, this is good.”
Sipping cool fruit juice and looking at the diamond sales report, it felt like heaven.
Perhaps because I stole it from Angenas, it tasted even sweeter and more delicious.
I reluctantly put down my empty juice glass and muttered, looking out the window.
“Then, shall we dig into Vestian a bit?”
The man who loved Shananet the most in the world, a gentle father to the twins, and the traitor of Lombardi who squeezed my shoulder so hard it felt like it would break, distorting his face.
It was time to figure out which of the two was his true face.