Chapter 57: The Battle for the Slots, Part 1

Soon, these dissatisfied guests had nothing left to say.

A gold necklace inlaid with emeralds was on display; just looking at its luster showed that it was not cheap.

A short dagger placed inside a brocade box looked plain on the outside, but the fact that it was sent out along with that necklace naturally meant it was extraordinary.

However, some people still held a tiny hope. For example, Weibor widened his eyes, hoping for a “miracle” to appear; but when Dart Tier, the son of this Baron, drew his longsword, that flash of cold light made his face turn ashen; obviously, he knew he had fallen into a true dead end, full of the scent of failure.

“Thank you!”

Lily Tier, dressed brilliantly for her father’s banquet, gently kissed Dean’s cheek when she received the necklace she loved so much—it did not contain any romantic love, but was only out of politeness; however, this clearly made the young people standing by burn with jealousy.

Undoubtedly, within Tier Territory, Lily Tier was like a bright pearl, held in the palms of many people, especially those young men who viewed her as their first flutter of emotion in their hearts—therefore, any young man who thought he had some ability became a suitor to this Miss.

However, not a single person had won this Miss’s favor.

Even so, few people could truly interact with this Miss—including events like afternoon tea, this Baron’s daughter politely rejected almost everything.

It was not arrogance; at least for events like hunting, this Baron’s daughter would attend as promised.

It was just simple likes and dislikes.

But in this way, those young men in Tier Territory admired this Miss even more—the ones you cannot get are always the best.

This applied at any time.

Dean felt the unfriendly gazes from the young people and did not care—as he had not cared about the people other than the Baron’s party present here earlier, he still did not care now.

A stone is always a stone; even placed on a table, it remains a stone.

Gold is always gold; even buried underground, it remains gold.

For the former, people would discard it like worn-out shoes; for the latter, people would swarm toward it, and even if it was tens or hundreds of meters underground, it could not stop their enthusiasm.

Obviously, those one or two young men with decent potential did not make Dean change his original intention—because their potential was merely “decent,” and this “decent” status, if viewed within Tier Territory, meant nothing across the entire Vauban County, and was even inferior to his two Militia Captains.

At least, one of the two Militia Captains had appeared in his memory, whereas these one or two had not existed at all.

Furthermore, they had now revealed strong hostility toward him.

Therefore, Dean felt he needed to “strangle” this hostility in its crib—

“Thank you!”

A smile appeared on Dean’s face, graceful yet elegant, and the noble aura belonging to a noble from head to toe was clearly revealed at this moment.

Seeing the Baron’s daughter’s surprised and confused look, Dean pointed to the cheek she had kissed and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, “This was the most sincere thanks I received tonight, so… thank you!”

“They were too unreasonable. It’s all because of that clown, Weibor!”

The Baron’s daughter clearly did not expect Dean to thank her for such a trivial matter, but the rather straightforward Baron’s daughter spoke her evaluation directly.

“A clown is always a clown. Whether he takes off his mask or wears it, his nature has not changed—did you see his ‘hardworking’ performance earlier? To be honest, it was really good!”

Dean said this with hidden meaning, but the Baron’s daughter only noticed the latter part of his words and immediately burst into a crisp laugh.

Such a crisp laugh only made those young men gnash their teeth in frustration.

However, the Baron Tier standing by was very satisfied. With a smile, he watched Dean and his daughter— if he could, he would not mind finding a “young talent” like Dean for his daughter; after all, as the Lord of Tier Territory, he knew very well that his Tier Territory was too insignificant, and only a few people could truly be called talents.

And these few were still only within Tier Territory.

What if they left Tier Territory?

The Baron himself smiled bitterly in his heart—although he had always hoped to choose a son-in-law for his daughter from these young people, under layers of review, none had satisfied him.

Only Mold seemed quite good.

But…

What could be said about a dead person?

However, Dean’s appearance made this Baron’s eyes light up—

“Maybe this is a good choice!”

Baron Tier thought silently.

However, Baron Tier would not force anything; he would only respect his daughter’s choice.

In fact, as a member of the nobility, marriage was hard to choose freely, so everyone was not bothered by the relatives their spouse had after marriage; therefore, Baron Tier was very grateful that he could find a Madam with whom he was in perfect harmony; similarly, he hoped his children would continue this happiness.

So, he did not mind having someone more outstanding appear beside his daughter.

Especially someone who looked like they had a noble birth and vast wealth—as a father, Baron Tier respected his daughter’s choice, but he also hoped his daughter would not have worries in her life.

Parents all over the world were probably like this!

Baron Tier took a deep breath and was about to announce the official start of the banquet, but before he could speak, his Aide pulled his sleeve and discreetly pointed to the two gifts presented to his eldest daughter and second son.

Instantly, Baron Tier reacted.

However, the reacted Baron Tier only smiled bitterly helplessly—obviously, these gifts needed to be reciprocated.

This put Baron Tier in a bit of a dilemma.

It was not that he did not prepare reciprocal gifts—as a traditional noble, Baron Tier could not have failed to prepare, but he never expected Dean’s gifts to be so expensive.

There was no need to say more about that gold and emerald necklace; just the materials alone were worth no less than 30 Gold Pultons, and with the craftsmanship, a price of 50 Gold Pultons in a jewelry shop was not excessive.

As for that short dagger?

For Baron Tier, who deeply loved weapons, just seeing that flash of cold light told him that the cost of this dagger was obviously not less than the former, and even in the eyes of some people, the latter was the true treasure.

With such gifts, merely considering the reciprocal gift of pearls that originally belonged to a visiting gift was obviously inadequate.

But if prepared now, it was obviously a bit rushed—a gift without packaging or decoration did not fit the occasion.

Therefore, the Baron subconsciously looked at his Aide with a troubled gaze—

“My Lord, have you forgotten that slot?”

As the Baron’s Aide, Ikes once again showed his competence.

Instantly, the Baron’s eyes lit up.

That slot naturally referred to the “Knight’s Baptism” slot that became empty after Mold’s death.

Using this as a reciprocal gift was obviously heavy enough; after all, it took two to three years of tax revenue from Tier Territory to exchange for one such slot from Vauban County.

Every time, “Knight’s Baptism” was not free.

Apart from the recommendation of the local Lord, the local Lord also needed to provide the upper-level tax revenue as a guarantee.

Therefore, apart from truly trusted people, the local Lord would absolutely not recommend others.

As for conducting “Knight’s Baptism” on one’s own?

It was not impossible; hidden organizations like the Thieves Guild had such abilities, but the cost was far higher than “official channels,” and ordinary people could not afford it.

Actually, just looking at the tax revenue of Tier Territory was enough.

Even though it was a border area, relying on traveling fur and herbal merchants, Tier Territory had a tax revenue of no less than 500 Gold Pultons every year, which was ranked at the forefront even within Vauban County, and one-tenth of it needed to be handed over to Marquis Vauban as a contribution to his own fief.

And the fief contribution of Tier Territory for two to three years was at least around 150 Gold Pultons.

Therefore, using it as a reciprocal gift, the value was quite equivalent, even slightly higher—the part that was higher was naturally for the dignity of the host.

“Cough, cough!”

Light coughing sounded, Baron Tier scanned the now quiet guests, and as the host of this banquet and the Master of Tier Territory, he said in a loud voice, “Before the banquet begins, I think I need to announce an event—Boz, my loyal knight, unfortunately died under the hidden arrows of Thieves. For this, we need to mourn and remember, and at the same time, we should deal with those damn guys with greater courage! Fortunately…”

While speaking, the Baron walked to Dean’s side and formally introduced Dean to everyone, saying, “We do not lack people like this among us—Dean Ken Knight, who is by my side, is such a young man, so I think it is most appropriate for him to succeed the position of Ferrchelen Knight Order Regiment Commander!”

The surrounding guests had obviously already received such news; apart from the Militia of the Knight Order, no one showed any surprise or joy.

“At the same time, I want to recommend this young man to go to Vauban County for ‘Knight’s Baptism’!”

The Baron’s words continued, but this time someone opposed it—

“Wait!”

A young man stepped forward.