Chapter 294: Is Gervas

"Lords, Count Oliver has bid four hundred and eighty gold coins—is there any further bidding?"

The castle steward naturally hoped someone would step forward to bid higher.

He turned his hopeful gaze toward the crowd.

Unfortunately, four hundred and eighty gold coins had already reached the nobles' upper limit.

If it went higher, it would be better to train your own.

Everyone here came merely to save money and effort.

Even if your cavalry are of high quality, five gold coins can buy ten strong slaves.

After comparison and calculation, no one made another bid.

The castle steward waited a moment, and disappointment crept into his eyes.

Of course, the selling price of these criminal slaves had met expectations, so he did not delay further.

"Four hundred and eighty gold coins once!"

"Four hundred and eighty gold coins twice!"

"Four…"

"Six hundred gold coins!"

Just as the castle steward was about to call the third time, Gervas struck again.

This time he bid early, avoiding the impression that he was deliberately provoking Oliver.

Of course, he knew that even if he had bid from the start against Oliver, the man would still resent him.

Sons of great families like this won't forget their grudges unless you, like other counts, simply surrender without contest.

But Gervas had traveled far and was determined to secure these cavalry.

Moreover, he intended to acquire both batches—so avoiding the man's hatred was impossible.

Since that was the case, he decided to stop holding back and focus entirely on the auction.

Bidding at the last moment would exert great psychological pressure on his opponent, leaving him uncertain of Gervas's true resources.

That was precisely why the first batch of cavalry had been so easily won.

Hence, he did it this way.

Though he wasn't short on gold coins, Stormhold was in ruins and every coin saved mattered.

Swish!

His renewed bid took everyone by surprise.

Everyone present, including Oliver himself, had never expected to buy all two hundred cavalry.

The difficulty and cost were simply too great.

Yet someone here had done exactly that.

And it was some obscure noble's emissary.

The castle steward's eyes lit up as he stared at Gervas like a god of wealth: "Lord Gervas has bid six hundred! Clearly, he values these criminal slaves greatly!"

"Lords, is there any further bidding? If so, act quickly!"

As the steward spoke, his gaze lingered, subtly, on Count Oliver.

Count Oliver's lip twitched; his glare at Gervas brimmed with fury.

"Five hundred and ten gold coins!"

"Five hundred and thirty gold coins!"

"Five hundred and forty!"

"Five hundred and sixty!"

Whoa!

When Gervas calmly announced five hundred and sixty gold coins, the nobles in the hall lost their composure.

Mainly because Gervas's demeanor was so utterly composed.

Any observer could see that Oliver, the duke's son, was growing agitated.

Yet this southern noble, Gervas, remained as calm as still water.

The twenty-gold-coin increments felt less like gold than copper pennies.

The contrast in their bearing was stark.

Oliver's eyes nearly blazed with fire: "My lord, you've already won the first batch—could you yield this second one to me?"

"If you agree, I, Oliver, will remember this favor!"

"Forgive me, Count Oliver. I traveled great distances precisely because these cavalry are vital to me—my domain frequently faces danger."

"Though I wish to assist you, I simply cannot spare them. I apologize," Gervas said, his expression unchanged but his tone earnest.

To Oliver, this was pure pretext.

Your bearing seems even grander than mine, a duke's second son—your domain is as perilous as some petty noble's?

Do you really think I, Oliver, second son of a duke, am an idiot?

From what I know, the kingdom's borders have seen no major upheavals lately—except here in the north—and the western tribes' rebellion has already been crushed.

Oliver gritted his teeth: "Five hundred and seventy gold coins!"

"Six hundred!"

"You—" Oliver's eyes bulged; he nearly rose to curse aloud.

But decorum prevailed—this was public, after all, not some novel where men brawl without restraint.

Gervas merely smiled faintly, his meaning clear: let the bidding decide.

Oliver's funds surely exceeded six hundred gold coins, but he refused to bid further.

First, the price was no longer profitable.

More importantly, Gervas's casual demeanor made him seem even more like a duke's son—as if gold were free. So he would not fight further.

"Lord Gervas has bid six hundred gold coins—is there any further bid?"

"Six hundred gold coins once!"

"Six hundred gold coins twice!"

"Six hundred gold coins thrice… Congratulations, Lord Gervas! You have successfully won the second batch of criminal cavalry!"

Under the gaze of all, the exchange began again—but this time, Gervas asked the steward if he could use luminescent pearls for payment.

The steward blinked, then immediately replied: "Lord Gervas, of course you may!"

"The only condition is that the luminescent pearls must be valued at standard market rate—not at a premium."

Gervas nodded; he had no objection.

He gestured to his subordinate, and Eufan handed him another wooden chest.

The chest opened, revealing five egg-sized, dozens of lychee-sized, and hundreds of longan-sized luminescent pearls.

"Good heavens, so many?"

"Yes, at least three or four hundred luminescent pearls?"

"Quantity aside, look at those five egg-sized pearls—rare indeed—and those lychee-sized ones are also scarce!"

"Lords, I'm growing more convinced that Gervas's origins are not ordinary—could he be some duke's illegitimate son? Only a great family could afford this many luminescent pearls!"

"Exactly! Look at his demeanor just now—he was even calmer than Oliver, yet he's so young. No count's family could cultivate such poise!"

As the guests stared at the luminescent pearls in the chest, they exchanged glances and whispered among themselves.

To Gervas now, luminescent pearls were no longer rare.

But to the nobles, they remained astonishingly precious.

For instance, beside him, Marquis Darwin stared at the five egg-sized pearls, nearly unable to contain himself.

He signaled frantically to the castle steward.

The steward suppressed his excitement: "Lord Gervas, these are all for payment of the criminal slaves, correct?"

"Yes," Gervas nodded calmly.