Became the Escort Knight That the Princesses Were Obsessed With

88. Network Battle (1)

Early spring has passed and May, the flowering month, has arrived.

Thanks to the warmer weather, many events were held in the empire.

Starting with fireworks festivals imported from the East.

Even jousting competitions held in the West.

Everyone, regardless of age or gender, enjoyed the various events provided by the empire.

Of course, the same goes for me.

After finishing my morning patrol, I went to a very important event.

For today, I wore a smart suit instead of the drab defense knight uniform.

And then, I headed to the Northern Imperial Palace with the Thorman clan.

Gentile men wearing suits for the first time in their lives.

They look excited as if they are nobles.

However, it was different for Orn, the leader.

He was worried that they would follow me and cause harm for no reason.

“I… Bale. “Do we dare come to a place like this?”

“Of course. “I came because of you.”

The event venue I visited was an auction held in the garden of the imperial palace.

＜15Th Northern Mansion Auction＞

It is an auction that secures reservations for mansions or construction projects of various famous architects.

“Now, let me pretend to be a noble.”

I confidently entered the garden with the guys.

After placing them near the entrance, he sat alone in the bidding seat.

In fact, there is nothing good about showing one’s face to the upper class.

But through this, they create a false identity.

It’s worth the risk if you can take over a mansion with training facilities.

In addition, this auction involves the last outsourcing of an imperial craftsman who is about to retire.

And under his training facility, many outstanding swordsmen were born.

Fortunately, as it was in the northern part of the capital, there were not many wealthy nobles.

If there is someone who is annoying….

Probably the secretary of the Northern Grand Duke sitting in the corner.

A middle-aged man with black hair wearing a monocle.

He looked like he had a good temper at first glance, but he was quietly organizing his contract.

In that document, he wrote down each item he had purchased at the auction.

A significant number of mansions were occupied even before I arrived.

And, he was preparing to win the last contract, the imperial craftsman Geon.

But that doesn’t mean I have no chance of winning.

This guy has already spent a lot of money.

I probably won’t have enough money to invest in the special properties I’m targeting.

Because it was a surprise event in the first place.

「Well, you’ve won the bid for 5000 gold!」

While various properties were passing by, I remained silent.

Then, I felt the presence of someone sitting next to me.

“Excuse me?”

A woman with long black hair in an elegant black dress.

She carefully sat down next to me.

‘You’re from the North. Looking at her outfit, she must be a princess.’

She appears to be in her mid to late 20s.

Just by looking at her, you can feel her dignity.

“I guess you came for the auction?”

“Yes, I am here to preempt construction reservations.”

“Hmm- really? “It’s a face you don’t see at the auction house.”

The woman placed her hand on her chin and looked at me curiously.

Maybe this woman is another contender for the mansion.

“She is not a noblewoman, so you probably don’t see her often.”

Not a nobleman.

When most upper class people hear this, they look awkwardly and walk away.

But the princess was different.

“There is no law requiring only nobles to participate in the auction, right?”

And she covered her lips and grinned.

“My husband is also a former prisoner of war.”

It’s surprising.

Taking a prisoner of war as her husband?

From Noble mtl dot com

‘It seems like he’s quite in love.’

“Oh, I see.”

She looked at her auction host, not paying much attention to the woman sitting next to her.

However, no matter how hard she tried to ignore her, she couldn’t help but keep looking at her.

In between her auctions, nobles approach her.

Because her children, especially her young daughters, showed great interest in her.

“Grand Duchess, it is an honor to meet you….”

“Could you please sign here?”

Women wearing colorful silk dresses.

They often got autographs on novels.

“Everyone, I will do the rest of the autographs outside. “This is a public place, right?”

The princess made them retreat with her graceful touch.

Then, rather than being offended, the women walked away, saying they understood.

It was like seeing a famous writer.

“I’m sorry, it was a mess, wasn’t it?”

“No. I guess he’s famous?”

When I asked, the Grand Duchess smiled and denied it.

“I’m a little active in the literary world. It’s nothing special.”

The woman waved her hand and put away her fountain pen.

And, she focused on her auction as if nothing had happened.

It looks like he doesn’t want to tell me what kind of novel he’s writing.

「This item is the work of the imperial craftsman, Sir Colbert, whom you have been waiting for!」

Participants focus when the name of the craftsman is mentioned.

They all started fiddling with the number signs in front of them.

「I will start with 10,000 gold.」

「15,000.」

Signs that go up again and again.

As if responding to this, I also held up a sign.

“19,000.”

The nobles focused their attention on me.

The woman sitting next to me was the same.

She stared at me, covering her lips with a fan.

「20,000.」

The Archduke’s secretary followed immediately with 20,000.

Then I immediately held up a sign and shouted leisurely.

“Twenty-nine thousand.”

The sight of only 9,000 being raised skillfully.

At this, the woman smiled with her eyes as if it was fun.

「30,000!」

The price has already risen to 30,000.

From this point on, the number of people holding signs decreased significantly.

However, the archduke’s secretary still continues to bid.

He took Colbert’s mansion for 50,000 gold with the expression that he had won.

“Hmm, I’m a little overextended today.”

The woman spoke leisurely, alone with her arms crossed.

As if he knew the archduke’s secretary.

“That side is really mischievous too.”

The woman gently turned her head. She

And she looked at me with a cute expression, she said.

“You just raised the price without even thinking about buying it.”

“Well, I don’t know. “I really wanted to buy it, but-.”

I shrugged my shoulders slyly.

Then the princess folded her fan and raised the corners of her mouth.

“You cleverly raised the price by only 9,000 and encouraged the secretary to follow you.”

“I just call according to the amount I have.”

When I sneered, she chuckled.

Then he nodded, saying he understood what I meant.

「Okay then, we will hold another surprise auction here!」

You’re here.

A surprise auction prepared by the craftsman for not just a wealthy person, but also someone who will appreciate his mansion.

“It’s a surprise auction…” ?”

The Archduke’s secretary probably didn’t know this either.

Because I also knew about it through memories of my past life.

「Okay then, let the auction begin!」

Starting price is 50,000 gold.

I started my first bidding in earnest.

“60,000.”

「70,000….」

“80,000.”

「8… 85,000!”

The archduke’s secretary suddenly changed the bid to 5,000 units.

‘Hmm – the limit was 140,000 gold?’

The secretary swallowed deeply.

And then, he glared at me with resentful eyes.

I looked at him intently.

And then he opened his mouth with a faint smile.

“90,000.”

First, his limit amount was preempted.

Then, the secretary was speechless.

He looked embarrassed at the amount that far exceeded his budget.

However, that was not the only expression of embarrassment.

The princess sitting next to me was surprised to see that she had 90,000 gold as a commoner subject.

She seems to think of me as a young master of the caravan.

“I guess it’s okay…” ?”

“Well, not yet.”

I crossed my legs as if to show off all the nobles.

Then, he introduced the disguised identity he had prepared in advance.

“I’m going to open a large farm soon, so it would be cool to have a mansion like that nearby.”

I snapped my fingers and called Orn, who was standing far away.

Then, a line of dependable blond men approached.

“Who are they?”

The surrounding nobles, including the princess, looked up blankly at the beast-like men.

The appearance of a dark male.

Middle-aged women in particular opened their mouths at the admiring looks of the immigrants they were seeing for the first time.

“Ah, these are ’employees’ working in my western territory.”

Not even peasants.

This means that he was considered a legitimate employee.

Ornn and the men were moved by those words and looked moved.

“What kind of crops are you growing in the West?”

Nobles were curious about the crops grown on expensive western land.

As if responding to this, I responded with a very old-fashioned look.

“It is a variety called watermelon. “It comes from the East and has excellent red juice and sweetness.”

“Oh….”

The nobles all began to take interest in me.

In other words, there was no doubt about my identity at all.

Thanks to this, the image of me as a wealthy farmer was imprinted on the upper class.

But.

When the Archduke’s aide heard that I was a commoner, he jumped up from his seat.

Then, he approached the auction host and started talking.

The host listened to what he said.

Afterwards, a loud voice drew attention.

「Ah, ah. “I hope everyone will wait for a moment!”

Everyone stopped at the sound of his booming voice.

Then the host spoke with serious eyes.

「Originally, a guarantor is required for bidding over 50,000 gold.」

「So, Sir Bail Mikhail and Secretary Lomus, I would appreciate it if you could send me a guarantor’s written letter.」

The old, seasoned secretary grabbed his ankle and began to slump.

I guess they thought that since I was a commoner, I would have few upper-class connections.

I scratched the back of my head with an annoyed expression.

Well, if you are a guarantor, you can easily make it.

Virgin Green’s vice-captain, Allen.

Vice-captain of the East, Basshu.

If anything, even Damian, the operational staff of the Knights of Gwangmyeong.

There are many characters.

‘Since this has already happened, let’s prepare a large guarantee that that old man won’t be able to mess with.’

“Then let’s do it like this.”

I stood up and looked at the secretary.

And then, I spoke to him confidently.

“The warranty is so bleak. “It is difficult to prove all trust with the guarantor at that level.”

The secretary listened to my leisurely words.

He looked at me with an expression of disapproval and asked.

“So, what do you want to do and how?”

“How about asking for a small gift to brighten up this occasion?”

I am already superior to the vice-captains, so I can readily ask for gifts.

But what about secretaries?

Even if you ask for a favor, it will only be your master, the Northern Grand Duke, and a few others.

“What…?” ?”

The secretary frowned at the fact that he had dared to ask the archduke for a gift.

I deal the final blow to him.

“Why are you scared? “The famous grand duke’s secretary?”

The secretary snorted as if he was shocked.

He looked like he didn’t know who he was serving.

“Okay, you know what if my guarantor’s influence is stronger instead?”

“No problem. I will give up the mansion.”

The secretary confidently headed to Jeonseo-gu.

And, he carefully wrote his letter to his master.

Compared to that, I just roughly scribbled the letters.

Everyone owes me a lot anyway.

“Okay, I sent it. Now let’s just wait patiently!”

“Let’s do that.”

After.

We sat across from each other at the table.

And then, we waited to see whose gift would arrive first.

Most of the upper class went to the secretary of the Northern Grand Duke and whispered among themselves.

But.

The princess, surrounded by her daughters, slowly approached me.

“You made a mistake.”

She thought of me as a young, rich girl, and that she was just a muppet.

She advised to break the competition even now.

“The owner of that secretary is the Grand Duke of the North. No matter how much money he has, it will be difficult with his connections… ?”

I looked up at her with wonder as she stood by my side and gave me advice.

And then he asked implicitly.

“Why did you come my way, knowing that?”

“That’s….”

The princess glanced at the secretary.

Then she shook her head with an arrogant expression.

“Maybe it’s because I don’t want to see my younger brother doing well?”

‘Little brother… ?’

I looked up at her, furrowing my eyebrows.

Then, in the meantime, gifts began to arrive.

Everyone looked at the garden entrance at the same time.

“Who is it?”

“After all, you must be the Archduke, right?”

The nobles smiled heartily and approached to get a feel for the Grand Duke’s connections.

But.

They tilted their heads at the colorful wreath they had never seen before.

The first gift they encountered was….

Because I came from the East, which has nothing to do with the Grand Duke of the North.

「Guardian of the East, Bale Mikhail. Let’s play again next time.”

A fruit box with the 3rd princess’s handwritten signature.

And, inside that box were the highest quality green grapes.

‘This looks like the same type of grape I ate….’

The nobles who saw this stepped back with dumbfounded expressions.

Next, we focused on the next gifts coming in.

With a confident look in his eyes that this time it was a gift from the Grand Duke.

However, their expectations were spectacularly wrong again.

The next gift that arrived came from the west, not the north.

「The book-eating fox, Bale Mikhail. Congratulations on moving in.”

A set of children’s books with the 1st princess’s golden lion seal.

The cover depicted a fox eating a book.

‘You gave me a storybook as a gift?’

The 1st princess who played a prank on the guaranteed item.

I couldn’t help but snort.

I turned my head with a shy smile.

And then, I looked at the Northern Grand Princess in confusion.

“How did this happen? The guarantors… Are the princesses?”

She had been so relaxed until now, but her eyes were wide open.

Looking at her like that, I made an effort to raise the corners of her mouth.

“Oh, I also worked in the imperial family for a bit. It’s similar to that.”

On the outside, he is smiling.

But inside, she really felt like crying.

I definitely asked the vice-captains for a guarantee product.

How on earth did they know and send it directly?

“Haa….”

She turned her head and secretly sighed.

But.

I immediately sighed and my eyes began to sparkle.

The entrance to the garden seen away from the Grand Duchess’ eyes.

Because beyond a simple gift, the guarantor himself came to the auction house.

A silver-haired woman wearing a long-brimmed hat.

Irina came directly to me, wearing a platinum dress and carrying her fruit basket.

“Vail, what do you mean you’re buying a mansion in the West…?”

She lost focus in her eyes.

Even the hand-cut watermelon in the basket was shaking.

The nobles all stood up at the sight.

And then, she hurriedly bowed her head and greeted the royal family.