Claire watched the middle-aged man walking towards her while smiling the whole time, making the middle-aged man happy internally. He was glad that the child was indeed easy to straighten out.
But Claire saw the contempt in his eyes clearly.
“Your excellency, your servant is Flinn Menda. The qualities your excellency exhibited during this plague… ” The middle-aged man called Flinn was the head of all the nobles in Niya. He put what he thought was a charming smile on his face, continuously praising. First flatter, then coerce, and finally, lay out conditions: this the way they usually did things.
But soon, his charming smile froze on his face.
Because Claire raised her hand quietly to stop what he was going to say.
This was very rude behaviour.
All the nobles in the hall were stunned. Although Claire was the castellan, she was only the lowest baron. And she made such a rude gesture? No castellan had ever dared to be so rude to them nobles.
“Does your excellency have something to say?” Flinn asked, frowning, suppressing his anger.
“Everyone knows that the plague had just ended, and there are still a lot of matters to settle. I need help from you; I’m sure that each and every one of you are kind-hearted and generous.” Claire spoke, smiling at the doorway.
When Claire gave such a speech, the expression on the faces of Flinn and the rest of the nobles changed. Claire’s meaning was very clear: she would not let them increase the prices on goods.
“Your excellency… ”Flinn squeezed out a smile, wanting to say something.
But Claire didn’t even glance at him. Instead, she raised her head to speak to the crowd. “I know that you invited me here today to prove your loyalty to the country. I’m sure that you have already agreed to lower all daily supplies sold by the trade union by twenty percent to help the people of Niya city. Another thing: I will be soon be leaving on a trip with my master Cliff, and while I’m gone, Heath will still take over my role as a castellan. I have faith that all of you will help Heath diligently, returning Niya to its prosperity.”
As soon as Claire finished speaking, the whole hall boiled.
The crowd was gossiping among themselves, and Flinn’s expression was extremely ugly. He didn’t think that this little girl would take the initiative, first giving them such a big responsibility, then saying her decision.
“Your excellency, you should also know that the founding of our trade union wasn’t easy. During this plague, we also experienced serious losses… ” Flinn’s face was green as he complained.
“Are you saying that the castellan’s words have no authority? Is loyalty worth a penny? Are you trying to say that not only are you unwilling to lower prices, but you plan to increase the prices and make money out of the crisis? And exploit harshly the already poor and grievous people?” Yixuan Feng now spoke fiercely, glaring and cursing at Flinn. He pointed at the elaborate decorations in the hall.
“This is what you call experiencing serious losses? Whoa, look at this crystal chandelier, market price five thousand gold coins. And this table set is from the Feng Family Trade Union, huh? At least two thousand gold coins. And this rug is a foreign import and costs at least eight thousand gold coins!”