After leaving the store, I immediately went to find Nicole to talk about something.
When she heard the request that I had, she couldn't help knitting her brows and revealing an ugly expression.
After she finished hearing my request, she looked at me and asked, "My lord, are you serious about this?"
I just responded with a simple nod.
Nicole knitted her brows even more when she heard this. Then she said, "My lord, do you know what the consequences of doing something like this is?"
I gave another nod without saying anything.
The two of us just stared at each other after this.
Nicole tried to stare me down with her glare, but it didn't work in the end.
So without a choice, she gave a sigh and said, "Do what you want then."
The look on her face made it clear that she had resigned to accepting this as fate. She would just let me do what I wanted and see how it turned out.
But it was also clear that she thought that this would end in failure.
To be honest, I didn't have much confidence in this plan either since the other side was that pig of a count. The way that he had treated me had made it clear that he didn't give a flying shit about me.
So it was very likely that he would completely ignore my request in the first place.
But there was nothing else that I could do in this situation.
I needed the support of the count since I didn't have any forces of my own in this city.
I was just hoping that my perception of the count was correct and I would be able to convince him.
After she made her decision, Nicole left the carriage to take care of this matter.
In no time, I was summoned to the count's manor again.
This time, the treatment was completely different.
Instead of being made to wait and being kept out by the guards, I was shown right inside and led to a room where the count was waiting for me.
When I came into the room, the count narrowed his eyes to look at me before gesturing for me to sit down.
I sat down in front of him where he gestured before waiting for the count to speak.
As the lower ranked noble, my position was lower than that of the count, so the one that should wait is me. But the count didn't say a thing as he sat there staring at me, as if he was sizing me up.
Finally, after a long period of silence, the count said, "So, you wanted to see me?"
The way that he said this sounded like he was asking a question, but in truth, he already knew what the answer to this question was. He was the one that had invited me here, so of course he knew what I wanted.
But I still played along as I nodded and said, "I have something that I wanted to discuss with you."
The count nodded before gesturing for me to continue.
I said, "I want to borrow a few men from you to take care of some business that I have in the city. It will only take a few days and I promise to return those men to you without harm. If you would be so kind as to accept this request, then I promise that I will repay you tenfold in the future."
The count narrowed his eyes to look at me after hearing this before saying, "The only reason that I agreed to meet with you was because of your "generosity" and now you're asking something of this from me. Do you really think that I would agree to something like this?"
The "generosity" that he was referring to was the bag of money that I had Nicole pass to the count.
This was the main reason why he was even willing to see me in the first place.
After all, if I was willing to give him money the first time, then it was possible that I would give him money a second time.
But I wasn't worried when I heard the count's words.
That was because I could see from his eyes just what he was after.
He might not be willing to agree to this, but if there was enough money, then he could be persuaded.
What he was doing now was requesting more money be brought out.
So I reached into my pocket and pulled out another small bag that I put on the table.
Without a word, the count reached out to take the small bag and put it in front of his face as he opened it. When the sparkle of gold came from the bag, there was a smile that appeared on that fat face.
With the face twisting from the smile, it really was an ugly sight.
But I kept my comments to myself as I waited for the count to finish counting the money inside this small bag. When he gave a satisfied nod and tied up the bag, I continued, "I trust that should be enough. So can I count on your assistance?"
The count turned back to look at me before suddenly revealing a smile and saying, "What assistance?"
I couldn't help being taken aback when I heard this before saying, "Your grace, the request that I made earlier…"
The count said with the same smile, "Of course I won't be accepting that."
My face twisted a bit when I heard this as I said, "But the money…"
The count cut me off by saying, "This is considered a consultation fee that I will be keeping. You can leave now."
I didn't know what to say when I heard this.
I had already known that this pig count was shameless, but I never thought that he would be this shameless.
But since he had already spoken, there was nothing that I could do…
Especially since the guards at the door already put their hands on their weapons.
So I had no choice but to leave the room.