Starting Today I'll Work As A City Lord

Lucas and Nicole followed Count Hudson into the auction house, where the first thing they saw were eighteen massive wooden pillars. Beyond them stretched a spacious hall filled with tables and chairs. At the front stood a wooden counter—that was the auction stage.

Count Hudson had spent nearly three hundred gold coins to build this auction house. The most valuable part of the structure was the eighteen supporting pillars, all made of iron-red wood half a meter thick. He had hired people to transport them from deep within the Forbidden Mountains.

Those eighteen logs alone had cost nearly two hundred gold coins. Many slaves died in the process, and over a dozen knights lost their lives. It took four months to bring them back to Pentos City.

Most of the time was lost in the Forbidden Mountains, due to frequent beast attacks and the grueling task of moving the iron-red wood through such dangerous terrain.

That's why this auction house had always been his pride—and in many ways, Count Hudson's main source of income. He frequently accepted items for auction on others' behalf, or helped "clean" goods with unclear origins. He had ties with several major thief groups, profiting handsomely by taking a cut from these deals.

The monthly auction brought in over a hundred gold coins for Count Hudson—more than double the annual income of most other counts.

As he stole a glance at Lucas's reaction, he was surprised to see only calm indifference on his face. Even the young lady beside him remained composed.

"This way, honored guests, please." Count Hudson said with a slight chill in his heart. He no longer dared to underestimate the two.

"..." Lucas's mouth twitched slightly. He gently patted Nicole's hand, which was tightly gripping his arm, giving her a reassuring look. His gaze swept across the auction hall, noting the subtle signs of wealth and security: hidden slits in the wooden beams, armored guards posing as servants.

Truthfully, the auction house had surprised Lucas. While the decor wasn't anything special, the very existence of such a structure in this era was impressive.

Having seen many ancient architectural marvels back on Earth, Lucas didn't think much of it—but Nicole hadn't had that exposure. Though she was inwardly amazed, her face showed not the slightest trace of emotion.

"Please, have a seat here." Count Hudson said, leading the two to the center table of the hall—the best seat in the house.

"Mm," Lucas responded calmly, his voice light. With a subtle wave of his arm, he sat down with a presence that exuded poise and refinement.

Nicole offered a gentle smile and nodded, gracefully lifting the hem of her dress as she slowly took the seat beside Lucas.

No. 5 immediately placed a wooden box on the table, then stood behind Lucas alongside No. 6. One hand rested on the hilt of his sword, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

Count Hudson took a seat on the other side. The central seat had originally been reserved for himself—but now, he could only settle for a lesser position.

Tap, tap, tap…

Footsteps echoed behind them, followed closely by Count Hudson's voice: "Count George, welcome."

"You're quite fast, Lord Hudson," Count George replied in a low voice. Two knights followed behind him, one of them carrying a wooden box in his arms.

"With such esteemed guests arriving, I thought it only proper to come in and accompany them first." Count Hudson replied courteously.

"Esteemed guests?" Count George narrowed his eyes slightly, studying Lucas and Nicole carefully. Their attire and bearing truly caught him by surprise.

In his mind, Count George imagined a scene even more dramatic than Count Hudson had. His standards were higher, and so was his imagination—after all, the more discerning the eye, the more extravagant the assumptions.

If he were to judge by appearance alone, Count George would have said even the Fourth Prince didn't dress or carry himself half as well as the two before him.

As for Lucas's true identity as the Lord of Sedona City? That thought never even crossed Count George's mind. To him, a minor noble from the western frontier couldn't possibly possess such elegance or presence.

"Your Highness, I am Count George," He said directly, addressing Lucas as a prince.

"Mm," Lucas responded coolly with a nod. He met Count George's gaze with the same calm indifference he'd shown since entering. He didn't rise or bow—just offered a nod, the kind that acknowledged authority without submitting to it. A faint smile flickering in his eyes. George? Could it be that Count George—the father of Baron Omar?

The thought made Lucas's lips curl slightly. If they ever had further dealings, he was genuinely curious to see Count George's expression when he eventually learned the truth. That moment, he thought, would be quite entertaining.

"..." Nicole cast a sidelong glance at Lucas, her eyes brimming with amusement. She was trying her hardest to keep a straight face, pinching her own thigh under the table to suppress a laugh.

Young master is too much… Someone actually called him "Your Highness," and he just accepted it so calmly—Nicole was both amazed and thoroughly amused by his nerve.

Count George, noticing that this "prince" wasn't particularly talkative, wisely chose not to push conversation. Instead, he settled beside Count Hudson and began quietly chatting with him.

Meanwhile, up on one of the rafters, Mina was perched in the shadows, her eyes dreamily fixed on Lucas. Her left hand rested on a wooden box, which held a bottle of wine—the so-called "divine wine" set to be auctioned off.

She stared for a while, lost in thought, before finally snapping back to reality. Her eyes swept across the room. The hall was filling up fast, and it looked like the auction would begin any minute.

Huh? That guy? Mina's eyes narrowed slightly. Her right hand twitched, and a combat knife silently slipped from her sleeve into her palm. She locked onto a shadowy corner of the auction hall, where someone was stealthily climbing toward the rafters.

Mina watched silently as the man climbed up onto the rafter, her fingers still resting on the hilt of the blade hidden in her sleeve. When she got a clear look at him—a middle-aged man in a gray robe—she narrowed her eyes, already weighing whether or not to kill him.

At the same time, the man spotted her—and froze.

"..."

The gray-robed man stared awkwardly at the "ugly woman" in front of him. Of all the things he expected tonight, someone else already lurking in the rafters wasn't one of them. And worse—he couldn't even make a sound, or he'd risk blowing his cover.

He was the tavern assistant from the night before, sent out tonight on orders from the steward to gather intel—specifically, to find out who had won the bid for the Amos Notes.

Climbing up into the rafters of a secured auction house like this wasn't something most people could manage, which meant the woman in front of him wasn't ordinary either. But her appearance gave him no clues—black robe, hood, and only a face that could scare a ghost. Ugly as hell, but suspiciously unreadable.

"Are you here for intel too?" He whispered carefully.

Mina shot him a cold glance. Her sleeve shifted slightly as she retracted her knife—he wasn't a threat. If she wanted, she could break his neck with one hand and no one below would even notice.

After a brief silence, the tavern assistant leaned in again and asked in a whisper, "Which organization are you from?"

Organization? Mina raised an eyebrow. Then she suddenly recalled what the young master had casually mentioned at lunch. Turning her head slightly, she replied in an indifferent tone, "Immortal Gate."

"Immortal Gate?" The tavern assistant froze, utterly baffled. What kind of organization is that? He had never heard of it in his life.

Of course he hadn't. Immortal Gate was a name Lucas had made up on the spot—just something to throw people off, like the Swiftwind Organisation Thieves. It was meant to sound mysterious and vaguely powerful. The fact that the tavern assistant had never heard of it? Exactly the point.

The tavern assistant blinked rapidly, clearly struggling to decide if he should be impressed, terrified, or skeptical. In the end, he went with the safest option: cautious respect.

"I… see," he said, nodding slowly like he understood, though it was obvious he didn't. "That's… quite the name. Sounds ancient."

Mina didn't answer. She just shifted her posture slightly, signaling that the conversation was over. She'd already given him more than she should have. From her position, she resumed scanning the auction hall below, her gaze momentarily returning to Lucas. A faint smile tugged at her lips, though it vanished a second later.

Down below, more nobles had started arriving. 

As the nobles filtered in, the air in the auction hall grew heavy with perfume, ambition, and the soft rustle of silk and leather. Back in the rafters, the tavern assistant inched away from Mina, careful not to draw attention. He'd decided she was dangerous—possibly insane—but more importantly, not someone he wanted to make an enemy of. Whatever the Immortal Gate was, it sounded like something his boss wouldn't want to mess with.

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