"Hmmp! That NPC really knows how to make people wait for him. People like that should be immediately stripped of their noble title," complained a woman. Her IGN was Vanity,

"Please watch your words. We are on a very important mission. The outcome of this meeting will determine whether we can develop in this region. Without the help of the Count, we can only pack up and leave. The game is way too competitive."

Albatross steeled his gaze as he briefly glanced at the members of his party. They were currently in the Count's waiting room and aside from the butler coming to offer them some tea, they did not meet anyone else.

Five people were seated around a small tea table. They were players but for the occasion, they were not wearing any equipment. Instead, they put on a clean fashionable outfit, giving them the air of an aristocrat. They wanted to make a good appearance in front of the Count.

"Why are we even here? Would it not have been better to focus on developing our presence North? Blue Lagoon is unrivaled at North Fawis and its county. All the guilds there have to lower their head if they want to continue to exist," said Vanity. She spoke proudly like a dedicated member of the guild but in truth, she only joined Blue Lagoon a few days ago after merging her own guild with it.

"You have just joined the guild. You only know about the facade we show everyone. Even if Blue Lagoon is considered as one of the most powerful guilds of the empire, it is only a front. We only have roots in North Fawis. We don't have any real presence in the rest of the Sylvester Empire. We have very strong competitors everywhere; if we do not develop in the region that has yet to have a strong player presence, we will slowly fall behind the others." Albatross wore a severe expression.

He was revealing important information to the new members of his team hoping to earn their trust. Albatross was an ambitious person trying to make a name for himself in the guild. He was jealous of the newly elected elder, Iron Shark. That man was lucky enough to encounter barbarian tribes in the North. He traded with them and established a firm relationship with them. As a result, the guild obtained a stable source of revenue, allowing them to stabilize their position in the region.

In the past, Iron Shark was just the captain of a small team like Albatross. If Iron Shark was able to succeed, Albatross did not see why he himself could not do so; he just needed to be daring enough to make a move. In an attempt to replicate Iron Shark's lucky encounter, he decided to help in developing the guild in another region: Ormskirk Town.

In just one week, using Blue Lagoon's name, Albatross managed to recruit many small guilds into Blue Lagoon, turning them into his subordinates. He knew his move attracted the attention of the elders; he was now being watched and could not fail. At the same time, the existing guilds at Ormskirk Town did not remain silent and started pressuring him.

He was an external force trying to settle down at Ormskirk Town and naturally, the existing guilds were unwilling to share their profits with a newcomer; they were doing everything in their power to push him out of the town.

Albatross did not have any support and knew he was bound to fail if he did not find a solution. After requesting for some funding from the headquarters, Albatross decided to arrange a meeting with the Count. He wanted to create some ties with the ruler of the region, which should alleviate some of the pressure of the other guilds.

Vanity frowned. She disbanded her guild and joined Blue Lagoon precisely because she believed it was a powerful guild that could help her rise in status. However, now, Albatross was telling her that she had been tricked! She inwardly cursed.

Vanity glanced at the other members of the delegations. They were in a similar situation; they also left their guild with more than half of their members to join Albatross who promised them wealth and status. They could only bitterly smile.

"Then what if the negotiations fail? We agreed to join Blue Lagoon because Vultex recently started to invest a lot in this region. If we don't get help or the headquarters do not send more players here, we will have to concede this region to Vultex."

"I know. You don't need to remind me. The guild will help us if needed but I want to see how far we can go by ourselves. It is only like that that we can obtain the most merits."

At that moment, the door was pushed open and the butler stepped into the waiting room. He politely smiled. "I am very sorry for the wait. The Count has just finished with his business. Will you please follow me to his office."

The delegation quickly stood up and followed the butler. They were all annoyed at how they were being treated but they needed to bite the bullet if they wanted to receive the Count's help.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

When they arrived, the delegation was surprised to see how messy the Count's office was. It looked as if he forgot to close his window overnight, resulting in the wind scattering his documents all over the place.

The Count did not seem to be disturbed by the messy environment. He gracefully played with his mustache and sent an inquisitive look at the delegation.

The butler bowed and silently closed the door behind him.

"Have a seat," invited the Count.

Albatross was nervous. His fate would be decided in this conversation. He shakily stepped forward grabbing one of the chairs. He was already mentally reciting all the positive points he could push forward.

However, before he could even speak, the Count spoke:

"Albatross, right? I have read the documents and analyzed the request you have made. I will make it short for you. Frankly speaking, it is impossible for us to accept these terms. The tax rate needs to be at least 35%. You are asking for our towns' best location and the access to our trading routes. Furthermore, the duration of the contract is way too low. One year is too short, it will have to last for five years at least."

"This..." Albatross was taken by surprise; he did not know how to answer. "My lord, I am a representative of Blue Lagoon. You should have heard of how we developed in North Fawis' region. I am certain that with your help..."

"Enough. North Fawis is different from Ormskirk town. Even if you were successful there, the culture here is completely different. I might be wasting all my precious resources and infrastructure on a group that is bound to fail. Truth be told, I have received many cooperation offers and many agreed to share a higher percentage of their profit."

"I can guarantee our success. Many of my collaborators are locals. 35% is just too much. No one will agree to work with such high taxes," complained Albatross but Count Desmonds maintained a firm stance.

"You are a new group and have many risks associated with you. 35% is the minimum for me to make sure I won't make a loss. I would rather give my resources to reputed merchant groups who operated for decades than a new group. Go back and think about it. I can see you are just a spokesperson. I won't move on the conditions I proposed. Discuss with your higher-ups first. I have other matters to attend."

The Count turned around and waved his hand, dismissing the meeting. He did not want to waste time discussing with them. 'Tsssk. They want our best locations in the markets and the access to our information channel and trade route as well as protection. A small group wants me to focus all our resources on them? For what? Just a measly 15% of their revenue and access to their loot? That is just wishful thinking. They are just conceited by their success in that small baron's territory. How can the territory of a baron compare to that of a count? They can hate me all they want, I am helping them by giving them a wake-up call.'

Albatross was displeased but forced himself to keep his mouth shut. He wanted to retort but knew it would be pointless. From the moment he entered, he had felt the Count's foul mood and the irritation in the air. The messy office was a giant red flag that something went wrong. It was unfortunate that they had to be the scapegoats of the Count's frustration.

He could feel the gaze of his subordinates on his back. Albatross was equally frustrated but there was nothing he could do. 'What do you expect me to do? Argue with him? Just look at his body language, he does not want to speak to us anymore. Doing so might just sour our relationship even more. I can only go back and discuss with the elders. 35% will leave us we barely enough to break even. It will be no different from working our *ss off for the Count... But maybe that is what we need; it is not wrong to sacrifice profit to extend our influence and build up our reputation.'

Like a real businessman, Albatross faintly smiled and stood up. With a calm tone, he said, "Thank you very much for your time, my lord. I will discuss with the elders of Blue Lagoon and schedule another meeting soon."

The Count wordlessly waved his hand without looking at the players. 'You won't even get to see me next time. I don't have time to deal with small fishes like you. Only fat whales can attract my attention.'

The players followed behind Albatross. They glanced at each other in frustration. They all had the same thoughts, 'Was that what we came here for? He is clearly disrespecting us. We did not wait a whole hour to not even get to negotiate properly. That captain of Blue Lagoon is so unreliable. What now? Do we quietly let the other guild crush us?'

They all stared at Albatross, expecting him to speak for the guild but he did nothing. The delegation quietly left the Count's office without a word.

The players could not take it. They sacrificed so much to join Blue Lagoon and rise in status. Now, it was all going to waste? At best, they would just become a regular member of the guild; they would have tossed away the guild leader role to become a regular member? At worst, they would be kicked out of the guild and have to start everything from scratch.

Before the office's double door was even closed behind them, the players started arguing among themselves. It was especially true for Vanity who had been fuming for a while.

Unfortunately, the Count's ears were sharp. The players did not even make a few steps that the Count's voice sounded. "Halt! What did you just say?"

Albatross had a bad feeling in his heart. He cursed at the players who could not hold it for a few more minutes to argue among themselves. Sure, the people around them were just NPCs but the NPCs of this game were not mindless characters. 'The negotiations failed but now, you are causing me a lot of trouble!'

Several shadows appeared in front of the players, blocking the corridors. They were the Castle's private guards. They were at least level 40, holding classes similar to Assassin.

The door opened behind the players and the Count appeared. "Woman. What did you just say?" His face was twisted in rage.

Albatross felt his heart throbbed. How did the situation degenerate so quickly? 'Even if you are in a bad mood, you don't need to take it out on commoners because of unpleasant comments.' His gaze shifted to Vanity, the Count's target.

Similarly, as soon as they heard the Count's words, the guards focused their attention on Vanity and surrounded her.

The latter jumped in fright. She looked at her teammates for help but they all move away from her. They could not move too far due to the guards' restriction but they pretended to not know her.

"My lord... I"

Count Desmonds cut her short. "What did you say? Just repeat the sentence you said!" He spat out in the middle of his sentence.

Vanity was scared witless by the Count's aggressive behavior. Even though she knew it was just a game, she was being surrounded by several armed guards. "I am sorry. I should not have said such things."

"Quiet dumb woman! Repeat what you have just said!" exclaimed the Count. He was clearly losing patience.

"I... I said you should not have made us wait for a whole hour..."

Count Desmonds narrowed his eyes. "Not that! The second part!"

Vanity trembled. She spoke with a tiny voice. "That the negotiations were pointless and that we wasted our time coming here?"

"No! After that!" By now, Count Desmonds was already spitting all over the place.

"That the picture of someone looking like my daughter was all over the office?"

Instantly Count Desmonds seemed to calm down. "So I did not hear wrongly. Is that person your daughter?" He shoved a piece of paper in Vanity's face.

The woman took a step back while shaking. She looked at the picture in front of her. "Well. Yes. At least she does look like her. But many people can have the same appearance. She ran away from home a year ago. I don't know if she changed..."

When she looked at Count Desmonds, she saw a wild glint in his eyes.

"You said you wanted my help in settling down at Ormskirk Town. We might be able to come up with an agreement."