Reincarnated as the Final Villain's Vessel

In the end, after we finished that long and detailed tour, the guard made us sign some contracts... maybe Ivan’s words had raised some suspicion in him.

And in the end, it turned out our job wasn’t just to prevent theft, but also any other unfortunate incidents like assassination, which had happened twice here in the last year... nobles and their noble conflicts.

After finishing all that, we were given some time to rest before dinner with the Marquis, who apparently stayed here during the few days before the auction... perhaps to personally ensure the safety of his wealth.

I sat in a small room while browsing some information on my phone, the information Raph had sent about the servants in the place, their jobs, what they did, and many other details, but more importantly, there was the list of goods that would be sold at the auction in two days.

Some were simple things like weapons and armor, with prices starting in the hundreds of thousands before things began to escalate with items and plants that had special properties, all the way to monster remains, and at this point, looking at all those zeros became painful for my eyes.

We could also bid if we wanted, and yes, there were many interesting things here, like some amazing Artifacts, but their prices started from tens to even hundreds of millions, so let’s just forget about that.

According to Alicia, many of the items here had questionable origins, and some had been sold only months or even years ago, only to return to the same point again... in short, it looked like money laundering without any clear evidence.

All of this was surrounded by a large network of transactions before the goods returned here again, sometimes under the Marquis’s name or under the names of other people to be displayed here... I mean, if someone bought something from here and decided to sell it here again, you couldn’t say it was money laundering.

In the end, no matter how much the era changed, as long as you had enough wealth, you could cover up anything with a little intelligence, of course.

I sighed as I looked at the time... dinner was already approaching, so I put away my phone and got up, heading out of the room.

...

The ten of us sat around the long table with the Marquis at its head while the servants moved around us, putting the final touches on the table.

With a straight back and precise posture, Marquis Valimont gestured toward the table with a polite smile. ”I hope this simple dinner is to your liking.”

As soon as he said that, Ivan opened his mouth without hesitation. ”A simple dinner... please, Your Excellency Marquis, my father wouldn’t serve this even if the Emperor himself were visiting us.”

The Marquis’s smile twitched slightly. ”Count Rexel must prefer not to be extravagant.”

Ivan picked up his fork, lifting a piece of meat from the plate in front of him. ”No need to make it sound better than it is, he’s just stingy.”

The next moment, Ivan twisted in his seat as Valia’s whisper echoed... a whisper everyone could hear. ”Ivan, manners!”

Ignoring everything, he gave her a quick glance and smiled. ”I left them at the Axis.”

Valia let out a sigh while the Marquis watched the scene in silence for a few moments with some surprise. ”It seems you make quite a lively team... that’s good, at least it’ll change the atmosphere of tonight’s dinner.”

I couldn’t help but notice the wonderful smell invading my nose and making my mouth water, so without waiting, I reached out and put the first piece of what looked like fish into my mouth, the salty taste mixing with its wonderful tenderness, but in the next moment, my happy moments were interrupted.

”The news of your disappearance was shocking, Caius Astroweild, but your return after all these months was even more surprising.” The Marquis’s voice echoed, and I almost sighed when I heard my name from his mouth, especially in this sentence.

I swallowed what was in my mouth and ignored the obvious question. ”Yes, it must have been surprising.”

The Marquis calmly took a sip from his glass. ”I truly wonder what made you disappear like that and then return months later.”

I wore an apologetic smile as I replied. ”Sorry, Your Excellency Marquis, but I’m not inclined to share that.”

He didn’t look surprised or show any annoyance, simply placing his glass down calmly. ”I understand.”

He smiled as he gestured toward the table and the others. ”Please, don’t let my conversation disturb your dinner.”

He didn’t speak after that, and we continued eating dinner quietly... I mean, it was supposed to be quiet if not for someone starting small arguments every other moment.

But the Marquis didn’t comment on it and seemed to enjoy watching them.

Soon, the plates began to empty, while I took the opportunity to try almost everything.

It didn’t take long before they began excusing themselves and leaving one after another. Garon was the first to leave, while Ivan was dragged outside by force.

The Marquis sat calmly sipping from his glass while the servants quickly cleaned the table around us.

In the end, only Emeris and I remained with the Marquis, but even she gave me a brief look before leaving, leaving just the two of us around the table.

I held my glass and took a sip, the sour taste spreading through my mouth as this man’s words echoed through the place. ”I wonder just how ambitious someone with your talent is, Caius Astroweild.”

Here he goes again.

I smiled proudly while trying to speak modestly. ”It’s not that impressive, sir.”

The Marquis let out a short laugh as he placed his glass on the table. ”No need to be modest. Besides, your face says otherwise.”

He stared at the glass on the table as he swirled it, making the wine inside move along the edges of the glass. ”And from what I see, you may be as strong as me three years from now, perhaps even less.”

What nonsense... how I hate this kind of conversation.

I smiled. ”Thank you for the compliment.”

The Marquis returned his gaze to me, staring at me calmly. ”My words may sound rude, but for a commoner like you, reaching this level at your age is rare... and having all this potential in one person could create real change in the future.”

More nonsense.

I maintained my smile as I listened to his praise or whatever it was, while it seemed the servants had already left the place.

”But you’re smart, Caius, and I think you know that some people won’t like the change you’ll make, or at least they won’t let you do what you want.”

My confident smile wavered. ”What do you mean?”

The Marquis didn’t answer directly. Instead, he raised his glass and took a sip, enjoying the taste for a few moments before returning to the conversation. ”Most of your talented friends, like that girl, come from noble families and hold high status... but you don’t.”

”You have nothing, no status and no history to establish your name among us and support your ambition.”

Is he insulting me now or what?

I frowned, not knowing how to respond, but he continued when he saw my silence. ”You’re still young, with plenty of ambition and dreams, but someone like you needs an anchor to hold him steady against the raging winds.”

He raised his glass toward me. ”Talent alone isn’t enough, Caius. Without someone standing behind you, you may find yourself lost before you even reach where you want to go... or worse.”

”Dead.”

I opened my mouth to reply. ”But the Axis...” but he interrupted me the next moment.

”The Axis?... Yes, I understand that the Axis may be that anchor now, but that won’t continue when you move on to the second year, let alone the third.”

”So you have to find it now, Caius... the support you need that will help you reach where you want to go.”

I stayed silent for a few moments, pretending to seriously think about his words before replying.

”So, do you want to be my backer?”

The Marquis smiled. ”Smart... but no, not me.”

He took the last sip from his glass as he continued.

”I can’t offer the best support for someone like you... but there is someone who can.”