Volume 2 Chapter 186 - Which identity would you choose? (1/2)

Count Stagg and Count Sean were around the same age, they were both over fifty years old this year, but Count Sean seemed much more vigorous. Count Stagg was only a few years older, but his appearance was much older and his face was much more strict.

After getting out of the carriage, other than revealing a friendly smile when looking at Count Sean, when he met the others, he had a strict look that wasn’t easily moved at all.

Moreover, when his expression was different when it came to facing nobles or merchants.

His face still had the same strict appearance, but when he was facing nobles, his expression could be considered normal.

But when he was facing the merchants, although it wasn’t clear with his strict appearance, it was very easy to perceive the disdain that it carried.

The only exception was when he met Xu Yi.

When Count Sean led him to Xu Yi, Count Stagg’s serious expression became a bit relaxed and his expression became a bit strange.

After looking at Xu Yi for a bit, Count Stagg suddenly shook his head and gave a soft snort, “It was hard enough for his majesty to give you a noble title, but you continue lowering your status to be a merchant. It really is a waste of his majesty’s recognition of you and losing face for us nobles!”

The surrounding business circle representatives have ugly looks on their faces.

Although their position as merchants in the Lampuri Kingdom was below that of nobles and couldn’t even compare to the farmers, even if the nobles felt disdain towards the merchants, there was no noble that would put it so straightforward in front of the merchants

The merchants had very low positions, but successful merchants had large amounts of money.

Money was always easy to use, whether it was earth or the Sines Continent. As long as one had enough money, even if the merchants didn’t have a high status, they lived better than most peasants and even nobles whose households were in bad conditions.

Moreover, it wasn’t easy for large nobles to engage in business with their status, so they mostly used representatives to do business or directly cooperated with merchants.

In the end, one couldn’t feed themselves with their position no matter how high it was.

If they wanted to live a high scale life of luxury, if they didn’t depend on business to make money, normal nobles weren’t that much better than peasants.

So there had always been a strange relationship between nobles and merchants in the Lampuri Kingdom.

The nobles looked down on merchants, but they wanted to live the same luxurious lives as them.

The merchants envied the nobles’ positions, but they actually looked down on those nobles who felt superior and didn’t actually know what the real situation was.

Both sides had what the other side needed, so cooperation was the best choice for both sides.

In the end, the nobles and merchants had close knit business deals, while looking down on each other.

This relationship seemed messed up and even twisted, but this was the real situation in the Lampuri Kingdom and most of the other kingdoms on the Sines Continent.

Take the large merchants of the Lampuri Kingdom.

First, not mentioning the Falcao Chamber of Commerce that was clearly set up by the large noble family of the Jole Family, even the Armani Chamber of Commerce, the Amrit Chamber of Commerce, and the Sarank Chamber of Commerce that didn’t seem related to any nobles actually had nobles behind them to some extent.

The chairman of these companies frequently came in contact with nobles, but this was the first time that a noble had been so straightforward with his disdain towards merchants.

If it was a small noble, for veteran merchants like chairman Rank, chairman Cruise, and chairman Vincent, they wouldn’t care at all and could even reprimand that noble without any courtesy.

But the one who said this was a Lord Count and it was a Lord Count that came from the Stagg Family, one that would take over as Banta City’s City Lord.

No matter how dissatisfied they were, they could only lower their heads. They didn’t dare look at Count Sean and they didn’t dare reveal a single bit of their true feelings.

Only Xu Yi slightly raised his lead and looked at Count Stagg before saying with a faint smile, “Lord Count Stagg, I don’t feel that being a merchant is lowering my status and it isn’t losing face for nobles. To me, this noble status was just one that his majesty granted me and the status that I really care about is my status as a merchant.”

Count Sean raised a brow, “What? You want to wallow in degeneracy?”

Xu Yi’s face sunk slightly before he said with a serious look, “Lord Count, I don’t understand what you mean. If you’re saying that me being willing to be a merchant is wallowing in degeneracy, I don’t agree with this view.”

The surrounding people were surprised.

No one thought that Xu Yi would actually contradict Count Stagg in front of all these people.

Count Stagg came to Banta City today to take over the City Lord’s position. According to customs, he would definitely do some things to establish his authority.