Joaquin turned toward Andrew. He cleared his throat and said respectfully, "Mr. Lloyd, allow me to introduce her properly. This is Ms. Valerie Reyes from our main family. She's also a major general in the military. She's only here today to enjoy the auction, so I hope you'll give her some courtesy."
Valerie's face remained calm as she stared at Andrew. She was sure that this time, he would show some respect. But to her surprise, his expression did not change at all.
He replied, "Sorry, like I said, I don't know her and haven't heard of her. Reyes Grand Auction House can either arrange the auction for me and follow proper procedures, or we can forget the whole thing. I'll just consider this a wasted trip.
"Though calling it wasted is a bit of an overstatement. These three pills of mine are pretty easy to sell elsewhere. Worst case scenario, I'll just take them straight to the Sovereign's Apothecary and hand them over to the professionals there."
As soon as those words left his mouth, Joaquin's expression changed drastically. He panicked, afraid Andrew might actually leave and ignore even Valerie's presence. Losing a client like him would be a disaster, especially when everyone wanted the ninth-grade Marble Essence Pill he possessed.
"Alright then, we'll proceed with the auction process," Valerie said suddenly, her tone calm and composed. It was as if the earlier embarrassment had never happened.
That unexpected poise made Andrew glance at her in mild surprise.
His attitude softened slightly as he asked, "A major general, huh? Valerie Reyes? When I dealt with the military before, I don't recall hearing your name. But Enrique Reyes is your brother, right? The head of your family?"
Valerie replied calmly, "That's correct. Enrique is our eldest brother. As the Lloyd family's Dragon Prince, you naturally wouldn't know a nobody like me. But I've been hearing about your reputation since I was young.
"Honestly, I'm sick of it. Even Luna, that tight-lipped ice queen, has mentioned you to me before. Mr. Lloyd, your charm really does shake all of Chetvine, doesn't it?"
Andrew smiled casually, seemingly not catching the mockery in her words. "Alright, since someone capable of making decisions has arrived, let's arrange the auction as soon as possible.
"I'm willing to sell all three of these pills. However, for the last ninth-grade Marble Essence Pill, I won't sell it for less than 500 million."
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Rising from the Ashes (Andrew)
no update? :-(...
Why there is no update for last two days??...
Brilliant piece of work. I am enjoying the novel. The only problem is that it is taking longer to update more chapters....