Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

Roy shook his head and removed the unnecessary thoughts from his mind. “My lord, thank you for doing business with me! You have given me more than what I need so you can get the slave wagons as a bonus.”

“Mn.” Alaric was pleased.

This guy was indeed an experienced merchant. He knew how to make his clients feel happy. The only problem was he was too greedy for money.

“These are the keys, my lord. It is labeled so it won’t be difficult for you to unlock the chains on those women.” Roy handed him a set of keys.

Alaric took the keys from him and handed them to Rasmus. “Remove the shackles on those women.”

“Yes, my lord!” Rasmus nodded. Before he left to do his task, he sent Roy a glare.

Roy didn’t mind the look he was given. He was already used to this. He had even received numerous death threats, but he had overcome all those problems.

Seeing that Alaric was no longer interested in chatting with him, Roy took this as his cue to leave. He bowed to Alaric. “I won’t disturb you any further, my lord. I shall take my leave now. Please excuse me.”

Alaric nodded and waved his hand indifferently. “Be careful on your way back, Sir Roy.”

“I will, my lord.” Roy chuckled. He then went back to his carriage and instructed his group to set off.

After they left, Alaric’s subordinates freed the women from their shackles. However, none of the women expressed gratitude. Instead, they stared at their new lord with fear and numbness.

“Thank you for accepting my unreasonable request.” Hershey looked at Alaric with gratitude. There weren’t plenty of men who would be willing to pay 5000 gold coins to save a bunch of female slaves.

Alaric gently held her hand and smiled. “There is no need to thank me, but what do you plan to do with those women?”

“If you set them free, some of them might be captured by slave traders again.” He reminded her with a stern look.

Hershey nodded. “I know. How about you let them work in your estate? I will handle everything if you give me your approval.”

She nervously observed his reaction.

House Paxley was still in financial crisis so she couldn’t bring these women to their estate. Giving jobs to these women would cost a lot of money so this was another unreasonable request.

She couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

Alaric embraced her when he saw her expression. “There is no need to feel embarrassed, Hershey. We will be family soon and I am certain that you can help me manage our family’s business with your skills.”

“Do you trust me that much?” Hershey muttered.

“Of course!” Alaric replied without hesitation.

In his past life, Hershey was the main reason why House Silversword didn’t fall despite its terrible financial situation. She used her wits to revive the family’s businesses and she did all that with limited resources too.

While they were chatting, Rasmus approached them and reported. “My lord, one of the female slaves wants to speak with you.”

Alaric raised an eyebrow. When he turned his head, he saw a tall and valiant woman standing behind Rasmus. It was the older one of the two red-haired siblings.

She looked nervous, but she gathered her courage to stare at Alaric.

“What is your name?” Alaric asked with a calm tone.

Rasmus immediately stepped back to give them room to speak.

The red-haired lady lowered her head and responded. “My lord, my name is Lyanna Ji-… Just call me Lyanna, my lord.”

Alaric noticed that she didn’t want to use her family name, but this was understandable. They had been abandoned by their father and were even sold off to pay off his gambling debts.

[Do you want to use Appraisal on the selected target?]

[Yes] [No]

Alaric wanted to see her stats so he clicked [Yes].

Lyanna Jillings [Knight] EXP: 401/500

Potential: B

Traits: Swordsmanship (D), Close Combat (D), Archery, (E), Hunting (E), Horseback Riding (D), Dagger Mastery (F), Poison Mastery (F)

Strength: 84

Stamina: 82

Agility: 90

Vitality: 71

Endurance: 77

Mana: 56

For a Knight, her stats were above average. Her attributes were just a bit weaker than Aldrin’s, but compared to most Knights, she was already better and younger too.

“Dame Lyanna, what do you want to tell me?” She was more powerful than he had anticipated so Alaric was willing to hear her thoughts.

Lyanna kneeled before him and pleaded. “My lord, I am willing to offer you my body, but please let go of my sister.”

Hershey and Elena gasped at her words.

Alaric didn’t expect her to make this request.

He shook his head and replied in a calm voice. “Your worries are unnecessary. I did not plan on enslaving you girls. If you do not mind, how about working for me instead, as free people? You will be given salary, accommodation, and even rest days. What do you think?”

Hearing this, Lyanna was flabbergasted. She was already prepared to use her purity in exchange for her sister’s freedom. Alaric’s response was outside her expectations. “My lord, you mean… do you mean it?” She asked in a quivering tone.

This man had already bought them from the slave trader, but he was actually giving them the choice to work as free people!

She had never seen an unusual noble like him before.

“I accept your offer, my lord! I want to work for you! Thank you very much!” She couldn’t help but sob.

She had been worried about her sister’s fate all this time.

Alaric smiled and went to help her stand up. “Dame Lyanna, we will talk about your contract later. For now, please help me convince those women. My offer also applies to them.”

Lyanna widened her eyes. She thought that he was only giving them special treatment because they were more useful, but it turned out that the man before her was more noble than she had thought.

“Right away, my lord!”