Chapter 217: Meeting the Head of the Military of the Tarala Kingdom, Duke Ersi Ester!

The moment that Duke Ersi Ester won the wolf transformation form skill page, his rival guests and their supporters left without even saying a single word. Fortunately, the unexpected event concerning the vampires was completely disregarded by everyone as the majority of them thought that it was all a part of an act to increase the value of the main item.

That said, Duke Albert and Duke Ersi knew to themselves that it was not the case. They were certain that the one who was assassinated by the vampires was Duke Kleon, one of the three great Dukes of the Tarala Kingdom that was trusted by the 'dead' King to handle the General Governance—or the political affairs, concerning the Tarala Kingdom.

What was the proof that it was the real Duke Kleon himself? The letter delivered to Duke Kleon was good enough to serve as proof of identity.

And since most of the guests mistake the vampire scene as an act to increase the value of the transformation skill page, Duke Albert took that into an advantage and mobilized his guards to clean up and cover up the mess.

With the help of Ragas and Clara, as ordered by Pedro, they took the corpses of the vampires to themselves. Of course, knowing how important Pedro was to them, the personnel of the Auction Den—even Duke Albert, allowed Pedro's aides to do so.

On the other hand, Duke Ersi arrived at where the main item was located, together with a handful of his men and the nobles from other strongholds that supported him. With them were several pouches that they handed over to Duke Albert's few Auction Managers to assist him in counting the Gold Coins.

And after a few minutes of verification, Duke Albert and Duke Ersi signed a blood contract regarding the humongous deal. Then afterward, they exchanged the cart full of pouches containing gold coins with the transformation skill page.

And the moment that Duke Ersi obtained the skill page, he read it for almost a minute before he immediately tore it into pieces—consequently using the transformation skill page for himself. Well… Pedro and Duke Albert had no interest in how would Duke Ersi use the skill page. They earned a huge sum of money and that was all that mattered.

In any case, Duke Ersi used the skill immediately and transformed into a wolf-like how Duke Albert did earlier. Duke Ersi's men and the other nobles supporting him could not help but clap their hands in response. Then, they kept saying, "Congrats, Duke Ersi for winning the main item…"

Despite the happiness and excitement that he felt deep inside, Duke Ersi reverted back to his human form with a smirk planted on his face. Then, he glanced to Duke Albert and said, "Nice goods, this time!"

Duke Albert simply nodded in response and said, "It's great to know that you liked our product! I hope that it would provide you a huge help in defending our Kingdom against monsters."

"I hope so…" Duke Ersi Ester frowned and scratched the back of his head. Then, he glanced towards the lifeless body of Duke Kleon and asked, "What should we do about his body? The Kingdom might be thrown into chaos if the information about Duke Kleon's death gets known to the public! So… We must suppress as much information as possible!"

Duke Albert simply smirked in response and said, "You can leave that matter to me. And before I forgot… I got a tip from someone telling us that the King is currently in a dire state and we must visit him as soon as possible."

"The King???" Duke Ersi asked with a frown on his face. Then, his gaze was shifted back to the corpse of Duke Kleon and the several vampires near him before saying, "I see… Then I would take a trip back to the palace before going back home! Those rookie knights would be troublesome to handle though. All of them are quite stubborn despite being weak than the average strength needed for a Royal Knight!"

Duke Ersi could not help but sigh as his attention caught the figure of Clara and Ragas, making him frown and ask, "Are those two, your men? Since when did you get such strong men that are capable of neutralizing those annoying vampires in just seconds? I-I mean…"

Duke Albert simply shook his head and said, "They are not my men. They were initially high-quality slaves that are being sold under this Auction Den. However, by now, they are owned by one of our esteemed guests!"

"Guest?" Duke Ersi frowned as his head followed Duke Albert—who, at this moment, approached Pedro full of confidence.

Duke Albert simply nodded in response as he pointed his hand towards Pedro and said, "Ersi, please meet Sire Aron! The owner of the two slaves—who neutralized the vampires and prevented the commotion in getting worst."

"Greetings, Sire Aron!" Duke Ersi simply raised his hand and waved it to Pedro as he went closer towards them. "I can't help but be amazed by your ability to be able to spot such rare gems at the same time! I wonder where great sire came from?"

At this moment, Duke Ersi noticed Pedro's overcoat and was suddenly at loss for words. After a few seconds of silence, his jaws slightly opened as he took a step back and pointed towards Pedro, saying, "Y-You… Are you, perhaps, someone from 'that' organization?"

Pedro simply smiled in response and said, "Organization? If you mean the Bearth Human Organization, then you are right, Duke Ersi? Was I right? Forgive me, sire… I am not that quite good with names!"

Duke Ersi had just suddenly gone blank at that moment. And it took him tens of seconds before he was able to get back to himself and return to his calm demeanor. Then, he took a deep breath and bowed to Pedro with his right arm in front of his body, while saying, "Respected Sir Aron, it is my honor to be in your presence! Forgive me for not noticing immediately, that you are someone from the Legendary Fleet of Karakoa of the Three Great Admirals of the South Eastern Lands! May I know if the kind Vice Almirante Soledad sent you in this Kingdom?"

At this moment, Duke Albert and everyone else could not help but stare towards Pedro out of astonishment. However, they were not astonished and at loss for words because they know what Duke Ersi had said. But… it was because they were astonished by the way that Duke Ersi had responded towards Pedro.

On the other hand, Pedro could not help but smile in response and said, "Please, lift your head respected Duke… you don't need to be like that towards me. As for your question if my mentor had sent me here for a task of some sort… Unfortunately, I have to disappoint you but… that is not the case! I am here for my own accord. I could tell you some information about my visit but… I would like to have a private talk with only you and Duke Albert around."

"I-Is that so?" Duke Ersi panicked and seemed like he was a bit troubled. He glanced towards Duke Albert, then, to the other nobles before forcing out a smile and saying, "Forgive me, but… I would like to kindly ask everyone to wait for me in the lobby. I would need to talk with Sire Aron for a bit… There won't be a problem with it, right?"

Probably out of fear to Duke Ersi, the six-foot man with a body of a bodybuilder and brown threatening eyes, everyone could only force out a smile in response and agree to his arrangements without having that much thought.

"Please take your time, Duke Ersi! I don't have many things to settle back in my stronghold!"

"Yes, Duke Ersi! It is the same case for me!"

"Please take your time!"

…

This, in turn, made Duke Ersi clap his hands out of glee as he glanced towards Duke Albert and said, "Albert… Where can the three of us talk privately?"

"Uhm…" Duke Albert could not help but force out a smile as he glanced back and forth to Pedro and Duke Ersi. And it was only after a few seconds that he was able to calm himself and scratch the back of his head, saying, "I-If that's the case… Then, please follow me!"

At this moment, Duke Albert went to the golden cart where the pouches of gold coins were placed. He pushed it by himself as he walked and led Pedro and Duke Ersi to his private room on the second floor. But before they could even reach the room, a breeze went past them from behind as a white-haired lady appeared in front of them.

"Stop!" The woman shouted. She glared towards Pedro whilst her hands held the handle of a sword that was sheathed in the left side of her waist. Then, she asked, "Tell me… Do you really know Vice Almirante Soledad, Captain Aron?"

Pedro simply smirked and nodded in response, saying, "Yes, Clara! I am quite familiar with my very own Mentor, Vice Almirante Soledad!"