"Whaattt!!!??" The scream came from a woman's voice. Upon closer inspection, it came from a certain red-haired young lady. She was dressed in a white collared blazer with gold-colored military-style ornaments that were adorned on its fabric. The uniform consisted of green lace and two black buttons. She also possessed black leather gloves and long stockings with a pair of simple brown shoes.
"You heard me, my lady. I don't give a Denarius if your father is the leader of the Merchant's guild. I'm not making any exceptions." The man who she was speaking to is a crude-looking one. The man is clad in a light-blue shirt and khaki leather pants and black boots. He was neither handsome nor unattractive, simply your average middle-aged man who anyone ought to forget after around five minutes of seeing him.
"But what you are charging is rather ridiculous!! 900 Denarius for a single silver bear pelt?! You're pulling my leg, aren't you!?" The young woman said out loud in an unbelieving tone.
"Of course not, Lady Anna. Silver Bears are rare majestic beasts from Northland. Thanks to the treaty, we were able to procure such authentic high-quality magic fur from our new friends at the North. Surely the price is worth it, given the item's rarity and the distance traveled just to get this valuable item to the market." The man explained as he justified the huge price of the animal fur.
"Hmm, I suppose you are right." Anna rubbed her chin and marveled at the beautiful silver color of the pelt. "But still, the price is too high is it not? How about 700?"
"Oh no, my lady. 900 is the fixed price as what I'm telling you over and over again. Either you buy or leave and stop wasting my time. There are a lot of nobles who would murder their own kin just so these pelts can be tailored to their clothing." The merchant said in a dismissing and rude tone, ushering Anna away by waving his hand dismissingly.
"Tsk, what an arse." Anna clicked her tongue in annoyance and was left no choice but to give in with the merchant's offer. When her father heard rumors of a merchant who just arrived and brought silver bear pelts to be sold at the market just this morning, he instructed Anna to purchase one so he can determine its actual value in the market as per his job in the merchant's guild. Of course, money is not an issue for Anna and her family, given their success in the business world. She just wanted the best bargain as she can get with both sides being benefited as per her nature as a self-respecting future merchant of the Empire.
"Arse indeed."
Anna was caught off-guard a bit upon suddenly hearing a slightly rough voice of someone coming beside her. Upon looking at her side, her surprise instantly skyrocketed at seeing none other than a young Northman shaking his head amusingly at the merchant right in front of her.
"Oh… Hello, good friend of the North. It's rather rare to see your kind here. Do you want to purchase a silver bear pelt?" The merchant greeted him as best as he could. Although Siegtyr raised a brow upon sensing the nervousness coming from the volume of the merchant's speech. Either the man is just genuinely nervous of his presence or he could be hiding something, the latter Siegtyr highly suspected.
"I can't help but overhear your conversation with this pretty lady over here. You are saying that these are authentic silver bear pelts from my homeland, yes?" Siegtyr clarified and grab a pelt from the stall. He proceeded to inspect the pelt meticulously.
"Why of course. You Northmen sure have majestic beasts roaming around your lands. Thankfully with the war over, we can easily procure such rare items." The merchant kept his composure in his explanation. Although he was in for a surprise when the Northman was actually fluent in their language. Even Anna was feeling the same way with her eyes widen. Now she was truly interested who this man is, especially when she determined that he may actually be around the same age as her.
"Hmm, yes, you are right. Trade has finally opened between us all." Siegtyr said while still inspecting the pelt. Shortly after, another person has arrived at the scene, in the form of Lucon Augustus himself no less.
"Lord Lucon?" Anna uttered as she was acquainted with the nobleman. He was the cousin of her best friend, Cecille after all. Although her confusion has shifted to the item that he is currently carrying, a bucket of water.
"Hello, Lady Anna." Lucon smiled at the redhead. He then took notice of the confused expression coming from her face. As a result, he quickly realized her bafflement and explain it to her. "Ah, in case you are wondering, the young Northman beside you, Lord Siegtyr, has instructed me to bring this bucket of water to him. As for the reason though, that is for us to see."
"Uh-huh." Anna was now even more flabbergasted by Lucon's response. It only served to raise more questions rather than to answer her. Also, why is Lucon, a well-respected noble of the Augustus family, is bringing such an item of questionable nature to the Northman? Well, questionable in this particular scenario at least. And wait, she also heard the word Lord in Lucon's address to the Northman, so he must be someone of importance.
While this was going on, many people in the vicinity all gathered at what the fuss is all about, given that they saw Lucon Augustus himself together with the strangest of company that is a Northman.
"Lord Siegtyr, here is the item that you requested," Lucon said and laid the item to the ground.
Siegtyr grinned and nodded in approval. Without any warning, he plunged the pelt that he was holding into the water, much to the utter bewilderment of the lookers. After a brief moment, he took out the pelt and verified its now wet condition.
"As I suspected." Siegtyr eyed the wet pelt with disdain. "It's fake."
With Siegtyr's statement, the crowd was immediately in an uproar, comparable to the scene of the royal assembly that he participated just a few moments ago.
Anna instantly turned alarmed at the Northman's accusation. To accuse a merchant of fake goods is something that is not an issue to be taken lightly. The penalty for such transgression is a huge fine, a minimum of 10,000 Denarius, and 5 years of imprisonment. If the offender is not able to pay, then it's an additional 5 years for him or her instead until the fine was settled.