“You are…
What’s your name?”
“Silas Parmotis, my lord.”
“Parmotis?
You’re Illyrio’s son?”
“That’s right.
That’s me.” Aegon smiled.
The prince had heard of Illyrio as well.
More than a decade ago, Illyrio had gone so far as to refuse a marriage alliance with the prince because he wanted to marry a mysterious woman of unknown origins.
Even if the prince was nothing more than a puppet, he was still the Prince of Pentos.
Enraged, he had declared that from that day forward, Illyrio was forbidden from setting foot inside the Prince’s Palace again.
Relations between the two had become extremely strained, and the incident had been widely known at the time.
Unfortunately, the mysterious woman Illyrio had married died of plague less than two years after giving birth to Aegon.
Beyond that old connection, there was also Illyrio’s “son.” Everyone within Pentos’s ruling circle knew just how indulgent Illyrio was toward him.
So, in their eyes, it was perfectly reasonable for the young man to spend a considerable amount of money simply to acquire a piece of land where he could ride horses.
As the saying went, a man’s reputation followed him wherever he went.
“So, how much are you prepared to offer?”
“For this piece of land?
One thousand Pentoshi gold coins would already be too much.”
“What?
One thousand?”
The prince’s expression darkened.
“Then let it rot in my hands.”
With that, the prince turned around and walked toward his sedan chair without sparing Aegon another glance.
He wasn’t incapable of accepting a price of one thousand gold coins.
The problem was that if word got out that he had sold the land for such a pitiful sum, it would be unbearably humiliating.
“You really won’t sell?” Aegon called after him.
The man was determined not to accept the offer.
“Let’s go!”
He threw the words over his shoulder, not even bothering to respond further.
“Fine.
If you won’t sell it, would you be willing to lease it?”
The moment he heard that, the man raised a hand, and the servants carrying the sedan chair immediately stopped.
“I was just thinking…” Aegon continued, adopting a thoughtful expression.
“Perhaps in less than two years, my father will have me take over his business.
When that happens, I won’t have nearly as much free time to amuse myself.
Since you’re unwilling to sell, why not lease the land to me for a while?
How about one hundred Pentoshi gold dragons a year?
You lease it to me for three years.
After those three years, the land will still belong to you.”
“Lease?”
The Prince fell silent for a moment and carefully considered the proposal.
Perhaps this really was a good arrangement.
After all, the land had been sitting unused for years, producing absolutely no income.
“Very well.
Tell your father that, when he has the time, he should come to my estate for a drink.”
His family might have fallen into decline, but he certainly wasn’t willing to give up opportunities to associate with other powerful governors.
Aegon, for his part, had deliberately chosen to lease rather than purchase the land.
The main reason was simple: who knew what this world would look like three years from now?
Even two years from now, everything would already be plunged into turmoil.
There was another consideration as well.
Leasing the land allowed him to save some money.
He had not yet reached the point where he could make his own operation completely self-sufficient, so keeping some funds in reserve for emergencies was worthwhile.
The two sides drew up a formal contract and signed their names.
The instant Aegon’s quill touched the parchment, the system responded.
His first Domain had been acquired.
[Domain Acquired — Southern Outskirts of Pentos.
Dominion +1]
[Domain Rating: E]
[Reward Obtained: Freshwater Well.
You may freely choose the location of the well.
Its water supply is sufficient for the daily needs of 2,000 people.]
[Reward Obtained: Level 1 Skill Card ×1]
[Reward Obtained: C-Rank Charisma Fragment ×2 (4/5)]
[Reward Obtained: C-Rank Physique Fragment ×1 (1/5)]
After all, this Domain had been obtained by exploiting a loophole, so the rewards were nothing spectacular.
Still, they were quite useful.
The Freshwater Well reward could appear anywhere within Aegon’s Domain, wherever he wished.
The racetrack would eventually need to house a large number of horses, so having a reliable source of fresh water would make things considerably easier.
In fact, the lack of easily accessible freshwater was one of the major reasons this piece of land had been so cheap.
If it had a freshwater well, its value could easily triple.
Aegon looked over the other rewards and chose to use the newly acquired Skill Card on Swordsmanship.
His Level 1 Swordsmanship was simply too poor.
At most, he could deal with two or three ordinary men who had never trained before.
Add another opponent, and he would probably be the one getting beaten down.
He needed to strengthen himself physically as quickly as possible.
Only then could he better lead his soldiers.
At present, the soldiers depended on him more than they respected him.
Aside from the fact that he had yet to lead them to a single victory, his personal martial ability was another major factor limiting their respect for him.
In this world, a strong martial spirit was the first virtue.
The only problem was that if he wanted to build a racetrack, the money he currently had still wasn’t enough.
It looked like he would have to pay Illyrio another visit.
…
When Aegon learned that Illyrio had returned, he did something he almost never did: he went downstairs to greet him personally.
Even Shamira found it astonishing.
“Oh, Lord Illyrio is finally home.
Did everything go well today?”
Aegon winked at Illyrio, his tone carrying a playful edge.
The moment Illyrio saw him, he froze for a moment.
This was the same reckless young brat he had raised for more than a decade, a boy he knew almost as well as himself.
So why did he suddenly seem so different today?
It was difficult to put the feeling into words.
There was still a hint of frivolity in Aegon’s speech, but his every gesture carried an inexplicable air of dignity.
At first glance, he almost looked like a prince who had just stepped out of the royal court.
Seeing the surprise—and even a trace of restraint—in Illyrio’s eyes, Aegon immediately realized that the four Charisma Fragments he had accumulated were already taking effect. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
The difference between D-Rank Charisma and C-Rank Charisma was enormous.
Crossing that threshold represented a qualitative transformation.
But even before reaching C-Rank, simply accumulating Charisma Fragments could significantly enhance his presence.
Shamira had already become noticeably more docile around him, and Illyrio’s reaction now proved that the improvement was very real.
Illyrio, however, had witnessed more than enough of the world’s intrigues and had been involved in schemes grand enough to shake kingdoms.
He quickly recovered from Aegon’s influence.
Especially once he learned that Aegon had come looking for money, his attitude immediately cooled again.
“More money?
Again?
It’s only been a few days!
Do you think my money grows on trees?”
“Ah, I know.
Don’t worry.
This will be the last time I ask you for money this year.”
“What?”
Illyrio stared at him suspiciously.
He clearly didn’t believe Aegon’s promise.
“What are you planning to do?
You need more money again?” He scratched at his yellow beard as he spoke.
“I want to build a racetrack.”
“A racetrack?
What’s that supposed to be?
A gambling house?”
Illyrio’s expression immediately became serious.
“Let me tell you right now, opening a gambling house won’t do.
The Frey family controls most of the gambling houses in the city.
If you recklessly stick your nose into their business, you’ll only cause trouble for yourself.”
Although Pentos had forty governors entitled to participate in the city’s political affairs, only three families truly possessed significant power.
The Frey family controlled the gambling houses and banks.
Of the other two great families, one controlled virtually all of Pentos’s ports and more than seventy percent of its ships, giving it control over shipping and maritime trade.
The other controlled roughly sixty percent of the land, making it the largest landowner in Pentos.
The Freys had connections to Braavos, while the other two great families constantly struggled against one another, maintaining a delicate balance of power.
“Oh, it’s not that kind of gambling house.”
Aegon briefly explained how the racetrack would operate, including the betting and wagering system.
The idea actually piqued Illyrio’s interest.
He secretly admitted that perhaps Aegon wasn’t as stupid as he had assumed.
Seeing that the boy had finally stopped merely throwing money away and had instead begun thinking about ways to make money, Illyrio’s opinion of him improved slightly.
At the same time, however, Illyrio became more wary.
He had never taught Aegon anything truly substantial, yet the boy had still managed to come up with something like this.
What would happen if Aegon received the same level of education and training as Young Griff?
If the boy became too capable…
Too intelligent…
Illyrio might no longer be able to control him.
If I can’t control him…
A trace of killing intent flashed through Illyrio’s eyes.