Although Count Samo's analysis had put Xu Yi considerably more at ease, it was clearly impossible for him not to care at all about Viscount Leslie's successor.
After all, the Xinfei Merchant Guild's main factories stood on rented land, so they still had to accommodate its owner to some extent.
Thus, before meeting Baron Billier Stark, Xu Yi still held a measure of respect and apprehension toward him. He thought that however much the man looked down on the Xinfei Merchant Guild, everything would be fine as long as he did not deliberately act against it.
However, that trace of respect and apprehension vanished the moment he first met Baron Billier.
"You're Xu Yi?" Seeing Xu Yi enter behind Butler Wenlai, Baron Billier looked him up and down with a contemptuous expression.
The man before him slouched sideways in his chair with one leg cocked up, looking utterly flippant-more like a street thug than a baron born into a great noble family. Xu Yi could not help frowning slightly, but he merely answered, "Yes."
Seeing Baron Billier's attitude, Xu Yi immediately realized that his hopes of peaceful relations between them would probably come to nothing.
Even without instructions from the Stark Family, Baron Billier himself was probably no easy man to deal with.
Sure enough, after looking Xu Yi up and down, Baron Billier still showed no intention of offering him a seat. He picked up some fruit from the table and ate leisurely for a while before casting a sidelong glance at Xu Yi, as though he had only just remembered him.
"Oh, right. There's nothing particularly important I called you here for. I just wanted to notify you of something. I could have simply sent Butler Wenlai to tell you, but I was a little curious about you,