The nobles of the East Coast valued not only elaborate etiquette, but also dignity.
Expecting to obtain something with empty words alone was the conduct of merchants, something all nobles despised.
Titon was a perfect example.
After receiving the courteous hospitality of Creados and learning that it was a "thousand-year-old family," Titon had undergone a profound change of heart.
The latter, in particular, made the steward feel he was reaching far above his station.
In seeking such an elevated connection, the Harold Family naturally had to offer something in return.
According to the rules among South County's nobles, seeking protection in this fashion required offering at least a third of one's family wealth, or even more, to secure the arrangement.
But a third of the Harold Family's wealth...
What a joke.
Titon did not want Lord Credos to mistake the Harold Family's offer for an insult to Creados.
The Harold Family was simply too poor.
So poor that even offering Harold Manor to the lord before him would fall far short.
But Harold Manor truly was all the Harold Family had left.
Thus, the Harold Family's steward had been filled with apprehension as he spoke those words on one knee.
And when he saw Lord Credos frown in his seat, the steward cried inwardly-
It's over!
Lord Credos thinks this is an insult!
He immediately prepared to explain.
It might strip away the Harold Family's last shred of dignity, but at this point, he could no longer afford to care.
Yet before the steward could speak,
Arthur raised a hand, and a large cotton-and-linen money pouch he had prepared appeared in his grasp.
The pouch contained five hundred gold coins, which rubbed against one another beneath its tightly cinched opening.
The distinctive clinking of gold caught the Harold Family steward's