VanCleef racked his brains. How could he persuade the two highborn nobles before him?
Have Joseph carry his mother here from the abbey? That clearly would not work. She needed proper rest now, and repeatedly moving her around would only harm her condition.
Have Benny Blanco bring the duplicate IOU from home? His home was in the Brackwell Pumpkin Patch in southern Elwynn Forest, several days' journey away. There was not enough time, either. VanCleef could not possibly make the duke and the earl wait here for several days.
Then perhaps he had only one choice left...
They had finally argued this troublesome fellow, this stubborn guild leader, into silence. At the thought, mysterious smiles appeared on Wishock's and Ridgewell's faces at the same time.
Seeing the guild leader looking bewildered and at a complete loss, Felix no longer wanted to stay here with him and suffer further humiliation.
He reached out and caught VanCleef's shoulder. "Guildmaster, why don't we leave right away-"
But just then, something happened that none of them had expected-
VanCleef gritted his teeth and dropped to his knees with a thud.
"I beg you, honored duke and earl." VanCleef's voice sounded utterly... abject.
Felix was stunned. Was this still the Big Van he knew?
Was this still the leader of the Defias Brotherhood who had shouted loudly and firmly at the greedy adventurers in the Deadmines, "Fools! Our cause is just!"?
Felix did not understand, but he was deeply shaken.
In fact, to raise the money his brothers needed, VanCleef was already prepared to cast aside every last shred of his dignity.
If abandoning his dignity could help him secure lifesaving money for his brothers, then he would abandon it. Surely he could not forgo even the money just to preserve his dignity?
"My lords, please, show some kindness. I know you're both kind, good men. Surely you couldn't bear to see an elderly mother die of illness, an older man who served with distinction in war and construction left without support in his old age, or a young girl sold off to settle a debt, could you?"
VanCleef's words carried boundless hope. He even quietly raised his head to observe the two nobles' expressions.
Only when he saw that neither noble spoke to rebuff him did he venture to continue. "Noble lords, I wouldn't dare ask you to pay everyone's wages in the Stonemasons' Guild out of your own pockets, but could you at least advance the wages of those who urgently need money? Once the wages are officially paid, I... we will repay every penny you lend us."
Noble lords?
Felix suddenly felt that the kneeling man was nobler than the two standing men; that this filthy leader of the stonemasons was cleaner than those two splendidly dressed men.
"Those who urgently need money-do you mean the names listed on this sheet?" Wishock took the list from Ridgewell and looked down with interest at VanCleef, who knelt on the floor. His words were thick with sarcasm.
The stonemasons' leader nodded repeatedly, a light called "hope" shining in his eyes.
Duke Wishock was indeed a kindhearted man.
And so, before VanCleef's incredulous eyes, he decisively tore the sheet into pieces. Then he tossed the scraps into the air, letting them fall to the floor like flowers scattered by a celestial maiden.
Hope went out.
Duke Wishock truly could not bear to see the poor suffer-so he simply would not look.
"Now does that mean no one in the Stonemasons' Guild urgently needs money anymore, our brave, upright, esteemed Guildmaster VanCleef?" Laughing loudly, Wishock turned and left the little reception room.
Felix was not sure whether Duke Wishock had done this while entirely sober, or whether it was simply a case of "wine bringing out the truth."
Not only that, but an even more grating voice came from outside the door-
"Servants, see our guests out. Also, sweep up all this dust on the floor, then sweep all the rubbish out the door. Remember, you must keep the room tidy. I don't want this place filthy."
Felix was not sure exactly what Duke Wishock meant by "rubbish."
Was the rubbish the scraps of paper on the floor, him and VanCleef, or the two nobles themselves?
"All right, Guildmaster, let's leave. There must be some other way." He quickly reached out and pulled VanCleef, who had yet to recover his senses, up from the floor, then guided him step by step out of Duke Wishock's mansion.
"You're right, Felix. I should have left long ago instead of staying here to humiliate myself." VanCleef clearly had yet to recover from this enormous humiliation. "Let's think of some other way."
Now there was unmistakably a new flicker of angry flame, tinged with hatred, in VanCleef's eyes.
On the way back to the guild headquarters in the city planning hall, both men were unusually silent.
VanCleef had not expected that, despite selling his dignity, he would end up gaining nothing at all.
Clearly, there was no gold beneath his knees.
Felix wanted very much to say something to comfort the man beside him who had put everything on the line, but whenever the words rose to his lips, it was as though someone had cast a silence spell on him. He could not say a thing.
In the end, Felix merely offered him a quiet apology. "I'm sorry, Guildmaster. I shouldn't have made such an unreliable suggestion. I should have known that foolish, greedy nobles couldn't be trusted-I-I'm sorry you had to suffer that humiliation."
VanCleef froze for a moment, then forcibly concealed his displeasure and gave a loud laugh, pretending to be cheerful. "As long as there's a chance of getting money for our brothers, what does a little humiliation matter? That's what I'm here for as the guild leader. Come on, Felix. The dining halls at the city planning hall and the workstations should be closed by now, but we can't go hungry. Let's just find a restaurant nearby and have a meal."
At those words, Felix froze, momentarily unsure how to answer.
But VanCleef misunderstood. He reached out and patted Felix on the back. "Don't worry, Felix. You won't have to pay for this meal. It's my treat."
"No, Guildmaster," Felix said, growing somewhat anxious. "That's not what I meant. I just-"
"It's all right. I told you, it's my treat." He sounded somewhat resigned. "I may be very poor now, but I can still afford a meal."
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