132: Chapter 132 Welcome to the Board of Directors

In its place was a newly appointed, unfamiliar role named Ella, the "Foundation Chair."

The body of the charcoal pencil was warmed by her body temperature, and the rough texture of the wood was exceptionally clear.

Ella's fingers tightened and loosened, then tightened again; the pencil trembled slightly between her fingers, mirroring the intense struggle within her heart at that moment.

Levi did not rush her.

He simply leaned back quietly against his chair, his gaze fixed on Ella like an experienced hunter patiently waiting for the prey in his trap to exhaust its last bit of strength.

He could clearly see the tension in her jawline and hear her breathing, which was rapid despite her best efforts to suppress it.

He could even discern the rise in her body temperature from her emotional fluctuations through the faint change in the scent of her perfume in the air.

To her, this was perhaps a life-or-death choice concerning her convictions and identity.

But to him, this was merely the most basic of onboarding training.

He needed the name Ella Radiance—this golden brand—to provide a legitimate and noble veneer for the bloody feast of capital he was about to launch.

But he absolutely did not need an Imperial Princess who only knew how to talk empty talk about ideals and laws.

What he wanted was a tool who could understand his logic and efficiently execute his will within the framework he established.

Therefore, he had to break her with his own hands and then reshape her.

Time ticked by, minute by minute, and the clock in the study made a monotonous and dull "tick-tock" sound, as if counting down to the death of an old identity.

Finally, Ella took a deep breath, as if using up all her strength. She gripped the charcoal pencil, the tip hovering over the list.

Her movements were slow, carrying a ritualistic heaviness.

Levi's gaze followed her pencil tip, observing her choices with great interest.

She did not start with the Fat Frey Family at the top, nor did she follow any conventional logic of geography or family size.

The first name her pencil circled was an inconspicuous one in the middle of the list—Baron Valerius.

Levi's brow twitched imperceptibly.

Interesting.

He knew Baron Valerius, of course.

This was a minor noble family with nearly two hundred years of heritage. Their territory was small, but they had always held a modest share of the grain trade in the North.

The family was characterized by being old-fashioned and stubborn, like a stone in a latrine, but their reputation was excellent; they never defaulted on payments and never engaged in speculative business.

In any business assessment report, they would be classified as the most stable but lowest-potential partner.

"Why choose him?" Levi spoke, breaking the silence.

There was no interrogation in his voice, only pure curiosity, like a mentor asking a student about their problem-solving process.

Ella's pencil tip paused, seemingly not expecting Levi to ask.

She looked up, a complex mix of emotions flashing in her violet eyes—confusion, struggle, but more so a stubbornness born of being backed into a corner and forced to mobilize all her wisdom for a counterattack.

"Because he is the least likely to cooperate with you," her voice was somewhat raspy, but her logic was clear. "Baron Valerius is the most steadfast supporter of the Empire among the Northern nobles. He despises all emerging business practices that do not conform to traditional noble etiquette. By putting him first on the invitation list, if he refuses, other wavering merchants will become wary and won't dare participate in your 'auction' easily. This will delay your plan to the maximum extent."

She paused, as if bolstering her courage, and continued: "If... if he accepts the invitation, it means even the most stubborn traditionalist has recognized the The Foundation's legitimacy. This would become a bellwether, making it impossible for all subsequent merchants to refuse. Whether he comes or not, inviting him first will best test the bottom line of the traditional Northern nobility."

After finishing, she looked at Levi somewhat nervously, like a student awaiting judgment.

A sincere smile slowly spread across Levi's face.

"A very brilliant line of political maneuvering," he praised her generously, then his tone shifted, becoming flat and cold. "But unfortunately, we are not discussing politics right now; we are discussing business. In the world of merchants, there is no eternal loyalty, only eternal interest."

He reached out and tapped the background information on Baron Valerius on the table, which was far more detailed than what Ella had recounted.

"Baron Valerius, fifty-four years old, has three sons. The eldest is studying in the Imperial Capital, requiring over a thousand gold coins annually to maintain a respectable social life; the second son is obsessed with swordsmanship and dreams of becoming a Battle Qi Master, with expenses for various magic potions and hiring mentors being equally high; as for his most beloved youngest son, he just married the daughter of another Earl last year, and to keep up appearances, he nearly drained half of the family's liquid assets."

Levi's voice was soft, yet like a heavy hammer, word by word it shattered the logical defense Ella had just built.

"His family territory mainly produces a crop called 'Snow-top Wheat.' The yield is low, but the taste is excellent, making it a luxury on noble dining tables. In previous years, his biggest buyer was General Cassius and his group of quartermasters, used to pay tribute to the power players in the Imperial Capital."

He stopped, quietly watching Ella, letting her connect the dots of cause and effect herself.

Ella's face instantly turned pale.

She understood.

Cassius had fallen, and Baron Valerius's biggest sales channel... was severed.

And those emptied vaults, that respectable life that needed gold coins to maintain, were like bottomless pits with bloody maws wide open, ready to swallow this ancient family at any moment.

"So," Levi's voice sounded like a final sentence, "he is not the least likely to cooperate; on the contrary, he is the one who needs money the most right now and is most desperate to find a new sales outlet. He needs this auction more than anyone. By putting him first, you aren't testing his bottom line; you're giving him a signal—that the The Foundation is willing to give him a priority seat at the table. He will accept with tears of gratitude and, to repay this 'kindness,' will offer a price in the first round of bidding that is high enough to satisfy everyone."

Levi pushed the charcoal pencil back into Ella's hand.

"Now, reconsider your order. Princess, welcome to the real world. Here, behind every name is not a cold title or a stance, but a series of hungry mouths and ledgers filled with red ink."

El... Ella's hand was trembling.

She felt that the worldview she had built over the past eighteen years had been completely smashed to pieces by this man in just one hour using a few pieces of data and some analysis.

It turned out that behind those noble crests she admired, which represented Imperial order and glory, were such naked calculations of interest and survival anxiety.

She held the pencil, looking at those familiar names on the list, feeling for the first time that they had become so strange, yet so... real.

She no longer thought about who was a supporter of the Empire or who was a speculator.

In her mind, Levi's analytical logic began to surface uncontrollably: whose finances were the tightest?

Whose territory had a poor harvest this year?

Whose son had caused trouble outside again and needed a large sum of money to settle it?

This was a terrifying, cold, yet lethally attractive way of thinking.

It made her feel sick, yet for the first time, it made her feel as if she were touching the actual pulse of how this world operated.

Finally, her pencil tip descended, crossing out Valerius's name and heavily writing a "1" next to the name of another family head.

That was a newly elevated Baron in the North known for his shrewdness and speculation; it was said his fleet had already begun trying to bypass the Imperial blockade to engage in smuggling with the Free Cities of the South.

By putting him first, she was using this most greedy catfish to stir the stagnant waters of the entire North.

After writing that number, Ella felt as if all the strength had been drained from her body.

She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, her long eyelashes casting a weary shadow over her eyelids.

Levi was very satisfied with this.

The seed had been planted; all that remained was to wait for it to take root and sprout in Ella's heart.

He took back the list and handed it to Evelyn beside him.

"Draft the formal invitations in this order, and in the name of the The Foundation, have them delivered to everyone before sunset."

"Yes, My Lord." Evelyn bowed and withdrew, leaving only the two of them in the study.

Levi stood up, walked to the window, and pushed open the heavy stained-glass window.

The cold evening wind, mixed with the bustle of the distant market, poured in, dispersing the stuffiness in the room.

The silhouette of Silvermoon City was plated with a layer of warm gold under the afterglow of the setting sun; the streets were busy with people, full of life.

He looked at the silhouette of the small but sturdy castle tower belonging to Baron Valerius on the distant horizon, a meaningful curve hooking at the corner of his mouth.

Ella's choice was even better than he had anticipated.

Excluding an old stubborn man like Valerius from the first batch of invitations was itself a higher level of pressure.

When the market surged because of the auction and those newly emerged merchants made a fortune, how long could this old noble, who clung to old glory, hold out while watching his family slide toward the abyss?

Especially when those sons of his, accustomed to a luxurious life, began to complain in his ear.

Pressure sometimes doesn't need to be applied directly.

Simply isolating him and letting him watch the people around him revel is enough.