A Business Deal Worth Two Thousand Gold Coins a Year

"I suspect you've gone mad; you're asking for the moon," Levis raised his voice, expressing his dissatisfaction.

"Calm yourself, brother."

"Fine, I'm listening. What reason could you possibly have to make me agree to such an absurd condition? Liszt, my dear brother, you should understand that while the Black Tulip is important to the Tulip Family, it is not irreplaceable. We already have three other varieties of tulip magic potions."

"I am well aware of that, just as I am aware that the magic contained within the Black Tulip is superior to the other three varieties. It is fit to be the pillar of our family."

Magic potions are as miraculous as they are troublesome—they must be cultivated by elves to propagate. Without an elf to tend them, the next generation will gradually lose its magic and degenerate into ordinary plants.

But that does not diminish their value.

Brewing magic potions, forging magic equipment, practicing magic and battle qi—none of these can be done without magic potions. The Coral Island Knight Academy even offers a course in pharmacology specifically to study them. Once an Earth Knight hits a bottleneck in their training, they must rely on magic potions to strengthen themselves and launch an assault on the rank of Sky Knight.

Every Sky Knight is a "potion-guzzler"; there is no telling how many potions they must consume to attain high-level battle qi.

Without the support of the family's tulip magic potions, Leewilliam likely would not have broken through so easily to become one of the few Sky Knights in the Sapphire Grand Duchy.

Therefore, Liszt knew very well that magic potions were of immeasurable value—his brother, this exceptionally gifted Earth Knight, would not let the Black Tulip slip through his fingers.

After a pause, Liszt said with composure, "My talent is poor, and I can hardly hope to become a Sky Knight, but brother, your talent rivals that of our father in his youth. I believe that with the Black Tulip producing a steady stream of magic potions, your path to becoming a Sky Knight will be much smoother."

He glanced at Lvera. "The same goes for you, sister. I believe a Sky Knight is worth far more than a thousand gold coins, isn't it? I truly hope that both of you can become Sky Knights; the Tulip Family needs you to carry it. As for me, I just want to earn some money to improve my life."

At the mention of becoming a Sky Knight, Levis's breathing grew slightly ragged.

He had become an Earth Knight at thirteen, and now, at twenty-one, everyone said he could become the next Sky Knight of the Tulip Family, just like their father. Only he knew the vast chasm that lay between an Earth Knight and a Sky Knight—even exhausting the family's resources might not be enough to push him over the edge.

Moreover, there was another brother with equally exceptional talent: Lytton.

Lytton's maternal family was merely minor nobility, not worth mentioning, but one had to admit that his mother, the current Countess, was very skilled at whispering in the Count's ear. Nearly half of the resources from Tulip Castle were diverted to Lytton—this made Levis's heart bleed, and he harbored resentment toward his father.

Should the family not be pouring all its efforts into cultivating him into a Sky Knight? Why waste the resources!

Narrowing his eyes slightly, he said in a deep voice, "Liszt, if you truly support me, you shouldn't be proposing such harsh conditions."

"Then, let me put it another way: what if I only cooperate with you and sister on the Black Tulip business? Father surely wouldn't mind one magic plant." Liszt's subtext was clear: by bypassing Tulip Castle, they would also bypass Lytton. From now on, the output of the Black Tulip would be distributed only among the three siblings.

That half-brother Lytton was quite arrogant; he looked down on Liszt and often gave him cold stares.

Liszt felt no hesitation in plotting against him.

Levis pondered for a moment and asked, "Lvera is joining in too?"

"I hadn't planned on it before, but since Liszt invited me, why wouldn't I?" Lvera's talent was not as great as Levis's, but she had the same longing for the rank of Sky Knight. "Don't forget, I have an elf, too."

"Very well. Tell me, how shall we split it?"

After several rounds of probing and compromise, the three siblings successfully reached an agreement.

Once the Black Tulip seeds were harvested, they would be bred near Coral City with the help of the Tulip Great Elf. Once the new batch of seeds was harvested, they would begin large-scale planting in Coral City, Falcon Town, and Flower Town.

For the first three years, all Black Tulip magic potions would be handled by Levis. Liszt would receive a profit share based on market prices—thirty percent from Coral City and twenty percent from Falcon Town.

After three years, the Black Tulips from Falcon Town would no longer be handled by Levis; Lvera would handle them independently and pay Liszt a twenty-five percent share.

After ten years, Liszt would stop collecting shares.

"Currently, the annual profit from the Golden Tulip magic potions at Tulip Castle is about five thousand gold coins. The Black Tulip should be able to exceed that. Assuming seven thousand gold coins, my annual share would be around two thousand—that is far more cost-effective than a one-time payment of one thousand gold coins."

After signing the formal agreement, Liszt pondered to himself.

He had originally thought about taking a twenty percent share, but since Levis had tried to take advantage of his youth and ignorance by attempting a one-time buyout for a thousand gold coins, he had retaliated by raising it to thirty percent.

Even brothers must keep clear accounts, and besides, Liszt did not consider them true brothers—aside from the blood in their bodies, they had almost no connection.

With the agreement reached, a sense of tacit understanding seemed to grow between the three siblings.

Outside the castle, the farmers were still busy clearing the wasteland.

"So, you intend to plant crops outside the castle? Wheat or barley?" Lvera stood by the window, looking into the distance.

"Alfalfa. I'm preparing to raise horses here."

Levis walked over. "Raising horses? Planning to form your own knight order?"

"I hope to form a small knight squad. The magic beasts in Thorn Ridge are a great threat; every winter, people lose their lives to them. The town doesn't even have anyone who can use battle qi... Brother, a word, if you please." Liszt suddenly thought of something.

The two walked into a private room.

"What is it? Why so secretive?"

"I remember that when I was a child, the population of Coral Island wasn't very large. Did Father bring them all back on his fleet from the outer islands?"

"That's right. When Father was enfeoffed as a Count, there were only a few thousand natives on Coral Island. The population was all trafficked in from outside. What did you think? Ninety percent of the population on Coral Island are family serfs."

"Then, brother, have you ever considered continuing to traffic people?"

"Continue to traffic people?" Levis looked Liszt over carefully. "Can Flower Town even support more people? I doubt this decaying little town can even support you and me, yet you want to support others? Or rather, where do you intend to traffic them to?"

Trafficking people was not a glorious business, but nobles clearing wasteland always needed labor.

Basically, many nobles were involved in the buying and selling of people to some extent.

"Flower Town is indeed small, which is why I intend to develop Thorn Ridge. That requires a large number of hands. With the output of the Black Tulip, I believe it can sustain us for a period of time. By then, it will be enough to develop Flower Town and make it strong—at least no worse than sister's Falcon Town," Liszt said, half-truthfully.

The strategy of "storing grain, building high walls, and delaying the claim to the throne" was best kept to himself.