"I suspect you've gone mad. That's an outrageous demand." Levis raised his voice to express his displeasure.
"Easy, brother."
"Fine, I'll hear you out. What reason could you possibly give me to accept such an absurd condition? Liszt, my dear younger brother, you should understand that the Black Tulip is important to the Tulip Family, but it isn't indispensable. We already have three varieties of tulip potion."
"I understand that perfectly. I also know that the magic contained in the Black Tulip is superior to that of the other three varieties. It's worthy of becoming a cornerstone of the family."
Potions were wondrous, but troublesome too—they needed elves to cultivate them in order to propagate. Without elves to tend them, their next generation would gradually lose its magic and devolve into ordinary plants.
That didn't diminish their value.
Magic potions were essential for concocting magical elixirs, forging magical equipment, and practicing both magic and battle qi. Coral Island Knight Academy even offered a course in potion studies dedicated to researching magical elixirs. When an Earth Knight's training hit a plateau, they had to rely on potions to strengthen themselves and make a bid to become a Sky Knight.
Every Sky Knight was a walking potion jar. They had no idea how many potions they'd taken before gaining Advanced Battle Qi.
Without the Tulip potions supplied by the family, Leewilliam probably wouldn't have broken through so easily to become one of the few Sky Knights in the Sapphire Grand Duchy.
So Liszt knew all too well that potions were priceless. His older brother, a gifted Earth Knight, wouldn't let the Black Tulip slip through his fingers.
After a pause, Liszt said calmly, "My talent is poor, so becoming a Sky Knight is probably out of reach. But you, brother, have talent comparable to Father's when he was young. I think that with the Black Tulip producing potions without end, your path to becoming a Sky Knight would be much smoother."
He glanced at Lvera. "The same goes for my sister. I believe becoming a Sky Knight is worth far more than a thousand gold coins, don't you? I sincerely hope that both you and my sister become Sky Knights. The Tulip Family needs you to shoulder its burdens. As for me, I just want to make a little money and improve my life."
At the mention of becoming a Sky Knight, Levis's breathing quickened slightly.
He'd become an Earth Knight at thirteen, and now, at twenty-one, everyone said he could become another Sky Knight in the Tulip Family, just like his father. But he knew better than anyone how vast the chasm was between an Earth Knight and a Sky Knight. Even if the family poured every resource into him, it still might not be enough to push him across.
Especially since he also had a younger brother with equally exceptional talent: Lytton Tulip.
Lytton's mother came from a minor noble family and was insignificant, but no one could deny that his mother, the current countess, knew how to sway the count. Nearly half the resources of Tulip Castle went to Lytton, and it made Levis's heart bleed. He even resented his father for it.
Shouldn't the family be doing everything it could to train him into a Sky Knight? Why waste resources?
Narrowing his eyes slightly, he said in a low voice, "Liszt, if you truly supported me, you shouldn't have made such a harsh demand."
"Then let me put it another way. What if I only did business in the Black Tulip with you and my sister? Father wouldn't care about a single potion plant, surely." Liszt's implication was that by keeping the business out of Tulip Castle, they could keep Lytton out of it too. From then on, the Black Tulip harvest would be divided among the three siblings alone.
That half-brother of theirs, Lytton, was quite the arrogant sort. He looked down on Liszt and had given him no end of dirty looks.
Liszt had no qualms about making him pay.
Levis considered it for a moment, then asked, "Lvera's joining us too?"
"I hadn't planned on it before, but Liszt invited me. Why would I turn him down?" Lvera wasn't as gifted as Levis, but she longed to become a Sky Knight just as much. "Don't forget, I have an elf too."
"Fine, then. Tell me how we'll divide the profits."
After several rounds of testing and compromise, the three siblings reached an agreement.
Once the Black Tulip produced seeds, they would be cultivated near Coral City by the Tulip Great Elf. When the next batch of seeds was harvested, they would be planted widely in Coral City, Falcon Town, and Flower Town.
For the first three years, all Black Tulip potions would be handled by Levis. Liszt would receive a share of the profits at market rates: thirty percent from Coral City and twenty percent from Falcon Town.
After three years, Levis would no longer handle the Black Tulips from Falcon Town. Lvera would manage them herself and give Liszt a twenty-five percent share.
After ten years, Liszt would stop collecting a share.
"At present, the Golden Tulip potions from Tulip Castle bring in around five thousand gold coins in profit a year. The Black Tulip should surpass that. If we assume seven thousand gold coins, then my annual share would be around two thousand. That's far better than a one-time payment of a thousand gold coins."
After signing the formal agreement, Liszt considered the matter.
He'd originally thought that a twenty-percent share of the profits would be enough. But Levis had taken him for a naive child and tried to buy him out for a thousand gold coins, so Liszt had retaliated by raising his share to thirty percent.
Even between brothers, the accounts had to be settled fairly. Besides, Liszt didn't consider them true brothers. Aside from sharing blood, they had almost nothing in common.
With the agreement settled, the three siblings seemed to share a new understanding.
Outside the castle, the farmers were still busy clearing the wasteland.
"What, are you planning to plant crops all around the castle? Wheat or barley?" Lvera gazed into the distance from beside the window.
"Alfalfa. I'm planning to raise horses here."
Levis walked over. "Raise horses? Are you planning to form your own knight order?"
"I hope to form a small knight squad. The monsters in Thorn Ridge are a serious threat, and people die in their jaws every winter. There isn't even anyone in town who knows battle qi... Brother, come talk with me." Liszt suddenly thought of something.
The two went into a private study.
"What's so secretive?"
"I remember that when I was little, Coral Island wasn't very populated. Father brought people over from the outer islands with his fleet, didn't he?"
"That's right. When Father was made an earl, there were only a few thousand natives on Coral Island. The rest of the population was brought over from elsewhere. What did you think? Ninety percent of the people on Coral Island are the family's serfs."
"Then have you considered continuing to buy people?"
"Continue buying people?" Levis studied Liszt carefully. "Can Flower Town support any more people? I doubt this run-down little town can even support you and me. And where do you intend to send the people you buy?"
Buying people wasn't respectable, but nobles needed laborers to reclaim land.
Most nobles were involved in the buying and selling of people to some degree.
"Flower Town is small, that's true. That's why I'm planning to develop Thorn Ridge, and that'll take a lot of people. With the Black Tulip bringing in an income, I believe we can keep things going for a while. By then, we'll have had enough time to develop Flower Town until it's at least as prosperous as my sister's Falcon Town." Liszt was only telling half the truth.
Stockpiling provisions, strengthening defenses, and biding his time—that was a strategy best kept to himself.