"Grand Duke Frederick, do we really have to pay that much?"
In an unremarkable room, Grand Duke Frederick had just struck a deal with Franco IV and seen him off, wincing at the cost. When he returned, he found two people sitting on his sofa.
The one who spoke sat on the left. His name was Kotel, a Legendary Professional with a Class Level of 23.
"Those are his terms. If we don't agree, we have no other way to get the means of reaching the New Plane from him."
Grand Duke Frederick sighed. "If I'd known the Franco Family would survive this and even turn disaster into opportunity by discovering a New Plane, I'd have gone to their rescue no matter what. I could've built a relationship with them and perhaps gotten access for free."
"The Franco Family has been in decline for years. They couldn't even defeat a mob of peasants and were driven out of their own palace. Perhaps we could achieve our goal another way, such as swallowing up the Franco Family." Kotel's voice turned cold.
"Frederick and Franco are brothers, brothers who've shared mead. We can't do that..." Seeing that neither of them was moved, Grand Duke Frederick sighed again. Why did young people these days never believe that line of his?
He opened his mouth and tried a different argument. "I met Franco IV when he was very young. I saw him drown his newborn brother to remove a future obstacle. His father, Franco III, knew about it too."
"He's a cold-blooded creature who cares only about himself. Unless you capture him, you could threaten his entire family and he still wouldn't tell us how to reach the New Plane. To him, family ties aren't worth a single gold coin."
"And capturing him would