How dare they try to snatch the exclusive contract that he had secured with so much effort! Duke Eisen could not let this happen.
“There’s no time to waste. Contact Hellas immediately! Tell her I’ll buy all additional quantities that become available.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
But Hellas did not respond at all.
It was only after the Duke of Eisen sent several messengers that he received a reply. It was a short letter asking him to come to where Hellas was if he wanted to make a new proposal.
“That insolent…! Ignoring my messages all this time, and now she summons me!”
Despite being angry, the Duke of Eisen knew he had no other choice. With a disgruntled face, he headed to the location Hellas mentioned.
The meeting place was a shabby mansion on the outskirts of the city. As he entered the seemingly abandoned mansion, someone was waiting for him.
“Your Grace, I’ve been expecting you.”
“Who are you…?”
The Duke of Eisen was surprised to see an unfamiliar face. The man wore a mask to hide his identity, but it was clear he wasn’t Hellas.
“Where is Hellas?”
“I am Hellas’s representative. You can talk to me.”
“What? First, he ignores my messages for ages, then he summons me, and now he sends a representative? The audacity…!”
“If Your Grace feels displeased, you’re free to leave.”
“What?”
“There are many who are willing to pay extra to purchase the glowing variants, so Hellas is extremely busy.”
“……”
Duke Eisen, who had been shouting, suddenly fell silent.
“There are numerous prospective buyers waiting. Since Hellas has an exclusive contract with you, it’s quite a task to manage them all.”
This meant that they could break the contract with the Duke of Eisen at any time and the representative had nothing to lose.
The Duke of Eisen realized that this was not the time to be picky.
“I will escort you out.”
“When did I say I was leaving? Fine. Let’s discuss the contract.”
The representative spoke as if he expected this outcome, “I understand you want to contract all additional quantities.”
Duke Eisen felt humiliated but had no choice but to agree.
“Since it’s an exclusive contract, it’s only right that all additional quantities be sold to me. Hellas must know it’s wiser to deal with me than with any other riffraff.”
“Very well. I have prepared the contract. Please review it, Your Grace.”
The representative handed over the contract. But the Duke was horrified when he saw it.
“Why has the price increased?”
“I told you, there are many buyers willing to pay more.”
“But this is…”
It was an exorbitant amount. He had already stretched himself thin paying the initial contract deposit. And now, this contract involved even more quantities at a much higher price per unit.
Even for the wealthiest man in the empire, it was overwhelming. To gather both the deposit and the balance, he would have to empty his coffers.
“The bulbs are growing faster than expected, so we can deliver them sooner. That means you’ll see your return on investment quicker.”
The representative urged the hesitating Duke of Eisen, “Is the price too much for the Duke?”
“That’s absurd!” The Duke of Eisen snapped.
He couldn’t show weakness over money.
‘Judging by the market’s reaction, it’s a guaranteed huge profit. I’ll find the money somehow.’
The Duke of Eisen boldly signed the contract.
“If His Grace finds yourself short on funds, you can go to this place. They’re reliable.”
The representative handed him a slip of paper.
“Nonsense!” The Duke of Eisen threw the note away.
“Well then, I shall take my leave. Farewell.”
After the representative left, the Duke of Eisen looked around and ordered his guard.
“Pick up the note I just threw.”
The note had the name of a moneylender on it.
‘They say he made a fortune selling monster corpses in the borderlands. He has so much money that he lends it out as a hobby.’
This meant he could get the money quickly and at a low interest rate.
‘Jacob also solved his massive losses thanks to this guy.’
Recently, when the price of Morning Glories plummeted, Jacob invested in the most depreciated variant and suffered huge losses.
The losses were so severe that he had to secretly pawn land deeds to borrow money.
Fortunately, the moneylender, whose name was on the note, gave him an additional loan at a low interest rate, allowing him to repay the money and retrieve the land deeds.
‘When Jacob was in a panic, this lender was the first to extend a helping hand.’
What the lender wanted was to establish a connection with the Duke of Eisen’s successor.
That was all.
‘He’s a smart guy. Seems trustworthy enough.’
The Duke of Eisen made his way to the moneylender’s office.
The moneylender greeted him warmly, “It’s an honor to have the Duke of Eisen visit me.”
The moneylender had an imposing appearance. He was large, bald, and tattooed.
‘They say he used to be a mercenary.’
Despite his past, his respectful manner towards the Duke was pleasing.
“I need some money.”
The Duke wrote down the required amount on a piece of paper and handed it over.
The moneylender’s previously calm expression turned to one of shock as it was a staggering amount.
“I was curious as to why someone like you would need my money. It seems His Grace is making a big investment.”
“Indeed. In a few months, I’ll see a return of a hundredfold. I’ll repay with interest and a bonus, so don’t worry about the repayment.”
“I’m not worried. With your reputation, credit isn’t an issue. No need for a bonus, either. You know our interest rates are very low.”
“You’re quite reasonable. Then, let’s proceed immediately…”
“However, given the amount, collateral is necessary.”
This was expected. The Duke of Eisen responded calmly, “Of course…”
“We would need the Eisen family’s mansion in the capital as collateral.”
“What?”
The Duke was shocked at his words. He had intended to offer some lesser property as collateral. But the demand for the ancestral mansion, where his family had resided for generations, was unexpected.
“I understand that with your investment skills, you’ll surely make a huge profit. But this is the first time we’re lending such a large amount.”
The moneylender seemed genuinely troubled.
‘Fine. It’s not like I won’t be able to repay. Offering the mansion as collateral is merely a formality.’
The moneylender, wanting to establish a connection with the Eisen family, had no reason to cause him trouble.
The Duke of Eisen made up his mind, “Alright. I accept your terms. But ensure the money is ready. It’s for a very important transaction.”
“Don’t worry about that. Many come to me because of my reliability. We also aided Young Masted Jacob.”
As the moneylender said, his credibility was already proven by Jacob’s experience. In fact, Jacob kept delaying his interest payments, yet there were no complaints.
Most importantly, there was no one better for handling such a large sum.
“Alright. Let’s draft the contract.”
The Duke of Eisen picked up the pen.
***
People knew that there was a pretty glass greenhouse at Prince Hart’s residence.
‘And that my father had built it for me when I was little.’
But no one knew that a new black greenhouse had recently been built next to it.
Unlike the glass greenhouse, which was transparent and let you see inside, the black greenhouse concealed whatever was happening within.
However, once you opened the door and stepped inside, you couldn’t help but exclaim in wonder as if entranced by a fantasy.
Except for one person who sighed in exasperation.
In the black greenhouse, where a soft blue light like fireflies or stars in the night sky gently spread, I was tending to the luminous Morning Glories, watering them, and caring for the bulbs growing robustly in the soil.
“Brantley? What’s the matter?” I asked.
Brantley, standing at the door with a serious expression approached me, cutting through the blue light like wading through a galaxy.
“You look troubled. I thought everything was going as planned?”
“No, not at all.”
Brantley took the watering can from my hand and placed it on the shelf next to us.
I glared at him for the interruption.
“Your goal was to bankrupt the Duke of Eisen by making him borrow more money than he could handle. He’s taken a huge loan from your subordinate disguised as a moneylender, just as planned.”
“You weren’t supposed to be a part of it..”
Brantley glared at the luminous flowers filling the greenhouse.
“Stop all this.”
“I can’t. The Duke of Eisen wants the variants I’ve created.”
“I can create variants that the Duke of Eisen wants too.”
“No, you can’t.”
“That’s…”
It was true that the Duke of Eisen was mesmerized by my luminous variant over Brantley’s. So, Brantley could only bite his lip, unable to argue.
“I can create them again.”
“It’s not just about creating them…”
Brantley was once again at a loss for words. He had used mercenaries to cultivate and distribute existing variant bulbs. However, the new variant he showed the Duke of Eisen was fake.
‘Creating a new variant isn’t easy.’
I had managed to create the luminous hybrid thanks to the help of Baron Fisher.
An avid enthusiast, or more bluntly, an obsessed maniac, he knew how to use viruses to create new variants.
He had readily agreed to help when I told him about my plan to deflate this whole trend.
With his help, I was able to create the luminous Morning Glories.
“Without years of experience or help from someone expert, you can’t create new variants. You have neither the experience nor anyone to help you.”
“Yes, I used a bit of magic to create fake variants.”
“If you get caught, you could be in danger.”
“Is that why you’re involved? To protect me?”
Brantley took a step closer, closing the gap between us.
