"I suspect you've gone mad, asking for the moon," Liszt raised his voice in dissatisfaction.
"Patience, big brother,"
"Fine, I'm all ears. Give me a reason to agree to such absurd terms. Liszt, my dear brother, you should understand that the Black Tulip is important to the Tulip Family, but it is not indispensable. We already have three types of tulip magic potions."
"I'm well aware of that, and I'm also aware that the magic power held by the Black Tulip is superior to the potions of the other three varieties. It's suitable to become the mainstay of our family."
Magic potions are a magical but also highly troublesome matter—they need to be cultivated by elves in order to propagate. Without the elves' cultivation, their offspring will gradually lose magic power and degenerate into ordinary plants.
But this does not hinder their value.
Preparing magic potions, forging magic equipment, practicing magic and Dou Qi—all of these are inseparable from magic potions. The Coral Island Knight Academy has even established a special course on magic potions to study these magic elixirs. When an Earth Knight reaches a plateau in their training, they rely on magic potions to strengthen themselves and strive to become a Sky Knight.
Every Sky Knight is a potion guzzler, not knowing how many magic potions they have consumed before obtaining the Advanced Dou Qi.
Without the support of the family's tulip magic potions, Li Weiliam would have hardly been able to break through and become one of the few Sky Knights in the Duchy of Sapphire."
So Liszt knew very well the incalculable value of magic potions—his brother, the exceptionally talented Earth Knight, wouldn't miss out on the Black Tulip.
Pausing for a moment, Liszt said leisurely, "My talents are poor; becoming a Sky Knight is almost too much to hope for, but you, big brother, have talents comparable to our father when he was young. I think, with a continuous supply of magic potions from the Black Tulip, your path to becoming a Sky Knight will be much smoother."
He glanced at Li Vera once more, "It's the same for sister. I believe the Sky Knight title is far more valuable than a thousand gold coins, isn't it? I truly hope that both my brother and sister can become Sky Knights; the Tulip Family needs you to carry on its legacy. As for me, I just want to earn some money to improve my living conditions."
Talking about Sky Knights made Liszt take a short, sharp breath.
He became an Earth Knight at thirteen, and at twenty-one, everyone said he could become another Tulip Sky Knight like his father. But he alone knew the enormous chasm that lay between an Earth Knight and a Sky Knight—pouring all the resources of the family into it might still not be enough to lift him there.
Moreover, there was another brother with equally exceptional talents, Lidun Tulip.
Lidun's maternal family was just a minor nobility, hardly worth mentioning, but one had to admit, his mother, the current Countess, definitely had influence over his father. As a result, nearly half of Tulip Castle's resources had been allocated to Lidun—causing Liszt indescribable pain and even resentment towards his father.
Shouldn't the family focus all its resources on helping him become a Sky Knight? Why waste resources!
Narrowing his eyes slightly, he said in a deep voice, "If you truly supported me, Liszt, you wouldn't have proposed such harsh terms."
"Then how about I put it another way, I'll only partner with my brother and sister in the business of the Black Tulip? Surely father won't mind one magic potion plant." The subtext of Liszt's words was to bypass Tulip Castle and thereby Lidun. In the future, the output of the Black Tulip would be shared only between the three siblings.
That half-brother Lidun, who was quite arrogant and looked down on Liszt, had not spared Liszt his disdain.
Liszt didn't hesitate to trick him.
After thinking for a moment, Liszt asked, "Is Li Vera also involved?"
"I hadn't planned on it before, but since Liszt has invited me, why not?" Even though Vera lacked the talents of Liszt, her desire for the Sky Knight title was just as strong, "and don't forget, I also have an elf."
"Fine, let's talk about how to split the profits."
...
After several probes and compromises, the three siblings successfully reached an agreement.
Once the seeds of the Black Tulip were harvested, they would be cultivated near Coral City with the help of the Tulip Great Elf. Once a new batch of seeds was harvested, widespread planting would begin in Coral City, Falcon Town, and Fresh Flower Town.
For the first three years, all Black Tulip Magic Potions would be handled by Levis. Liszt would then take a share of the profits—at a rate of thirty percent in Coral City and twenty percent in Falcon Town—according to market prices.
After three years, the Black Tulips from Falcon Town would no longer be managed by Levis. Li Vera would handle them alone, giving Liszt a twenty-five percent share.
After ten years, Liszt would stop taking a share.
"Currently, the annual profit from the golden Tulip Magic Potion at Tulip Castle is about five thousand Gold Coins. The Black Tulip should be able to surpass that, assuming it's seven thousand Gold Coins. My annual share could be around two thousand Gold Coins, which is far more worthwhile than a one-off payment of a thousand Gold Coins," Liszt contemplated after signing the official agreement.
He had originally thought that taking a twenty percent share of the profits would suffice, but Levis, thinking Liszt naive due to his youth, planned to buy him out with a one-time payment of a thousand Gold Coins. So, out of retaliation, Liszt raised his share to thirty percent.
Accounts should be settled clearly among siblings, not to mention Liszt didn't feel they were close siblings at all—beyond the blood in their veins, they had almost no connection.
With the agreement reached, there seemed to be a new understanding between the siblings.
Outside the Castle, the peasants were still busy reclaiming wasteland.
"What, you plan to plant crops all around the Castle? Wheat or barley?" Li Vera asked, standing by the Window and looking into the distance.
"I plan to plant alfalfa, preparing to raise horses here."
Levis approached, "Raise horses? Are you planning to form your own Knight Order?"
"I hope to put together a Knight Squad. The Magical Beasts of Thorn Ridge are a significant threat, and people fall victim to them every winter. The town doesn't even have anyone who knows Dou Qi... Brother, may I have a word?" Liszt suddenly had an idea.
The two men moved to a separate, quiet room.
"What's the matter, all so secretive?"
"I remember that Coral Island didn't have many people when I was a child, and they were all brought back by father's fleet from other islands, right?"
"That's correct. When father was ennobled as an Earl, Coral Island only had a few thousand natives, and the population was traded in from outside. What else did you think? Ninety percent of the people on Coral Island are the serfs of our family."
"Then has brother considered continuing to trade in population?"
"Continue trading in population?" Levis scrutinized Liszt, "Can Fresh Flower Town even support more people? I'm doubtful this declining town can support us, let alone others. Or are you planning on trafficking people somewhere else?"
Trading in population was not a respectable affair, but nobles always needed people for land reclamation.
Essentially, many nobles would be involved in the trade of population to some extent.
"Fresh Flower Town is indeed small, so I've been preparing to develop Thorn Ridge, and that requires a lot of manpower. With the output of the Black Tulip, I believe we can sustain for a while, and by that time, Fresh Flower Town can be developed to at least not be inferior to sister's Falcon Town," Liszt said half-truthfully.
Gathering grain, building walls, and claiming kingship in due course—it was clear in his mind.