Aman Halcyon
Click!
The door opened and three people walked inside the small conference room.
The man and woman are in front, while the second woman is behind.
The man is Vaz Hendricks. He knew Silver from childhood and assistant to his father. He is loyal to the house and Silver said to trust him a lot.
However, I have been advised to focus on women. It them Silver said to listen to most.
He even made one governor of the city, he conquered.
Both of the women are beautiful, as I heard.
The older one is important; she is one of the three pillars of a triumvirate that runs the legacy. The younger is an assistant, madam, a position level down.
"Margaux, Chief Hendricks, please take a seat," said old man Vanis. "Thank Lord Lindgren," the woman replied with a perfect bow before sitting down.
"Margaux, Chief Hendricks, this young man, Aman Halcyon, is a grandson of my good friend Theus. The gentleman beside him is an honorable Lord Danis, the crown's man," he introduced.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Halcyon, Lord Danis," she said and shook hands with the Danis and mine.
"Now, the introduction is over, let's begin," said the old man and turned to me.
Every eye turned to me. I felt a little nervous; it would have really helped if Mother had come, but she was handling the things on her end.
"I want to start with the question. Does Lord Silver is interested in our offer?" I asked, and the woman smiled.
"Lord Silver is interested. Though he is more interested in the casino than the core," she replied.
"So, you have no interest in the core?" asked Danis, using his skill on them.
I had hinted to him to let me the lead, but the dog of the crown wasn't listening. His master wants to squeeze every drop of the legacy before it dies.
Hendrik's expressions changed, and he activated the skill to counter that, while the woman's expressions remained unchanged.
She didn't even activate her skill.
"We didn't say that, Lord Danis. It's just that Master Silver wants to be careful with the core."
"Velvet Garden has a huge potential. I might even say it will be a Grade IV legacy one day and my lord wants to be careful, lest it taint his vision," replied Hendriks, a loyal dog.
Though he is right.
Grandfather had said, there is a good chance that the velvet garden will reach Grade IV in the coming decade.
There was a silence for a second before I opened the file.
"We want the space in the legacy. We will prefer the upper floors and be willing to take even four floors," I said, and the woman shook her head.
"Only underground floors are available," replied Hendriks matter-of-factly.
"Then we want complete control over the five underground floors. From interior to staff,"
"We also want access to the legacy's essence for our games, machines, and food and drinks," I said with a poker face, while deeply nervous inside.
Mother had staked everything on it. We need them to agree with it.
"No, the velvet garden is the domain of my lord. Every change will need to go through him," replied Hendriks.
I open my mouth to object and hint at the concession we will make when the woman spoke finally.
"What Chief is saying is that we will see your plans and make necessary changes to meld the casino to Velvet Garden's vision,"
"As for the access to the legacy's essence, you will have it under certain conditions," she replied, and I felt relieved.
Them going through our plan and making the modifications to them are to be expected. It is a legacy, and the master wouldn't tolerate anything. That wouldn't meld in his vision.
Still, I hope they won't change too much. We still want to keep our business to keep its identity.
"What are changes Lord Silver will do?" I asked. She turned to the woman behind her. She took the file from her hand and slid it toward me.
I opened the file and began to read, and my expression turned serious.
He wants control over everything. Including the things like, the uniform our staff will wear.
"These are too much," I said as I closed the file and Danis took it.
"These are changes we could make. If we like something and it aligns with our vision, we wouldn't change it," she clarified.
I knew this, but still wouldn't want to accept it.
I have grown in the legacy, and these people want to change it.
I hate it, but the thing is, we don't have any choice. As Mother had said, once Grandfather died, the wolves would come at us. They have already started sniffing.
"We want to keep our name," I said defiantly.
"That is not a problem," replied the woman, surprising me.
I thought they would have a problem with it and would probably ask to add velvet before our name like they did with some of their floors.
We discussed one point after another. Some they agreed with, and some they disagreed.
It is not negotiations, just an understanding. If we agree enough, we will move to the negotiations, which will happen in the Ilden.
Grandfather himself is going to take part in it.
Unlike them, we do not have much choice and are flexible on many things that we wouldn't have. If we were not so desperate.
Soon one and a half hours passed, and we finished with all the common points.
"I will give you all some privacy," said the old man Vanis and left. Immediately, all the skills and tools were activated. Creating as strong privacy as possible.
It might not be enough to stop him. If the old man wants to snoop; he is a lord of the legacy, after all.
"The crown wants five thousand Grade III essence bottles to agree with this deal," said Danis as the door closed, pressing them with his skills.
He is level 30+ and his lord class makes his skill powerful.
The strain appeared on the old man's face and the woman finally activated her skill, without any strain.
Even a smile appeared on her face. I don't know whether it seemed confident or hearing the preposterous demand from Danis.
"Master Silver will agree to give a crown of Ilden seven hundred bottles of Grade III essence,"
"Three hundred will be given the first year and the rest four hundred will be given the second year," replied the woman without any strain in her voice.
"That's too low. The crown will not agree with this," said Danis, declining.
"Then it is regretful. That we will not be coming to the understanding." The woman replied firmly. Shocking me; even Danis looked shocked.
"We will agree with three thousand," said Danis, but both of them shook their heads.
"We have come here to discuss with Onyx Halcyon, because it is one of the best casinos on the continent, not because of its legacy."
"A big risk for us given the relationship between our countries,"
"The velvet garden could only afford seven hundred bottles. If the crown wants more, then please approach the other legacies, because Velvet Garden cannot give you what you had asked," said Hendriks.
Tremor rang through my heart, hearing that.
This bastard Danis is really too much. The standard rate of Grade III Legacy's first bite is five hundred essence bottles, and he wanted ten times.
The core is precious, but because of corruption, not many people take it.
To them, a small part is more than enough.
Even the dying ones wouldn't absorb, as it will quicken the death of the host. It is why the crown had been focused on the miking and had kept a physician and augur in legacy.
The moment they felt grandfather could die within a week. The crown will order for the milking.
The silence stretched as nobody spoke.
We may have the legacy, but this bastard master controls it. Whether to agree with it or not will depend on him. Our future depends on him.
"Give me a minute," said Lord Danis finally greeted teeth and walked out.
Click!
It took five and a half minutes before Danis finally returned. He didn't look good; there were even sparks of anger in his eyes.
"The crown agrees, but we want all seven hundred bottles within six months. With a hundred bottles minimum per month," he stated.
Hendriks looked at the woman, and a hesitation appeared on his face.
"We agree," replied the woman without hesitation.
Grandfather had said such an amount would be a problem for the Velvet Garden. Which had become the biggest legacy in Grade III and under.
"We would like it if the velvet garden reduced the profit share to quarter instead of third," I said.
They didn't want the rent, but a third of the profit. Which isn't strange. Seeing we are getting space in a legacy, not in some common building.
"No," she replied, and I sighed internally before moving next point.
One by one, we have gone through all, before finishing.
"Please state the points we agreed to, the Lord Silver. If he agrees, we can take the next step," I said. They are just staff; the decision to agree or not is on Silver.
It made me nervous, and I hoped the answer would come soon.
"There is no need. Lord Silver agrees," she said, shocking me.
'Is it a skill?' I thought. It likely is there is no way she would make such a big decision on her own, without getting permission from her master.
"Then we will leave for Ilden by evening," I said, and she nodded.
A few minutes later, after talking to old man Vanis, I walked out, feeling a new hope.