"Please, call me Theodore or more preferably Theo, I am a friend of your daughter, it is only right to be treated as such."
Florian smiled at the casual response of Theo, hinting that he wasn't against having a conversation with him.
Theo noticed that most of the people who wanted to have a conversation with him started to back off, as if giving Theo and Florian space to talk with each other.
Duke Rosenberg is a man of great power as well, any of the guests here know that. Each Duke that comes from Aventus carries the strength of a nation, so trying to one up the Duke Florian is something they can't afford to do.
I also find his atmosphere way better than those people anyways, all they do is try and impress and butter up to me. It was slowly getting annoying. I finally have a chance to talk more normally to someone.
"I'm glad that my daughter became good friends with you. I've only heard good things about you from her. You're also going to the Academy in a couple of months so I hope you keep being good friends with her then"
"Of course, it would be my pleasure to be a friend of such a charitable and caring person."
She gave us VIP tickets that led us to the crown of Wrath. Without her, we would've had to deal with a future demon king, which would have been a big pain in the a*s to deal with. So me and Selene are infinitely grateful to her. There is also the fact Violet treasures Selene greatly, so it's only obvious that we're going to do the same thing for her, whenever she's in need of help in the future.
"That's great to hear. My daughter is currently chatting with a family we are close to about the products of Princess Selene introduced to me, we are in her debt for giving us such a great opportunity to sell her unique item"
Theo suddenly felt a jolt in his brain, signalling him of an idea that popped up in his mind.
"I have a proposition to you, Duke Rosenberg. Another business opportunity that you might be interested in" Theo said with a small smile plastered on his face, his aura radiating that of a man that came for business.
Seeing Theo's sudden change intrigued the Duke, making him smile back in interest to what Theo was up to.
Duke Florian's smile turned from a friendly one to a smile that means serious business. An aura of an experienced and successful merchant radiated from the Duke, making Theo slightly nervous, but this was an opportunity he needed to take, so he remained outwardly unfazed.
"Oho, Please, I am interested in what you're trying to sell me, Theodore. I am willing to hear you out as you are the prince of Virtus and a friend of my daughter."
Theo, knowing that the Duke will hear him out, spoke in a dignified tone, explaining his business proposition briefly and straight to the point.
"This is a secret but I am the owner of DFP"
The Duke who had a face of perpetual calmness was shocked.
****
"I see, so you want me to provide you the funds and manpower to help you expand further south to the other continents?"
The Duke muttered as he held his hand on his chin, thinking about the proposition Theo made to him.
Theo felt as soon as the Duke started contemplating his business, he believed that he had a chance to gain a partner that would bolster his business to an extent that he had never seen before. The Duke in front of him is literally in charge of the money and economic business of the empire of Vitoten, it was only natural that taking this chance to make a deal with him was a golden opportunity, quite literally in fact.
The Duke, after contemplating to himself for a couple of minutes, faced Theo with his right hand forward towards Theo
"I accept your proposition. I believe that this business is something worth investing and giving my time to."
Theo shook The Duke's hand, who then spoke further about their deal.
"However, the person I will give charge to this deal will be my daughter. I wish to have her learn the ways of a merchant and this is a perfect opportunity for her to widen her experience rather than learning everything by theory."
"That makes things easier for me. She will be in the academy so I can have meetings with her for business with ease. I thank you again for giving me this opportunity. I promise you that you'll see our profits rise"
The Duke simply scoffed at Theo with a grin on his face.
"Don't worry, I smell tons of profit in your way. I trusted my instincts since childhood and I know where the money and best opportunities lie. I know I won't regret investing in your business like i did with your fiance Selene"
Theo was glad and relieved hearing Duke Florian's reply, now he can have more money to support him in his upcoming endeavours in the future.
"How about we sidetrack from this conversation and I will give you more information about the Dukes of Vitoten. Are you familiar with them by any chance?"
The game only briefly mentioned them so no, I don't have much clue about them. The story mainly focused on the main characters and the events around them.
Theo nodded in response to the Duke's offer.
"I do interest myself in knowing more about them. I am Selene's fiance, it is only natural for me to desire more knowledge about her country."
Hearing Theo's comment made the Duke more inclined on telling the prince about the Dukes of Vitoten.
"Then first I will introduce my family, Duke Rosenberg, the family of riches, merchants, roses and The family that is in charge of the south of the empire. We, the Rosenberg, only seek profit and gain for the sake of flourishing the empire's riches. Agriculture, especially, is prominent in the southern regions of Vitoten, so it's only natural that most of the country's money flows in and out of the south."
Duke Rosenberg, money of the empire, that's only natural. There is also the fact that it has most connections to foreign countries, geographically, becausewest of Vitoten is a giant ocean, east borders Virtus and North is just a bunch of mountains and snow, making it possible for them to have better trade chances than the rest of the Dukes
"The Next one is the Duchess Lorraine, in charge of all the dark mages and any magic related aspect of the empire. They have a number of responsibilities on their shoulders. Dark mage training, Artifact crafting, Magic technologies and more. They are in charge of the north where most of the magical stone mines lay. If you look right there that's they're table and the one right there is the Duchess, Linda Lorraine and her heir"
A group of women were sitting on a table close to the throne, eating their food in a graceful and dignified manner. The finger that Duke Rosenberg pointed at was directed to a lady with Dark purple hair and dark blue eyes, sitting on the center seat of ladies dressed in black robes.
Beside her was a noticeable young man with long hair in his twenties, who was the perfect copy of the lady if it was possible to turn her into a man.
Theo stared at them for a few seconds before the frowning lady noticed him and waved at him with a small smile.
Theo waved back, not wanting to be rude to the Duchess.
"Contrary to her very cold and strict appearance, she is very kind and compassionate to her allies"
"I see, so I should always be on her good side. Dutifully noted"
"Hahaha, Well thought, Theodore. Indeed, those that get to her bad side are usually used in experimentation and fodder for the northern front against the monsters."
Damn....
Theo noted the extra information the Duke provided, knowing that he was going to meet the duchess in the future.
"The next is Duke Stuart, the prime minister and is incharge of the imperial administration. Essentially the organiser under the Emperor. He also owns all the lands of the West, being the most normal territory of all Dukes. He's a delightful and joyful old man that loves his country and would do everything in his power for the sake of making it a better place. A worthy man to have the title prime minister. There he is talking to Selene's father."
Theo glanced over to the throne where an old man with grey hair whispering something to the emperor, clothed in a very neat and proper scholar's robe.
"Don't underestimate him, he may be a kind old man in front but he can be a snake when he needs to and he might be the weakest among the Dukes in terms of power, but don't mistake his connections and the people backing him up in the background. Duke Peter Stuart probably has spies, I don't know of in my house. He rarely completely trusts anyone if they're not from the Imperial family."
Then he probably assigned someone to watch me.
Theo suddenly remembered Shea, the maid that was assigned to him, making smile wryly at the thought of her being a spy sent by Duke Stuart
"I see, I shall greet him at a later time after our conversation"
"Hahaha, he'll definitely have a better impression of you" Duke Florian nodded approvingly at Theo's intentions.
The Duke then moved his gaze towards a familiar person. He had black streaked grey hair with a slim yet toned build. He was also speaking to Levana in a pleasant manner with a smile on his face, clearly showing great fondness and familiarity with her.
"Duke Shadowblade" Theo muttered