Chapter 133: An offer
Robert stared at her for a moment before frowning.
"A young albino woman, you say?" he asked.
"Yes. She had a mesmerizing beauty, but didn’t show herself often. Apparently, she’s also a student of Lord Hardrial."
"Hmm." He remained thoughtful for a long time, making Rebecca suspect he knew something.
"You really know something, don’t you?"
Robert shrugged. "Well, I don’t know. Some people have very poor memories these days, which is strange. I don’t know why I feel that magic is being used on a large scale to make important people in the Empire forget certain things. So I’ll try to investigate further."
Rebecca nodded. "If you find anything, I hope you’ll let me know. I’m curious."
"Will you resume the investigation you started in your last year of school?" Robert asked, curious.
Rebecca simply shrugged and left.
"Tsk, she’s gotten more spoiled," he grumbled, although he had only himself to blame for that, but he didn’t care.
He immediately got up and went to do some things he had pending.
--
"A 16-year-old student, leader of the South, whose business idea is astonishing, with an overwhelming amount of money, enviable power for his age, and on top of that, an Armamentalist, which makes Robert Priestley himself come to see this little Neville." Robert Neville smiled, staring at Robert Priestley.
Because their names were identical, they were often confused when people simply said, "Mr. Robert." Ultimately, it was decided that one was an emperor and the other a simple nobleman.
However, due to the Nevilles’ growing influence, they eventually had to be called by their surnames or full names.
It was a nuisance for both of them, but it didn’t seem to be this time.
"Haha, as people who share names and you being someone who has received our support for your family to become a Castle, I thought I’d come see you first."
"It is an honor for Lord Priestley to come visit me, as I respect and admire you for your great achievements. But what exactly is your intention in coming here? This could cause a stir among the Castles of the North."
"I heard about your plans from my daughter, Mr. Neville." Priestley got straight to the point. "So I’m curious to know how far these plans go."
Neville stared at him for a long time. He didn’t like revealing his plans to rise in this society because the more they know, the worse it gets. But he couldn’t blame his son for telling it. The people of the Castles were still very dangerous to them, and even if they became one, they would not have the same influence as those who had been one for many years.
Not to mention the Priestleys, whose influence extended throughout the Empire. Thanks to their good businesses and banks, they were one of the few who had great influence abroad.
But he would not be intimidated just because it was a Castle leader who came to extract information from him.
Perhaps his son had no choice; the Castles could easily destroy him socially, but he was different. Even the Castles could not take away his influence.
That is why he was not obliged to speak.
Priestley knew this, so saying that would not make him say anything.
"With what I already know..." Priestley said. "I am interested in that alliance."
"Well, it makes sense. Altering the current course of Aster Mane’s actions will always affect you more, as you are the richest. But I don’t think we Nevilles need the cooperation of a Castle to become one. That would be counterproductive; we wouldn’t be achieving it through our own efforts," he said.
Priestley laughed. "Haha, the Priestleys’ business is everywhere, including their ears. Priestley’s money is in every pocket, every hand right now. I know a lot of things because of that, Mr. Neville."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I know some things of interest to you, and I don’t care about your struggle to become a Castle. Believe me, Mr. Neville, I don’t intend to take advantage of your struggle. Honestly, I’m more interested in not losing money, since making money in the Priestleys is easier these days."
Neville frowned and stared at him. He could understand his words, even though they didn’t answer his questions about what he meant at all.
"Since you know things I want and you’re looking for me, but you don’t want money or riches, I suppose your idea is to grow and gain status from another point of view, right?" he asked.
Priestley smiled softly. "I like intelligent people, Mr. Neville."
"Then go ahead, Lord Priestley. Let me hear your current interest."
"I understand that you are very close to some magical laboratories in the Scientific and Alchemical District, Mr. Neville. I am interested in new magic."
Being clear, Neville was forced to frown.
"I am a sponsor of several of them, so I am aware. But I am a little surprised that a Castle is so interested in them that their leader would come to see me personally."
"Hahaha, no need to beat around the bush, Mr. Neville. Research is our hobby at Priestley. We have power, we have money, we have status... We have everything, and that’s boring. Money isn’t as profound as magic. It’s just money. We can’t delve into its mysteries."
"But you can buy grimoires to research, books to read, and practically everything that exists in the Empire."
"Well, money can buy everything, but, as I told you before, lately I’ve been avoiding losing money foolishly. So I prefer to approach those who have an inexhaustible source of research, so we can satisfy our curiosity."
"Avoiding losing, Mr. Priestley? I recently heard that your young daughter has been gambling heavily at Velfast these past few years. That..."
"That’s pocket money, Mr. Neville."
"Ten thousand or 20 billion?"
Robert Priestley gestured, opening his hands slightly while opening his shoulders simultaneously: "Pocket money, nothing more. Don’t be surprised by the bets, they’re part of our fun."
’Pocket money, huh. Even though we are noble and rich in every sense of the word, that’s still a terrifying concept for us.’ Robert Neville sighed inwardly.
When it came to power, the Lockwards were incomprehensible. When it came to money, the Priestleys were.
Neville sighed. It was difficult to understand the lives of these rich people.
"Lord Priestley, I can provide you with the entertainment you seek. New magic is always a subject of continuous study. The laboratories are in need of funds, so if you enter into the equation, everything will be settled. But are you sure about this?" He asked and then emphasized, "The Church..."
"You don’t need to worry about that. What a Castle does does not need to be consulted with the Church."
"Very well, then." Neville nodded. Before, they had numerous problems trying to ascend to the level of Castle, solely because of those connections, so these problems seemed to only hit the weakest.
"That being the case, I can introduce you as an investor. This is a win for me too, but I would like to know exactly how you want to help us with the main issue," he said, and before continuing, he did not forget to emphasize: "More than 15 laboratories, including magical and alchemical scientists, are in contact with us, by the way."
Robert Priestley smiled. "Take a look at this, Mr. Neville, and tell me what you think," he said, pulling out some documents to give him.
Robert Neville grabbed the documents and read them. The more he read, the more surprise there was in his eyes, and his face seemed to light up.
"It seems to be of interest to you, Mr. Neville," Priestley said with a sly smile.
--
The days of the week passed quickly, as Louis witnessed how the war seemed to calm down, but it was a facade.
What was happening behind the scenes was what mattered. Luckily for him, he had moved first, so he was ahead of the game. But this, although it would take months, would sooner or later explode.
’I can’t keep being so weak,’ he thought, looking at Jessy before him, making some designs.
She had been busy all week, working hard. But it seemed that slowly her designs were starting to attract attention.
Although her company was still in its infancy, some open-minded people came to see and left delighted with the designs sold.
The first three days were spent creating the orders placed by those businesspeople. At the same time, they began recruiting more people for different positions, and in just one week, they already had 100 employees.
When there is money, companies grow uncontrollably. That was a real saying, and Louis was experiencing it.
Thanks to that, Jessy was gaining good status, and nothing bad was moving against him.
’I think it’s a good idea to leave for a while. I need to improve my magic,’ he thought.
During that week, he practiced several new spells with Hardrial and Laura, but he wasn’t devoting as much time to it as he should have, so his progress slowed.
The tournament was drawing closer, but so was the outbreak of war between the North and the South. He needed to be able to create more powerful spells and improve his speed as soon as possible.
So he made a decision.
"Jessy, I’m going away for two weeks," he said.