Chapter 54: Chapter 52: Costa's Scheme

Schönbrunn Palace, a small classroom.

Talia nodded instinctively and said, "I had no choice."

Franz's face darkened. Helping Talia with a small favor—dealing with a man harassing her—was not an issue.

However, the fact that Talia had kept him in the dark and used his hand to act on her own behalf was a significant problem.

This was something an authority figure could not tolerate; Franz had to make Talia realize her mistake.

Talia was not a foolish woman. She immediately recognized her error. She had deceived a sensitive superior, and she regretted her attempt at being clever, for she had betrayed Franz's trust, and lost trust is not easily regained.

Coquetry is a woman's natural weapon, but Talia hadn't expected she would have to act coy with a child.

"I don't want to be pursued by a man with a full beard at all. I'm only 22; I don't want to get married yet. I still want to take care of you."

In truth, at 22, in an era where women were having children at 16, Talia could certainly be considered an "old maid" among old maids.

"Hmph! You're lying to me!" Franz also put on an act of being very angry, though he wasn't quite capable of being coaxed that way.

Talia clung to Franz for a while, and seeing that she had sufficiently appeased him, she changed the subject.

"Mr. Costa has proposed a new deal. He didn't find the legendary Golden City, but he found a type of wheat unlike any seen before, and he has brought back a batch of seeds."

"Wheat seeds? Isn't the Amazon a tropical rainforest?" Franz asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Yes. While searching for the ruins of the Golden City, Mr. Costa accidentally discovered a village that had been abandoned for many years. This crop was growing in the clearing of the village," Talia explained.

"Talia, you have already seen that wheat, haven't you?"

"Yes. It looks taller and larger than common wheat. My family used to grow a lot of wheat, but even the plumpest grains couldn't compare to the samples Mr. Costa brought back. Perhaps it really can increase wheat yields. However, he hopes to receive 100,000 Florins as his reward."

One hundred thousand Florins was not an unbearable sum for the current Franz. However, for Costa's expedition, Franz had already paid 50,000 Florins, meaning the remaining balance was exactly 100,000 Florins.

And right now, no one could be certain if the seeds Costa brought were genuine; it might just be a single, isolated specimen.

Perhaps Franz could use artificial pollination to hybridize them with local wheat to create an entirely new variety.

Franz knew the theory, but he had never put it into practice.

Returning to these potentially high-yield wheat seeds, the risks involved were too immense; it was simply not worth Franz spending another 100,000 Florins.

Furthermore, according to the contract, regardless of what Costa discovered and brought back, half should be shared with the sponsor.

In other words, if Franz wanted to purchase all the seeds, he should only have to pay Costa an additional 50,000 Florins.

"Talia, did you not clarify that we should claim half of his proceeds?"

"Costa said that the pricing of these items is entirely his freedom. Unless I am willing to spend the night with him, he will only sell the wheat seeds to me for 50,000 Florins."

Talia grit her teeth in hatred; she was clearly very displeased.

Franz had originally intended to tease her, but seeing this, he decided not to seek trouble.

"Talia, do you think anyone would be willing to pay 100,000 Florins for wheat seeds based on nothing but his words?"

Talia was not surprised; she merely answered measuredly.

"If it were an ordinary noble, even a great landowner, they wouldn't accept this price because the loss would outweigh the gain."

"True. Even if these seeds are as he says, it would take a year just to gather enough seeds for sowing. And with current grain prices in Austria, even with 10,000 acres, it would take nearly ten years to recoup the costs. Moreover, the existence of high-quality superior seeds is unlikely to remain a secret for ten years. It truly is a losing proposition," Franz said.

Seeing Franz speak this way, Talia knew he had made up his mind, because she knew Franz was no minor noble; he was considering the entire nation.

"Then let's just continue planting rubber. I heard rubber tree seeds are very difficult to establish, which is why you bought so many," Talia said, deliberately changing the subject.

"We will plant the rubber, but we must also test this wheat," Franz said quickly. "Talia, how much do you think we can pay to secure these seeds?"

"I think the most appropriate price is nothing."

Clearly, Talia wanted to make a deal without any capital.

"Talia, how exactly did that man pursue you to make you hate him so much?"

Talia did not answer, only revealing a cruel smile.

It seemed that women, as a species, were exceptionally cruel to men they disliked.

"Fine, just try not to cause any deaths," Franz said.

Talia patted her chest, indicating she would handle everything, but she needed an assistant.

Franz asked, "Who is it?"

"Colonel Hessel."

Colonel Hessel was Lady Sophie's aide-de-camp. He came from Bavaria and always fulfilled Lady Sophie's orders by any means necessary, which earned him her deep trust.

Furthermore, this Colonel Hessel had close ties with a gang of Bavarians within the city of Vienna.

The gang was not large, but no other gang dared to challenge it.

A large part of the reason was a legend: the true mastermind behind this gang was Lady Sophie, and Hessel was her messenger.

As Lady Sophie's eldest son, Franz naturally had no reason to be refused if he asked Colonel Hessel for help.

However, Hessel was a very shrewd man and not easily deceived. If Franz did anything strange, Hessel would likely report it to Lady Sophie immediately.

But because of this, Hessel would not spread secrets; he would only tell Lady Sophie.

***

Vienna, Thun Street, the Grizzly Inn.

This was on the outskirts of Vienna, in what was known as the slums.

Because he had failed to find the legendary Golden City and had lost half of his men during the expedition, Costa was struggling.

The dangers were self-evident; he had to face not only harsh weather but also countless venomous insects, wild beasts, and terrible diseases.

Costa understood that his good luck could not last forever. He was tired of this life; he wanted to get ashore.

Although Costa, as the expedition captain, could receive triple the pay, the profits from this expedition were insufficient to fund the rest of his life.

However, an opportunity now lay before him: to latch onto this wealthy young lady, and then he would never have to worry about food or clothing again.

Although he had only met this lady a few times, he knew that a family requiring women to frequently appear in public likely lacked a male heir. Perhaps he could even inherit a noble title in the future.

Of course, Costa could see that the lady had no interest in him. Fortunately, however, he had obtained a miraculous drug from a primitive tribe in the Amazon rainforest—a drug that induced intense hallucinations.

(End of Chapter)