Chapter 2577: Ignorant Figurehead
Date: Unspecified
Time: Unspecified
Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Central Region, Central Academic City, Morningstar University District, Brothwork Manor
"Tell me that the Dream Nymph 2.0 cards that youâre developing are better than these Slime Fairy cards," Brolock demanded of Jill, his voice leaving no room for anything but the answer he wanted.
"Nope. Not even close," Jill replied without hesitation. "I knew he was developing this card, remember? Thatâs why I told you we should offload as many Dream Nymph cards as possible before their value tanked. Now that he has announced his pleasure cards, no oneâs going to buy ours." She shrugged, mocking herself. "So? Planning to buy shares in the company? Iâll sell you my stake for pennies on the dollar. What do you think? Deal?"
Her tone was half-joking, half-resigned, openly offering to hand over her share of the pleasure-card venture for practically nothingâall to drive home just how thoroughly the Slime Fairy card eclipsed everything they had built so far.
"Youâre kidding me, right? I havenât even recovered what my family invested in your venture, and now youâre calling it quits? Do you think this is a joke?" Brolock exploded, his voice shaking with fury.
It wasnât the money that enraged himâit was the stain of failure. He prided himself on an unbroken streak of profitable investments, a record so spotless his family had dubbed him the Midas Touch of the Brothwork clan. If Jillâs venture collapsed, he wouldnât just lose fundsâhe would lose his title, his pride, and the prestige he wrapped himself in. His ego couldnât bear the thought.
"Joke? No, Iâm not joking," Jill replied, her tone turning icy. "Every investment carries its own risks. You knew that perfectly well when you backed my venture. And now youâve seen my competition you should know this is the end. My Dream Nymph 2.0 Card still in development doesnât even qualify as competition anymore. Facing reality now is better than dragging out a slow death, donât you think?"
Her cold expression made it clear she wasnât going to let him order her around. They were partnersânot master and servant.
"Noâhow can you just give up without trying?" Brolock snapped, spiraling at the mere thought of failure. "There has to be something you can do. You canât abandon everything we built. This isnât just about youâitâs about me. I cannot fail. You have to find a solution. The pleasure-card venture cannot collapse. At the very least, we need to build it up enough to sell for a profit."
For all his celebrated success, Brolock was nothing more than a pampered child riding the momentum of his familyâs power. His so-called record came from investing in ventures that were already guaranteed to succeed. Companies didnât take his money because they needed itâthey accepted it to avoid retaliation. Taking his investment was effectively pledging allegiance to the Brothwork family. And they werenât the only ones who operated that way; several powerful families did the same.
If not for the protection of the Southern Royal Family, I wouldâve been targeted tooâforced to accept their "investments," only to have them leech off my work for the rest of my life. These families werenât investors; they were parasites. Their contributions were nothing more than an advance payment on the profit they intended to siphon indefinitely.
Not that the Southern Royal Family was any better than the othersâthey werenât. The only reason they werenât able to extort me was because Anna had signed a contract with me under the witness of the worldâs will. That single moment robbed them of the chance to exploit me and instead forced them into the role of my protectors. I was lucky. Without that twist of fate, I might have spent this life on the run too.
"What are you trying to say? I donât get it," Jill said, feigning confusion as if she did understand true reason for Brolockâs frantic reaction.
When actually she was certain it wasnât about the money, she understood the real issue: he simply couldnât accept failure. It was common knowledge that the Brothwork familyâs golden boy had never tasted defeat. Thanks to his familyâs influence and power, all he had ever known was success.
"Is this about money?" Jill asked, tilting her head as if genuinely trying to help. "I can look for a buyer, but selling it at a profit might be pushing it. Unless you want to sell it right nowâbefore the Slime Fairy cards are officially announced and hit the market." She offered the suggestion as though she were doing him a great favor.
Watching Jill work, I immediately understood what she was aiming forâfull control of her venture. That was why she was being so bluntly honest with her investor. And it made perfect sense. The company owned the data and service rights of most professional sex workers across the central region. Even if my Slime Fairy cards completely eclipsed her Dream Nymph cards in the market, she could still earn back a hundredfold by selling that data alone.
The fact that Brolock couldnât see this only proved he was nothing more than an ignorant figureheadâthe Brothwork familyâs poster boyâwhile the real brains of the family were entirely different people. Realizing this, I felt relieved that I hadnât killed or released Sean Brothwork.
Listening to Sean speak about Brolockâand finding nothing noteworthy about him in the Grimoire NetworkâI realized I had overestimated the man. This fool, obsessed with maintaining a title yet blind to what Jill was truly after, clearly lacked both the intelligence and the courage to orchestrate a conspiracy against Demigod Norley using Sean as a pawn. The mastermind had to be someone else.
It seemed I needed to have a conversation with this so-called heir of Demigod Norley to uncover who was actually pulling the strings from the shadows.
Given the foundersâ long-standing relationship, it wasnât impossible for grudges to exist, but their interests were too deeply intertwined for them to act recklesslyâunless someone crossed a line they couldnât tolerate. So it definitely wasnât the founders. More likely, it was a bold descendant attempting to leap the dragon gate by using Demigod Norley as a stepping stone.
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