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 you’re 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? That’s 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 one’s going to buy ours." She shrugged, mocking herself. "So? Planning to buy shares in the company? I’ll 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 nothing—all to drive home just how thoroughly the Slime Fairy card eclipsed everything they had built so far.

"You’re kidding me, right? I haven’t even recovered what my family invested in your venture, and now you’re calling it quits? Do you think this is a joke?" Brolock exploded, his voice shaking with fury.

It wasn’t the money that enraged him—it 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 Jill’s venture collapsed, he wouldn’t just lose funds—he would lose his title, his pride, and the prestige he wrapped himself in. His ego couldn’t bear the thought.

"Joke? No, I’m 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 you’ve seen my competition you should know this is the end. My Dream Nymph 2.0 Card still in development doesn’t even qualify as competition anymore. Facing reality now is better than dragging out a slow death, don’t you think?"

Her cold expression made it clear she wasn’t going to let him order her around. They were partners—not master and servant.

"No—how 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 can’t abandon everything we built. This isn’t just about you—it’s 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 family’s power. His so-called record came from investing in ventures that were already guaranteed to succeed. Companies didn’t take his money because they needed it—they accepted it to avoid retaliation. Taking his investment was effectively pledging allegiance to the Brothwork family. And they weren’t the only ones who operated that way; several powerful families did the same.

If not for the protection of the Southern Royal Family, I would’ve been targeted too—forced to accept their "investments," only to have them leech off my work for the rest of my life. These families weren’t 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 others—they weren’t. The only reason they weren’t able to extort me was because Anna had signed a contract with me under the witness of the world’s 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 don’t get it," Jill said, feigning confusion as if she did understand true reason for Brolock’s frantic reaction.

When actually she was certain it wasn’t about the money, she understood the real issue: he simply couldn’t accept failure. It was common knowledge that the Brothwork family’s golden boy had never tasted defeat. Thanks to his family’s 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 now—before 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 for—full 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 couldn’t see this only proved he was nothing more than an ignorant figurehead—the Brothwork family’s poster boy—while the real brains of the family were entirely different people. Realizing this, I felt relieved that I hadn’t killed or released Sean Brothwork.

Listening to Sean speak about Brolock—and finding nothing noteworthy about him in the Grimoire Network—I 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 founders’ long-standing relationship, it wasn’t impossible for grudges to exist, but their interests were too deeply intertwined for them to act recklessly—unless someone crossed a line they couldn’t tolerate. So it definitely wasn’t 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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