Chapter 2578: Foreboding

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Central Region, Central Academic City, Morningstar University District, Brothwork Manor

"Really? You would do that for me?" Brolock asked Jill with reverence, clinging to her words like a drowning man grasping a floating log.

"Don’t mention it. One company has been approaching me for a while, trying to buy my venture. Their offers were never high enough, so I kept them at arm’s length. But now..." Jill paused, as if the idea had only just occurred to her. "Now I might as well accept before they hear about the Southern Region’s Slime Fairy cards."

Seeing Brolock nod, she summoned her grimoire and immediately got to work. "Give me a moment. I’ll contact them right away and finalize the deal."

Then, Brolock’s attention shifted to me. With a detached tone, he asked, "Do you want to buy her venture? It would make expanding into the Central Region easier."

I hadn’t expected him to speak to me so directly after treating me like air and not to mention, after learning I am the reason he was failing. For a moment, I wondered if I had misjudged him—apparently, after repeating the same task for decades, even a pig could learn a trick or two. Still, I had no interest. I offered a polite smile and shook my head, choosing not to interfere in Jill’s plans.

Though Brolock knew nothing about the inner workings of Jill’s venture, he did understand one thing clearly: the Central Region was his home turf. Without support from his family—or from any of the other major families—I wouldn’t be able to expand here even if I bought Jill’s venture. They would make sure of that, at least until I handed over a sizable portion of the pie. He understood this well enough to approach me with the offer... or perhaps it was his aides who urged him to do so.

I ignored him and instead studied the members of his entourage. Brolock himself wasn’t the real obstacle; they were. If Jill intended to pull this off, these people were the ones we had to worry about.

I had no doubt they were more than mere attendants. They were his advisers—the council he leaned on when making major decisions. They were the ones who kept him from blundering into bad investments, the ones who convinced him to hold steady rather than panic-sell... much like he was about to do now.

What puzzled me was their silence. What were they waiting for? They should have already noticed that Jill was up to something, shouldn’t they? Were they trying to decipher her endgame? And if so... shouldn’t they have figured it out by now?

What made her venture valuable? The Dream Nymph card recipe, of course, and the extensive data on prostitutes across the Central Region—along with the rights tied to them. Even if the Dream Nymph recipe had lost its worth with the introduction of the Slime Fairy card, the data and the rights remained priceless. They should know that... shouldn’t they?

No. They might have been sharks in the investment world, but they understood nothing about the pleasure card market. That domain was still new—one that only Jill and I were truly exploring. It was impressive enough that they had managed to foresee its potential and invest early, blocking the other families from throwing their money into Jill’s venture.

But they operated under a flawed assumption: that no one would dare cheat the Brothwork family. In their world, such a thing was unthinkable. What they failed to grasp was that the rule didn’t apply to Jill or me. Not only did we dare to cheat the Brothwork family, but we would carve out a massive share of the profits for ourselves.

They thrived only in waters they understood and dominated. The moment they drifted into unfamiliar territory, they were as blind and powerless as anyone else.

Still, they at least had the sense to wait and observe Jill’s intentions instead of leaping at her offer the way their foolish master had. I remained patient as well, watching to see whether anything unexpected might occur.

Nothing did. Jill contacted the so-called organization interested in buying her venture, had them draft the agreement, and sent a copy directly to Brolock. Only then did her eyes reveal a hint of concern. As expected, Brolock immediately investigated the organization and uncovered everything there was to know about them.

He wasn’t pleased to discover that their offer was low because Jill refused to sell the rights to the Dream Nymph card, insisting on renting it instead. But after his "careful" and "insightful" persuasion, Jill reluctantly agreed to sell the rights—at a premium. The overall valuation of her venture rose accordingly, securing a tidy profit on paper that conveniently kept Brolock’s investment record spotless.

I knew it. These people truly had no grasp of the pleasure card market. They fixated entirely on the Dream Nymph card rights, exactly as Jill intended, completely overlooking the far more valuable asset: the data and rights connected to the prostitutes across the Central Region.

In the end, Brolock—utterly convinced he had weathered a crisis through sheer brilliance—invited us to stay for dinner with his other guests. Jill rejected him outright, claiming she had lost too much money to have an appetite. Even so, he continued pressuring her to remain... until, quite suddenly, he stopped caring whether we stayed at all.

His abrupt shift in enthusiasm was troubling. Drew noticed it too. He finally stepped in, urging Jill to stay for dinner while subtly rubbing at the corners of his eyes, trying to signal her. But Jill, having just secured a massive profit, was far too excited. She could barely wait to get back and celebrate with me by making the bed creak.

Just as Drew was becoming painfully obvious, Brolock shot him a sharp look, silencing him instantly. That was when Drew and I both confirmed our suspicions.

Meanwhile, Jill remained blissfully unaware. Lost in her own little world, she kept tallying her gains, not even sparing a thought for Brolock’s or Drew’s strange behavior. It was as if she had no sense of danger whatsoever. Then again, thinking back on it, unlike other heirs I had encountered, she didn’t have bodyguards lurking in the shadows wherever she went in the five regions.

And why would she? She was the one and only daughter of a Founder.

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