Chapter 10 Costa's Scheme

Schönbrunn Palace, small classroom.

Thalia nodded subconsciously and said, "I had no other choice."

Franz's face darkened. Doing Thalia a small favor to get rid of a man harassing her was not a problem at all.

However, it was a huge problem that Thalia had kept Franz in the dark and used his influence to fight her own battles behind his back.

This was something a person in a position of authority could never tolerate, and Franz needed to make Thalia realize her mistake.

Thalia was not a foolish woman; she immediately realized she was in the wrong. She had deceived a sensitive superior, and she regretted her cleverness because it betrayed Franz's trust, and lost trust was not easily regained.

Coquetry was a woman's natural weapon, though Thalia never expected she would have to use it on a child.

"I really don't want to be pursued by a man with a full beard like that. I'm only twenty-two, I don't want to get married yet, I still want to take care of you."

In truth, at twenty-two, in an era where people gave birth at sixteen, Thalia could definitely be considered an old maid among old maids.

"Hmph! You lied to me!" Franz also put on a very angry expression, the kind that could not be easily appeased.

...

Thalia coaxed Franz for quite a while, and seeing that the mood had softened enough, she changed the subject.

"Mr. Costa has proposed a new deal. He didn't find the legendary City of Gold, but he discovered a kind of wheat he had never seen before and brought back a batch of seeds."

"Wheat seeds? Isn't the Amazon a tropical rainforest?" Franz asked with some puzzlement.

"Yes, Mr. Costa accidentally discovered a village that had been abandoned for many years while searching for the ruins of the City of Gold. This crop was planted in the open space of the village," Thalia explained.

"Thalia, you've 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, and even the plumpest wheat doesn't compare to the samples Mr. Costa brought back. Perhaps it really can increase wheat yields. But he wants 100,000 florins as his reward."

One hundred thousand florins was not an unaffordable sum for Franz at present. However, Franz had previously paid 50,000 florins for Costa's expedition, and the final installment would bring the total to exactly 100,000 florins.

Yet no one could be certain whether the seeds Costa brought back were genuine or fake; perhaps it was just a single specimen.

Perhaps Franz could use artificial pollination to crossbreed it with local wheat and create a brand-new variety.

Franz knew of this theory, but he had never practiced it.

Returning to the matter of these potentially high-yielding wheat seeds, the risks involved were simply too huge to justify Franz spending another 100,000 florins.

Furthermore, according to the contract, regardless of what Costa discovered and brought back, half of it belonged to the sponsor.

In other words, if Franz wanted to purchase all the seeds, he should only pay Costa another 50,000 florins.

"Thalia, didn't you explain that we are entitled to half of his gains?"

"Costa said that it's his freedom to set whatever price he likes for these items. Unless I'm willing to spend the night with him, he'll only sell those wheat seeds to me for 50,000 florins."

Thalia gritted her teeth in hatred, clearly feeling extremely disgusted.

Franz had originally wanted to tease her further, but now it seemed wise not to make a fool of himself.

"Thalia, do you think anyone would be willing to pay 100,000 florins for the wheat seeds he holds based on just a few words?"

Thalia was not surprised and simply answered leisurely.

"If it were an ordinary aristocrat or even a major landowner, they wouldn't accept this price because the losses would outweigh the gains."

"Indeed, even if these seeds are as he claims, just gathering enough seeds for planting would take a year. Moreover, given current Austrian grain prices, even with 10,000 acres of land, it would take nearly ten years to recoup the investment. Besides, the secret of a superior variety is unlikely to remain hidden for ten whole years. The losses would indeed outweigh the gains," Franz said.

Seeing Franz say this, Thalia knew he had made up his mind, for she understood that Franz was no minor nobleman; he was considering the entire country.

"Then should we continue planting rubber instead? I heard that rubber tree seeds are very difficult to survive, and you know that too, which is why you bought so many," Thalia deliberately diverted the topic.

"Rubber must be planted, but we should also give this wheat a try," Franz hurriedly said. "Thalia, how much do you think we can acquire these seeds for?"

"I think getting them for nothing would be the most appropriate."

Clearly, Thalia wanted to pull off a business deal with zero capital.

"Thalia, just how did that man pursue you to make you hate him so much?"

Thalia did not answer, merely flashing a cruel smile.

It seemed that the female of the species could be exceptionally cruel to men they disliked.

"Alright, just try not to get anyone killed," Franz said.

Thalia patted her chest, indicating that everything was in her hands, but she needed an assistant.

Franz asked, "Who is that person?"

"Colonel Schusel."

Colonel Schusel was Archduchess Sophie's chamberlain. He hailed from Bavaria and always carried out Archduchess Sophie's orders by any means necessary, which earned him her deep trust.

Moreover, this Colonel Schusel maintained close ties with a gang composed of Bavarians in the city of Vienna.

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

A large part of the reason came from a rumor: the true mastermind behind the gang was Archduchess Sophie herself, and Schusel was merely the messenger.

As Archduchess Sophie's eldest son, Franz had absolutely no reason to be refused if he asked Colonel Schusel for help.

However, Schusel was extremely astute and not easily fooled. If Franz did anything unusual, Schusel would likely report it to Archduchess Sophie at the very first instance.

Yet, precisely because of this, Schusel would not leak the secret to outsiders, telling it to Archduchess Sophie alone.

Vienna, Thurn Street, Grizzly Inn.

This was on the outskirts of Vienna, the so-called slums.

Since Costa had failed to find the legendary City of Gold and had lost half his men during the expedition, the dangers were self-evident—not only facing harsh weather but also countless venomous insects, fierce beasts, and terrifying diseases.

Costa understood that his good fortune could not last forever; he was tired of this lifestyle and wanted to retire from adventuring.

Although Costa, as the expedition leader, received triple the pay, the profits from this expedition were not enough to support the rest of his life.

Yet right now, an opportunity lay before him: if he could attach himself to this wealthy young lady, he would never have to worry about food or clothing for the rest of his life.

Although he had only met the young lady a few times, he knew that a family requiring its women to frequently show their faces in public likely had no male heirs, and he might even inherit a noble title in the future.

Of course, Costa could also see that the young lady was not interested in him. Fortunately, however, in a primitive tribe in the Amazon rainforest, he had acquired a magical drug that could induce intense hallucinations....