I Raised the Northern Grand Duke as a Farmer Behind My Father’s Back Chapter 38

Chapter 38

That was the moment.

Whoosh!

Haniel, who had buried her face in Basil’s lap, slightly turned her head and glared at him.

Hyah.

I know, I know.

Basil cleared his throat at the child’s silent eye attack, which Duke Rowain couldn’t see.

I nearly let him take the initiative.

He absentmindedly played with Haniel’s fine hair as he thought.

She definitely said…… we absolutely have to close the deal with Duke Rowain right here, right now.

“You can’t just let Duke Rowain leave! Okay?”

“Why? Selling him a little sample first so he can confirm the effects doesn’t sound bad.”

“But what if he tests it and then starts going, ‘This part is like this, that part is like that,’ and tries to knock the price down?!”

“Ah.”

“And…… the East is crawling with holy knights and palace officials right now, trying to purify the diseased land!”

What if Duke Rowain returned to the East carrying a sample?

“The imperial family or the Temple will definitely come charging in immediately! They’ll force us to sell it!! And they’ll slash the price like crazy!”

Truthfully, Basil was confident no one alive could strong-arm him into lowering the price……

She’s afraid the Temple might come to the territory.

He understood Haniel’s fear.

That was why he had decided that the treatment absolutely had to be sold to Duke Rowain here and now.

Seeing Haniel reminded him of that resolution all over again.

Hmm. Then how do I break through this situation?

The stern old man in front of him clearly wasn’t ordinary.

If Basil tried some cheap trick, the duke would probably seize on it immediately.

But the man wasn’t showing any openings and was negotiating honestly.

What should I say first……

Then—

Squirm, squirm.

Haniel, who had been pretending to sleep while tightly holding Basil’s hand, traced something onto his palm.

Lu. Den.

Ah.

He remembered.

To be completely honest, this was Basil’s first real negotiation between nobles.

But a few days earlier, he had received an intensive crash course from Luden on the basics of negotiation.

Together with one extremely enthusiastic six-year-old.

“Teacher Luden! What’s the best way to take control in your very first negotiation?”

“Hmm. First, it’s important to sell something the other person actually needs.”

Basil glanced at the treatment formula lying on the table.

Something they need: the treatment.

Check.

“But, but! Even if they need it, first-time negotiations can still be hard! What if we get taken advantage of……?”

“Hmm…… Then it’s old-fashioned, but adding one more lure can help.”

“For example……?”

His palm tickled again.

Li. Mi. Ted.

Basil casually shrugged.

Then he spoke.

“Back to the deal. So, Duke…… you want to purchase a sample first? Fair enough. That’s perfectly reasonable, but…… well.”

“Why do you say that?”

“The amount of the main ingredient……”

That much was enough.

The duke was experienced and perceptive.

He would easily infer the rest.

“Pardon? Don’t tell me the main ingredient…… is in short supply? Just what is this ingredient?”

Basil smirked.

Then he opened the little pouch sitting on the table.

“Keep this between us.”

A yellow-brown mushroom peeked out.

Duke Rowain’s eyes widened at the unfamiliar sight.

“This is……!”

“A medicinal ingredient that survived every kind of contamination and cold the North threw at it for the last two years.”

Now that he put it that way, the mushroom suddenly looked extremely mystical.

“But the quantity…… tsk.”

“……So the harvest is insufficient?”

“More like gathering it is…… tsk.”

Duke Rowain’s eyes moved rapidly.

Judging by that reaction—

It’s difficult to gather, and the supply is limited.

He swallowed.

Wait. Then shouldn’t I secure that ingredient first?

If he failed to reserve the material here……

then even buying the treatment formula later would be useless.

“This mushroom is extremely precious, so naturally, I only intend to supply it to whoever purchases the treatment formula.”

The duke swallowed again.

“Your Grace. May I ask…… how much the main ingredient costs?”

“Of course.”

Basil handed over a sheet of paper.

Per sack……

Th-three thousand gold? Good heavens.

The price of two small cattle.

How much of this mushroom does one batch of treatment even require?

Depending on the ratio……

the ingredient cost could exceed the price of the formula itself.

But the ratio was unknown.

And to learn the ratio……

he obviously had to see the recipe.

“So. What are you going to do?”

Basil leaned back in his chair.

“Still buying a sample first? Signing the actual contract four days from now? Hmm…… You won’t regret that?”

Don’t tell me he’ll sell the mushrooms to another territory while I hesitate.

Combined with the way Basil had seemed strangely busy earlier—

“What’s your business? I’d prefer to finish within thirty minutes.”

The thought of limited supply and potential competitors made the duke anxious.

Even so, the price……

We’ve had a disastrous harvest. I need to conserve the budget…… No. If the East is at stake, money is secondary.

Then an idea struck him.

Wait. What if I report this directly to the imperial family?

Wouldn’t the imperial family fund the purchase of the treatment formula?

Then, like last spring, perhaps they would distribute the treatment for free……

or at least at a very low cost.

The imperial family was surely desperate over the crop disease too.

His thoughts raced.

“Ah, Your Grace. One moment. Just one moment, if you would allow me some time to think……”

At that exact moment, Haniel once again traced something on Basil’s palm.

Now!

I know.

Basil squished Haniel’s cheek slightly to calm himself.

“Ah. One more thing.”

“……?”

“There’s something I haven’t told you.”

“What is it?”

“The conditions of this deal.”

“……Pardon?”

Basil jerked his chin toward the other folder on the table.

“Well, why don’t you read the agreement first?”

“……”

Duke Rowain mechanically picked up the contract.

Then—

“Th-this is!”

His eyes opened wide.

He had spotted one particular clause.

“W-what in the world is this……!”

“You still don’t understand?”

Basil’s red eyes seemed to pierce straight through the duke.

“I’m not selling you the recipe for the treatment.”

The official lead developer of the soil-treatment formula shall be recorded as ‘Nodeville Rowain.’

“I’m selling you an achievement.”

“I’ll buy it!”

“At this price?”

“At this price!”

The deal was successfully concluded.

So it really worked.

Basil thought as he cut his bread.

Good thing he had simulated the negotiation in advance with Luden and Haniel.

“If we tell him the ingredient is limited edition!! and Duke Rowain still hesitates…… then the deal is probably going to fail! Right, Teacher Luden?”

“Hmm. The longer someone thinks, the more likely they are to refuse. Or they may be considering some other scheme.”

“Then what if we show him this contract clause at that point?”

The official lead developer of the soil-treatment formula shall be ‘Nodeville Rowain.’

“Duke Rowain is a proud noble, right? If we sell him the reputation of being the man who developed the treatment too, he’ll open his wallet no matter how expensive it is!”

Basil frowned.

“If we’re going to put Duke Rowain down as the developer anyway, wouldn’t it be better to just tell him that from the start?”

“Then he won’t feel like, ‘I got something extra!’”

Haniel explained.

“He needs to worry first, get nervous, and then finally obtain it after struggling! That’s what gives it value! Then he’ll feel grateful to the North too!”

“Haniel is correct, Your Grace. Especially if you intend to maintain a long-term trade relationship with the East.”

So that was how it worked……

“Large negotiations are fundamentally advanced psychological warfare.”

“Exactly! They say people open their wallets with emotion, not logic!”

“And psychological warfare is most effective when emotions have already been heightened.”

“Right! So you have to build those emotions step by step!”

“……Wait. Why does it feel like I’m the only student here?”

Somehow, he had ended up with two teachers.

Anyway, I’m glad it worked.

Glad?

Ten million gold.

His grip tightened slightly around the spoon.

An enormous sum—

equivalent to roughly half a year’s budget for a major territory.

They had just earned an unbelievable amount of money.

And on top of that……

“Thank you, Your Grace. I will not forget this favor!”

It seemed they had also gained Duke Rowain’s trust.

To Be Continued…