The Insane Regressor Throne Of Pride Chapter 105

To continue serving our readers, I have removed Korean novels due to copyright issues.

Thank you for your continued support. I’m still working hard to bring you more great novels and the best reading experience possible.

[ … words ]

The Earl began writing down the terms, and the only sound left in the room was the scratch of his pen against the paper.

“Management of the project and all financial decisions fall to House Viola, since we’re funding it and own three-quarters of it,” the Earl said.

Ravian looked at the paper for a moment.

“And no technical decision that affects the safety of the network may be carried out without my approval throughout the entire period of my supervision,” he said.

The Earl didn’t lift his head, but his pen slowed slightly before he finished the line.

“Accepted. And my family receives the right of first negotiation on any other project you bring forward in the future,” the Earl said, watching Ravian out of the corner of his eye.

“The right to review and negotiate, and nothing more. Not to own it or stop me from presenting it to someone else if we don’t come to terms,” Ravian said.

“Ten days during which you present it to no one,” the Earl said, for reasons of his own.

“Seven,” Ravian replied without giving the number a chance to settle. “Seven days are enough for a man who knows the value of what he’s looking at and whether it’s worth having.”

The Earl raised his eyes this time and looked at him for a long moment, then wrote the number down on the paper.

“Accepted.”

Then he continued without granting Ravian a pause:

“Within two days, you’ll submit a preliminary layout for the trial phase and determine the most suitable district to begin with.”

“I need elevation maps, the routes of the existing water conduits, the population figures, and the locations of the wells, reservoirs, and waste drains.” Ravian counted them off one after another, as though he were reciting from a list he’d written years ago.

“You’ll have them tomorrow,” the Earl said. Then he added, “And you’ll choose the people who are shown the core of the design from a list that I draw up.”

Ravian’s eyes lingered on that condition for a single moment.

The Earl was putting a fence around his knowledge, and Ravian knew that perfectly well, but the same fence that penned it in also protected it from outsiders.

“Accepted.” Ravian nodded.

The Earl moved down to the bottom of the page.

“The five thousand gold will be placed under your name in my vault, and you may withdraw it in a single sum or in installments whenever you please. The treasurer will record only the amount and the date and won’t ask about the purpose. Your claim to it remains until it is exhausted, and it won’t be counted among the project’s expenses or deducted from your profits,” the Earl explained as he wrote.

Ravian nodded before turning his gaze toward the Earl with that same provocative smile.

“And the two requests—don’t forget them,” Ravian said.

“Within my ability, with no direct harm to House Viola and no outright treason against the Empire,” the Earl said without lifting his eyes from the paper.

“I won’t ask you to destroy your family or hand over the Emperor’s head. I already told you that,” Ravian said.

“That way of speaking of yours is enough on its own to bring disaster down on any family,” the Earl replied, looking at him with a flat expression.

“But it’s my answer.” Ravian shrugged indifferently.

The Earl held his gaze for a long while.

Nothing compelled the Earl to accept, and nothing compelled Ravian to concede. Both of them knew that perfectly well.

Then the Earl sighed and wrote:

“Two personal requests to be made of Earl Patrick Viola at a later time. The right to make them is not transferable to any other person.”

“And they don’t lapse with the passing of time,” Ravian pressed.

The pen stopped at the end of the line.

It remained there for a full second before moving again and adding the words.

“And they don’t lapse with the passing of time,” the Earl repeated in a tone that did nothing to hide his displeasure.

Ravian smiled.

“Now we’re starting to agree.”

“Don’t smile yet.”

The Earl raised the paper to eye level and read:

“Twenty-five percent to you and seventy-five percent to House Viola. Your share covers the project and everything that branches directly from the technology you provide, inside the Empire and beyond it. The documented construction costs are recovered first, and then the profits are distributed according to the shares.”

He lowered the paper slightly until his eyes appeared above its edge.

“My family takes on the funding, management, and legal protection and provides the permits, workers, materials, and records. In exchange, you provide the knowledge and plans, supervise the trial phase, train the people we choose, and don’t present the project to any other patron so long as we’re meeting our obligations. You also receive the five thousand gold and the two requests.”

“Plus the heart,” Ravian reminded him.

The Earl scowled.

“Plus the heart.”

“Accepted.” Ravian nodded.

The Earl set the pen aside and leaned back in his chair.

“The specialists will write the contract out in full tonight.”

“Then I’ll read every word of it again,” Ravian said dryly.

“You can read?” the Earl asked with a scowl.

’That bastard of an Earl…’

Ravian raised an eyebrow.

“Did you think I was planning a network beneath the capital without being able to read a contract?” Ravian asked.

“After what I’ve seen from you, I no longer assume there’s anything normal about you at all.” The Earl waved a hand dismissively.

Then the Earl extended his hand across the table.

Ravian looked at it for a moment.

The handshake wasn’t a contract, nor was it a guarantee that would stop either of them from betraying the other if he found something worth the betrayal. It was only a declaration that this round of negotiations was over and that each of them had found enough in the deal not to walk away from it.

Ravian extended his hand and shook it.

“Agreed.”

“Agreed.”

They said it at the same time.

The Earl’s grip was steady, and there wasn’t a single trace in it of the force that had pressed against Ravian’s fingers beneath the table a short while ago.

When he released Ravian’s hand, the Earl reached for a thin cord beside his seat and pulled it.

A faint ringing sounded somewhere outside the room, and a few moments later, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

Shmichael opened the door, but he stopped at the threshold. His gaze moved between the two men once, then a second time, trying to determine the result of the negotiation from their faces.

Neither of them gave him anything.

“Go to the private vault and bring the heart of the Eighth-Rank creature,” the Earl said. “Deliver it to Rayan at once.”

Hesitation showed on Shmichael’s face for a moment.

It wasn’t an objection. It was the astonishment of a man who had spent his life among ledgers and clauses and had just watched his lord agree to hand over something so valuable before a single clause had been formally set down on paper.

But he bowed all the same.

“As you command, my lord.”

He left, and the door closed behind him.

The Earl waited until the sound of his footsteps had receded down the corridor, then looked at Ravian.

“Do you have somewhere to stay at the moment?”

“I have a room at an inn,” Ravian lied without so much as blinking.

“Leave it. You can sleep here if you like. We’ll need two days to gather the maps and the men and finish the contract, and it’ll be easier if you’re inside the house until we begin the work.”

Ravian thought for a moment.

Staying in the Earl’s house meant being surrounded by his men and under his eye the entire time. But it also meant better protection, faster access to resources, and a more convincing identity if anyone turned up looking for Rayan Veyr. And walking out of that gate now while carrying an Eighth-Rank heart might draw attention he had absolutely no need for.

“I’ll stay,” Ravian said at last.

“Good. I’ll have them prepare one of the guest rooms for you.” The Earl nodded, satisfied.

Ravian rose from his seat.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll wait for Shmichael outside,” Ravian said, then turned toward the door.

“There is something else.”

The Earl’s voice stopped him before his hand reached the handle.

Ravian turned to him.

The Earl wasn’t looking at the papers this time, nor was he turning his ring, and there was no smile on his face.

“The contract will bind you to this project, Rayan. But it won’t bind you to House Viola.”

“That’s the nature of a partnership.”

“And I don’t like investing in something that can leave my house whenever it pleases.”

Ravian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“What do you want?”

Earl Patrick watched him for several long seconds.

Then he said:

“What would you say if I adopted you as my son?”

>>>>

Alright, dear readers, I’ve now released eight Chapters in just two days! You could say this is my way of making up for what’s going to happen over the next couple of days. (╥﹏╥)

I’ll still be uploading Chapters as usual, but they won’t be available right away since they’ll be added to the Privilege Chapters instead… (I’m sorry, guys, but I have to do this.)

That said, I promise I’ll make it up to you with a mass release as soon as I’m done setting everything up. And trust me—the upcoming events mark the end of Volume 3, and the hype will be every bit as intense as the ending of Volume 2.

Thank you all for your continued support!

>>>>