“Enough!” Glen bellowed, getting angry for once.
He certainly had enough of the stubborn foreign professor who kept yapping endlessly, unable to read the room at all. “Mr. Hampton, get Professor Roberts out of here. Pay him accordingly and send him on his way!”
“Yes, Mr. Turnbull.” A middle-aged Turnbull family retainer strode up and leveled a cool glare at Professor Roberts. “Come along, professor.”
“T-This is wrong!” Professor Roberts kept bellowing. “You can’t do this, not to a healer who’s only proven his kindness and loyalty! I’ll sue!”
“Sue away.” Glen remained impassive, his tone cold and even a little contemptible.
He clearly did not worry about Professor Roberts’ threat to sue. It would make sense too, since the Turnbulls were one of the Four Families of Morhen and had reigned for a while in Draconia’s economical field. They definitely had cards to play, and some foreign professor would not be able to win a lawsuit no matter what he did.
Such was the cruelty of reality.
After Professor Roberts was sent away, Glen finally turned toward Frank and said quietly, “Name your price.”
Frank stood in the distance and met Glen’s gaze calmly, shaking his head. “I don’t need money. I just want to see Vicky.”
“No chance.” Glen refused without hesitation. “Give up already—you can see how much Titus loves Vicky, and it goes without saying his superiority in power and position over you. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind seeing Vicky marrying a man she loves if not for begging circumstances, but reality is always cruel. I can admit your skill and martial prowess, but can you beat the Lionhearts’ authority and connections no matter how good you get? From where I’m standing you don’t have an edge over Titus at all.”
Glen’s tone then turned mild, “Giving up on Vicky is giving yourself an opportunity. My family will be grateful, and you’ll have more money than you can spend this lifetime. How about ten billion dollars?”
“Ten billion dollars…” Frank lowered his head as he repeated the number.
Seeing that Frank was finally breathing something else, Glen pressed him eagerly. “Yes. You’ll be our friend—I mean, who wouldn’t want to be friends with us? But the condition is that you give up on your unrealistic ambitions. Hell, you can have fifteen billion, and I’ll make sure it’s transferred to your account by tomorrow once you agree to it. From a legitimate source that no auditors would dare touch, naturally. Just take the money and start a new life in Riverton, and you could even have some of our businesses. You’ll definitely become a king down there.”
“Pfft…” Frank snickered at Glen’s eagerness, shaking his head. “You Turnbulls really are one of the Four Families of Morhen. You’re even richer than I thought.”
“For sure.” Glen nodded proudly. “Our business extends throughout Draconia, and we’re involved in shipbuilding, tourism, and even the gem trade. Whatever you can think of, we’d be involved.”
“In other words…” Frank reared his head and leveled Glen a look of disdain. “Vicky is only worth fifteen billion dollars to you?”
