The villa door swung open, revealing a man dressed in a suit and shiny shoes, looking every bit the estate agent, leading the way. Behind him, several middle-aged men could barely conceal their irritation.
“Mr. Raj, 500 silver coins is the highest offer I can make. If you’re not satisfied, feel free to consult another real estate agent. But if you want to sell within a week at market price, it’s quite a tall order,” the estate agent said, spreading his hands in a gesture of helplessness.
“I understand… I’ll think it over for a few more days and get back to you in three days. Thanks for your efforts,” replied the middle-aged man, managing a forced smile.
As the agent left the courtyard, the man suddenly noticed a stranger standing at the door and looked at Lily in surprise, “Daughter, who is this?”
Before Charles could respond, Lily stepped forward and introduced him, “This is Charles, the one who topped the entrance ceremony. He’s heading to the imperial capital for university and wanted to ask about the place.”
“Oh, Charles! I’ve seen you on the news. An 18-year-old third-level Beast Master—truly a hero among youths!” The man’s eyes sparkled as he welcomed Charles into the house, though the light in his eyes soon dimmed. Handing Charles a business card, he then headed to the next room.
Charles glanced at the business card,
————
Raj – Director
Rajmiracle Drug Technologies Ltd.
Phone: 7355608
————
Looking at Lily with surprise, he remarked, “Miss Lily…erm, you’re quite the heiress, aren’t you?”
Lily handed Charles some fruit and tea, her eyes filled with joy yet tinged with worry. She sighed softly, “An heiress, huh… In three days, this villa and the family cars will all be gone to pay off debts…”
Charles was taken aback, pondering how things had reached such a dire state.
Recalling that the Blackwood family had faced such a misfortune within just ten days, he felt a twinge of regret.
Sipping his tea, Charles gently asked, “Miss Lily, can you tell me what exactly happened? Maybe I can help.”
Before Lily could respond, the sound of arguing drifted from the slightly ajar door next door.
“They were already in the miracle drug business, and I could tolerate that. But Kevin? This is too much! A weapons dealer sticking his nose into this?” Through the crack in the door, Charles could see Raj nearly grinding his teeth in anger as he spat out the words.
“How can their miracle drug be so cheap? They’re selling it at 50% below market price! How are we supposed to survive?” Another middle-aged man burst out furiously.
“Those suppliers are no better! As soon as they saw the price hike over there, they decided to breach their contracts and stopped shipping to us! Disgraceful!”
“Damn it, I can’t swallow this! Should we just take them out when we get a chance?” A younger man slammed his fist on the table, and cracks immediately appeared on its surface.
“Ahem!” Raj cleared his throat, as if to remind them that Charles was outside and they should be careful with their words. He lowered his voice and said, “Sly and Kevin are both fourth-level Beast Masters. If you’re thinking of making a move on them, it’s not going to be easy…”
The young man who had cracked the table stood up, veins bulging on his face in frustration. “Are we just going to sit here and let them crap on us without fighting back? They’re obviously price dumping to monopolize the market! They were the ones who broke the rules first! We’ll go down fighting if we have to!”
The argument inside was growing more heated by the second.
Lily quickly ran over and closed the door, shutting out the noise. She looked at Charles apologetically and said, “I’m sorry you had to see all this unpleasantness. How about I help you find a room in the city instead?”
It wasn’t that Lily wanted to kick Charles out, but with the villa about to be seized to pay off debts and the massive financial hole the family was in, her salary as a high school Beast Mastery lecturer was nowhere near enough to help.
The commercial pressure from three allied companies had left the Blackwood family, just starting in the pharmaceutical business, with no way out. In the midst of this heavy atmosphere, Charles slowly stood up.
He didn’t particularly care about the fate of Rajmiracle Drug Technologies, but Lily had once helped him when he was at his lowest, and in school, she had protected him from the bullying of other boys.
If he turned a blind eye now, Lily might end up homeless…
He walked to the noisy room and then opened the door.
The moment they heard the crisp sound of the door opening, every pair of eyes in the room turned toward the young man, around seventeen or eighteen years old, standing at the entrance. Charles spoke slowly and clearly, “Whatever financial shortfall the company has, I’ll cover it for you.”
As soon as those words left his mouth, the once rowdy room fell into an uncanny silence. Everyone stared in shock at the young man standing at the door.
Seeing that no one was responding, Charles spoke again, “You’re planning to sell this villa for 500,000 silver coins, right? I’ll buy it for 1,000 silver coins! And if that’s still not enough, I can lend you 5 gold coins, but you’ll need to pay me back within two years.”
After his recent venture with David at the exhibition, Charles had a solid balance of 15 gold coins and 420 silver coins in his bank account. Lending this amount of money wasn’t an issue for him.
“Charles, where… where did you get so much money?” Before anyone else could respond, Lily had already walked up behind Charles, gently holding his hand, her eyes filled with a trace of surprise.
In her memory, Charles’s parents were long-haul truck drivers, and their family was so poor they could barely keep food on the table. How could he casually offer up 7,000 silver coins?
The Blackwood family members seated inside, all senior figures, were equally astonished as they stared at Charles. Having been entrenched in Lsengard for many years, they were well aware of the status of the various noble families, and they had never heard of Charles coming from any wealthy or noble lineage.
Seeing the closeness between Charles and Lily, Raj was momentarily taken aback. He knew his daughter’s temperament better than anyone, and never before had any man caught her attention. Yet here she was, holding hands with another man.
Suppressing his surprise, Raj stood up from his seat, glanced at his daughter Lily with a hint of awkwardness, and then turned to Charles with a smile, “7,000 silver coins… What you just said, is that for real?”
Charles reached into his pocket, then pulled out a gleaming golden bank card from his storage space. Looking at Raj calmly, he said, “There are 2,000 silver coins in this card. Take it first. I’ll transfer the remaining 5,000 silver coins to your company account later today.”
7,000 silver coins—essentially an interest-free loan of 7 gold coins!
As everyone in the room stared at the gleaming gold bank card on the table, they were left speechless. That was a supreme VIP card, only issued when a savings account reached a balance of 10 gold coins.
“Charles? Are you the same Charles who took first place at the entrance ceremony?” one of the young men suddenly exclaimed.
The others quickly connected the dots, realizing that the boy in front of them was none other than the genius who had caused such a stir during the ceremony.
“It’s really you? A pleasure to meet you!”
“When you punched Thomas and sent him flying, I was watching the live broadcast at home—I was completely stunned!”
“That old snake Kevin—he’s so shameless. I never thought he’d get put in his place by you too, ha!”
The oppressive atmosphere in the room lifted immediately. Everyone’s eyes were now filled with amazement as they looked at the young man standing beside Lily.
Though still considered a “young man,” Charles’s height—well over six feet—made the tall and strikingly beautiful Lily, standing next to him, seem almost dainty in comparison.
“Yes, my uncle Charlie runs a miracle drug business in the imperial capital. He’s asked me to find a distributor here in Lsengard. If the opportunity arises, I’d love to discuss a possible partnership with Blackwood Pharmaceuticals,” Charles said with a smile. He then turned to leave the room, waving casually to the group inside. “No need to see me out, I have some other things to take care of.”
Without waiting for a response, Charles strode confidently out of the villa.
As they watched him leave, the room’s occupants exchanged joyful glances. One of the middle-aged men couldn’t help but sigh in admiration, “This young man is truly a blessing to the Blackwood family!”
Charles’s exceptional talent as a Beast Master, having earned perfect scores in both trials and assessments at the entrance ceremony, had already caused a sensation throughout Lsengard.
Not only was he gifted, but with family connections in the imperial capital’s miracle drug trade, it was clear that his background was on par with the powerful noble families of Lsengard.
To have such a connection with someone like him—this was indeed a stroke of good fortune for the Blackwood family.
As Charles’s figure was about to disappear from view, Raj quickly pulled Lily aside, giving her a look that said, Go after him, make sure he leaves on good terms.
“Dad! Charles is my student, what are you thinking…” Lily instantly understood what Raj was implying. She glanced at Charles’s retreating figure, her face turning a shade of red. “Besides, I’m seven years older than him! I could practically be his older sister…”
“Charles has already graduated, hasn’t he?” Seeing his daughter a bit discouraged, Raj chuckled, “And what’s wrong with being seven years older? You’re beautiful, and I see that Charles isn’t repelled by you. You should seize the opportunity!”
“Dad, stop it!” Lily’s face turned red, and she hurried back to her room, slamming the door behind her. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, her heart raced uncontrollably.
Truth be told, she felt somewhat guilty about Charles.
Between them, aside from a confession, they had done everything a couple would—and shouldn’t have done.
Perhaps it was because she became the only support in Charles’s darkest times, or maybe it was just youthful curiosity, but their relationship had crossed into forbidden love.
Was it time… to give this forbidden love a perfect ending?
Lily rummaged through her makeup on the desk and pulled out a lipstick she had cherished for a long time…