51 – Crudia Mountaineer Mercenaries – 4
When Charles came forward, Lucrezia showed a puzzled expression.
“Oh? I thought it was Maris’s invention, but are you already sharing private property?”
“I only have half the rights.”
“But it was Maris who invented it, so wouldn’t it be better to discuss it with Maris?”
“Since Maris had a hard time inventing it, I should at least help with the negotiations. I plan to negotiate with Lucrezia first and then discuss it with Maris. Are you okay, Maris?”
When the attention was suddenly drawn to herself, Maris answered in a embarrassed voice, averting her eyes.
“Yes… ”
Meanwhile, Lucrezia was momentarily speechless. Maris was the typical naive country girl. So I thought I would be able to cheat easily, but I was taken aback when a formidable opponent suddenly appeared.
Lucrezia was still smiling, but Charles could tell. The fact that Lucrezia was displeased with the situation.
‘It’s a formidable opponent. Things that are easy to do have become difficult.’
Thinking so, Lucrezia said.
“Standardly, in the Taspiria Peninsula, distribution revenue for inventions is set at 10% of the net profit earned by entrepreneurs. Except for special circumstances, it tends not to change from that 10%.”
In modern times, you can get more than that, but considering the limitations of the times, even 10% is a reasonable level.
“So originally, it would be right to make a standard contract, but Charles is my friend and I want to maintain a good relationship with Maris in the future, so I am willing to add 2.5% to 12.5% of the net profit of the Flos family. .”
12.5 percent. It’s not a bad condition. Of course, the Flos family is very good at business, so the Flos family’s standard of 12.5% is likely to come in a higher amount than the 20% of other families. However…
‘Is this strange?’
Charles felt puzzled. The Flos family, famous for their mistresses, put forward such good conditions from the beginning? No matter how much I wanted to be close, this was a bit suspicious condition. While Charles, who thought so, was thinking about Lucrezia’s true intentions…
“but.”
Lucrecia continued.
“Considering the period of securing a workshop and technicians for production, securing equipment, mass-producing, and transporting it to the sales site, it will take at least two years to make a proper profit.”
“Two, two years?”
Maris cried. Maris wanted to sell her invention to pay for her education, but she had to give up her dream of selling her invention to pay for school if she had to wait two years to make money.
“So I want to be considerate of Miss Maris and give her better conditions.”
At that moment, Charles sighed inwardly.
‘Well then… ‘
The condition Lucrezia is talking about is probably a lump sum payment. Giving royalties to such a hit business item would cost a lot of money, so if Maris didn’t know the value of this item properly, she would think of hitting it with a lump sum.
“I will give you two 800 ducats each, a total of 1600 ducats as a lump sum, and I will buy the right to this product.”
I was saying it as if I was patronizing it, but if I sold it like this, it would be an unconditional loss. Of course, 800 ducats was not the name of the dog. 800 ducats is enough money to hire hundreds of mercenaries. However…
‘I can get more money if I get royalties.’
Charles thought that the real value was more than 1600 ducats, considering the Flos family’s business skills and the excellence of the product.
It would be true that the first profit would be made after two years, but after that, thousands of ducats would be ridiculous if sucked up for a few years. It was a story that was not worth much right now, but it was a stock that would rise in the future.
The moment he was about to refuse, Maris pulled Charles by the sleeve.
“why?”
“With 800 ducats, I can pay all three years of school fees and living expenses. I want to sell this.”
At that moment, Lucrezia smiled meaningfully. In fact, it was the idea that since Maris, the inventor, had made up her mind to sell, Charles could not cut without selling.
“… ”
Charles pondered for a while. 10 seconds passed, 20 seconds passed, and finally Charles did not open his mouth for a minute. Lucrezia and Maris couldn’t open their mouths easily because of Charles’ serious expression. The tense moment passed, and soon Charles opened his mouth.
“Then let’s do this.”
The two focused on Charles’ mouth. He was curious about what Charles would say.
“Maris. He said he needed 800 ducats.”
“yes? yes.”
“I’ll pay you 800 plus 100 for 900 ducats, so sell your rights to me.”
“What, what?”
“900 each!?”
Lucrezia was taken aback by Charles’ sudden words, and Maris was delighted.
“If I pay Maris 900 ducats, the rights to the invention will come to me entirely. The other half is mine in the first place. I will give it to the Flos family and receive royalties equal to 12.5% of the net profit. Since this has met both needs, they are both satisfied, right?”
In doing so, Maris is obviously at an advantage. I received 100 ducats more than the original sales price. Charles also benefits. After paying only 927 ducats, 6 thalers and 12 grossen, he got the right to receive thousands of ducats of royalties in the future. The only loss is Lucrezia du Flos. This is because the operation to strike with a lump sum fails and the contract has to be signed under conditions that are less favorable than the standard.
Lucrezia desperately thought of words for a counterattack. For a moment, I wondered if I should ask for a higher amount than Charles. But if you do, you will reveal your own greed. To put it mildly, he manages his image, but if he competes with Charles on price, he will leave a bad impression on Maris, a talented inventor who will be of great help in the future. Of course, since Charles and Lucrezia knew each other’s intentions, it wouldn’t matter much.
‘If I hadn’t said it favorably… ‘
If he had shown himself as a businessman from the beginning, he could have competed on price. Lucrezia felt it. He said he was victimized by his operation. It was a jaseungjabak.
However, as the heir to the Flos family, Lucrezia did not want to show a disheveled appearance here. Lucrezia desperately managed her expression and immediately smiled her usual beautiful smile. And he said this in a calm voice.
“If that’s the case, there’s nothing wrong with me. Then, let’s do as Charles-sama’s condition.”
Charles was watching right in front of him. Even though he was hit once, he didn’t show the right tee. That way Charles won’t be disappointed in himself. That was the least pride Lucrezia had as a monarch.
—–
The next day, Charles immediately handed over 900 ducats to Maris. And then I wrote the contract. It was a contract to completely transfer the rights to the invention to Charles.
And Charles lent the right to Lucrezia du Flos. It was a contract that allowed Maris to make money by selling the things she invented.
Before long, a series of middle-aged and elderly engineers from the Flos family came with apprentices, and the engineers seriously studied Maris’ skills and returned to the Principality of Flos.
After a series of processes were over, Maris was crying.
“why are you crying?”
“I’m sorry about the fathers.”
“Dads?”
Maris cried for a while and explained why she was crying. I had a hard time organizing it because it was very central heating, but to organize it, it was like this. Hundreds of mercenaries were paying 240 ducats a year with their small salaries, and they were paying for Maris’ tuition while reducing their own living expenses, so they said they felt sorry for going to school.
However, the amount of 180 ducats left over after three years of tuition came into my hands in an instant. Maris can now pay for her schooling herself without having to rely on over 300 fathers.
Maris felt the recent events were too dreamy to feel real. Charles Jean Rochepole. After meeting him, I felt like everything was going well.
—–
[Father, thank you for supporting the school expenses so far. However, I recently sold the rights to an invention and have been able to get my hands on a sum of money that I could not have imagined until now, and I think I will be able to pay my own tuition from now on without my father’s support. I’ll send the tuition you’ve sent so far to Crudia through the Flos family’s bank. Thank you for taking care of us until now. I’ll write another letter.]
Upon receiving the letter from Maris, the mercenary commander made a serious expression.
Clearly, the content of the letter was only good. It was said that Maris had earned a lot of money, and since she would pay for her schooling herself, there was no need for tuition support.
The mercenary commander, Manfred, should have been happy, but he felt uneasy for some reason.
“You made a lot of money selling the rights to an invention? No need to get tuition support?”
That means I earned at least 3 years of tuition, or more than 720 ducats. Does it make sense for a 17-year-old student who has only been in the academy for half a year to earn 720 ducats?
“no way… ”
Could it be that he had a dangerous accident or stepped into a crime? Isn’t it because I quit the academy that I don’t need tuition? Could it be that the contents of this letter are all lies? That’s what I thought.
Thinking so, Manfred, the mercenary commander of the ‘Crudia Mountaineer Mercenary Corps’, immediately called his subordinates together.
“I want to be away for a month.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to see my daughter for a while.”
“Captain, you’re single… ah.”
The mercenaries nodded as they realized who the daughter Manfred was talking about was.
“Are you going to see Maris?”
“okay. It takes two weeks to go to Jedo even on horseback. Even if you stay in the islands for only three days, it will take you well over a month. In the meantime, can you guys take care of yourself?”
“Of course I do. Feel free to go.”
So, the mercenary commander, Manfred, headed for Archipelago Arcadia.
This was what Charles Jean Rochepole had been aiming for from the beginning.