Chapter 73: 73 – Closing The Deal

King Jaren was surprised to see Mana and Raven come back with Crown Princess Pica, but he welcomed her graciously (albeit a little coldly). Azar, however, wasn't too pleased to see her and just before she entered the room, the little dragon disappeared into King Jaren's secret garden.

King Jaren quickly arranged for dinner to be served in one of the smaller halls and the four of them discussed the matter of investments in the pastry shops over a scrumptious meal.

It was not for nothing that the Emerald Kingdom was the richest kingdom of all, and King Jaren was rumoured to have the touch of an alchemist, turning every business venture into a pot of gold. Crown Princess Pica broached the topic of acquiring a share in Mana and Raven's pastry shop business – and King Jaren, who had absolutely no idea what these two children had cooked up, simply listened with a serious look in his eyes. All King Jaren knew was that Mana planned to open pastry shops, and he'd given her a pile of gold for it. He knew that Queen Carolina had shown an interest because Mana had mentioned it briefly a few days ago – but he didn't know what happened after that or what the current status of the matter was.

And now these two kids had brought over an eager Crown Princess Pica who wanted to pay him thrice the share price for a stake equivalent stake to that of Queen Carolina…?

After listening to Crown Princess Pica, King Jaren tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I am indeed very tempted by your generous offer," he told her. He turned to Raven. "What do you think, son? Are you comfortable with this?"

Raven nodded.

"Would you be able to adjust your business plan accordingly? You mustn't renege on your commitment to Queen Carolina, otherwise you will have to pay her additional interest," he pointed out. "I may be willing to forgo the additional interest, but it would be embarrassing to ask the monarch of another kingdom."

Mana smiled slightly. "Raven has a plan," she said. "He thought of a solution immediately, and it seems feasible. We'll have to adjust the details of our original plan to account for it properly, of course."

King Jaren raised an eyebrow. "Do tell me," he said.

Raven quickly went over the details he had mentioned to Crown Princess Pica earlier, and concluded with, "And that's why we thought that Mother could acquire a 10% share like Queen Carolina, and we'll put up five shops in the Obsidian Kingdom as well – three now, and we'll add two more later, after we've finished the full set of ten for the Emerald Kingdom and five for the Sapphire Kingdom."

King Jaren frowned. "Are you certain that your farms will have enough production by then?" he asked.

Raven nodded. "I made the calculations, Papa. I did them quickly in my head to check if it was possible, but I'll record the calculations and projections properly and show you the revised proposal tomorrow," he replied.

"Isn't he just amazing?" Mana remarked, her eyes sparkling with pride.

King Jaren beamed at Raven and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Absolutely," he agreed. "Well, then, I'll hand over 10% to Crown Princess Pica as you wish, son."

Raven smiled shyly. "Thank you, Papa."

"Are you sure that the price is right, though?" King Jaren asked.

Raven frowned slightly. "The Obsidian Kingdom is not poor like the Pearl Kingdom," he said. He looked at Crown Princess Pica. "Three million won't be a problem, will it?"

It wasn't a small amount of money, and Crown Princess Pica was taken aback. Had Queen Carolina really given two million to these two kids…? But it wasn't an amount that Crown Princess Pica couldn't afford, either, especially when she was trying desperately to get into her son's good books. Besides, having pastry shops in the Obsidian Kingdom meant that Raven and Mana would have to visit, right?

"It's not a problem at all," Crown Princess Pica said. "I do understand that I'm cutting in at such a late stage and making you revise your plans. It is only fair that I pay you more."

"Well then, we're all set," King Jaren said. "Mana, Raven, prepare the paperwork for Crown Princess Pica, and I want to see the revised business plan as soon as possible. We'll also have to give copies of the revised plan to Crown Princess Pica and Queen Carolina."

"Nothing will change for the investors except the timeline, Papa," Mana said. "All three of you will still get 10% of the profits of the stores in your respective kingdoms against the 10% share you hold. Any additional payments we need to make for the delay…we'll make it up from our share."

"All right, you clever little imps, I won't pester you anymore," King Jaren said patting both children on their heads. "There's fruit custard for dessert," he added.

Mana and Raven grinned widely.

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Crown Princess Pica was delighted to try the fruit custard, especially since she had heard Head Sage Yue gloating about it earlier. It really was delicious. The food in the Emerald Kingdom really was quite good, Crown Princess Pica thought. No wonder Raven had grown so much taller and healthier in a few months if he was eating like this every day! She remembered how he barely ate a mouthful or two back in the Obsidian Kingdom, and he would often be throwing up after a meal. And now…he ate as much as a growing boy of his age! She watched, astonished, as he finished off three bowls of custard by himself.

Noticing her surprise, King Jaren chuckled. "This is nothing," he told her. "You should have seen Raven and Jules when they had their magic surge. Most of Mana's brilliant business ideas were drawn up during those weeks because she was too worried that I wouldn't have enough money to feed my two boys."

Crown Princess Pica's spoon dropped on the table in shock. "Raven…already had his first magic surge…?" she repeated in a daze.

King Jaren blinked. "Well, his magic is very powerful, so it is natural that he would have his surge earlier," he said lightly.

Crown Princess Pica beamed at Raven. "How absolutely wonderful!" she cried. "Oh, just wait till your grandfather hears this!" She turned to King Jaren and bowed politely. "I have a somewhat presumptuous request to make," she said. "Would you please help me protect Raven until he comes of age? I am afraid of avaricious eyes coveting his talent and stealing him away with duplicitous means."

King Jaren turned serious. "Raven and Bella are as precious to me as Mana and Jules," he said.

"Thank you," Crown Princess Pica said gratefully. Everyone knew how protective King Jaren was when it came to his children…and she had just reaffirmed with her own eyes that King Jaren truly regarded Raven as his own son. Unlike that horrible Yue…

She turned to Raven. "It may be best for you to stay in the Emerald Kingdom for now, but you must visit the Obsidian Kingdom often. Mana would also need to familiarise herself with our country," she paused. "I do hope that you will consider the matter of your inheritance seriously, my child. I won't rush you, but I will try my best to ensure that your answer is in the affirmative," she added softly.

Raven nodded. "We will have our response ready when we visit the Obsidian Kingdom for the engagement banquet party," he said quietly.

Crown Princess Pica was satisfied with his answer. She didn't linger unnecessarily after dinner, and took her leave after promising to send over the investment money the next morning.

King Jaren rounded upon the two children after she left and quickly erected a sound proof magic barrier.

"What in the world is going on? When did all this pastry shop business get planned? And when did I sell a stake to Queen Carolina?" he demanded. "Didn't I just give you a million?"

Mana and Raven burst out laughing.

"Well, Queen Carolina did give us a couple of million for our next business project, which happens to be the pastry shops," Mana said cheekily. "She knows she's got a 10% share and that she'll get 10% of the profits from the outlets we open in the Sapphire Kingdom." She patted Raven's shoulder and added, "Everything else is the work of my brilliant fiancé."

Raven flushed. "I wasn't talking nonsense, Papa," he said meekly. "I went over everything in my head properly before I spoke."

"Which means that it is a perfect plan," Mana said. "You know Raven's error margin is nil, Papa."

King Jaren sighed. "All right, then," he said. "Who all have a share in this? Do you intend to dilute it further?"

Mana shook her head. "Raven and I will jointly keep 50%, and we're planning to give 10% to Big Brother and Big Sister Bella as their engagement gift, and another 10% to Fox and Vanilla as their engagement gift. You have 10%, Queen Carolina has 10% and now Crown Princess Pica has 10%," she explained. "There won't be any further changes unless Raven comes up with another brilliant scheme."

Then she also told her Papa about what she and Raven had overheard when they'd gone to the imperial guesthouse, and Head Sage Yue's request to meet them tomorrow.

King Jaren was predictably angry. "I'm not letting you meet that man alone again," he said. "I'll accompany you."

Azar chose that moment to come out, holding two bunches of balloons.

"Ah, yes, a couple of good people sent balloons to you," King Jaren said. "You two weren't here, so I gave them to little Azar to play with."

Mana smiled.. "It's really nice to receive gifts," she murmured.

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