Thrown Into A New World: Let The Punishment Begin!

Chapter 671 - One-Sided Negotiations

Being called shrewd did not affect Yvonne in the least bit, in fact, she was quite happy to be acknowledged as a businesswoman by this man.

Marquess Samed was by no means a businessman as his wealth came from the taxes the citizens of his fief paid to him, their Fief Lord, and the tuition fees he received for teaching the daughters of high nobility.

Not to mention that he was the Royal Tutor which brought him a sizable chunk of his wealth.

What most did not know about him was that he was also a secret and silent investor in most of the profitable stores situated in the Commercial District.

This was how he had enough funds for his expensive hobby of spying on everyone and gathering intel to quench his desire for gossip.

Thus, while he may not be a businessman, he was still able to distinguish one.

His prized pupil whom he loved to brag about for having a quick wit and a sharp understanding was the one he recognized today.

Her methods of using everything to her favor and bringing profits to her business were making Marquess Samed both applaud her for her sly mind and also lament that he was the one being targeted by that same mind.

However, mistakes had been made, and hence a price needed to be paid for the blunders of the past.

"The duration of the contract remains the same?" He inquired, trying his best to do some damage control.

The look of determination was already set on her face which meant that the child, in no way, would be willing to accept any negotiations to reduce the price.

Therefore, he decided to look for another way to lower the losses he incurred.

The previous contract he had with CLOVER was for one year so his inquiry about its duration was to confirm that the renewed contract would also last only for one year.

'I can manage to bear the losses for one year.' He nodded to himself for that was not impossible.

Yvonne was not interested in keeping him in suspense for too long and thus she nodded her head to confirm the query he had made just earlier.

"One year, thrice the price." She repeated the terms to give him the assurance that he was seeking.

'I have more ways of making you pay.' She smiled but the Marquess was too busy rejoicing that he had not noticed it.

"Whether this contract will be renewed or not… That depends on your performance throughout the duration of the contract." She added which attracted his attention once again.

Her words meant that this contract for thrice the original price would certainly be for just one year as all other contracts.

However, whether he had the privilege of getting another contract would all depend on his ability to perform according to her conditions during this one year.

Marquess Samed's joy fizzled down upon understanding the meaning hidden behind the words that she had just spoken.

"Do you agree with these terms?" Yvonne questioned though she was aware of what his answer would be.

As she had intended, he was left with no other choice but to agree with her new proposal of paying thrice the original price for the next year.

Marquess Samed had already realized this as well and hence he did not waste time in mulling over it any further as he nodded his head in reply.

"We shall sign the necessary documents tomorrow." The little girl announced now that their one-sided negotiation had come to an end.

There was nothing that the Marquess could say in response so once again, only a nod was seen coming from him.

'As long as he agrees.' Yvonne had no qualms with his action of acquiescence and decided to move to the next matter at hand.

She raised her hand once again and this time, the same number of fingers as last time were held up.

'Now what does she wish to triple?' Marquess Samed widened his eyes when he saw her gesture.

Yvonne had caught the cautious and troubled look on his face which brought out a chuckle from her.

As refreshing as it sounded, Marquess Samed was more concerned about what she would say next that he had no intention of appreciating her adorable visage.

"Third condition." The child uttered, sending waves of relief through the tutor's body.

"Oh!? Yes, yes!" He nodded, accepting already as long as it did not consume any more of his limited wealth.

He was not the wealthiest man among the nobles like the Earl of St. Claire nor was he at the top of that list among the other Marquesses.

Thus he was concerned about how much losses he would have to bear today for the mistake he had committed in the past.

So to hear that she was indicating the next number of her condition rather than how much she would charge him in some way or the other was a huge relief to him.

Yvonne rolled her eyes without restraint at the miser she called her tutor but smirked soon after.

"First listen to what I have to say, Marquess." She whispered and succeeded in bringing him out of his joyful thoughts.

"As a final sign of your gesture to gain my forgiveness, hereon, Marquess Samed will lend me his forces. Won't he?" She muttered the final condition that she had prepared for him today.

The forces that she had mentioned were referring to the numerous men and women that Marquess Samed had on his payroll.

These 'employees' of his were present in every household of the nobility living in the Capital and some even in the other fiefs.

They were his spies who fed him information that was important and mostly concealed by those households they were planted in.

Yvonne's aim for today was to acquire the same information that Marquess Samed possessed through these spies he had in every household.

He used this information to be updated on the ins and outs of each noble family but her purpose would be different.

With such massive amounts of information, she could keep tabs on those who were against her and even make use of it when she deemed it necessary.

Marquess Samed's eyes widened when he deciphered the purpose for her final condition.

Thus, he shook his head in the next second.

"They are mere low-level servants and cannot provide you with the information that you seem to be looking for." He explained why he had rejected her condition.

However, Yvonne did not mind this as even the simplest of servants could possess information that might seem mediocre but could turn out to be what they were looking for.

"I have no ulterior motives." She revealed because she truly had none.

All she wished for was to know what was taking place inside these households at times and if something they were doing would affect her and the ones around her in any way possible.

"You don't have to do much, Marquess." She smiled at him to assure him that nothing would change from what he had been doing until now.

"All you have to do is keep me posted about the information you receive from them." She shrugged, proving that it wasn't such a big deal anyway.

Marquess Samed gazed at her for a few seconds, waiting to see if she was hiding something from him.

However, even after observing her, he found that she did not appear to be concealing anything from him.

Her objective was the one she had revealed to him so she had nothing to hide from him.

"Share your information and I can let you in on certain details when the time is right." She spoke vague and mysterious words which had managed to pique his interest.

Ever the curious man, Marquess Samed was tempted to agree with her final condition and that was exactly what he did.

His pupil seemed to hold too many mysteries and the only way to get his hands on them was to stay by her side.

Therefore, he decided to let her in on the information he received from his 'employees' from time to time.

"I accept." He announced his answer which brought a smirk on the child's face.

'I should keep an eye on what she plans to do with this information.' He surmised as he could not let her get involved in things that were out of her hands.

With the negotiations finally coming to an end, the tutor finally decided to get to work.

Yvonne did not mind as she had achieved what she had intended for this meeting and hence went along with what he had decided to do next.

The tutor quizzed the child and soon learned that she had been slacking during the lockdown period.

"You have to catch up on a lot." He groaned when he saw that she was lackadaisical in today's class.

'She is full of energy when negotiating with me but once she's achieved what she wanted, she becomes languid and lazy.' He sighed as now, she was becoming his problem child.

Earlier, he had to worry about Rika Kiron for slacking in her classes but now, Yvonne St. Claire had proudly claimed that position in his heart.

Shaking his head in disapproval at her, the tutor got stern as he began his classes once again with his pupil whom he did not know would retain the position of 'prized pupil' or would have to give it up soon due to her lack of efforts.

___

As her classes with the Marquess proceeded, the sun inched its way towards its highest position.

The three-hour-long class with her tutor was on its way to completion and the little girl had been nagged too many times already for being lacking in her knowledge that she ought to have learned during the lockdown period.

Yvonne could only nod and promise to make up for the time she lost in order to appease the man whom she had been suppressing just a few hours ago.

Thus, the awaited encounter with the tutor came to a close with the pupil being chided until the very end.