Chapter 47: How Much It Cost

*Knock *Knock

Caelan was expecting Jack to visit him that day, but it was only a day later when he appeared. Fortunately, this time, he didn’t just barge into the room by going through the door.

Instead, he knocked on the door now like a normal person.

"Come in," Caelan muttered out loud.

The door opened, revealing Jack standing outside. He was dressed in his usual dark clothes, but this time he was wearing normal-looking ones. It seemed like they only wore those dark outfits when they had a mission.

"My Lord." Jack immediately bowed his head upon entering. ℯℯ𝘭.

"Jack," Caelan immediately acknowledged the man’s presence. After all, he had been waiting for the man to return ever since he heard the rumors about the Gem of Solaris being sold.

"You’re finally here."

"My apologies for taking so long, my Lord. There were several matters I needed to settle before returning." Jack talked to him formally.

"No, no. It’s fine." Caelan waved his hand dismissively. "Come in and have a seat." Now, Caelan is getting used to the way they talk to him

Jack nodded before stepping inside and closing the door behind him. However, instead of sitting down, he remained standing in front of Caelan.

"I have completed the task you entrusted to me, my Lord."

"Oh?" Hearing that confirmation, Caelan couldn’t help but smile.

"The Gem of Solaris has been successfully sold."

"So, how much did you manage to sell it for?" That was the most important question for Caelan.

Jack reached inside his coat and took out a pouch along with a neatly folded document. He carefully placed both items on the table before turning his attention back to Caelan.

"The Gem of Solaris was eventually purchased by a noble family, my Lord," Jack began explaining to him.

"Oh?" Caelan raised an eyebrow. "A noble family?" It was just like the rumors he heard.

"Yes. The Renswort ducal family, to be exact."

"I see. So how much did they pay for it?"

"25,000 gold coins, my Lord."

"..."

Caelan’s jaw fell to the ground when he heard that.

"Sorry, how much?"

"25,000 gold coins." Jack repeated what he asked.

"..."

25,000?! Caelan stared at Jack in disbelief. He had expected the gem to sell for a considerable amount, but he certainly wasn’t expecting it to be that much!

When Jack saw his expression, he just smiled and explained it more.

"Initially, I approached several reputable jewelry stores throughout the capital, but the prices they offered were low in my eyes."

"How low?"

"The highest initial offer was 12,000 gold coins."

"..." Caelan didn’t know how to react to that. For him, that much was already a lot too.

"But I believed we could obtain a much better price," Jack continued. "That’s why rather than selling it immediately, I decided to take a different approach."

"I instructed the Second Branch to discreetly spread information among certain noble families and wealthy collectors that a genuine Gem of Solaris had appeared in the capital."

Caelan listened to him closely. His interest in it was definitely growing.

"Of course, we made sure not to reveal your identity or the gem’s origins. We simply allowed the information to reach individuals who would be interested in purchasing such a rare item."

"And then?"

"Several families expressed their interest. Once we confirmed that they were capable of paying, I arranged for them to submit their offers."

"Oh!" Caelan immediately understood what Jack had done. "So you made them compete against each other?"

"Precisely, my Lord." Jack nodded as a proud smile appeared on his face.

"The first few offers were pretty modest, but once a lot of them learned that there were others who were also attempting to purchase the gem, the prices began increasing."

This guy is actually pretty smart. Caelan couldn’t help but grin.

It was actually a nice idea since Jack essentially created a bidding competition among the capital’s wealthy nobles. And of course, those nobles certainly want to acquire something that others also wanted.

"The Renswort ducal family eventually submitted the highest offer. When no other party was willing to exceed that amount, I proceeded with the transaction."

"I see, I see." Caelan nodded repeatedly, trying his best to maintain a calm expression. But inside, he was already jumping up and down!

That 25k was already enough to last him for years!

"That’s amazing, Jack!" Caelan exclaimed, unable to contain his excitement any longer. "You did a great job!"

Jack immediately lowered his head. "Thank you for your praise, my Lord. I merely fulfilled the task you entrusted to me."

"You’re really good at this." Caelan laughed before looking at the pouch and document on the table again. The document was the signed agreement that the Renswort family got the stone in good condition.

"Actually, Jack, I have something else to tell you." He was still pretty happy about the amount they managed to get from selling the gem, which put him in a good mood.

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Since you did such a great job, I think you deserve a reward."

"A reward?" Jack looked at him with a slightly confused expression.

"Yup." Caelan nodded with a smile. "You can take 100 gold coins for yourself. As for the remaining 4,900, add them to the Night’s treasury."

"..." Jack froze.

"My Lord?" For a moment, he thought he heard something wrong. "Did you just say that I may keep 100 gold coins and put 4900 in our treasury?"

"Yeah. That’s what I said."

Jack stared at him in disbelief. He was expecting Caelan to keep all the money for himself, especially since the Gem of Solaris belonged to him in the first place.

Even the previous Lords rarely contributed their own money to the organization, so hearing Caelan casually offer such a large amount caught him completely off guard.

"Are you certain about this, my Lord?"

"Of course." Caelan chuckled at his reaction. "Why wouldn’t I be?"

"But this is your personal money."

"I know." Caelan leaned back in his chair. He had already decided to keep the remaining 20,000 gold coins for himself.

"And besides, 4,900 gold coins should be enough to cover the organization’s expenses for a month or 2, right?"

"Yes, my Lord. That amount would greatly help our operations." Jack immediately nodded.

"See? Then that’s settled." Caelan smiled before gesturing toward the pouch.

"Just get it and don’t ask anything further." He dismissed his hand now. "Let’s just talk about my new request. I think Theo already relayed the information to you."

When Jack heard it, the expression on his face immediately changed again. This time he lowered his head and nodded.

"About that, my lord..."

= = =

A/N: Shout out to Eric_Bindner. Thank you for the Golden Ticket!!