Chapter 847: Contract

Chapter 847: Chapter 847: Contract

In essence, they were fully functional phones compressed into a device that could be worn around the wrist.

Rayami didn’t notice what Ivy was doing, and Ivy made sure to keep her movements subtle.

Once she confirmed that the recording had started, she raised her head and looked at the princess with a calm, serious expression.

"I want your restaurant, so name your price," Rayami declared. "First, tell me how you are related to the restaurant owner. I can say with certainty that you are either the owner’s soulmate or someone who was involved with him when the restaurant first opened. Therefore, I am willing to give you two options."

She leaned back against her seat, looking as though she were discussing an insignificant business transaction rather than attempting to seize someone else’s livelihood.

"If you are the owner’s girlfriend, I will give you five million credits to persuade him to sell the restaurant to me. Alternatively, I am willing to share the profits generated by the restaurant with you in the future if you help me acquire it. You can choose whichever option suits you best."

Upon hearing those words, Ivy lowered her gaze and pretended to consider the offer seriously.

She deliberately adopted an innocent expression, making herself appear somewhat hesitant as she spoke.

"If I agree to the second option, what are the chances that you would give me more than ten percent of the profits?"

Rayami’s expression changed instantly, and her eyebrows rose in disbelief.

"Ten percent of the profits? I am only willing to give you one percent, and that is already an act of generosity on my part. Besides, fifty million credits is an enormous sum of money. It should be more than enough to purchase this measly little restaurant, which hasn’t even officially opened its doors to the public yet."

She scoffed, her tone dripping with disdain as she dismissed the restaurant’s potential.

"It might be attracting some attention today, and perhaps it will earn a few pennies tomorrow, but that excitement won’t last forever. Sooner or later, its revenue will decline, and customers will lose interest. When that happens, even if you offer to sell it to me for one million credits, I won’t be interested. Therefore, I am giving you my final offer of five million credits. I will not pay a single credit more."

Ivy smiled faintly before looking directly at the princess.

"Your Highness, are you trying to intimidate me into accepting your offer?"

For the briefest moment, Rayami’s fingers, which had been rhythmically tapping against her lap, came to a complete stop.

Her expression remained composed, but a subtle flicker of surprise passed through her eyes.

Ivy continued speaking in the same calm voice, seemingly oblivious to the change in the princess’s demeanor.

"You are deliberately making the restaurant sound worthless while offering me a considerable amount of money. You want me to panic and sell it to you before I have time to think things through. Once you acquire it, you will be the one who benefits, and you won’t even need to put much effort into running it. We will still be the ones responsible for growing the vegetables and supplying them to the restaurant, despite all the hard work required to cultivate them."

The moment Ivy finished speaking, she seemed to realize that she had revealed too much. Her eyes widened slightly, and she hurriedly covered her mouth with one hand, pretending that she had accidentally disclosed a secret.

Meanwhile, Rayami’s thoughts began racing.

’These vegetables are grown by them personally?’

Anxiety stirred in her heart as she considered the implications of Ivy’s words. If the vegetables truly were cultivated by this small group of people, then they possessed an extremely valuable trump card.

’As long as I secure the restaurant and obtain the formula for these hybrid vegetables, I can present it to His Majesty or use it to establish my own financial backing. Either way, my position will improve significantly, and I will be able to gain an advantage over my siblings in the struggle for the throne.’

The more she considered the possibilities, the more determined she became to acquire the restaurant. The prospect of obtaining such a valuable resource was simply too tempting to abandon.

Since persuasion alone might not be enough, Rayami decided that it was time to become more ruthless.

She fixed her gaze on Ivy and smiled faintly, although there was a chilling undertone to her expression.

"Do you know that you cannot leave this hovercar until you give me a definite answer? If you dare to leave without making your decision, I will charge you with treason. Furthermore, you cannot refuse a request from royalty."

Ivy blinked in surprise.

’What kind of ridiculous rule is that?’

This was genuinely new information to her.

Although she had already read several of the laws governing Planet Astra, she had never encountered a rule stating that ordinary citizens were generally forbidden from refusing the demands of royalty.

Meanwhile, Rayami noticed that Ivy’s expression had begun to change.

In truth, Ivy was indeed feeling a certain degree of panic, although it had nothing to do with the threat of treason alone.

From the bottom of her heart, she felt an inexplicable sense of repulsion toward Rayami.

There was something about the princess’s arrogant demeanor that made Ivy deeply uncomfortable.

Nevertheless, she suppressed her feelings and maintained her composure.

Seeing Ivy’s apparent nervousness, Rayami finally relaxed a little. She had assumed that the threat of royal authority would be enough to frighten the woman into submission.

However, Ivy quickly came up with a solution. She forced a faint smile onto her face and nodded as though she had finally decided to cooperate.

"All right, Your Highness. Please give me a few days to think about your offer."

Rayami did not agree immediately. Instead, she turned her head toward the window and gestured toward the people working outside.

"Do you see those people?"

The moment she asked the question, Ivy followed her gaze.

Sure enough, several superior beings were using their extraordinary physical strength and psychic abilities to load goods onto a truck.

Their movements were hurried, and their clothes appeared worn from repeated labor.

Even from inside the hovercar, Ivy could see the exhaustion on their faces as they continued working beneath the bright artificial lights.

Rayami looked at them with an expression that suggested she was explaining an obvious truth to someone who lacked even the most basic understanding of society.

"They are the lower-level people of our world, the commoners, or, to be more precise, people who are practically slaves to the elite. It is only a matter of time before their lives become even more difficult."

She paused briefly before continuing in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Their lives are miserable because they lack credits. For people like them, obtaining five million credits is nothing more than an impossible dream. They would be willing to risk their lives for such an amount because even if five of them combined all their resources, they still wouldn’t be able to gather that much money."

Rayami turned back toward Ivy, her blue eyes gleaming with confidence.

"If I were in your position, I would have accepted the offer immediately. However, I am willing to be generous and give you two days to consider it. You should use that time wisely."

Ivy nodded, maintaining the appearance of someone who had been intimidated by the princess’s authority.

"All right, then. I will take my leave now."

However, just as Ivy was about to open the door, Rayami stopped her and handed her a contract.

Ivy lowered her gaze toward the document, and a slight frown appeared between her eyebrows.

Rayami noticed her reaction and explained with a self-satisfied smile,

"This contract clearly states that you have only two days to reach a decision. If you fail to give me a satisfactory answer within that time, I will have the absolute right to take whatever ruthless measures I deem necessary."

She watched Ivy closely, fully expecting the woman to hesitate before accepting the document. In Rayami’s mind, the matter was practically settled.

The fear of the royal family was deeply ingrained in the hearts of ordinary people, and most would rather surrender their possessions than risk offending someone of royal blood.

’Once she signs the contract, she won’t have any room to resist me.’

Rayami’s smile widened as she imagined how easily she would soon acquire the restaurant.

However, the next moment, her smile froze.