Ravian continued.
"The choice of slope, the width of the conduits, the pressure, the ventilation, the placement of the settling reservoirs, and the separation between clean water and waste... every one of them changes depending on the terrain, the population size, the water source, and the materials used."
He tapped the paper once with his finger.
"Building it isn’t the hardest part. The hardest part is knowing where a flaw will appear before you’ve buried everything underground, and before people discover it through the smell of the water or some other change," Ravian concluded, waiting for the Earl’s response.
The Earl watched him with clear interest this time.
"So you want the project to remain dependent on you forever. Do you take me for a fool?" the Earl asked with mocking contempt.
"I can’t teach others." Ravian shook his head.
"Everything has a price," the Earl replied.
"Everything has a price." Ravian nodded in agreement, unable to hide the smile on his face.
With that, he had already ensnared the Earl.
The Earl shook his head slowly.
"Twenty percent, and ten thousand gold coins paid to you immediately, in exchange for handing over all your knowledge once the first phase succeeds. You will have no share in any expansion after that."
"No." Ravian’s expression didn’t change.
The Earl was now up against a truly infuriating man. Worse, he needed this project, and it was an opportunity that would not come again.
And worst of all?
The wretch sitting before him knew it perfectly well.
"Ten thousand gold coins is more than most minor nobles could amass in their entire lives," the Earl said.
"Don’t compare me to anyone, my lord," Ravian said coldly.
The Earl kept his gaze fixed on him for a long moment and began to lose hope.
"I can make you one of the richest young men in the capital within a single day," the Earl said.
"And I can become hundreds of times richer than that over the years if I keep my share," Ravian said.
Then Ravian straightened in his seat.
"Come now, Earl. At this rate, this conversation of ours will go on forever," Ravian said.
The Earl stared at him, then asked, "Is money what you really want?"
"Money is merely a means." Ravian shook his head.
"A means to what, exactly?"
"So that I won’t have to accept an offer I dislike simply because I need the money."
The Earl didn’t answer directly.
And that answer seemed to tell him something far more important than everything Ravian had said about the project.
This young man wasn’t chasing wealth for the sake of luxury, but to strip others of their ability to control him.
And if he obtained enough money and influence, no one would be able to buy him or corner him easily.
’And that makes him more dangerous than I thought.’
The Earl turned his ring once again.
"You need the heart Shmichael promised you," the Earl said.
"True." Ravian nodded, unbothered by what the Earl was implying.
"And you need it badly. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come back here after what happened to you," the Earl continued.
"True." Ravian nodded again, as though waiting for the rest of what the man had to say.
"So you’re not in a position that allows you this much stubbornness," the Earl said at last.
Ravian gave a faint smile.
"I spent eight days without it and nearly died during that time. I can last a few more days, my lord," Ravian said.
"And you may not easily find someone willing to sell you an Eighth-Rank heart."
"And you may not find anyone else who can give you this project."
Their gazes locked.
Both of them knew that the other had struck precisely at the point of need.
Ravian needed the heart, and he needed the money, protection, and resources the Earl possessed.
But Patrick needed him too.
Not with the same urgency, but he needed what Ravian carried in his mind and the opportunity that might not appear twice in his lifetime.
And the difference between their needs was that Ravian was prepared to accept his loss, while the Earl had not yet decided how much he was willing to give up.
"Lay out your terms in full," the Earl said at last.
Ravian sat a little straighter.
"Thirty percent ownership of the project, and that percentage includes every branch, expansion, or contract that uses my design or knowledge derived from it, inside the Empire or beyond it."
The Earl didn’t interrupt him, though his scowl made his feelings clear.
"The construction costs you incur will be recovered from the project’s revenues first, then the profits will be distributed according to our shares. And I have the right to inspect the financial records or appoint someone to review them on my behalf," Ravian continued.
"What else?" the Earl asked.
"The heart I was promised will be delivered to me as agreed and will not count toward the price of my share."
"I knew you’d say that."
"These are the very same demands as before," the Earl said. "Where is the negotiation in them?"
"You haven’t offered me anything worth changing them for yet," Ravian said.
"I offered you money," the Earl said.
"You offered me money in exchange for giving up the project, not in exchange for lowering my share."
"And what do you want in exchange for lowering it?" the Earl asked.
Ravian didn’t answer at once.
He looked at the paper in front of the Earl, then at his black ring, before returning his gaze to the Earl’s eyes.
"I can lower my share from thirty to twenty-five percent."
The Earl’s eyebrow rose slowly.
"Just minutes ago, you said you wouldn’t lower it by a single point."
"I said I wouldn’t lower it under pressure from you," Ravian replied calmly. "But exchanging five points for something I consider equal in value is a different deal. I’m not giving them up now—I’m selling them to you."
"Wordplay."
"Every contract you write tonight will be nothing but words."
The Earl looked at him in silence, then gestured for him to continue.
"In exchange for those five percentage points, I want five thousand gold coins deposited under my name in your vault. I can withdraw all of it at once or in installments, whenever I please, without anyone asking me to explain what I intend to use it for. And it will not be counted among the project’s expenses or deducted from my profits later."
Ravian paused for a moment, then added:
"And two requests of you."
The Earl’s ring stopped turning altogether.
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