Chapter 209 - Truly Worthy Of His Praise

'Strange…' King Ophire remarked when he noticed the hesitation on the Baron's face.

This was not the first time that someone had shown him that expression when talking about the matters concerning that child.

'Why does it seem like they want to hide the news about that child from me?' He wondered and his eyes narrowed close together.

The last time it was Marquess Samed who was reluctant to speak about her involvement in the improvement of the policies regarding the plagues.

This time it was Baron MacIntyre who was hesitating to speak about her.

He was aware of what had taken place in the nobleman's cafe but he wished to hear the Baron's account of the events that took place yesterday.

'That Brodie girl sure has a big mouth.' He sighed as the source of his information was a six-year old girl.

Observing his silence, King Ophire had no other choice but to speculate and make conjectures from the information he already possessed about the child from the St. Claire family.

'Has she done another charitable deed and wishes to keep it a secret?' He connected the two links and surmised that this might be the reason why the plump man was unwilling to speak about it.

This thought pleased the King as a child was doing good for the community but chose to remain silent.

However, what King Ophire had mistaken as a charitable deed was in fact a well thought out business idea, one which the same child had implemented flawlessly.

What had been misinterpreted as the Baron's hesitation was in truth his silent prayer that he was saying to the gods who were watching over him.

'If I had come over without signing the deal with Earl St. Claire and her daughter then how would I ever answer His Majesty?' He cried out in joy for following his fearful instincts after receiving the summons.

While King Ophire was mulling over the big heart of the little girl who helped others without expecting anything in return, he heard the Baron speaking after a long pause.

"I made sure to obtain Miss St. Claire's permission, Your Majesty." Baron reassured the Ruler that he had done nothing wrong.

King Ophire nodded, still under the misconception that this man had received the permission for free of cost due to the child's charitable nature.

To ensure that there were no unforeseen conflicts in the future, the Baron moved his hand to his coat's pocket and began feeling around.

The Steward and King's eyes were focused on the man who had placed his hand inside his coat.

A move that invoked their suspicions also alerted the Black Shadow Knights who were watching over the safety of their King.

One wrong step and the Baron would be subsided or even worse, taken care of if he had any evil agendas against the King.

However, the oblivious man had no clue about the dangers that lingered around him as he pulled a roll of paper from his coat's pocket.

'The proof of my innocence.' He sighed that he had carried this along with him instead of leaving it in the carriage.

The agreement that the Earl and Baron had signed was now in his hand which he would soon be handing over to the King.

The Shadow Knights were prepared to jump into action but had to stand down when they saw that the object extracted from the coat was a simple paper.

King Ophire continued to watch the Baron as he unscrolled the paper before he handed it to the Royal Steward.

In response, the steward handed it over to the King with his head bowed.

The Ruler of the land now held a slightly damp scroll of paper in his hand and alternated his gaze between the mana and the scroll.

'Oh God, please tell me this isn't his sweat!' He shuddered in disgust as he was well aware of the cause for the dampness on the paper.

"I had made sure to obtain the permission from Earl St. Claire and his child, My King." Baron MacIntyre mentioned, glancing at the scroll.

This prompted King Ophire to read the scroll in his hand.

'An agreement?' He furrowed his brows in confusion and began reading the contents of the agreement.

A textbook example of what an agreement pertained was visible to the King's eyes.

As he continued reading, his sight fell upon the profit distribution clause which was mentioned in it.

Usually, an agreement to share the rights of a certain idea could fetch someone a sizable amount of ten to fifteen percent.

However, King Ophire was astonished to see that the percentage mentioned here was higher than the market price.

"You agreed to this?" He stopped reading midway and interrogated the Baron.

A businessman would never be willing to pay a creator more money as that would be deemed as a loss for him.

The idea belonged to the creator or inventor but the raw material, the labor, and the equipment required were all bought from the nobleman's pocket.

So the agreement being in their favor and giving them a higher percentage in exchange for a justifiable amount being given to the creator was the norm.

Therefore, King Ophire's astonishment after reading the agreement was similar to the one that Baron had.

"I had to… How else would I be able to serve the dessert to the Royal Princess…" Baron Quinn MacIntyre sighed as he answered the King's query.

This was his golden chance to earn some pity points from the King which might help him in the future.

Sadly, King Ophire was not giving his situation any thought but was speculating about the other party involved in this agreement.

'The Earl surely is a smart man.' The King smirked as he gave the agreement another glance.

If it wasn't the wealthiest businessmen in the Kingdom, then who else could have come up with such a brilliant plan?

The King was giving credit to the man who had only followed his daughter's instructions but this was privileged information that none of the outsiders had access to.

Therefore, even King Ophire was attributing the successful signing of this ridiculous agreement to the Earl when it was the Little Miss St. Claire who should be applauded instead.

Giving it a moment's thought, he had figured out why and how the Earl had managed to sign this deal with the Baron.

'He used the creation his child made to work out in his favor.' He sneered at the business acumen of that man.

Using the Princess's birthday and also the fact that Glennise would report the news of the new dessert to the Princess.

This would result in her wanting to taste it and also add it to the menu for her celebration.

The Baron being summoned to the Palace and the condition to bring the new dessert along with him.

A panicking Baron arriving at the Earl's estate to sign the agreement even when it was extorting a higher percentage than usual.

Everything that Yvonne had planned in order to accomplish the task of getting the Baron to sign the agreement was deciphered by the wise King within a few seconds.

'The Earl deserves my praise for being quick on his feet.' King Ophire however, had gotten one aspect wrong as he continued to praise the father of the one who was truly worthy of his praise.