Tulin

"Mr. Berdly, I hear you have a shop?" –Elena asked after they settled down.

"Yes, I heard from Jon that you have a business proposal. I'm interested to hear about it too." –Berdly.

"Yes, I heard that you deal with ornaments painting and such. So, I was hoping you could put a product I made on your shelves and see how it sells. I'm willing to give twenty percent for that." –Elena asked.

"What product are we talking about here?" –Berdly.

"It is just some bottles of perfume. It won't take up much of your space. You won't lose, I guarantee." –Elena asked.

"What is your asking price for this?" –Berdly asked.

From what Elena learned from the maids in the Mansion, normal luxurious perfumes go for five gold coins.

Elena couldn't possibly compete with them if the price was that high. But the effort she has to put into it is still a lot as she is alone doing this. She can't sell it at a low price.

Though she knows the product she is making is top-notch. It would earn her nothing if she couldn't sell it.

So, she needed a trustworthy partner.

And in a place where she knew no one, she had to find someone trustworthy.

It's not ideal. But at least it is something.

"The price would be three gold coins per bottle." –Elena handed him a bottle to see.

To make up for the lower price, the bottle size is half the size of normal bottles.

But this way, at least, people could take one to try as a sample.

But seeing the bottle, Berdly frowned a bit.

He does sell perfumes from other places too. But all of them cost between two silver and one gold coin.

That means this would make this perfume the most expensive perfume in the shop.

That brings the problem.

Firstly, he didn't have a regular that would buy this.

Meaning, he would have to advertise it separately. And even that wouldn't guarantee its sale.

In other words, it would stay on the shelf for longer.

Jon has asked him to sell Elena a favor. But he can't do it, putting his own business in jeopardy.

"That won't be possible, Miss Aniston. My shop isn't a high-end luxurious product shop. You have to lower the price to even have a chance of selling, and I'd need thirty percent at least. And I can swear to you that it is 'Me' giving you a favor." –Berdly told.

"Thirty percent? That would be a bit too much, but I'll allow it. But the price can't go lower than three gold." –Elena said. She has to get a partner out of this deal. She also needs to make publicity for the product. That is the goal of this conversation, but she can't lower the price of high-quality products for that.

"Your demand is too high, mam. How do you suppose I sell it?" –Berdly made a bitter face.

"How about you take a sniff first, Mr. Berdly? You didn't even examine the product before asking the price. That is not a sign of a good merchant." –Elena said.

Berdly was so caught up just seeing the product and hearing the price that he forgot about it. He felt ashamed.

"Yes."

He sprayed a bit in the bottle cap and took a sniff.

The smell was good... very good. In a moment, Berdly understands that this product is better than the product in his store. But just how good, he couldn't tell.

There was no residue at the bottom of the bottle.

The color was slightly purple, which gave a feeling of being mysterious and also pleasing to the eye.

"Mr. Berdly, if you think you can't sell them normally, you can just give your rich patrons as a gift. But please don't ask me to lower the price." –Elena.

Berdly didn't say a thing this time.

His head started clearing up.

This can actually be a good thing for him.

This is something better than the one gold Perfume that he sells. That means the price is all justified.

He knew, how even a bit higher in quality could make a luxurious good price hike up to ten times.

If he could bring this product into his shop that only his shop could sell, that would be huge.

Handling something exclusively would mean he has to work hard for this. It also means he has to keep a good relationship with the person sitting in front of him.

He looked at Elena.

"I'll do it. I'll see what I can do about the promotion. If you need anything in the future, please let me know, Miss Aniston." –He said.

'Oh, that was easy.' Elena thought.

"Miss…" –Berdly.

"Yes." –Elena.

"What are you going to name its brand?" –Berdly.

"Umm… I haven't thought of that yet… Do you have any suggestions?" –Elena.

"Me? Are you sure it's okay to ask me for something like that?" –Berdly is shocked. Who would use names suggested by others for their own product?

But what he doesn't understand is that Elena doesn't intend to keep doing this for long.

Letting Berdly name the brand would make him feel closer to the product. He would unconsciously feel more involved with the product. So, she let him do it.

Berdly looked at the bottle.

"Tulin." –He said. Not knowing why. He just felt like that's what its name should be.

("Tülin" means "Halo around the moon")

"Oh, that's perfect. Let's go with that." –Elena felt happy. She would have rejected it if Berdly had given it some weird name.

But she liked the name.

They talked a bit more about this and that. All this time, Jon kept sitting in his place.

His sharp nose picked up the smell. It is very nice. But he didn't comment on it.

He didn't want to interrupt them.

The only thing that mattered to him was how quickly these two finished their business meeting. He has something very urgent he needs to talk about.

He was giving a dissatisfied look to Berdly whenever he was making some opposition to Elena.

Couldn't he just say yes, yes, okay to whatever Elena was saying and be done with it? Why does he need to read the full script?

But Berdly just ignored him.

The talk kept going for more than half an hour before Berdly took his leave.

After saying goodbye to Berdly, Elena saw Jon still sitting in his place, looking at her like a fool.

"What? You haven't left yet?" –Elena forgot about him.

It's as if Jon has gone to 'absolute invisible mode'.

"No. Miss Aniston, I have something to say to you." –Jon said.

"Oh, now that you said it, I have something to tell you too." –Elena.

'What is it now?' –Jon thought. She didn't even give him a chance to say his thing. And now she is demanding more?

"What is it, Miss?" –Jon couldn't refuse her. So, he could only politely answer.

"I need to get in touch with Alchemist Moscov. Will he come here if you give Bianca's name?" –Elena asked.

"Moscov.." –Jon took a bit to remember who Moscov was. "Of course. He must come. He was raised by the Aldens, after all."

If he doesn't come hearing Bianca's name, Jon will drag him here.

"Is that so? Then tell Bianca that I need to talk with Moscov." –Elena said.

"Okay, mam." –Jon. "Miss, can I ask you something?"

"If it's inappropriate, then no." –Elena.

"How could I ask something inappropriate?" –Jon.

"Like asking to beat up my already beat-up student." –Elena said, showing her dissatisfaction.

"Miss, that wasn't my fault. I swear. And how could I ask for something like that?" –Jon said. His eyes went wide. She's still hung up with that?

"Then what?" –Elena.

"Miss, could you please teach me profundity?" –Jon asked.

"This time, you made my student do all the work, and now you are asking for a reward. Don't you have any shame? -Elena.

"Miss, Didn't I bring Berdly as you asked? I did the best that I could. Otherwise, how could I bring him so fast to you?" -Jon felt he was being wronged. It is clear that the kid had all the fun times. He worked so hard to make a plan to appease Mr. Berdly. So, what if the kid got some scratches in the process?

Elena thought for a moment. She would surely need to make him do a lot of things later. It doesn't hurt to teach him a bit. It is up to him how high he could get after all.

She let go of the topic for the time being.

"It's not something that could be taught easily." –Elena said.

"I don't care if it's easy. You can be as hard as you could be to me." –Jon.

"Okay. But only after you get me Moscov. Now leave. I still have things to do." -Elena said.

"All right, mam." –Jon left with a huge smile.

'Moscov, you better come willingly. Otherwise, I'd tie you in a bag if I have to.' –Jon thought.

Jon was still thinking like the muscle brain that he is.