The Duchess then flashed a smile as she looked at Michael. "But if you really insist on wanting to increase your standing in Metropolis as fast as possible, then I can give you the contract to replace all our streets with your own design."
Her offer looked really tempting. But Michael knew that there was a but coming.
"But...I have a condition for that. I need all of your automobiles and trucks that you can produce. Not just one, not just ten. All of them.
If you can do that, then I'm willing to go out of my way and declare that your company is now our sponsor. Your rankings will immediately shoot up the Golden 500.
What do you say?"
On the surface, this was a very good deal. Having a permanent contract with the Duchess herself allowed them to earn money perpetually.
However, if Michael were to accept this deal, then he would think about his profits in the short tem.
But in the long term, this was a bad deal.
"If I accept this, then does that mean that I can't sell automobiles and trucks to the rest of Metropolis?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"That's right. It'll only be our property."
This severely limited the scope and range of the automobiles. If he could only sell them to the royal family, then it would severely limit the future of automobiles as the leading transportation of the entire globe. That was not what he wanted.
Michael hadn't even spoken yet, but the Duchess already knew what he was thinking about.
"This is the price of becoming the sponsor of Metropolis, Michael. Mind you, not even Alaric or any of the Legacies have been given the privilege of hearing the price of sponsorship. Even if they give me their entire companies, I would still refuse them outright.
But I'm willing to give this opportunity to you, Michael. I believe that your automobile has a high enough value to allow you to become a major partner in Metropolis.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime deal. Do you accept it?"
Of course, Michael knew he had to say no. Metropolis wasn't his end goal. It was the entire world.
He looked at the Duchess, and saw an almost imperceptible glint on her eyes. It was almost as if she knew that he was going to reject the deal.
She's shrewder than I thought. She knew that the deal wasn't good. But she still offered it because she wanted to see how I would react. It was a test. She wanted to find out if he could discern a good deal or not.
And if I reject the deal, then she would find out that I am as good of a businessman as she thinks.
If I accept the deal, then she gets access to one of the most important inventions in the entire world. She would get sole access to the automobiles in Metropolis.
A smile grew on Michael's face.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to decline," he said to her, bowing respectfully.
"But if you want to buy my automobiles, then I'm afraid you'll have to wait until the auction takes place. I have an agreement with Barnaby that allows me to auction them off to the highest bidder."
There was hidden subtext in his words.
'If you want to buy the automobiles, then you'll have to get in line. And you better make sure to prepare as much money as you can possibly take out.'
After a second, Duchess Regina couldn't help but laugh out loud once again.
She immediately sensed Michael's words.
"HAHAHA...alright, then I will wait patiently for the time to come. In the meantime, you better make sure that the automobiles are in good condition. I'll be using them immediately once I obtain them."
The Duchess' words were straight and direct. She was going to get that automobile in the auction no matter what.
There was a sense of confidence and power in her words that Michael dared not to doubt. Something told him that she would pull out all the stops just to show off her wealth to him.
Even though she knew that this wasn't going to be the only automobile in Metropolis, and that Michael was going to be selling them wholesale in the future, the Duchess still wanted to have a show of power and wealth to everybody by obtaining the automobiles before everybody got them.
That's gangster, Michael thought.
"Then does that mean that automobiles are officially allowed in the streets of Metropolis?" he asked her.
"Yes. I've seen enough."
Michael's excitement grew. Finally, he could start his business and hopefully gain enough to get the ranking he needed to participate in the auction.
Once they were done talking, Michael and the Duchess talked for a little bit more until it was time to sleep.
And the next day, the Vanderbilts prepared to return to their estate.
The Duchess requested Michael's presence one last time before they left. And he had a good guess as to what she wanted to talk about.
They met in her royal throne room, where she sat in a high chair overlooking the entire palace.
"Michael. I hope you had a good sleep?"
"I've had better," he said truthfully. The bed was far too stiff and there wasn't any heating in the room to make himself completely comfortable.
The Duchess laughed, knowing that the bed she gave him was worth a million gold coins since they were made out of exotic duck feathers.
"As for me, I haven't had this good of a sleep in a long time," she said as she looked fondly on the back where her children and grandchildren were happily frolicking in the halls.
"This is all thanks to you, Michael. Because of that, I want to give you what you deserve."
The Duchess gestured for someone to come, and soon, Angela came out of the shadows and kneeled to the throne.
"I have prepared for the item as you requested," she said, fixing her thin glasses.
With a nod, Angela turned to Michael and presented him with a metal box. Upon first inspection, Michael thought it was a solid piece of aluminum.
But as Angela handed it over to him and his hand made contact with the metal, he felt a tug in his heart.
There was something inside the box that was calling to him.
Could it be?
He twisted the metal block, with the internal mechanism allowing it to unfold from the top like a present opening.
The top face recessed, allowing the object inside to shine a light on Michael's face.
He looked down and saw a raw piece of metal which was burning intensely with a white fire.
"A GodForge piece...," he muttered.
The Duchess smiled. "Angela told me about your terms of the duel. This is what you've been aiming for, is it not?"
As expected of the Duchess, she immediately knew the hidden trap Michael set up for Uncle Jack.
She was the Duchess for a reason.
"I had Jack's GodForge pieces surgically removed. He won't need it anymore. Not only that, but I gave a little bit more pieces in there for you. It's what Jack would have received if he had not strayed from the path of a royal."