First lesson: Negotiation

Upon the end of the greetings with the three I decided to hold my first lesson early on. Strike while the metal is hot so they say.

"Rexcarius your majesty, would it be of your pleasing if I start my lesson now?"

I request to Rex who had problem with it.

"I suppose that would be fine, go on to the study chambers then"

"No, I have a different idea of spicing it up"

"Hoho! Very well tell me what you need"

And so my first plan of asserting dominance has begun. I arranged that a carriage for us to ride and while inside the tension was so thick I could probably cut it with a knife, wrap it, and sell it to bitter people who hate couples in the park.

Siderene and Alfron didn't even bother to hide the displeasure in their faces while Crystal remains smiling humming along as we ride to the outskirts of town into an open field.

"Alright I shall begin my lesson here"

"I don't remember approving someone who is younger and weaker than me to be my tutor!"

Siderene interrupted me early on.

"Sadly I also didn't approve of such a brat to be my student now pay attention or just shut up as your interrupting my class"

Siderene was about to hit me when Alfron stopped her. She then gave him a look as if to say "You can't be serious!".

"Let's just hear what he has to say"

Alfron told Siderene in a calm manner while she just snorted and looked at the window apathetically.

"Now at some point in your life you will need to learn to use your words not just your status or power to get people do do what you want and one such way is negotiation"

I have managed to get Crystal and Alfron's attention so I continue on.

"In negotiating you have to learn to use your words to make it seem advantageous for whoever your facing to cooperate with you while at the same time discourage them to refuse"

"This is crap! How the hell is your lessons of any relevance?! Father made me skip foreign language class for this!"

Siderene finally blew up after being quiet for so long.

"Well I'll tell you how it is of relevance. Negotiation will allow you to persuade a strong country to accept disadvantageous agreements, have an innocent enemy confess guilt to a crime he had not done, and for this case get a free ride"

I say as we exit the carriage and are left in the middle of nowhere. When everyone is accounted for the carriage left us and Siderene tried to chase after it but failed to do so.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"A practical test, now you'd better listen to my lesson or you'll never get out of here"

I chuckled as I go to a shady area while Crystal and Alfron followed.

"Now here are a few steps in making a good negotiation. First, stay calm. Make sure that you never show any frustration or anxiety, it makes you look like your lying. Second is to be their friend. Now it may seem counterproductive to create rapport with someone you want to deceive but you must make whoever your talking to feel comfortable because that will one, make your suggestions hold weight and two, it will keep the victim from always second guessing you which when your lying makes it a very hard situation to escape. "

I quickly look at the road and I see some passing merchants.

" Third is to give bluff requests and over negative predictions like first asking for a million quill then continually compromise to the refusals until you reach just 10,000 quil which is your original desire and the victim will have now felt tired and guilty for continually refusing you that they'll most likely agree. To give the illusion of choicelessness make it seem like they have only two choices, to either agree with you where both of you will be happy or to disagree and suffer the intentionally exaggerated consequences"

Crystal was taking some notes while Alfron listened with his eyes closed, Siderene was the only one not paying any attention who lied down in the grass with an aloof expression.

"If all else fail you always have the option of forgetting everything I told and appeal to the emotions, this is a risky trick where you cry or panic which would put everyone on edge and if your lucky they might even feel pity or fear and grant your request but I would suggest not doing this unless there is no other possible alternative. Now the lesson is over, let's go home"

"Ah finally! Where is the carriage?!"

Siderene complained out loud.

Iaugh a bit and look at her.

"What carriage?"

Everyone had a surprised face which I genuinely liked. I remembered my time being a fraud at the University where I would say "Last five minutes" and the would look like I just killed their dog.

"To practice what you have learned you shall be negotiating to passerbys and get a free ride. If you remembered anything I taught or hell if you know anyway at all I would call it a day a let you free for the rest of the week"

Alfron liked the idea of free time and immediately called over the carriage that passed us.

"I am Prince Alfron, and if you let me ride until the Palace I'll give you a hundred quil"

Upon hearing his announcement the coachman laughed comically and when he stopped he looked at Alfron and laughed again.

"Haaa, good one kid. You? Just some lost kid the prince? Tell you what give me 10 quil and I'll let you ride for that funny joke"

"Ha! I would have given you 100 but now I'll give you just ten"

As Alfron reached for his pocket he found that his coin bag is nowhere and upon seeing this the coachman continued laughing and moved on.

He looked at me with fury in his eyes upon realising I took away all his money and the girls also chacked to see they also didn't have their's.

"Didn't I say free? And I shall remind you that no one will believe that royalty would go this far off without any sort of army protecting them"

I commented on Alfron.

"Ah I got it!"

Crystal exclaimed she ran over to the next carriage, she was too far to be heard but something I've learned to do the many times I have been interrogated by cops and goons is how to lip read so I could understand just fine.

"Good sires, could you find it in yourselves to help a helpless lad? See those men over there steal money from passerbies and they…killed my horse. Please allow me to ride with you I desperately need to reach the next town over"

"Ah goon scum! I'm very sorry little girl but I can't carry anymore load and I shall be heading to the capital"

"I… understand… but… please even just until the capital"

She looked at the merchant with puppy dog eyes and Alfron started to approach her to ask what she was doing and she used that opportunity as she feigned fear and upon seeing this the merchant sighed and let her aboard.

"Scum! Get off of the road!!"

The merchant shouted at Alfron as he passed by him and next to him was Crystal who held her hands together as if to say "I'm sorry".

"Damn it! Have men no respect for royalty anymore?!"

"You can't keep using your status to get what you want Alfron, look at Crystal she went and said that we are bandits who steal money from passerbies like them and after making us their common enemy started rapport and step three was negotiating farther than what you want to receive. She even put a little step 4 to ensure success. I'm impressed"

"Damn it! No I can't be defeated by Crystal! She cheated some way! And your lessons are crap! Negotiating more than what you want? How the hell does that work?"

"Do you know anything about flight Alfron? See when birds land they aim higher than the needed altitude, that in turn puts them in the pinpoint position of where they wanted to be when the wind inevitably tries to push it away. And how about I show you that my lesson today is much applicable here"

Minor correction it's plane landing that requires higher altitude to account for wind resistance but he wouldn't understand that.

As the next caravan passed I walk towards it nonchalantly.

"Halt! Where is your permit of enrry!"

The merchant with a stupefied look handed me a document. Now I couldn't tell if it was real or not but I couldn't care less.

"Ha! You think the guards won't know that a fake?"

"What?! I swear that's real, I payed for it!"

"Well I'm sorry to tell you this but you have been duped. Tell you what I know some of the guards and if you let me ride with you I'll talk them over"

Reluctantly the merchant let's him ride. As I ride, I look behind at Alfron and smirk. He immediately stops the next passing carriage and with a stern expression says.

"Hi do you want to get rich?"

The coachman looked at me with intrigue.

"I happen to know about buried treasure hidden in the capital, if you give me a free ride how about I give you a quarter of it?"

"Ha! Think you can trick me? You just want a free ride!"

He sighed and look behind.

"Alright I'll give you half, but you'd better stop wasting my time, I could always get someone else to ride with me, oh wait there's another carriage coming! Neverm—"

"Alright, alright! Hop on quickly"

and so right next to mine Alfron also rode leaving behind Siderene by herself. I don't know how Alfron plans to escape the coachman seeing as anyone who has been in the capital knows that the whole area is cemented so even if there was buried treasure he wouldn't be able to dig it, lucky for him the coachman had no idea.

I look back at him and he had a worried look, perhaps he also realized this now. Well as your teacher I'll lend you a hand. Upon our arrival at the gates I went down first and talked to the guard.

"That carriage over there is holding the Prince hostage"

I say as I point towards the Alfron's carriage which thanks to the difference in perspective from the caravan's view is me pointing at as if telling it to pass but it's much clearer from where I stand as I tell the guard about it. Naturally every soldier knows the royal family they serve so he should recognise Alfron.

As the caravan enters the merchant looks as if he was about to get killed as he hand over the document to the guard and I guess it was genuine since he let him enter. The merchant looked at me with a face of gratitude as he moves on. Hahaha I guess I have another pawn now.

As for Alfron as soon as the guard sees him they immediately catch the coachman and Alfron then explained to the guards how he was only travelling so they let the coachman free but sadly the coachman couldn't demand his buried treasure anymore as he realised Alfron is a prince.

I waited for Alfron and he looked at me with a relieved look.

"I didn't need your help you know"

"Uhuh"

I look at him sarcastically.

"But… thanks…"

We head back to the Palace where Crystal was patiently waiting.

"Brother, teacher! I'm so glad you're home"

Alfron just simply ignored her not accepting fact that the little sister he looked down on actually defeated him.

Crystal had a sad look in her beautiful crimson eyes as a tear pass through her porcelain face. Perhaps she was sad that her brother refused acknowledge her or maybe the sad relationship they are in but still Crystal shivers holding her pink little journal tightly.

I pat her head and said congrats and she smiled to me stopping her tears.

"A pretty girl like shouldn't be crying you know, your much better smiling. Besides your crumpling your little notebook"

I said as I took her notebook and straightned. Crystal panicked and tried to get her notebook back and curious as to what she was hiding I peeked in a page and was shocked at what I saw.

Realising I've seen it Crystal looks down in shame but I however was amazed, not about what was written but how it was written. Punctuations in connected words, use of double letters to que different pronunciation, and periods to end every sentence. This form of writing is beyond the language that this world has. Crystal is a genius.

"People say I'm dumb because I can't write or read normally. My siblings lost respect for me and my father always pitied me. Teacher Spade, am I really a useless idiot??"

I hug her and pat her head.

"No, I know of a person like you Crystal. Someone so clever but always misunderstood. Someone who everyone always said was pathetic and would never amount to anything but one day that person proved everybody wrong"

That person is me. I have changed my plan, I will make Crystal win and become queen of Cebunilla at first I thought of killing her to spur the heat between Alfron and Siderene but now I see that she holds more potential that either of them. I don't know if it's because she reminds me of me, a 16 year old told by parents, teachers and friends that he was worthless but knew deep inside he wasn't but I will give Crystal the help no one ever bothered giving me.