Silence persisted between the two men of power longer than anyone could have possibly anticipated. Even Bruno himself was shocked by how long it took the Austro-Hungarian Emperor to finally make a sound.
For a moment, he even thought the man had strained his mind so much that, in his old age, he had suffered an aneurysm and died on the spot. But in the end, Franz Joseph sighed, completely relenting to Bruno's terms as he did so.
"All right… Fine, consider me convinced… I really hate to say it, but I think I have no other choice… Name your price, and so long as you can fulfill your end of the bargain, I will pay it in full when the job is concluded!"
Bruno smirked as he stood up, straightening his jacket. There was no reason to settle on a price now. No, as a businessman, he knew that unexpected costs could arise in any process, and with the vast wealth of the Habsburg family, there was no reason not to exploit that reality.
