"Why have you... come here?"
"Why did I come? I have business, so I came."
It seemed that they were not strangers, as Lee Han casually replied and stood next to Rockefeller. Trinity, who recognized him, began to lick her lips as if she had something to say.
But she couldn't say anything, and in the meantime, Rockefeller stepped forward.
"I hired him in advance, knowing that Your Highness would threaten me. You surely didn't think I would greet Your Highness without any safety measures, did you?"
The 1st Prince, who tried to draw his sword but restrained himself, swallowed his anger.
Lee Han... was a very troublesome man.
During the suppression of the Revolutionary Army, he had been a nightmare when employed by the Revolutionary Army.
'Why is he here...'
"I knew there was a reason you trusted him."
At that, Rockefeller openly laughed.
It was a behavior that came from not needing to look good.
In the meantime, the 1st Prince's gaze was on Lee Han.
"Thanks to you, I had a lot of trouble. I never thought I'd see you again in a place like this."
Then Lee Han playfully rubbed his index and thumb together.
"Just give me money if you need it. I don't take sides."
"..."
The 1st Prince clenched his teeth, remembering how much time had been wasted and how many subordinates had been lost due to Lee Han during the Revolutionary Army's suppression.
"I wish I hadn't seen you in the Crown War."
"Fortunately, I'm busy with other things these days. Don't worry too much about the Crown War. I'm not interested."
"You seem to show up a lot for a busy person."
"It's an exception for this side. I agreed to receive magic stones as payment."
"Magic stones..."
If he could, he would have caught him right here.
But since he had learned the hard way during the previous suppression of the Revolutionary Army that it was impossible, the 1st Prince decided not to take any action.
The 1st Prince shifted his gaze from Lee Han to Rockefeller.
"I understand that you trust Lee Han. But remember this."
Sincerity was evident in the words that followed.
"If I win the Crown War, there will be no place for you and your guild. Even if you change your position then, you won't be able to do business from that day on."
"You're threatening me again with something that doesn't make sense."
The 1st Prince, who didn't pay much attention to Lee Han, focused solely on Rockefeller.
"Don't you think so? My will will be the will of the empire."
Then Rockefeller openly laughed.
"Your Highness, your thoughts are quite short-sighted."
At those words, the 1st Prince's eyes twitched.
He wanted to draw his sword immediately, but the presence of Lee Han was too annoying.
"Isn't it rather you who has no thoughts?"
Lee Han would know.
And he would know the predetermined future.
With nothing more to lose, Rockefeller boldly crossed one leg and sat comfortably, then curled his lips.
"Do you really think so? Even if Your Highness ascends to the throne, not much will change. You will naturally need money for your love of war, and that money will surely come from us."
"Heh, do you think so?"
"Then where do you plan to get the money? Will you pull it out of the sky? Or will you dig it up from the ground?"
"Money... I'll find a way. There are many ways. I can raise taxes."
"Ah, you'll raise taxes? In the new reign, you'll raise taxes and make the people's hearts uneasy..."
Rockefeller openly mocked him.
"Go ahead and try. I won't stop you. But it will surely be a problem for Your Highness, who loves war so much. With the country in turmoil over tax issues, can you fight comfortably outside?"
Unable to respond, the 1st Prince began to bite down on Rockefeller's attitude.
"Don't you think your actions and speech are too arrogant?"
Rockefeller did not deny it.
"If you think I'm arrogant, then you can think so. After all, we have nothing to lose."
Then Rockefeller, who had uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, looked straight at the prince.
"Do you know why?"
In response to the silent prince, Rockefeller threw a rather cruel remark.
"Whoever we support will become the next emperor. So, we have nothing to lose."
To suffer such humiliation from the mere leader of the Bank Alliance!
The 1st Prince, barely containing his boiling anger, glared at Rockefeller while his sister, known as the Queen of Blades, aimed at the openly mocking Rockefeller with a sword she had drawn from thin air.
However.
The sword flying through the air disappeared into thin air, regardless of her intentions.
It was Lee Han's intervention.
"Hey, you shouldn't use that much force against a civilian."
Lee Han shook his head as if to show off.
"That's cheating."
It was indeed Lee Han.
Satisfied in his own way, Rockefeller said to the 1st Prince.
"It's truly unfortunate. From the beginning, your attitude towards me was the problem. You shouldn't have threatened me here."
With a kind smile, Rockefeller continued.
"Instead, you should have pleaded with me. Then, my heart might have wavered a little. After all, Your Highness's chances of winning the Crown War are not very high, right? Of course, that's assuming we help you."
The 1st Prince's expression was not good.
Apparently, he had thought of mobilizing the military.
Noticing this, Rockefeller hastily offered a carrot to control him.
"However, I don't want to be your enemy either. After all, everything I said was hypothetical, and it's not impossible that what Your Highness warned me about will happen. How could I, a mere creature, predict the world's events?"
The 1st Prince, who had planned to mobilize the army, decided to listen quietly to his last words.
And those words seemed sweeter than expected.
"So, I will not support the 3rd Prince as Your Highness wishes."
What?
The 1st Prince and his sister were taken aback by the unexpected words.
They had been arguing about that issue so far, and now he said he would not support the 3rd Prince, so they couldn't help but be surprised.
However, one should always listen to people's words until the end.
"Instead, I don't plan to support Your Highness either."
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