Chapter 76:

Chapter 76:

It was harder than I thought it would be.

Liam thought in his hotel room after the meeting with His Highness Cleo and his entourage had concluded.

Cleo, whom he didnt think much of before the meeting, turned out to be more mature than he expected.

He came to terms with it.

It would be a pity if the prince was a little frustrated upon witnessing the vast difference in their abilities.

He thought that the prince was an androgynous beauty, maybe because he was formerly a girl.

Even though the prince had the frame of a man, Liam felt a woman inside him.

Was he not a perfect transsexual?

While Liam was engrossed in such thoughts, the door to his room was knocked open and Rosetta rushed in.

Darling! I heard that his highness Linus is putting pressure on the Banfield family! Is that true!?

Looking at the anxious Rosetta, Liam felt dispirited.

He couldnt stand seeing the woman whose will was made of steel, to stoop so low and now exalt him.

He became very embarrassed upon witnessing her demeanor.

It isnt a big deal, Liam responded.

Its an enormous problem! She retorted back. The Banfield familys finances would suffer devastating losses if the trading of rare metals is sanctioned!

The act of a restless Rosetta flapping her hands like a bird was very amusing to watch.

She brought out Liams mischievous nature, he intended to tease her.

Youre right, he said. Ill have to live in poverty if rare metals cant be sold anywhere. I would turn vulnerable and taken advantage of. Do you intend to throw me away and flee?The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

When he turned to her, Rosetta gazed at him earnestly.

I will remain with you even if Darling becomes destitute, she said. Even if you are no longer able to earn, Ill feed you!

Liam did not expect such a reaction.

It was extremely disconcerting.

I was kidding! he retorted, I dont have any problems finding other trading partners. I can sell to our neighboring countries you know.

But is it not a violation to trade with the foreigners? she asked.

It was the second prince who picked a quarrel with me. Besides, even if Im not able to trade rare metals, Ill have no problems making money.

He did have a Trump card which was his alchemy box.

He would be able to mass-produce and export metals other than the rare metals which the Empire regulates. It would not be a problem.

Even if it is regulated by the Empire, there were ways to get around it.

Liam felt that the number of rare metals he traded was not too large and his other business ventures were very profitable as well.

Even without the rare metals, the counts estate would earn a decent amount through other various businesses.

From the beginning, the Banfields Estate focused on Risk diversification as a fundamental.

It is not an outrageous idea to trade with foreign countries you know, it would be good to utilize this opportunity to make new connections with them, he said.

Rosetta sat down next to Liam and looked at him with a smile.

With foreign powers? Do you intend to forge your path, one that may be of detriment to the Empires interests?

I intend to side with the one who benefits me. It doesnt matter if its hostile to the Empire.

Rosetta found it hard to comprehend Liams words.

Liam stared at the stupefied Rosetta and felt that she was a little too naive to become bewildered even at his trivial remarks. Was I a little too severe? He thought to himself.

Well, if she became startled by such trifling matters, she would not last as a wife of an evil lord. He thought.

Wait? Looking at her, it felt like she was misunderstanding him!? He considered if he should flaunt his villainous nature to solve this misconception in her mind.

Remember, Rosetta. A true villain colludes with the enemies and strangles his allies.

Rosetta was startled by listening to those words.

It didnt matter if it would be detrimental to the Empire.

He will pursue only his happiness!

Rosetta was perplexed while walking down the hallway, on her way back to her room.

A true villain-who the hell is that? she muttered to herself.

It was inconceivable for Rosetta to associate the heroic figure of Liam to an unscrupulous villain.

From her perspective, there was no one more righteous than Liam.

She thought he was probably infuriated by the real scoundrels.

Taking into account Liams actions so far, outrageous moves were not uncommon.

That can be demonstrated by Liams support of His Highness Cleo who was the farthest from the imperial throne. Even if that meant offending Calvin and Linus.

If you give me the funds, I can do it. But I can move only around a thousand ships at most. I dont think I can be that helpful to you though?

Thats not a problem, Ill get you promoted soon, Liam answered.

Stop already! There is another way to do this. I want to progress by achieving merits and getting promoted naturally!

Cedric seemed to be very motivated.

Thank you, Ill put you to work then, Liam said.

Eh? Cedric responded.

Liam thought it was wasteful to let Cedric remain unutilized.

If Cedric was going to be snubbed by his higher-ups, he thought of placing him in an environment where he can flourish.

His Highness Cleo sent a letter to me. There seem to be many requests for the extermination of pirates. It would be too much even for my fleet to handle. So I expect you to help me with that. Liam said.

Eh!? Cedric replied dumbfoundedly.

Prepare a list of what you want. Ill also prepare an additional thousand ships. There are a lot of idle people in the Army, Ill gather and send them to you.

There are plenty of ways to join the Imperial Army! And there wasnt a shortage of soldiers to scrape together.

In the first place, there are lots of gaps in interstellar nations territory management.

It is simply too large to manage the whole territory. So the approach they took was distributing small fleets on patrolling missions. But most of these fleets never saw any conflict.

Liam learned about it when he was in a patrol fleet.

Liam thought of making effective use of them.

Then, Ill tell you the commanders I know in the Imperial Army. If you need any supplies, you can rely on them.

Liam had been bribing commanders regularly in the Imperial Army to expand his influence. He could cash in favors from them now.

Cedric gladly accepted the help.

Goodbye! Liam cut off the communication.

He was excited to plan his next move.

Well, I wonder what I should do next?

Being an evil lord was fun!

In the Banfield familys domain.

Brian was shuddering while reading a report with Serena, the chief maid.

Oh, weve put all our effort into the development of the new territory, but the Lord wants us to fully mobilize the army!?

The Banfields are now busy developing the newly acquired planet.

The construction of settlements had begun and they were investing enormous capital, manpower, and resources.

In the midst of that, almost all the troops were given orders to mobilize.

Except for the fleets undergoing training and reorganizing, 30,000 ships were mobilized.

The remaining ships were stationed near the territory for its defense and were extremely indispensable.

Serena was also baffled.

Its like fighting without any armor. With even the slightest miscalculation on our part, the territory would collapse.

If any unit fails, it would have a domino effect.

There was a chance of utter destruction of the Banfield family.

Lord Liam! Why didnt you consult with me! Brian lamented.

While Brian started crying, Serena on the other hand was very amused.

Well, we wouldnt be able to stop it now. Even so, this is a tremendous opportunity. If we succeed, His Highness Cleo will emerge as a strong contender for the throne

The chances of that happening were close to zero until now, but it may now increase by a few percent.

Serena felt that Liam was serious about making Cleo the emperor. But that didnt matter to Brian.

Why does Lord Liam always take such extreme measures! It was not the first time Liam had made brash decisions. Even so, the territorial people are not burdened much.

Liam did not place any burdens on the people of his territory even in this dire situation.

Brian felt that it was due to Liams compassion.

Serena shakes her head.

Anyway, did you hear anything new about trade with neighboring countries?

I havent heard anything, but trading commodities other than rare metals is not a crime, so it should be fine. He replied.

-Yeah. There should be no troubles unless we trade rare metals.

Serena seemed to be very concerned.

Brian answers with a laugh.

I saw the list of items that were planning on trading, they were all fine. Youre worrying too much Serena.

I hope so, Serena replied.