It was normal for Colliver to feel pressured. Although the Spade family was very powerful, everything he saw in Ellington showed that Ellington was not as backward as the rumors said. They were very powerful.
Hidden behind these rapidly developing towns and cities was a terrifying force with limitless potential.
Thinking of the Tang Dynasty Chamber of Commerce's astonishing ability to amass wealth, as well as Tang En's strong declaration of independence, Colliver, who was sitting in his chair, swallowed his saliva. This time, perhaps things would not go as smoothly as he had imagined.
"You are the messenger of the Spade family?"
Suddenly hearing the voice behind him, Colliver's spirit was lifted. The main character was here!
"Lord Tang En, greetings."
Colliver stood up and turned to salute.
"Now I am the King of Ellington, not the Lord. Ellington is independent."
This sentence made Colliver speechless.
Although everyone knew that Ellington had become independent, for you to call yourself king, isn't that a little too arrogant?
Tang En sat down opposite him with Fiona and Aurelia, then went straight to the point. "I don't have time to waste. What are you here for?"
After thinking about what to say, Colliver deliberated and said, "It's like this. The head of the Spade family, Duke Mandel, wants to form a cooperative relationship with Ellington —"
"Cooperation? How? "
Tang En interrupted him and looked at him with a faint smile. "Is the Spade family planning to stand on our side and become our spy in Ellington in Alinx? When we break into Alinx, we will shout and you will stand out to respond? "
Break into Alinx?
Colliver took a deep breath. This man's ambition was bigger than he had imagined!
"It's not like that. We —"
"Tell me directly." Tang En suddenly leaned forward. The extremely oppressive aura made Colliver breathless. "Which side does the Spade family want to stand on now? Supporting Girard? Or do you support me … or Princess Aurelia? "
Tang En directly used Princess Aurelia as an excuse for his independence. Aurelia, who was beside him, secretly curled her lips.
The topic was gradually dominated by Tang En. However, Colliver was, after all, an elite of the Spade family. After a moment of chaos, he steadied himself and avoided Tang En's question. He said, "The Spade family is willing to support Ellington in secret. We will provide you with minerals, metals, food, and even very important magic metals that are prohibited from being transported by the Imperium. Also, we guarantee that they will be at the market price."
"Oh? Interesting. Tell me more about the cooperation. "
Tang En leaned back in his chair again. Sure enough, as Princess Aurelia had guessed, the Spade family seemed to want to make a fortune from the war.
The topic seemed to be developing in a favorable direction. Colliver was refreshed. "It's like this. We have our own channels that can avoid the border blockade and transport supplies to Ellington. You can provide a list of what you need, and we will send people to deliver it when we are ready. Of course, the transportation costs will be shared by both parties.
"Since Ellington has become independent, when they face His Majesty … Prince Girard in the future, war is inevitable. At this time, the Spade family can become a firm and powerful ally of Ellington. We will secretly provide you with a lot of support and help you defeat Girard.
"Similarly, since we have provided help, we also need to get something in return. What we need is, if Lord Tang En can really defeat Girard and successfully ascend to the top, the Spade family needs to get a piece of land —"
Tang En waved his hand and interrupted him. He looked at him with a faint smile. "Do you believe that I can defeat Alinx?"
"You must be joking. Since you dare to become independent, it proves that you must have such confidence …"
Aurelia suddenly asked, "Did you also promise Girard the same thing?"
"Of course not!"
Colliver replied flatly. "Since the coronation ceremony, Patriarch Mandel has not entered the castle. He found that His Highness the Prince's personality has changed greatly after the coronation. At this time, Lord Tang En has published in the Tang Daily that he doubts the truth of the former king's death. Patriarch Mandel also suspects that there is some conspiracy behind it, so he made this choice."
"Helping Ellington fight against Girard while waiting for us to dig out the truth. Until then, remaining neutral is your strategy? It is quite in line with the style of the Spade family. "
Aurelia smiled faintly and said, "Tell me your real request. It is impossible to make such an unrealistic promise like a piece of land. Even Duke Mandel would not bet so much in this war. I don't believe that he would dare to betray the country just because of a suspicion. If Girard finds out now, the Spade family will be slaughtered in the blink of an eye."
Colliver smiled bitterly in his heart. It was indeed not that simple. After a sigh, he said, "Actually, Patriarch Mandel does have another request."
Tang En and Aurelia looked at each other. "Speak."
"The Spade family can form a strategic alliance with Ellington, but first there is a prerequisite …"
Colliver looked at Princess Aurelia. Aurelia instinctively sensed something and frowned.
"Princess Aurelia, you should be very clear about our Master Markaro's feelings for you. Even now, he has not changed and is willing to provide you with protection and support. As long as you are willing to accept Master Markaro's courtship, Patriarch Mandel promises that the Spade family will be willing to fully support Ellington's rise. At the same time, we are willing to fully provide financial support."
"This is your purpose?"
Aurelia sneered. "Through a marriage alliance with me, you will obtain a legitimate reason to help Ellington rebel. At the same time, you hope that if the rebellion fails, you can use my relationship with Girard to make him give you a way out and protect the Spade family's strength? If you succeed, you will have boundless merit and even have the chance to become king. If you fail, you can still protect yourself. Duke Mandel has really come up with a plan that satisfies both sides. "
"But first, I have already announced my renunciation of the inheritance and engraved it on the Holy Tablet of Light. An oath can never be violated, so it is impossible to use me to obtain the inheritance."
"Second, Girard is no longer the Girard of the past. He will not be merciful because of me. I can tell you clearly that my father was killed by him. This time, the Spade family secretly sent an envoy to Ellington. Perhaps he has already seen it. You'd better pray that nothing has happened to the Spade family."
Suddenly hearing that Victor was killed by Girard, Colliver's breathing stopped for a moment. Then, the thought of "impossible" flashed through his mind.
Leaving aside the fact that Viktor had a guest Magician protecting him, how could he die so easily with the Legendary defensive magic equipment he was wearing?
Moreover, Victor's support for Girard was something that all the higher-ups of Alinx knew clearly. Why would he kill his father?
Just to be crowned king? But if he continued to wait, the throne would be his sooner or later!
"And third," Aurelia's face became even colder, "I have no intention of marrying Count Marcaro. In other words, since I renounced the inheritance, Count Marcaro has given up on harassing me. This makes me very happy. At the same time, it also proves that I was not wrong before."
Colliver was speechless, "But —"
"No buts," Tang En suddenly said, "I noticed that you just said the word 'support'. In other words, the Spade family wants to support us to become a puppet regime?"
Colliver opened his mouth. Facing Tang En's penetrating gaze, he could not deny a word.
Because that was what Patriarch Mandel meant.
"If that's the case, I'm sorry, but I have no intention of becoming someone's puppet."
Tang En said faintly, "Of course, if the Spade family is interested in cooperating with us, we welcome you to transfer your wealth to Ellington and move it all here."
After the Spade family moved to Ellington, wouldn't Tang En be able to do whatever he wanted? By then, Fiona would be able to complete her revenge easily.
How could this be possible!
Colliver secretly shook his head. Letting Patriarch Mandel give up everything to bet on Ellington's success?
Impossible.
As the largest and richest family in the Empire, the Spade family had already reached the peak. If they wanted to take the next step, they would have to sit on the throne or get a fiefdom to become an overlord.
Unfortunately, in order to strengthen his rule, Victor no longer gave out fiefdoms. Therefore, when Tang En obtained Ellington, it attracted so much attention.
The price and risk of becoming an independent king was too great. Mandel could not afford to gamble.
But now, Ellington's independence brought him an opportunity. If he could support a puppet regime and let it stand firm, the Spade family could sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. If Ellington won, the Spade family would make a huge profit. If Ellington lost, they would only lose some gold coins. It would not hurt their foundation.
Whether it was Tang En's intention to cooperate or his marriage with Aurelia, it would allow the plan to proceed smoothly.
However, this plan that could be said to have the best of both worlds had now completely failed.
Tang En was not willing to see them stay out of harm's way, nor did he want to become a puppet. If he wanted to cooperate, he would have to tie himself to Ellington's chariot. Other than that, he did not have any other thoughts.
Princess Aurelia had decisively rejected Young Master Makarov's courtship. The plan to obtain a death-exemption through marriage with the princess had also failed.
Other than obtaining a large amount of information on Ellington, the mission he was tasked with had completely failed.
"Sir Colliver, please go back."
Tang En stood up and said faintly, "I hope that on the day we really enter Alinx, we will not meet with weapons."
"Lord Tang En -"
Colliver still wanted to make one last effort.
"Please leave immediately. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee that you will not be able to leave Ellington alive!"
Fiona mercilessly ordered him to leave. Her eyes full of hatred stared at Colliver like daggers.
Walking out of the door of the Lord's Mansion, Colliver was still very unwilling. He did not understand why Fiona would hate him so much.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way."
At this time, a few people rushed past him and directly rushed into the Lord's Mansion. Aiya, why are you guys so slow? Time is of the essence! "
"You are too impatient!"
Colliver paused and looked back. He only saw three figures.
What a familiar voice and back view.
Who was it?
"Go, go, don't just stand here."
The guards at the door brought Colliver's guards back and impatiently drove Colliver away. Colliver snorted, tidied his clothes, and then left the Lord's Mansion with his guards.
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