Ryan Tepez (4)
An unexpected silence fell for a moment.
Then, the one who broke the silence was the 1st Prince, who had found Rockfeller's words intriguing.
"You won't support Calman?"
As the desired reaction came from the 1st Prince, Rockfeller crossed his legs again and took a relaxed posture.
"Yes, wasn't that exactly what you wanted?"
It was indeed what he wanted.
However, the following condition was the only thing that bothered him.
"So you won't support me either, is that what you're saying?"
Rockfeller nodded slightly and replied.
"That is the best choice we can make."
At this, the Prince snorted.
"Heh, the best choice would be to go all-in on supporting me."
"I'm sorry, but that is not the best choice for us. If we did that, the Sinclair family wouldn't stay still, and who would benefit if we support Your Highness and you lose in the war for the crown? Then, we would be like ducks floating on a river, are we fools?"
"So, the best choice is not to support either of you?"
"That's correct."
The 1st Prince frowned slightly, seemingly dissatisfied.
'Not supporting me? It's a good thing not to support Calman, but...'
As he thought it was a decision that could not be made easily, the 1st Prince's gaze naturally turned to Trinity.
However, she was already looking at someone else.
'Who is she looking at now?'
When he looked at who she was staring at, it turned out to be none other than Lee Han.
'Damn...'
"What do you think?"
As the 1st Prince asked grumpily, Trinity, whose mind was momentarily elsewhere, turned her head and gave him a blank look.
"What?"
"Didn't you hear what we were talking about just now?"
Before she could feel embarrassed, Rockfeller stepped in to help.
"Just now, I said that we would not support both Prince Ryan and Prince Calman."
As Rockfeller finished speaking, Trinity finally began to think about it.
'Not supporting either of them?'
The thought that immediately came to her mind was that it didn't seem so bad.
As Rockefeller had mentioned earlier, there was a high possibility that the next emperor would be the one backed by the Lyon Guild, which held the financial power of the empire.
If such a place with powerful influence were to remain neutral, it seemed certain that it would end up being a battle between the 1st Prince and the 3rd Prince on an equal footing.
"It doesn't look too bad... But can we trust that?"
At her words, the 1st Prince also looked at Rockfeller with the same thought.
"I have the same thought. You say you can do that, but you already have a connection with the Sinclair family. Can you really do as you just said?"
"Before that, if I do as I just said, are you willing to cleanly give up on us, Your Highness?"
"Give up cleanly?"
"I'm asking if you can stop bothering us. Of course, even after the war for the crown."
The 1st Prince paused for a moment to think.
'If they don't support Calman and me here, the war for the crown will be a battle between the Sinclair and Tepez families.'
When comparing the wealth of the two families,
It seemed that the Tepes family, which he belonged to, had the upper hand compared to the Sinclair family.
The Sinclair family's wealth was not bad, but part of that wealth came from the Lyon Guild.
'So it would be advantageous for me. If they really stay neutral, that is.'
Having finished his thoughts, the 1st Prince still seemed suspicious as he stared intently at Rockfeller.
He doubted the sincerity of his words.
Then, Rockfeller, who had been watching, smiled faintly.
"Do you doubt my words?"
"And if I do?"
Rockfeller began to nod sympathetically.
"Of course, I fully understand Your Highness's suspicion. Who would believe us if we suddenly said we wouldn't support the Sinclair family after working with them for so long?"
"You talk well."
"But we are not the dogs of the Sinclair family. At least, since the moment I became the leader of this guild, everything has changed, including our existing relationship."
The 1st Prince decided to listen to his words more carefully.
"From now on, we plan to break away from the shackles of the Sinclair name and grow as an independent force, collaborating with the Church and the royal family to control all the financial resources of the empire."
"Control all the financial resources of the empire?"
Rockefeller smiled faintly.
"That's right. That's why our target is not Your Highness."
"Then who is it?"
"It is the Black Label Union, who, like us, is building power in a similar manner."
"The Black Label Union is your enemy?"
The 1st Prince shook his head as if he didn't understand.
"Do you know they are connected to Ismail?"
"Yes, of course."
"Then you should also know that if you mess with the Black Label Union, you will be in danger, right? Even though Ismail has become a toothless Lyon, he is still not weak enough to not be able to handle the leader of a mere Bank Alliance."
"That's why I plan to help His Highness Christian, the 2nd Prince, for the revival of the Ismail family."
The 1st Prince frowned at the absurd statement.
"What? You will help Christian?"
"Yes, isn't His Highness Christian also a prince? Then he can naturally participate in the war for the crown."
The 1st Prince, who knew better than anyone that the Ismail family had fallen, could only laugh.
"Hahaha, continue speaking."
"If we help His Highness Christian, Ismail will also remain quiet. And it might even be possible that they will tacitly approve of our attacking the Black Label Union."
"So you will support Christian?"
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