Swear Fealty To Me, My Subjects!

"Your Highness Edgeworth, should we set off now?"

"…Alright, let's go."

In the grand prince's residence, the Imperial Guard, Lilia Haines, opened up a teleportation gate for the grand prince.

The grand prince's expression was extremely grim as he stepped into the torn space nervously.

Right now, he was going to participate in a negotiation.

A negotiation that would change his fate.

It was time to go...

He was going to have a good talk with those dwarves.

Everything before him disappeared into emptiness and chaos. Under Lilia's lead, the grand prince passed through the strange dimensional rift and arrived at a sealed stone chamber.

The Gold Village representative who received the grand prince had been waiting here for a long time.

However, the grand prince was stunned the moment he was teleported out.

The grand prince looked at everything in shock.

"Are you surprised?"

The Gold Village representative rubbed his hands and smiled.

"Is this your first time visiting the headquarters of Gold Village, Your Highness? Gold Village is the legendary sacred place of the dwarves. Although it is indeed located here, it is said that our houses and structures are made of gold. Those are merely rumors."

"No… I'm not surprised about your houses…"

The grand prince's mouth cramped as he pointed at the representative and hollered, "You're the one I'm surprised at!"

The Gold Village representative receiving an esteemed guest such as himself was not a high-ranking official of the dwarves.

It was!

A bloody!

Goblin!

"Ah, that's what you're talking about. Indeed, the image that Gold Village gives to the outside world is that it's a financial organization made up of gold dwarves."

The goblin explained calmly with a smile, "Of course, that's indeed the case. However, our beloved dwarf shareholders will also recruit some smart goblins to help them run their businesses."

The smile of the goblin was extremely amicable.

"Although you may not believe it, I'm also a staff with some status in Gold Village. I've also been unanimously acknowledged by the shareholders as your best helper in this crisis, Your Highness. Is this explanation satisfactory for you?"

"…"

To be honest, the grand prince was not satisfied.

The actual rulers of Gold Village were a group of goblins…

He should have read about such things in a confidential document in Haines.

However, that had nothing to do with it.

He merely hated goblins.

To think that one day… he would seek help from such a lowlife race as well.

However, he had no other choice.

At that moment, his expression was grim and his breathing was heavy. He was in an extremely nervous and anxious state.

That was only natural…

After all, not long ago, his secret of colluding with Gold Village was discovered by his nephew, Rayne Haines.

Ever since then, the grand prince had been shrouded in fear and had not had a good night's sleep…

What is Rayne Haines trying to do?

When would he expose me?

How would he deal with me?!

All sorts of questions tormented the grand prince's mind.

Eventually, he felt that he had to lay his cards on the table with the dwarves.

In order to support the situation and ensure his safety, the grand prince even paid a huge price to hire Lilia Haines to be his guard for the time being.

The race of the negotiator was surprising.

However...

So be it.

The grand prince sighed helplessly.

"Forget it, let me hear your solution."

"No problem, but before that…"

The gaze of the goblin shifted behind the grand prince.

The goblin asked in surprise, "Could this be the Imperial Guard, Miss Lilia Haines?"

"I’m Lilia. Do you not trust me, sir? Don't worry at all!"

Lilia Haines made a solemn vow. "I'm paid to do things and integrity is paramount. Since I've promised His Highness, I won't renege even if it's treason—what do you guys want to talk about? Just talk."

The goblin nodded with a smile and a friendly attitude. He continued to speak to the grand prince.

"We've already found out about your situation. Rayne Haines found the IOU that you signed with Gold Village. However, he did not use it to expose you. Therefore, you can't be sure of the prince's current thoughts—is that so?"

The grand prince nodded in silence.

The goblin said, "To be honest, Gold Village has been researching and infiltrating the political structure of Haines. We know a little about the situation in your country. However, His Highness Rayne is a very special case. According to his style of doing things in the past, his behavior this time round is extremely abnormal. Everything doesn't seem like his decision alone…"

The goblin rubbed his hands. "Therefore, after our discussion, there's only one solution."

The grand prince said, "Speak!"

The goblin smiled shyly. "However, this plan is actually not very morally appropriate…"

The grand prince laughed. "You mean to say that you intend to assassinate Rayne Haines directly? That's great! There's no need to care about moral reasons. I can't wait for him to die right now!"

"N-No,"

The goblin shook his head. "What we mean is that Gold Village intends to sever ties with you."

"What?!"