This time, the Celebration Banquet naturally included Eliot’s two thousand soldiers as well.
However, he was tactful enough not to bring anyone over to disturb Willis’s enjoyment.
The feast was going to last until night, at least.
Willis wasn’t in the mood.
Especially after receiving the Emperor’s Imperial Edict.
Halfway through the meal, under Hill Yu’s twitching gaze and Annie Donald’s fury that shattered several bowls, Willis hugged Ofilia and entered the Castle Lord’s Mansion.
From a distance, Nidnia saw this scene and felt a bit sad for Willis.
“The Imperial Second Princess has liked women since childhood. It’s hard for little Vi as well, having to make sacrifices for the sake of realism.”
Her expression was melancholy, believing that little Vi’s orientation should be normal.
Probably.
Yet now, she had to sacrifice her own hap~piness to truly become the Imperial Second Princess.
Borden nodded in agreement, whispering to Nidnia.
“It’s tough for her. She’ll have to live with women her whole life. What a pity… She sacrificed too much.”
“Exactly, which is why we have to support her well! We can’t let her down for her efforts and sacrifices!”
But at this moment, Willis was utterly delighted.
The Empire’s order put Nidnia and Borden at ease.
Although the conditions were harsh, things had gone smoothly.
Little Vi had officially become the Imperial Second Princess.
Their earth-shattering Plan had reached its perfect conclusion here.
After the Celebration Banquet, the group discussed matters inside the Castle Lord’s Mansion for a while.
When Hill Yu arrived, Nidnia and Borden immediately bid a polite farewell.
Watching their departing backs, Hill Yu smiled.
“You really have impressive methods.”
“This is a Secret, Sister. You have to help me keep it safe!”
Willis was radiant and full of energy.
On the other hand, a blonde girl lay motionless on a bed in a certain room, like a corpse.
Yet, after the lingering~pleasure, the satisfied curve at her lips couldn’t be faked.
At that moment, Eliot came over with his group.
“Congratulations, Your Highness. Now that you’ve fully taken control of Ushi City, our cooperation can finally begin, right?”
Eliot wore the attire of a noble Lord.
Though he was a shrewd, lean young man, at this moment, he looked more like a high-ranking noble who had long sat in power.
“It can begin. Ushi City is lacking money everywhere now!”
Willis sighed.
“We’ve scoured the surrounding mines, the City Defense Army, furhao, and the wealth left by the Noble Families…”
“I thought this Empire Princess could strike it rich for once, but after repaying the Empire’s debts, there’s only a thousand chests of Gold Dragon left.”
“So poor!”
Willis looked up at the sky and sighed, looking very punchable.
“Your Highness, what about my share?” Eliot asked with a cheeky grin.
At his words, Willis glared at him.
“Would I shortchange you?!”
“Haha, working with Your Highness is just great. In such a short time, the Rawal Family has already earned over a hundred chests of Gold Dragon.”
Eliot’s face was shiny with oil, probably from overeating at the banquet.
Speaking of which, Willis felt a bit of heartache.
If she’d known, she wouldn’t have thrown such a lavish Celebration Banquet.
Now, not only had she spent money, but the food stores in Ushi City had also been depleted.
Clearly, careful management is the only real principle!
“Work with me, and there’ll be plenty of opportunities to make money later!”
Willis was annoyed inside, but acted smug on the surface.
“But this time, I had to give up a lot just to shut up my greedy old man!”
She hadn’t finished speaking when Hill Yu smacked her.
“Sister!”
“Alright, alright, let’s not talk about him…”
Willis shrugged and looked at Eliot.
“Minerals, ironware, weapons, and necessary salt and furs… Annie has already prepared these.”
“Let’s be clear, if you want a share of my goods, you’ll have to pay!”
Willis counted on her fingers.
“That’s it. If you want them, seventy percent of market price. Friendly price!”
Eliot could only smile wryly.
“Your Highness really knows how to do business. Everyone knows you got those for free from the abandoned homes…”
“But aside from ironware, weapons, and minerals, the rest are prepared by our own Rawal Family…”
“Even though the Empire squeezed you dry, didn’t His Majesty also grant you permission to expand your army by a hundred thousand? That’s a good thing!”
Eliot said excitedly, “By then, we can reach the Rodna Deep Sea via the Amis Strait to the east…”
“Cross the Ashen Sea to the northeast, and we can trade with the Nonubia Empire and the Firebrant League.”
Eliot seemed to see a bright future.
“Once we have the sea route, we won’t be just small merchant ships trading here and there, but a fleet engaged in large-scale commerce!”
“Now that Your Highness can expand the army without restriction, safety shouldn’t be a problem…”
At that moment, Hill Yu interrupted him.
“Rodna Deep Sea?”
The girl frowned.
“I haven’t been to sea, but I’ve heard that storms are frequent in the Rodna Deep Sea. Ordinary waves reach ten meters at least.”
“In bad weather, the waves can easily surpass twenty meters.”
“With such harsh conditions, unless you have steel ships or hardwood vessels reinforced with magic, you can’t even approach, let alone sail.”
“Doing business there isn’t so easy, is it?”
After all, ships that can sail in such treacherous waters are astronomically expensive to build and maintain.
You’d also need to recruit qualified sailors and captains, which is another hefty expense.
Yet, Eliot was confident.
“Heh, that’s for the future to handle, Grand Princess.”
“Oh? So the Rawal Family—or rather, you—have been considering this for a long time?”
Hill Yu asked.
“Profits… Even if it’s hard to cross, as long as you can trade rare goods on both sides, it’s all money!”
Eliot rubbed his hands eagerly.
“Right now, small-scale trade can only skirt the coast of the Amis Strait, taking a sea route over two thousand miles. That takes too much time.”
“If we had large merchant ships that could weather the storms, the markets on both sides would be ours!”
Willis’s eyes sparkled as she listened.
Unfortunately, she had the will but not the power.
“Alright, alright, stop drawing blueprints. Sister, allocate a thousand City Defense Army soldiers to him, and send trustworthy people…”
Willis waved her hand, sighing inside.
No matter how good the trade route, you needed the strength to back it up.
For now, she would just take care of what was in front of her.
“Take my Token. With it, the garrisons and town armies along the way shouldn’t cause trouble.”
“But if anyone is foolish enough to try, don’t blame me for being rude!”
Willis clenched her knuckles menacingly, a murderous smile on her face.
Cutting off someone’s money is like killing their parents.
If anyone dared block the way, Willis might just lead her troops over and have the garrisons changed.