I, who was eager to retire, became an Imperial General.

Chapter 295 Long-Term Investment, Study Room Alliance

Following the sound, John was greeted by the sight of the West family.

However, the person leading the group was not Lothar, but a tall woman.

The other person was dressed in a deep purple dress, with golden curly hair cascading over her shoulders. Combined with her gold-rimmed glasses and pale purple eyes inherited from her mother, she looked exceptionally elegant while also possessing an undeniable sharpness.

And considering the Winter Wolf Medal worn on the other person's chest, signifying their status as a direct descendant of the West family, their identity is already quite obvious:
Olivia West, the eldest daughter of the West family and the only blood relative of the current Earl of West.

“Viscount Maslow, I intend to discuss some matters with you.”

Before John could speak, Olivia stated her purpose directly:
"As the eldest daughter of the West family, Olivia West, do you have the time?"

……

Ten minutes later, in the study, pure white magical light illuminated several solemn faces.

At this moment, Lothar, seated at the head of the table, had changed out of his formal attire and was now dressed in more practical military uniform, his eyes filled with determination.

Olivia, who was to Lothar's right, calmly held a cup of black tea, her pale purple eyes fixed on John in front of her.

The old butler, Albrecht, stood in the shadows with his hands at his sides, like a silent footnote.

"John, I need your help."

Inside the study, Lothar cut to the chase, omitting all formalities and his face serious and earnest:

"Not as Earl of the North and Viscount Faoken, but as student and teacher."

Upon hearing this, before John could even speak, Olivia gently pressed her brother's arm, signaling him to calm down.

Then he turned to John, his tone respectful yet sharp:
“Viscount Maslow, please forgive my brother’s blunt remarks, but it is indeed true that, in my opinion, the West family is currently standing on the edge of a precipice.”

"I am very grateful to you for selflessly passing on your military skills to him out of admiration, and I am also grateful that you, out of respect for my late father, have taken the initiative to extend an olive branch of business cooperation to the West family, which is now in an awkward situation."

“Under normal circumstances, we would never do something so offensive, but right now, we have no choice.”

Olivia paused slightly, then her pale purple eyes were replaced by an unprecedented solemnity and seriousness:

"As far as I know, after His Majesty William raised the issue of peace negotiations, the prosecutor's office followed up by falsely accusing and detaining you. And I think, with your exceptional wisdom, you must know the true meaning behind these two incidents."

"That's right, that's it. The conservatives are planning to take action against the reformers, right after the peace negotiations end!"

Olivia stated her judgment decisively, but instead of immediately asking John for his opinion, she changed the subject:

"Furthermore, aside from the crisis you yourself have recently encountered due to the political clashes, as the losers on the northern front of the Empire, after the destruction of the Winter Wolf Legion, which the West family relied on, we have also recently been tested by various forces."

"As the current manager of the West Family Chamber of Commerce and the West Family's diplomatic representative, I have personally experienced a chill that I haven't felt in a long time during recent business and aristocratic exchanges... a chill that penetrates to the bone even deeper than the extreme cold of Winterhold."

After he finished speaking, the old butler Albrecht, who had remained silent all along, also spoke in a low voice, unlike the two young members of the West family.

The old man, who had served three generations of the West family, possessed a voice with an undeniable huskiness and steadiness honed by the years.

"Lord Maslow, the West family has a long history of loyalty, as evidenced by the fact that the former Earl led the Winter Wolf Legion in a bloody battle until his sacrifice."

"But I must clarify one point: the West family's loyalty is to the Empire, not to any particular 'salon'."

At the behest of the family's administrators, Albrecht, who had taken the initiative to express his stance on behalf of the Winter Wolf family, paused for a moment, then bowed to John in apology for his presumptuous remarks. His tone, however, was remarkably firm, and he then explained the reason:
"Now, simply because the Earl is young and impetuous, the House of Lords, dominated by the conservative party, has used this as a pretext to reject the Earl's application to succeed as a member of the House of Lords, and is trying to select a viscount from the same party to replace the position that should have been inherited by the Earl."

"What is most saddening and frustrating is that, after realizing the predicament faced by His Excellency the Earl, our allies in the same party have remained completely silent about this blatant power grab by the conservatives."

"This has also made us gradually realize that the current reformists seem to have wavered in their party stance due to the worsening of the Duke of Ostann's condition."

Whether future reformers can continue to be trusted allies of the West family remains to be seen.

"Oh!"

Lothar, seated at the head of the table, slammed his fist on the table, his eyes filled with resentment and bitterness.
"What so-called allies? They're nothing but a bunch of parasites!"

"Even before Duke Ostann has passed away, they have already joined forces with the conservatives to carry out political suppression. If we wait until the Duke dies, the entire empire will probably fall completely under the control of those damned parasites!"

"How can the empire become great if it is surrounded by these parasites!"

"..."

Across from him, John simply watched quietly as Olivia orchestrated this farce.

Instead of immediately expressing his opinion, he gently tapped the armrest of the seat with his fingers.

After much deliberation, he finally looked up at Olivia and asked calmly:

“I have a general understanding of the situation. Although I feel deep sympathy and regret for the West family’s current predicament, Miss West, I think you should be well aware that I am currently just a newly promoted lieutenant general in the Empire. I have neither the ability nor the qualification to help the West family, do I?”

"On the contrary, in my opinion, Viscount Maslow, you are fully qualified and capable!"

Olivia met John's gaze, her tone firm:
"Your experience of being personally raised by Her Highness the Princess and participating in the Commander-type Magic Soldier Training Program under His Majesty William's arrangement is enough to prove your loyalty."

"Your postwar administration in the Walden region, the series of revitalization plans you launched in governing and developing the Dragon Tooth Territory, and the fact that in less than three months you transformed a poor and backward foreign town into an economic and popular town that would take other territories several years to achieve, all at an almost miraculous speed and without any investment or support policies, is enough to prove your business and domestic affairs capabilities."

"And your extraordinary military command skills displayed in the Battle of Faoken, leading a force far inferior to the enemy in both combat strength and numbers without supplies or reinforcements, not only repeatedly repelled enemy attacks and achieved counterattacks, but also slew a renowned enemy general through strategy. These achievements are enough to prove that your military command ability has reached the pinnacle of the Empire, no, it can almost be called the best in the world!" "In this award, His Majesty William has bestowed upon you an unprecedented seven blessings of praise, which is enough to prove the extent of His Majesty William's trust and appreciation for you."

"After all, even Marshal Dormammu, who was known as the 'White-Haired Demon General' of the Empire and regarded by the conservatives as His Majesty's right-hand man, only received three blessings of honor from His Majesty William after his victory in the capture of Pizierk Fortress."

"Therefore, after considering the above judgments, from my own perspective, whether it is your background, ability, or character, you are destined not to become a parasite that hinders His Majesty William's progress by associating with the conservatives, but rather a being who can be called the true hope of the Empire!"

"Someone like you has the absolute ability and qualifications to help the West family out of its current predicament, and is the only ally the West family can truly trust in the upcoming political upheaval!"

As Olivia spoke, she scrutinized John's expression. Finding that he didn't show any smugness at her praise as she had expected, but instead remained calm, she felt not disappointed, but even more convinced of her judgment.

He then directly explained his reasons for doing so:

"Although you are currently unable to be given important responsibilities immediately due to the persecution by the conservative party and your lack of seniority."

"But your current predicament will be transformed in the upcoming party struggle."

"The signals released by the conservative party this time have proven that their actions are different from ordinary political clashes in the past, but rather they intend to completely destroy the reformists."

"As the true leader of the reformists, His Majesty William will certainly not allow such a thing to happen."

"But as is well known, Duke Ostan's condition is now incurable, and once His Excellency passes away, the current reformist faction will inevitably split."

"At that time, given that the inherent members of the reformists cannot guarantee their loyalty, His Majesty William will certainly need someone who is impeccable in terms of politics, loyalty, and personal ability to reunite and reorganize the reformists for His Majesty and become the nominal new leader of the new reformists."

"With General Dormammu having many enemies, and the truly capable nobles of the reformist faction being all over fifty-five years old on average, and not many young people capable of shouldering this heavy responsibility, even if there were, they would probably have already been secretly infiltrated by the conservatives and could not guarantee their loyalty."

"At this time, among the candidates for the leadership of the new party, you, who are most trusted by His Majesty, whose background and abilities are sufficient to withstand the scrutiny of the supervisory forces, and who stand out among the reformers and can be called the strongest of the younger generation, will be the best candidate to succeed to this position."

"!"

Meeting Lothar's shocked gaze and Albrecht's thoughtful look, Olivia's pale purple eyes remained fixed on John, whose eyes had narrowed and whose expression had gradually turned cold. She then stated the price that needed to be paid for this 'achievement':

"Of course, this will probably require you to pay a small price, such as a marriage alliance with a high-ranking nobleman of the reformist faction!"

Then, as if remembering something, a hint of mockery flashed in Olivia's eyes, and her tone became somewhat intriguing:

"After all, for most nobles, whether conservatives or reformers, and even His Majesty William, only after a bloodline exchange can a true relationship of trust be established, just like the Perus and Castor families, isn't that right, Your Excellency General John Maslow?"

"..."

John did not question Olivia about her outrageous declaration. Instead, after giving her a deep look, he slowly spoke:

“Well, Miss Olivia, you’ve convinced me. I’m starting to get interested in your proposed alliance.”

"Furthermore, although I am quite surprised by your decision to bet on me, as you have predicted, there is not much help I can currently offer the West family."

"Aside from military command skills and some business resource exchanges and territory management experience from Faoken, I'm afraid I can't offer the West family any more assistance, and the matter of a seat in the House of Lords is completely out of the question."

Even so, will you still choose to bet on me?

"In the past, under my father's instruction, I began to take over the West family's business activities at the age of 16. In my ten years in the business world, through a lot of experience of success and failure, I gradually began to understand a principle."

"That is, those who can only focus on short-term gains are destined not to go all the way, let alone achieve true victory."

"Only those with a long-term vision can survive in a business war, and in my opinion, this principle also applies to the family level!"

Olivia spoke calmly, yet her words carried an undeniable air of authority:

"So, Viscount John Maslow, what is your response to the West family's invitation to form an alliance with you this time?"

"...Your excellent insight and analysis make it impossible for me to think of any reason to refuse this invitation to help each other."

John stood up and extended his right hand to the other person.

Then, amidst Lothar's delighted gaze and the relieved sigh of relief from the old butler Albrecht, he smiled slightly at the business prodigy before him and spoke meaningfully:

"While it may sound a bit boastful, I truly believe that the West family, which will usher in a new era of glory, will prove to you how wise your choice today was, Ms. Olivia."

“I have no doubt about what you have said, Mr. John Maslow.”

"Snapped!"

Under the bright white light, the two smiling people slowly clasped hands, making a soft sound.

Thus, an alliance of individual forces, ostensibly formed by members of the reformist faction in anticipation of the fierce upcoming party struggle, was formed for self-preservation.

In fact, transcending the boundaries of partisan strife, the alliance between the two restorers, with the common goal of 'making the empire great again,' was formally established at this moment.

Apart from the four figures in the room, outside the window, only the pattering autumn rain silently witnessed everything that was happening in the dark and heavy night.

"Wow!"

……

(End of this chapter)