Catherine and the Black Emperor

Chapter 140. Elias's Surrender

On his way to the palace, from meeting the King and Queen of Sweden to discussing cooperation, to agreeing on a time to sign the cooperation agreement, and finally leaving the palace, Georgie's mind was still replaying Sergei's words.

"She's my lover now, and I feel better about it."

simply!

This guy is such a show-off!

He broke it!

"You bastard, you've been laughing at me the whole time." Georgy glared at Sergei.

"You still hold a grudge?" Sergei shook his head.

It seems that Georgie only focuses on his work when he is negotiating with Adolf and Louisa; otherwise, he is thinking about what happened last night and this morning.

"How could I not want to? I was thinking of going through fire and water for you, my brother!" Georgie stared at him.

"Is that what you're doing for my sake? You're clearly just afraid to face Besdudev." Sergei rolled his eyes.

"Bullshit! I can't face him! I'm doing this for you, for you I'm enduring this painful separation!"

"Alright, enough with the nonsense, I'm not teaching you anymore."

"Teacher, I was wrong!"

Sergei, with a smile, left the palace with Georgi.

Overall, the negotiations at the palace went very smoothly. Russia got what it wanted—grain exports, banking cooperation, and trade. Adolf also got what he wanted: to establish initial economic ties with Russia.

At a deeper level, Russia learned from the advanced experience of the Swedish Bank, importing grain from Sweden to solve the problem of insufficient Russian grain production and further develop its economy through trade.

Sweden, on the other hand, has established economic ties with Russia and formed an unbreakable bond, gradually making Russia dependent on Sweden. This means that if Russia were to lose Sweden, it would experience enormous social upheaval from within, both in terms of its internal structure and its social structure.

"The cooperation agreement will be signed in two weeks. Hopefully, there won't be any problems during that time."

Georgy asked Sergei with great concern.

Actually, he didn't have this mindset when he was in Russia, but coming to Sweden, a place where he was unfamiliar with everyone and everything, and being his first time representing his country in cooperation negotiations, he felt somewhat uneasy.

"It's okay, even if there are problems, they're not our fault," Sergei reassured him.

"It's so good to have you." Georgie reverted to his optimistic self.

Back at the Garden Mansion, without Sergei even having to say a word, Georgie took the initiative to part ways with him.

"I'm sleeping at the mansion; the suite there suits me better. You've got too many bad ideas. You're not even the vice chairman of the secret committee anymore, how can you still be so wicked?"

"Are you really not keeping your trip because you think you can only look at the grapes there but can't eat them?"

"You're so mean, Sergei!"

I'm afraid you'll fall in love with me.

"vomit"

Sergei smiled and returned to Hall 7.

The butler, Roman, was waiting at the door, and came over immediately as soon as he saw Sergei.

"grown ups."

"I understand. Where is he?" Sergei asked.

Roman sent someone to inform him as soon as the guests arrived, so he knew that guests had come to his house on his way back.

"It's earlier than I expected. Looks like they really can't hold back." Sergei chuckled.

Upon arriving at the reception room, the guests who were waiting there immediately stood up.

"Duke Saltykov!"

The guest was none other than Elias, a member of parliament and the former leader of the Hat Faction!

"Consul Elias, why didn't you announce your arrival? I went to the palace to see His Majesty the King. I apologize for the neglect, Your Highness."

"Your Grace is too kind. I came uninvited. I hope Your Grace will not find me a bother."

"No, no."

Sergei only asked questions after Roman served him tea.

"I wonder what brings Congressman Elias here?"

Elias hesitated, his eyes filled with struggle, but then he realized that since he was already here, there was nothing he couldn't say, and saving face didn't matter anymore.

"I'll be frank with you, Duke."

"Please feel free to speak."

"I hope the Duke can step in for me and resolve the conflict with Senator Hedwig, help me settle my grievances with Hedwig, and I am willing to acknowledge and support Russia's interactions with the Hat Party and their cooperation for common ideals."

Elias's words had a clear underlying meaning.

He wanted to align himself with Russia and was willing to acknowledge Hedwig as the leader of the Hat Faction.

He came to surrender!

Sergei looked surprised: "Congressman Elias's words truly astonish me. Isn't Elias worried that Ambassador William will find out about what he's doing?"

"If the Duke is willing to intervene on my behalf, I will immediately sever all ties with William and with England!" Elias showed utmost sincerity.

Having already made his point clear, Sergei stopped pretending.

"Has Congressman Elias finally come to his senses?"

"If I don't come to this conclusion soon, I reckon I'll end up like Matthias, maybe even worse off, since at least Matthias survived," Elias said with a wry smile.

"What makes you say that?" Sergei asked.

"The Duke doesn't need to beat around the bush with me. The assassin William sent to kill Matthias to cover it up has been caught. Knowing William's nature, he must have the assassin's life in his hands, and in order to clear himself of any involvement, he will likely pin all the blame on me."

"That's all? Isn't that taking precautions too much?" Sergei chuckled.

Elias added, "Not only because of this, the murder of Princess Manon of France has become a huge scandal, and I already know that Manon's uncle, the former French ambassador Arnold, has become the new French Minister of Finance."

"Therefore, the King and Parliament will handle this matter seriously. William is the British ambassador, so the King will be cautious. But I am destined to become a pawn of Parliament, especially since I have already visited Matthias in prison."

Sergei smiled and said, "It seems Matthias has already spoken to the councilor."

Elias nodded: "He told me that he had told the Duke some of my secrets. I should thank the Duke for giving me the opportunity not to immediately report those things to the King and the Parliament."

"So, Duke, since you wanted me to come to you, and I have indeed come to you, and things have been made so clear, there's no need for us to hold back anymore. Let's speak frankly and openly."

Sergei nodded.

"That's right, I'm just waiting for the congressman to come to me. Who hasn't done a few wrong things or something shameful to become a court minister, let alone a high-ranking congressman?"

"What the congressman did was selfish, but it was far from being morally reprehensible. I am not a good person either, and I do not have an upright heart. On the contrary, I believe that people die for wealth and birds die for food. What the congressman did, I would have done too."

Elias nodded.

He knew that Sergei was giving him a way out, and he needed that way out too.

"Since the congressman has come and been very frank, expressing his sincerity, I would like to know what conditions the congressman has?" Sergei asked proactively.

"It's very simple. The murder of the French princess must be resolved as soon as possible, and I must be guaranteed not to be implicated. Apart from that, the Duke can keep my secrets, but as long as I do not do anything that would harm Russia's interests, they must not be exposed to the royal family or parliament. Finally, you must help me so that William does not turn on me at a crucial moment."

Elias made many demands, but they were all within reason.

And just as the other side thought, to gain the support of a legislator, especially one as powerful as him, one must show sufficient sincerity.

Moreover, Elias showed great sincerity.

"No problem, I'll agree to all of the councilor's requests. Not only that, I'll also give the councilor a gift." Sergei nodded with a smile.

Elias breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Sergei agree.

"What gift?"

"The leader of the top hat faction."

Elias thought he had misheard: "The leader of the Hat Faction? You're not mistaken, Duke."

"You heard me right, the leader of the Hat Faction."

Elias was completely baffled.

Sergei chuckled and patted him on the shoulder: "Congressman, you just need to follow my plan, and you'll understand sooner or later."