People are on the Ark, assisting Oma Zi-O

It was not until this time that Witt saw, at Fyodor's suggestion, a pair of red eyes looking at them in some hard-to-see corners of the room.

The room, which had just been echoing with the sound of the emperor and the speaker discussing political affairs, was silent for a while, and then Fyodor spoke first.

"Thank you for traveling all the way from the tundra, distinguished guest of the Reunion Movement."

"Your Majesty, you are too kind. For me, traveling from the northwest tundra to this Saint Steed Castle is not a difficult task."

The fluent Ursus language, which seemed to have a slight eastern accent, made Fyodor's mouth twitch slightly, but he regained his composure after a moment.

"Is that so? Then, what brings the distinguished guests from the Reunion Movement to my palace?"

Ark straightened his clothes, a little surprised by Fyodor's straightforwardness, but considering the character of the Ursus people, perhaps it was nothing.

"For no other reason. I've come all the way from the far northwest to bring you two something you'll surely find interesting, and to make a deal with the Empire on behalf of the Reunion Movement."

transaction?

Fyodor and Witte exchanged glances secretly.

An infected guerrilla group that had just destroyed a small unit of the Imperial Army was talking about making a deal with the Empire? Even if we exclude the Army, the Reunion Movement had destroyed numerous Originium mines along the border over the years, which had a certain impact on the Empire's Originium energy economy.

However, Fang Ark did not care about the secret communication between the emperor and the speaker. He just took out the briefcase given to him by Sergei from his four-dimensional pocket, opened it under the serious gaze of Fyodor and Witt, thought for a moment, took out the information directly, and placed it on the desk of the emperor and the speaker.

As the two were looking through the information, Fang Zhou told Sergei what he had taught him before about the undead black snake, the conspiracy between the Third and Fourth Armies and Boris, and the conspiracy of the old military nobles and the pro-war factions behind it.

Of course, in addition to these, there is also information about the sarcophagus and the massacre that occurred at the Chernobyl Institute.

After saying this, Fyodor and Witt were silent for a while, then they sorted out the information and put it aside.

"Interesting document. What does the Reunion Movement hope to gain?"

"The Emperor's Promise."

"Oh?"

Fyodor narrowed his eagle eyes.

The emperor's promise has a very broad scope. What does the Integration Movement hope the emperor will promise?

"There is a natural disaster, it's about to happen in Chernobyl."

Along with these words, a simple communication terminal was also delivered. Before Fyodor and Witt could react, the Ark had already fallen into the shadows right under their noses, and the red eyes that had been flashing in the shadows disappeared at the same moment.

"..."

"..."

After Fyodor and Witte were silent for a while, the intelligence network belonging to the emperor of the empire began to operate rapidly. In just half a day, pieces of intelligence and information were transmitted to his study. After verification, Fyodor released a silent and trembling low pressure from his whole body, and Witte silently put down the information in his hand.

"They've already prepared for this. Although the pro-war faction has always held the upper hand in the court, we all thought they wouldn't make any major moves until we convinced Your Majesty. Who could have known that these audacious fellows would act so recklessly... This is simply a blasphemy against the empire!"

At the end of his speech, Witt angrily slammed his fist on the table, and only after that did he remember whose table he was smashing.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I lost my composure."

"That's fine, Lord Islam. The most pressing issue now is that if they succeed, they will drag Ursus back into the quagmire of war. The military nobles will regain their power, weakening the power of the new nobility in parliament... Worst case scenario, even more cities will fall directly under the rule of the military nobles."

"How dare they?! Who gave them the courage?! These old nobles are traitors!"

Fyodor sighed deeply.

"Koschei, the immortal black snake. I thought it was a good thing that this guy had been so quiet since my father's death, but I didn't expect that this venomous snake would lurk in the shadows and wait to bite us here."

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Intelligence Department needs to undergo a purge. We, the Central Intelligence Agency, were kept in the dark about these matters. And the Internal Guard... Although this is terrifying, Your Majesty, within the Internal Guard..."

The Emperor held out his hand to stop Witte from continuing.

"We have speculated, Lord Islam, that some within the inner guard still worship our father and seek to bring back that era. The emperor's inner guards are loyal to the emperor, and Ursus' inner guards are loyal to Ursus. But alas, those people don't belong to either faction. They are the inner guards of desire, demons who are lost in their own greed and cleverly whitewash it."

"His Majesty."

Witte could sense the emperor's immense fatigue. Mediation in the court had already cost the young emperor too much experience. The war faction composed of the old military aristocracy wanted to continue the expansionist policy of the previous emperor.

"Sir Islam, perhaps we are about to face a struggle even more severe than a war with a superpower."

"Your Majesty, what that man said before he left..."

"I understand. The next target of the Reunion Movement is Chernobog."

"Then let's..."

"They need the emperor's approval, but they don't really need the emperor's approval."

"..."

Fyodor understood that he had made a choice, and there was a root to this choice, which was how to proceed so that the result of this choice would not damage the dignity of Ursus, or at least not damage the prestige of the emperor.

"His Majesty."

At this moment, a low voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"What's the matter?"

"Grand Duke Baikal, commander of the Third Army, requests an audience."

"..."

The next day, Fang Zhou went to the deep palace again.

Fyodor made his decision.

Ark received a promise from the emperor that a grand duke would change his side, and a certain city would lose its mayor.

It was already afternoon when Ark returned to Chernobog. Chernobog was still peaceful, but there were indeed undercurrents inside the Holy Castle.

It is said that the president of the parliament who rose from the financial sector angrily scolded the ministers in the parliament, and the emperor, for some unknown reason, was furious and smashed many things in the palace. What's more, it is rumored that many internal guards outside the palace were urgently recalled, and several were ordered to be detained by the emperor.

However, no one in Chernoberg knows the above.

People are still happily spending their rare relaxing weekend, except for one person.

When the Rostov daughter returned home, she was faced with her father's scolding and her mother's persuasion, but she just couldn't listen. The figure she had seen in the street at that time was still echoing in her mind.

"Hmph. As a daughter of the Rostov family, I have no objection to you playing with a bunch of commoners and treating them with aristocratic courtesy, but don't forget your status! You are a noble! The future heir to the title of Count Rostov. You should focus more on interacting with other noble daughters and sons. You can play games with those commoners, but you can't get so absorbed in it that you lose your ambition. Do you really consider yourself a commoner?"

Natalia's father is a strong-looking Ursus man with a handsome appearance, and her mother is also a tall and plump Ursus woman with the same red and blue heterochromatic eyes as Natalia. It seems that Natalia's heterochromatic eyes are inherited from her mother.

Facing her father Vadim's rebuke, Natalia said nothing and just sat there in silence.

Her mother Galina was also persuading Natalia in a soft voice. In the eyes of her parents, their daughter was just playing around with those children of commoners. After all, she was a noble and must have a sense of importance in her heart. So when the butler delivered the letter, the couple did not take it seriously. Instead, another point made them feel uneasy, that was the man brought back by Zaolu.

Just when Vadim was about to bring up the topic, the untimely visitor announcement sounded.

"Sir, a gentleman who claims to be the young lady's friend has come to visit."

"Natalia's friend?"

Vadim frowned. Natalia's male friend? If the butler didn't recognize him, it meant he wasn't a noble from Chernobyl. So, a commoner? Humph! It looked like something was amiss.

After glaring at Natalia, Vadim was about to say no, but he suddenly saw the butler's strange expression. Noticing that the master had seen his expression, the butler immediately made a secret gesture. Vadim immediately understood and changed his mind as soon as the words were on the tip of his tongue.

"Did the man say his name?"

"He said his name is Fang Zhou."

"!!!"

——————————————————————————————

Chapter 90: Storm is coming

"He said his name is Fang Zhou."

"!!!"

The moment Natalia heard the butler say that person's name, she immediately came back to her senses and looked in the butler's direction in amazement.

Vadim, who noticed the change in his daughter's expression, snorted coldly. He was basically certain that the man named Fang Zhou should be the man that the housekeeper mentioned, the man that Natalia brought home when he and Galina went to Sheng Junbao to handle the business there.

Anger and irritation rose in my heart, and my normally calm brain, which handled business calmly, began to lose its rationality.

"Natalia, do you want to see him?"

"Father?"

Natalia looked back and saw her father's obviously wrong expression. She immediately realized that the fact that she had brought Mr. Fang Ark home and let him stay for nearly a month had been exposed. The person who leaked this matter, Natalia immediately thought of was the housekeeper.

She looked at the butler, who was standing there with a clear conscience, his eyes looking at his nose and his nose looking at his heart.

But what could he say? The butler was just doing his job, and he didn't ask him to keep it a secret at that time.

"...Butler, bring him in."

Vadim was silent for a moment, then waved his hand and asked the butler to take Fang Zhou in.

Perhaps because they were descended from the former count's retainers, the Rostov family, which was only the third generation of the nobility to Natalia, had a relatively mild attitude towards the common people. They did not have the natural contempt and arrogance of other noble families with a long history.

But even so, Vadim has become accustomed to his noble status, and due to his family's political demands, if his daughter falls in love with a commoner, it will be completely unacceptable to the father.

Although the matter has not yet been concluded, Natalia's parents, who also went through that time, cannot help but see their daughter's current condition.

That was the hormonal agitation of young people. Vadim, noticing this sign, immediately decided to nip it in the bud.

However, when the butler entered the house with the Ark, Vadim's eyes widened slightly.

This… is this a commoner? The poor commoner that the housekeeper mentioned being helped by his daughter?

Although it cannot be said to be gorgeous, it is extremely sophisticated. The black Victorian-style dress sets off the person's tall and straight figure. The golden eagle brooch is inlaid with rubies as eyes. The civilized staff in his hand and the small hat on his head, although the overall look is inconsistent with the etiquette of Ursus, it is also not wrong. At least at first glance, one can't think that the other party is a commoner, but rather looks a bit like a Victorian aristocrat.

Natalia was also a little surprised. There was no doubt that the face was Fang Zhou. However, the last time they met and when she just glanced at him, he was wearing the same black functional windbreaker and pants. Why did he look like this now?

"Greetings, Count and Madame Rostov. And long time no see, Miss Natalia."

Taking off his hat, Fang Zhou smiled and saluted the family in front of him. The scene, which was completely different from what he had imagined, made the Earl's family fall into a brief silence, making the scene weird for a while.

In the reception room, Vadim examined the Ark in front of him. Natalia and Galina were sitting behind it, their identities and purpose having just been made clear.

The manager of a pharmaceutical company had encountered some difficulties in Chernobyl before, but was fortunately helped by Natalia to overcome the difficulties. However, the situation was awkward at the time and he even left in a hurry without leaving any thanks. The second visit was for this reason.

Although Fang Ark explained that he was just a manager of a company called Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals, his natural nobility and etiquette made Vadim fall into self-doubt.

Could the management of a pharmaceutical company...have this kind of temperament?

However, these thoughts were fleeting. Even if the other party's identity was really extraordinary, Vadim would not feel anything. He was the Count of Ursus and was considered to be in the second tier among the nobles. Unless the person in front of him was a close friend of the Grand Duke, it would not make him change his attitude.

What's more, if the other party really had some extraordinary identity, would he encounter difficulties in Chernobyl?

And the other party mentioned a thank-you gift.

This made Vadim sneer even more. His status as a count allowed him to experience most of Terra's luxuries. If there was anything that could cheer him up, it would probably be the news from above or the new technologies in Columbia.

The former can make your career more stable, while the latter can broaden your financial prospects.

What can this person in front of me take out?

Vadim had already made up his mind. Out of courtesy, he would just accept the things the other party took out after a few rounds of pushing and shoving. Then he would find out from the side whether there were any other forces behind the other party. After that, he would just make superficial friends with them. As for the young man Natalia's restlessness, hum, he would just give him a little warning later. Anyway, the old father could see that the young man in front of him didn't seem to have any thoughts about his daughter. It seemed like a problem on Natalia's side.

After coming to this conclusion, the old father found it even harder to accept. "Little bastard, can't you see that my daughter is behaving like this?"

This may be the conflicting psychology of the old father. His daughter is in love with a man, but he thinks that the young man is not worthy of her. His daughter likes a man, but the other party does not respond or does not like her, so he thinks that the man has poor taste and does not like his daughter.

Of course, this is just Vadim's inner psychological activity, and it is actually due to the relationship between Feng Qi Ping Mo, so Vadim's aristocratic style is not that strong. Even though he holds the title of earl, the overall feeling is more peaceful than those Ursus nobles in Fang Zhou's impression.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Natalia does not have a strong aristocratic shadow, because by her generation, the Rostov family has not been completely eroded by aristocratic customs, and there is still a trace of worldly atmosphere in the count's family.

"Mr. Fang Zhou is quite particular about etiquette. Natalia helped you out of a noble's duty. After all, we must always remember that a noble is a noble because his ancestors were recognized by the people and took on the responsibility of protecting them. The people loved and respected him, and that's why they were raised to the position of nobility. So, while a noble enjoys the privileges bestowed by the people, he also shoulders the responsibility of protecting the people. Since this is the duty of us nobles, your thank-you gift is unnecessary."

Fang Zhou looked at Vadim in surprise. He didn't expect that in this cesspool of Ursus, there would be nobles who could say that the power of the ruling class comes from the people. Why did the bear in front of him suddenly turn red?

I crossed again?

However, when he saw that Natalia also had a surprised expression, he realized that this was probably just a nice remark that the count opposite him habitually made.

However, it is quite commendable that the earl can say such beautiful words with such profound meaning.

"Haha, Count Vadim is indeed worthy of being Miss Natalia's father. I believe it is your sense of responsibility that has ensured that Miss Natalia has received the right education since childhood, and that is why you extended a helping hand to me when I was in trouble."

Fang Zhou's words made Vadim's expression slightly ease. No one doesn't like to hear compliments. If someone still glares at you after you compliment him, it means you may have praised the wrong person.

It's okay to flatter someone, but it would be very embarrassing if you flatter the horse's leg.

"But you should still accept these. I believe this gift will be of great use to you."

Vadim narrowed his eyes and looked at the black briefcase that Fang Zhou handed to him, then pulled it over and opened it directly, but all he saw were a few pieces of paper with something written on them, which made Vadim raise his eyebrows.

However, he did not underestimate Fang Zhou just because the briefcase did not contain any valuable antiques or treasures. After all, someone of his level knew that a thank-you gift did not necessarily have to be money.

Picking up a piece of paper, Vadim began to read it, but then his eyes widened.