I am on the Ark, a succubus, pure and innocent.

Like your mother!

If you report this, the city is finished! Even if the emperor doesn't do anything, those damn bureaucrats in the Imperial Council won't let this opportunity pass.

It's a once-in-a-century opportunity to both reasonably exploit a city and later have a duke take the blame.

The prospect of the council's hyenas devouring his future interests filled the Marquis of Grod with a burning hatred, yet he still forced a grim smile.

"How could that be, Your Highness? I swear on my noble honor, I invited you here because it is of great importance, and I assure you that you will be satisfied."

"Hopefully."

Bai Yue replied indifferently, then walked into the banquet hall without looking back, coldly saying, "Make sure all irrelevant people leave. I have no interest in attending any ball in this godforsaken place. If you have something to say, just say it; otherwise, don't bother saying anything at all."

"Yes Yes Yes."

Marquis Gorod quickly waved to the group of nobles at the door and shouted, "Gentlemen, please come in with me. The rest of you, go back. This banquet is canceled. I will hold it another day."

......

A secluded private room in the banquet hall.

The conference table.

Bai Yue sat in the center on the left, with Lin Yuxia in the second seat, and Emerald and Amber standing behind them.

The Marquis of Gorod, on the other side, also regained his composure, standing and introducing the nobles around him who were also dressed in Ursus military uniforms:

“Your Highness Dmitry, these are my colleagues in the army. We all serve in the logistics department of the Third Army. I am the chief of logistics, and they are my deputies.”

“And my invitation to you is by no means something trivial.”

Bai Yue flicked her finger and said uninterestedly, "Oh, so you came to me for smuggling, huh? You think I'd be interested in something like this?"

"of course not!"

The Marquis of Groddo showed genuine envy on his face and complimented him:

"You are of noble lineage to Her Majesty Catherine, and have inherited all the estate of the Duke of Belga. Her Majesty has also granted you a vast fiefdom. In Ursus, no nobleman can surpass your honor."

Bai Yue raised her head and said disdainfully, "Since you know, why ask? With your meager sums, can you even exchange them for a palace left to me by my grandmother in Saint Jun Fortress?"

"Of course not."

Marquis Gorod remained calm and said, "But if I may be frank, the Emperor does not wish you to return to the interior of Ursus. Although you possess an unparalleled treasure, you cannot fulfill it."

"We've also noticed that your Chernobog core city remains dilapidated. Presumably, there isn't enough liquid wealth to fill this hole for the time being?"

"Oh, so?"

Bai Yue twirled the bone pen in her hand, watching their increasingly smug expressions with great interest. "You think you can recruit me with this?"

"That's all."

Marquis Gorod, brimming with confidence, pulled a stack of documents from the lining of his military overcoat and tossed them lightly to Lin Yuxia, who was standing next to Bai Yue.

As for why it wasn't Bai Yue, but Lin Yuxia...

There's an unwritten rule here.

Those at the top of certain black market supply chains don't need to handle these things themselves; they delegate them to white or black hands to achieve the goal of 'not knowing'.

If the matter is exposed, then push the relevant personnel out to take the blame, ensuring that you remain completely innocent.

As for the black market profits that disappeared in the process... well, who knows? Couldn't they have been taken down by those 'sinners' along with it?

Besides, what if you knew?

A dragon burning down the granary, ghost soldiers borrowing grain... there's bound to be one that suits you.

Chapter 159 Greedy and Foolish

Time passed slowly, and Lin Yuxia turned to the bottom page of the document.

After reading them, she tidied up the documents and placed them some distance away from Bai Yue. Then she leaned close to his ear and whispered something.

Bai Yue lowered her pink eyes and listened quietly until she finished speaking. She didn't make a sound, but the bone pen in her fingertips spun faster and faster.

...

After a long silence, the Marquis of Grod was the first to lose his composure and asked, "Your Highness, what is your decision?"

"Boring, nothing that's even remotely appealing."

Bai Yue criticized mercilessly, and said with a look of disgust, "Your greed is beyond my imagination, but your stupidity makes up for it. No wonder you people are driven to the border to eat dirt."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Marquis of Grod's face turned ugly, and he suppressed his anger as he asked:

"Your Highness, I sincerely wish to share this wealth with you. Why do you say that?"

"Oh? Share?"

Bai Yue chuckled, leaning back lazily in her chair, and said sarcastically, "You all know perfectly well whether you want to share wealth or disaster with me."

"You fools who think you're holding a gold mine, the Third Army is no longer your backyard. Even your masters don't want to wade into these muddy waters anymore. Where do you get the guts?"

"Take my advice: exercise your neck more these next few years. That way, when the Imperial Guard puts you on the gallows, you'll be able to look at this land a little longer."

"..."

The Marquis of Grod, along with the nobles around him, fell silent—a deathly silence, yet the beating of their hearts could be heard.

Bai Yue wasn't in a hurry. He used a bone pen to write a proverb in the air: "A moment's indulgence in food leads to a lifetime of weight loss." Hmm... that didn't quite describe the people in front of him, so he revised it:

Those who indulge in momentary pleasures will die with their flesh dripping oil.

He even thoughtfully turned the two sentences upside down so they could see them carefully.

Marquis Gorod gritted his teeth for a long time before speaking with a tense expression.

"You can rest assured that even if the dukes sever this line of interests, the assets we obtained from the Third Army are still piling up, and they are the most advanced weapons in the empire. They will not be outdated even in five years. We still have capital here."

"What capital?"

Bai Yue countered, pressing the bone pen against her face, and suddenly realized, "Oh, I understand. Your capital is a group of servants who dare to treat me arrogantly, and a group of cowardly private soldiers who dare not fire."

"It's ridiculous. They smuggled so many weapons and heavy artillery, but they don't dare to install them in their own cities. Is it because they don't want to?"

"Heh...you don't dare, do you? You cowards are far less courageous than the nobles during the Great Rebellion. Why don't you dare betray us again?!"

"Your Highness, this is an act of respect..."

The Marquis of Gorod hesitated, his words caught in his throat. Respect? No way, he felt a little embarrassed even saying it himself.

If you truly respect someone, why would you deliberately send someone to make things difficult for them?

It was merely a matter of testing the mettle of this overly naive duke. If he proved to be weak and easily bullied, then a different approach would be taken, and the cooperation would turn into coercion and enticement.

I just didn't expect him to be so tough, and to bring Frostnova, a hero-level unit.

It's not that we can't fight, but it would really be a fight to the death. We're all in the same boat, so there's no need to do something that brings us no benefit whatsoever.

Marquis Gorod pondered for a moment, then sighed, "Yes, Your Highness, you are right. Our situation is indeed very unfavorable. Given our current circumstances, without the support of the dukes, even rebellion is a pipe dream."

“As long as we have this idea and act on it, the emperor’s blade will execute us in our homes for treason the very next day.”

"but!"

His voice rose, his gaze sharp: "But even a cunning rabbit has three burrows. How can we nobles pin our hopes on this one chain of interests? Even if the dukes back down, we have other partners."

"Other collaborators?"

Bai Yue was puzzled and asked, "Even several dukes are avoiding this matter. What kind of collaborator would have such audacity? Have you contacted the Emperor?"

After saying that, Bai Yue was amused by her own thoughts, chuckled, and waved her hand, saying, "No, impossible. Otherwise, given my uncle's temper, you would already be undergoing a public trial in the Imperial Council."

So, could you tell me exactly who it is?

How could I possibly tell you this if you're not even a member?!

That's what the Marquis of Grod was thinking, but like everyone forced into service by Bai Yue, he couldn't control his words and, with a look of terror on his face, revealed his true thoughts:

"It's the Kasimir Business Federation."

!!!

The men next to the Marquis of Gorod were dumbfounded and shocked. Wait, you just said it?!

After speaking, the Marquis of Grod immediately regained his composure, exclaiming in shock and anger, "Your Majesty, how dare you use such witchcraft against me! Aren't you afraid of being impeached by Lord Duma?!"

"Heh... witchcraft, is that it?"

Bai Yue touched her lips with the tip of a bone pen, looking somewhat troubled, and said:

"Oh dear, I never expected that the magic I inherited from my grandmother would be called witchcraft by the imperial nobles. How about we go to Lord Duma together and confront him about this incident?"

Oh my god, this is a topic that should never be touched!

If that were the case, Lord Duma would not dare to judge such a nobleman. Moreover, his collusion with Kazimir would be exposed, which would be far more serious than simply embezzling arms.

If they investigate it seriously, it's definitely not something a minor marquis like him can handle.

Marquis Gorod was now panicked, fearful, and a little desperate, wanting to fight to the death. He immediately slapped himself twice, the 'slap' sound particularly loud.

He forced a smile: "Please forgive me, Your Highness. I misspoke. Please tell me what you need. I will do my best to help you, even if it means abandoning my family and career."

It was just polite talk... Bai Yue was certain that if she really asked him to abandon his family and career, the city would be in for a real show today.

The infighting among nobles has affected the common people; if this gets out, it will definitely dominate the Terra news for days.

Even so, Bai Yue did not intend to let him go. Leaving a way out for others would only give them another chance to take revenge. Pressing the attack while the enemy was ahead was the best course of action!

So Bai Yue said without any politeness, "I'm a little interested in the Kazimierz Commercial Association. Tell me more about it, and also about your transactions with them. I hope you won't make me use the spells I inherited from my grandmother anymore."

Marquis Gorod's expression was conflicted, but he still had no choice but to say, "...Yes, Your Highness."

"Our cooperation with the Business Federation has been going on for a long time. We provide them with Originium, Infected, minerals... and they give these things back to us..."

"Wait? What about the weapons?"

"The weapons were sold to the Supervisory Council. We were afraid that the Commercial Federation would dominate Kazimir and eventually encroach on our profits, so..."

"..."

"Marquis, what can I say about you..."

"Please save me, Your Highness!"

Chapter 160 The Big Surprise of Returning to the City

On the way back.

Lin Yuxia turned to look at Bai Yue, who was lying on Rosemary's chubby little legs playing video games, and asked curiously, "Xiao Yue, are you really going to agree to their demands and cover their transfer of assets to Kazimierz?"

Bai Yue's attention was entirely focused on the game boss, and she said casually:

"How could I help them? The meager amount they give me isn't even enough for me to buy a few mobile blocks. Why should I risk being targeted by the emperor to help them?"

"A bunch of despicable people who use people when they need them and then discard them when they don't."

“They had no good intentions in getting me involved in arms smuggling. The dukes could just walk away, but they couldn’t bear to... oh, and they couldn’t get rid of me either, so they wanted to make me take the blame.”

"They messed things up and then begged me for forgiveness, wanting me to help them. There's no such thing as a free lunch. I think they just need to be shooed away. I hope their thick skin can last a few more seconds under the guards' blades."

Lin Yuxia tilted her head in confusion: "So you want to report this to the Imperial Council?"

"never."

Bai Yue rubbed against Rosemary's chubby little legs and pouted, "This kind of parliamentary model will only make things worse. I have Witt's private contact information, I'll just tell him later."

"I believe he would be happy to reclaim a mobile city for the emperor, and incidentally, he can also hold a public trial for some nobles. He should thank me properly, look how much political achievement I have given him."

"It's also a big problem."

Lin Yuxia looked at the bulging file folder and smiled, "But it has nothing to do with us, hehe, I'm afraid they didn't expect you to put this matter on the table so decisively."

“What did you just say? Something like: ‘You can rest assured, this is a promise from Duke Ulrich, and I swear on my honor.’”

Lin Yuxia repeated Bai Yue's words in her own tone, then covered her mouth and giggled: "The way they looked so relieved back then is really funny to think about."

After laughing, she added with concern: "But is it really okay to break an oath like this? If it gets brought up later, you might be labeled as a faithless person."

"Go ahead and take it."

Bai Yue said nonchalantly, "Succubi have done far more bad things than I have. One more or one less won't make a difference."