Chapter 296 (1): Impregnable Fortress x Unbreakable Defense x Advantage Is Ours

“In this solemn moment, perhaps the most critical hour in our nation’s history, I hereby address every citizen...”

“The vast majority of us will be facing a second war!”

“We have sought to resolve disputes between nations through peaceful means numerous times, but all in vain...”

“We must accept this challenge!”

“We will face difficult days ahead, and war will not be confined to the front lines...”

“We pray sincerely that as long as all of us uphold justice and resolve our conviction, we shall prevail with the gods on our side!”

On television, Queen Sophelia’s speech develops with soaring and somber moments in turns. First, she expressed Windsor’s resignation about the war’s arrival and how she had tried her best to prevent it. Then, she condemned the evil Prussia and her evil Führer. Finally, she called on the citizens to unite and defeat evil to achieve victory.

Victory shall be Windsor’s!

Clap, clap, clap!

After the speech, Wayne immediately gave a standing ovation, looking so moved that he might enlist the very next second.

But he didn’t.

After clapping for two minutes to show his respect, he immediately turned to Auston with a solemn expression and said, “War’s coming. Do we have enough supplies stockpiled at home? Will our business be affected?”

“My business won’t, but yours is finished.”

“...”

The Lando family had a variety of successful businesses. Besides running banks and monopolizing the security exchange industry, they had also invested heavily in real estate, military, and everyday goods and services.

With the nation’s war machine whirling to life, the Lando family, as one of the Tulip Families, would be facing serious challenges head-on and could no longer rake in money as freely as before. The Queen had granted the Tulip Families permission to monopolize various industries; now, it was time for them to give back.

Take the Lando family’s military and civilian industries as an example. All their factories had to immediately halt their original orders and fully shift to the production of strategic goods needed by the nation.

During wartime, nylon stockings weren’t essential goods, so all production ceased, with the precious raw material redirected to military supplies: uniforms, tents, parachutes, and more.

In other words, Wayne’s money-making pipeline was gone. He needed to find another way to earn a living and support his family.

“Damn it, I hate war!” Wayne shook his head. Having long anticipated this day, he wasn’t caught off guard. “Fortunately, I’ve made preparations early and had Master’s company stockpile large quantities of stockings, which will be released to the market in batches to keep the price high. The amount sold will drop, but unit prices will go up. In the end, I’ll even save on labor costs. The earnings won’t be affected.”

If anyone could, Wayne would’ve been hung on a lamppost for being an evil capitalist.

Auston rolled his eyes. His heir was too outstanding; he had chosen the right person.

The halt in nylon stocking production was only part of the war’s impact. What really vexed Auston was the many terrible deals dumped on him due to his absence in August.

Windsor was an island nation, which meant inconvenient transportation and limited resources. Factories nationwide began urgently stockpiling strategic materials to cope with future shortages or to sell strategic supplies to allies at high prices.

For capitalists, the war economy had its pros and cons. Exports were hugely profitable with little risk of losses, but domestically, there were issues of supply shortages and inflation, which no one wanted to face.

The Tulip Families could not escape the domestic market. The former Tulip Legion had been enjoying a life of abundance for many years; it was time to bleed and repay their debts.

As everyone knew, it wouldn’t be easy to make one cough up what one had consumed.

At the meetings in August, several Tulip Families specializing in commerce, finance, and industrial manufacturing began negotiating, each more convincing in claiming poverty than the last. Because Auston hadn’t been present to make the same claim and put on a pity act, all the loss-making deals were assigned to him.

Wayne nodded as he listened. Seeing the indignant expression on Auston’s face, he raised an eyebrow and said, “Father, the officials stuff their pockets full, and Her Majesty believes these treacherous sycophants and takes their side. How can the nation be governed with these parasites? Why not seize the throne so that from now on, you’ll be king, and I’ll be prince? We’ll punch Franc, kick Prussia, and lead Windsor to world domination.”

(눈_눈)

Auston glared at him.

And then what? The Queen will become mine, the Princess will become yours, and Prince Edward will take turns chauffeuring us?

“Her Majesty is your lover after all, so we won’t kill her. The Princess is your illegitimate daughter, so you take her, too. As for the Prince...” Wayne stroked his chin in serious contemplation, his eyes glinting. “Keeping him around poses a risk. Send him to join the army and transfer him directly to the front lines.”

He had it all planned out for the Lando family. Setting aside the Pale Knight, he and Auston together could be six chosen knights. The family also had three vicious dragons and numerous lovers. They had both manpower and money. With such resources, it would be a terrible waste for them not to rebel.

They had no match in all of Windsor!

The Ministry of Magic... It had been useless with all the fence-sitters being in charge, and now, it was even more pathetic, with not even fence-sitters to fill the numbers. Two out of the three Vice Ministers were dead, leaving only the old woman Yvette on her own.

Wayne got more excited as he spoke. He mocked the Ministry of Magic for being full of undercover agents and thus completely useless. The royal family knew nothing but maintaining a balance, ending up trapping themselves. Auston only needed to raise his arm, and countless supporters across the nation would respond to his call.

“Are you done? If you are, let’s get to business.”

Auston ignored Wayne’s nonsense. If anyone else had said those words, Auston would call them ambitionists with grand schemes, treating them as kindred spirits while informing the Queen to eliminate the traitors. But coming from Wayne...

It didn’t fit him. It wasn’t even worth reporting.

Once Wayne fell silent, Auston said, “Windsor and Franc face each other across the sea, so the war is still quite a distance away. Like last time, Franc will be on the front lines. The friendship between our nations must hold fast...”

“Franc knows that well and has already set up defenses at the border. They have the world’s greatest army. Even after suffering serious losses in the previous war, the foundation remains. The line of defense is vital to the survival of the nation and will stay strong.”

Auston analyzed the stakes and went into the strategic arrangements going forward. He didn’t talk about the overall strategy Windsor would employ, but how the Lando family could minimize losses in the current international political climate while demonstrating loyalty to the Crown.

Technically, Auston was a patriot. The current sovereign was his ex-girlfriend, who took good care of him. Compared to the other Tulip Families, the Landos had had a comfortable life. If only to repay her consideration, he wouldn’t betray his country, much less rebel.

However, it was under the caveat that his family came before his loyalty. His love went to his family first, and only the rest went to his country.

The other Tulip Families were probably operating under similar principles. After three hundred years, the Tulip Legion’s loyalty to the Crown had weakened significantly.

According to Auston’s analysis, the conflicts between the Tulip Families would only grow fiercer in the shadows of war, given the economic decline and limited resources. It was imperative for them to stabilize the family first.

Excellent. As expected of old Londan nobles. Even at a time like this, internal strife continues.

Wayne raised an eyebrow. As they said, amateurs fought external forces, while professionals fought internally. Auston’s strategic mind specialized in internal conflict, and he was good at it, but he had made a major mistake in his analysis of the international landscape.

The line of defense will remain strong? Do you know that ‘impregnable fortress,’ ‘unbreakable defense,’ and ‘advantage is ours’ are all major flags?

Wayne knew that in the world of magic, Franc had numerous churches and a mix of many faiths to grant them an epic-level buff, and the line of defense seemed unbreakable, but the buff to Prussia would only be more formidable.

The line of defense would most likely fall, and Prussia didn’t even have to resort to flanking. She just needed mages to charge in and cleave right through the defense.

Wayne said bluntly, “Auston, do you really believe that the line will hold and thus keep us protected across the sea?”

“What else?”

How could the world’s greatest army, with all the nation’s might going into defense, lose?

Auston bit the bait. Since Wayne insisted on giving away benefits, he graciously satisfied the request. The two of them each drafted a written agreement, and the stakes were high this time.

If Auston won, it would prove that Wayne only knew how to make unreasonable trouble. Not only would he have to clear Auston’s name and deal with all the false accusations he had made, but he also had to destroy the yet-unexposed written agreement. Henceforth, he would obey the family head unconditionally.

If Wayne won, it would prove Auston short-sighted and unsuitable to lead the Lando family further. He would step down, allowing Wayne to take his place.

As usual, they had Megan draft the actual agreements, which both of them signed.

“Just wait. When the line of defense breaks, and I become the head of the family, my first order will be for Aunt Megan to resign as the butler and lead a peaceful life raising children as the former master’s second wife.”

Wayne envisioned the future. Megan becoming Auston’s second wife wasn’t the point. The point was to make Veryl the head butler and fulfill his promise to him. Wayne would have everyone know that, unlike Auston, he cared about a butler’s performance at work rather than their performance in bed.

They were not the same!

“...” x2