?Lathel was still worried, but he still tried to calm down and explain.
“That territory is an autonomous region; if I set up a casino there, it will not violate Karol’s laws, so the Queen’s honour will not be damaged.”
“Of course, I am not doing this to make a profit for myself.”
“To maintain and run a good casino business, a giant organisation is needed to protect it. There is no organisation as strong and trustworthy as the Karol Empire.”
“I will run a casino business in that autonomous territory, while you’ll send your army to protect and supervise the operation.”
“70% of the profits will be given to you; I only need 30%.”
“Not only can you manage that unstable area, you also get a new source of wealth.”
“Of course, if the Empire were in charge, criminals would definitely not dare to cause trouble.”
Catheryne frowned upon hearing that, but inside she was extremely excited at the moment.
‘Yay! My son is the best; my son is the best; my son is the smartest.’
‘I love my son the most. Moah! Moah! Moah!’
Catheryne sighed, then said: “Your plan is very good; however, running a casino is not easy.”
“Besides, are you sure that Miconia will accept this?”
Lathel replied: “Of course. She and I have reached an agreement; she will definitely cooperate with me.”
Catheryne raised her teacup and took a sip. Her gestures were extremely noble and elegant.
After leaving a dazzling red lipstick mark on the rim of the glass, she gently put down the glass and said: “I heard… You also cooperated with Tinryss to renovate the Spring Palace, right?”
“Ack!” Lathel was startled, and he said embarrassedly: “This… she and I have indeed cooperated; it’s just… I don’t know if this plan will succeed or not.”
After saying this, Lathel felt that Catheryne was really powerful. He only discussed cooperation with Tinryss, but she already knew that.
But Lathel wasn’t too worried; after all, he didn’t have any bad intentions. He also didn’t want to commit treason or conduct illegal business, so he felt secure.
“Hmm?!” Catheryne glanced at Lathel: “You can confidently run a casino business in an unstable and crime-infested area, but you aren’t confident in running a brothel?”
“That’s strange; you make me feel suspicious.”
“Ack!” Lathel frowned, finally sighed, and said: “Actually, the casino business is not too difficult; it just depends on a few tricks.”
“And changing the business method of a brothel, although it sounds simple, is very difficult.”
“There is no mention of changing business methods; it’s just whether the prostitutes accept the change or not.”
“If they want to change their current life, they will try to change and adapt. If they feel their current life is very good, we cannot force them to work.”
“The casino is different; it is an autonomous region, and the rules are set by us. The people there are mostly criminals, so we can use our power to rule and manage them easily.”
Catheryne heard that and nodded: “What you said is very wonderful. From new weapons to changing business methods in the autonomous territory, everything seems to be perfect. However…”
Suddenly, Lathel felt that the surrounding atmosphere became so heavy that it made it difficult for him to breathe.
The murderous aura radiating from Catheryne was so cold that it made him feel like he was in an ice cellar.
“Lathel… do you have the qualifications to talk about cooperating with me?” Catheryne’s cold voice rang out: “As long as I want, I can force you to hand over the method of producing weapons.”
“As long as I want, I don’t need you to manage the business in that autonomous territory, I will let people with more trust do it.”
“If I just want to… Lathel… I can squeeze you to death like an ant.”
Lathel really couldn’t breathe at this point. It was so terrible that he felt like a mountain was pressing down on his back.
He couldn’t stand it anymore, so he knelt down. His sweat poured out and soaked his shirt. At this moment, he could not move, he felt death standing next to him very clearly.
“But… I will give you a chance so you can prove that you are worthy of cooperating with me.”
Right after Catheryne said those words, Lathel felt the pressure on his back gradually disappear, and he began to breathe normally again.
“Two days later is the ‘Genius Congress’, held only once every ten years. If you win the championship, I will cooperate with you.”
“Not only that, I can also give you many benefits from this empire.”
Hearing that, Lathel took a deep breath, then said: “Empress… I… can I refuse?”
Catheryne glanced at him, frowned, and said: “Guess?”
Lathel shivered; her eyes seemed to say… ‘If you disobey me… die!’
He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, sighed, and said: “Empress, I do not have good talent, nor do I have a high position. My current position is all thanks to Ryne; please think again, Queen.”
“Lathel…” Catheryne’s cold and threatening voice rang out again: “Do you think I’m a fool?”
“No! I…”
“Do you think I’m blind?”
“This…”
“I know all about you, Lathel.” Catheryne said: “Do you think… you have a chance to refuse?”
“Lathel… This is not an offer, I am just informing you; you… cannot refuse.”
Hearing that, Lathel felt desperate. He thought that carrying a weapon that would change the entire war situation in this world would make Catheryne interested.
However, it seems he was wrong. No, he wasn’t wrong, but it still wasn’t enough to make Catheryne want to cooperate with him.
Finally, Lathel sighed and said: “As ordered, Queen.”
“Good!” Catheryne now smiled with satisfaction and said: “This is the invitation, two days later, bring it to the Royal Palace.”
“If you perform poorly or fail on purpose, I will let you and everyone you love bear the consequences.”
“Do you understand?”
Lathel gritted his teeth and nodded: “I understand!”
“Good! Get out!”
Hearing that, Lathel sighed and stood up, then took heavy steps and left the garden.
Seeing that Lathel had left this place, Catheryne suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, then leaned back on the chair tiredly.
“Akna, Fuxian, do you think I spoke too harshly to Lathel?” Catheryne suddenly spoke up.
At this time, Akna and Fuxian came out from behind a bush, then walked in front of her.
Akna then spoke up: “Empress, I feel that Young Master will not care about what you say.”
“Hm?! What do you mean…”
“What I mean is… he won’t think your words are too much. After all, you are the Empress, so it is normal to say so.”
“Besides… if you hadn’t said so, I’m afraid Young Master wouldn’t have participated in the ‘Genius Congress’.”
“What you say is very reasonable.” Catheryne nodded and said: “I know Lathel’s potential is great, it’s just… he’s a bit self-
conscious. I want to give him more confidence and let everyone know that my son is the leader.”
“But…” Akna said softly now: “In the ‘Genius Congress’ there were many Geniuses participating, even the Holy Son of the Lumiere Church.”
“Master, are you sure you want Lathel to participate in the ‘Genius Congress’? That’s very dangerous for him.”
“Besides, since Lathel is participating under pressure, I fear that he will not put all his reason into that competition.”
Catheryne sighed: “I know, but there is no other way. I trust no one except my son.”
“He has good talent, a good personality, enormous potential, and is very intelligent.”
“He is the one who is capable of leading other geniuses. Besides… everyone’s level who would be entering that dungeon would be limited to a maximum of 50; no one will pose any danger to him.”
“Inside that Dungeon, there are also many opportunities that can help Lathel level up.”
“Master, what do you mean…” Akna suddenly spoke: “The mark of the ‘Goddess of Lust’?”
“That’s right.” Catheryne nodded: “The goddess of lust has an extremely terrifying talent that many people dream of.”
“The spiral of lust.”
“According to legend, the ‘Whirlpool of Lust’ is represented by the ‘Mark of Lust’, however, normal people cannot obtain it.”
“Only followers of the ‘Goddess of Lust’ can obtain it. But… What a coincidence that the girl Lathel just bought is a follower of the ‘Goddess of Lust’.”
Catheryne smiled and said: “I don’t think this is a coincidence. This is a signal that… Lathel is the chosen one; he will definitely create miracles again.”
Akna was startled when she heard that, she never thought that everything would be so coincidental.
‘Could it be… that Lathel is really the chosen one? It seems… since Alec received many failures, Lathel is gradually becoming luckier.’
“That’s why…” Catheryne continued: “I really hope Lathel can participate in this ‘Genius Congress’. I believe that he will win the championship and obtain the ‘Whirl of Lust’.”
Akna nodded: “I understand, Master.”
Catheryne thought about something, then took out a golden card and gave it to Akna: “Use this card; go to the treasury and get 1,000 Lightning element stones, the higher the rank, the better, give it to Lathel .”
“This… Master…” Akna stammered: “This is the Empire’s treasury. If we do this, the other officials will object.”
“Huh! Do you think I care about what those ants say?” Catheryne said contemptuously: “The Treasury is also filled by me. What’s wrong with using the Treasury for my son?”
“Besides… my son will become the brightest star in the ‘Genius Congress’, which is also the pride of this Empire.”
“If they dare to object, tell them to come see me.”
“I understand, master.” Akna bowed her head and spoke, then immediately left.
Catheryne now glanced at Fuxian, smiled, and said: “Fuxian, what do you think?”
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