paranoianovel Chapter 376 Escape
Chapter 376 Escape
Chapter 376 Escape
Upon hearing the eldest prince's words, Robert instinctively sensed something was amiss, so he couldn't help but step forward and say, half-remindingly:
"Your Highness, this matter seems inappropriate. On the one hand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet drafted the original text of the relevant treaty; on the other hand, it would be best if His Majesty were present as a witness when signing such a treaty!"
Robert's bad premonition grew stronger, and he felt he had to do something to buy himself some time.
The eldest prince hesitated upon hearing this. Although he wanted to make a name for himself on such an important occasion and appear on the front page of the newspaper, upon closer examination, he still wanted to distance himself from the suspicion of George III.
If he hadn't spoken up, he could have said he was temporarily misled, but now that someone has pointed it out, if he still insists on going his own way, then it really won't be acceptable later.
Charles Negan, who had grown up with the eldest prince and had a close relationship with him, clearly noticed the prince's hesitation. This opportunity was indeed helpful in solidifying the prince's position as heir, so after thinking for a moment, he stepped forward and said with a smile:
"His Majesty has already approved of these peace talks, and we all know that. Now that the Fussac Empire wants to take advantage of the presence of so many media friends to formally sign this treaty, I don't think there's any reason not to agree."
"But this matter was brought up too suddenly, and we were indeed unprepared. As Earl Robert said, it is easy for mistakes to happen."
Earl Hall, who had been involved in politics for many years, also sensed a hint of danger and thus subtly expressed his opposition.
Moreover, since being tricked by Charles Negan last time, his friendship with the deceased Duke Negan has been over, and the two often clash over various matters.
Prime Minister Agushid, who was also present, and other government officials also expressed their opposition.
But Ambassador Fussac was clearly prepared; he immediately gestured to a waiter to bring out a document and said with a smile:
"We also know that signing a contract at this time will cause some trouble for you, so we have done some paperwork in advance. The Kingdom of Rune is a country ruled by law, and you are all obviously people who are well-versed in the law. You can take a look at the documents here to see if there are any omissions."
As they spoke, embassy staff distributed copies of the draft treaty to each political leader, and even copies to media reporters.
The Fussac Empire ambassador's attitude was very frank, which directly implied that they would not tamper with the treaty.
After all, the Augustus family is the angelic family that controls the 'arbitrator' pathway, and setting rules is their specialty. The Fussac Empire will only humiliate itself by causing trouble in this regard.
This candid attitude only amplified Robert's unease.
However, after repeatedly examining the treaty in his hand, he could not find any loopholes that could be exploited, even though he was a Sequence 3 Chaos Hunter.
Moreover, Robert wasn't the only extraordinary individual who excelled through the "arbitrator" pathway; almost all the prominent figures in Ruen's political circles present were extraordinary individuals, and some were even extraordinary individuals who excelled through the "lawyer" pathway.
However, from any perspective, none of those present could discern any clauses detrimental to the Kingdom of Rune, given the extremely simple nature of the text, which could be summarized in a single page.
For the sake of harmonious relations between the two sides, the Fusak Empire is willing to acknowledge that there is indeed a dispute over Ayoun Island and is willing to set aside the dispute with the Kingdom of Rune and jointly develop it.
This is less of a treaty and more of a memorandum.
The political heavyweights exchanged whispers and were generally certain that the Fussac Empire had not tampered with the terms. They were all beginning to lean towards signing the agreement with the Fussac Empire now.
At this moment, Robert also silently took a step back, no longer stepping forward to be the one who displeased everyone.
Thus, under the impetus of the Fusak Empire, what was originally just a press conference announcing the agreement between the two parties turned into a formal signing ceremony.
When the Foreign Minister and Ambassador Fussack signed their names on the documents and exchanged them, all the celebrities who had rushed over to attend the press conference erupted in cheers that nearly lifted the roof off.
In their view, this was a victory for the Kingdom of Rune after hundreds of years of struggle, a victory of ironclad warships over sailing ships, a victory of the advanced over the backward, and the defeat in the war in the southern continent in the first half of the year was just an accident.
But while all the Rune people were jubilant, Ambassador Fussac showed no sign of anger or embarrassment. Instead, he smiled and quietly observed everything until the Rune people gradually quieted down. Only then did he stand in the center again, take out another document, and say with a smile:
"His Majesty sincerely wants to develop friendly relations with the Kingdom of Rune. He personally promoted the negotiations regarding Ayoun Island. Even after hearing that a plague had broken out in Backlund and there was a shortage of medicine, he specifically instructed the government to take stock of the relevant inventory and offered to provide free assistance to the people of Backlund so that they could recover their health as soon as possible."
This is our proposed aid list. Please keep it safe, Your Highness, and pass it on to His Majesty George III. Also, please inform His Majesty that we will coordinate with the Kingdom of Fenneport to allow them to sell affordable medicinal herbs to Rune. This is a small gesture of goodwill from our Fussac Empire to improve relations between our two countries.
Ambassador Fussack's remarks were met with jubilation from the Backlund celebrities and journalists in the audience.
The reporters were naturally delighted that the great plague in Backlund finally had a solution. After all, they were just ordinary people who faced similar threats at all times. Hearing about the gift from the Fussac Empire, they naturally breathed a sigh of relief.
As for the nobles and celebrities who were overjoyed, it was not for the common people they could never see on a normal day, but because they thought that the Fusak Empire was really afraid of the Lord of Rune after it was bleeding so much blood this time.
Only the expressions on the faces of the political heavyweights of the Kingdom of Rune, who were seated at the front, were completely out of place with the atmosphere of the hall. They were all dumbfounded, looking at each other, not knowing what to do.
Robert sighed deeply and closed his eyes in resignation.
The Kingdom of Rune was outmaneuvered by the Fusak Empire. They saw through the kingdom's financial weakness and its actions, and set a trap that made the Kingdom of Rune willingly fall into it.
From George III to the highest levels of the government and parliament, everyone was outmaneuvered by the Fussac Empire!
By this time, Robert had completely seen through the Fussac Empire's schemes and tactics, but he was powerless to do anything about it.
The person who orchestrated this scheme is definitely a top-tier "schemer," an extremely dangerous individual. If he were an Einhorn, he might become my most formidable opponent in overthrowing the Einhorn family!
Robert's mind was no longer on the predicament that the Kingdom of Loen was about to face; after all, that was something that George III should worry about, not something he should be anxious about.
His mind is now focused on the person who set up the scheme.
Petrov Andrei should be tasked with investigating who set this up. If he isn't Einhorn, we should try to win him over; if he is Einhorn, we should eliminate him at all costs!
Robert was always ruthless towards his enemies and never wanted to leave himself with even the slightest hidden danger.
If we're talking about who's in the most awkward position right now, it has to be His Highness the Crown Prince.
Faced with the aid list offered by Ambassador Fussack, he was caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to accept it or not, and could only stand there awkwardly, his body stiff.
Although his intelligence was not as high as that of Earl Hall and Robert, he had grown up in the royal family and was used to intrigues. In addition, he was also a participant in the plan to plunder the people's wealth, so he also wanted to understand the conspiracy of the Fussac Empire.
At the same time, he also understood what kind of disaster he had caused by insisting on signing the treaty immediately.
He wanted to publicly refuse the list and the "goodwill" of the Fussac Empire, but the cheering nobles and celebrities around him, as well as the journalists, put immense pressure on him.
But if he actually accepts this list, it would be like accepting a bomb, a bomb that could blow him away.
So, under the watchful eyes of everyone, the eldest prince could only turn his hopeful gaze to Charles Negan, who had grown up with him.
But this time Charles Negan acted as if he hadn't seen anything and remained silent.
The eldest prince was able to push for the on-site signing, and he deserves credit for that. He will be held accountable in the future, so why would he speak up again?
Prime Minister Agushid and Count Hall had disapproved of the eldest prince's actions from the beginning, and they also saw that the list was powerful enough to overwhelm a group of people. At this moment, they would not share the blame for the eldest prince, so they all kept their eyes down and did not look at the eldest prince. Instead, they thought about how to deal with His Majesty the King's subsequent questioning.
"Why doesn't Your Highness accept the goodwill of the Fussac Empire? Is it because you look down on the Fussac Empire?"
After observing the constantly changing expressions of the high-ranking officials of the Kingdom of Rune, Ambassador Fusak asked a stern question when the cheers of the Rune people subsided slightly, drawing everyone's attention.
Those around them, unaware of the truth, were indeed drawn in by the ambassador's words and looked at the Crown Prince with confusion, not understanding why he wouldn't accept the list from the Fussac Empire.
Feeling the surrounding light gathering on him, the eldest prince became even more nervous, his mind in turmoil, and he was sweating profusely.
"The Fursac Empire made huge concessions to improve relations between the two countries, but the Kingdom of Rune is unwilling to accept even this 'goodwill.' Is this a sign of disrespect towards the Fursac Empire?"
Ambassador Fussack questioned again in a stern tone, his voice now quite harsh.
Unaware of the truth, people looked at the eldest prince with questioning eyes again, and even began to whisper and point.
The eldest prince felt immense pressure from the strange looks people were giving him, but he was speechless and could only stand there blankly, not uttering a single word.
"Your Highness, given your current behavior, can I assume that the Kingdom of Rune has no intention of improving relations with the Fusak Empire, and that your previous negotiations with the Empire were merely a game?"
Ambassador Fussack's voice rose again, his tone extremely angry, and no one doubted that he would immediately turn hostile if he did not receive a satisfactory answer.
At this point, His Highness the Crown Prince could no longer remain silent, because if he did not speak, the responsibility for the Fusak Empire's falling out would fall squarely on his shoulders, which was something he could not bear!
"No, Ambassador, you have misunderstood the Kingdom of Rune. The Kingdom of Rune genuinely wants to ease the tensions with the Fusak Empire over the past period."
As for the goodwill of the Fusak Empire, the Kingdom of Rune certainly appreciates it, but this matter is too sudden. I need time to report to His Majesty the King for a decision!
His Highness is now doing everything he can to avoid reflecting his own personality in his words, hoping to make everyone forget his role in this matter.
"If the Kingdom of Rune is willing to improve relations with the Empire, then why not accept the Empire's goodwill? You just agreed to sign a contract with us ahead of schedule, but you didn't inform His Majesty George III, did you?"
Ambassador Fussac wasn't even questioning the prince anymore; he was practically hurling insults at him.
This act of defying the natural order caused all the people of Rune to stare at Ambassador Fussac with wide eyes and anger, but at the same time, it also raised lingering questions in their minds.
Why doesn't His Highness the Crown Prince accept the gift list from the Fusak Empire?
The eldest prince's presumptuous decision had become a stone that had struck his foot, making his reason so flimsy and impossible to defend, and causing everyone around him to look at him with suspicion.
Seeing the eldest prince sweating profusely and speechless, Ambassador Fussac showed no mercy. He issued a final ultimatum, waving the list in his hand and shouting rudely, spitting as he spoke:
"If the Kingdom of Rune does not accept the goodwill of the Empire of Fusak, then it shows that the Kingdom of Rune has no sincerity in improving relations with the Empire of Fusak. The so-called peace negotiations were just a trick to deceive the countries."
Therefore, in order to safeguard the interests of the Fussac Empire, even at the risk of being punished by His Majesty the Emperor afterward, I must tear up all the agreements that were just signed regarding Ayoun Island.
"Your Highness, the future relationship between the Fussac Empire and the Kingdom of Rune now rests in your hands. Please make your choice now!"
The ambassador of the Fusak Empire took the newly signed documents from the two countries from the staff member next to him, one a list and the other the documents, and placed them in front of His Highness the Crown Prince, leaving no room for negotiation!
All eyes were on the eldest prince, awaiting his decision. No one stepped forward to help him out, because those who knew the inside story only wanted him to memorize everything, while those who didn't wished they could snatch the list from Ambassador Fussac and shove it into his hands.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the eldest prince finally began to sway.
Just as everyone was waiting for his next move, he unexpectedly closed his eyes and fell backward very naturally.
Robert, quick-witted and agile, immediately caught him and then shouted:
"Make way! His Highness the Crown Prince has fainted! Clear a path so he can be taken to the hospital immediately!"
In the chaos, people cleared a path, and Robert escaped with the eldest prince.